06 - 07 August 2017 - Current Affairs

7th August National Handloom Day

  • National Handloom Day is being observed to give an impetus to sector & encourage use of hand made loom in the country.
  • 7th August has been chosen due to its special significance as it was on this day that Swadeshi Movement was launched in 1905.
  • Main event will be held in Guwahati to celebrate 3rd Handloom Day. 1st National Handloom Day was launched by PM Modi on 7th August, 2015 in Chennai.

CO sensor from IISc

  • Indian Institute of Science researchers have developed a highly sensitive nanometre-scale carbon monoxide sensor by employing an innovative fabrication technique.
  • Nanostructure-based gas sensors are very effective due their high surface-to-volume ratio.
  • Real time mapping of pollution hot-spots in a city can be done if these sensors are installed in all traffic intersections.

New drug delivery platform

  • Women team of IIT Delhi researchers has developed a new drug delivery platform using nanoparticles.
  • It can boost efficacy of antibiotics at cellular level & improve chances of recovery from cancer-related bacterial infections
  • It would be useful for cancer patients because if bacterial infection in cancer remains untreated it can infect host even after cancer cells are killed by chemotherapy

Britannia to set up its Largest Plant

  • India’s leading FMCG Britannia Industries would set up its largest plant in Maharashtra in a food park at Ranjangaon.
  • The park would have the largest biscuits manufacturing plant with six lines, along with cake and rusk.
  • The company is also planning to set up a dairy project at the food park with a capacity of seven lakh litres per day.

Finance Ministry to subsidise losses

  • Prime Minister’s Office has directed Ministry of Finance to fund losses incurred by railways in operating non-profitable trains on strategic lines & backward areas.
  • Losses on operating strategic lines accounts for over ₹34,000 crore borne by railways towards social service obligation.
  • After merger of Railway & Union Budget FM discontinued the practice of providing annual subsidy to railways.

GST Shiksha hub for small enterprise

  • TCS iON has announced its partnership with Laghu Udyog Bharati to launch GST-related content to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
  • It aims to provide relevant information on GST to all MSMEs on a real-time basis, helping them to be updated on any GST-linked development.
  • With the availability of digital learning content, Laghu Bharati Udyog will be able to reach MSMEs in remote areas.

Bank of India is looking to raise up to Rs 626 cr through sale of its stake in non-banking finance company STCI Finance.

  • BOI holds 1,13,83,781 shares in STCIFL representing 29.96% stake. Indicative minimum price per share of STCIFL is Rs550
  • STCIFL is a systematically important non-deposit taking non-banking finance company providing loans against shares, construction finance & corporate loans

Mats that could treat arthritis

  • Scientists from IIT Guwahati have synthesized mats made of silk-proteins & bioactive glass fibres that can repair worn-out joint in arthritis patient
  • Current treatment methods are limited by lack of viable tissue substitutes to aid the repair process
  • Silk is used to fabricate electrospun mats to mimic cartilage portion & bioactive glass to develop composite material similar to natural tissue

GST Council clears e-way Bill

  • GST Council has given an in-principle approval to e-way bill, to keep tabs on the movement of goods.
  • Once the e-way bill is implemented, all goods and services worth Rs 50,000 or more would need to be registered before these are moved 10 km for sale.
  • There would be very few check posts to ensure the smooth transport of goods. These rules would not be applicable for exempted goods.

SUVs, luxury cars to cost more

  • GST Council has approved a proposal to hike cess on SUVs, mid-sized, large & luxury cars from 15% to 25%.
  • While all cars attract a peak GST rate of 28%, large motor vehicles, SUVs, mid-segment, large, hybrid cars and hybrid motor vehicles attract a cess of 15% on top of it.
  • Cess collected on cars as also tobacco & coal will be used to compensate the revenue loss of states by implementing GST

Chabahar Port to start by 2018

  • According to Nitin Gadkari the strategic Chabahar Port will be operational by 2018.
  • As per an MoU signed, India is to equip & operate 2 berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of $85.21 million & annual revenue expenditure of $22.95 million on a 10-year lease.
  • Located in southeastern Iran in the Gulf of Oman Chabahar is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean.

