Click here to buy the August 2019 Current Affairs PDF
NATIONAL NEWS
UNESCO to publish anthology of Guru Nanak Dev's writing in world languagesThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has decided to translate and publish an anthology of the writings of Guru Nanak Dev in world languages to mark his 550th birth anniversary.
- The government is also holding a series of events and has initiated projects to mark 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
- These include the construction of Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district in Punjab to the international border, the development of the historic town of Sultanpur Lodhi as a heritage town on the smart city principle, the upgradation of Sultanpur Lodhi railway station and release of commemorative coins and postage stamps.
Union Government has set a target of setting up 12 thousand 500 Ayush Health and Wellness Centres across the country. Out of which four thousand will be set up during this year.
Government sets-up new house committees
The government announced the formation of new house committees and appointed its members and chairpersons.
- In the newly formed committees, BJP MP Jayant Sinha has been appointed as chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance.
- BJP Lok Sabha MP PP Chaudhary has been designated as chairperson of the Committee on External Affairs.
- YSR Congress Party MP V Vijayasai Reddy has been named as chairperson of the Committee on Commerce.
- BJP MP Jual Oram has been appointed as chairperson of the Committee on Defence.
- Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma has been named as chairperson of the Committee on Home Affairs.
- Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor has been picked as chairperson of the Committee on Information Technology.
Andhra Pradesh government announced the formation of an expert committee to suggest a comprehensive urban development strategy for the state. The Committee has been asked to submit its report within six weeks.
- Retired IAS officer GN Rao will be the Convenor of the Expert Committee.
The Rajasthan government has launched a Jan Soochna Portal, developed by the information and technology department. It will have 23-24 types of information pertaining to 13 departments on a single platform.
- The portal ensures compliance with Section 4(2) of the RTI Act mandating the public authorities to disclose information in the public domain.
Expressing concern over depleting groundwater levels, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has set up a committee to formulate steps required to prevent its unauthorised extraction.
- The committee has been directed to evolve a robust mechanism to ensure that groundwater is not illegally extracted and to monitor manning and functioning of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
The fifth edition of the International Ramayana Festival began in New Delhi. After the national capital, the festival will be held in Lucknow between September 20-22 and in Pune on September 21. It will also travel to the city of Ayodhya.
- Cultural groups from eight nations including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will stage musicals and plays based on the epic in New Delhi, Lucknow and Pune.
- The purpose of the festival, organised by ICCR is to explore cultural diplomacy through the Hindu epic, which is popular in several countries.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Vietnam opens Southeast Asia's largest solar power farmVietnam has inaugurated Southeast Asia's largest solar power farm which has the capacity to produce 688 million kWh of electricity annually.
- The Dau Tieng Solar Power Complex, a joint venture with the Thai industrial group B.Grimm Power Public Company, occupies 540 hectares in Tay Ninh province, some 100 km from Ho Chi Minh City, and has an investment of more than $391 million.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
World Bank to provide Rs 3,000 crore aid for food parksUnion Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Rameswar Teli has said, the World Bank will provide three thousand crore rupees assistance to finance, mini and mega food parks across the country.
- This will help boost farmers' income. He announced this during addressing the 15th Indo-US Economic Summit organized by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce-North India Council (IACC-NIC) in New Delhi.
SPORTS
Australian Megan Schutt becomes 1st woman to claim 2 white-ball hat-tricksAustralia fast bowler Megan Schutt scripted history be becoming the first woman to claim two hat-tricks in white ball cricket after she cleaned up the West Indies tail.
AWARDS
IIT Ropar and IISc Bengaluru No. 1 Indian varsity: World University Rankings 2020According to the Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2020, IIT Ropar made a surprising entry on the list as the Number 1 among the 56 Indian institutes on the list of the best universities of the world compiled by UK-based Times Higher Education (THE). It shared the ranking with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru and they stand at among the top 301-350 universities of the world. Five Indian women police officers honoured by United Nations
Five Indian women police officers were honoured by the United Nations for their commendable services in UN mission in South Sudan. Reena Yadav, Inspector, Chandigarh Police; Gopika Jahagirdar, DSP, Maharashtra Police, Bharati Samantray, DSP in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ragini Kumari, Inspector in the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Kamal Shekhawat, ASP, Rajasthan Police were conferred the UN medal.
- The women officers were honoured by the United Nation for upholding the UN mandate of protection of civilians in conflict-ridden South Sudan. The women officers are engaged in community policing, administrative, operational duties and capacity building of local authorities.
OBITUARIES
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s father, former bureaucrat BN Yugandhar passes awayFormer bureaucrat B N Yugandhar, father of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, has passed away. He was 82. Yugandhar had served in the Prime Minister’s Office during late P V Narasimha Rao’s regime and also as director of the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration at Mussorie.
- Yugandhar, a 1962 batch IAS officer, had also served as secretary in the Union Rural Development Ministry.
Iconic American singer-songwriter Eddie Money has passed away. The 'Two Tickets to Paradise' fame singer was 70.
No comments:
Post a Comment