August Current Affairs 2017

1. Awards & Honours Mukesh Ambani has surpassed Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second richest man. International News Flipkarthas completed the merger with eBay India’s operations. Flipkart will own & operate eBay.in, which will remain an independent entity as part of Flipkart. Eicher Motorshas become India’s fourth most valuable automaker, displacing Bajaj Auto which held that position so far. Important Days in August 2017 Non-Cooperation Movement Day –August 1, 2017 World breastfeeding week –August 1-7, 2017 Hiroshima Day - 6th August Quit India Movement Day and Nagasaki Day - 9th August World Bio-Fuel Day - 10th August International Youth Day – 12th August Pakistan's Independence Day – 14th August Indian Independence Day– 15th August International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - 18th August World Humanitarian Day and World Photography Day - 19th August Sadbhavna Divas - 20th August International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition - 23rd August National Sports Day and International Day Against Nuclear Tests - 29th August National News The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation(DMRC) was recently declared as the world’s first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations. Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Narendra Singh Tomar launched Swachh Survekshan- 2018 in New Delhi. Prime Minister Modiwill inaugurate 2 day ‘RajaswaGyansangam’ on September 1, during which central & state tax officers will brainstorm on major issues. Govt has launched a portal e-Rashtriya Kisan AgriMandi which will provide a platform to sell agricultural produce. Banking & Finance Affairs RBI is planning to conduct a cyber-audit of all banks in the country instead of just a few bigger banks as it did in the past. The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank of India slashed the short-term lending rate, or repo rate, by 25 basis points to 6%, the lowest in more than six-and-a-half years, at its third bimonthly policy review.

2. Airtel Payments Bank has entered into partnership with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited to give further boost to digital payments in the country. Persons & Places in News ArvindPanagariya, the first vice-chairman of NitiAayog who was considered to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms, announced his resignation. UstadHussainSayeeduddinDagar, maestro & custodian of Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani classical music and a member of eminent Dagar family, passed away aged 78 in Pune. Bombay Stock Exchange has appointed DhirendraSwarup as its new Chairman. Former union minister and a one-time heavyweight Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev died following a prolonged illness. Tech giant Cisco has named Sameer Garde as President for its India and Saarc operations announced on 31st of July 2017. SEBI has approved the appointment of DhirendraSwarup as the chairman of the board of directors of the BSE with effect from July 31, 2017 Science and Technology ISRO will launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1H by the end of this month to augment the existing 7 satellites of NavIC constellation. To build a more elaborate personal assistant for Messenger users, Facebook has acquired an artificial intelligence startup Ozlo PayPal has opened 2 innovation labs in India to support projects in the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence and other new technologies. SBI debit cards have been integrated with Samsung Pay, which allows payments by waving Samsung smartphone near cash register instead of swiping a card. Sports & Games Former India hockey captain DhanrajPillay was honoured by East Bengal football club on its foundation day with its highest award, Bharat Gaurav. Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched the men's singles and men's doubles title respectively at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria. Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host the 2028 Summer Games. Los Angeles formally announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024. According to the latest ICC Test Rankings RavindraJadeja maintained his top position in the bowlers’ list while India skipper ViratKohli remained stayed at fifth place in the batting charts released on 1st of August 2017. Microsoft ties up with Telengana Telangana govt has signed an agreement with Microsoft India to adopt cloud-based analytics solution for Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram. Jaitley announces Bharat-22 ETF

3. Financial Minister ArunJaitley launched a new ETF under the name Bharat 22, which will comprise shares of 22 companies. Aadhaar-authenticated DBT portal Maharashtra has launched MahaDBT portal, through which benefits of all govt schemes will be transferred directly into bank accounts of beneficiaries in the state. It has been designed on lines of central govt’s DBT scheme, Aadhaar will become mandatory to claim benefits through the portal, Maharashtra is the 1st state to launch this system to give direct benefits with Aadhaar authentication Infosys to acquire Brilliant Basics Infosys has signed an agreement to acquire Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design & customer experience innovator.