IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF
AUGUST 9th, 2018
1.
(9th August) is International Day of
the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
a. This
day is observed every year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s
indigenous population.
b. Theme
of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2018 :
“Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement”.
2.
Argentinian lawmakers
today voted against a bill to Legalise elective Abortion in
the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
a. Note :
Argentina currently allows abortion only in cases of rape or risks to a woman's
health.
3.
is Kranti Diwas (Quit India
Day).
a. This
day observes the 76th anniversary of the Quit India movement.
b. The
iconic 'Quit India' slogan was coined by socialist Congress leader and then
mayor of Bombay, "Yusuf Meherally"
4.
The Centre today announced that Non-Resident
Indians (NRIs) cannot file RTI (Right to Information) pleas
and seek information on governance from central government departments.
a. The
Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh clarified that only
Indian citizens can seek information under RTI.
5.
Ahead of Independence Day, the government has
urged citizens not to use National Flags made from Plastic.
a. Since
plastic flags don't decompose for a long time, ensuring its appropriate
disposal commensurate with the dignity of the flag is a practical problem, the
government added.
6.
Bengaluru, the capital city of
Indian state Karnataka, is going to launch a campaign to make people
aware about the National Anthem and teach the
correct lyrics and pronunciation on Independence Day.
a. This
campaign will be led by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Karnataka Lokayukta and
former Supreme Court judge).
7.
Punjab Chief
Minister Amarinder Singh today
exempted Ex-servicemen and Senior Citizens from mandatory
dope tests for issuance and renewal of arms licences.
a. The
decision was taken after a request from ex-servicemen and senior citizen
groups, many of whom had been in possession of arms licences for decades.
8.
For the first time in 17 years, the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which awards the Oscars, has
added a new category to recognize popular films in the
awards.
a. The new
Oscar will be awarded for "Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film".
b. Note : The
last category to be added to OSCARs was 'Best Animated Feature Film', which was
first awarded in 2001 to the animated movie 'Shrek'.
9.
Polish-born scientist Marie Curie,
the first person to win two Nobel Prizes (and 1st
woman to win one), has topped a BBC History magazine poll of top "100
women who changed the world".
a. Albanian-Indian
Nobel Laureate Mother Teresa was placed 20th on the
list while former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was
ranked 49th.
10.
Indian-American high school student Avi
Goel has won the International Geography Bee world
championship 2018 in Berlin.
11.
Union Government has constituted 4-member
Group of Ministers (GoM) to decide on 16-member Regional
Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.
a. This
GoM was constituted to advise Prime Minister on whether to continue with or
withdraw from RCEP negotiations.
b. It has
been mandated to find way forward from current deadlock over issues of joining
RCEP or not.
c. Head of
this GoM : Suresh Prabhu (Union Minister of Commerce and Industry)
12.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s
board has approved the transfer of a surplus amount of ₹50,000
crore to the government for the year ended June 30, 2018.
a. Note : The
RBI had transferred a surplus of ₹30,659 crore to
the government for the fiscal ended June 2017, which was less than half of what
it paid in the previous year (₹65,896 crore).
13.
Swedish furniture giant IKEA today
opened its 1st-ever store in India at Hyderabad (Telangana).
a. IKEA
plans to open its second store in Mumbai in 2019, followed by Bengaluru and
Delhi-NCR.
14.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI)
today approved US retail giant Walmart's proposed acquisition
of Flipkart announced in May this year.
a. Note :
Walmart had announced acquiring a 77% stake in Bengaluru-based
Flipkart in a $16 billion deal.
15.
Indian banks reported a total loss of
about ₹70,000 crore due to frauds
during the last three fiscals.
a. The
impact in 2017-18 at ₹36,694 crore was more than twice seen in the previous two
years, each.
16.
Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has
launched Niryat Mitra mobile
application for exporters and importers of the country.
a. The app
provides wide range of information required to undertake international trade
right from policy provisions for export and import, applicable GST rate,
available export incentives, tariff, preferential tariff, market access
requirements – SPS and TBT measures.
b. The app
was developed by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the largest
exporters organisation of the country.
17.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has
chosen former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be
the world body's new High Commissioner for Human Rights.
a. Michelle
will replace Jordan's Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, whose four-year term
ends this month.
18.
The BJP-led NDA's candidate Harivansh
Narayan Singh was today elected new Deputy Chairman
of Rajya Sabha, which fell vacant after the retirement of
Congress' P J Kurien on 1st July 2018.
19.
US-based AI startup Cerebras Systems has
hired former Intel executive Dhiraj Mallick as
its Vice President of Engineering and
Business Development.
20.
American politician and attorney, Rashida
Tlaib is set to become the 1st Muslim woman elected to
the US Congress after she won a Democratic primary election to
represent Michigan's 13th district.
21.
Colombia's President-elect Ivan
Duque has been sworn in as the country's 60th President today.
a. Duque,
a 42-year-old former senator, defeated left-leaning candidate, Gustavo Petro,
in a presidential election held in June with 54 percent of the vote.
22.
The Supreme Court today approved the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)'s draft constitution, discarding the
'one state, one vote' policy recommended by the Lodha
Panel.
a. Each
state was allowed only one association as member, while those with multiple
associations were allowed membership on rotational basis.
b. Subsequently,
the court has given full membership status to Mumbai, Saurashtra and Vidarbha associations,
among others.
23.
Veteran German striker Mario
Gomez announced his retirement from international football.
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