IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUGUST 16th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUGUST 16th, 2017

1. India to Host Next Steering Committee Meeting of TAPI Gas Pipeline

i. India (New Delhi) will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline senior officials on both sides confirmed. The decision came during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

ii. The meeting was followed by a meeting between visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

About 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.

2. Odisha: Special Programme to Prevent Spread of Malaria

i. Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON), a special program to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district.

ii. Under this program, camps will be held in remote areas for mass test for malaria. As many as 103 camps will be held in the next three months. Around 15,000 people would be covered under the program.

3. India Opens First Partition Museum in Amritsar

i. India's first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open this week in Amritsar Punjab, as India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations.
ii. The museum will include photographs, newspaper clippings, donated personal items, and screens showing video interviews with survivors.

iii. It will also have 'The Gallery of Hope', where visitors can scribble messages of love and peace. Tickets are priced low at Rs10 for Indians and Rs150 for foreigners.

4. Cabinet Approves MoU Between India and Sweden on IPRs

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the MoU between India and Sweden on cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property (IPRs).

ii. The MoU establishes a wide ranging and flexible mechanism through which both countries can exchange best practices and work together on training programs and technical exchanges to raise awareness on IPRs and better protect intellectual property rights.

5. Union Cabinet Approves New Metro Rail Policy

i. The government approved a new metro rail policy for expanding the metro network across various cities in the country. The new policy was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ii. 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.

6. ‘Indira Canteen Scheme’ Launched in Bengaluru

i. 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.

ii. The canteen, located in Kanakana Palya (Jayanagar) in Bengaluru, is one of 101 such that opened across various locations in Bengaluru. The canteens are loosely modelled on the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa’s “Amma canteens”.

7. KVGB Bags Best Performer Award

i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has conferred the ‘best performance award’ for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) for its work in the field of credit-linking joint liability groups (JLGs).

ii. 1,194 JLGs(Joint Liability Group) were credit-linked by disbursing Rs 19.38 crore during 2016-17. The outstanding accounts under JLGs stood at 6,329 involving an amount of Rs 63.83 crore.

8. SBI Holds Home Loan Utsav in Bengaluru

i. State Bank of India successfully held two-day Home Loan Utsav in Bengaluru. The loan Utsav saw title sponsor, GM Infinite. Subtitle sponsors, Brigade Group, Salarpuria Sattva and DSR Infra.

ii. The bank is offering a 0.25% concession in interest rate from the fourth year of the home loan if it is availed at the SBI Utsav.

9. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund Launches ‘Plan Your Goal’ Website

i. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website 'PlanYourGoal.com' to help users plan their investments according to their future financial goals.

ii. The website guides the users to plan their big spends, tax investments as well as the corpus required during retirement. The website also provides recommendations based on calculations.

10. China Bans Imports from North Korea

i. China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, following through on new UN sanctions over its ally’s nuclear program. 

ii. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang that could cost the country $1 billion a year. China, which is suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, accounts for 90% of North Korea’s trade.

11. Norway has World's Fastest Mobile Internet

i. 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.

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

12. Australia to Get World's Biggest Single Tower Solar Thermal Plant

i. Australian state government has approved the world's biggest single tower solar thermal power plant, a 150-megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020.

ii. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to concentrate the Sun's light at the top of a tower. This heats the stored molten salt and the heat is then used to operate steam turbines.

13. Melbourne Named 'World's Most Liveable City'

i. Melbourne (in Australia) has been named world’s most liveable city for a record seventh year in a row, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Report 2017. Melbourne scored an overall rating of 97.5 out of 100 on the liveability index.

ii. Damascus in Syria was deemed the world's worst among the 140 cities surveyed. It is the first time in the survey’s 15-year history that a city has held the No 1 rank in its own right for seven consecutive years. Vienna (in Austria) and Vancouver (in Canada) were on 2nd and 3rd Positions, respectively.

14. Earth's Largest Volcanic Region Discovered in Antarctica

i. 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.

ii. 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.

15. Tata Motors Appoints P B Balaji as New Chief Financial Officer

i. Tata Motors announced the appointment of P B Balaji as the new Chief Financial Officer, Tata Motors Group from November 2017. He has replaced C R Ramakrishnan.

ii. Since 2014, Balaji has been heading the finance function as the Chief Financial Officer of Hindustan Unilever.

16. Alexander Zverev Beats Roger Federer to Win Rogers Cup

i. Alexander Zverev won 6-3 6-4 at the Rogers Cup to claim his second Masters 1000 title and extend his winning run to 10 matches.

ii. Zverev is the youngest Rogers Cup finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2007. Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer now have five tournament titles this year.