Kerala HC lifts life ban on Sreesanth

  • Kerala High Court has lifted the ban imposed by BCCI on S Sreesanth for his involvement in spot fixing scandal in IPL.
  • He was banned in 2013 for his alleged spot fixing in IPL & was charged alongside 2 of his Rajasthan Royals teammates, Ajit Chandila & Ankeet Chavan.
  • Challenging the ban, Sreesanth had contended at the high court that not lifting the ban violated his constitutional rights.

FB leaves Alphabet and Microsoft behind

  • Facebook has leapfrogged Microsoft & Alphabet in securing maximum profit per employee in 2nd quarter of 2017 while Twitter suffered a hefty loss.
  • Facebook which employed 20,658 persons in past quarter made roughly Rs 1.2 cr per employee while Twitter lost nearly Rs 22 lakhs per employee.
  • Microsoft made Rs 33 lakhs & Alphabet Rs 29 lakhs per employee, 4 times less profit per employee than FB.

Switzerland finds data laws adequate

  • Switzerland has found India’s data security & confidentiality laws adequate for entering into an automatic exchange of information pact.
  • It will open access to details about alleged black money hoarders in once all-secret Swiss banks.
  • Federal Council in June ratified automatic exchange of account information with India to facilitate immediate sharing of details about suspected black money.

Netherlands crowned European champions

  • Netherlands won their 1st major women’s international tournament after a thrilling 4-2 victory over Denmark in Euro 2017 final.
  • Miedema scored her 2nd of the match in 89th minute to bring Dutch their first ever European championship.
  • The Dutch are only the fourth team to lift the trophy after 8 time champions Germany, 2 time winners Norway & Sweden, who won the first edition in 1984.

Alexander Zverev wins Citi Open title

  • German Alexander Zverev used his dominant serve to claim a fourth ATP title of the year with 6-4, 6-4 win over South African Kevin Anderson at the Citi Open in Washington.
  • Zverev won his fifth career title and improved his career record against Anderson to 3-0.
  • Zverev joined Rafa Nadal as a four-time ATP winner this year. Only Roger Federer, with five, has captured more titles in 2017.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo

  • Indian Navy band has joined Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in UK for musical event where they will mark 70th year of India’s Independence.
  • Indian Band with an array of colourful dancers, comprises 1 officer & 65 musician who will perform under baton of Commander Vijay Charles D’Cruz.
  • This year’s theme is Splash of Tartan, celebrating Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology.

Sajan bags bronze in Junior Wrestling

  • India’s Sajan bagged a bronze medal in Greco-Roman category after defeating Ali Osman Erbay of Turkey at the Junior World Wrestling Championships in Tampere, Finland.
  • Sajan defeated the Turkish grappler 6-1 in Greco-Roman 74kg class in a third-fourth place match to finish on the podium.
  • He is the lone Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to bag a medal at this championship.

Indonesia and Russia signs a new deal

  • Indonesia’s PT Perusahaan Perdagangan Indonesia & Russia’s Rostec have signed a deal to trade Sukhoi SU-35 for commodities like tea & coffee.
  • Indonesia had $411 million trade surplus with Russia in 2016 & aims to expand its partnership in tourism, education among others
  • Under supervision of both govts deal will soon be realised through exchange of 11 Sukhoi SU-35s & no. of Indonesian exports

Arsenal win Community Shield

  • Arsenal defeated Chelsea 4-1 on penalties to win the season-opening Community Shield for the 15th time.
  • Chelsea’s Victor Moses opened the scoring when he smashed a loose ball past Cech in 46th minute before Arsenal’s Kalasinac equalised in 82nd minute.
  • For the first time on English soil, an ABBA penalty shootout took place, Giroud scored the winning penalty to help Arsenal win over Chelsea.

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