Current Affairs Update – 27th – 29th August, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the important Current Affairs from 27th to 29th August, 2016. These are important for the upcoming IBPS PO VI Mains, Bank of Baroda and Bank of Maharashtra PO Exams.

• The Union Finance Ministry on 26
  August 2016 constituted a high-level committee to suggest steps to promote card
  payments through incentives like tax rebates and cash back schemes. The
  committee was constituted with an aim to discourage cash transactions.
• The 11-member committee will be
  headed by former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal. The committee will have
  representatives from the Reserve bank of India (RBI), Unique Identification
  Authority of India (UIDAI), the tax department and various industry bodies in
  the payments space.

• It will recommend various
  measures to incentivise transactions through cards and digital means, e.g.,
  through tax rebates/incentives, introduction of cash back/lottery.
• It will review the payments
  system in the country and recommend measures for encouraging digital payments.
• It will study feasibility of
  creating Payments History of all digital payments and ensure that consumers can
  leverage the data to access instant, low cost micro-credit through digital means.
• The panel will also study and
  recommend need for changes, if any, in the regulatory mechanism under various
  laws, relevant for the purpose of promotion of payments by digital modes.
• It will also study and recommend
  ways for leveraging Unique Identification Number or any other identity proof
  for authentication of digital transactions and setting up of a centralised KYC
  Registry.
• It will study introduction of
  single window system of payment gateway to accept all types of cards/digital
  payments of government receipts and enable settlements via NPCI or other
  agencies.

• Maharashtra Chief Minister
  Devendra Fadnavis on 27 August 2016 unveiled the 46000-crore rupee, ambitious
  Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project in Mumbai.
• The project to be implemented by
  Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation will create state-of-the art
  road connectivity within a period of three years and give a fillip to
  investment.

• It would be carried out in the
  Land Pooling model with farmers being made partners and some percentage of
  developed land given back to them.
• The six-lane super communication
  highway, connecting the entire breadth of Maharashtra, would require 9000
  hectares of land.
• Facilities like CCTV cameras,
  trauma centres, electronic toll points, two lanes of service roads, utility
  shifting, bypass, and other structures will be installed to enhance operational
  and safety standards.
• The 706-km link that will pass
  through 10 districts.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 25
  August 2016 asked all commercial and Co-operative banks to provide loans to
  women self-help groups (SHGs) in rural areas at 7 percent per annum.
• The laons will be provided for
  the financial year 2016-17 under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National
  Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 250 districts.

• All women self-help groups (SHGs)
  will be eligible for interest subvention on credit up to three lakh rupees at 7
  percent per annum.
• SHGs availing capital subsidy
  under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) in their existing credit
  outstanding will not be eligible for benefit under this scheme.
• All banks will be subvented to
  the extent of difference between the weighted average interest charged and 7%,
  subject to the maximum limit of 5.5% for 2016-17.

• India and Myanmar on Monday
  signed four agreements following bilateral talks between Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi and visiting Myanmar President Htin Kyaw here.
• The first agreement pertains to
  construction of 69 bridges on the Tamu-Kalewa section of the trilateral highway
  connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand.
• The second agreement is on
  upgrading the Kalewa-Yargi section of the trilateral highway.
• The third agreement is on
  cooperation in the field of renewable energy, while the fourth agreement is on
  cooperation in the field of traditional medicines
• This is the first presidential
  visit from Myanmar to India after Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National
  League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in March this year.

• IIT-K has signed a Memorandum of Understanding
  (MoU) with the Blavatnik Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Center (ICRC) of Tel
  Aviv University. This would facilitate bi-lateral academic relationships,
  cooperative research and teaching projects in select fields.
• Under the tie-up, several types
  of projects have been envisioned wherein graduate students, postdoctoral
  researchers and faculty exchange would become a regular feature to stimulate mutually
  beneficial research.
• IIT-K had earlier engaged with
  the Tandon School of Engineering at New York University in student/faculty
  exchange and research collaboration.
• The two institutions have decided
  upon a few broad areas of study to help set guidelines for bi-lateral
  scientific relationships, cooperative research and teaching projects.

• The Indian Space Research
  Organization (ISRO) on 28 August 2016 successfully test launched the Supersonic
  Combustion Ramjet engine, called Scramjet, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre,
  Sriharikotta in Andhra Pradesh.
• The experimental mission aimed at
  realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System (ABPS) uses hydrogen as fuel
  and oxygen from the atmosphere air as the oxidiser.
• Two scramjet engines were mounted
  alongside of a two-stage, solid fueled rocket called Advanced Technology
  Vehicle (ATV), which is an advanced sounding rocket. The national space agency
  said that its first ever experimental mission met all the specified goals. The
  rocket carrying Scramjet engines weighed 3277 kg at lift-off.
• After a flight of about 300
  seconds, the vehicle touched down in the Bay of Bengal, approximately 320 km
  from Sriharikota. The vehicle was successfully tracked during its flight from
  the ground stations at Sriharikota.

• The West Bengal Legislative
  Assembly today passed a resolution proposing that the State’s name be changed
  to ‘Bangla’ in Bengali or ‘Bengal’ in English.
• The resolution was passed by a
  voice vote with the Opposition parties, including the Left Front, Congress and
  the BJP, opposing the same.
• The resolution was moved by the
  State Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Partha Chatterjee.
• According to the West Bengal
  Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, the name ‘Bangla’ has a historical and
  cultural significance.
• With its new name, the State will
  move up the queue in national meetings. The Chief Minister has often complained
  that she rarely got a chance to speak in these meetings because ‘West Bengal’
  came at the end of a list of 29 states.

