Current Affairs 16th August, 2017

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Govt asks Google, Facebook, Microsoft, others to remove Blue Whale link.

The government has directed internet majors Google, Facebook, Whats App, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately remove links of the dangerous online game Blue Whale Challenge. It leads to suicides of children in India and other countries.

1. The Blue Whale game was created by a 22-year-old Russian named Philipp Budeikin who, in an interview, confessed that he was directly responsible for at least 17 teenagers in Russia committing suicide.
2. Budeikin was arrested in May 2017 and was sentenced to three years in prison.

Key Points

1. The letter, dated 11^th August was issued with following instructions from IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
2. The Blue Whale Challenge is a suicide game in which the player is given certaintasks to complete for a period of 50 days and the final task leads to suicide.
3. The player is asked to share photos after finishing the different levels of the game. The game is spread via links on social media platforms.
4. Mumbai and West Midnapore district have reported deaths linked to this game.
5. The proponent of Blue Whale Challenge should be reported to law enforcement agencies.

6th session of India-Turkmenistan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) held in New Delhi
The 6th session of India-Turkmenistan Inter-Governmental Commission (IGC) on Trade, Economic, Scientific & Technological Cooperation was held in New Delhi on August 14, 2017.

1.     Turkmenistan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredovled high-level delegation comprising senior officials of the Government of Turkmenistan participated in this session.

2.     Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Mr. Meredov comprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral relations and took stock of the progress achieved in the areas of energy, trade and economic cooperation, transport and connectivity, security cooperation, civil aviation, information technology, science and technology, cultural and educational matters.

Quick Facts about Turkmenistan:
Capital:  Ashgabat
Currency: Turkmenistan manat
Current President: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow

India opens first Partition museum at Amritsar
India’s first museum will open in Amritsar Punjab, as India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations.
Key Points:

1. The museum will include photographs, newspaper clippings, donated personal items, and screens showing video interviews with survivors.
2. It will have ‘The Gallery of Hope’, where visitors can scribble messages of love and peace.
3. The exhibitions are housed in the red-brick Town Hall building in the north Indian border city of Amritsar.

About Punjab
Capital: Chandigarh
Governor: VP Singh Badnore
CM: Amarinder Singh

GeM and CII sign MoU to establish GeMSamvad
On August 14, 2017, a MoU was signed between Government eMarketplace (GeM) special-purpose vehicle SPV and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in the presence of Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman,  Commerce & Industry Minister at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi.

1. This MoU between GeM and CII is aimed at establishing GeM Samvaad – a participative and collaborative approach with the industry for promoting Indian industry and entrepreneurship.
2. As part of this initiative, GeM & the Indian industry shall work together to create GeM related awareness.
3. The MoU also seeks to create a GeM-Industry Forum for collaboration with the Indian Industry for, seeking inputs on the technical specifications of products and services to be procured by the Government agencies, improving the quality of products/services procured especially from the MSMEs, organize annual Public Procurement Convention of all stakeholders and set up GeM Resource Centres at CII Regional Offices.

Karnataka Launches ‘Indira Canteen’ in Bengaluru
‘Indira Canteen’, aimed at serving food to poor at subsidized rates, was inaugurated in Bengaluru on August 16, 2017, by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

1. Rahul Gandhi who had the first breakfast at the canteen in Jayanagar, said ‘Indira Canteens’ would serve the migrants who came to Bengaluru with a dream to build something.
2. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the programme would be extended to all district centres across the State.

Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launches live twitter wall on ‘Bharat Ke Veer’
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched a live Twitter wall for promoting ‘Bharat Ke Veer portal’ on the eve of the 71st Independence Day.

Key Points:

1. On this occasion, Ministers of State for Home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju contributed their one month salary for the portal
2. The portal aims to facilitate online donation directly to the families of paramilitary troopers who have sacrificed their lives for the country in line of duty from 1st  January  2016.
3. It is launched by Rajnath Singh and actor Akshay Kumar on 9^th April.
4. The social media awareness campaign will display all tweets with hash tag Bharat Ke Veer at central Delhi’s Connaught Place and south Delhi’s CGO complex and Khan Market areas where huge LED display screens have been installed.
5. The Home Minister said that the security forces have made supreme sacrifices in the line of duty and the people need to stand by their families and support them.
6. Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, Officer on Special Duty Rajiv Gauba and senior Home Ministry officers were also present on the occasion.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Italy to host fall G-7 interior Ministers summit on security
 Italy would be hosting the summit of Group of Seven Interior Ministers to discuss on security matters in October 2017.

