Current Affairs for August 2017 : Useful for UPSC, GPSC, CLAT, CAT, IIFT, XAT, SNAP, CMAT & other entrance exams

Current Affaires

August-2017

1)  Pakistan has been opposing the construction of the 850-MW Ratle and 330-MW Kishanganga hydroelectric power plants being built by India on tributaries of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers in Jammu and Kashmir. A secretary-level talk of India and Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was held during July 2017.

The IWT was signed in 1960 after nine years of negotiations between India and Pakistan with the help of the World Bank, which is also a signatory to this agreement.

2) Two-time Paralympic gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia created sporting history as his name was recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sports honour

Jhajharia won his medals in the javelin throw event.

3) Karnataka-based plant of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) inaugurated the fourth assembly line at the company’s Narsapura plant near Bengaluru (Karnataka) and thus increasing annual production by 6 lakh units.With this expansion, the Narsapura plant is now Honda’s biggest two-wheeler plant worldwide, with 24 lakh annual production capacity.

Honda’s total capacity from four plants in India is now 64 lakh units in FY2017-18, up from 58 lakh units. Apart from Narsapura plant, HMSI has plants also in Manesar (Haryana), Tapukara (Rajasthan) and Vithalpur (Gujarat).

4) Former Supreme Court Judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna is heading a committee of experts that will assist in a comprehensive law on data protection. Will primarily identify “key data protection issues” and suggest a draft data protection bill.

5) The country’s largest bank-State Bank of India (SBI) on 31 July 2017 reduced interest rate on savings deposits up to Rs. 1 crore by 50 basis points (bps) to 3.5% per annum with immediate effect.

6) From July 2017 Indian Railways started the process of doing away with providing blankets in AC compartments after facing severe criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

The Railways has begun thermal control and regulating the temperature in the third AC compartment of Jammu Mail to around 24-26 degree Celsius from the current 19 degrees so that passengers are comfortable and do not need blankets.

7) The Pakistan Parliament on 1 August 2017 elected Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) nominee Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the interim Prime Minister. The Supreme Court had disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office till life in the wake of corruption charges against him and his family members.

8)  World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland

Spanning an awesome 1621 feet and rising as high as 279 feet, the newly opened Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge in Switzerland has broken the record for the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge, according to Zermatt Tourism.

9) The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was recently declared as the world’s first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations.

10) Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of Niti Aayog who was considered to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms, announced his resignation.

The 62-year-old Panagariya is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University.

11) Central Government launched the third cleanliness survey ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’ to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns of the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connect and visible impact on ground.

12) Mukesh Ambani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man as investors rallied behind his efforts to arm India’s poor with cheap data-loaded phones. The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He passed Li Ka-shing, whose empire spans telecommunications, retail, and ports. Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer to rope in 117.3 million users and become India’s fourth-largest operator, according to government data.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) was established in 1966 in Maharashtra. The owner of Alibaba, Jack Ma is the Richest Person in Asia.

13) Summer Olympics: Los Angeles to host 2028 Games and Paris gets 2024

14) Airtel Payments Bank, India’s first payments bank has announced a strategic partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to give further boost to digital payments in the country and to add to customer convenience.

All 14,000 HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank. All Airtel Payments Bank customers would be able to access a range of convenient banking services at these fuel stations like opening new accounts, make cash deposits and withdrawals facility, and transfer money. First Airtel Payment Bank was opened in Rajasthan.

15) China formally opened its first overseas military base with a flag raising ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the same day as the People's Liberation Army marks its 90th birthday.

Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worry in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

16) Cabinet scraps no-detention policy for kids of Class 5 and 8

17) Regulator SEBI has set up a committee on 'fair market conduct' which will suggest measures for improving surveillance of the markets and strengthen rules for trades.

ii. The panel, under the chairmanship of former law secretary T K Viswanathan, would suggest measures for improvement in PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) norms, PFTUP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations and mainly related to 'trading plans' and handling of 'unpublished price sensitive information' during takeovers.

