IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUGUST 23rd, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF AUGUST 23rd, 2017

1. World's Highest-Paid Actors 2017: Forbes List

i. The former rapper-turned-actor Mark Wahlberg is Hollywood's highest-paid leading man, earning $68 million pretax in 12 month scoring period. From India, Shahrukh Khan is the highest paid actor (Rank 8) followed by Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar. Wahlberg has replaced out last year's top-ranked star, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

ii. The Top 10 Highest Paid Actors in the List are:

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).

2. 17th meeting of FSDC Held in New Delhi

i. The seventeenth Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was held in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance, Shri Arun Jaitley.

ii. The Council discussed the Central KYC Registry (CKYCR) system. The Council also deliberated on strengthening the regulation of the Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs).

3. NITI Aayog Launched 'Mentor India' Campaign

i. NITI Aayog launched the 'Mentor India Campaign'. It is a strategic nation building initiative to engage leaders who can guide and mentor students at more than 900 Atal Tinkering Labs, established across the country as a part of the Atal Innovation Mission.
ii. CEO NITI Aayog, Shri Amitabh Kant unveiled the online nationwide initiative in New Delhi. Mentor India is aimed at maximizing the impact of Atal Tinkering Labs, possibly the biggest disruption in formal education globally.

4. ICMR, Ministry of Health Sign Pact with S Korea’s IVI

i. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Ministry of Health inked a pact with the International Vaccine Institute (IVI), South Korea to collaborate on vaccine research and development.

ii. The ICMR is the apex body in the country for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. The IVI has 35 signatory countries. With this partnership, India is committing an annual contribution of USD 5,00,000 to IVI and joins Sweden and South Korea as financially contributing signatories to IVI.

5. 8th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress in New Delhi

i. Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, Renewable Energy and Mines, Shri Piyush Goyal, addressed the 3-day 8th World Renewable Energy Technology Congress in New Delhi.

ii. The annual conference is visualized and planned in the backdrop of India's vision of achieving "Energy Independence and Power for all by 2022". The theme of the conference was "Renewable Energy: What Works".

6. 40% Reservation for Girls at Planned Schools

i. According to Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the government has decided to proffer 40 per cent reservation for girls at 100 Navodaya-type schools and five higher education institutes it plans to set up for minority community students.

ii. A panel formed by The Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF), a government-funded agency, had recommended a three-tier model to tackle educational backwardness among minorities. There are six notified minority communities in the country: Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Jains. 

7. RBI to issue Rs200 notes

i. The government gave its go-ahead to the Reserve Bank of India to issue Rs 200 notes that will ease pressure on lower-denomination currency bills.

ii. The new Rs 200 notes are likely to be in circulation shortly. The exercise of printing Rs 200 denomination notes is being undertaken to further improve the currency situation in the country.

8. Railway Board Chairman Ashok Mittal Resigns

i. 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.

ii. Two Indian Rails namely Kaifyat Express and Utkal Express derailed, recently.

9. Ashwani Lohani: New Railway Board Chairman

i. 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.

ii. Mr. Lohani holds four engineering degrees, has authored two books and is credited with the turnaround of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation and the India Tourism Development Corporation.

10. Former Manipur CM Rishang Keishing Passes Away

i. Former Manipur Chief Minister and a member of the first Lok Sabha Rishang Keishing passed away following a brief illness. The veteran Congress leader was 96. He served as the Chief Minister of Manipur from 1980 to 1988 and from 1994 to 1997.

ii. Keishing passed away due to multiple organ failures. Keishing, who hailed from Bungpa village in Ukhrul district, was elected to the Lok Sabha in the first parliamentary elections held in 1952.

11. New Zealand's Oldest Cricketer Tom Pritchard Passes Away

i. New Zealand's oldest cricketer Tom Pritchard has passed away. He was 100. Pritchard claimed 818 wickets across 200 first-class games, including 695 during a decade of service at Edgbaston.

ii. He, however, never played Test cricket. In March 2017, Pritchard became only the third New Zealand first-class cricketer, after John Wheatley and Syd Ward, to reach 100 years of age.

12. Brian Aldiss, British Science Fiction Writer Passes Away

i. Brian Aldiss, one of the most prolific and influential science fiction writers of the 20th century, has died aged 92.
ii. Born in 1925, Aldiss served in India and Burma with the British Army during World War II and later became a bookseller, publishing his first stories in a trade magazine.