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AWARDS AND HONOURS

NAME OF THE AWARD	AWARD WINNER	KEY POINTS TO NOTE
Best Skilling India award on NACER	ASSOCHAM	─
Indian of the Year	Debraj Shome	India Leadership Conclave
Title of National Champion	Sravanth Malla	2017 South Asian Spelling Bee
Hindu Playwright Award 2017	Gerish Khemani and Akshat Nigam	In Search of Dariya Sagar
Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017	N.K. Jemisin	For her work “The ObeliskGate”.
Green Marketer’ Award	Hindustan Unilever	Marquee Awards 2017
AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2017	Roda Mehta	─
Environment Excellence Awards 2016-17	National Aluminium Company (NALCO)	Appreciation Award in large mines category
Marconi Lifetime Award	Thomas Kailath	He is Pune -born Stanford Professor
Kesari Media Award	T J S George	Veteran journalist
Sena Medal  Gallantry award	Major Mitali Madhumita	The first woman officer to receive

APPOINTMENTS

NAME	DEPT/ FIELD
Justice Dipak Misra	Next Chief Justice of India
Madan Lal	Head of  DDCA Cricket Affairs Committee
Indian American Dilip Chauhan	Deputy Comptroller for Minority Affairs in New York
Vinay Dube	CEO of Jet Airways
Uhuru Kenyatta	Kenya President
Prasoon Joshi	Censor board chief
I V Subba Rao	Secretary to Vice President
David Rasquinha	MD of Exim Bank
Milkha Singh	WHO’s goodwill ambassador
SY Quraishi	Administrator of Archery Association of India
P.B. Balaji	CFO of Tata Motors Group
Shashi Shekhar Vempati	Chief of Rajya Sabha TV
Santosh Sharma	CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited
Sankara Rao	IFCI Chief Executive
Neil Chatterjee	C hair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Sankara Rao	Chief Executive of IFCI
Sandhu-Rojon	UN deputy representative for West Africa

 INDIAN AFFAIRS

• Joining hands with the IIM Ahmedabad, India’s premier farm research institute – Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) have launched a central scheme to promote agri startups in the country.
• The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved renaming of another Samajwadi Party (SP) government-run scheme, and the Samajwadi Sarvhit Kisan Bima Yojna will now on be known as the Mukhymantri Sarvhit Kisan Bima Yojna.
• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation released the findings of the survey of 1.4 lakh rural households, undertaken by the Quality Council of India (QCI) between May and June this year.
• The Goa Legislative Assembly has passed a bill which reclassifies coconut as a `tree, ensuring legal protection for it.
• NITI Aayog has announced partnership with three States each to radically transform their Health and Education sectors.
• NITI Aayog has selected Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Karnataka to improve healthcare delivery and key outcomes in these States.
• The Centre has declared entire Assam as a “disturbed” area under the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for one more month, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB, and others.
• ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp, plans to invest $150 million in exploration this fiscal year to drill more wells in Colombia, where it just made a commercial discovery, as well as in Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.
• India’s leading FMCG Britannia Industries would set up its largest plant in Maharashtra in a food park at Ranjangaon.
• The Gujarat government issued a tender for power developers to receive cheap coal marked for the state in return for selling coal-based power at less than Rs 2.82 a unit.
• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will flag off the ‘Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra’ from his official residence in state capital Lucknow.
• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) launched a web portal that will enable schools to place orders for their books online.
• Delhi will have the fastest growth of any city in Asia, with the economy to be almost 50 percent larger in 2021 than it was at the end of last year.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed an interim ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags which are less than 50 microns in the entire national capital.
• The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has launched an Indian National Anthem video in sign language, featuring disabled and partially disabled children.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved 10 projects in Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh worth about Rs.2,033crore.
• Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched ‘Gaj Yatra’, a nationwide campaign to protect elephants
• To take forward the initiative for a New India movement from 2017 – 2022, a Sankalp Se Siddhi  (Attainment through Resolve)  Programme was organized at Coimbatore on 12  August, 2017.
• Heritage Conservation Society has launched a scheme – ‘Nabin Tan Mon Bikash Yojana’ – in memory of Nabin Sharma
• The Government of India has decided to launch a new sub-scheme named “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)”as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
• Jharkhand Assembly has passed Religious Freedom Bill 2017. It aims to stop the forced conversions in the state.
• Around 3.5 lakh college students in Gujarat will get tablets at a subsidised rate of Rs 1,000 each under a state government scheme launched by chief minister Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad.
• Second Seminar on ‘MAKE’ projects for Indian Army was held atIndia Habitat Centre, New Delhi jointly under aegis of Indian Army and Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners since Independence
• Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal on the eve of 71st Independence Day.
• Trains falling into rivers and coaches catching fire will be common sights in the country’s first ‘railways disaster management village’ expected to come up on the outskirts of Bengaluru by December next year.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra an initiative providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai.
• Infusion Nurses Society (INS) — a global authority in infusion therapy launched India’s first online course on Infusion Therapy for nurses, under which it aims to train over 3,000 nurses in the vital medical procedure.
• The country’s first aviation university at Fursatganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district is all set for inauguration on August 18.
• Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched ‘She Means Business’ programme of Facebook for women entrepreneurs in Odisha.
• Indian Coast Guard ship “Shaurya”, the fifth in the series of six 105-metre offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) commissioned in Goa by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
• A special programme would soon be launched to prevent the spread of malaria in remote areas of Odisha’s Ganjam district. The programme has been christened as “Durgama Anchalare Malaria Nirakaran” (DAMON).
• India ‘s first museum will open this week in Amritsar Punjab, as India and Pakistan celebrate 70 years as independent nations.
• Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has lauded the Supreme Court’s initiative to make trial court appointments more transparent and appealed to states, opposing the proposed centralised selection mechanism, to reconsider their stand.
• Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra, a farmers’ market on wheels, which aims at delivering farm-fresh organic produce at reasonable prices.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has inaugurated the next generation projection mapping system at the iconic Gateway of India in south Mumbai.
• India will host the next steering committee meetingof the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India(TAPI) gas pipeline, senior officials on both sides confirmed.
• The 70^th Independence Day on August 15 to be celebrated as the Sankalp Parva.
• India ranks abysmally at 43rd out of 45 countries in a global innovation index.

