Current Affairs Update – 23–24th August, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 23rd and 24th August, 2015. These are Important for the upcoming IBPS RRB, IBPS Clerk Exam 2015.

• Bandhan Financial Services, a Micro Financial Institution (MFI),
  on 23 August 2015 started operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank (SCB).
  Henceforth it will be called as Bandhan Bank.
• The banking services were inaugurated by the Union Finance
  Minister Arun Jaitley in Kolkata.
• With this, Bandhan became the first micro finance company in the
  country to start operations as a full-fledged commercial bank. It is also the
  first commercial bank from Eastern India to get RBI clearance since
  independence.
• Bandhan along with IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance
  Company) were granted banking licenses in 2014 by the Reserve Bank of India
  (RBI). The move was aimed at deepening financial services reach in the country
  by utilizing the services of the existing players in the market.

• Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on 23 August 2015 commissioned the first
  ever Hydro-power plant in the city. The power plant set up at Chilla area of
  east Delhi will be run through the Hydraulic Turbine propelled by treated
  effluents coming out of a Sewerage Treatment Plant.
• An official release said that the treated effluents will fall
  through the height of 4.8m and create pressure and velocity that will propel
  rotation of the turbine thereby generating power. It is a Pilot Project which
  has been set up free of cost and will produce 20000 KWH of electricity per
  year.
• The release also termed the technology as pollution free, as no
  fossil fuel is being used in the generation of the power.

• India and Egypt on Monday decided to put in place a bilateral
  framework for enhancing cooperation in key areas of security, counterterrorism,
  defence and investments.
• Both sides agreed to step up engagement in a range of potential
  areas while underlining the need to combat terrorism particularly the threat of
  IS in an effective manner as visiting External Affairs Minister Swaraj called
  on Egyptian President Fattah Al-Sisi.
• The Indian side suggested that the IS should be fought in a “determined
  and collective manner.”
• Ms. Swaraj later met her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Hassan Shoukry
  during which both sides reviewed the entire gamut of relationship and decided
  to diversify defence cooperation from training of personnel to defence
  production.

• Tata Trusts has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
  the Andhra Pradesh Government to develop 264 villages in Vijayawada
  constituency and transform them into smart villages.
• In a major boost to the State Government’s flagship ‘Smart
  Village-Smart Ward’ programme, the Tata Trusts has agreed to work in the areas
  of bamboo cultivation, fisheries, health and nutrition and village development.
• During an interaction with AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry
  Federation in Vijayawada on Monday, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said,
  “Ratan Tata’s (Chairman Emeritus of Tata Group), credibility and simplicity add
  value to this social programme.”

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and
  the Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in third week of
  August 2015 agreed to work together for the conservation of coastal resources
  in Andhra Pradesh.
• The UNFCCC has sanctioned 3.8 crore rupees for the potential
  adaptation strategy of MSSRF in Krishna district through an adaptation fund.
• The objective of the adaptation initiative is to overcome the
  consequences of sea level rise and seawater inundation following cyclones.

• Former Sri Lankan cricket captain and batsman Kumar Sangakkara on
  24 August 2015 retired from International Cricket.
• He played his last match against India as part of three match test
  series held in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
• In an event held on this occasion, he was offered the post of Sri
  Lanka’s High Commissioner to the UK by the Sri Lankan president Maithripala
  Sirisena.
• Sangakkara had already taken retirement from One-Day International
  (ODI) and Twenty-20 cricket. He retired from Twenty-20 cricket format after Sri
  Lanka won the T20 World cup in 2014.  He
  retired from ODI cricket format after the ICC World Cup 2015.
• In his Test match career he scored 38 centuries and 52
  half-centuries from 134 matches.
• In ICC World Cup 2015, Kumar Sangakkara created a record by
  becoming first batsman to score hundreds in three consecutive World Cup
  matches.
• In 2011, he was named as the ODI Cricketer of the Year at the ICC
  awards ceremony and in 2012, he was honoured as one of the Wisden Cricketers of
  the Year.
• On 29 January 2015, Sangakkara became Sri Lanka’s highest ever ODI
  run scorer by surpassing the previous record of 13430 runs held by cricketer
  Sanath Jayasuriya.

• Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt on 23 August 2015 won the 100 meter
  title at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics held at Beijing in China.
• The defending champion completed the race in 9.79 seconds
  surpassing his American rival Justin Gatlin who completed the race in 9.80
  seconds.
• With this win, Bolt joined the select league of Carl Lewis and
  Maurice Greene who won the title for three times.
• Earlier in February 2015, the 28-year-old six-time Olympic gold
  medalist declared that he would retire after 2017 World Championships in
  London.

• Roger Federer of Switzerland on 23 August 2015 won the Cincinnati
  Masters Men’s Singles title by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The final
  match was held at Cincinnati in Ohio State of the USA.
• Federer defeated the reigning world champion 7-6 6-3 to win the
  title for record seventh time.
• He won in all his appearances in the finals held in 2005, 2007,
  2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2015 out of which he defeated Djokovic in 2009 and
  2012. For Djokovic, it is the fifth appearance in the finals and so far he did
  not win a single title.
• The title is considered as one of nine elite Masters 1000
  tournaments on the ATP World Tour and Federer won it most of the times till
  date.