Ajay Tyagi is the present chairman of SEBI.Headquarter of SEBI is in Mumbai.SEBI full form is Securities and Exchange Board of India.

18) World Bank allowed India to construct hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers with certain restrictions under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

Pakistan opposes the construction of the Kishanganga (330 megawatts) and Ratle (850 megawatts) hydroelectric power plants being built by India in Jammu and Kashmir.

Headquarter of World Bank is in Washington, D.C., United States.

19) SEBI has approved the appointment of Dhirendra Swarup as the chairman of the board of directors of the BSE.

20) The US Senate has confirmed Christopher Wray to lead the FBI, replacing James Comey, who was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump.

21) The Union Government launched a portal, e-RaKAM, to provide a platform to sell agricultural produce.

The platform is a digital initiative that aims to bring together the farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers on a single platform to ease the selling and buying process of agricultural products.

22) Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 22,000 mark, the first time it crossed this mark.

23) Sarvapelli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President of the country, was also the first to complete two Vice-Presidential terms. His two terms were from 13 May 1952 to 12 May 1962. He later became the second President of India.

Hamid Ansari, the 12th Vice-President, has now become the second to complete two Vice-Presidential terms. His first term started from 11 August 2007 while his second term started in August 2012.

24) The Union home ministry issued an order on the merger of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD). The merger has been done so as to improve administrative efficiency and optimal utilisation of resources.

25) Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his ‘Mann ki Baat’ radio programme, had suggested “Sankalp se Siddhi” (which means ‘the attainment through resolve’) as the theme for the momentous occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement.

26) India’s Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin announced that India has deposited its Instrument of Acceptance of the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol under the UN Convention on Climate Change. India thus became the 80th country to accept the amendment relating to the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, the international emissions reduction treaty.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. It was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and entered into force in February 2005.The first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol was from 2008-2012. The Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Qatar in December 2012.

27) NITI Aayog has selected Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Karnataka to improve healthcare delivery and key outcomes in these States. In Education, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand have been selected for support to better learning outcomes. The six States have been chosen after a rigorous competitive process based on comprehensive metrics to determine potential for impact and likelihood of success.

28) Gujarat has become the first state in India to come up with the policy of coal utilization between power units based on fuel-efficiency.

29) M. Venkaiah Naidu comfortably won the Vice-Presidential election on 5 August 2017 defeating united opposition’s candidate Gopal Krishna Gandhi. With this win Naidu became the second BJP member to become Vice-President after Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Naidu is the first Vice-President of the country to be born after Independence (born in 1949).

30) Senior economist Rajiv Kumar, a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), was nominated as the new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He will replace Arvind Panagariya

31) Darshan LalBecame the first Hindu to become a minister in the Cabinet of Pakistan in 20 years after

32) Senior bureaucrat S Aparna, a 1988-batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, was appointed Executive Director in the World Bank for three years on 6 August 2017. She is presently Principal Secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

As the Executive Director, she will represent the constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka in the World Bank. She is replacing S.C. Garg, who has recently taken over as Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, in the Union Finance Ministry.

33) Jamaican legend Usain Bolt was unable to end his career on a high as he was beaten in the men’s 100 final at the IAAF World Championships in London. By Justin Gatlin (US)

Veteran American athlete Justin Gatlin came all guns blazing in the men’s 100m finals at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London on 5 August 2017. He won the race in 9.90 seconds. Another American Christian Coleman was second in 9.94 seconds.

Bolt finished the race at third place with timing of 9.95 seconds. Justin Gatlin first became the men’s 100m world champion in 2005. Now 35, he was handed two drug bans in his career.

34) Bharat-22 is the name of the new exchange-traded fund (ETF) established by the Union Government that comprises of 22 blue-chip public sector units, state-owned banks and some holdings in Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India-SUUTI. It has a diversified portfolio of six sectors, including energy, FMCG, finance, basic material and industrial and utilities.

