Current Affairs - August 31, 2018 Current Affairs

In order to replace Industrial gases like Dissolved Acetylene, LPG, BMCG and Furnace Oil / High Speed Diesel (HSD) oil with environment friendly Natural Gas, Indian Railways has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with M/s GAIL (India) Limited, to provide infrastructure facilities for supply of Natural Gas to Indian Railways Workshops, Production Units and Depots at Rail Bhavan. This MoU is a broad-based, in principle agreement, between GAIL and Indian Railways for the creation of infrastructure and supply of CNG/LNG/PNG for both industrial and domestic purposes.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared at an outlay of Rs.1,623 crore to get more disaster warning systems and desalination plants along Indian coasts. The system will be functioning under the programme called O-SMART (Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science). O-SMART is monitored by the Union earth sciences ministry. O-SMART provides economic benefits to a number of user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore industry, coastal States, defence, shipping, ports, etc.

In order to meet the challenge of providing sustainable livelihoods for a rapidly growing population and to motivate and attract youth in agriculture, Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), inaugurated a two-day conference at NASC, New Delhi on Motivating and Attracting Youth in Agriculture (MAYA). The two-day conference provides an opportunity to all stakeholders to interact and discuss various options and avenues for not only attracting youth to agriculture but even motivating them towards entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied fields.

Senior diplomat Ruchi Ghanashyam has been appointed as India's next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. Ghanashyam is a 1982 batch Indian Foreign Service officer and is currently Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs. She succeeds Y K Sinha who had assumed the charge in December 2016.

The 14th edition of multilateral regional maritime engagement exercise "KAKADU 2018" has started in Darwin, Australia from August 29 and will continue till September 15. It is hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Indian Naval Ship 'INS Sahyadri', commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, is participating in this edition of exercise. Indian Navy's participation is a significant milestone in towards strengthening mutual confidence among regional navies and is expected to further bolster India's contribution in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The exercise KAKADU is held biennially in Darwin and the Northern Australian Exercise Areas (NAXA).

The Indian table tennis mixed doubles pair, A.Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra won the first-ever historic bronze in the 18th Asian Games 2018. In the semifinals, Kamal and Batra lost to China's Yingsha Sun and Wang Sun and scored 9-11, 5-11, 13-11, 4-11, 8-11. In their pre-quarterfinal, they won against the South Korean pairing of Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee by securing 11-7, 7-11, 11-8, 10-12, 11-4.

India's Jinson Johnson claimed the gold medal in the men's 1500m event in the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Manjit Singh, 800m champion, however, finished fourth. Johnson clocked 3:44.72 sec to claim the top honours ahead of Iran's Amir Moradi, who turned in a timing of 3:45.62sec, his season's best effort. Johnson earlier won a silver in the 800m event.

In Argentina, the G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting 2018 was held in Salta with theme 'Building consensus for fair and sustainable development' on August 23-24. It took place as part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders' Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina by end of 2018. India was represented by Union Minister for Electronics and IT & Law and Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The G20 Ministerial meeting allowed India to showcase the inclusive use of digital technology by the Government to empower the people. It also allowed India to articulate it's views on global issues relating to cyber security, data protection and innovation for growth. The key issues of the meeting were future of work, infrastructure for development, and sustainable food future. It concluded with the adaptation of declaration that reflects G20's commitment towards promoting policies and actions that catalyze digital transformations.

Union Minister of Commerce& Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, is leading the Indian delegation for the 6th RCEP Trade Minister's Meeting which has begun in Singapore. The Minister will participate in the meeting consisting of 10 ASEAN countries and six ASEAN FTA partners namely, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The Indian women's hockey team defeated three-time champions China 1-0 in the semi-final to reach their first final at Asian Games since 1998. Indian defender Gurjit Kaur scored the only goal of the match. India will face Japan in the final match on Friday, August 31.

India won gold in the women's 4X400 metre event. The Indian quartet of Hima Das, Raju Poovamma, Saritaben Laxmanbhai Gayakwad and Vismaya Koroth registered a time of 3 minutes and 28.72 seconds to finish at the top of the podium. India clinched the silver medal in the men's 4X400 metre event.

Maharashtra's Mahabaleshwar has become the wettest place in India this year, leaving behind Meghalaya's Cherrapunji. India Meteorological Department (IMD) data revealed that the hill station in the state of Maharashtra received a staggering 5661.6 mm rainfall this season till now, much more than Cherrapunji's 4735 mm. Cherrapunji holds two Guinness world records for receiving the maximum amount of rainfall in a single year, 26,471mm (1,042.2 in) of rainfall between August 1860 and July 1861 and the maximum amount of rainfall in a single month (9,300mm) in July 1861.

The State Bank of India (SBI), has changed the names and IFSC codes of 1,300 of its branches. The idea behind the move is to rationalize SBI's merger with six associate banks and the Bhartiya Mahila Bank (BMB) which came into effect from April 1, 2017. SBI has updated the list of branches with old and new names and IFSC codes on its website.

Sebastian Vettel won the Belgian Grand Prix 2018 at Spa-Francorchamps Track in Belgium. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel beat Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton who tops the driver standings by a 17-point lead, and secured the first position. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton finished in the second position. He was followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the third position.

Odisha government signed a MoU with an America-based agency 'Malaria No More' and Indian agency 'Malaria Elimination Trust' to make the state malaria-free. sThe two agencies will prepare the roadmap for public awareness and will work with the various organization in the state. Earlier this year 1.13 crore mosquito nets medicated with larvicides were distributed in the state.

The first U.S.-India 2+2 dialogue will be happening in New Delhi on September 6. The countries will discuss regional and strategic issues of Asia and will also have some real outcomes. Randall G. Schriver, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs of the United States said that China and how to respond to it will be front and centre of the dialogue. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis will be travelling to India for the dialogue.