Important Current Affairs 14th August 2018

Important Current Affairs 14th August 2018

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NATIONAL NEWS

Ashish Kumar Bhutani appointed CEO of PM crop insurance scheme

Senior bureaucrat Ashish Kumar Bhutani has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry today.

Ashish Kumar Bhutani

Bhutani, a 1992 batch IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed to the post till May 9, 2020.

Important:

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched in 2016, the PMFBY is in line with one nation – one scheme theme.

Release of "Digital North East Vision 2022" in Guwahati
 

Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice released the document 'Digital North East Vision 2022' at Radisson Hotel in Guwahati today.

Digital North East Vision 2022

•    According to the vision document, high-speed broadband connectivity will be provided in all the uncovered villages in the northeastern region. 

•    With an aim to empower the people of the northeastern region the vision document identified eight digital areas thrust areas -- digital infrastructure, digital services, digital empowerment, promotion of electronics manufacturing, promotion of IT and IT enabled services including BPOs, digital payments, innovation & startups,  and cyber security.

First project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme the ‘North East Circuit”
 
•    Dr. Najma A. Heptulla, Hon’ble Governor of Manipur will be inaugurating the project “Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom” implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India in the presence of Shri N Biren Singh, Chief Minister Manipur, Shri K.J. Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism and Smt. Rashmi Verma, Union Tourism Secretary in Imphal today. 
•    The above project is the first project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme being inaugurated in the country.
Swadesh Darshan scheme
•    Swadesh Darshan scheme is one of the flagship schemes of Ministry of tourism for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritised manner. 
•    The scheme was launched in 2014 -15 and as on date the Ministry has sanctioned 70 projects for Rs.5708.88 Crore to 29 States and UTs under the Scheme. 
•    30 projects / major components of these projects are expected to be completed this year.

Launch of road safety awareness video
Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari today launched road safety awareness video with Brand ambassador of road safety campaign actor Akshay Kumar in New Delhi. 
  
According to facts, the number of people killed in road accidents is much more than the total lives lost in wars. 

Objective:

The priority of the Government is to reduce road accidents. 
Important:    
The central government is yet to get the Road Safety Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, which has provisions for stricter penalties for offenders.

Launch of “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. Startups working in the various fields of mobility can pitch their ideas to industry leaders and Venture Capitalists for raising investments. Winners of the event will be felicitated by Hon’ble PM during the Global Mobility Summit
Objective:
•    "Pitch to MOVE aims to identify and incentivise the startups, which will help the Government realize its vision of Shared, Connected, Intermodal and Environment Friendly Mobility for India.
•    The objective is to harness the latest disruption for generating employment and growth in our country. We look forward to working together with these startups", said Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog.

About “Pitch to MOVE”
“Pitch to MOVE” is organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with Invest India and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) as a part of a series of engaging featured events in the run up to the main event. The Summit is scheduled to be held on 7th and 8th Sep 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi and is being inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.

Inauguration of NDMC Smart City projects

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated various initiatives as part of smart city project of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
Important:
•    The facilities inaugurated by Rajnath includes smart poles with free wi-fi, 360 degree cameras and environmental sensors, solar tree with the LED lights, mobile charging points, ideation centre for promoting smart city entrepreneurs, two hi-tech nurseries and others. He flagged off four mechanical road sweepers, two litter picking machines and ten auto trippers under the Swachhta initiatives.   
•    He also released a Coffee Table Book on green initiatives of NDMC titled “Green and Colourful NDMC - A Transformational Journey” on the occasion.

Consumer Price Index Numbers for the Month of July 2018
 
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has revised the Base Year of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2010=100 to 2012=100 with effect from the release of indices for the month of January 2015.
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food and medical care. It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and averaging them.

Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India 
 
The official Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities’ (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of July, 2018 rose by 0.4 percent to 119.7 (provisional) from 119.2 (provisional) for the previous month.

 Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is the price of a representative basket of wholesale goods. Some countries (like the Philippines) use WPI changes as a central measure of inflation. But now India has adopted new CPI to measure inflation. However, United States now report a producer price index instead.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Iran unveils next generation short-range ballistic missile
                
Iran has unveiled its next generation short-range ballistic missile with a warning that its 'will to enhance our defence power in all fields will increase'.

Fateh Mobin rocket
•    The Fateh Mobin rocket was described by Iranian defence minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami as '100-percent domestically made - agile, stealth, tactical (and) precision-guided'. 
•    The new missile's range was not given, but previous versions had a range of around 200 to 300 kilometres, according to the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
•    Fateh-110 missile was test-fired by Iran during naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz last week.

Approval of defense budget bill that focuses on threats posed by China
 

•    US President Donald Trump has approved a defense budget bill that focuses on threats posed by China. 

•    The President signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019, authorizing 717 billion dollars for national defense, an increase of 17 billion dollars from the current fiscal year that ends in September. 
•    
The NDAA, outlines US military policy and the funds needed to support it. The Act bans US government agencies from using products of major Chinese communication equipment manufacturers, including ZTE, to prevent leaks of confidential information. 
•    It also strengthens screenings of foreign investors who want to buy US businesses. 

SPORTS

Kohli loses top spot in ICC Test rankings to out-of-action Smith
 

•    Indian captain Virat Kohli lost his number one position in the ICC Test rankings for batsmen, dropping to second after a forgettable performance in the lost second Test against England.
•    Kohli lost the position to former Australian captain Steve Smith, who is currently serving a one-year ban owing to his role in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa earlier this year.
Background:

•    India captain Virat Kohli on 5th of August 2018 topped the ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
•    Kohli thus became the seventh India batsman, and first since Sachin Tendulkar (in June 2011) to be ranked the number one Test batsman in the latest ICC rankings released on 5th August.