IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUG 23,24, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUG 23,24, 2016

National Sports Awards – 2016

i. Rio Olympics 2016 medalists PV Sindhu (badminton) and Sakshi Malik (wrestling) have been chosen for Khel Ratna award for 2016. 

ii. The highest sporting award of India will also be given to Dipa Karmakar and Jitu Rai.

iii. Dipa Karmakar's coach Bisweshwar Nandi will be awarded Dronacharya Award for 2016.

Jagdish Mukhi sworn in as Lt Guv of Andaman and Nicobar

i. Senior BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi on Monday assumed office as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

ii. Mukhi took over from Lt General AK Singh (Retd).

iii. He had been a minister and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly in the past.

 Himachal Pradesh assembly ratifies GST Bill

i. The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Monday unanimously ratified the Constitution Amendment Bill on GST. 

ii. The Bill was introduced by CM Virbhadra Singh on the first day of five-day monsoon session. 

iii. Himachal Pradesh has become the fourth after Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand to ratify the Bill.

Brajendra Navnit, V Sheshadri appointed as Joint Secretaries in PMO

i. Senior IAS officers Brajendra Navnit and V Sheshadri have been appointed as Joint Secretaries in PMO as part of massive mid-level reshuffle. 

ii. As many as 22 new Joint Secretaries have been appointed in different central govt departments. 

Of these, 18 are from Indian Administrative Service.

Bajaj Finance ties up with India Post to facilitate two-wheeler purchase

i. Bajaj Finance Limited, a motorcycle finance company, has partnered with India Post to facilitate purchase of vehicles in Karnataka. 

ii. The company signed a joint MoU with India Post and formally announced special arrangement which enables prospective buyers to get information on various 2-wheeler loan schemes as well as special loan offers to the people including the instalment collection set-up at the Post Office itself, on behalf of Bajaj Auto Finance. 

Telangana govt to create 17 new districts in Oct 

i. The two-year-old Telangana government has issued draft notification on rearranging district borders to create 17 new districts.

ii. The new districts will come into being in October.

Mahindra AMC launches new scheme

i. Mahindra Asset Management Company has launched an open ended scheme, which will generate long-term capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities.

ii. Mahindra Mutual Fund Kar Bachat Yojana - an open ended ELSS Scheme - with a three year lock-in period. The New Fund Offer would close on October 7, this year and will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase from October 19, 2016.

Badnore sworn in as new Punjab governor

i. V P Singh Badnore on Monday took oath as the new Punjab Governor and also as Administrator of Chandigarh Administration. 

ii. Punjab and Haryana HC Chief Justice S J Vazifdar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Badnore.

iii. Badnore was a 4-time BJP legislator in the Rajasthan assembly.

Catholic Syrian Bank MD quits

i. Anand Krishnamurthy, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Kerala-based Catholic Syrian Bank, has submitted his resignation, a year after taking over the posts. 

ii. The process of selecting a successor to facilitate a smooth transition is in an advanced stage. Formal announcement will follow on finalisation and receipt of necessary approvals.

Government set to ban cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh

i. The government is set to ban cash transactions over Rs 3 lakh as it seeks to clamp down on black money in the economy following recommendations from the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team. 

ii. The government, however, is yet to decide on the SIT's other proposal to bar cash holdings over Rs 15 lakh due to opposition from trade and industry.

iii. The Rs 3 lakh-limit is aimed to ensure that transactions are made using credit or debit cards, cheques or drafts which can be easily tracked. 

iv. The government has already initiated several steps, including banning cash advance of more than Rs 20,000 for property transactions.

Ashok Chawla to take over as YES Bank non-executive chairman

i. Former CCI head Ashok Chawla will take over as Non-Executive Part-time Chairman of YES Bank from October as the lender has received approval from the Reserve Bank for this appointment.
ii. He was appointed as an independent director on the Board of YES Bank on March 5, 2016.

Asian Filmmaker award posthumously for Kiarostami at Busan

i. Late Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has been selected for the Asian Filmmaker of the Year Award at the Busan International Film Festival.

ii. He passed away on July 4 at the age of 76.

Ahmedabad to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup

i. The Kabaddi World Cup will be held in Ahmedabad from October 7 to 22.

ii. Gujarat will play host to 12 kabaddi teams from USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Iran, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan and Kenya, besides hosts India.

iii. The matches will be held in Ahmedabad's The Arena stadium.

China launches first Tibetan-language search engine

i. China has launched its first Tibetan-language search engine 'Yongzin'. 

ii. The search engine will serve as a unified portal for all major Tibetan-language websites in China.

iii. It has eight sections for news, websites, images, videos, music, encyclopedia, literature and forums.

GAIL signs MoU with Bloom Energy for fuel cell power generation

i. State-run GAIL (India) Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with California-based Bloom Energy for developing natural gas-based fuel cell power generation.

ii. The agreement was signed by GAIL chairman and managing director B C Tripathi and Bloom Energy chief executive K R Sridhar.
iii. The new technology converts fuel into electricity through an electro-chemical process and the use of water is less too in this mode of power generation.

Mobikwik launches partial payment for bus tickets booking

i. The new entrant in the bus booking industry MobiKwik today announced its industry first initiatives to capture the lead position in the industry by end of 2016. 

ii. The company has announced partial payment for ticket reservation and cash pick up for bus tickets booking, further simplifying the user's journey.

iii. The overall bus booking segment is valued at Rs. 20,000 crore in India and online transactions contribute nearly 15 percent to this segment.

Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal launches mobile app for farmers

i. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday launched a mobile app 'Kisan Suvidha' for farmers. 
ii. The app will provide basic information on weather updates, crop prices and expert advices.

ii. Praising the Agriculture Department initiative, he said this would go a long way to keep the farmers abreast with the changing agricultural practices and marketing support, coupled with the latest agronomical techniques to enhance productivity.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to sign agreement with bankers for External Commercial Borrowing

i. Mumbai based container port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port has signed an agreement with State Bank of India and Development Bank of Singapore for External Commercial Borrowing to the tune of USD 400 Million under External Commercial Borrowings. 

ii. It the first Major Port to finalize the terms of ECB.

iii. The Credit seeks at a very competitive interest rate to improve the infrastructure required for doubling its existing capacity to 9.85 Million TEUs annually which is for Door-to-Door tenor of 7.5 years.

Vikash Anand wins premier title in National Racing

i. Chennai hailed Vikash Anand won a double to clinch the title in the MRF Formula 1600 category and a ticket for the Mazda Road to Indy shootout as the fifth and final round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship concluded in Chennai. 

ii. This f 1600 category was led by triple-header, Vikashwho clocked 16mins, Vikash Anand wins premier title in National Racing54.111secs and Karthik Tharani were locked on 138 points clocking 16:58.677.