05-06 August 2018 - Daily Current Affairs

1. PV Sindhu wins silver at World Badminton Championships 2018

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu (India) has won the silver medal in a major tournament final as she loses 19-21, 10-21 to Carolina Marin (Spain) in the 2018 World Championships’ women’s singles title.
Now, Marin became the first woman shuttler to win the world championships thrice (already won in 2014 & 2015).
This is Sindhu's second silver and fourth medal at the Worlds Championships so far.
In men’s singles, Kento Momota (Japan) won the title over Shi Yuqi (China).
Kento Momota became the first Japanese man to win the Championships.

Note:

The 2018 BWF World Championships is a badminton tournament held at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park Arena in Nanjing, China.

Winners of World Badminton Championship 2018:

Event	Winner	Runner-up
Men's Singles	Kento Momota (Japan)	Shi Yuqi (China)
Women's Singles	Carolina Marin (Spain)	P. V. Sindhu (India)

2. Gaganjeet Bhullar wins his maiden European Tour title

India’s golfer ‘Gaganjeet Bhullar’ (30-year) fired a sizzling six-under 66 in the final round to claim the Fiji International title.
It was Bhullar’s first win on the European Tour, ninth Asian Tour title and 10th crown overall.
Bhullar became the most successful Indian player on Asian Tour and the first Indian to win on Australasia Tour.
Gaganjeet Bhullar was awarded Arjuna Award in 2013.

Important Dates

3. Japan marks the 73rd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima

Today, Japan marked the 73rd anniversary (6^th August) of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
A minute of silence was observed at the exact time (at 8:15 AM local time) the bomb was dropped by the US on 6th August 1945.

Note:

Japan suffered two nuclear attacks (1^st Hiroshima & 2^nd Nagasaki) by the United States at the end of World War II.
The bombings claimed 1 Lakh 40 thousand lives in Hiroshima and 74 thousand in Nagasaki.

National Affairs

4. New corridor of Delhi Metro’s Pink Line inaugurated

The Union Minister Hardeep Puri & Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the ‘Lajpat Nagar- Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus corridor’ of Delhi Metro’s Pink Line (8.1 kilometres long stretch).
Now, with the current section, the Delhi Metro network is expanded to over 296 kilometres.
The ridership is increasing and the projection for Phase 3, once it’s fully operational, is 39 lakhs.
Pink Line is a part of the Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar line, has six stations and two interchange stations at INA (Yellow Line) and Lajpat Nagar (Violet Line).

Note:

The Pink Line is a line of the Delhi Metro (Phase III network), a rapid transit system in Delhi, India.
It will be mostly elevated and will cover Delhi in an almost 'U' shaped pattern.
The Pink Line is also known as the Ring Road Line, as the entire line passes alongside the busy Ring Road in Delhi.

5. Uttarakhand HC bans commercial use of elephants in the state

The Uttarakhand High Court (HC) has banned the commercial use of elephants in the state.
The Uttarakhand High Court also directed the state forest department to rescue the elephants deployed for commercial purposes within a time span of 24 hours.
The division bench also directed the forest department to issue notices to the owners of the animals and seek an explanation from them.

6. Telangana & Tech Mahindra ink MoU for India’s first Blockchain district

The Telangana government & Tech Mahindra have signed an agreement to establish the Blockchain district, the first-of-its-kind Centre of Excellence for Blockchain.
The blockchain is the fledgling technology that promises to change the way people and businesses transact, providing convenience and security.

7. Delhi replaces Gujarat to top 'most investor-friendly' destination list

According to a report by economic think-tank NCAER, Delhi has toppled Gujarat from the top spot in a list of 21 states and union territories with the most investment potential.
The national capital is followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and West Bengal.
The ranking of 20 states and one Union Territory of Delhi was based on six pillars (land, labour, infrastructure, economic climate, governance and political stability and business perceptions).

8. Mughalsarai junction renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station

Mughalsarai junction (in Uttar Pradesh) has been renamed as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway station.
Mughalsarai Junction was formally renamed after the RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Uphadyay who was found dead in mysterious circumstances near the station (in February 1968).
Mughalsarai is also the birthplace of former prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

9. Govt approves research projects worth over Rs 100 crore under ‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme

The Union Government has approved 122 new research projects of 112 crore rupees under its Impacting Research Innovation and Technology ‘IMPRINT-2’ scheme.
The objective of the initiative is to advance research in energy, security, and healthcare domains in the high education institutions.
IMPRINT is the first of its kind government-supported initiative to address the major science and engineering challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower & embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
The proposals were approved at the IMPRINT 2 Apex Committee meeting held in New Delhi.

Banking & Finance

10. Umbrella Organisation’ to revive Urban Co-op Banking

India’s co-operative banking sector is set to undergo a transformation with the concept of Umbrella Organisation (UO) of Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) seen as an answer to issues plaguing the sector.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed non-fund-based umbrella organisations at State levels, where respective State federations will take the lead.
Gujarat is the first State in the country to have a UO for the UCB sector.

11. Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch India Post Payments Bank on 21^st August

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) that will have at least one branch in every district and focus on financial services in rural areas.
Two branches of the bank are already operational & rest 648 branches will be launched across the country in every district.
This will create the country's largest banking network with the direct presence at the village level.
IPPB has permission to link around 170 million postal savings bank (PSB) account with its account.

Note:

IPPB was the third entity to receive payments bank permit after Airtel and Paytm.
With IPPB in place, people in the rural area will be able to avail digital banking and financial services, including money transfer, to any bank account either with help of a mobile app or by visiting a post office.

'Thoughts of the day'

"So many of our dreams seen impossible, then improbable, then inevitable."

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