Current Affairs - August 7, 2018 Current Affairs

Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, 62, resigned her position as CEO of PepsiCo. She has been leading the company since 2006. She studied at the Madras Christian College. She went to the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, before leaving for the U.S. in 1980 for a second master's degree at the Yale School of Management. Ramon Laguarta, 54, will succeed Ms.Nooyi as CEO. Her office will resume from October 3. Ms.Nooyi will remain Chairman until early 2019 to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

The Himachal Pradesh government has launched "Horn Not Ok" awareness campaign in Shimla and Mandi along with a statewide mobile application 'shaur nahin' (no noise). The main aim of the campaign is to spread awareness of unnecessary blowing horn as it creates unnecessary noise pollution. The other towns of the state will also be brought under the purview of no honking zones after the successful execution of this campaign in the two tourist places for 2 months. Though, no-honking rule will not be applicable on emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire tenders. The "Shor Nahin" application has been developed to report any noise pollution complaint to the authorities. It's an initiative of the Department of Environment, Science and Technology in association with the NIC of Himachal Pradesh. It allows a user to lodge a complaint with the officials concerned, including deputy commissioner, superintendent of police and sub divisional magistrate, who can upload the action taken report on the app.

The 10th International conference on oral implantology was held in New Delhi to enhance the awareness and knowledge on the latest innovations and technologies in oral implantology world over. The 3-day conference hosted by Academy of Oral Implantology (AOI) has representations by doctors from the UK, the US, Israel, Austria, Germany, Italy, South Korea and Spain. Oral implantology is a highly dynamic specialty and has over the years, introduced innumerable modifications and improvements for dental treatment of patients. The vision is to promote latest technologies and encourage younger doctors, in the field of innovation. Experienced professionals will share their work, expertise with the younger crop and this translates into sharing of knowledge from different parts of the globe. Various companies from the medical field have also showcased their advanced products and technologies. Teeth decay, loss of teeth due to old age, diseases or accidents, bad and crooked teeth, teeth decay happen due to bad oral hygiene.

Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar has won the 2018 Fiji International title. It is his first win on the European Tour, ninth Asian Tour and 10th international title overall. Thus, he became the most successful Indian player on Asian Tour and the first Indian to win on Australasia Tour. Bhullar joined Arjun Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh, SSP Chawrasia and Anirban Lahiri as the only Indians to win on the European Tour as this was sanctioned by Asian, Australasia and European Tours. The victory also granted him an exemption on all three Tours till end of 2019. Other Indian in fray, Ajeetesh Sandhu scored 71 in the final round to end his campaign at the tied 43rd spot.

India has become the third Asian nation after Japan and South Korea, 37th overall, and first south Asian nation to get the Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA - 1) status from the US. This status paves way for high-technology product sales to New Delhi, particularly in civil space and defence sectors. The US made an exception for India, which is yet to become a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India so far was listed in STA-2 category along with Albania, Hong Kong, Israel, Malta, Singapore, South Africa and Taiwan.

The conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Road Transport, Highways & Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi. The day-long conference has 5 technical sessions on Circular Economy in Material Recycling", "Infrastructural Issues in Recycling Industry", "Standardization and certification in Recycling Industry", "Environmental Benefits of Material Recycling", "Financial and Taxation issues in Recycling Industry".

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announces 20% Cashback upto Rs 100 for the Digital Transactions done via BHIM, Rupay or USSD mode. The main aim of the meeting on the concerns and suggestions of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. About GST Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) levied in India on the supply of goods and service.

To fulfil the Government of India's mission to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country, Startup India launched the "Startup Academia Alliance programme". The programme is a unique mentorship opportunity between academic scholars and startups working in similar domains. The programme aims to reduce the gap between scientific research and its industrial applications.

Amit Sahai, a 43-year-old senior professional from Kolkata has topped the prestigious Intelligence Quotient (IQ) World list along with two other Americans with a score of 148. He has a background in international sales of software, IT, ITes services and high end audio and engineering products. He is also a member of the International High IQ Society.

'Maitree' is a joint military exercise between Indian Army and Royal Thai Army which is running on in Thailand. It is a platoon level exercise which comprises of infantry component. The exercise will emphasize to hone the tactical and technical skills in joint counter insurgency and counter-terrorist operations in the rural and urban scenario under UN mandate.

Google announced 'Pie' as the name for the latest version of the Android operating system, succeeding Android Oreo. The Android P or 'Pie' version has begun rolling out to Pixel phones and will be available to other devices later this year.

The world's first-ever thermal battery plant was unveiled in Andhra Pradesh by the state's Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST), the first-of-its-kind batteries will aim to boost renewable sources of energy production and reduce the dependence on non-renewable fossil fuel-based energy generation. The technology, which will help in mitigating carbon emissions, is best suited for grid balancing and stabilisations. It will also be used to store energy for telecommunication, commercial establishments, electric vehicles and highway charging stations.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has conducted the first-ever Orientation Workshop on Election Management for IAS Asstt Secretaries in New Delhi on August 3, 2018. The aim of the workshop is to familiarize the Assistant Secretaries with all facets of Electoral Management before they are required to handle crucial assignments in conducting Elections in their field postings soon. In it, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat advised the officers to be prepared for facing the newer challenges like Data harvesting; targeted messaging & profiling; money and media influencers.

Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) heaviest satellite so far - the GSAT-11 (weighing over 5.7 tonnes i.e., 5,700-kg)- which the space agency had cleared for launch in June, will take off a spaceport in French Guiana on 30 November. GSAT-11 carries 40 transponders in the Ku-band and the Ka-band frequencies, and is capable of providing high bandwidth connectivity with up to 14 GB per second data transfer speed.

Italian motorcycle-maker Benelli signed an MoU with Telangana government and Adishwar Auto Ride International (AARI) for setting a manufacturing facility. The group company would initially start assembling CKD (completely knocked down) kits of the bike for Benelli to assemble, manufacture bikes and import exclusive range of the bikes from Italy and SouthEast Asian regions.