CURRENT AFFAIRS 13TH TO 15TH AUGUST

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Smart Ganga City Scheme Launched in Ten Cities
Union Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Uma Bharti and Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu launched Smart Ganga City Scheme in 10 cities located along Ganga to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and improve drainage.
The 10 Cities:

The Scheme bound 10 Cities
Haridwar	Allahabad
Rishikesh	Lucknow
Mathura-Vrindavan	Patna
Varanasi	Sahibgunj
Kanpur	Barrackpore

These cities has been chosen by the National Mission for Clean Ganga where the programme will be established in the first phase for infrastructure development for sewage treatment on hybrid annuity mode on public private partnership basis.

Odisha government to make Aadhar Card mandatory for procurement of paddy & Odisha Govt. implements Odisha Official Language Act, 1954
i. After Odisha State Cabinet has given nod for the Odisha Official Language Rules- 2016, to frame rules for proper implementation of the Odisha Official Language Act-1954 that came the came to the force with immediate effect.
ii. This move comes after 61 years after passing of the Odisha Official Language Act, 1954 in the Assembly, the state implemented the legislation.
iii. In this regard Odisha Governor S C Jamir had promulgated the Ordinance as Odisha Official Language (Amendment Act), 2016, which was published in the Odisha Gazette in May this year.
iv. The cabinet also approved a proposal to set up a unitary Odia Language and Literature University in Bhubaneswar.
Odisha:
♦ The highest mountain peak in the state is Deomali (1672 m), which is situated in Koraput district in southern Odisha.
♦ Mahendragiri, Gandhamardhan hills, Malayagiri are the mountains located in Odisha

Nagaland government to grant 33% reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies
i. Nagaland has announced the decision to conducts polls to Urban Local Bodies (ULB) by granting 33% women reservation. It was announced by the chief Minister TR Zeliang on the state level Watershed Conference held in Kohima.
ii. The Cabinet decision comes to conduct election to the municipalities without consulting the civil societies.
iii. In Nagaland ULBs Elections have been pending for several years as the tenure of the first municipal bodies came to an end between December 2009 and March 2010. The dates for conducting the elections would be announced soon the statement clarified.

HUPA approves construction of over 37,000 houses for urban poor
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) headed by Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu approved construction of 37,013 houses for the urban poor in Karnataka and Haryana with central assistance of Rs 569 crore.
Total Outlay :
i. Rs 1,468 crore to construct 36,254 houses in Karnataka
ii. Rs 23 crore to construct 759 houses in Haryana
♦ Later Central government will provide Rs 558 crore to Karnataka and Rs 11 to Haryana
Keys:
Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) : Dr. Nandita Chatterjee

Nadda inaugurates AMRIT outlet at Safdarjung hospital
Union Health Minister J P Nadda inaugurated the Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlet at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi. It is the tenth AMRIT outlet centre.
♦ The country’s first AMRIT outlet opened at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
What is AMRIT ?
i. AMRIT pharmacy will sell drugs for some diseases at a discounted rates.
ii. It would be selling 202 cancer and 186 cardio-vascular drugs, and 148 types of cardiac implants.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Second Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit 2016 & International Meeting on Counter Terrorism held in Indonesia
i. The four day long Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) Summit 2016 conducted in Bali, Indonesia with cream of experts to collectively develop regional solutions to critical terrorism financing issues and risks.
ii. The summit delivered real outcomes on terrorism financing that AUSTRAC and PPATK have developed jointly with Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. This is first of its kind meeting being hosted by Indonesia.
iii. From India side it was represented by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju Where he had discussed with Mr. Wiranto, Minister for Political, Security and LegalAffairs, Indonesia about various issues of bilateral importance.
Indonesia 
♦ Capital: Jakarta
♦ Currency: Indonesian rupiah
♦  President: Joko Widodo

Tomorrow’s India Global Summit to be held in Seoul
i. Global Social India Foundation announced that it is set to host the Tomorrow’s India Global Summit, for the proposal the Embassy of India in the Republic of Korea has offered its support during the five-day event in Seoul from September 25-29.
ii. The summit will focus on developing international collaborations and tie-ups between both the countries in the fields of business, education and culture, its debut edition was held in Singapore.
iii. The summit is to showcase India’s prowess across the world and act as a catalyst for forging ties in the fields of business, knowledge and culture, and will feature panel sessions, company showcase, industry tours, university visits, and several networking opportunities.
iv. The second edition of the bi­annual event is being organized by Global Social (India) Foundation, a New Delhi based non­profit organisation.

