18 August 2017 - Current Affairs


Himachal Pradesh: Manimahesh Yatra is under in Chamba District

  • The historical annual ‘Manimahesh Yatra’ is under way these days in Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
  • Pilgrims are visiting Manimahesh to worship God Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
  • The famous sacred Manimahesh Lake is situated at nearly 14,000 feet height in Bharmour area.
  • Every year this yatra begins on Janmashtami, and concludes after fifteen days on Radha Ashtami.

Environment Minister launches ‘Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali’ campaign

  • The Union Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change ‘Dr. Harsh Vardhan’ has launched the ‘Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali’ campaign in New Delhi.
  • As a part of the campaign, the Environment Ministry will undertake various activities to create awareness among various stakeholders and encourage people to participate in combating air pollution.
  • The pattern of the celebration of Diwali has changed somewhat and got associated with the excessive bursting of crackers, which contributes significantly to air and noise pollution.
  • As a result, there has been a significant impact on the environment and health of the people.

Union Govt. Slaps USD264 Million Penalty on RIL and its partners

  • The union govt. has imposed a new penalty of about Rs. 1,700 crores (USD 264) on Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and its partners for producing less than the targeted natural gas from eastern offshore KG-D6 fields (Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas field) in 2015-16.
  • Gas production was supposed to be 80 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd ) but actual production was only 35.33 mmscmd (2011-12), 20.88 mmscmd (2012-13) and 9.77 mmscmd (2013-14).
  • The output has continued to drop and is now below 4 mmscmd.
Note: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) holds 60% interest in block KG-DWN-98/3 or KG-D6 in Bay of Bengal & BP(UK) has 30% and remaining 10 per cent Niko (Canada).

TRAI raises penalty on telecom operators to Rs 5 lakh for poor mobile service

  • Telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has raised the penalty on telecom operators to 5 lakh rupees for poor mobile service quality like call drop, availability of mobile towers, a time taken for a call to connect, and voice quality.
  • Now, TRAI will measure call drops on the basis of data collected on the performance of telecom towers and not from area offices of telecom companies.
  • The penalty will kick-in if call drops in a quarter average more than 2% of the total traffic in a telecom circle.
  • The penalty will go up to 10 lakh rupees if the violation continues for more than two quarters.

Veteran photographer S Paul passes away

  • Veteran photographer ‘S Paul’ (88-year) passed away at a private hospital after undergoing a surgery a few days ago in New Delhi.
  • He joined The Indian Express in the 1960s and retired from the newspaper in 1989.
  • Paul received recognition and fame as a professional photographer when his pictures were selected for publication in three renowned British publications (Amateur Photographer, Miniature Camera & Miniature Camera World).
Note:
  • Paul was the first Indian to be profiled by The British Journal of Photography in 1967.
  • He was the first Indian to win the Nikon International Photo Contest in 1971.

Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys CEO

  • Vishal Sikka (50-years) has resigned as managing director (MD) and Chief executive officer(CEO) of Infosys Ltd.
  • The company's board has accepted his resignation with immediate effect.
  • Chief Operating Officer (COO) 'U.B. Pravin Rao' has been appointed interim-managing director(MD) and CEO.
  • Now, Mr. Sikka has been appointed as executive vice-chairman of the company.

Mamta Suri takes charge as Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board

  • Mamta Suri takes charge as the Executive Director of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).
  • Earlier, Dr. Suri was serving as the Chief General Manager of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India.
  • IBBI is a regulator over the Insolvency Professionals, Insolvency Professional Agencies, and Information Utilities.

Sohail Mahmood takes charge as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India

  • Sohail Mahmood (foreign service - 1985) has assumed the charge of Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India.
  • He replaced ‘Abdul Basit’ after his premature retirement earlier this month.

First regional Centre of NDB opens in S. Africa

  • The first regional center of the New Development Bank (NDB) set up by India and other BRICS nations has been officially opened in South Africa.
  • The idea for setting up NDB was proposed by India at the 4th BRICS summit in 2012 held in New Delhi.
  • The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with an initial authorized capital of the bank is USD 100 billion.

Defence Ministry clears proposal to procure 6 Apache attack helicopters for Army

  • The Defence Acquisition Council meeting chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has cleared a proposal to procure six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters for Army in New Delhi.
  • The cost of Apaches (including associated equipment, spares, training, weapons and armaments) is about 4,168 crore rupees.
  • The Council has also approved a proposal to procure two gas turbine engines for Naval ships at a cost of 490 crore rupees.

Lakshya wins Bulgaria Open Int'l Series

  • Young Indian shuttler ‘Lakshya Sen’ (16-years) clinched the Bulgaria Open International Series title in Sofia, Bulgaria.
  • He defeated second seed Zvonimir Durkinjak (Croatia) 18-21 21-12 21-17 in a 57-minute match.

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