Key Points:

1. The meeting is being organised at the request of Italy’s G-7 partners- Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.
2. Italy currently holds the authority of the G-7 industrialized nations.
3. Since the beginning of the year 2015, Italy has deported over 199 foreigners, who were suspected of posing security threats to the nation.
4. The Minister stated that while the terror alert level remains high in Italy, there is no trace of an imminent threat or attack.

About G-7:

1.     The group consists of seven major advanced economies including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States.

2.      The G7 countries represent more than 64% of the net global wealth ($263 trillion).

3.     The 43rd G7 summit was held in Taormina, Italy in May 2017.

4.     The G7 countries represent 46% of the global GDP evaluated at market exchange rates.

5.     The main requirements for becoming a member of the G-7 include having a very high net national wealth and a very high Human Development Index.

Nepal, China sign three pacts to boost energy,economic ties

Nepal and China has signed three pacts to boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains.

Key Notes:

1. The pacts were signed after visiting Chinese vice premier Wang Yang held discussions with Nepals deputy prime ministers Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and Krishna BahadurMahara.
2. The main focus is to enhance cooperation in tourism, infrastructure development, energy, cross-border connectivity and people-to-people relations.
3. The agreements have covered economic and technological cooperation, oil and gas resources exploration, and promotion of investment.
4. Gachhad arresated Nepal’s commitment to the One China policy, “including the principled position of not allowing its territory to be used against neighbours.”
5. The pacts include a feasibility study for excavating natural gas and petroleum in mountain areas and plains of the Terai region.
6. The two countries also agreed to establish hydropower projects and transmission lines and take steps for economic and technological development in Nepal.

About Nepal
Capital: Kathmandu
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
PM: Sher Bahadur Deuba

Colombia declares FARC war over as last guns roll away

1. President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia put an end to Colombia’s 50-year conflict with FARC guerrillas as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down finally over on August 15 2017 at Bogota.
2. Santos had closed a padlock on the last lot of decommissioned rifles before it was taken out of a remote demobilization camp to formally seal the UN-supervised disarmament by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
3. Colombia has been a republic for 198 years and had a long clash with FARC guerrillas. This was the last part of this conflict.
4. The remaining people of rebel force has said it will officially transform into a political party on September 1, step in reintegrating into civilian life as part of a historic peace deal signed 2016.

About FARC:

·         The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army (FARC–EP and FARC) was a guerrilla movement involved in the continuing Colombian armed conflict since 1964. It was known to employ a variety of military tactics in addition to more unconventional methods, including terrorism.On 27 June 2017, FARC ceased to be an armed group, disarming itself and handing over its weapons to the United Nations.

Few Facts about Colombia
Capital: Bogota
Currency: Colombian peso
Official language: Spanish

Melbourne named world’s most liveable city for seventh-straight year
Australian city Melbourne has topped the Global Liveability Rankings compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) for seventh-straight year.
About Global Live ability Rankings:

·         The ranking quantifies the challenges that might be presented to an individual’s lifestyle in any given location, and allows for direct comparison between locations.

·         Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure…

BANKING & FINANCE

City Union Bank offers instant credit cards
City Union Bank is going to offer instant credit cards and customers can generate a credit card online.
Key Points:

1.      The bank introduced the option of an “instant credit card” for free for its Net banking customers.

2.      According to the Bank sources about 80 customers had generated a credit card on Day

3.      .All that a customer has to do is log on to his/her net banking account and seek a credit card.

4.      The customer will be allowed a credit limit of up to 80% of the deposit or a maximum of 3 lakh.

5.      On capturing the PDF image of the card, the customer can go online shopping instantly.
The image will reflect the card number, card-holder’s name and expiry date.

6.      The physical delivery of the card will take a day or two. In the meantime, the card-holder can use it for online purchases.

7.      CUB has tied-up with MasterCard for the instant credit card.

About City Union Bank
Founded: 1904
HQ: Kumbakonam ,Tamil Nadu
MD&CEO: Dr. N. Kamakodi

BUSINESS

India to host steering committee meeting of TAPI gas pipeline

India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline. The meeting will be held in New Delhi. This decision was taken during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

About Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline:

·         Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Pipeline (TAPI), also known as Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, is an under construction natural gas pipeline that will transport Caspian Sea natural gas from turkmenistan, through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India.

·         It was initially proposed in year 1995.

·         The pipeline is being developed by Asian Development Bank.

·         From Indian perspective, the pipeline is an effort to tap Turkmenistan’s Galkynysh gas fields, which are the fourth largest in the world…

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund launches ‘Plan Your Goal’ website

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website called ‘PlanYourGoal.com‘ on 16^th of August 2017.
 Key Points:

1.      It has been launched to help users plan their investments according to their future financial goals.

2.      The website guides the users to plan their big spends, tax investments as well as the corpus required during retirement.

