Latest Current Affairs – August 13 2018
1. Delhi vehicles to get blue sticker for petrol, orange for diesel
The Supreme Court accepted a proposal seeking to issue hologram-based coloured stickers for vehicles in Delhi based on the fuel used. While petrol and CNG vehicles will need to have a blue sticker, diesel vehicles must carry an orange one. This plan is aimed at better tackling of air pollution-related issues in the national capital.
2. Malaysia plans internet ban from 12 am to 6 am for teens under 17
The Malaysian government is considering to ban internet from 12 am to 6 am daily for teenagers under 17 years of age, Deputy Health Minister Lee Boon Chye said. The move aims at reducing video game and social media addiction among teens. “There are gaming providers which prevent users from playing for one to two hours,” Chye added.
3. Pune ranked first in Ease of Living Index; Delhi at 65
Maharashtra’s Pune has topped the Ease of Living Index rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. While Navi Mumbai has grabbed the second spot, Greater Mumbai was ranked third, and national capital Delhi was ranked 65th. The survey was conducted across 111 cities based on four parameters – governance, social institutions, economic and physical infrastructure.
4. ISRO to launch incubators for Indian space startups
ISRO has announced its plans to launch incubators across India to support startups working on building newer solutions in rocketry, communication satellites and applications based on remote sensing data. Till now, ISRO has been engaging with startups through its commercial arm Antrix Corp. The arm worked with startups including Bellatrix Aerospace, Aniara Communications and Exseed Space.
5. Koreas to hold summit in North Korea next month
North and South Korea agreed to hold an inter-Korean summit in North’s capital Pyongyang in September. The decision follows high-level negotiations between the two countries at the border truce village of Panmunjom. The leaders of the two countries had first met in April and agreed to sign a peace treaty to end the 65-year-long Korean War.
6. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passes away aged 89
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away aged 89 in Kolkata. The veteran politician had been put on ventilator support after being re-admitted to the hospital following kidney ailments. Chatterjee, who has served for over four decades in active politics, had served as the Lok Sabha Speaker from 2004 to 2009.
7. World Bank to issue world’s first blockchain bond
The World Bank has mandated the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) to issue the world’s first blockchain-based bond. The Kangaroo bond, referring to foreign bonds issued in Australia in the local currency, has been named bond-i, an acronym standing for Blockchain Offered New Debt Instrument. (It’s also a reference to Bondi Beach, an iconic spot in Sydney.)
8. India gets its first all women ‘SWAT’ unit
Ahead of the Independence Day, the Delhi Police inducted India’s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations. 36 women commandos from the northeastern states have been inducted into this squad. While 13 members are from Assam, rest of them hail from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur.
9. Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul passed away
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, 85 years old, passed away on 11th August. He is a Trinidad-born Indian-origin author. His work reflected his personal journey from Trinidad to London and various stops in developing countries. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.
He is known for his critical commentary on colonialism, religion and politics. During his career, Naipaul has written more than 30 books of fiction and non-fiction. A Bend in the River and A House for Mr.Biswas are his famous novels.
10. Nepal-India Literature Festival 2018 commenced at Birgunj
The festival was inaugurated by Chief Minister of Province 2 Mohammad Lal Babu Raut. The main aim of the festival is to strengthen Indo-Nepal ties. Around 250 participants from India and Nepal attending the two-day festival.
11. Indian Railways to stop free travel insurance from September 1
Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to stop free travel insurance starting September 1 and “free insurance will be optional”.
The insurance provided by the IRCTC had a maximum cover of Rs. 10 lakh in case of a person’s death during a train journey, Rs. 7.5 lakh if a person is disabled due to an accident, Rs. 2 lakh if injured and Rs. 10,000 for transportation of mortal remains.
12. Macau set to overtake Qatar as world’s richest place by 2020
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Macau in China would overtake oil-rich Qatar with the highest per-capita gross domestic product of any country or jurisdiction on earth, by 2020.
Macau is the only place in China where casinos are legal and its gross domestic product has more than tripled from about $34,500 per capita in 2001, the IMF data shows.
Three European countries — Luxembourg, Ireland, and Norway — made the top 10 places expected to be the world’s wealthiest by 2020, while the US came in at No. 12.
13. India to launch its second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 on January 3 next year
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)is aiming to launch the mission but the window to land on the lunar surface is open till March 2019. The 800-crore rupees is the overall 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.
14. Nobel Prize Winner Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul died at 85
He was born in Trinidad wrote more than 30 books and won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2001. He is known for his comic early novels set in Trinidad and Tobago. His notable works are A House for Mr Biswas, In a Free State, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival.
15. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Vijaya Bank entered into Bancassurance Deal
This corporate agreement will enable distribution of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance products through the bank’s network of 2,129 branches across the country. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will offer personal lines of insurance products such as health, personal accident, home, motor and travel along with a commercial line of insurance products.
16. Axis Bank introduced first Of Its Kind Iris Authentication for Aadhaar-Based Transactions
Iris scan technology is totally contactless and provides up to 98.2 per cent authentication success rate (as per study conducted by the International Centre for Biometric Research) and offers an edge over other prevalent biometric modes.
Axis Bank presently running a pilot program for its customers at eight branches in rural segment largely covering areas of Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
17. NASA launched Parker Solar Probe to Totch Sun
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched off a $1.5 billion spacecraft toward the Sun to protect the Earth by unveiling the mysteries of dangerous solar storms. The probe is designed Sun’s mysterious atmosphere known as corona coming within 3.83 million miles (6.16 million kilometres). It is the first major mission under Nasa’s Living With a Star program with 1.5 billions.