BANKING & FINANCE

South Indian Bank, SBI Card to launch co-branded credit card
i. Kochi Based leading private sector Lender South Indian Bank and India’s Largest lenderState Bank of India has joined hands for their co-branded credit card for the South Indian Bank customers.
ii. Upon this tie-up it is set to launch two variants of credit card on VISA platform, namelySouth Indian Bank Platinum SBI card and South Indian Bank SimplySave SBI card.
iii. The Platinum variant has been designed focused on premium customers and offers features in line with their lifestyle habits that comes at a joining fee of ₹2,999.
iv. While the SimplySave variant is aimed at the value conscious consumers. It offers rewards and features that take into account the spending requirements of customers which will seek a joining fee of ₹499.

Union Bank of India launches USSD based mobile app for basic banking needs with NPCI
i. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) ties up with Union Bank of India to launch an USSD based *99# mobile application for their customers.
ii. USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a GSM based technology that is used to send text between a mobile phone and an application program in the network.
*99# Mobile App
♦ The App does not require data/ internet as USSD is fast in doing transactions. It is available in multiple language (in 10 languages.)
♦ The app comes various features like banking transactions like checking account balance, send money, MPIN management.
♦ The App also provides Value Added Services like checking Aadhaar linked Overdraft status and PMJDY account Overdraft status.

IRDAI Slaps Rs 35 Lakh Fine On Bharti AXA General Insurance
Hyderabad based Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDAI) has imposed Rs 35 lakh fine on Bharti Axa General Insurance Co Ltd for violation related with an inspection finding during December 2012 to March 2013.
i. In addition to that penalty of Rs 5 lakh each was imposed for violating file & use policy and protection of policy holders interest.
ii. Rs 35 lakh will be forward to IRDAI from shareholders’ account of the general insurer within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of this Order
IRDAI :
♦ Chairman ‎: ‎T.S. Vijayan
♦ HQ‎: ‎Hyderabad, Telangana
♦ ‘Bima Bemisaal’ is the brand name for IRDA’s insurance awareness campaign
Bharti AXA General Insurance :
♦ CEO: Deepak Iyer
♦ HQ : Bangalore, Karnataka

BUSINESS

NASSCOM launches startup warehouse in Visakhapatnam
The first National Association of Software and Services (Nasscom) warehouse has launched at Rushikonda, Visakhapatnam. It is the 9^th warehouse of NASSCOM.
i. It will provide affordable co-working space with incubation for 6 months.
ii. It will create wonderful opportunities in emerging markets and boost entrepreneurship
Visakhapatnam:
♦ Visakhapatnam is also known as ‘The Jewel of the East Coast’
♦ Visakhapatnam Port is one of 13 major ports in India and the only major port of Andhra Pradesh. It is India’s second largest port by volume of cargo handled
♦ Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Indira Gandhi Zoological Park are located in Visakhapatnam.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Sonam, Nawazuddin win top awards at IFF Melbourne
The Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2016 kick started  at Melbourne Recital Centre, Australia. The function glitters with full of guests flowed in belonging to not only Australian Film Industry but also Pakistan industry.
♦ The theme for this year 2016 is ‘Women Empowerment’. Angry India Goddesses, will bring the curtains down for the festival.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016 (IFFM) Award winners:
1.Best Actor (Male) – Nawazuddin Siddiqui for Raman Raghav 2.0
2.Best Actor (Female) – Sonam Kapoor for Neerja
3.Best Director – Shakun Batra
4.Best Indie Film – Thithi
5.Best Film Award – Kapoor & Sons
6.Diversity Award for Contribution in Indian Cinema – Fawad Khan
7.Indian Film Festival Excellence in Cinema Award(lifetime achievement award) – Rishi Kapoor.