• Aditi Ashok of Bengaluru on 22 August 2015 became the first Indian
  to win the Ladies British Amateur stroke play golf championship at the Moortown
  Golf Club at Leeds, United Kingdom.
• 17-year-old Aditi is not only the first Indian to take the title,
  but also the youngest-ever winner of the tournament.
• Over the 4 days of the tournament, Aditi shot four days total of
  11-under 285 (71, 73, 70, 71) at the par 74 club. She carded five birdies and
  four bogeys in halves of 37-34 and made one eagle on 16th on the final day.

• England cricket team on 23 August 2015 won 2015 Ashes Test series,
  3-2 against Australia at England. In the fifth and final match of the series,
  Australia defeated England by an innings and 46 runs at Ovals.
• England had already clinched the series with victories in three of
  the first four games.

• 1st Test: Played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff between 8 July and 11
  July 2015. England won the match by 169 runs. Joe Root of England was declared
  Player of the match.
• 2nd Test: Played at Lord’s, London between 16 July and 19 July
  2015. Australia won the match by 405 runs. Steven Smith of Australia was
  declared Player of the match. The match also saw debut of Australian cricketer
  Peter Nevill.
• 3rd Test: Played at Edgbaston, Birmingham between 29 July and 31
  July 2015. England won the match by 8 wickets. Steven Finn of England was
  declared Player of the match.
• 4th Test: Played at Trent Bridge, Nottingham between 6 August and
  8 August 2015. England won the match by an innings and 78 runs. Stuart Broad of
  England was declared Player of the match.
• 5th Test: Played at Kennington Oval, London between 20 August and
  23 August 2015. Australia won the match by an innings and 46 runs. Steve Smith
  of Australia was declared Player of the match.
• Chris Rogers of Australia and Joe Root of England jointly shared
  the man of the series award.

End of the series also saw an end to the Test career of Australian
Skipper Michael Clarke. He had announced his retirement after Australia’s
defeat in the fourth test which helped England retain the Ashes. Steven Smith
was named the new captain.

• World number one ranking Serena Williams on 23 August 2015 won the
  Cincinnati Masters Women’s Singles title by defeating the third seeded Simona
  Halep of Romania.
• Having won the 2014 title, it was the third appearance in the
  finals (2013, 2014 and 2015) and the second Cincinnati title win for the
  American player.
• Also, it the 69th singles overall title for the American player.
• In the Women’s category, the title is considered only next to the
  four Grand slam titles.

• The raiders became wary of taking undue risks and the final of the
  STAR Sports ProKabaddi League’s second season dished out dismal fare in the
  presence of partisan and vociferous home fans at the National Sports Club of
  India here on Sunday.
• The defenders of both sides either fell in a heap over the raider
  or hoisted him to win points. On this count U Mumba’s Vishal Mane and Rishank
  Devadiga, and Bengaluru Bulls’ Dharmaraj Cheralathan excelled.
• The defensive tactics employed by the teams was the highlight of
  the final, and eventually U Mumba, which held the advantage at half time,
  sustained its effort in the second session to prevail 36-30 over a persevering
  opponent.
• Taking the initiative, the home team’s Shabeer Bapu won two touch
  points, but it was the admirable work done by defender Mane and all-rounder
  Devadiga that caught the attention. Clearly the anxiety to win the title and
  prize money of Rs. 1 crore was weighing down the two teams.

• Veteran actor-director Amol Palekar has been appointed as chairman
  of India’s Oscar jury, which will select the country’s official entry in the
  best foreign film category of the 88th Academy Awards.
• The “Gol Maal” star, 70, whose film “Paheli” was India’s official
  entry for the Academy Awards in 2005, will be heading the 17-member jury.
• The Mumbai-based actor, who has been away from the silver screen
  for quite a sometime, is known for portraying the middle-class Indian in a
  string of films such as “Rajnigandha”, “Ek Chhoti Si Baat”, “Chitchor”, “Gol
  Maal” and “Gharaunda” in the 1970s.
• He also directed National Award-winning films like “Dhyaas Parva”
  and “Quest”.
• Last year, “Liar’s Dice”, a road drama starring Geetanjali Thapa
  and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles, was selected as India’s official entry
  to the best foreign film category after beating “Shahid”, “Queen”, “Mardaani”,
  Marathi films “Yellow” and “Fandry” and Bengali films “Jatishwar” and “Apur
  Panchali” .

• The Peter Mackler Award, the US branch of Reporters Without
  Borders (RSF), and Agence France-Presse are pleased to announce that Syrian
  journalist           is the 2015 winner of
  the Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism. The award will
  be presented in a ceremony at the National Press Club on October 22, 2015.
• Zaina Erhaim, 30, currently lives and works in Aleppo, Syria. Over
  the last two years, she has trained about 100 citizen reporters from inside
  Syria, approximately a third of them women, in print and TV journalism, and has
  helped establish many of the new emerging independent newspapers and magazines
  in the war torn country.
• Erhaim is also the Syria project coordinator for the Institute for
  War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an international organization that support
  journalists in countries undergoing conflict, crisis, or transition. Many of
  Ms. Erhaim’s students, from all walks of life, have been published in major
  international news outlets.

Regards

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