Latest Current Affairs – August 06 2018
1. Bill proposing death penalty for child rape cleared by Parliament
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have cleared a bill proposing death penalty for the rape of girls below the age of 12 years. This will replace the ordinance that was passed in April following the outrage over the Kathua and Unnao rapes. The bill also increases the minimum punishment for rape from 7 years to 10 years.
2. Former PM Indira Gandhi’s aide RK Dhawan passes away aged 81
Senior Congress leader and long-time aide of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, RK Dhawan passed away at the age of 81 years in Delhi. The former Union Minister was admitted to a hospital on Tuesday for age-related ailments. “His tireless spirit, immeasurable commitment and untiring dedication to Congress ideals will always be remembered,” the party’s communications in-charge tweeted.
3. Escorts Group Chairman Rajan Nanda dies at 76
Engineering company Escort Group’s Chairman Rajan Nanda passed away on Sunday at the age of 76 after a brief illness. He was the husband of late superstar Raj Kapoor’s daughter Ritu Nanda and the father-in-law of Amitabh Bachchan’s daughter Shweta Bachchan-Nanda. Amitabh Bachchan, who was in Bulgaria for a shoot, wrote on his blog that he was leaving for India.
4. Bhullar wins 1st European Tour title 12 yrs after turning pro
Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won his first title on the European Tour in the form of the Fiji International championship, almost 12 years after turning a professional golfer. Bhullar, who was playing his 106th European Tour event in Fiji, also became the fifth Indian golfer to win on the European Tour. Notably, Bhullar sank five birdies and an eagle.
5. Lok Sabha passes prevention of atrocities against SC, STs amendment bill
The Lok Sabha passed the Prevention of Atrocities against SCs and STs Amendment Bill restoring its provisions prior to the 20th of March Supreme Court order. The apex court’s step had led to a lot of furor and protests throughout the country as several groups felt that the law had been diluted. The amended bill not only restores previous provisions but also gives it more teeth.
The law to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes will remain as stringent as ever. The Prevention of Atrocities against SCs/STs amendment bill not only restores its provisions but also make them stricter.
The restoration of the provisions of the bill will mean that
— No preliminary inquiry will be required before registering an FIR against anyone
— The investigating officer will not require the approval of any authority for the arrest of an accused
— Persons accused of committing an offence under the Act cannot apply for anticipatory bail
— The Bill clarifies that this provision will apply despite any judgements or orders of a court that provide otherwise
6. Parliament passes bill to grant constitutional status to NCBC
The 123rd constitutional amendment bill giving constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes has got Parliamentary assent. It will give the institution all powers to safeguard the rights of the socially and educationally backward classes and fulfils a long pending commitment of the central govt to the OBCs.
7. Defence Minister Launched Defence India Startup Challenge
The India Startup challenge was launched with a vision to build an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in defence sector and make India self-reliant for meeting defence requirements.
The defence ministry also signed a MoU with 5 incubators. IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Mumbai, Forge IIT Madras, and T hub who will work in tandem to provide solutions for defence requirements in Airforce, Navy and for Army.
8. About 65,000 Indonesians performed poco poco dance to promote Asian Games 2018
Indonesia’s Capital city Jakarta and the city of Palembang on Sumatra will jointly host Asian Games from August 18, 2018.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo along with 65,000 Indonesians performed a mass dance through the streets of Jakarta to promote the Asian Games 2018 and try to set a world record along the way. Poco-poco is the original culture of Indonesia and it’s a native dance.
9. Virat Kohli topped ICC Rankings for Test Batsmen
Virat Kohli scored 149 and 51 in India’s 31-run defeat at Edgbaston and went up by 31 points which helped him as the top-ranked batsman. Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin gained 14 points following his four for 62 and three for 59 in the first Test.
10. Karman becomes 6th Indian woman to enter top 200 Tennis rankings in Singles
Karman Kaur Thandi, 20-year-old Delhi girl, jumped 32 places and now ranked 200th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) list. In April, India’s top singles player Ankita had broken into the top-200 and is now ranked 195 (-4).
Earlier, Sania Mirza, Nirupama Vaidyanathan, Shikha Uberoi and Sunitha Rao had made it to the top-200. In the men’s singles, Yuki Bhambri was unchanged at 86 while Ramkumar Ramanathan climbed four places to a career-best 111.
11. Union Govt approved research projects worth over Rs 100 crore under IMPRINT-2 scheme
Around 122 new research projects of 112 crore rupees under its Impacting Research Innovation and Technology ‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme are approved.
IMPRINT – 2 is a government initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
12. Netherlands crowned as world champions for the eighth time at Women’s Hockey Tournament
Kitty van Male, top scorer at the Women’s Hockey Tournament. Spain won the third-place match by beating Australia 3-1 to claim their first ever World Cup medal. India finished the tournament at the 8th spot.
13. Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana was launched in Bihar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched ‘Mukhyamantri Kanya Utthan Yojana’, a scheme for the girl child. The scheme will provide Rs.54,100 for a girl child from her birth until she graduates.
This is to express the State government’s resolve for the empowerment of women. The ‘scheme will be run by three departments namely education, health and social welfare. The Chief Minister also said that the amount under the ‘Bicycle Yojna’ will be increased from Rs.2500 to Rs.3000.
14. India and Kyrgyzstan deepen bilateral ties on health, tourism, defence and security
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev discussed possible areas of collaboration and the areas discussed during the bilateral meeting includes political and parliamentary exchanges, defense and security, science and technology, economic, health and tourism.
