Current Affairs Update 21 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. 21 August 2018.
Reshuffling in Governors of States
- Here is a list of newly changed/appointed governors of various states:
- Governor of Jammu and Kashmir – Satya Pal Malik
- Governor of Bihar – Lalji Tandon
- Governor of Uttarakhand – Baby Rani
- Governor of Haryana – Satyadev Narayan Arya
- Governor of Tripura – Kaptan Singh Solanki
- Governor of Sikkim – Ganga Prasad
- Governor of Meghalaya – Tathagata Roy
Chhattisgarh to rename Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar
- Chhattisgarh Government has decided to rename Naya Raipur as Atal Nagar, In the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
- The announcement was made by Chief Minister Raman Singh. He also said that Bilaspur University will be renamed as Atal Bihari Vajpayee University and Narrow Gauge Line as Atal Path.
Flipkart acquires AI startup Liv.ai
- Flipkart has acquired AI startup Liv.ai to compete with rival Amazon’s Alexa.
- The startup has built capabilities in speech recognition and translation in 10 different Indian languages.
- Flipkart will use Liv.ai’s voice technologies to reach out to the next 100-200 million non-English speaking shoppers in the country.
ATMs to get time deadline for refill after February 2019
- Home Ministry has notified the new Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) that would come into effect from February 8, 2019.
- Highlights:
- Time deadline for replenishment of ATMs in city- 9 PM
- Time deadline for replenishment of ATMs in rural areas – 6 PM
- Time deadline for replenishment of ATMs in Naxal hit areas – 4 PM
- Private cash handling agencies must collect money from the banks in the first half of the day and transport notes only in armoured vehicles.
- No cash van should carry cash of more than Rs 5 crore per trip.
CEPR and NITI Aayog to organise India Banking Conclave 2018 in New Delhi
- Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) (organiser)and the government Think Tank NITI Aayog (knowledge partner) are organizing two-day India Banking Conclave in New Delhi between August 23 and August 24, 2018.
- Union Ministers Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal and Suresh Prabhu will attend the event.
- The programme will see panel discussions on NPAs, development of banks with changing times, privatisation versus merger and the future of banking, among other issues.
DBS raises GDP forecast for FY19 to 7.4%
- Global financial services firm DBS has raised the real GDP forecast for the current financial year to 7.4 per cent as against 6.7 per cent in last financial year, driven by consumption and higher public spending.
- The bank has raised up the real GDP estimate to 7.4 percent from 7.2 percent previously.
Kho-Kho gets recognition from Olympic Council of Asia
- The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has given recognition to India’s indigenous sport of Kho-Kho
- The decision to recognise Kho-Kho was taken in the General Assembly of the OCA held in Jakarta on August 19.
- Kho-Kho will now be included as a demonstration sport in the Asian Indoor Games, with the possibility of being included as a discipline in the next Asian Games.
World Senior Citizen Day 2018: August 21
- The World Senior Citizen Day, 2018 is observed worldwide on August 21 each year to raise awareness about issues affecting older people, such as deterioration with age and the abuse of the elderly.
- This day is also celebrated to support, honor and show appreciation to seniors and to recognize their achievements.
- The theme of World Senior Citizen Day 2018 is :Taking action in the future, taping talents, contributing and participation of older persons in society.
- The day was announced after a Proclamation signed by US President Ronald Reagan on August 19, 1988, declaring August 21 as National Senior Citizens Day in USA. Other countries later adopted the day to pay respect to the elderly community.