3.      The website also provides recommendations based on calculations

About ICICI
ICICI Bank (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) is an Indian Multinational Banking and financial services company .
Founded on     –           1994
Headquarters  –           Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Chairman        –           Mr. M. K. Sharma
MD & CEO      –           Mrs. ChandaKochhar

SpaceX successfully launches HP’s supercomputer to ISS
Space X has successfully launched Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) Spaceborne Computer towards the International Space Station using Falcon 9 rocket.
 
Key Points:

1.      The launch is a part of HPE’s joint experiment with NASA.

2.      It has been launched to test if high performance computing hardware can survive in outer space conditions.

3.      Space X also recovered the Falcon 9 rocket. It marked its 14^th successful rocket landing.The system is a joint project between HPE and NASA.

4.      The computer supposedly passed 146 “safety tests and certifications” to be approved for space travel by NASA.

IIT Guwahati develops silk patch to repair damaged heart tissue
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati have developed a 3D cardiac tissue patch using silk protein membranes seeded with heart muscle cells.
Key Points:

1.      The patch can potentially be used for regenerating damaged heart tissue.

2.      According to the BimanMandal from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Guwahati the 3D patch that we fabricated can be implanted at the site of damage to help the heart regain normal function.

3.      It can also be used for sealing holes in the heart.

4.      Cardiac tissue gets permanently damaged when oxygen supply is reduced or cut off during a heart attack.

5.      Currently available grafts fail to mimic the structure and the function of the native heart tissue as well as maintain high cell numbers

6.      The patch developed by the IIT Guwahati researcher’s scores over these on many counts.

7.      The results were published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B.

8.      Silk proteins extracted from raw silk were used for fabricating the membrane by using a mould.

9.      Thenano-groove structure on the mould was transferred to the silk membrane and this helped guide the heart muscle to grow in a linear fashion and parallel to each other thus mimicking the heart tissue structure.

10.  Heart cell lines and cells taken from the heart tissue were used for seeding the silk membrane.

11.  The muga silk exhibited good elasticity and mechanical strength comparable to native heart tissue as only 2% silk proteins to make the membrane is used.

12.  The silk in the patch supports the cells till the newly formed cardiac tissue integrates with the native heart tissue and degrades once the integration takes place.

13.  This method is better than the conventional direct delivery of cardiac cells to repair the damaged portion of the heart as the cells get washed out from the injected site.

100 million years old damselfly named after Sir David Attenborough
A new species of a 100-million- year-old damselfly discovered in Myanmar has been named in honour of famed British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.
Key Points:

1.      The species, belonging to a group more commonly known as shadowdamsels, has been named Mesosticta davidattenboroughi.

2.      Researchers decided to name the new species after David Attenborough because of his long-standing appreciation of dragonflies, and to celebrate his 90th birthday.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

NABARD Awards Corporation Bank for SHG, KVGB for Credit- Linking Joint Liability group

Corporation Bank has bagged the best performance awards for SHG-bank linkage programme for Karnataka for 2015-16 and 2016-17 from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
Key Points:

1.      The bank was given the award for its overall performance under SHG-bank linkage programme for 2015-16 and 2016-17 among commercial banks operating in Karnataka.

2.      The bank has formed more than 1.32 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) till date.

3.      The groups are provided with credit facilities for new ventures.

4.      D.M. Mujumdar, General Manager of the bank, received the awards from Karnataka Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Khuntia at NABARD, Bengaluru.

5.      Under the SHG-Bank linkage programme more than 14 lakh families have improved their income levels and standard of living.

About NABARD
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is an apex development financial institution in India.
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Established on 12 July 1982

ENVIRONMENT

Aeroplanes may be affecting ozone layer by releasing black carbon

Aeroplanes may be ejecting significant amounts of black carbon (BC).Climate researchers from multiple institutions in India including from the Indian Institute of Science and ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, made a study about BC a pollutant known to aggravate breathing disorders, upset the monsoon and quicken glacier melt. Black Carbon may also be depleting the ozone layer.

About Black Carbon and causes for its accumulation in Stratosphere:

·         The term black carbon was coined by Tihomir Novakov in 1970s.

·         Black Carbon is formed through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuel, and biomass.

·         It is known to dissipate and settle down in a few months under the influence of rain and wind and is unlikely to travel upward of 4 km.

·         However, as per the study, the climate researchers have evidence of such particles existing up to 18 km into the stratosphere and there are about 10,000 of them in every cubic centimeter.

Researchers discover new tectonic plate, total count now 57
 US-based Rice University researchers have found a new tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean off Ecuador’s coast. 
Key Notes:

1.      It is named after a Colombian island, the Malpelo plate is the 57th plate to be discovered and the first in nearly a decade.

2.      In this case, they carefully studied the movements of other plates and their evolving relationships to one another as the plates move at a rate of millimeters to centimeters per year.

