Current Affairs Update – 10th August, 2016

• Syndicate Bank has embarked on a
  large scale transformation program called “Project Ananya” that
  focuses on improved customer service and offering latest in digital banking
  services.
• The bank plans to transform 10
  per cent of its branches to the new format in the next 6-12 months, it said in
  a statement. The first Ananya branch was opened by MD and CEO Arun Srivastava.
• A completely operational account
  is available in less than 1 day with no additional visits to the branch and
  making this one of the fastest account opening processes in the industry.
  Project Ananya over the next 2 years will upgrade the products, services and
  digital channels of the Bank to cater to the fast changing customer needs
  including those of the younger generation, who are more tech-savvy and prefer
  to do banking online, the bank said.
• The project is also focused on
  improving business through enhanced sales and service focus as well as
  improving the HR policies and practices of the Bank, it said.

• Announcing a big foray into the
  world of artificial intelligence (AI), the chip giant Intel has acquired San
  Diego, California-based deep learning start-up Nervana Systems run by an
  Indian-origin entrepreneur.
• Coming ahead of the Intel
  Developer Forum next week, the acquisition gives Intel a definitive head start
  towards advanced data analytics, computer vision, natural language processing
  and machine learning.
• Although the financial details
  were not disclosed, according to a Re/Code report, the software giant is paying
  more than $400 million to buy Nervana led by former Qualcomm researcher Naveen
  Rao.

• Operation Muskan-2, an initiative
  to trace missing and destitute children and reunite them with parents, was in
  news in first week of August 2016. It came into news after Odisha Crime Branch
  in its first phase of Operation traced and rescued about 1051 children.
• The Operation Muskan which was
  started on 25 July 2016 jointly by the Crime Branch in association with Women
  and Child Development Department has rescued these children from various places
  across the state.
• The southern Odisha district
  Ganjam topped the list with the rescue of 93 children followed by Jajpur (87),
  Dhenkanal (79), Kendrapara (69) and Nayagarh (65).
• Special DG Crime branch B K
  Sharma said the next phase of operation will resume outside Odisha from 9
  August 2016. Under the second phase, the police teams will go to 10 states,
  including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu,
  Bihar and trace out the missing children of Odisha. The second phase operation
  will end on August 24.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9
  August 2016 launched 70 Saal Azaadi, Yaad Karo Kurbani celebrations in
  Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh. Alirajpur is the birthplace of freedom fighter
  Chandra Shekhar Azad.
• The Yaad Karo Kurbani is a 15-day
  programme. It is aimed at celebrating 75th anniversary of the Quit India
  Movement and 70 years of Independence.

• The 70 Saal Azaadi, Yaad karo
  Qurbani campaign is aimed at developing a feeling in every person that nation
  is first and individual is secondary.
• It seeks to provide an
  opportunity for the people to recall the supreme sacrifices made by freedom
  fighters during freedom struggle.
• The goal of the campaign is to
  inform the youngsters about the unsung heroes and the history of the freedom
  struggle.

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• Dinesh Kumar Khara on 9 August
  2016 was appointed Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI).
• The Appointments Committee of
  Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Khara for a period of three years, extendable by
  two years after review of his performance.
• At present, Khara is working as
  MD and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd.
• On the other hand, Ashok Kumar
  Garg and Raj Kamal Verma have been appointed as Executive Director (ED) of Bank
  of Baroda and Union Bank of India respectively. Gopal Murli Bhagat and Himanshu
  Joshi have been appointed as ED of Corporation Bank and Oriental Bank of
  Commerce respectively.

• The Centre has appointed Himanshu
  Joshi as Executive Director on the board of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC).
• His appointment is from the date
  of his taking charge of the post and up to October 31, 2018, i.e. the date of
  his attaining the age of superannuation or until further orders, whichever is
  earlier, OBC said in a notice to the BSE.
• Before his elevation as ED of
  OBC, Joshi was a General Manager with Punjab National Bank.

• Rajeev Krishnan was on 9 August
  2016 appointed as the Managing Director of Max Hypermarkets in India with
  effect from 1 August 2016. Krishnan succeeds Viney Singh, outgoing Managing
  Director.
• However, Singh will continue to
  be on the Board of the company as a Non-Executive Director.
• As managing director, Krishnan
  will guide and direct the strategy and execution of the Hypermarket &
  Supermarket business of the SPAR brand in India, and will report to the board
  of Max Hypermarket, a franchisee of SPAR India.

• K M Hanumantharayappa on 9 August
  2016 assumed charge as the Chairman of Central Silk Board, Union Ministry of
  Textiles for a period of three years. He is the 25th Chairman of the Central
  Silk Board.
• He succeeds N S Bissegowda.

• Judoka Rafaela Silva on 9 August
  2016 won the women’s 57kh judo gold at Rio Olympics. With this, she also won
  the first gold for the host country Brazil at the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
• Silva’s win was extra special as
  she grew up in host city Rio de Janeiro and blossomed to become an Olympic
  champion despite the tough conditions of her native City of God favela.
• Japan’s Shohei Ono restored the
  pride of Judo’s birth country by winning first Gold in 73kg category. Ono ended
  an anxious wait for a Japanese men’s team that had not claimed Olympic gold
  since 2008 in Beijing.
• Ono’s victory also ended Japan’s
  sequence of five judo bronze medals in Rio. Japan won just one gold medal in
  judo at the London Games.

• Yesteryear Tamil actress
  Jyothilakshmi passed away on 9 August 2016 in Chennai following a brief
  illness. She was 63.
• She earned fame by doing dance
  numbers and negative roles in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malyalam and Hindi
  movies.

• Veteran film producer, script and
  screenplay writer Panchu Arunachalam passed away on 9 August 2016 following
  brief illness. He was 75. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and two
  sons.
• He introduced Ilayaraja as music
  director in his film Annakili and made more films starring Kamal Hassan and
  Rajinikanth.