IISc bags maximum number of INSA Medals for Young Scientists
Bangalore based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has bagged the 5 Medals for Young Scientists award 2016.It was awarded by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA).
Winners
i. Prabeer Barpanda & Sai Siva Gorthi : Both are working as an assistant professor at the Materials Research Centre,They  have been conferred  for his work on the development of new classes of lithium and sodium cathode materials for next generation battery and storage application.
ii. Praveen Kumar : He is working as an assistant professor at the Department of Materials Engineering.He has been honoured for his discovery of electric field-induced changes in the mechanical behaviour of carbon nanotube (CNT).
iii. Anshu Pandey : He is working as an assistant professor at the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, made it to the list with his contribution in the area of low threshold quantum dot lasers.
iv. Chandan Saha : He is working as an assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Automation, on arithmetic circuit lower bounds, polynomial identity testing and reconstruction of arithmetic circuits has led to the discovery of new mathematical techniques and substantial progress on these problems.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Novel drug compound inhibiting skin cancer discovered: NCCS Study
i. A team of Scientists form the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) have succeeded in isolating cancer stem cells that cause skin cancer. The study results were published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
ii. The team isolated Andrographolide and purified from herb (Andrographis paniculata) that is found to be effective in preventing tumor growth both skin cancer and lung metastasis in mice.
iii. Multiple markers helped for the isolation of cancer stem cells in mice and human-specific skin cancer cells including CD133 positive cells which exhibit stem cell properties in various cancers.
iv. The scientists also used Andrographolide to figure out the effectiveness of the drug candidate in several trials, in inhibiting tumour development.

ENVIRONMENT

SC lifts ban on registration of High-end Diesel cars and SUVs having engine capacity of 2000 cc and above
i. Supreme Court(SC) allowed the sale of diesel cars and SUVs with engine capacity of2,000cc or more in Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) on payment of 1% ex-showroom cost as environment levy.
ii. SC ordered the Central Pollution Control Board to open an account in Public Sector Banks(PSBs) to receive green levy from big diesel car and SUV makers
iii. It will also decide whether the rate of green levy on big diesel cars be more than 1% of ex-showroom cost of the vehicle.
About Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB):
♦ The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India is a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
♦ It was established in 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of pollution) Act, 1974

SPORTS

Al Tamimi and Pallikal Karthik Capture Australian Open Crowns
i. Qatar’s seed Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi and Indian squash queen Dipika Pallikal are the 2016 Australian Open, Men’s and Women’s crowned champions after they won the title clashes at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre in Australia.
ii. The Qatar seed defeated New Zealand’s Campbell Grayson in the final match, while In the Women’s event, Pallikal Karthik came up against Egyptian teenager Mayar Hany.
iii. It was Dipika’s career’s 11th PSA title at the $15, 000 Australian Open in Melbourne. It wasn’t any easy matter as the top seed had to show her brilliant elasticity to attain 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 victory over the eighth-seeded Mayar Hany of Egypt.
iv. This is the first PSA title for Dipika also she last won the Winnipeg Winter Open in Canada last February.

OBITUARY

Pakistan’s Legendary batsman Hanif Mohammad dies at 81
i. Hanif Mohammad, Legendary former Pakistan batsman died at the age of 81 after a battle against cancer and respiratory problems.
ii. He was dubbed ‘the Little Master’ years before the sobriquet was given to India’s Sachin Tendulkar.
iii. Hanif scored 337 runs against the West Indies in 1958, which was also the first triple century by an Asian cricketer, and at the time the longest innings by any batsman in terms of time spent at the wicket.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Organ Donation Day – Aug 13, 2016
Organ Donation Day is celebrated every year on 13^th of August.
Objective :
To motivate normal human beings to donate the organs as well as to understand the value of organ donation in the life of an individual.
Highlights:
i. According to the report more than 5 lakhs of the Indians are dying every year because of the failure of their major functioning organs.
ii. Organs that can be transplanted are the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, pancreas, intestine, and thymus. Tissues include bones, tendons, cornea, skin, heart valves, nerves and veins.

INDIAN AFFAIRS 

No more Rail Budget – Finance Ministry nods for Suresh Prabhu’s Proposal
From the next fiscal, the 92-year-old practice of presenting a separate Rail Budget is set to come to an end as the Finance Ministry accepted to Railway Minister SureshPrabhu’s proposal for merging it with the General Budget.
i. Following the recommendation of the 10 member-Ac worth Committee in 1920-21,headed by British railway economist William Acworth. The “Acworth Report” led to reorganization of railways, the railway finances of India were separated from the general government finances in 1924. A practice which continues in independent India to date.
ii. If the merger happens, Indian Railway will get rid of the annual dividend it has to pay for gross budgetary support from the government every year.
iii. With the merger, the issue of raising passenger fares, an unpopular decision, will be the Finance Minister’s call and this merger is proposed in the long-term interest of national transporter as well as the country’s economy.

