Current Affairs Update – 18 August, 2017



Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 18 August, 2017. These are very important for the upcoming IBPS PO, IBPS RRB, OICL AO, UIIC Assistant & NICL Assistant Exams.

Banking & Financial
News
Union Government signs GEF Grant Agreement with World Bank

  • The Union Government on 16 August
    2017 signed a Grant Agreement worth USD 24.64 million from the Global
    Environment Facility (GEF) of the World Bank for Ecosystem Service Improvement
    Project.
  • The agreement was signed by
    Sameer Kumar Khare, Joint Secretary (MI), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),
    Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Indian government and Hisham Abdo Kahin,
    Acting Country Director for India on behalf of the World Bank.
  • The project would be entirely
    financed by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund. The total duration of the
    project is five years.
  • The Ministry of Environment,
    Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) would be implementing the project in
    the States of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh through Indian Council of
    Forestry Research & Education under the National Mission for Green India.
  • The project’s main objective is
    to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Departments of Forestry and
    Community Organisations and to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve
    the livelihoods of forest dependent communities in Central Indian Highlands.
Power Grid inks $500 m loan pact with ADB

  • State-run power transmission
    utility Power Grid Corp today said it will get a loan of USD 500 million from
    the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its various projects.
  • “Power Grid has entered into a
    loan agreement with ADB on August 17, 2017, for an amount of USD 500 million,”
    Power Grid Corp said in a BSE filing.
  • According to the statement, the
    proceeds of the loan are proposed to be utilised for funding of Green Energy
    Corridor (Part D); 800KV High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) bipole link between
    Western Region (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) and Southern Region (Pugalur, Tamil
    Nadu) and 320 KV HDVC link between Pugalur and North Trichur (Kerala).
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Cabinet approves raising Rs 9020 Cr for Long Term Irrigation Fund

  • The Union Cabinet on 16 August
    2017 gave its approval for raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) of up to Rs
    9020 Cr for Long Term Irrigation Fund as per the requirement during 2017-18.
  • The funds will be raised by the
    National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) through the
    issuance of Bonds at 6% per annum as per requirement. They will be used for the
    implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) works of 99
    ongoing prioritised irrigation projects along with their command area
    development (CAD) works under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana
    (PMKSY).
  • A large number of major and
    medium irrigation projects taken up under the AIBP were suffering mainly
    because of inadequate provision of funds.
  • To cater to the large fund
    requirement and ensure completion of these projects, the Union Finance Minister
    Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech 2016-17, had announced the creation of
    dedicated LTIF in NABARD with an initial corpus of Rs 20000 Cr for funding
    identified ongoing projects under PMKSY (AIBP and CAD).
  • The corpus of LTIF was to be
    raised through budgetary resources and market borrowings to fast track
    implementation of incomplete major & medium irrigation projects.
  • To make the loan from NABARD
    attractive for states, it was decided that the rate of interest may be kept
    around 6% by providing requisite cost free funds to NABARD every year during
    2016-17 to 2019-20 on which interest cost would be borne by Government of
    India.
NHAI launches mobile App MyFASTag and FASTag Partner

  • The National Highways Authority
    of India (NHAI) on 17 August 2017 launched two mobile apps MyFASTag and FASTag
    Partner to facilitate the availability of FASTags for Electronic Toll
    Collection.
  • The mobile apps will ease the
    process of purchase and recharge of FASTags just at the click of a mobile
    button.
  • MyFASTag is a consumer app that
    can be downloaded from the App Store for both Android and iOS systems.
  • Through this app, a consumer can
    purchase or recharge FASTags.
  • FASTag Partner is a merchant app
    that will help agencies like Common Services Centre, banking partners and
    vehicle dealers to sell and enroll FASTag through this App.
  • It can also be used to activate
    the RFID tags that came built in with around 74 lakh cars in the country.
News related to India and states
Union Environment Ministry launches Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali
Campaign

  • Union Minister for Environment,
    Forest and Climate Change Dr Harsh Vardhan on 17 August 2017 launched the
    “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” campaign.
  • The Ministry also administered a
    Pledge for a Green and Healthy Diwali to the gathering of students.  The Pledge will be widely circulated to the
    schools, colleges and other educational institutions.
  • The ministry launched the
    campaign while addressing a gathering of about 800 children from schools of
    Delhi and NCR.
  • The campaign is aimed at
    enlightening the children about harmful fire crackers.
  • It will motivate children to not
    to buy fire crackers, instead buy a gift, food items, or sweets for the poor and
    underprivileged children living in their locality.
  • As a part of the campaign, the
    Environment Ministry will undertake various activities to create awareness
    among various stakeholders and encourage people to participate in combating air
    pollution.
  • Some of the activities to promote
    Green Diwali among school children include stickers/logo distribution, poster
    competition, advertisement on public transport systems, public appeal using
    Radio. 
  • As a part of the social media
    campaign, an online competition will be conducted, where any individual or
    organisation can make a video or audio clip on the theme ‘Pollution Free
    Diwali’.

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Defence Ministry clears proposal to procure 6 Apache attack helicopters
for Army

  • Defence Ministry on 17 August
    2017 cleared a proposal to procure 6 Apache attack helicopters for Army. The
    acquisition of the helicopters, equipment and training will cost around four
    thousand 168 crore rupees.
  • The approved proposal is
    different from India’s purchase of 22 Apache and 15 Chinook helicopters from
    Boeing in 2015 for Rs 13 952 crores for the Air Force.
  • As per reports, the decision on
    procuring 6 Apache attack helicopters was taken in Defence Acquisition Council
    (DAC) meeting chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.
  • Reports also suggest that the
    helicopters are being bought under an option clause of 50 percent repeat order
    in the previous deal under which 22 Apache attack choppers were bought for the
    IAF. The deadline for using the option clause is to end on 28 September 2017.
  • These Apache AH-64E choppers will
    come with associated equipment that includes spares, training, weapons and
    ammunition. The Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter is the most advanced multi-role
    heavy attack helicopter in the world and they carry advanced weapons systems
    and night-fighting features.
Appointments
Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys CEO, Pravin Rao appointed interim chief

  • Vishal Sikka on 18 August 2017
    resigned as Managing Director and CEO of Infosys. The board has accepted his
    resignation with immediate effect.
  • Infosys in a notice to stock
    exchanges said Sikka will remain with Infosys as executive vice-chairman. The
    position is a newly created position at Infosys.
  • Infosys, second largest software
    exporter of India, has appointed chief operating officer UB Pravin Rao as interim
    managing director and CEO.
Mamta Suri takes charge as Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board

  • Mamta Suri on 16 August 2017 took
    charge as the Executive Director of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of
    India (IBBI).
  • Prior to this appointment, Suri
    was serving as the Chief General Manager of the Insurance Regulatory
    Development Authority of India.
  • Suri is a Chartered Financial
    Analyst (CFA) from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, and
    she has completed her graduation in law.
  • Suri has obtained her Ph.D. in
    Finance from University of Delhi and M.Sc. in Insurance Risk and Management
    from City University, London.
  • She has also received Honorary
    membership for High Scholastic Achievement from USA.
Obituaries
Veteran photographer S Paul dies at 88

  • S Paul, the veteran photographer
    who was described as ‘The Henry Cartier-Bresson of India’ by B&W Magazine
    of US, died in New Delhi on 16 August 2017. He was 88.
  • He died at a private hospital
    after undergoing a surgery a few days ago.
  • A self-taught photographer, Paul
    discovered his passion for the art as a teenager. He joined The Indian Express
    in the 1960s and retired from the newspaper in 1989.

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