Shares of nine PSUs, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (5.3% stake), Coal India Ltd (3.3%), and Indian Oil (4.4%), and four state-owned banks including State Bank of India (8.6%), will comprise the ETF. Besides, SUUTI holdings in Axis Bank (7.7%), ITC (15.2%) and Larsen and Toubro (17.1%) will also be part of the fund.

Other entities in Bharat-22 are BPCL, Nalco, Bharat Electronics Limited, Engineers India, NBCC, NTPC, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, NHPC, SJVNL, GAIL, PGCIL, REC, PFC and NLC India.

The first CPSE ETF consisted of scripts of 10 PSUs — ONGC, Coal India, IOC, GAIL (India), Oil India, PFC, Bharat Electronics, REC, Engineers India and Container Corporation of India.

35) The Union Government made Aadhaar mandatory for registration of deaths so as to provide an effective method to prevent identity fraud. Mandatory Aadhaar registration for death will come into effect from 1 October 2017

It would be applicable for the residents of all states except Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya, for which a date would be notified separately.

36) Qatar Government approved a legislation with the potential to ultimately transform Gulf societies by granting permanent residency to some of the foreigners who dominate its population.

Under the new law, permanent residents will be treated more like Qatari nationals and will benefit from elements of the state’s generous welfare system, including education and health-care services.

They will also be given priority, after locals, for military and civilian public jobs and would be allowed to own property and run certain commercial activities without a local partner. Citizenship, however, will remain off-limits to foreigners.

37) Government of India’s initiative to develop green airports, two airports in Andhra Pradesh- Tirupati and Vijayawada are going to go completely green. AAI has commenced installation of 1MWp solar power plant at Tirupati and Vijayawada Airports.

It has also completed installation of solar power plants at 29 airports/locations with a total capacity of 12.84 MWp.

38) Harry Potter creator JK Rowling has been named the world's most highly-paid author with earnings of £72.2m ($95m).

39)India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility, a joint venture between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., was inaugurated near Hyderabad.

The Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS) plant will make anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Spike.  Besides supplying to the Indian Army, the plan is to export to South East Asian countries.

40) Maharashtra Government has launched two online portals MahaDBT and MahaVASTU to streamline the process of direct benefit transfer (DBT) and to bring in more transparency in construction sector.

MahaDBT portal: It is an Aadhaar-authenticated electronic mechanism that will enable direct transfer of benefits for over 40 schemes currently implemented.

MahaVASTU portal: It is an online building permission management system, through which construction approvals will be sanctioned with full transparency.

41) The Centre recently approved the Adityanath-led UP government’s proposal to rename the Mughalsarai railway station after the Jan Sangh leader as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) station.

The Mughalsarai station was established near Varanasi in 1862 when the East India Company linked Howrah to Delhi by rail.

42) Brazil's Neymar has become the world's most expensive footballer, with Paris Saint-Germain signing him for a five-year deal from Barcelona for a fee of Rs1,680 crore (€222 million).

The 25-year-old will earn Rs6.5 crore-a-week before tax. His transfer fee is more than double that of Paul Pogba's record move to Manchester United.

43) HeliTaxi Services from Bengaluru Airport to Electronic City Launched

44) 7th August: National Handloom Day being celebrated

It was on this day that the Swadeshi Movement was launched in 1905. The movement involved the revival of domestic products and production processes.

45) A High-Level Committee set up to review the Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism in India has submitted its report to the Union Law Ministry. It was headed by Justice (retired) BN Srikrishna.

46) The 2030 Water Resources Group (2030WRG) will help the Maharashtra Government raise $270 million for the Green Climate Fund, which will be invested in integrated watershed programmes such as Jalyukt Shivar Yojana.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a new fund under the UN and is guided by the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The 2030WRG is hosted by the International Finance Corporation and is a public-private-civil society collaboration for waterresources reform in developing economies. Its ultimate aim is to close the gap between water demand and supply by the year 2030.

