Current Affairs Update 13 August 2018
Current Affairs is an important part for many exams. Be prepared for this section with ByScoop which brings all the important Current Affairs in one place. 13 August 2018.
Shri Piyush Goyal Releases the Third Party Survey Report on Station Cleanliness
- Minister of Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal has released a report on Station Cleanliness conducted by Quality Council of India (QCI).
- A1 category stations (out of 75) – Top – Jodhpur/North-Western Railway
- A category stations (out of a total of 332) – Top – Marwar/North Western Railway
- Zonal Railway rankings are- Top- North Western Railway
Government notifies rule for utilisation of Rs 66,000 Green Cover Fund
- The Centre has given its nod to operationalising a Rs 66,000 crore fund collected as compensations under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act passed in 2016 to promote the green cover in the country. Centre has finally notified the rules for utilisation of the fund.
- Until now, the funds were disbursed to states under a temporary and time consuming mechanism.
- The law demands that 80 per cent of the funds must be used by states for plantation and afforestation activities. Remaining 20 per cent of the fund will be used to strengthen forest and wildlife protection infrastructure.
- Much of the funds collected under the legislation had been left unspent with an ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) in absence of enabling rules.
- Among the states, Odisha has the highest amount of unspent funds followed by Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.
Pune tops Ease of Living Index of Government
- Pune has topped the Ease of Living Index. The Ease of Living Index is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to help cities assess their liveability vis-à-vis global and national benchmarks.
- Ease of Living framework comprises four pillars namely Institutional, Social, Economic and Physical which are further broken down into 15 categories and 78 indicators.
- Out of 111 cities assessed the top 5 are: Pune, Navi Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Tirupati and Chandigarh. Rampur in Uttar Pradesh was adjudged the least liveable city. National Capital New Delhi was ranked 65th.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2018 Awards list
- Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2018 Awards list
- Best Film Award: Sanju
- Best Actor Award: Manoj Bajpayee (For- “Gali Guleiyan”)
- Best Actress Award: Rani Muherji (For- “Hichki”)
- Best Director: Rajkumar Hirani (For- Sanju)
- IFFM Vanguard Award: Ranbir Kapoor
SBI ranked as India’s most patriotic brand: YouGov Survery
- As per a survey conducted by UK-based online market research and data analytics firm YouGov, State Bank of India (SBI) is considered to be the most patriotic brand.
- Top positions:
- State Bank of India
- Tata Motors
- Patanjali
- Reliance Jio and BSNL
- Google CEO, Sundar Pichai is the most global Indian.
National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank dedicated to nation
- Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan dedicated to the nation, the National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank in the Hyderabad, Telangana.
- It is India’s first genetic resource bank. It is located in the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology’s (CCMB) Laboratory of Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES).
- The genetic bank will cryopreserve living cell lines, gametes and embryos of endangered wild animal species in India.
Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur appointed Chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
- Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur took Oath as Chairperson, Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, Ministry of Power. Prior to this, Smt. Justice Manjula Chellur was Chief Justice of Bombay High Court.
Ashish Kumar Bhutani appointed CEO of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
- Senior bureaucrat Ashish Kumar Bhutani has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
- PMFBY aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
- There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%.
Microsoft builds digital solution for CBSE to prevent question paper leaks
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has partnered with Microsoft to prevent question paper leaks in the future.
- Microsoft will developed an encrypted security solution for digital question papers for CBSE within a period of three months.
- At present, the solution is having its pilot run.
Marie Curie tops BBC History poll of women who changed the world; Mother Teresa at 20th
- BBC History magazine compiled a list of “100 women who changed the world”.
- Marie Curie, the pioneering scientist who was the first person to win two Nobel prizes, has topped a poll. Mother Teresa was placed at 20th spot.
- Top five are:
- Marie Curie
- Rosa Parks
- Emmeline Pankhurst
- Ada Lovelace
- Rosalind Franklin
Rafael Nadal wins Rogers cup; Simona Halep wins in Women Single
- Rafael Nadal (Spain) defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the Rogers Cup held in Toronto, Canada.
- While in the Women’s single Simona Halep defeated Sloane Stephens to win 2nd Rogers Cup title.
Somnath Chatterjee, former Lok Sabha Speaker, dies at 89
- Former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee passed away aged 89.
- Chatterjee, who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), served as Lok Sabha Speaker from 2004 to 2009 during the UPA-I rule.
- An advocate by profession, he actively joined politics in 1968. He became a Member of the Lok Sabha in 1971 and was elected for the first time as an independent candidate supported by the CPI(M).