Important Current Affairs 18th August 2018

Important Current Affairs 18th August 2018

                                                              (National News)

Government to declare 2018 as ‘national year of millets’

Nutrient-rich millets have got a boost with the Union government deciding to declare 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’. This decision has been taken following a request by Karnataka, which is the country’s leader in the millet sector.
Objective: Good health, good business
According to experts, dedicating a year for millets will not only increase awareness about its health benefits, but also result in higher demand for these drought-resistant varieties, resulting in remunerative prices for poor and marginal farmers.

PSU banks to be out of PCA by year end
The government expects the public sector banks to come out of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework by the end of this year and will provide them adequate capital when required, Department of Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said.
He said public sector banks’ operational performance has improved in the April-June quarter, with steep reduction in net losses, increase in recoveries and significant improvement in provision coverage ratio.
PCA
PCA framework is one of such supervisory tools, which involves monitoring of certain performance indicators of the banks as an early warning exercise and is initiated once such thresholds as relating to capital, asset quality etc. are breached.
Its objective is to facilitate the banks to take corrective measures including those prescribed by the Reserve Bank, in a timely manner, in order to restore their financial health.

SC agrees on colour-coded stickers for vehicles
The Supreme Court has accepted Centre's proposal to have hologram-based colour-coded stickers on vehicles that would help in identifying automobiles running on various kinds of fuels.
A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer and Justice Deepak Gupta asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to implement by September 30 the scheme of colour-codes stickers on vehicles plying in National Capital Region (NCR).
Important:

The diesel vehicles will have orange stickers pasted on their windshield while petrol and CNG vehicles will have blue stickers.
The bench also suggested the Centre to consider having green number plates for electric and hybrid vehicles.

                                                 (National News, Economy)

Investment in P-notes continues to decline  
Investments through participatory notes into Indian capital markets plunged to over nine-year low of Rs 80,341 crore till July-end amid stringent norms put in place by the watchdog Sebi to check misuse of these instruments.
P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through due diligence process. 

According to the Sebi data, total value of P-note investments in Indian markets - equity, debt, and derivatives - slumped to a low of Rs 80,341 crore till July-end from Rs 83,688 crore clocked by June-end. Prior to that, in May the figure was Rs 93,497 crore. 

This is the lowest level since April 2009 when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 72,314 crore. 

Indian economy in 2018-19 to 7.2% from the 7.4% projected earlier
India Ratings and Research has revised downwards its forecast for the growth of the Indian economy in 2018-19 to 7.2% from the 7.4% projected earlier. 
Reason for this:-
According to Ind-Ra, the upward revision in the estimation of inflation for 2018-19 due to increasing crude oil prices and the government's decision to fix the minimum support prices of all kharif crops at 1.5 times the production cost. 

The rating agency in a report titled 'Mid-year FY19 Outlook' said it believes the other headwinds lurking on the horizon are rising trade protectionism, depreciating rupee and, no visible signs of the abatement of the non-performing non-performing assets of the banking sector. 

Ind-Ra expects private final consumption expenditure to grow 7.6 % in 2018-19 compared to 6.6 % in 2017-18. 

                                                 (International News)
 
Eleventh World Hindi Conference begins today in Mauritius

The 11th World Hindi Conference will begin in Mauritius on 18th August. Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jagannath will inaugurate the conference in Port Louis. 

"Hindi World and Indian Culture" is the theme of the conference. This is also first time that representatives from all 29 states and Union Territories of Delhi, Chandigarh and Puducherry attending the conference. The delegates from India and various countries of the world will deliberate on eight subtopics on Hindi World and Indian Culture during three-day conference. 

The aim of this conference will further encourage use of Hindi language and its important role in the world. A report also released on a recommendation made during 10th conference held in Bhopal in 2015. 

About World Hindi Conference
World Hindi Conference was started in 1975 to make Hindi language a medium of service and knowledge and enable it to move forward with the time. Since then Hindi has made remarkable progress and it has become one of the prominent languages of the world.

PTI Chief Imran Khan takes oath as 22nd PM of Pakistan
In Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief, Imran Khan has taken oath as the 22nd Prime Minister of the country today on 18th August 2018.

The PTI had emerged as the single largest party with 116 seats in the July 25 elections. The party has 158 members in the National Assembly after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) issued notifications of the successful candidates on the seats reserved for women and the minority community on August 11th.
About Imran Khan
Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi was born on 5 October 1952 is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer who is the current and 19th Prime Minister of Pakistan. 
He is also the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Previously he was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007, and again from 2013 to 2018. Prior to entering politics, Khan was a cricketer and philanthropist. He played international cricket for two decades, and later developed philanthropic projects such as Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre and Namal College. 

International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing Technology (iCRAFPT)
International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing Technology (iCRAFPT) held today on 18th August at Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur in Tamilnadu. 
Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT)
The Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), a premier national Institute working under the administrative control of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Government of India functioning from its headquarters in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. 
Besides delivering research and education in food processing, the institute has been incubating farmers, entrepreneurs and aspiring youth for prospective food business ventures. Considering this importance and promotion of food processing among the farmers, budding entrepreneurs and researchers. 

                                                                    (Sports)

Asian Games kick off in Indonesia -Jakarta 
The 18th edition of the Asian Games officially begins in Indonesian capital Jakarta today on 18th August.
Important to Know:
Around 11,000 athletes from 45 countries will be seen competing in 40 sports and 67 disciplines consisting of 28 Olympic sports, 4 new Olympic sports, and 8 non-Olympic sports. 
For the first time, eSports (a form of competition using video games) and canoe polo will be contested as demonstration sports. Over 570 Indian athletes will be vying for top honours across 36 sports which will take place in Jakarta as well as in Palembang.
Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra will be India's flag-bearer at the expected-to-be-glittering opening ceremony. 
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 scheduled to be held from 18 August to 2 September 2018 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.
For the first time, the Asian Games are being co-hosted in two cities; the Indonesian capital of Jakarta (which is hosting the Games for the first time since 1962), and Palembang, the capital of the South Sumatra province.

Esow Alben wins silver medal at the 2018 UCI World Cycling Championships
 Esow Alban won India’s first ever junior cycling World Cup medal when he finished second in the keirin event in Aigle, Switzerland. 
Esow was only 0.017 seconds adrift of Czech Republic's Jakub Stastny, who secured gold in the pulsating final few seconds of the race. 
Achievements to his name:
In February 2018, Alban won three gold medals at the Asian Junior Track Championships in Nilai ( Malaysia ), sprint , keirin and team sprint. At the Sprint Cup in Cottbus he won the sprint competition for the juniors and for the GP Brno the races in the sprint as well as in the keirin.