TODAY CURRENT AFFAIRS 24 AUGUST 2016

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International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition – August 23

  • International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition,August 23 of each year, the day designated byUNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade.
    ii.That date was chosen by the adoption ofresolution 29 C/40 by the Organization’s General Conference at its 29th session. Circular CL/3494 of July 29, 1998, from the Director-General invited Ministers of Culture to promote the day.
    iii.The date is significant because, during the night of August 22 to August 23, 1791, on the island of Saint Domingue (now known as Haiti), an uprising began which set forth events which were a major factor in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
    iv. UNESCO Member States organize events every year on that date, inviting participation from young people, educators, artists and intellectuals. As part of the goals of the intercultural UNESCO project, “The Slave Route“, it is an opportunity for collective recognition and focus on the “historic causes, the methods and the consequences” of slavery.
    v. Additionally, it sets the stage for analysis and dialogue of the interactions which gave rise to the transatlantic trade inhuman beings between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.

 

On pioneering the internal security, Maharashtra Govt. has enacted Internal Security Act for thstate
  • Maharashtra government hasenacted a stringent law — Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act — to deal with the challenges of terrorism, insurgency, communalism and caste violence.
    ii. MPISA -Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act, A new internal security Act, envisaged by the state’s police department, is expected to put this in black and white, thereby bridging the gap and plugging loopholes in the existing security arrangements. It is noted that Maharashtra is the first state in the country to have its own internal security Act.
    iii. The draft covers various aspects including security of government and non-government establishments, coastal security, security audits, and target hardening.
    iv. The department has already presented the 50-page draft before the state government. Also, the Home department is keen on successful implementation of this Act and has listed it under its ‘key result area‘.

Chhattisgarh & Gujarat Assembly Ratifies GST Bill

TheChhattisgarh and Gujarat state Assembly passed the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Constitution                        Amendment Bill, becoming the fifth and sixth state to pass the bill respectively. These states ratify GST bill                     ii. Chhattisgarh and Gujarat governments ratified the Constitution One Hundred and Twenty-Second                            Amendment Bill (GST) after Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh.
             iii.The GST bill which was passed recently by the centre seen as single biggest tax reform in a long time,                           needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures before the Presidentcan report the GST council                 which meant to adopt the new tax rate

 

Air Force to build new Aerospace Museum in Delhi

  • The Indian Air Force is set to buildnew Aerospace Museum in New Delhi, focusing to showcase and to create awareness in general public about India’s rich Aerospace heritage.
    ii. The 43 acres Museum will come up close to the international airport in the capital which will have extensive indoor and outdoor displays including huge aircraft parked and hanging in flying attitude with mural depicting the golden era of the Indian Air Force.
    iii. The proposed for new Air Force Aerospace Museum will be constructed within 3-5 years, the Defence Ministry and final financial sanction on the Detailed Project Report is awaited.
    iv. The museum would have dedicated children’s area where cockpits of the aircraft meant to see and get the feel of flying controls

 

Narendra Modi joins with Afghan President to inaugurate the Stor Palace through Video Call

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modispoke to Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani via video conferencing from New Delhi to inaugurate the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul.
    ii. India and Afghanistan inaugurated the $300 million Friendship Dam in Herat. India also gifted Kabul a symbolic gift of democracy, its new parliament building in December last year.
    iii. It is noted that India has poured more than $1 billion into Afghanistan reconstruction projects and humanitarian aid, making it one of the largest donors to the war-torn country.
    iv. India had handed over to Afghanistan a new parliament building, the Salma dam and the restored Stor Palace.
    v. The palace was built during the reign of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan in 1880 and gradually developed later under Amir Habibullah Khan and Amir Amanullah Khan.
    vi. In 1919, one of the rooms in the palace was the setting for the signing of theRawalpindi Agreement, by which Afghanistan became an independent sovereign state.

 

India ranks 7th among the Wealthiest Nations in the World

  • The W20: The 20 Wealthiest Countries in the World– report by Johannesburg-based The New World Wealth,India is ranked 7th among the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of private wealth held by individuals.
  • ii. The New World Wealth is a research consultancy that tracks the global wealth sector. The value of total individual wealth in India – which includes property, cash, equities and business interests – is pegged at $3,492 billion in 2015.

