Current Affairs - August 26, 2017 Current Affairs

The Jammu and Kashmir Government decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from encroachers in the state's Rajouri district. The park is a first-of-its-kind project in the region. It will have a botanical garden, a cactus garden, a cafeteria and other amenities.

DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company has signed on Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank as its bancassurance partner, under which the latter will distribute retail and group life insurance products to its customers across 260 branches in India. G.Sreeram, Managing Director and CEO, Dhanlaxmi Bank, said the bank has consistently enhanced its portfolio to meet the diverse financial needs of its customers.

Google is extending its successful Google Station program to Indonesia, according to TechCrunch. The company is partnering with internet service providers (ISPs), venue owners, and system integrators in Indonesia to provide consumers with free access to Wi-Fi at railway stations, universities, and other public areas.

The Gurugram district administration has decided to sanction 50 new green-fuel stations in Millennium City here in the next three years to control rising air pollution. The Haryana City Gas Distribution Ltd (HCGDL), an authorised dealer to sell compressed natural gas (CNG) in Gurgaon, has been given the responsibility construct the 50 stations.

E-waste removal from Kerala schools begun with about 12,500 kg being disposed statewide on a single day under a program aiming to clear accumulated junk, reportedly estimated at over one crore kg. It is aimed at disposing e-Waste such as desktop computers, CRT monitors, laptops, disk drives, printers, UPS, camera, speaker system, television, network components and generators from 10,000 odd schools and educational offices in the state.

India, Nepal agrees to boost joint infra projects. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks with his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba and later in a joint statement the two leaders expressed satisfaction over the excellent state of India-Nepal relations. The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the utilisation of the two Lines of Credit of USD 100 million and USD 250 million for development of roads and power infrastructure in Nepal.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that no Genetically Modified (GM) crop should be introduced unless the biosafety and socio economic desirability is evaluated in a transparent process. The recommendation was made by the department-related parliamentary standing committee on science and technology and environment and forest. The Committee also recommended that the Environment Ministry (MoEFCC) should examine the impact of GM crops regularly.

A new internet based software 'Eronet' introduced by the Election Commission of India will be launched in Assam on 28th August. Eronet is useful for various activities relating to electoral roll such as the inclusion of name, deletion, name correction, transfer of name including providing the new photo identity cards. General voters may apply online for facilitation of various activities relating to electoral roll through the already in-use portal nvsp.in and Eronet.

The 9th meeting of heads of Governments of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states on disaster prevention and relief has started at Choplon Ata in Kyrgyz Republic on August 24, 2017. The 2-day meeting will focus on prevention and elimination of emergency situations. The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is leading the Indian delegation which includes senior officers from Home and External Affairs Ministries and National Disaster Management Authority.

China has banned North Korean individuals and enterprises from doing new business in the country, in line with United Nations Security Council sanctions passed earlier this month. New sanctions by China, Japan, the United States and the United Nations are aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme. According to a notice released on the Commerce ministry's website, new joint venture enterprises, new wholly owned businesses and the expansion of existing entities involving North Korean individuals or companies are prohibited in China.

The Odisha government unveiled a statue of Sanjukta Panigrahi on her 74th Birth anniversary as a mark of respect to the state's foremost exponents of Odisa dance. Sanjukta Panigrahi (1944-1997) started dancing at the tender age of four and consequently trained in Indian Classical Dance forms of Kathak, Bhrat Natyam and Odissi, but embraced Odissi as her passion.

President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to declare an indefinite ban on transgender individuals joining the military, but he appeared to leave open the possibility of allowing some already in uniform to remain in the military. The Obama administration in June 2016 changed longstanding policy declaring that troops could serve openly as transgender individuals.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has imposed a penalty of almost Rs. 3 crore on Idea Cellular for overcharging subscribers for calls they made to two public sector operators - BSNL and MTNL.