Government notifies revised tax treaty with Mauritius
Government has notified the revised tax treaty with Mauritius under which India will impose capital gains tax on investments routed through the Mauritius from April 1 next year in a bid to curb tax evasion.
i. The protocol amending the agreement between India and Mauritius, signed on August 24, 1982 for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains and for the encouragement of mutual trade and investment, was signed at Mauritius on May 10, 2016.
ii. India and Mauritius signed had signed the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) after prolonged negotiations at Port Louis.
iii. This treaty ensure firms in Mauritius that invest in India are not just ‘shell’ and instead have substantial operations in the island, such as paying staff there, before qualifying for treaty terms of getting exemption from payment of capital gains tax in India.
iv. This concessional rate would however apply to a Mauritius resident company that can prove that it has a total expenditure of at least Rs 27 lakh in that nation and is not a ‘shell’ company with just a post office address.
v. Under this amended treaty with Mauritius, for two years beginning April 1, 2017, capital gains tax will be imposed at 50 per cent of the prevailing domestic rate. Full rate will apply from April 1, 2019.

Maiden National Conference Investigation Agencies held in New Delhi
i. The first National Conference of InvestigationAgencies was held on 12-13 August, 2016, at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. It is jointly organized by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India.
ii. This conference is aimed to organize the All India Conference of Police and Law Enforcement officers engaged in investigation task and provide a platform for the India’s different law enforcement agencies to come together and discuss a coordinated strategy to tackle crime.
iii. This conference has originated from the mandate of the BPR&D and the recommendations of Directors General of Police (DGPs)/Inspectors General of Police (IGPs) conferences.
iv. This conference will provide exposure to the investigator about the role and function of Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and its coordination with investigation agency, Indian Drug Enforcement Regime and Role of investigation agency, co-ordination between Enforcement Directorate (ED) and investigation agencies, issues related to use of social media by terrorists and strategies to counter them and investigation of terrorist crimes.
v. The investigating agencies will also discuss a large crime scenario including combatingeconomic crime and organized crime, digital and technology driven crime, terrorism and legal issues relating to investigation
vi. The conference was expected to serve as an ideal stage for sharing of best investigative practices and also set to be discussed in the conference are latest technological advancements in forensic sciences for expeditious and professional investigation.
vii. It is noted that the BRP&D was set up in 1970 by the central government with the primary mandate of modernizing the police forces.

Assam Assembly passes the Assam Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
i. Assam Assembly passed the Assam Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
ii. This bill will reduce the service charge of cinema tickets with an aim to give a fillip to the local film industry but, government raised the entertainment tax on cinema tickets by up to ten percentile points.
iii. As per this bill, the government proposed to make service charge Rs 8 per ticket for the halls without air conditioning system and Rs 12 for the halls with air conditioning system with back-up generator.
iv. The government also advised to increase the entertainment tax to 20 per cent from 15 per cent at present for entry charges between Rs 5 and Rs 20 per ticket. It is noted that it will be 30 per cent compared to 20 per cent in case the admission charge is more than Rs 20 and there will be no entertainment tax if the entry charge is Rs 5 or less.
v. Apart from this, the new Bill proposes to fix the service charge at a maximum of Rs 12 per ticket, which is as high as Rs 40 at present.
About ASSAM :
♦ Capital – Dispur
♦ CM – Sarbanandha Sonawal
♦ Governor – Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya

Fifth Generation signs pact with Anna University
i. Chennai based Fifth Generation Technologies has entered into an agreement with Anna University, Chennai, for conducting research to study about the remaining life of critical equipment that are working in high temperature environments.
ii. The Company is specialized in real time intelligence solutions and products to the manufacturing industry, will work on creep, fatigue and corrosion to arrive at a prediction of remaining life of critical equipment’s.
iii. The work will be carried out by a Ph.D scholar who shall, apart from being financially supported by the Fifth Generation and work will  be carried out under the auspices of the Centre for Technology Development and Transfer (CTDT), which has been set up by Anna University.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 

