Current Affairs August 2014 SPORTS & GAMES India Finishes Fifth At 20th Commonwealth Games India finishes 5th with 64 medals (15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze) at the 20th Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2014. India’s total medal tally was thus 64, which is far less than the 19th Commonwealth Games of 2010 at New Delhi, where India won a total of 101 medals. England topped the medal table for the first time in 28 years with 58 golds, 59 silvers and 57 bronzes. Australia was on second position, Canada on third and Scotland was on 4th position. The 2014 Commonwealth Games (officially the XX Commonwealth Games) were held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 3 August 2014. Its the 3rd time that Scotland is hosting this event; the previous two being in Edinburgh (1970 & 1986). The 21st Commonwealth Games will be held in Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia between 4 to 15 April 2018. Katie Ledecky Sets World Record In 1,500-Meter Freestyle Katie Ledecky, an American distance swimmer on 23 August created a World Record in Women’s 1500 Meter Freestyle at the 2014 Pan Pac Championships on the Gold Coast, Australia. To create the new record Ledecky swam the distance in 15 minutes 28.36 seconds. She crushed her own previous 1500-metre freestyle record of swimming the distance in 15 minutes 34.23 seconds at an untaqpered meet in The Woodlands, Texas in June 2014. Ledecky won her fifth gold medal at the Gold Coast meet after defeating Lauren Boyle of New Zealand by more than 27 seconds. Jammu and Kashmir To Host Football Federation Cup In August 2015 The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on 18 August that Jammu and Kashmir will host Football Federation Cup in August 2015. Himachal To Host First Paragliding World Cup In India India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh has been selected as venue to host Paragliding World Cup 2015. This will be the first para-gliding World Cup to be hosted in India. The tournament will be organized under the auspices of Para-gliding World Cup Association, France.The World Cup will be hosted in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh from 24 October 2015 and will see around 150 top ranked pilots of the world besides 500 free flying pilots as participants. ________________________________________ ECONOMY RBI Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2014-15 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy statement 2014-15 announced on 5 August, has kept the Short-term lending (repo) rate unchanged at 8%. The Reverse Repo rate has also been left unchanged at 7% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is also the same at 4%. The only major change is in Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) which has been slashed by 50 basis points (bps) to 22% from previous 22.50%.Estimates GDP growth at 5.5% for current fiscal(2014-15). Union Cabinet Approves FDI in Defence and Railways The Union Cabinet on 6 August allowed foreign investment in the Railways for the first time and raised limit for such investment in the defence sector, steps intended to raise funds for expansion of the Railways and encourage domestic manufacture of arms. Under this proposal the government is to increase the FDI limit in the defence industry to 49% from 26% and from nil to 100% in railway infrastructure of the country. RBI issued Draft Guidelines For ‘Anytime Anywhere’ BBPS The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 7 August issued draft guidelines for the implementation of Bharat Bill Payment System (BPPS), an anytime anywhere bill payment system.The draft mentions the requirements and the basic framework of operating the BBPS, and stipulates the eligibility criteria, standards for settlement model and customer grievance redressal, roles and responsibilities and scope for entities seeking to be part of BBPS. Mukesh Ambani Is India’s Richest Man The wealth research firm Wealth-X of India’s richest individuals latest study report released on 13 August. According to the report, the top five Indian billionaires led by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani collectively control $85.5 billion (about Rs 5,23,897 crore) in personal wealth, accounting for nearly half of the country’s total billionaire wealth. Mukesh Ambani remains the richest man in the country with an estimated net worth of $24.4 billion (about Rs 1,49,474 crore). ________________________________________ SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY China Successfully Launched Remote Sensing Satellite China on 9 August successfully launched the “Yaogan XX” a remote-sensing satellite to carry out scientific experiments and provide early alerts natural disasters. The Yaogan XX satellite blasted off on the back of a Long March 4C carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the country’s northwestern Gobi desert. The launch marked the 190th mission for the nation’s long march rocket family. IBM Develops A New Chip That Functions Like A Brain IBM researchers have announced on 9 August the development of a new computer chip that is inspired by the brain, mimicking the way that the mind can recognize patterns utilizing a web of interconnected transistors to simulate neural networks. The chip or processor is named TrueNorth, and it contains more than 5.4 billion transistors, yet requires no more power to function than a hearing aid (just 70 milliwatts of power versus the minimum of 35 watts required by current Intel processors, with have 1.4 billion transistors). PM Narendra Modi Dedicates ‘ INS Kolkata ‘ To The Nation Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 16 August dedicated India’s indigenously designed warship ‘ INS Kolkata ‘ to the nation. With this, INS Kolkata was commissioned in Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The 6800-tonne Kolkata class warship has been constructed by the Mazagon Docks Ltd, Mumbai and designed by the Navy’s Design Bureau. NASA’s Scientists Developed ‘SMAP’ Satellite To