 

JNPT signs pact with SBI, DBS for $400 million loan

  • India’s premier container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust has signed a pact withState Bank of India   and Singapore’s DBS for a loan of Rs 2,600 crore), to double its annual capacity.
    ii. Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Navi Mumbai, has signed an agreement with State Bank of India (SBI) and DBS for ECB to the tune of USD 400 million at a very competitive interest rate to improve the infrastructure required for doubling its existing capacity to 9.85 million TEUs annually.
    iii. The funding by JNPT is the first of its kind for major port and it opens up a one more avenue to major and government ports to raise funds by accessing international markets for their requirements.
    iv. The ministry of shipping has already granted its approval as required under the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 for the ECB.


Airtel and Vodafone unveils e-KYC solution to use Aadhar number for SIM activation

  • Bharti Airtel and Vodafone has started rolling outAadhaar based e-KYC solution following the notification by the Department of Telecom, Government of India.
    ii. Telecom operator Vodafone will roll out e-KYC facility across 4,500 stores in India that will quickly activate SIMs of its customers with an Aadhaar number.
    iii. While Airtel has rolled out the service at its stores in Delhi-NCR, Vodafone is launching the facility across India from August 24.
    iv. It is noted that Airtel had 25.4 crore subscribers while Vodafone had a base of 19.8 crore users as on May 2016.
    v. Mobile customers opting for electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) verification justneed to know their Aadhaar number, which along with their fingerprint, will be good enough for confirmation for both new pre-paid and post-paid connections.
    vi. The use of e-KYC will drastically cut down delays in activating new connections because of infrastructure challenges like power cuts, transporting volumes of paper, lack of photocopying and photography facilities. It will also strengthen the verification process as there will be no room for any manual error.

 

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar and Jitu Rai

The Sports Ministry announced that Rio Olympics medalists shuttler P.V. Sindhu and wrestler Sakshi                  Malik will receive the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award along with gymnast Dipa                           Karmakar and shooter Jitu Rai on August 29th 2016(Sports Day)

 

Two Indo American Women qualified for the prestigious White House Fellow Program

  • Two IndianAmerican women – AstrophysicistAnjali Tripathi from Californiaand physician Tina R Shah from Chicago  have been selected for the prestigious White House Fellow programme.
    ii. This program offers first hand experience of working at the highest levels of the US federal government and they are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17

 

Renowned Scientist P D Gupta appointed as new NV of Homi Bhabha National Institute

  • Eminent scientistP D Gupta was appointed as Vice Chancellor of Mumbai-based Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI).He has been appointed to the post for five years by Department of Personnel and Training.
    ii. The Homi Bhabha National Institute is an Indian deemed university, which unifies several constituent institutions.
    iii. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai is one of the institutions of excellence as per section 4(b) of (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 and it has been placed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) task force in Category ‘A’.


China’s unmanned submersible sets new national record

  • China’s unmanned submersible(underwater drones-vehicles which can operate underwater without a human) has dived to a depth of10,767 metresat the world’s deepest ocean point.
    ii. This dive created a new record for China that also helps the country to enable it to explore ocean beds for minerals and other natural resources.
    iii. The submersible named Haidou-1 set the record at the Mariana Trench in the West Pacific, the deepest area in the world, during a scientific expedition carried out between June 22 and August 12.
    iv.This Development of China also marks the third nation after Japan and the US to boast with submersibles capable of reaching depths in excess of 10,000 metres.

 

2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics – Overview

The 31st Rio Olympics held with 306 events in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from August 5th to August 21st 2016.                   These were the first Summer Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Thomas.

 

Singapore’s Indian-origin former President Sellapan Ramanathan passes away

  • Singapore’s Indian-origin president Sellapan Ramanathanat a hospital after suffering a stroke passed away on 22 August 2016. He was 92 Year old.
    ii. Nathan served as President of the nation from 1999 to 2011, He was close ally of Singapore’s Political king Lee Kuan Yew.

 

The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History authored by Sanjeev Sanyal

  • A book titled The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History has hit the news as it is releasedon 10 August 2016. It is a first-of-its-kind attempt by the author.
    ii. The Book authored by Sanjeev Sanyal has recounted the history of The Indian Ocean, which stretches across East Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to South East Asia and Australia
    iii. The author in his inimitable style explores remote archaeological sites, ancient inscriptions, maritime trading networks and half-forgotten oral histories, to make exciting revelations.
    iv. The Kolkata hailed Sanjeev Sanyal is as one of Asia’s leading economists, bestselling writer, environmentalist and urban theorist.