IBPS PO Current Affairs August 2018
National News
1. Santhali Becomes India’s 1st Tribal Language To Get Own Wikipedia Edition
i. Santhali (Santali), a tribal language primarily spoken in India, Bangladesh and Nepal, received global recognition when it got a Wikipedia edition in its own script. The language is been spoken by over 6.4 million people in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam.
ii. The initiative to get a Santhali edition for Wikipedia, began six years ago, in 2012. Santhali, written in the Ol Chiki script currently has content of about 70,000 words.
2. Piyush Goyal Released 3rd Party Survey Report On Station Cleanliness
i. Minister of Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal has released a report on Station Cleanliness conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI).
ii. A1 category stations (out of 75):
1st: Jodhpur/North-Western Railway
2nd: Jaipur/North-Western Railway
3rd: Tirupati/South-Central Railway.
iii. A category stations (out of a total of 332):
1st: Marwar/North Western Railway
2nd: Phulera/North -Western Railway
3rd: Warangal/South-Central Railway.
iv. Zonal Railway rankings are:
1st: North Western Railway
2nd: South Central Railway
3rd: East Coast Railway.
3. IT Minister Released ‘Digital North East Vision 2022’ in Guwahati
i. Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad released the document ‘Digital North East Vision 2022’ in Guwahati, Assam. The Document emphasizes leveraging digital technologies to transform the lives of people of the northeast and enhance the ease of living.
ii. The Document identifies eight digital thrust areas – Digital Infrastructure, Digital services, Digital empowerment, Promotion of Electronics Manufacturing, Promotion of IT and ITES including BPOs, Digital Payments, Innovation & Startups and Cybersecurity.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- Assam CM- Sarbanand Sonowal, Governor- Jagdish Mukhi.
4. Government Provides Fund of Rs 66000 crore To Increase Country’s Forest Cover
i. The Union Government has unlocked green funds worth over Rs 66,000 crore to increase the country’s forest cover.
ii. The fund is an accumulated amount of money, which user agencies have been depositing as compensation for diverting forest land for non-forest purposes, including industries and infrastructure, since the past 10 years.
ii. The fund is an accumulated amount of money, which user agencies have been depositing as compensation for diverting forest land for non-forest purposes, including industries and infrastructure, since the past 10 years.
5. Israel Opens Visa Application Centre In Kolkata
i. Israel has opened a Visa Application Centre in Kolkata for tourists from West Bengal and the northeastern states to encourage more Indian travelers to visit that country.
ii. Israel recently announced a reduction in visa fees to INR 1,100 rupees from its previous 1,700 charged from Indians.
International News
6. Nepal-India Literature Festival 2018 Begins in Birgunj
i. Nepal-India Literature Festival 2018 has begun in Birgunj, Nepal. The festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Province 2 Mohammad Lalbabu Raut. The festival is aimed at strengthening Indo-Nepal ties.
ii. On this occasion, eminent writers from both the countries were also felicitated. Around 250 participants from India and Nepal attending the two-day festival. The event is organised by Nepal India Co-operation Forum.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli is the current Prime Minister of Nepal.
- Bidhya Devi Bhandari is the current President of Nepal and commander in chief of Nepalese Army.
- The Nepalese Rupee is the currency of Nepal.
7. Meeting Of Senior Officials Of BIMSTEC Held
i. A special meeting of Senior Officials of the Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) was held in Kathmandu today.
ii. The meeting also agreed to recommend a theme “Towards a peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region” for the Summit.
ii. The meeting also agreed to recommend a theme “Towards a peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region” for the Summit.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- BIMSTEC is a regional economic bloc comprising seven member states: Bangladesh, Bhutan India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
8. BBC’s ‘Women Who Changed The World’ List: Marie Curie Tops, Mother Teresa 20th
i. BBC History Magazine conducted a reader’s poll of 100 women who changed the world. In this poll, Marie Curie has been voted the woman who made the most significant impact on world history. Women from several fields in areas like politics, science, sports, technology and literature were shortlisted.
ii. Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel prize in physics, first female professor at the University of Paris, and the first person to win a second Nobel prize.
iii. Top 3 from the BBC History Magazine’s ‘100 Women Who Changed The World’:
1. Marie Curie,
2. Rosa Parks,
3. Emmeline Pankhurst.
Appointments
9. Justice Manjula Chellur is New Chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
i. Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Ministry of Power.
ii. Prior to this, Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. She was the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
ii. Prior to this, Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. She was the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
Banking News
10. Exim Bank Signs MoU With BRICS Development Banks
i. Exim Bank of India has signed a multilateral cooperation agreement with member development banks of BRICS to undertake “collaborative research” in distributed ledger/blockchain technology.
ii. The MoU signed by Exim Bank Managing Director David Rasquinha was an outcome of the discussions the member development banks had during their annual meeting, with the objective of strengthening the cooperation under the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- BRICS is made up of China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.
- In December 2010, China, as the Chair, invited South Africa to join BRIC and attend the Summit in Sanya, China.
- Exim Bank Headquarters in: Mumbai, Founded in: 1982.
Sci-Tech News
11. India To Launch 2nd Lunar Mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ on January 3, 2019
i. India will launch its second lunar mission “Chandrayaan-2” on January 3, 2019, to land on the moon with a lander and rover. According to Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Sivan, ISRO is aiming to launch the mission but the window to land on the lunar surface is open till March 2019.
ii. The 800-crore rupees is the cost of lunar mission named “Chandrayaan-2”. The 3,890-kg Chandrayaan-2, which will be launched onboard the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-3, will orbit around the moon and study its lunar conditions to collect data on its topography, mineralogy and exosphere.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-
- Dr K Sivan is Chairman of ISRO.
- ISRO stands for Indian Space Research Organization.
- Headquarters of ISRO– Bengaluru, Karnataka.
12. Nasa Launches Parker Solar Probe To ‘Touch Sun’
i. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) blasted off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun on a historic mission to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms.
13. All You Need To Know About The ‘Parker Solar Probe’
i. NASA’s ‘Parker Solar Probe’ has become the first-ever mission to “touch” the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun’s atmosphere about 4 million miles from the surface.
ii. Parker Solar Probe launched aboard a Delta IV-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, the USA.
ii. Parker Solar Probe launched aboard a Delta IV-Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, the USA.
Sports News
14. Rafael Nadal Lifts Rogers Cup 2018
i. 17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal clinched his fourth Canadian Masters 1000 title at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He defeated Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas.
ii. The world number one swept aside Tsitsipas in a thrilling summit clash of the men’s singles event. With the win, Nadal clinched his 80th ATP World Tour title and fifth victory of the year.
Obituaries
15. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee Passes Away
i. Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away. He was 89 years old.
ii. Chatterjee was the Speaker of the Lower House from 2004-09 when Manmohan Singh-led UPA- 1 (United Progressive Alliance) was in power.
16. VS Naipaul: Nobel Prize Winner Dies At 85
i. Nobel Prize-winning British author V S Naipaul has died at the age of 85.
ii. Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul who was born in Trinidad wrote more than 30 books and won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2001.
ii. Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul who was born in Trinidad wrote more than 30 books and won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2001.