47) The Centre has declared entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for one more month, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB, and others.

48) India’s leading FMCG Britannia Industries would set up its largest plant in Maharashtra in a food park at Ranjangaon.

There will be an investment of Rs 1000 crore at the Ranjangaon food park over a period of four to five years with an employment potential for 3000 people.

49) The Union government appointed Justice Dipak Misra as the next Chief Justice of India. He will be replacing incumbent Justice J S Khehar, who is set to retire on August 27, 2017.

50) National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four year, Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years, Dronacharya Award for coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious International sports events, Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development.

51) Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew by 37 per cent to USD 10.4 billion during the first quarter of the current fiscal. According to the figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India had received USD 7.59 billion FDI during April-June 2016-17.

The main sectors which attracted the highest foreign inflows include services, telecom, trading, computer hardware and software and automobile. The bulk of the FDI came in from Singapore, Mauritius, the Netherlands and Japan.

52) ONGC board approves HPCL takeover of 51.11% stake

HPCL is a Government of India Enterprise with a Navratna Status, and a Forbes 2000 and Global Fortune 500 company.

53) Home Minister Rajnath Singh launches digital police portal

CCTNS stands for Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project or the crime and criminal tracking network system.

54) The government of India created the RIDF in NABARD in 1995-96, with an initial corpus of Rs.2,000 crore.

NABARD came into existence on 12 July 1982 by transferring the agricultural credit functions of RBI and refinance functions of the then Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation (ARDC).

Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala is the Chairman of NABARD since 18th December 2013.

55) World's Highest-Paid Actors 2017: Forbes List

1. Mark Wahlberg ($68 million)

2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ($65 million)

3. Vin Diesel ($54.5 million)

4. Adam Sandler ($50.5 million)

5. Jackie Chan ($49 million)

6. Robert Downey, Jr. ($48 million)

7. Tom Cruise ($43 million)

8. Shah Rukh Khan ($38 million)

9. Salman Khan ($37 million)

10. Akshay Kumar ($35.5 million).

56) Ashok Mittal, Chairman of the Railway Board submitted his resignation to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. His resignation comes in the wake of a number of a high-profile accidents and derailments on the Indian Railways.

Ashwani Lohani, the CMD of Air India has been named as the new Chairman of Railway Board, following the resignation on A.K. Mittal. Ashwani Lohani, an IRSME cadre has previously served as DRM, Delhi Division.

57) National Deworming Day (NDD) is observed on 10 August in 33 States and Union Territories to tackle worm Infections, targeting more than 11 Crore children.

58) RBI to Pay Rs 30,659 cr Dividend to Government

Acc. to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), it will pay Rs 30,659 crore dividend to the government for the year ended June 30, less than half of what it paid in 2016. The central bank had in the previous year paid Rs 65,876 crore dividend to the government.

RBI had in 2014-15 paid Rs 65,896 crore dividend and Rs 52,679 crore in the year prior to that.

RBI Headquarters in Mumbai. The 24th Governor of RBI is Dr. Urjit Patel.

59) The International Youth Day was observed across the world on 12 August with the theme 'Youth Building Peace'.

The International Youth Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 17 December 1999 through its resolution 54/120.

60) Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY) Launched

The Government of India has decided to launch a new sub-scheme named “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)” as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

The Self Help Groups under DAY-NRLM will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities. AGEY will be initially implemented in 250 Blocks in the country on Pilot basis.

61) The 15th Ministerial Meeting of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) concluded at Kathmandu, Nepal.

They agreed to emphasize the need for greater cooperation in trade and investment in order to deepen regional integration in the Bay of Bengal region.

62) Legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh has been appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Physical Activity in South-East Asia Region.

63) Poet and writer Vijay Nambisan, who became the first All India Poetry Champion in 1988, passed away. He co-authored Gemini, a poetry book, with Jeet Thayil and Dom Moraes.