Sri Lanka, China sign tripartite pact to construct mega port city
i. Sri Lanka and China has entered into a tripartite agreement to go ahead with construction of a mega multi-billion dollar port city project that initially began construction in September 2014 in capital Colombo.
ii. The tripartite agreement was signed between Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority, the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development and the China Harbour Engineering Company.
iii. Upon this agreement Colombo Port City Development Project was newly renamed as theColombo International Financial City which would make over Sri Lanka into an international financial hub in the Indian Ocean region.
iv. The $1.4 billion Port City would also fuel the planned Maritime city, Aero city, Tech city, Industrial cities and Tourist cities. The agreement also pave the way for the land expansion to 269 hectares from the previous.
Sri Lanka:
♦ Capitals: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo
♦ Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
♦ Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe
♦ President: Maithripala Sirisena

Brazil Launched Immunization Programme against the deadly Dengue Fever
i. Brazil launched the first public immunization programme in the Americas against dengue fever, where 500,000 people to be injected with the world’s first authorized vaccine against the disease.
ii. This movement will vaccinate all individuals 15-27 years of age in 28 municipalities and 9-44 years of age in the two municipalities with the top dengue burden in our state over the next three weeks.
iii. This anti dengue movement will be set out in the southern state of Parana and In Parana state, home to 10 million people, cases of dengue fever and deaths due to the disease have tripled in recent years.
iv. The vaccine has been approved in Mexico, the Philippines, El Salvador and Costa Rica and Dengvaxia is produced in France in a facility which should be able to produce 100 million doses per year when at full capacity.
v. This mosquito-borne viral disease killed 863 people in Brazil in 2015, a 82.4 percent increase on the previous year and the incidence of dengue has grown “dramatically” around the world in recent decades as per the World Health Organization report..
vi. It is noted that Asia accounts for 70 percent of the global burden of the deadly disease – dengue.

BANKING & FINANCE 

Times Internet partners HDFC Bank to launch co-branded Debit Card
i. Times of India Group’s Times Internet in cooperation with Mortgage lender HDFC launched co-branded debit cards. It will have a daily shopping limit of Rs 2.75 lakh and an ATM withdrawal limit of Rs 1 lakh.
ii.  This is the second co-branded card launched by Times Internet with HDFC Bank, back in 2013 both the majors jointly launched Credit card focused on Entertainment segment.
Co-Branded Debit Card:
♦ The Times Points HDFC Bank Debit Card will offer at least 10 per cent discount on online shopping on retail, groceries and dining space and also offers reward them for engaging with the Times Internet sites.
♦ It also comes with a personal accidental death cover up to Rs 10 lakh per customer, international air accidental death cover of Rs 50 lakh and zero liability cover up to Rs 1 lakh on fraudulent and skimming transactions.

BUSINESS

ONGC launches Rs 100-crore start-up fund
i. Dehradun based Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) has launched Rs 100-crore start-up fund on its Diamond Jubilee year. The company started operations back in 1956.
ii. The initiative, named ONGC Start-up which also in tune with government’s flagship programme Start-up India to foster, nurture and incubate new ideas related to oil and gas sector.
iii. Upon this ONGC start-up iniative the company would promote entrepreneurship among younger Indians by providing the entire support chain for start-ups, including seed capital, hand-holding, mentoring, market linkage and follow-ups.
iv. The iniative focuses in increasing the contribution of fresh implementable ideas in the oil and gas sector.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGN

Ms. Anitha Nayar  – India’s next ambassador to Chile
i.India’s present ambassador to Lebanon Ms. Anitha Nayar is to be appointed as the next Ambassador of South American country, Chile.
ii.Indian Ministry of External Affairs appointed Ms. Anitha Nayar, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1983 batch as the next ambassador of Chile and she is expected to assume her office in Chile soon.
iii. Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south.
iv.Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands ofJuan Fernández,Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
v.The arid Atacama Desertin northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
About Chile :
♦ Capital – Santiago,
♦ Currency – Peso

