Latest Current Affairs – September 01 2018
1. PM Narendra Modi launches India Post Payments Bank
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India Post Payments Bank which will go live with 650 branches and 3,250 access points. The government aims to link all 1.55 lakh post offices to the India Post Payments Bank system by December 31. The bank can accept deposits of up to ?1 lakh but can’t issue loans or credit cards.
2. Union Bank of India quits global diamond hub Antwerp
Union Bank of India has announced that it will close its branch in the global diamond hub of Antwerp within a year. Antwerp didn’t generate “the expected amount of business, particularly from the diamond sector,” CEO Rajkiran Rai Gundyadka said, adding, “The viability of the branch isn’t established.” The bank opened its branch in the Belgian city four years ago.
3. Boxer Amit defeats Olympic champ to bag gold at Asiad 2018
India’s 22-year-old boxer Amit Panghal defeated 2016 Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov in the men’s 49kg final to bag gold at the Asian Games 2018. Amit was the only Indian boxer who made it to a final at the quadrennial event. He had won silver medal at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year and a bronze at Asian Championships last year.
4. Pranab, Shibnath bag India’s 1st ever bridge gold at Asiad
India’s 60-year-old Pranab Bardhan and 56-year-old Shibnath Sarkar won the men’s pair bridge event to bag the country’s first-ever gold in bridge at the Asian Games. The card game has been featured as a sport at the Asian Games for the first time, in the 2018 edition. India have won 15 gold medals at the Asiad 2018 so far.
5. Amit won gold in 49 Kg wrestling in Asian games 2018
India’s Amit Phangal, a 22-year-old army wrestler, created history beating the Olympic champion Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the men’s 49kg at the Asian games. Amit beat Hasanboy by securing 3-2.
This is the second time India wins the medal. Earlier in 1962, Padam Bahadur Mall had won the first gold medal for India in men’s boxing in Jakarta Asian Games. Now, after 56 years Amit had made the country proud at the same venue.
6. Luka Modric was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year
Luka Modric of Real Madrid and Croatia was awarded the UEFA Player of the Year (2017-2018). The 32-year-old helped Real Madrid won the Champions League for a third season running and then led Croatia to the World Cup final. Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded in the last year (2016-2017).
The award recognises the best players, irrespective of nationality, playing for a club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the past season. Players are judged on their performances in domestic, continental and international competitions.
7. Scientist warns that the trapped heat below Arctic surface could melt ice in the entire region
Scientists warned that the Archived heat trapped below the surface of the Arctic has the potential to melt the entire region’s sea ice. They found that the warmer water that originated hundreds of miles away has penetrated deep into the interior of the Arctic. This heat is trapped below the surface layer presently. If it gets mixed up to the surface then the heat produced can melt the sea-ice pack that covers this region.
8. NASA set to launch Ice, Cloud Land Elevation satellite to track earth’s melting ice
The Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) will measure the average annual elevation change of land ice covering Greenland and Antarctica to within the width of a pencil, capturing 60,000 measurements every second. ICESat-2 which is scheduled to be launched on September 12 represents a major technological leap in our ability to measure changes in ice height.
9. Ulka Mahajan conferred with Praful Bidwai memorial Award 2018
The Praful Bidwai Memorial Award for 2018 was today conferred upon Ulka Mahajan, one of the three founders of Sarvahara Jan Andolan.
The Praful Bidwai Memorial Award, instituted in the memory of journalist and social activist who died in Amsterdam in 2015 and was committed to radical social transformation, justice for all and gender equality, seeks to recognise the efforts of individuals and institutions that strive for similar ends.
10. Germany to give Rs 990 crore loan for Clean Ganga Mission
In an effort to clean the river Ganga, Germany is providing a soft loan of euro 120 million (approx. Rs 990 crore) to India to strengthen sewage water treatment infrastructure in Uttarakhand.
The purpose of the project ‘Clean Ganga Mission’ is to reduce the inflow of untreated wastewater in River Ganga and, thus, to improve the water quality of the river. The initiative also includes construction of 13 sewage pumping stations.
11. Argentina hikes interest rate to 60%, highest in the world
Due to economic crisis, Argentina’s central bank raised its benchmark interest by 15 percentage points to 60%, the highest in the world.
The Argentine peso is down 50% this year against the dollar and the country’s inflation is running at over 30%. Argentina President Mauricio Macri has asked for an early release of a $50-billion loan from the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
