Current Affairs - August 12, 2019 Current Affairs

Giving a major boost to the Kerala Space Park project, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State government to support its efforts in promoting Space Technology vertical in the State.

The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday cut repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) in its third bi-monthly policy review of the financial year. It was fourth rate cut by the central bank in a row. The short-term lending rate now stands at 5.40 per cent.

Lithuania has an estimated population of 2.8 million people as of 2019, and its capital and largest city is Vilnius. Other major cities are Kaunas and Klaipeda. Lithuanians are Baltic people.

The world's first-ever thermal battery plant was inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh in Amaravati.

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Bharat Ratna to former President Pranab Mukherjee and posthumously to Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika and Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh.

Abhinandan Varthaman, Indian Air Force pilot, is likely to be awarded a Vir Chakra for his gallantry. Five Mirage-2000 fighter jet pilots who dropped bombs on the terror facility of the Jaish-e-Mohammed will also get the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry.

The International Youth Day was observed across the world on August 12 to recognize the efforts put in by the youth for the betterment of the society. The 2019 theme of the day is "Transforming education". It aims to promote the ways to engage the youth and make them more actively involved in their communities through positive contributions.

Uri Director Aditya Dhar won the Best Director award and Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal shared the Best Actor national film award.

Valentina Elangbam, a 9-year-old girl from Manipur, has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the Chief Minister's Green Manipur Mission.

"Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly" is the autobiography of bollywood actor Anupam kher.

World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th of August to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels and highlight the various efforts made by Government in the biofuel sector.

The Department of Revenue of the Ministry of Finance conducted India's first national Time Release Study (TRS) from August 1-7, 2019. It will be conducted on an annual basis, during the same period every year hereafter. It is lead by the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC). It is an internationally recognized tool advocated by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of international trade flows. The WCO TRS is specifically referenced in Article 7.6 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) as a tool for Members to measure and publish the average release time of goods. To identify and address bottlenecks in the trade flow process and take the corresponding policy and operational measures required to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures.

The City of Lakes, Udaipur (Rajasthan) will host the 3rd edition of India's largest education brainstorming event called "ScooNews Global Educators Fest (SGEF)" on 2019 theme 'Education for Sustainability: Moving on from conformity to creativity' will be held on August 9 &10,2019. The fest will attract over 500 educators to discuss the way for establishing India as the next global education powerhouse. Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur will be the patron of 2019 edition, which will provide an excellent platform for individuals and organizations contributing to the cause of education, schools, start-ups to debate on innovation with industry leaders on Industry-Academia partnerships.

The 66th national film awards were announced on August 9, 2019. Hellaro won the Best Film in 66th National film awards 2019. Uri Director Aditya Dhar won the national film award for Best Director and Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal shared the Best Actor award for their performances in Andhadhun and Uri respectively. Andhadhun won the national film award for Best Hindi Film, Padman won the Best Film on Social Issues award and Badhaai Ho won the Best Popular Film award.

Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), the broadcast rights holder of the UEFA events in the Indian sub-continent, will organize special screenings for the upcoming UEFA Super Cup.

Surat Split. Surat Split (1907) refers to the splitting of the Indian National Congress into 'Moderates' and 'Extremists' after a violent clash at the session. The extremists were led by Lokmanya Tilak, Lajpat Rai, V. O.

Reliance Industries once again disrupted the industry with its revolutionary launch of Jio GigaFiber. Mukesh Ambani announced that Jio GigaFiber will be launched on September 5, 2019.

The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for river valley and hydroelectric projects of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approved Rs 4,900 crore project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi rivers of Bihar. With the approval, it became the second major river interlinking project in India after the Ken-Betwa project in Madhya Pradesh.

The Swaraj Party was established as the Congress-Khilafat Swaraj Party. It was a political party formed in India in January 1923 after the Gaya annual conference in December 1922 of the National Congress, that sought greater self-government and political freedom for the Indian people from the British Raj.

Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Kiev is one of the biggest cities in Europe. It is a bustling capital of independent Ukraine.

Production of Biodiesel from Used Cooking Oil (UCO) is the theme of the 2019 edition of World Biofuel Day (WBD).

The Shanghai port has topped UNCTAD's 2019 ranking of the world's best-connected ports, released on 7 August. The Chinese port garnered a connectivity score of 134 points, followed by the ports of Singapore (124.63 points), Pusan (114.45 points) in Korea and Ningbo (114.35 points), also in China.

Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill 2019 by a voice vote which seeks to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court (SC) from the present 30 to 33, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI). It amends the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.So including Chief Justice of India (CJI) there will be 34 Judges.

Nongthombam Biren Singh (born 1 January 1961) is an Indian politician and former footballer and journalist. He is the current Chief Minister of Manipur.

Who Moved My Interest Rate?: Leading the Reserve Bank of India Through Five Turbulent Years, the former RBI Governor makes this very point: that to experience sustained high growth, a low-inflation scenario is a pre-requisite.