Current Affairs Assam – August 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of August 2018 )
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August 19
World Humanitarian Day observed on 19th Aug
The World Humanitarian Day is observed on 19th Aug day, every year, to bring people of the world together to rally support for people living in crises and to pay tribute to the aid workers who help them.
The day is dedicated to humanitarian aid workers, including health care workers, striving to provide assistance and rehabilitation to communities affected by disasters – “regardless of where they are in the world and without discrimination based on nationality, social group, religion, sex, race or any other factor”.
However, these people often find themselves on the target in conflict areas while discharging their duties as attacks on health facilities, workers and even ambulances continue across the world.
This year, the United Nations gave a call to join the #NotATarget movement and demand that world leaders do everything in their power to protect all civilians and healthcare workers in conflict.
FACTFILE – World Humanitarian Day
- It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly as part of a Swedish-sponsored GA Resolution A/63/L.49 on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations.
- It marks the day on which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues were killed in the bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad.
India win mixed air rifle bronze to start Asian Games medal tally
India opened its account in the 18th Asian Games with a bronze medal after Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar cracked under pressure to finish third in the rifle mixed team shooting event.
The Indians aggregated 429.9 after 42 shots in the 48-shot final and were in the second spot for major part of the 48-shot finals before China overtook them to take the silver.
It was a maiden Asian Games medal for Chandela, a multiple time World Cup winner and had bagged gold at 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
FACTFILE – 2018 Asian Games
- The 2018 Asian Games, officially known as the 18th Asian Games and also known as Jakarta Palembang 2018, is a pan-Asian multi-sport event being held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.
- Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games
- For the first time, the Asian Games are being co-hosted in two cities; the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra Events will be held in and around the two cities, including venues in Bandung and province of West Java and Banten.
India Win SAFF under-15 Women’s Football Championship
The Indian women’s team were crowned champions of the SAFF U-15 Championship after defeating defending champions Bangladesh by a solitary goal in the final at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.
India beat Bangladesh 1-0 to win the SAFF U-15 Championship. Sunita Munda scored the only goal in the match. The Indian team scored sixteen goals in four matches of the tournament.
FACTFILE – South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)
- SAFF was founded in 1997, is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia and is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation.
- Its founding members are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Bhutan joined the federation in 2000 and Afghanistan in 2005. In February 2015, captain Haroon Amiri announced that Afghanistan had officially left the SAFF for the new Central Asian Football Association.
Former UN Chief Laureate Kofi Annan Dies Aged 80
Former United Nations secretary-general and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan has died at the age of 80. Annan, a Ghanaian national, died in hospital in Bern, Switzerland.
In Geneva, the Kofi Annan Foundation announced his peaceful death with ‘immense sadness’ after a short illness, saying he was surrounded in his last days by his second wife Nane and children Ama, Kojo and Nina.
Annan served two terms as UN Secretary-General in New York from 1997-2006 and retired in Geneva and later lived in a Swiss village in the nearby countryside.
August 20
YES BANK included in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for 2nd Time
YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector Bank, has been selected in the FTSE4Good Emerging Index for 2nd consecutive year. The selection highlights YES BANK’s continued leadership in environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
YES BANK was rated above the threshold for companies in emerging markets, as well as that of developed markets, by FTSE Russell. YES BANK was selected amongst 87 banks from emerging markets, including China, Brazil, South Africa and UAE.
The bank continues to be the first and the only Indian bank to be selected in Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) – Emerging Markets for three consecutive years; additionally selected in MSCI ACWI ESG Leaders, MSCI ACWI SRI and FTSE4Good Emerging Index for 2017.
FACTFILE – FTSE4Good Index
- Created by the global index provider FTSE Russell, the FTSE4Good Index Series is designed to measure the performance of companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices.
- The FTSE4Good indices are used by a wide variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds and other products.”
- The FTSE4Good Emerging Index, launched in December 2016, assesses 1000+ companies across 47 countries and comprises 528 organisations while covering 23 emerging economies including Brazil, China, Malaysia, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, South Africa and UAE.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia wins first Gold for India
24-year-old Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has bagged the country’s first gold medal of the 2018 Asian Games. A gold medallist from the 2018 Commonwealth Games earlier this year, Bajrang won all his bouts leading into the final by technical superiority, asserting his class in the 65kg category.
He outclassed Uzbekistan’s Sirojiddin (13-3), Tajikistan’s Fayziev Abdulqosim (12-2) and Mongolia’s N Batmagnai Batchuluu (10-0) to storm into the gold medal bout. The final against Daichi Takatani was a close-fought encounter but Bajrang managed to hold his lead throughout and close out the win with a 11-8 scoreline.
CAD to widen to 2.5% of GDP, predicts Moody
India’s current account deficit (CAD) will widen to 2.5% of the GDP in the current fiscal due to higher oil prices that has been accentuated by rupee depreciation, Moody’s.
Rupee last week dropped to a record low of 70.32 to a US dollar as political turmoil in Turkey and concerns about China’s economic health continued to support safe-haven assets and weighed on emerging market currencies. While the weaker rupee will benefit exports at the margins, it is unlikely to reverse the trade deficit, which hit a five year high of $18.02 billion in July.
India’s current account deficit is likely to widen to 2.5% in FY 2018-19, up from 1.5% in fiscal 2017 due to higher oil prices and strong non-oil import demand as domestic demand accelerates. Net oil imports accounted for 2.6% of GDP in FY 2017-18 and will increase further in fiscal 2019.
Current Account Deficit is a measurement of a country’s trade where the value of the goods and services it imports exceeds the value of the goods and services it exports.
The current account includes net income, such as interest and dividends, and transfers, such as foreign aid, although these components make up only a small percentage of the total current account.
The current account represents a country’s foreign transactions and, like the capital account, is a component of a country’s balance of payments.
A current account deficit represents negative net sales abroad. Developed countries, such as the United States, often run current account deficits, while emerging economies often run current account surpluses. Extremely poor countries tend to run current account deficits.
DRDO successfully flight test SAAW system
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted flight test of the Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) at Chandan range in Rajasthan. SAAW is a long-range precision-guided anti-airfield weapon.
The SAAW project was approved by the Indian government in 2013. The first successful test of the weapon was conducted in May 2016. Another successful test was conducted in November of the following year.
During the recent test, Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) was successfully flight tested from an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft at Chandan range. The SAAW is capable of destroying a variety of ground targets using precision navigation. The tests were conducted between August 16 and 18.
FACTFILE – Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW)
- The SAAW was developed by the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), and other DRDO laboratories in collaboration with the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is a lightweight high precision-guided bomb designed to destroy ground targets, such as runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers and other reinforced structures.
- Weighing 120 kg, carries a high explosive warhead and a standoff range of 100 kilometres, is India’s first fully indigenous anti-airfield weapon, being designed and developed wholly by DRDO.
- The SAAW can currently be launched from the SEPECAT Jaguar and Su-30MKI aircraft. The Jaguar is capable of carrying six such weapons.
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