64) Ruth Pfau, a German nun who devoted her life to combatting leprosy in Pakistan, has died at the age of 87. Pfau, who was known locally as Pakistan's Mother Teresa, came to the southern port city of Karachi in 1960.

She was the founder of Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre in Karachi. She was honored by the state with the country's two highest civilian awards, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz and the Hilal-e-Pakistan.

65) 71st eve of Independence Day would be celebrated by the people all over the India on 15th of August 2017.

66) Around 3.5 lakh college students in Gujarat will get tablets at a subsidised rate of Rs 1,000 each under a state government scheme launched by chief minister Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad. Under this scheme, the first year college students in the state will get 7-inch ‘NAMO E-Tab’ tablets, which have a market value of Rs 8,000 each, by just paying Rs 1,000.

67) Jharkhand Assembly has passed Religious Freedom Bill 2017. It aims to stop the forced conversions in the state. The bill will now be sent to the governor, following whose approval it would go to the President for assent. The Bill has provision for the imprisonment of three years and fine of 50,000 rupees or both, and four-year imprisonment and 1 lakh rupee fine, or both, if the person converted is a minor, woman or a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe.

68) Lalit Modi has resigned as president of the Nagaur District Association, marking an end to his presence in the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), which was banned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for allowing him in its fold.

69) TAPI Gas Pipeline in Brief- The Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline, also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is a natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).  On 24 April 2008, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan signed a framework agreement to buy natural gas from Turkmenistan. The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed on 11 December 2010 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

70) The metro policy will talk about standardizing norms and developing a procurement mechanism for implementation of the projects. At present, metro projects with a total length of more than 350km are operational in eight cities- Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Gurugram. Metro projects are under way in Hyderabad, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Lucknow.

71) Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi launched the ‘Indira Canteen’ scheme, dedicated to former Prime minister Indira Gandhi- a state government initiative to provide food at low cost to cater to the urban poor.

72) According to global leader in broadband testing Ookla, Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world’s fastest mobile networks.

In only 13 months, Norway has jumped from 11th to first place on the list of world best providers of fast Internet connection.

73) Australia to Get World's Biggest Single Tower Solar Thermal Plant

74) Melbourne Named 'World's Most Liveable City'

75) The largest volcanic region on Earth, with nearly 100 volcanoes, has been discovered two km below the surface of the vast ice sheet in West Antarctica. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Britain found a staggering 91 previously unknown volcanoes, adding to the 47 others.

These newly discovered volcanoes range in height from 100 to 3,850 meters, with the highest almost as tall as Switzerland's 3,970 meters Eiger mountain.

76) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) for the strategic disinvestment. The approval will help in speedy completion of strategic disinvestment transactions.

77) To ensure hassle-free benefits to farmers under Interest Subvention Scheme, the Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for availing short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh in 2017-18.

78) The 16th edition of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships 2017 was held in London. The championships were held in the London Stadium in Stratford. 'Hero-the Hedgehog' was a Mascot of 2017 IAAF World Championships and 'Whizbee-the Bee' was the Mascot for the Para Athletics. The USA topped the tally of Medals with 30 medals. Top 5 Countries in the list of Medals were-

US (30 Medals) Kenya (11 Medals) Great Britain (6 Medals) Poland (8 Medals) China (7 Medals)

79) A Supreme Court-ordered auction process for embattled Sahara Group’s luxurious Aamby Valley resort town began on 14 August 2017. The official liquidator invited bids at a reserve price of Rs. 37,392 crore. It is worth mentioning that Sahara has pegged the project’s market valuation at over Rs. 1 trillion (Rs. 1 lakh crore).

80) Infusion Nurses Society (INS), a global authority in infusion therapy launched India's first online course on Infusion Therapy for nurses. Under this, it aims to train over 3,000 nurses in the vital medical procedure.

