14-15 August 2016 - Current Affairs



Union Government constitutes National Committee on Trade Facilitation
The Union Government has constituted a National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) to develop the pan-India road map for trade facilitation. It has been constituted in line with the World Trade Organisation (WTO’s) Trade Facilitation Agreement (FTA), which India also has ratified. The NCTF will inter – ministerial body on trade facilitation and will be headed by Pradeep Kumar Sinha, who is the Cabinet Secretary of India.

India’s first facility to produce nickel launched by HCL in Jharkhand
India’s first facility to produce nickel was launched by the Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) at its Indian Copper Complex (ICC) at Ghatshila in Jharkhand. 
The new facility “Nickel, Copper and Acid Recovery Plant” will be first facility in India to produce nickel metal of London Metal Exchange (LME) grade from primary resource.

UBI launches USSD based mobile app for basic banking needs with NPCI
The Union Bank of India (UBI) has launch an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) based *99# mobile application for their customers for basic banking needs. It was launched in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in the country. 

Key Facts 
  • *99# mobile application can be downloaded in an android smartphone from the Google Play Store by the bank customers. 
  • It can be used even without any internet connection as it does not require any data and is available in 10 languages.
  • It provides basic banking facilities like checking account balance, sending money, Mobile PIN (MPIN) management. 
  • Besides, it provides value added services like checking Aadhaar linked overdraft status and PMJDY account overdraft status.

India’s first BIO-CNG plant inaugurated in Pune
India’s first ever BIO-CNG plant producing CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) from agricultural residue was inaugurated in Pune, Maharashtra. 
It was jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of surface Transport Nitin Gadkari and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. 
Key Facts 
  • The plant was commissioned by Pune-based Primove Engineering Private Limited. 
  • It has been set up as a Proof of Concept (PoC) which can be replicated elsewhere. 
  • It uses special bacterial solution for treating agricultural waste in the process of generation of CNG. The gas generated is cleaned and compressed for use in vehicles

Manjula Chellur appointed as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court
Justice Manjula Chellur has been selected as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Currently, she is the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. 
She will succeed CJ Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela who retires on August 24, 2016. She will be second woman Chief Justice of the Bombay HC, after Sujata Manohar in 1994. 

About Manjula 
  • Chellur Justice Manjula Chellur was born on December 5, 1955 in Karnataka. 
  • She was the first woman advocate to practice in Bellary district and later in 1988 became a district judge. In 2000, 
  • she was appointed as the first woman judge of Karnataka High Court. She was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court in November 2011. 
  • She had sworn-in as the Chief Justice in September 2012 and was transferred to Calcutta High Court in 2014.

Eminent Tamil Lyricist Na Muthukumar passes away
Eminent poet and lyricist Na Muthukumar passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu following an illness. He was 41. He was known for his critically acclaimed literary work and Tamil film songs. He also had won two national awards. 

About Na Muthukumar 
  • Born on 12 July 1975 in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. 
  • He had entered the film industry with a dream of becoming a director and had worked as an associate for Balumahendra. 
  • But his knowledge in Tamil language and literature led him to the area of song-writing. He had first wrote songs for director Seeman’s film Veeranadai 
  • He has written more than 1,000 lyrics in various movies and also penned novel “Silk City” in Tamil. 

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