BANKING AND FINANCE

• The international exchange from BSE, IndiaINX, received an approval from the regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), to commence trading in Gold Options contracts – the first for India at GIFT IFSC.
• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) was admitted Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom)’s petition for merging its wireless division with telecom firm Aircel Ltd.
• Online marketplace Flipkart has launched “Budding Star Programme’, an exclusive programme aimed at Flipkart employees to help them achieve their dreams by providing them financial assistance and paid leave.
• Amazon India has signed an agreement with the Telangana government to promote handlooms on the e-commerce platform.
• Mastercard and PayPal have extended their partnership into Asia Pacific to enhance the consumer experience and make Mastercard a clear payment option with PayPal.
• Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank will offer debit card at a special price of Rs 99 for the first year for customers who will open account under its zero balance account scheme till September 15.
• Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury cars, which became cheaper after the 1 July rollout of the goods and services tax (GST), may cost more with the GST Council, federal indirect tax body, planning to raise cess on them from 15% now to up to 25%.
• Vijaya Bank has disbursed loan sanction letters to beneficiaries who were trained at the Vijaya Bank Self Employment Training Institute (VIBSETI) in Bhenslay Village, Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
• Private sector lender IDFC Bank has partnered with digital payments company Zeta, to launch ‘IDFC Bank Benefits’ – a payment solution for corporates that digitises employee spends and claims, making the process simple, real-time and paperless.
• ICICI Bank has announced the launch of Instant Credit Card Service, which will enable its savings account customers to get a credit card instantly, in a completely digital and paperless manner.
• BitBay, one of the top ten cryptocurrency trading platforms in the world, has launched a dedicated platform for trade and exchange of digital currencies such as bitcoin, litecoin, ether, Lisk, monero, dash and gamecredits.
• Markets regulator SEBI has introduced an online registration mechanism for custodians of securities to make it convenient for them to do business
• Canara Bank unveiled two new digital services for online payments.Bharat QR (Quick Response)is for payment settlement at merchant locations and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)is an integrated bill payment system for net banking customers.
• Punjab National Bank (PNB)has introduced biometric attendance in the place of the existing system of signing attendance in the attendance register.
• Markets regulator SEBI has entered into a pact with its counterpart in Iran to promote technical assistance and facilitate cross-border co-operation in the area of securities regulations.
• ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has launched a new website ‘PlanYourGoal.com’ to help users plan their investments according to their future financial goals.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