 Skahti Sinha probably to become the new Director of NMML, New Delhi.
i. Shakti Sinha, an Indian Administrative Service officer may be appointed as the new director of the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) under the Union Cultural Ministry.
ii. Shakti Sinha has served as a private secretary to Vajpayee during the NDA 1 regime. He took voluntary retirement from the service in 2013 while serving as Finance Secretary in the Delhi government.
iii. The previous director, Mahesh Rangarajan, resigned last year in the aftermath of statements by senior BJP leaders and Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma, expressing unhappiness at the NMML’s orientation.
iv. It is noted that Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a member of the executive committee (EC) of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) resigned from his position to protest the manner in which the institution’s reputation and integrity were being compromised by attempts to foist a politically-connected bureaucrat as director.
v. The Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) is a museum and library in New Delhi, India, which aims to preserve and reconstruct the history of the Indian independence movement. This library is instituted within the Teen Murti House complex, it is an autonomous institution under the Indian Ministry of Culture, and was founded in 1964 after the death of India’s first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. 
vi. NMML aims to foster academic research on modern and contemporary history. Now the Nehru Memorial Library is the world’s leading resource centre on India’s first prime minister and its archives contain the bulk of Mahatma Gandhi’s writings apart from private papers of C. Rajagopalachari, B. C. Roy, Jayaprakash Narayan, Charan Singh, Sarojini Naidu and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION 

12 Indian Biomedical Scientists bags the Prestigious ICMR Young Biomedical Scientist Fellowship Award 2016-17 
i. Dr Prashant Murumkar, Assistant Professor at Faculty of Pharmacy of The MS University of Baroda here has been selected for prestigious “Indian Council of Medicinal Research (ICMR) International Fellowship Award’.
ii. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the premier national agency for the formulation, promotion and conduct of biomedical research in India. The mandate and policies of the ICMR coincide with national health policies. The Council not only plans and promotes medical research in the current and emerging health problems of the country but also is expected to build a strong national cadre of skilled biomedical scientists. One of the major mandates of the Council is to augment capacity strengthening of institutions involved in both basic and clinical sciences.
Fellowship Details:-
Young Scientists:
♦ US$ 3000 per month which includes accommodation and other expenses.
♦ Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ).
Senior Scientists:
♦ US$ 200 per day including US$ 75 as per diem and up to US$ 125 for accommodation expenses, subject to a maximum of US$ 3000 for entire duration of stay.
♦ Return economy class excursion airfare (by Air India ).
iii. The Award is given under the Young Biomedical Scientist category for 2016-17 and totally twelve Indian Biomedical Scientists has been selected throughout India by International Health Division, ICMR, New Delhi for this award.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX done it again – One of the Falcon 9 rockets Successfully landed on a floating drone ship
i. One of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets successfullylanded on a floating drone ship, after the vehicle launched a Japanese communications satellite into orbit. The feat marks the fourth time SpaceX has landed one of its vehicles at sea and the company’s fifth rocket recovery overall in 2016.
ii. The two-stage Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on sunday, carrying JCSAT-16 toward a distant geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
iii. Getting to GTO requires a lot of speed and uses up a lot of fuel during takeoff, more so than getting to lower Earth orbit.
iii. That makes things difficult for the rocket landing afterward. Not only is the rocket subjected to “extreme velocities and re-entry heating” during its fall back to Earth.
iv. It is noted that by reusing these rockets, SpaceX will be able to reduce a big chunk of its manufacturing costs. Up until now, nearly all rockets have been expendable, meaning they are either destroyed or unrecovered after launch. Reusing an already launched vehicle saves SpaceX from having to build an entirely new rocket for each mission.
v. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, better known asSpaceX, is an Americanaerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California, United States. It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both designed to be reusable, and the Dragon spacecraft which is flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with cargo.

A major breakthrough – IIT Madras develops optical system to detect and monitor algal bloom
i. A new bio-optical algorithm has been developed to provide accurate assessments ofchlorophylla(Chla) concentration for detection and mapping of algal blooms from satellite data in optically complex waters, where the presence of suspended sediments and dissolved substances can interfere with phytoplankton signal and thus confound conventional band ratio algorithms has been developed by a team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras.
ii. The Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) will begin using the optical system for detecting and monitoring algal blooms in ocean waters surrounding India. INCOIS is currently in the process of making the system operational.
iii. The algorithm is derived using Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor bands, and it is subsequently tuned to be applicable to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)/Aqua data.
iv. The optical system provides an array of optical parameters and spatial information regarding algal bloom density (chlorophyll) and their causative algal species that are commonly seen in coastal and oceanic waters around India, particularly in the Arabian Sea. Results of the study were published recently in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans.
v. Chlorophyll is used as a proxy for measuring the phytoplankton biomass. The increase in biomass of phytoplankton due to their increased growth or physical aggregation leads to algal blooms. Typically one dominant or a few phytoplankton species are involved in bloom formation. Some algal blooms including “red tides” and “blue-green blooms”are a serious concern because they can pose significant threats to water quality and risks to human and animal health.
vi. These findings imply that, provided that an accurate atmospheric correction scheme is available to deal with complex waters, the current MODIS/Aqua, MERIS and OCM data could be extensively used for quantitative and operational monitoring of algal blooms in various regional and global waters.