• Bombay High Court on 26 August
  2016 ruled that women should be permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of
  Haji Ali Dargah set in the heart of Mumbai.
• The 15th century dargah of the
  Sufi saint, Haji Ali Shah, is located on an islet off the coast of Worli in the
  southern part of Mumbai.
• A division bench of Justices V M
  Kanade and Revati Mohite Dere in its 56-page judgement said that a ban imposed
  by the Haji Ali Dargah Trust on women entering the sanctum sanctorum
  contravenes their fundamental rights and must be lifted.

• The court said that the ban on
  entry of women inside Haji Ali Dargah violates their fundamental right to
  practice any religion.
• Rebuking the Dargah Trust, the
  court said it has no right to discriminate entry of women into a public place
  of worship under the guise of ‘managing the affairs of religion’.

• Women and Child Development Minister
  Maneka Sanjay Gandhi on 26 August 2016 launched Protection of Children from
  Sexual Offenses, POCSO e-box, in New Delhi.
• POCSO e-box is a platform where a
  child victim of sexual abuse can report such cases online. It is initiative of
  National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, for direct online reporting
  of child sexual abuse.

• The e-Box is an online complaint
  management system for easy and direct reporting of sexual offences against
  children and timely action against the offenders under the POCSO Act, 2012.
• It is incorporated on the home
  page of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) website
  http://ncpcr.gov.in/.
• To register complain, a
  complainant will have to push a button named POSCO e-Box, which will navigate
  him/her to a page where he/she will have to select at least one picture option
  (describing the category of harassment).

• Mukesh Mehta was on 28 August
  2016 appointed as the President of India Bullion and Jewellers Association
  (IBJA). He is also a Director on the Board of IBJA.
• Mehta succeeds Mohit Kamboj, who
  resigned in the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of IBJA on 24 August 2016.
• Mukesh Mehta is director of Mark
  Bangles and has already been on the board since the last four years. He has
  also served on various committee’s in the last four years.
• IBJA is a 97 year old apex
  organization for bullion dealers and jewellers and any change at the top
  leadership is microscopically viewed by its members and other allied
  associations.

• Country’s largest paramilitary
  force CRPF has decided to appoint Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu as it’s
  brand ambassador and bestow the honorary rank of Commandant on the ace badminton
  player.
• Official sources said the force
  has moved a formal proposal in this regard to the Union Home Ministry and after
  getting required sanctions, Sindhu will be honoured and presented the rank
  badges and camouflage combat fatigues of the CRPF at a ceremonial event.
• It is understood that Sindhu has
  been informed and her consent taken by the CRPF in this regard.
• A Commandant rank in the CRPF is
  equivalent to the position of a Superintendent of Police (SP) and such an
  officer commands a battalion of about 1,000 personnel, when posted in field
  operations.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on
  26 August 2016 announced the decision to set up a task force to prepare action
  Plan for the next three Olympics Games. The task force will be set up over the
  next few days.
• The announcement was made at the
  meeting of the Council of Ministers in New Delhi.
• The task force will prepare a
  comprehensive action plan for effective participation of Indian sports persons
  in the Olympic Games to be held in 2020, 2024 and 2028. The 2020 Olympic Games
  will be held in Tokyo.
• The task force comprising members
  in house as well as outside experts will prepare overall strategy for sports
  facility, training, selection procedure and other related matters.
• The decision was made in backdrop
  of the dismal performance of India at Rio Olympics in which the country was
  able to win only one silver and one bronze medal after sending the biggest
  contingent of 118 athletes.

• It was a celebration of woman
  power in sports as Olympic stars PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar were
  today conferred India’s highest sporting honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna —
  along with shooter Jitu Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati
  Bhawan here.
• For the first time in the history
  of National Sports Awards, four athletes were chosen for the Khel Ratna honour,
  owing to the three girls’ superlative show at the Rio Olympics.
• In 2009, three athletes — boxers
  Vijender Singh and M C Mary Kom and wrestler Sushil Kumar — were given this
  award together.
• Teen Javelin thrower Neeraj
  Chopra, the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level with a
  gold medal at the U-20 World Championship, was also among the Arjuna winners
  this year.
• Goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the
  lone footballer in the list of Arjuna awardees, which also included shooter
  Apurvi Chandela and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
• This year’s Dronacharya Award was
  conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among them being Dipa’s coach
  Bishweshwar Nandi and India Test team captain Virat Kohli’s mentor Raj Kumar
  Sharma.

• Veteran Sri Lanka batsman
  Tillakaratne Dilshan on 25 August 2016 announced his retirement from
  international cricket.
• He will play his last ODI in
  Dambulla on 28 August 2016 against Australia (third of the five-match series).
  He will play his last T20 international in Colombo on 9 September 2016.
• Dilshan, who is most famous for
  inventing the Dilscoop, had already retired from Test cricket in 2013. He
  played 87 Tests and scored 5492 runs at 40.98, and also picked 39 Test wickets.
  Dilscoop is a process of hitting the ball behind the keeper. He also was a Test
  wicket-keeper.

• International Day Against Nuclear
  Tests was on 29 August 2016 observed across the world with an aim to raise
  people’s awareness on the need to prevent nuclear catastrophes to avert
  devastating effects on humankind, the environment and the planet.
• The Day was first celebrated in
  2010 and since then, the day has been observed by coordinating various
  activities throughout the world such as symposia, conferences, exhibits,
  competitions, publications, instruction in academic institutions, media
  broadcasts and others.

Regards

Team ExamPundit