81) Indian Coast Guard ship 'Shaurya', the fifth in the series of six 105-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), was commissioned in Goa

82) The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Somalia free of polio. The UN health agency announced that it had not recorded any case of polio disease in Somalia in the last three years. The declaration by WHO keeps Somalia outside the last group of countries which still record cases of polio in the world. Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan are the remaining countries where polio is still being recorded.

83) Environment Minister Launches ‘Gaj Yatra’ to Mark World Elephant Day 2017

84) Gabriel Chundan won the 65th edition of the prestigious Nehru Trophy (Boat Race) held at the Punnamda Lake in Kerala.

While 'Mahadevikkad Kattilthekkethil' came second, 'Payippad' and 'Karichal', last year's winner, secured the third and fourth spots respectively.

The Nehru trophy was instituted to commemorate the visit of the first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the area and his boat ride in the lake.

85) Shayara Bano of Kashipur (Uttarakhand) is the first petitioner in the case that led the Supreme Court to pass a verdict declaring the practice of triple talaq unconstitutional. She had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the apex court in 2016, seeking a ban on the practice of instantaneous divorce after her 14-year-marriage ended abruptly in October 2015.

Bano had been joined by at least five other women from different parts of the country, seeking a similar ban. But since hers was the first petition, this case is known as Shayara Bano versus the Union of India.

86) The Union Cabinet on 23 August 2017 increased the creamy layer ceiling for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category to Rs. 8 lakh per annum from the existing Rs. 6 lakh for central government jobs.

87) Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company Limited (BWEL) is a central public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways. The CCEA approved its closure due to huge accumulated losses.

The decision to wind-up BWEL was taken in view of continuing poor physical and financial performance of the company for more than 10 years. It was established in 1978 to produce rail wagons.

88) Google on 21 August 2017 announced that upcoming version of its Android mobile operating system will be called ‘Oreo’, named after the famous cookie brand of Mondelez International. The company thus continued the tradition of naming software versions after a dessert.

Android Cupcake (version 1.5) that was initially released on 27 April 2009. Cupcake was the third Android versions after Android 1.0 and 1.1. Later versions of Android are Donut (2009), Eclair (2009), Froyo (2010), Gingerbread (2010), Honeycomb (2011), Ice Cream Sandwich (2011), Jelly Bean (2012), Kit Kat (2013), Lollipop (2014), Marshmallow (2015) and Nougat (2016).

Google is also following alphabetical order in naming the new versions of Android.

89) Rosneft is the name of the consortium controlled by the Russian Government that has acquired the assets of Ruias-run Essar Oil under the mammoth $12.9 billion deal. This deal is the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) into India till date and also the largest outbound investment from Russia.

The deal includes sale of its 20 million tonne refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat, a captive power plant and captive port as well as over 3,500 petrol pumps. It was completed more than 10 months after it was announced on 15 October 2016 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Goa.

Debt-ridden Essar will pay back as much as Rs. 70,000 crore from the deal to lenders, including SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDBI Bank and StanChart.

90) Vishal Sikka, was the first non-founder Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Infosys, resigned from company. Now U.B. Pravin Rao appointed as the interim CEO.

91) The Defence Ministry cleared the acquisition of six Apache AH-64E attack helicopters, armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles from USA

92) Madhyamik and Uchchtar Shiksha Kosh (MUSK) is the name of the newly formed non-lapsable corpus fund for secondary and higher education. All proceeds of “Secondary and Higher Education Cess” will be credited into this fund under Section 136 of Finance Act, 2007.

93) According to the preliminary results from the first-ever synchronized all-India Elephant Population Estimation the total elephant population in India is 27,312. According to this estimate, Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).

The numbers are lower than from the last census estimate in 2012 (between 29,391 and 30,711). But experts say parallels cannot be drawn, because in the 2012 count, various states used different methodologies and the effort was not synchronized across the country; errors and duplication could have led to overestimation.

