Current Affairs - August 25, 2017 Current Affairs

The 2017 International Military Music Festival "Spasskaya Tower" has started in Moscow, Russia on August 24 and will continue till September 3, 2017. The Indian Navy Band "Tri- Services" is participating in the fest. It is the parade of the best military music bands of Russia and other countries that takes place every year at Red Square in Moscow. This Music Festival is a mega event, where military musicians represent the variety of national, artistic and military traditions of the world. Every year about 1500 musicians, military men and other artists from around 40 countries perform at the "Spasskaya Tower".

Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, has chaired the 17th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) in New Delhi on August 22, 2017. The Council discussed the issues and challenges facing the Indian economy and stressed the need to keep constant vigil to manage any external and internal vulnerability. The Council noted that India has macro-economic stability today on the back of improvements in its macro-economic fundamentals, structural reforms with the launch of the GST and long-term positive consequences of demonetization. The FSDC also took note of the developments and progress made in setting up of Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) and Financial Data Management Centre.

Tata Docomo was given the award for the best service provider in north India for its public Wi-Fi services by DigiAnalysis. Tata Docomo claims to provide internet services at many prime locations such as airports, cafes and hotels. Further, Ookla ranked Tata Docomo Wi-Fi at Delhi's IGI Airport as the 4th fastest in Asia.

Raghuram Rajan explains economic concepts and talks of issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity in his new book - I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve - which is a collection of essays and speeches during his stint as RBI head. When Rajan took charge as RBI Governor in September 2013, the rupee was in free fall, inflation was high and exchange reserves were falling.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health has inked a pact with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) to collaborate on vaccine research and development. With this partnership, India will commit an annual contribution of $5,00,000 to IVI and joins Sweden and South Korea as financially contributing signatories to IVI. In addition, ICMR will be focussed on research and development of vaccines combatting various infectious diseases. As per official statement, the IVI has 35 signatory countries and India officially became a signatory in 2012.

Department of Women Development and Child Welfare in collaboration with Hyderabad District Collectorate launched a Women Helpline 181 to help and assist women in distress. The helpline will support women affected by harassment, trauma and violence both in private and public spaces such as family, community and workplace. It will function 24/7 and provide service to women affected by violence, women seeking emotional support and also provide information about women welfare schemes introduced by the State and Central government.

Cristiano Ronaldo has won his third UEFA men's player of the year award in four seasons, beating Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Buffon to get the trophy. Ronaldo picked up the trophy for the second consecutive season and third time in total, having also received the accolade in 2013/14. The UEFA Men's Player of the Year award is based on players' performances during the 2016/17 season in all competitions, both domestic and international, and at club and national team levels.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the country's first Videsh Bhavan at the Bandra Kurla Complex. As a pilot project, four offices of MEA - Regional Passport Office, Protector of Emigrants office, Branch Secretariat and Regional Office of ICCR - have been assimilated and brought under one roof. The pilot project of the Videsh Bhavan of Mumbai is part of the Centre's policy to bring together different offices of the MEA under a single roof and work closely with states as more and more Indians are going abroad for employment, education, business and tourism.

The first edition of Miss Transqueen India, a beauty pageant for transgenders, will take place in Gurugram, Haryana on August 27, 2017. Like other beauty pageants, the contestants will have to go through swimming costume, traditional wear, evening gown and question-answer rounds. The winner will go to Thailand for Miss International Queen and the first runner-up will compete at Miss Transsexual Australia.

Nepal has launched its climate-smart snow leopard landscape management plan. It has been launched to safeguard the Snow Leopard endangered species, also found in India, and its habitat. This is the first climate-smart landscape management plan for snow leopard conservation in the world. It will be used as a model for other range countries to adopt.

The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is observed every year by UNESCO on August 23 to pay tribute to all those who fought for freedom, and, in their name, to continue teaching about their story and the values therein.

Prakash Javadekar, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), has recently launched 'Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat' Programme. The programme is an initiative of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to prepare a physical health and fitness 'Profile Card' for over 12 lakh Kendriya Vidyalaya students. The programme will provide a comprehensive and inclusive report card for children of all age groups and differently-abled kids. The programme aims to make students, teachers and parents aware of the importance of good health and fitness and encourage '60 minutes of play' every day.

The 58th edition of Subroto Cup International Football Tournament has started in New Delhi. A total of 99 teams from India and abroad are participating across three categories in this edition of famous inter-school football tournament. Teams from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Afghanistan and Singapore are participating in this edition. The one month long football carnival will be played in three categories Sub-Junior boys (Under-14), Junior Girls (Under-17), Junior Boys (Under-17).