• Bangladesh will soon open a new diplomatic station in Chennai.
• India has ratified the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol that commits countries to contain the emission of greenhouse gases, reaffirming its stand on climate action.
• Qatar announced has a programme to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries to encourage air transport and tourism amid a two-month boycott imposed on the Gulf state by its neighbors.
• India-ASEAN Youth Summit to be held in Bhopal from August 14-19. The commemorative year’s theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny“.
• India and Russia will hold a mega war game in October involving their armies, navies and the air forces for the first time to further ramp up military ties.
• The Indian Navy would join the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in a maiden maritime search and rescue exercise to be chaired by Bangladesh at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in November this year.
• India and Russia will hold a mega war game in October involving their armies, navies and the air forces for the first time to further ramp up military ties
• The Indian Navy would join the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in a maiden maritime search and rescue exercise to be chaired by Bangladesh at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in November this year.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• A new set of future satellites called hyperspectral imaging satellites is set to add teeth to the way India is gleaned from about 600 km in space.
• Google-owned YouTube, Facebook has rolled out ‘Watch’ – a redesigned video platform for creators and publishers
• Oxford University Press (OUP) has launched online dictionaries in Tamil and Gujarati as part of its special focus on Indian languages. Oxford Global Languages (OGL)
• NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is set to embark on a set of ultra-close passes through Saturn’s upper atmosphere with its final five orbits around the planet.
• Indian Coast Guard ship “Shaurya”, the fifth in the series of six 105-metre offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) commissioned in Goa by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
• Scientists have uncovered the largest volcanic region on Earth – consisting of almost 100 volcanoes– two kilometres below the surface of the vast Antarctic ice sheet.
• Scientists have developed an injectable tissue bandage smaller than a postage stamp that can repair damaged hearts.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal powerplant, a150-megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020.
• Nepal and China have signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains.
• China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, following through on new UN sanctions over its ally’s nuclear program.
• has the fastest mobile Internet in the world. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world’s fastest mobile networks.
• Melbourne has once again been named the world’s most liveable city by The Economist, receiving a perfect score for healthcare, education and infrastructure.
• Australian state government has approved the world’s biggest single tower solar thermal powerplant, a150-megawatt structure to be built in South Australia by 2020.
• Nepal and China have signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains.
• China halts iron, iron ore and seafood imports from North Korea, following through on new UN sanctions over its ally’s nuclear program.
• has the fastest mobile Internet in the world. The Netherlands and Hungary are ranked number two and three on the list of the world’s fastest mobile networks.
• Melbourne has once again been named the world’s most liveable city by The Economist, receiving a perfect score for healthcare, education and infrastructure.

SPORTS

WINNER	TITLE	SPORT/ VENUE
Ankur Mittal	Asian Shotgun Championship	Astana, Kazakhstan
Real Madrid	European Super Cup	UEFA Europa League
Amit Kumar Saroha	World Para Athletics Championship	─
IAAF World Athletics Championships 2017	African Wayde van Niekerk	─
Maheshwari chauhan (Bronze)	Asian shotgun championship	Kazakhstan

 OBITUARY

Name of the person	Field
Yisrael Kristal	Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest man
Vijay nambisan	poet and write
Ruth Pfau	German nun Pakistan’s ‘Mother Teresa’

 IMPORTANT DAYS

Date observed	Day observed	Theme / Purpose
August 9	International day of the World’s Indigenous day	A Decade for Action and Dignity
August 9	Nagasaki Peace Day	Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All
August 10	World Bio Fuel Day	To create awareness about non fossil-fuels (Green Fuels)
August 10	National Deworming Day	It is the world’s largest deworming programme covering 340 million children under-19 years of age across 36 states/ UTs.
August 12	International Youth day	Youth Building Peace