94) The government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity in a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal. India is the world's second-biggest gold consumer after China.

95) National Highways Authority of India launched two mobile Apps – MyFASTag and FASTag Partner in New Delhi, to facilitate the availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll Collection.

96) Tata Power has become the first power utility to introduce a QR code based bill payments system in India. The QR code linked to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be printed on the electricity bills.

The customers can scan the QR code with BHIM app or any other UPI linked bank app and pay their bills without any hassle.

97) Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai secured a place at Oxford University after getting her A-level results.

98) Dr. Mamta Suri took charge as Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) in New Delhi.

99) MIT World Peace University established at Pune

100) The Sadbhavana Diwas or Harmony Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary (August 20) of Rajiv Gandhi.

101) PM Narendra Modi addressed a gathering of young entrepreneurs and CEOs startups at an event organised by NITI Aayog. The event called 'Champions of Change' was organised by India’s policy think-tank, was aimed at bringing together young businessmen at a place and share ideas.

102) Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has been selected for the prestigious Agriculture Leadership Award-2017.

103) Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma is back on top as Asia’s richest man following gains in the company's earnings and share price. Jack Ma is worth $37.4 billion, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires list.

Chinese Internet billionaire- Tencent Chairman Ma Huateng, the latter has slipped to No. 2, with a fortune worth $36.7 billion. Jack Ma currently ranks as the world’s No. 18 richest man and is No. 1 in Asia.

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese e-commerce company. Alibaba Headquarters in Hangzhou, China.

104) The Supreme Court of India pronounced that individual privacy is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. A nine-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar ruled that the right to privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty, thus coming under Article 21, and comes under the various fundamental freedoms in PART III of the Indian Constitution.

105) The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the renaming of the new Central Sector Scheme- SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) as "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)" for the period of 2016-20 coterminous with the 14th Finance Commission cycle.

106) Software giant Microsoft has announced its 'Project Brainwave' deep learning acceleration platform for real-time artificial intelligence (AI). With the help of ultra-low latency, the system processes requests as fast as it receives them.

107) Andhra Pradesh’s Eastern Power Distribution Company Ltd (EPDCL) and the Southern Power Distribution Corporation of AP Ltd. (SPDCL) have become the first state-owned distribution companies in India to accept payments through Bharat QR.

108) Rajiv Bansal, additional secretary in the petroleum ministry, has been named the interim CMD of Air India.

109) Nandan Nilekani has been appointed as the New Chairman of the software giant Infosys. Nilekani has replaced R Seshasayee, who resigned as chairman of the board. Vishal Sikka stepped down as CEO of the company recently.

Nilekani served as Infosys’s CEO from 2002 to 2007. Infosys is country's no. 2 software services exporter.

110) Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award for the 2016/17 season. He received the award at the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco.

Ronaldo picked up the trophy for the second consecutive season and third time in total. Ronaldo received 482 points in the poll, with Messi (141 votes) and Buffon (109 votes) finishing second and third respectively.

    UEFA Women's Player of the Year: Lieke Martens.

    Best Goalkeeper of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season: Gianluigi Buffon.

    Best Defender of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season: Sergio Ramos.

    Best Midfielder of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season: Luka Modrić.

    Best Forward of the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season: Cristiano Ronaldo.

    UEFA President's Award: Francesco Totti.

111) Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has penned a book titled 'I Do What I Do: On Reform, Rhetoric & Resolve'. Raghuram Rajan explains economic concepts and talks of issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity in his new book.

 He co-authored Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Luigi Zingales and wrote Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy, for which he was awarded the Financial Times-Goldman Sachs prize for best business book.

112) India’s Oldest Cinematographer Ramananda Sengupta Passes Away

113) Doklam is an area with a plateau and a valley, lying between Tibet’s Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan’s Ha Valley to the east and India’s Sikkim state to the west. It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. India’s doesn’t claim Doklam but supports Bhutan’s claim.

