Important Daily Current Affairs Updates – 16th August 2017:
Dear Readers, Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.
STATE
Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON)
Odisha Government will soon launch “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON), a special programme to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Ganjam district. Under this programme, camps will be held in remote areas for mass test for malaria. As many as 103 camps will be held in the next three months. Around 15,000 people would be covered under the programme.
Useful Info
State – Odisha
Capital – Bhubaneshwar
CM – Naveen Patnaik
Governor – S C Jamir
India’s first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open in Amritsar Punjab
India’s first museum on Partition of the Indian subcontinent will open this week in Amritsar Punjab, as India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations. The museum will include photographs, newspaper clippings, donated personal items, and screens showing video interviews with survivors. It will also have ‘The Gallery of Hope’, where visitors can scribble messages of love and peace. Tickets are priced low at Rs10 for Indians and Rs150 for foreigners.
Useful Info
State – Punjab
Capital – Chandigarh
CM – Captain Amarinder Singh
Governor – VP Singh Badnore
NATIONAL
India to Host Next Steering Committee Meeting of TAPI Gas Pipeline
India (New Delhi) will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline senior officials on both sides confirmed. The decision came during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation. The meeting was followed by a meeting between visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
Useful Info
TAPI – Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India
TAPI natural gas pipeline being developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas – Dharmendra Pradhan
Constituency – Bihar, Rajya Sabha
Asian Development Bank HQ – Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines
President of ADB – Takehiko Nakao
Narendra Modi has launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners since Independence. The portal will preserve and tell the stories of bravest men and women, civilians as well as armed forces personnel.
Useful Info
1st Prime Minister of India – Jawaharlal Nehru
1st Women Prime Minister of India – Indira Gandhi
Present Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi
INTERNATIONAL
Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal power plant
Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal power plant, a 150-megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020. Solar thermal technology uses mirrors to concentrate the Sun’s light at the top of a tower. This heats the stored molten salt and the heat is then used to operate steam turbines. The Aurora Solar Energy Project will be built and managed by SolarReserve company.
Useful Info
Country – Australia
Capital – Canberra
Currency – Australian Dollar
Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world, report by broadband testing Ookla
According to global leader in broadband testing Ookla, Norway has the fastest mobile Internet in the world. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world’s fastest mobile networks. In only 13 months, Norway has jumped from 11th to first place on the list of world best providers of fast Internet connection.
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1st – Norway (capital – Oslo, currency – Norwegian krone)
2nd – Netherlands (capital – Amsterdam, currency – Euro)
3rd – Hungary (capital – Budapest, currency – Hungarian forint)
China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea
China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, following through on new UN sanctions over its ally’s nuclear program. The United Nations Security Council, including permanent member Beijing, approved tough sanctions against Pyongyang that could cost the country $1 billion a year. China, which is suspected of failing to enforce past UN measures, accounts for 90% of North Korea’s trade.
Useful Info
Country – North Korea
Capital – Pyongyang
Currency – North Korean won
Kim Jong-un is the Supreme Leader of North Korea
Melbourne (in Australia) has been named world’s most liveable city
Melbourne (in Australia) has been named world’s most liveable city for a record seventh year in a row, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Report 2017. Melbourne scored an overall rating of 97.5 out of 100 on the liveability index. Damascus in Syria was deemed the world’s worst among the 140 cities surveyed. It is the first time in the survey’s 15-year history that a city has held the No 1 rank in its own right for seven consecutive years. Vienna (in Austria) and Vancouver (in Canada) were on 2nd and 3rd Positions, respectively.
Useful Info
1st city – Melbourne (Australia)
2nd city – Vienna (Austria)
3rd city – Vancouver (Canada)
Austria (capital – Vienna, currency – Euro)
Canada (capital – Ottawa, currency – Canadian Dollar)
Earth’s Largest Volcanic Region Discovered in Antarctica
The largest volcanic region on Earth, with nearly 100 volcanoes, has been discovered two km below the surface of the vast ice sheet in West Antarctica. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Britain found a staggering 91 previously unknown volcanoes, adding to the 47 others. These newly discovered volcanoes range in height from 100 to 3,850 meters, with the highest almost as tall as Switzerland’s 3,970 meters Eiger mountain. These active peaks are concentrated in a region known as the West Antarctic rift system.
BANKING & ECONOMY
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website ‘PlanYourGoal.com’
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website ‘PlanYourGoal.com’ to help users plan their investments according to their future financial goals. The website guides the users to plan their big spends, tax investments as well as the corpus required during retirement. The website also provides recommendations based on calculations.
Useful Info
Headquarters of ICICI – Mumbai
CEO – Chanda Kochhar
APPOINTMENT
Santosh Sharma has Appointed as CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited
Santosh Sharma has appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Coper Limited (HCL). He is at present Director (Operations) in the HCL. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post for a period of five years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
Sankara Rao has been appointed as MD & CEO of IFCI
IFCI Ltd, a government company, is set to have a new Managing Director & CEO in E Sankara Rao, who is currently Chief General Manager at India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL). The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has given its nod for the Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposal to appoint Emandi Sankara Rao as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of IFCI Ltd. Rao’s appointment will be valid for three years. Rao is also currently a director and chief executive officer at IIFCL Asset Management Company Ltd.
Useful Info
IFCI – Industrial Finance Corporation of India
IIFCL – India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd
AWARD
Preethi Srinivasan receives Kalpana Chawla award
Preethi Srinivasan, the former State under-19 cricket captain, who braved a crippling accident to support those suffering from spinal cord injuries like her, was on Tuesday presented with the ‘Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise’ award by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami during the 71st Independence Day celebrations at Fort St. George in Chennai.
Useful Info
State – Tamil Nadu
Capital – Chennai
CM – Edappadi K. Palaniswami
Governor – Vidyasagar Rao
SPORT
Alexander Zverev Beats Roger Federer to Win Rogers Cup
Alexander Zverev won 6-3 6-4 at the Rogers Cup to claim his second Masters 1000 title and extend his winning run to 10 matches. Zverev is the youngest Rogers Cup finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2007. Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer now have five tournament titles this year.
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Winner – Alexander Zverev (Germany)
Runner – Roger Federer (Switzerland)
Country – Germany
Capital – Berlin
Currency – Euro
Country – Switzerland
Capital – Bern
Currency – Swiss Franc
Indian cricket team celebrates nation’s 71st Independence Day at Pallekele, Sri Lanka
The Indian cricket team celebrated the nation’s 71st Independence Day at Pallekele with captain Virat Kohli hoisting the tricolour in the presence of the entire squad. The Indian cricket team, which whitewashed hosts Sri Lanka 3-0 in the three-match Test series, is now gearing up for five ODIs and one-off Twenty20 game. The first 50-over encounter between the two teams is slated to be held in Dambulla on August 20.
Useful Info
Pallekele – Pallekele is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Sri Lanka
Country – Sri Lanka
Capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Legislative capital), Colombo (commercial capital)
Currency – Sri Lankan Rupee
Indian Cricket Team whitewashed hosts Sri Lanka 3-0 in the three-match Test series
