Tuesday 21 August 2018

22nd August Current Affairs


Business & Economy
Paytm launches AI Cloud for India
One97 Communications Limited has partnered Alibaba to launch artificial intellingence-based cloud computing platform ‘Paytm AI Cloud for India’ for developers, startups and enterprises.
The company said Paytm AI Cloud processes and stores all their consumer data locally in servers located only in India.

The platform offers business-centric apps for organisations.
Southern states leads in mobile banking
Eastern and the Southern States such as Manipur and Telangana lead the way in internet banking according to the annual FIBAC productivity report
FIBAC productivity report has been published by the Boston Consulting Group, FICCI and Indian Banks’ Association.
In Telangana, 21.7% of the savings banks accounts carried out the financial transaction through internet banking.
Sports
Saurabh Chaudhary wins 10m air pistol gold
Saurabh Chaudhary won the gold medal in pistol shooting at the Asian Games 2018 on 21st August 2018.
Saurabh Chaudhary became only the fifth Indian shooter to claim a gold in the Asian Games history.
Shooters have won 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze of the 7 medals India has won so far.
Sanjeev Rajput wins silver in Rifle shooting
Indian shooter Sanjeev Rajput clinched a silver medal in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions event at the 18th Asian Games on 21st August, 2018.
China won the gold medal with a score of 453.3 while Japan bagged the bronze medal with 441.4.
Rajput had won the gold medal at the 50m rifle 3 positions in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018.
Vinesh Phogat wins India’s second gold
Vinesh Phogat won a gold medal in wrestling at the Asian Games 2018.
This is Vinesh’s second medal at the Asian Games, having picked up the bronze medal at Incheon in 2014.
She also became the fifth Indian woman to win an Asian Games medal in wrestling, and the first among those to clinch gold.
Sports should be made a Fundamental Right
The Supreme Court issued a notice to Centre, state governments and Union Territories on a PIL seeking directions to make sports a part of the Fundamental Rights.
The PIL said that sports should be included among academics.
There should be a compulsory provision for sports in the school budget which should be utilised for sports activity only.
National
Kerala received more rains in August
Kerala has received over two and a half times more rainfall over average for August so far, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The highest rainfall was recorded in Idukki district, which received 92% more rains. This was followed by Palakkad, with 72% more rains.
Kerala has received 42% more rainfall than usual since the beginning of the monsoon season in June 2018.
NGT constitutes ‘independent body’
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) constituted an “independent body” to decide Vedanta Limited’s plea challenging the Tamil Nadu government’s order to close the Sterlite copper plant at Thoothukudi.
NGT Chairperson directed the committee to assume charge in two weeks and submit a report within six weeks.
The committee will be headed by a retired judge.
INS Khanjar visits Yangon, Myanmar
INS Khanjar a Missile Corvette of Indian Navy was on a three-day visit to Yangon, Myanmar from August 18-20.
INS Khanjar (P-47) is a Khukri-class Missile Corvette and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 22 October, 1991.
INS Khanjar is part of the Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam.
September to be observed as Nutrition Month
September will be observed as Nutrition Month with the aim of reaching every household with the message of nutrition — ‘har ghar poshan tyohar’.
The month-long intensive campaign will promote antenatal care, breastfeeding, fight anemia, convey messages about the importance of nutrition for girls and the right age of marriage and also promote hygiene and sanitation.
NOTA option cannot be permitted in RS polls
The Supreme Court scrapped the use of ‘None Of The Above’ (NOTA) option in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.
SC held that the NOTA option is meant only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not polls held by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.
Kerala floods a ‘calamity of severe nature’
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has declared the Kerala floods a “calamity of severe nature”.
When a calamity is declared to be of ‘rare severity/severe nature,’ support to the government of the affected state is provided at the national level.
The Centre also considers additional assistance from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
Appointments
TP Sharma appointed as New chief of Lokayukta
Retired judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court TP Sharma was appointed the new chief Lokayukta of the Chattisgarh.
Sharma will head the Chhattisgarh Lok Ayog, set up to deal with corruption cases against public servants.
Sharma, the state’s fourth chief Lokayukta, will succeed Justice (retired) Shambhu Nath Shrivastava, who was appointed to the post on August 14, 2013.
Science & Technology
First-ever IAF-RMAF joint air exercise
The first-ever joint air exercise involving the Indian Air Force and the Royal Malaysian Air Force commenced on 20th August 2018 at Subang Air Base in Malaysia.
The exercise in Malaysia will be called Exercise Elang Shakti.
The IAF contingent landed at the Subang Air Base in Malaysia comprises of C-17, C-130 and Su-30 aircraft.
Chandrayaan-1 data confirms presence of ice
Scientists have found frozen water deposits in the darkest and coldest parts of the Moon’s polar regions using data from the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft.
Scientists used data from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument to identify three specific signatures that definitively prove there is water ice at the surface of the Moon.
Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft was launched in 2008 by ISRO.
Google honours Ismat Chughtai with doodle
Google on 21st August celebrated the 107th birth anniversary of Urdu writer Ismat Chughtai with a Doodle.
Ismat Khanum Chughtai is considered one of the pioneers of Urdu literature.
Ismat Chughtai or Ismat Apa as she was known, was considered by some as a crusader for the rights of oppressed women.
She was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1976.
Iran unveils first domestic fighter jet
Iran unveiled its first domestic fighter jet at a defence show in Tehran.
The fighter jet called Kowsar is capable of carrying various weapons and will be used for short aerial support missions.
It is a fourth-generation fighter, with “advanced avionics” and multi-purpose radar.
The new fighter jet has passed all tests.
Awards
Gopal Gandhi conferred with Sadbhavna Award
Gopalkrishna Gandhi was honoured with Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award for promoting communal harmony and peace.

The award was presented on the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi was the former Governor of West Bengal.




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