Current Affairs - August 31, 2017 Current Affairs

The Indian Institutes of Technology, Bombay and Indore, have jointly developed a biosensor that makes it possible to detect kidney disorders in less than 8 minutes. The biosensor can accurately measure both the pH and urea concentration with a single drop of urine. The researchers who developed it say that it will help make a point-of-care test to determine whether the kidneys are functioning normally. The biosensor is made by encapsulating an enzyme urease and a molecule FITC-dextran in alginate microspheres. The combination glows in response to a chemical reaction with urea and changes in pH when urine is added.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has launched the world's first IAEA Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) bank at the Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP) in Oskemen, Kazakhstan. The $150 million facility will help ensure a steady supply of low enriched uranium for countries' nuclear power programmes. The bank is owned and managed by IAEA. It is the first of its kind LEU bank not to be under control of any individual country. The IAEA LEU Bank will be a physical reserve of up to 90 metric tons of low enriched uranium suitable to make fuel for a typical light water reactor, the most widely used type of nuclear power reactor worldwide. The LEU Bank will serve as a last-resort mechanism to provide confidence to countries that they will be able to obtain LEU for the manufacture of fuel for nuclear power plants in the event of an unforeseen, non-commercial disruption to their supplies.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Limited included in the second scheduled to the RBI Act 1934 on 30th Aug 2017. This grants the 'Scheduled Bank' status to Ujjivan Small Finance Bank' from the date of notification.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently informed that India and Canada have mutually agreed to jointly issue a set of two Commemorative Postage Stamps on the theme Diwali. The joint stamps will be released on September 21, 2017, as per MoU signed between the postal departments of the two countries. In this joint issue, the theme "Diwali" has been selected as it is a cultural theme for both the countries and also considering the large presence of Indian Diaspora in Canada.

The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) has organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New Delhi on August 28, 2017. The conference was attended by all Defence Pensioners Associations and was open to all Defence Pensioners. The purpose of the conference was to obtain feedback from the pensioners that would help the department to serve them better with constantly improving systems and procedures. Digitization of pension data and implementation of a pensions app were also discussed in detail.

Shri Rajiv Gauba, IAS (Jharkhand cadre-1982 batch) took over as Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs. Gauba had served as Secretary in the Urban Development Ministry before being appointed in the sensitive post.

Mercedes' British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton won 58th career race and got Belgian Grand Prix title. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel won the second place.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet decided to end the process of holding interview for selection of candidates for the government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories.

Bridgestone India, a subsidiary of the world's largest tyre and rubber company and a Worldwide Olympic Partner, has announced a partnership with ace badminton player and Olympic silver medallist, P.V. Sindhu to be the company's first brand ambassador. Sindhu is among the world's leading professional badminton players who recently earned a silver medal at the World Badminton Championship in Glasgow.

Envisioning education through a holistic outlook of knowledge building to establish peace and harmony in the world, the Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University located in Pune was inaugurated by chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis. MIT World Peace University is an entirely new concept, a model for a moulding global citizens. There is no difference between science and spirituality.

Dr. R.K. Raghavan appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Cyprus. Raghavan, who was CBI director from January 1999 to April 2001, had investigated high profile cases like Priyadarshini Mattoo murder case, 2000 South Africa cricket match fixing, 2002 Gujarat riots. He served as the director of Tamil Nadu Fire Service and as the director-general of the Tamil Nadu State Vigilance Directorate.

The Union Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Myanmar for the conservation of earthquake-damaged pagodas at Bagan. Pagodas are the Buddhist temple typically in the form of a many-tiered tower built in traditions originating as stupa in historic South Asia.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch PSLV-C39 carrying Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS-1H). The satellite will lift off from the second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, on board the rocket PSLV C39. It is equivalent to the GPS service having a footprint over the whole of India and about 1500 kilometers from its borders on all sides.

Ashish kumar Chauhan has been re-appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the period of 5 years from November 2, 2017 to November 1, 2022. For this, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently gave its approval to re-appoint Chauhan as MD and CEO of the company for next 5 years.

Women Transforming India Awards 2017 has been launched by NITI Aayog, in partnership with the UN in India and MyGov, to recognize the transformational impact of work undertaken by women across India. Union Minister of Textiles, Information, and Broadcasting Smriti Irani will present this prestigious award to a number of women winners. Laxmi Agarwal, Uttar Pradesh, Subasini Mistry, Safeena Husain, Arunima Sinha, Kamal Kumbhar, Jamuna Tudu, Rajlakshmi Borthakur, Kiran Kanoji, Harshini Kanhekar, Shima Modak, Sunita Kamble, Kanika Tekriwal are the recipients of the award