IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUG 21, 22, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUG 21,22, 2016

Manjula Chellur sworn-in as Chief Justice of Bombay HC

i. Justice Manjula Chellur on Monday took oath as the Chief Justice of the Bombay HC.

ii. Chelluar, who was the Chief Justice of Calcutta HC, was transferred following the retirement of DH Waghela on August 10. 

iii. Chellur is 2nd woman to hold the post, after Sujata Manohar in 1994.

IOA chief Ramachandran awarded the Olympic Order

i. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President, N. Ramachandran was awarded the Olympic Order for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement. 

ii. The Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement and is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, that is, recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. It was established in May 1975.

Kamal Haasan to get prestigious French honour

i. Famous Actor Kamal Haasan will be awarded the Chevalier de L'Ordre Arts et Lettres (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government. 
ii. The Order is part of France’s premier award, the Legion of Honor.

iii. The order of merit is awarded “to recognize eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world.”

iv. The Order has three ranks – chevalier (knight), officier (officer), commandeur (commander) – and two high offices. Other Indians who have been conferred the Chevalier Order include actors Sivaji Ganesan, Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Nandita Das and Shah Rukh Khan.

BSNL and Microsoft India join hands for effective connectivity and telecom solutions

i. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) inked pact with Microsoft India to offer telecom and IT solutions for big businesses promoting the demand for IT and cloud services. ii. MoU will assist audio and video needs of the BSNL's enterprise customers and government organizations. 

iii. The agreement was signed and exchanged by BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava and Microsoft India chairman Bhaskar Pramanik. 

Railways to partner with Google for showcasing its heritage

i. Google has agreed to partner with Railways to digitise its heritage assets and help create a digital repository for universal online access free of cost.
ii. Indian Railway has a huge list of heritage assets including bridges, steam locos, buildings, artefacts and museums which can be showcased for global audience.

Vistara appoints Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador

i. Vistara, is an Indian domestic airline based in Gurgaon has announced that Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone will be their new brand ambassador. 
ii. The airline will launch a new campaign featuring Deepika they will be broadcast on TV channels across India starting August 22, 2016.

iii. Through this campaign, Vistara wishes to reach out to its core audience of corporate and frequent flyers, who value a seamless, reliable, and consistent service experience above everything else, and are willing to pay a reasonable premium for the unique offerings provided by a world-class full service airline.

Najma Heptulla sworn in as Governor of Manipur

i. Former Union Minister Najma Heptulla was sworn-in as the governor of Manipur. 
ii. Heptulla, the 18th governor of the state, replaced Shanmuganathan who was holding the dual charge of Governor of Manipur and Meghalaya. 

Uma Bharti launches Rs 560 cr projects under Namami Gange prog

i. Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Sushri Uma Bharti launched various Projects on the Bank of Ganga worth Rs. 560 crore under Namami Gange programme at Ganga Barrage in Kanpur.
ii. The Projects: 1.Interception and diversion plan of Sisamau drain—worth Rs. 63 crore.

2.Networking schemes at Bithoor–Worth Rs. 397 crore

3.River front development scheme at Bithoor–worth Rs. 100 crore.

4.Ghats and five crematoria will be constructed at Bithoor.

Guruvayur included in PRASAD scheme

i. The famous Sreekrishna temple in Guruvayur has been included in the Union Tourism Ministry’s Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).

ii. Under this PRASAD scheme Development of roads, new streetlights and improvement of drinking water supply will also be taken up. Protection of the monument, toilet facilities, rest rooms, watchtower, open-air theatres, rain shelters and primary health centers are other priorities.

'Shankhachil' selected for Montreal Film Festival

i. Director Goutam Ghosh's National award-winning film "Shankhachil", an Indo-Bangla joint production, has been selected for the coveted 40th Montreal World Film Festival.

ii. This movie narrates the pain and anguish of people living on both sides of the border following the partition of Bengal and this starring Prosenjit Chatterjee.

Indo-Canadian Sikh MP becomes Canada’s 1st woman House leader

i. Indo-Canadian Sikh MP Bardish Chagger has been named as the new Leader of the government in Canada’s House of Commons, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the country’s history.

ii. Ms. Chagger, the 36-year-old Waterloo MP and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, was among 19 Indian-origin candidates who won in last year’s general election.

Prize-winning author Joyce Carol Thomas dead at 78

i. Joyce Carol Thomas, a prize-winning children’s author and champion of multiculturalism, has died at the age of 78.

ii. Joyce Carol Thomas was anAfrican-American poet, playwright, motivational speaker, and author of more than 30 children’s books.

Sania Mirza gets No 1 spot in women's doubles by defeating Martina Hingis

i. Sania Mirza, paired with Barbora Strycova from the Czech Republic, defeated Martina Hingis and her partner Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-4.

ii. This is the first win for Indo-Czech pair.

iii. With the win, Sania retained her number one status on the women's doubles ranking as Hingis slipped to 2nd spot.