Combat Drought NASA scientists, including one of Indian-origin, developed Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite that can predict the severity of droughts worldwide and help farmers maximize the crop yield.The mission is scheduled to launch in November 2014 and will collect the local data of agricultural and water managers that are needed worldwide. ________________________________________ PERSONS IN NEWS A) APPOINTMENTS K V Chowdary is new CBDT chairman Senior Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer K V Chowdary (full name – Kosaraju Veeraiah Chowdary) has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the top policy making body of the Income Tax department. K.V. Chowdary, a 1978-batch officer, on 1 August took charge of his office. He will have tenure of three months.He succeed R K Tewari. He retired on 31 July 2014. President Appointed New Governors of Four States President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 26 August appointed new Governors of four states, namely Maharashtra, Goa , Karnataka and Rajasthan. The Governors names are:- 1) Kalyan Singh – Rajasthan Governor 2) Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala – Karnataka Governor 3) Ch. Vidyasagar Rao – Maharashtra Governor 4) Mridula Sinha – Goa Governor B)RESIGNS Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan Resigned Maharashtra governor K Sankaranarayanan resigned from his office on 24 August.He tendered his resignation in the backdrop of being transferred to Mizoram. He refused to take charge of his new assignment. C)DEATHS Legendary Cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma Died Legendary cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, popularly known as Pran, who created the comic book character like Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, died on 5 August in Gurgaon at the age of 75. He was 75. He was born on 15 August 1938 in Kasur near Lahore (now Pakistan). He created the character ‘Dabbu’ for a Delhi-based newspaper ‘Milap’. D)VISITORS Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Nepal Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal on 3-4 August 2014. During the visit, Narendra Modi met Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala in Kathmandhu, the captital of Nepal. The two leaders discussed various issues including Nepal’s peace process and constitution-drafting process as well as economic issues. After the talks, Modi and Koirala witnessed the signing of three agreements. E)MISCELLANEOUS Edward Snowden Granted Three-year Residence Permit In Russia Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has received a residence permit in Russia on 7 August 2014, which is valid for three years. Earlier in 2013, Snowden was granted a one-year temporary asylum, which ended on 1 August 2014. ________________________________________ PLACES IN NEWS Two Ancient Mayan Cities Found In Mexico Jungle In the month of August 2014 Archaeologists have found two ancient Mayan cities Lagunita and Tamchen hidden in the jungle of south-eastern Mexico. They discovered the two cities of Lagunita and Tamchen on the Yucatan peninsula by examining aerial photographs of the region. ________________________________________ ABBREVIATIONS ASEAN —— Association of South East Asian Nations IFTU ——- International Federation of Trade Unions WFI ——– Wrestling Federation of India CERSAI — – Central Registry of Securitisation Asset Reconstruction and Security ________________________________________ BOOKS IN NEWS ‘ One Life is Not Enough: An Autobiography ‘ Released An autobiography of the former External Affairs Minister and veteran Congress Party leader Natwar Singh was released on 1 August. The book titled “One Life is Not Enough” is penned by Kunwar Natwar Singh.This book has been in news and controversy since past few days because it discloses much information about Sonia Gandhi, the President of the Congress Party. ________________________________________ COMMITTEES Hari Gautam Committee To Review The Status Of UGC A four-member Committee under the chairmanship of former UGC chairman Hari Gautam has been constituted by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on 3 August with a view to review the present status of Universities Grants Commission’s (UGC). The committee will suggest ways to restructure and reorganise the panel to attain better performance in order to meet desired objectives. ________________________________________ IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES World Humanitarian Day Observed Across The World World Humanitarian Day was observed across the world on 19 August 2014. The day is observed to recognise humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. The theme for the year 2014 is The World Needs More Humanitarian Heroes.World Humanitarian Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian work around the globe. The events of the day included wreath-laying ceremony at UN Headquarters in New York to honour aid workers killed in the line of duty. The day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq. The bombing killed 22 people, including UN envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello. The Day is observed annually on 19 August. August 29 Is Celebrated As The ‘National Sports Day’ August 29 is celebrated as the National Sports Day in dedication to the great hockey player Dhyan Chand.This day is celebrated by organizing friendly matches between different Indian hockey teams at the Dhyan Chand National stadium in New Delhi.The National Stadium was constructed in the respect and honor of Dhyan Chand. Major Dhyan Chand was India’s greatest hockey player. He has scored over 1000 goals between 1926 and 1948. He helped India win 3 Olympic Gold medals including the first in 1928 (Amsterdum Olympic games) and then in 1932 ( Los Angeles Olympic games) and 1936 (Berlin Olympic games). JAI DEEP PURI CSS HUB. 9888842223
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 11:39:38 +0000
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