114) According to the directives of the consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, start-ups can issue equity, equity linked instruments and debt instruments to foreign venture capital investors in accordance with FEMA rules. They can also issue convertible notes to persons residing outside India under certain conditions. It was thus the first time that an FDI policy has come up with directives for start-ups.

115) Justice Dipak Misra sworn as the 45th Chief Justice of India by President Ramnath Kovind at a brief ceremony in the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhawan. He replaced Justice J.S. Khehar

116) PV Sindhu won the Silver medal in World Badminton Championship 2017. She lost the historic match against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in an epic final, in Glasgow, Scotland. In the longest match of the tournament, Sindhu lost (19-21 22-20 20-22) after battling hard for one hour and 49 minutes.

For India, it still is a historic edition since for the first time country’s shuttler are returning with two medals. Saina Nehwal won a bronze.117) Manipur's Nungthaang Tampak village has emerged as the '100 percent computer literate' not only in the state but in the entire North East. The computer course was organized by Mangal Rural as a part of the Digital India program.

118) The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to build an Eco-Park on over 34 acres of land reclaimed from encroachers in the state's Rajouri district.

119) England has been awarded the right to host the 2018 Table Tennis Team World Cup, which will be held in London. The event will take place at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 22-25 February 2018.

It will be the first major table tennis-only event to be held in London since Wembley hosted the 1954 World Championships. A total of 12 men's and 12 women's teams will compete at the event.

120) Defence Minister Arun Jaitley handed over the Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) jointly developed by India and Israel, to the Indian Navy, at Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL). LRSAM is an advanced combat suit for missile defence against air targets and missiles, and has full capabilities of air and surface surveillance, threat alert and fire control. The minister also dedicated a first-of-its kind 50-tonne Rocket Motor Static Test Facility. He inaugurated the ASTRA Manufacturing Unit at the BDL’s Bhanur unit.

121) According to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the island of Tuvalu was the least visited country in 2016.

According to the report, 2,000 people visited Tuvalu in 2016, while 1,000 people visited the country in 2014. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu is 4.6 meters above sea level and has a population of 11,000 people. The island of Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world in terms of land area.

122) Baba Ram Rahim Sentenced 10 Years of Imprisonment

123) The National Sports day is celebrated on 29th August every year to mark the birthday of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. To celebrate the day various programs are being conducted through the country.

124) Nitasha Biswas, a transwoman from Kolkata was crowned the first Miss TransQueen India. The competition was held in Gurugram, Haryana. Biswas is currently pursuing Masters in Business Management in Kolkata, West Bengal.

125)  Kerala Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan launched the host city logo for Kochi, one of the venues of FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. The logo represents and reflects Kochi's identity and will be a valuable tool in linking the local community in a global World Cup.

The Official Mascot of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 is a clouded leopard called Kheleo. This is the first FIFA tournament hosted by India. The final will be held at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 28 October 2017.

126) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 9th BRICS Summit, Xiamen in China’s Fujian province

The 8th BRICS Summit held on 16th October 2016 at Goa, India. BRICS countries include- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

127) The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) launched the world's first diamond futures contracts to provide exporters with a hedging tool. India is a global diamond polishing hub where 14 out of every 15 rough diamonds in the world are polished.

128) Google-owned YouTube has refreshed its iconic logo and introduced some major design changes to its desktop and mobile apps.

129) The Indian Space Research Organisation 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.

The satellite IRNSS-1H is a part of the indigenous navigation system called ‘NavIC,’ that was initially planned to have a constellation of seven satellites. ISRO's most trusted work horse PSLV, in its forty-first flight (PSLV-C39), will carry and put the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1H into the required orbit.

130) Unicity International, headquartered in Orem, Utah, United States has launched world's first ever Genomeceutical (gene controlling) range of products to India. DNA contains the biological code that defines every single protein in the body. DNA undergoes a process called transcription or gene expression that creates a "messenger" molecule, telling the body to make a specific protein.