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Important Current Affairs 29th August 2018

Important Current Affairs 28th August 2018

                                                  (International News, Agreement)


Government of India and the World Bank sign $300 Million Agreement

 
The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $220 million Loan Agreement and a $80 million Guarantee Agreement for the India Energy Efficiency Scale-Up Program. 
The Program, to be implemented by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), will help scale-up the deployment of energy saving measures in residential and public sectors, strengthen EESL’s institutional capacity, and enhance its access to commercial financing.
The $220 million loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to EESL, has a 5-year grace period, and a maturity of 19 years. The $80 million IBRD guarantee will partially cover re-payment risks to commercial lenders or investors, to enable EESL to raise funds for its program.
The Key Components of the Operation include: 
Creating sustainable markets for LED lights and energy efficient ceiling fans; facilitating well-structured and scalable investments in public street lighting; 
Developing sustainable business models for emerging market segments such as super-efficient air conditioning and agricultural water pumping systems; strengthening the institutional capacity of EESL. 
Also the Program will help to increase private sector participation in energy efficiency, including through private sector energy service companies. 


The Government of India, Government of Rajasthan and World Bank sign a $250 Million Agreement

The Government of India, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank signed a $250 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) to support the Government of Rajasthan in improving the performance of its Electricity Distribution Sector under the State’s 24x7 Power for All program. 
The Second Programmatic Electricity Distribution Reform Development Policy Loan for Rajasthan is the second in the series of two operations planned for a comprehensive turnaround of Rajasthan’s electricity distribution sector. The First Loan closed in March 2017.
The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 3-year grace period, and a maturity of 21 years.
The key areas that the program will support include: 
Strengthening Governance in the Distribution Sector in the State by establishing Annual Performance MoUs between the DISCOMs and the State Government; 
Financial Restructuring and recovery in the Sector by transferring considerable amounts of the DISCOMs debt to the State; 
Taking initiatives in reducing the costs of energy procurement; 
Improving the operational performance of the DISCOMs through initiatives like publishing feeder level energy audits and increased usage of IT among others.

                                                         (Day & Dates)

National Sports Day on 29 August

National Sports Day is celebrated on 29th August every year to mark the birthday of legendary hockey player Dhyan Chand. 
About Dhyan Chand
Dhyan Chand born on 29 August 1905 and died on 3 December 1979 was an Indian Hockey player, who is considered as the greatest Hockey player in the history of the sport. He is known for his extraordinary goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals (1928, 1932, and 1936) in field hockey, during an era where India was the most dominant team in Hockey. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956.

                                                     (Science & Research)
EU, India to collaborate on developing next generation influenza vaccine
 
The European Union and India will collaborate in research and innovation for developing a next generation influenza vaccine to protect people worldwide and they have earmarked about Rs 240 crore for the project.
The EU and the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology have committed 15 million Euros each to fund this joint project. The EU is funding is under its programme for research and innovation 'Horizon 2020'.
Objective:
Aim at advancing the efficacy, safety, duration of immunity, and reactivity against an increased breadth of influenza strains and to develop cost-effective and affordable influenza vaccine rapidly without compromising quality.

Ganga drying up in summers due to groundwater depletion: Study
 
Ganga, the 2600-km-long trans-boundary river of Asia, has witnessed "unprecedented low levels of water in several lower reaches" in the last few summer seasons.

This is as per a study was undertaken by a professor of IIT-Kharagpur. Abhijit Mukherjee, associate professor of Geology in IIT-Kharapur, along with researchers Soumendra Nath Bhanja from Canada and Yoshihide Wada from IIASA Austria, found out that the drying of the river in the recent years during the summer seasons was "possibly related to the groundwater depletion in the Gangetic aquifers".

The study used a combination of satellite images of groundwater levels of Ganga, numerical simulations and chemical analyses to draw the conclusion. The study asserted that the decline of groundwater inflow (base flow) is also impacting the health of the river. The study also observed that in the forthcoming summers, for the next 30 years, groundwater contribution to river Ganga will continue decreasing.

                                                       

                                                          (International News)
A new platform for Indic language publishers Navlakha launched by Google
 

The search giant wants to bring India's 135,000 local language publishers online by making web hosting smooth and simple.

At the fourth 'Google for India' event, the internet search giant unveiled Project Navlekha - its new initiative to bring India's 135,000 Indic language publications online in a hassle-free manner.

Navlekha, which means 'a new way to write' in Sanksrit, will allow local publishers who do not have websites to make their offline content fit for online publishing in less than a minute. They can simply scan documents or PDFs and create instant web pages on the platform. No expert digital knowledge is required in the process, claims Google.

First SAARC Agri Cooperative Business Forum begins in Kathmandu
 
The First South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agri Cooperative Business Forum began in Kathmandu on 28th August. 
The theme of three-day Forum is the 'Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable-Development-Goals-1 and 2 in South Asia'. 
It is being co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Asian Farmers’ Association with the support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development. 
Significance
South Asia is home to around a quarter of the global population and majority of whom live in the rural areas and depend on natural resources like land, freshwater, coastal fisheries and forests. Much of the agricultural production in the region is undertaken by small landholders. 
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2015.


Satya Tripathi appointed Assistant Secretary-General & Head of New York Office of UNEP 
 
UN Secretary General António Guterres has appointed veteran Indian development economist and UN official Satya S Tripathi as Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Tripathi, who will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago, has since 2017 served as Senior Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at UNEP. 

About Satya S Tripathi
A development economist and lawyer with over 35 years of experience, Tripathi has worked for the United Nations since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on strategic assignments in sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs. Tripathi was previously the Director and Executive Head of the United Nations Office for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.


Cabinet approves signing of MoU between India and Bulgaria in the field of tourism

 
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bulgaria for strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism.

The main objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding are:

•    To expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector
•    To encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including Hotels and Tour operators,
•    To   establish   exchange   programme   for cooperation   in   Human   Resource Development.
•    Foster bilateral cooperation through film tourism for promoting the two countries as attractive tourism destinations.

Background:

India and Bulgaria had previously signed an Agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism on 26.05.1994. Bulgaria is a potential tourism markets for India (India received approximately 5288 tourists from Bulgaria in 2017). The signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Bulgaria will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this important source market.

                                                                    (Sports)
Asian Games 2018 Updates:
 
In Athletics, Manjit Singh won gold in men's 800 metres while Jinson Johnson took silver. 
India bagged two medals in Kurash, a form of wrestling indigenous to central Asia, with Pincky Balhara winning silver and Malaprabha Yallappa Jadhav bagged a bronze, both in women's 52 kg. Category.
Asian medallists Bhavesh Kattimani (52kg) and Ankit Khatana (60kg) settled for bronze medals in the world youth boxing championships after losing their semifinal bouts. 

GOVIND KUMAR 1 Months ago
Thanks for updating Current Affairs.
Priyanshu Tyagi 1 Months ago
good presentation
URMILA 1 Months ago
Thank you sir

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