Orkut creator launches new social network called Hello
i. San Francisco based Hello Network, Inc which was founded by orkut creator Orkut Büyükkökten come up with new social network called Hello, which is available on mobile only.
ii. The Hello platform designed to help you connect with people who share your passions. In fact Hello is probably the most widely spoken word in the world after Okay.
iii. The Orkut website owned and operated by Google in which users meet new and old friends and maintain in effect relationships came to an end on September 30, 2014.
iv. According to the Former Google Engineer and Hello founder the app is more visual based rather than text. The idea with Hello is to make the world friendlier.

SPORTS 

ONGC lifts PSG Trophy in Basketball
i. Oil major’s ONGC team was the crowned Champions in the PSG Trophy by beating the Tamil Nadu State team by 84­-72, in title clash of the 52nd All India Basket Ball Championship held in Coimbatore.
ii. The State team was lagging behind the ONGC in half time by 8 points, However the Winning team boys Riyazuddin scored 26 points, Vishesh Bhrighvanshi 18, and Amrit Pal Singh 16.
iii. The Winner will get a trophy and cash prize of Rs.1 lakh, and the runners­-up (Tamilnadu State) were given Rs. 50,000.

Karichal Chundan’ wins 64th Nehru Trophy
i. In the Nehru trophy Kumarakam Vembanad Boat Club maneuvered Karichal Chundan were the crowned Champions of the 64th Nehru Trophy in the electrifying race held at Punnamada lake in Alappuzha Kerala.
ii. While Gabriel Chundan, rowed by UBC Kainakary has reached the second prize. However it is the 14th time that Karichal Chundan bagging the title.
iii. The Karichal Chundan finished in 4.20 minutes, while Gabriel Chundan finished in 4.32 minutes, In the Race twenty Chundans participated in the competition category and five Chundans participated in the exhibition category.
iv. The trophy was instituted to commemorate the visit of first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

OBITUARY 

Founder of Akshardham temples and a saint of the Swaminarayan sect Pramukh Swami passed away
i. The 95-year-old founder of Akshardham temples and a saint of the Swaminarayan sect Pramukh Swami passed away after prolonged illness at the Sarangpur temple near Ahmedabad on August 13.
ii. He was the president of the Bochasanvasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), a sub-sect of the Swaminarayan sect, which during his tenure expanded globally, with over 3000 temples built in five decades worldwide.
iii. Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham complex is a Hindu mandir, and a spiritual-cultural campus in New Delhi, India. Also referred to as Delhi Akshardham or Swaminarayan Akshardham, the complex displays millennia of traditional Hindu and Indian culture, spirituality, and architecture.
iv.  In 1982,Pramukh Swami Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj’s successor as the spiritual head of BAPS, started to continue fulfilling the dream of his guru Yogiji Maharaj and prompted devotees to look into the possibility of building the temple in Delhi. A request for the plan was put forward to theDelhi Development Authority (DDA), and several different places were suggested, including Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, andFaridabad. Pramukh Swami Maharaj stood firm in following the wishes of Yogiji Maharaj to build a temple on the Yamuna.
v. It is noted that Pramukh Swami created 1,000 saints and over 50,000 volunteers who oversee the programmes of the sect in India and abroad.

Lyricist Na Muthukumar passes away
i. Famous Tamil lyricist-poet-columnist Na Muthukumar, who has written songs for more than 1000 films, passed away due Jaundice. He was 41 years old. He was not keeping well for the past one month who was well known for his Tamil Writings.
ii. Muthukumar hailed from Kanchipuram did his graduation in Physics and opted Masters in Tamil Literature and worked for a doctorate from theMadras University.
iii. He began his career by working under Balu Mahendra for four years as Assistant in Direction. But then he became a lyricist, beginning with the lyrics for the songs of the Tamil film Veera Nadai, directed by Seeman. He had Written Songs in more than 70 Films.
iv. He is a two-time recipient of the National Film Award for Best Lyrics for his works inThanga Meenkal (2013) and Saivam (2014) and received many Filmfare Awards.