Daily Current Affairs – August 14 2018
IMPORTANT DAYS
August 14 – Pakistan celebrates 72nd Independence Day
- Independence Day, observed annually on 14 August, is a national holiday in Pakistan. It commemorates the day when Pakistan achieved independence and was declared a sovereign nation following the end of the British Raj in 1947.
NATIONAL
Manipur
- The Governor of Manipur, Dr. Najma A. Heptulla inaugurated the project “Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom” implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism at a function held at the historic Kangla Fort in Imphal, Manipur.
New Delhi
Handfan “Pankha” made by tribals for invitees
- In a unique initiative, Trifed has supplied the handfans “Pankha” to Ministry of Defence for those invitees who will attend the Independence Day flag hosting ceremony at Red Fort in Delhi.
Rajasthan
Human chain formed on Rajasthan border
- As part of the ‘Shahadat Ko Salam’ (A salute to martyrdom) programme, a record 700-km-long human chain was formed in Rajasthan’s four border districts Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Sriganganagar as a tribute to the martyrs on the eve of the Independence Day.
INTERNATIONAL
Australia recommences its adoption programme
- The Government of Australia has decided to recommence the Adoption Programme with India, as per Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption.
SCIENCE
200 million-year-old Pterosaur fossil found in the US
- Scientists unveiled a previously unknown species of giant pterosaur, the first creatures with a backbone to fly under their own power.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
New bidding model for greenfield airports
- The government proposed a new transaction structure for the bid process for greenfield airports, switching from a revenue share model to a fixed fee per passenger to be paid to the concessioning authority.
RANKINGS & INDEXES
- World’s most liveable city (Global Liveability Index) – 1) Vienna 2) Melbourne
- India’s most valuable brand – 1) Tata 2) Airtel 3) Infosys
- India’s strongest brand – HDFC Bank
- India’s fastest-growing brand – Kotak Mahindra Bank
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES
India-US Roundtable Discussion
- Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal, Chairman Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani, other Railway Board Members and senior officials participated in the India-US Roundtable discussion.
APPOINTMENTS
- Brand Ambassador for Road Safety Campaigns – Film Actor Akshay Kumar
- Head coach of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team – Ramesh Powar
SCHEMES
Green Mysuru initiative
- The Forest Department will launch a Green Mysuru drive on August 15 as part of Hasiru Karnataka programme to increase the tree cover of the city and the district.
New Central Sector scheme for promoting Pharmacovigilance of AYUSH Drugs
- Ministry of AYUSH has introduced new Central Sector scheme for promoting pharmacovigilance of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) Drugs.
Nabh Nirmaan 2018
- Sh Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Civil Aviation today unveiled a new transaction structure for future greenfield airports proposed under NABH Nirmaan 2018.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0
- Higher Education Institutions of Human Resource Development Ministry under its flagship program – Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) 2.0 will participate in Gram Sabhas to be organised on the occasion of Independence Day
‘One Million’ women placement drive in MGU
- ‘Project Disha’, a partnership of the India Development Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme, will conduct a two-day placement drive for women students at the Mahatma Gandhi University campus.
MOU, AGREEMENTS & CABINET APPROVALS
Ministry of Railways Signs Record of Discussion for India Japan Cooperation
- Record of Discussion (ROD) for the project on Capacity Development on Rail Safety was signed between Ministry of Railways and Japan International Cooperation Agency
AWARDS
- Vayu Sena Medal – Sergeant Shashidhar P Prasad Indian Air Force (Garud)
- Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) – Squadron Leader Vernon Desmond Keane Flying (Pilot)
- Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) – Group Captain Abhishek Sharma Flying (Pilot)
- Presidents’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services – Dr. S. N. Pandey, Inspector General, Railway Board
- NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Awards – 1) Dr. Sushmee Badhulika for his work in ‘electronics, computer science and engineering.’ 2) Dr. Aravind Kumar Rengan in the bio-medical, molecular biology and bio-technology category
APP & WEBPORTAL
“TRAINS AT A GLANCE (TAG)”
- The Ministry of Railways will be releasing its new All India Railway Time Table known as “TRAINS AT A GLANCE (TAG)” effective from 15th August, 2018.
“Pitch to MOVE”
- NITI Aayog has launched “Pitch to MOVE” – a mobility pitch competition that aims to provide budding entrepreneurs of India a unique opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a distinguished jury.
SPORTS
18th Asian Games
- Indian men and women’s hockey teams leave for 18th Asian Games
Srilanka Beat South Africa in the T20I
- Sri Lanka defeated South Africa by three wickets in the one-off T20I
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