England has been awarded the right to host the 2018 Table Tennis Team World Cup, which will be held in London.
The event will take place at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from 22-25 February 2018.
It will be the first major table tennis-only event to be held in London since Wembley hosted the 1954 World Championships. A total of 12 men's and 12 women's teams will compete at the event.
Thomas Weikert is the president of ITTF.
Ajay Vipin Nanavati is new Syndicate Bank chairman
The appointments committee of the cabinet (ACC) has approved Mr. Ajay Vipin Nanavati’s appointment as non-official director/non-executive chairman of Syndicate Bank for three years.
In 2015, the government had bifurcated the posts of chairman and managing director in public sector banks.
Syndicate Bank was founded by T M A Pai, Upendra Pai and Vaman Kudva.
The first branch of the bank started its operations in 1925 at Udupi, in Dakshin Kannada district in Karnataka state.
The bank was nationalised on 19 July 1969, by the Government of India, headquartered in Manipal, (Karnataka), India.
Reading Raghuram Rajan: ‘I Do What I Do’
The former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has authored the book “I Do What I Do”.
The book is a collection of essays and speeches during his stint as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor.
Mr. Rajan explains economic concepts in a readily accessible way.
The book will be launched in Chennai on 4th September this year and published by HarperCollins India.
Indian oldest cinematographer Ramananda Sengupta passes away
Oldest Indian cinematographer Ramanda Sengupta (101-year) passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal.
He worked with legends like Jean Renoir, Ritwik Ghatak, and Mrinal Sen.
In 1946, the first film as a full-time cinematographer was in Purbaraag directed by Ardhendu Mukherjee.
N. Bhupathi, a frog with the face of a pig
Indian scientists have discovered a new species of frog ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi’ that has a snout-shaped nose, just like a pig in West Ghats.
Soiled-dwelling species ‘Nasikabatrachus bhupathi’ discovered by scientists from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad.
It inhabits the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, near the Srivilliputhur Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
It has been named after the Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy.
US imposes financial sanctions on Venezuela
The United States (US) has slapped strong financial sanctions on Venezuela, barring banks from any new deals with the government.
It prohibits dealings in new debt and equity issued by the Venezuelan government and its state oil company.
It also prohibits dealings in certain existing bonds owned by the Venezuelan public sector, as well as dividend payments to the government.
China bans new business with N Korea in line with sanctions
China has banned North Korean (NK) individuals and enterprises from doing new business in the country.
Now, new joint venture enterprises, new wholly owned businesses and the expansion of existing entities involving North Korean individuals or companies are prohibited in China.
Applications for Chinese new or expanded investment in North Korea by Chinese companies would not be approved.
New sanctions by China, Japan, the United States, and the United Nations are aimed at pressuring Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons programme.
GM crops only after biosafety, socioeconomic evaluation
According to a Parliamentary panel, no genetically modified (GM) crop should be introduced in the country unless the biosafety and socio-economic desirability is evaluated in a transparent process and an accountability regime is put in place.
The Committee has also recommended that the Environment Ministry should examine the impact of GM crops on the environment thoroughly, in consultation with all stakeholders.
Govt sets up task force on artificial intelligence
The union Govt. has constituted 18-member task force headed by Dr. V. Kamakoti (IIT Madras) on Artificial Intelligence for the country's Economic Transformation.
The panel will comprise of experts, academics, researcher, and industry leaders.
It will explore the possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence for development across various fields.
The task force will submit concrete and implementable recommendations for government, industry, and research institutions.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence exhibited by machines, rather than humans or other animals.
Eronet to be launched in Assam on 28th Aug
A new internet based software ‘Eronet’ will be launched by the Election Commission of India in Assam on 28th August this year.
Eronet is useful for various activities relating to electoral roll such as the inclusion of name, deletion, name correction, transfer of name including providing the new photo identity cards.
General voters may apply online for facilitation of various activities relating to electoral roll through the already in-use portal ‘nvsp.in’ and Eronet.
It has been believed that diverse officers and employees associated with such process at various levels may be able to dispose in due time and in an accurate manner through eronet.
Jammu & Kashmir Govt. to set up first eco-park
The Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government has decided to build an Eco-Park on thirty-four acres of land at Rajouri district in the state.
The park is a first-of-its-kind project in the region, planned under the convergence of local resources and it is expected to be completed by end of this year.
The eco-park will have a botanical garden, a cactus garden, a cafeteria and other amenities
