Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 24 2019
1. Amazon inaugurates its worlds largest campus in Hyderabad
E-commerce company Amazon inaugurated its single-largest campus in the world in Hyderabad, Telangana. The campus was inaugurated by Mohammed Mahmood Ali, MLC(Member of Legislative Council), Minister of Home, Prisons, Fire Services, the government of Telangana. This Hyderabad campus of Amazon is the only one, placed outside US(United States).
There are 62,000 employees in India, this campus alone can accommodate more than 15,000 employees. The other members are Amit Agarwal, SVP(Senior Vice President) and Country Head, Amazon India. John Schoettler, VP(Vice President), Global Real Estate and Facilities.
2. Centre organized San Sadhan Hackathon on 22 August
It invites for tech enthusiasts to participate in San-Sadhan hackathon- for Divyangjan accessible toilets.
Aim:
San-Sadhan Hackathon is an initiative that will make the lives of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) (Divyangjan) easier by making toilets smarter, more accessible, and easier to use.
3. Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme 2019 to be effective from 1 September
The Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019 will be operationalized from 1st September 2019 to 31st December 2019. The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2019-20.
It is expected that the Scheme will be availed by a large number of taxpayers to close their pending disputes that are related to legacy Service Tax and Central Excise cases. These taxes will are now be included under GST.
4. Knight Frank ranks Delhi as the 10th fastest growing market globally
Prime Global Cities Index of London based consultancy Knight Frank ranked Delhi as the 10th fastest growing prime market globally. The index is topped by Berlin(Germany) whereas Istanbul(Turkey) and Vancouver(Canada) were the weakest markets with rates minus 9.9% and minus 13.6% respectively. The Bengaluru (2.8%) and Mumbai (0.8%) ranked 15th and 30th on the list respectively.
5. Pakistan blacklisted by Asia-Pacific Group of FATF
The Asia Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has put Pakistan in Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Blacklist) for its standards. Decision in this regard was taken at FATF APG plenary meeting held in Canberra, Australia.
About Asia Pacific Group (APG)
It is Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body for Asia-Pacific region to develop policies to combat money laundering and terror financing. It is inter-governmental organisation founded in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand.
6. Project SU.RE: Sustainable fashion project launched in Mumbai
Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani launched Project SURE, a move towards sustainable fashion at Lakmé Fashion Winter/Festive 2019 held in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The project aims to move towards sustainable fashion that contributes to a clean environment.
7. 1st World Youth Conference on Kindness held in New Delhi
The first World Youth Conference for Kindness was recently held in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind. It was organised by UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP).
It was held in commemoration of 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. It was aimed at providing youth with creative, effective methods of engaging and realising UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
8. 24th Meeting of Western Zonal Council held in Panaji
The 24th Meeting of Western Zonal Council held was held in Panaji, capital of Goa. It was chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Goa being host state, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant was its vice-chairman. It was attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and representatives of Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
9. Arun Jaitley, Former Finance Minister and BJP Veteran, Passes Away at 66
BJP stalwart and former finance minister Arun Jaitley died at AIIMS. He was 66. In a brief statement, the hospital said Jaitley died at 12.07 pm. Jaitley was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on August 9 and was treated by a multi-disciplinary team of senior doctors.
10. UAE confers highest civilian award ‘Order of Zayed’ on PM Modi
The UAE conferred its highest civilian award ‘Order of Zayed’ on PM Narendra Modi. PM Modi interacted with the NRI business community in UAE at a Business Roundtable in Abu Dhabi and urged them to look at the business opportunities available in India. The RuPay card was officially launched in UAE in presence of PM Modi.
11. Sindhu 1st Indian to reach 3 consecutive World Championships finals
World number five PV Sindhu has become the first ever Indian to reach three straight Badminton World Championships finals. The 24-year-old achieved the feat by beating world number three Chen Yu Fei 21-7, 21-14 in the semi-final on Saturday. Sindhu had lost the finals in 2017 and 2018 to Nozomi Okuhara and Carolina Marin, respectively.
12. Serbia officially joins AIIB
Serbia officially became a non-regional member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the country’s ministry of finance confirmed in a press release.
The China-initiated multilateral financial institution began operation in January 2016 with 57 founding members, with an agenda focused on supporting sustainable development through infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia and beyond. Enditem
13. Indian Climate Activist To Participate In First UN Youth Climate Summit
Vishnu P R, from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is the CEO of ”Change Can Change Climate Change (C5) Foundation”, an organisation focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.
A young climate activist from India is among 100 outstanding climate champions selected from around the world for a special ”Green Ticket” that will help them travel to the UN headquarters next month to participate in the first-ever Youth Climate Summit.
14. Government to launch an e-commerce portal to help SMEs: Nitin Gadkari
The government is planing to launch an e-commerce project called ‘Bharatcraft’ for micro small and medium enterprises (MSME), on the lines of global online shopping platform such as Alibaba, said union minister Nitin Gadkari. Gadkari said the proposed platform could generate a turnover of Rs 10 trillion over the next few years.
15. India, France Sign Agreements On Maritime Awareness, Skill Development
India and France signed an agreement on behalf of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Paris-based National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) for the establishment of a ”joint maritime domain awareness mission” to detect and tackle threats emanating from the sea during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the European country.
16. Moody’s cuts India GDP growth forecast to 6.2% for 2019
Moody’s Investors Service on Friday pared down India’s growth forecast for 2019 calendar year by 60 basis points to 6.2%, holding that moderation in business sentiment and slow flow of credit to companies have contributed to weaker investment in the country.
17. Sai Praneeth first Indian man in 36 years to secure World C’ships medal
B Sai Praneeth has become the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to secure a medal in the BWF World Championships. The 27-year-old achieved the feat by reaching the semi-finals after defeating Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie 24-22, 21-14. Prakash Padukone was the first Indian to win a men’s singles World Championships medal, a bronze, in the 1983 edition.
18. US billionaire industrialist David Koch passes away aged 79
US industrialist David Koch, who ran Koch Industries with his brother Charles Koch, died at aged 79. Koch, whose wealth Bloomberg estimates at $59 billion, was a philanthropist and a major financier of conservative causes and political candidates. He derived most of his wealth from a 42% stake in Koch Industries, which has annual revenue of about $110 billion.