3.      The Pacific lithospheric plate that roughly defines the volcanic Ring of Fire is one of about 10 major rigid tectonic plates that float and move atop Earth’s mantle, which behaves like a fluid over geologic time.

4.      Interactions at the edges of the moving plates account for most earthquakes experienced on the planet.

5.      There are many small plates that fill the gaps between the big ones, and the Pacific Plate meets two of those smaller plates, the Cocosand Nazca, west of the Galapagos Islands.

6.      Scientists are trying to understand global deformation and need to understand where the rest of that velocity is going so thinking about of the other plates which are missing.

SPORTS

Nadal to return to no. 1 rank for first time after 3 years
Tennis Player Rafael Nadal return to the number one spot in ATP ranking after 3 years.
Key Points:

1.      He returned to No.1 spot after Roger Federer pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters due to an injury.

2.      The last time Nadal was World No. 1 was on 6^th July 2014.

3.      Nadal has spent 141 weeks in the top spot in his career.

About Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadalis a Spanish professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history.
He was born on 3 June 1986
Coach (es)- Toni Nadal
Carlos Moya

Indian men’s hockey team beat the Netherlands 2-1 to win series
India Men’s Hockey team has defeated world No. 4 Netherlands by 2-1 to win the series.
Key Points:

1.      Led by Manpreet Singh, the team featured nine players from the junior team, but they still managed to beat an experienced Netherlands squad through goals from Gurjant (4th minute) and Mandeep (51).

2.      ArmaanQureshi made a great attempt to take India’s lead to 2-0.

3.      Gurjant Singh and Mandeep Singh scored a goal apiece as a resolute Indian men’s hockey team overcome in an exciting way.

4.      It was India’s second successive win over the Dutch.

Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer to win Rogers Cup final
Alexander Zverev beats Roger Federer by 6-3, 6-4 points in the Rogers Cup final on 13^th of August 2017.
Key Points:

1.      He has posted his 10th consecutive victory and fifth tournament title this year.

2.      The Roger Cup tournament held in Washington USA and Zverev is the youngest Rogers Cup finalist.

3.      In the doubles final, fifth-seeded Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut beat seventh-seeded Rohan Bopanna of India and Ivan Dodig of Croatia by 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 points.

4.      Alexander hails from German and now has won five ATP Tour titles this year.

About Rogers Cup

·         The 2017 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts.

·         It was the 128th edition for the men.

·         The men’s event was held at the Uniprix Stadium in Montreal, from August 7 to August 13.

Indian boxers clinch 10 medals at Serbian tourney
India has won 10 medals, including two gold medals in the 6th Golden Glove women’s Boxing Tournament at Vojvodina, Serbia. 
Key Points:

1.      Jyoti has won Gold in 51 kgcategory, and Vanlal haritpuii bagged it in 60 kgcategory.

2.      India bagged two gold, four silver and four bronze medals in the tournament.

3.      The silver medals were bagged by Anjali in 48kg, Sakshi in 54kg, Ashtha in 69kg and Anupama in 81kg categories. 

4.      Mandeep in 57kg, Nisha in 64kg, Shruti in 75kg and Neha in 81+kg category has won bronze medals after losing in the semi-finals.

About Serbia
Capital: Belgrade
President: AleksandarVucic
Prime Minister: Ana Brnabic
Currency: Serbian Dinar

IAAF World Championship 2017
2017 IAAF World Championships was the 16th edition of the IAAF World Championships, and was held in London from 4^th to 13^th August 2017.

·         The championships were held in the London Stadiumin Stratford, London, which hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics.

·         Mascot of 2017 IAAF World Championships was an anthropomorphic hedgehog named Hero the Hedgehog, and for the Para Athletics the mascot was Whizbee the Bee.

·         The U.S. topped 2017 IAAF World Championships claiming 30 total medals. Kenya finished a distant second with 11 total medals.

·         2017 IAAF World Championships Medals table – Top 5

OBITUARY

Actor Shanmuga sundaram passes away at 79
Actor Shanmuga sundaram, who has appeared in a number of Tamil movies in character and supporting roles, died in the city on 15^th August 2017. He was 79.

1.      The actor made his debut in the movie Ratha Kanneer in 1963 and went on to act in Karnan in 1964. It was, however, his role in Karagattakaran, the 1989 movie directed by Gangai Amaran as heroine Kanaga’s father that catapulted him to fame.

2.      He also acted in other blockbusters such as Kizhakku Vaasal and Nanban. His last major release was Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan starring actor Simbhu, which released a couple of months ago. While was been active in Tamil theatre in his early years, he had acted in television serials too in recent times.

3.      The Nadigar Sangam condoled the death of the actor and said that his contributions would be remembered.