CURRENT GK
1.NRDC Wins Two Awards :-
NRDC, the technology transfer and commercialisation arm of the Ministry of Science & Technology, has won two accolades. It has won the Assocham Services Excellence Award 2017 and its Chairman and Managing Director, H Purushotham, an international recognition.
The International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) Sweden honoured H Purushotham with the IAAM Medal 2017 for his outstanding R&D contributions in the Advanced Materials Science & Technology during its award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
NRDC also won the Assocham Services Excellence Awards 2017 in the area of Technology Transfer Services. NRDC has transferred IPs and technologies to about 5,000 SMEs /start-ups / corporate.
- Olympian Footballer Ahmed Khan Dies :-
Ahmed Khan, a member of India’s gold winning football team at the first Asian Games in 1951, passed away at the age of 91.
A prolific striker, Khan represented India in two Olympic Games — 1948 in London and 1952 in Helsinki apart from two Asian Games in Delhi and 1954 in Manila.
He played for East Bengal from 1949 to 1959 and captained the club in 1954. He scored 62 goals for the red and gold having won the IFA Shield four times; the Calcutta League, the Durand Cup and the DCM Trophy thrice each; and Rovers Cup, the PK Nair Gold Cup and the HK Mookherjee Shield once each.
3.Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding by the Election Commission of India with the Election Management Bodies of other countries/International Agencies :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Election Commission of India to enter into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration with the Election Management Bodies of other countries/International Agencies. These are as follows:
The National Electoral Council of Ecuador;
The Central Election Commission of Albania;
The Election Commission of Bhutan;
The Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan;
The National Independent Electoral Commission of Guinea;
The Union Election Commission of Myanmar; and
The India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA)
4.Cabinet approves MoU on “India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund” :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Israel on “India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)”. The MoU was concluded in July, 2017
India and Israel will make an contribution of four million US Dollars each for the Fund, both equivalent amount, annually for five years. The Innovation Fund will be governed by a joint Board which will consist of four members from each country.
5.Cabinet approves MoU between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Brazil for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics and Assisted Reproductive Technologies. The MoU was signed in October, 2016.
6.Cabinet apprised of jointly issue of postage stamps between India and Canada :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was informed today that India and Canada have mutually agreed to jointly issue a set of two Commemorative Postage Stamps on India-Canada: Joint Issue on the theme “Diwali”.
The joint stamps will be released on 21st September, 2017. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has already been signed signed between Department of Posts and Canada Post for this joint issue.
7.Atal Pension Yojana (APY) surges ahead with 62 lakh enrolment :-
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) through its ‘One Nation One Pension’ Mobilization Campaign has sourced approximately 3.07 lakh APY accounts which led to a total of 62 lakh enrolments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) as on date.
This campaign was organized all over the country by PFRDA from 2nd August to 19th August 2017 in association with the APY Service Provider Banks.
Increasing enrolment is attributed to financialization of assets and driving the people to pension products which has Govt of India implicit guarantee to give an assured pension to the subscriber, spouse and return of corpus to the nominee.
8.Cabinet approves equivalence of posts in Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), Banks, Insurance Institutions with Posts in Government so that the children of those serving in lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC reservations :-
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the norms for establishing equivalence of posts in Government and posts in PSUs, PSBs etc. for claiming benefit of OBC reservations.
This addresses an issue pending for nearly 24 years. This will ensure that the children of those serving in lower categories in PSUs and other institutions can get the benefit of OBC reservations, on par with children of people serving in lower categories in Government.
This will also prevent children of those in senior positions in such institutions, who, owing to absence of equivalence of posts, may have been treated as non Creamy Layer by virtue of wrong interpretation of income standards from cornering government posts reserved for OBCs and denying the genuine non creamy layer candidates a level playing field.
9.Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi to give away National Level Awards to Anganwadi workers tomorrow :-
The Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi will give away National Level Awards to anganwadi workers to recognize their exemplary service in the field of child development and related areas under the ICDS Scheme, at New Delhi tomorrow.
The scheme for awarding anganwadi workers at the National and State levels was formulated in the year 2000-01. These awards are given annually.
The Award at the National Level comprises a cash prize of Rs.25,000/- and a citation. State Level Award comprises a cash prize of Rs. 5,000/- and a citation.
During the last two years, awards for the years 2011-12 onwards have been conferred. The Awards for the year 2016-17 are being given to 51 awardees tomorrow.
10.The deadline for connecting plans to the base by December 31 :-
New Delhi The Supreme Court will hear the petitions challenging the legality of the foundation in November.
The court heard the hearing in the first week of November, when even the Attorney General KK Venugopal, appearing on behalf of the Central Government, told the court that the time limit for extending the benefits of government schemes would increase from September 30 to December 31 Will give
11.YouTube has changed its logo for the first time, introducing new features :-
Google’s proprietary company YouTube has changed its historical logo for desktop and mobile apps with some major design changes for the first time. In addition to minor changes, this is the first time that YouTube’s logo has been changed in the last several years.
According to a report published in the Android Authority on Wednesday, the ‘tube’ part of the red color inside this logo has been ejected and the familiar play icon on the left side of YouTube is kept in red.
Google says that this change will make YouTube logo “work better on different devices, even on the smallest screens.”
According to the report, “YouTube is second with 71 percent of AP customers, while Google’s search app is 61 percent with the customer number four.”
12.Bangladesh scored history, Australia for the first time in Test match :-
Bangladesh have won the historic victory by defeating Australia by 20 runs in a Test match played in Dhaka. Australia did not lose a Test match in Bangladesh in its Golden Test history earlier.
The result of this exciting match came out shortly after lunch on the fourth day. In the last innings, Shakib Al Hasan scored five and Tijul Islam took three wickets in the final.
