ABHISHEK GHOSH

What's New?

SPEEDY Railway Book (English)

Current Affairs Update: 1st August 2017

Current Affairs Update: 1st August 2017

Daily Current Affairs GK Update: 1st August 2017

Ramon Magsaysay Award 2017 (Winner Lists)

First in Any Educational Website
  • Lilia de Lima from Philippines Former Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia de Lima and the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) are among the awardees of the prestigious 2017 Ramon Magsaysay Awards. De Lima, PEZA's first director general, served the government agency for 21 years, until her retirement in 2016.
  • Gethsie Shanmugam (Teacher) a Sri Lankan teacher who counseled war widows and orphans to overcome their nightmares, has emerged a winner at this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards, regarded as Asia’s version of the Nobel Prize. Eighty-two-year-old Gethsie Shanmugam, is a teacher and psychological counselor by profession.
  • Yoshiaki Ishizawa from Japan, a 79-year-old scholar of Southeast Asian history who has served as president of Japan's Sophia University, devoted 50 years of his life to help preserve Cambodia's Angkor Wat, a 162-hectare (400-acre) temple, from the ravages of time and conflict, according to the foundation.
  • Tony Tay from Singapore for Tremendrous contribution in Mobilizing collective Goodwill to address hidden hunger.
  • Abdon Nababan from Indonesia - Giving Complete Face and Voice to Adat Communities and their rights. 
  • Philippine Educational Theater Association (Philippines) Empowering communities for development action through theatre Art.
National Affairs
Government of India enters into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers in July, 2017 
  • The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers in the month of July, 2017. Some of the UAPAs signed had rollback provisions also.
  • The APA Scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the Arm’s Length Price of international transactions in advance for a maximum period of five future years. Further, the taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years, as a result of which, a total of nine years of tax certainty is provided. Since its  inception,  the  APA  scheme  has  attracted  tremendous  interest  among  Multi  National Enterprises  (MNEs).
Union Govt. to provide Hepatitis C vaccine free from next year says JP Nadda
  • The Union Health Minister J.P.Nadda has announced that government will provide Hepatitis C vaccine free from next year and it would help in tackling the liver related diseases. He was addressing Himachal Pradesh BJP’s State Executive meeting concluded in Shimla on Saturday. He said that government is planning to provide Rs 2500 to 3000 crore in the budget for this purpose.
  • He said that government has initiated several new schemes in health sector for the benefit of common man. J.P.Nadda further said that every Indian will have his own house till 2022 under Prime Minister Awas Yozna. The meeting was also addressed by party’s national organizational general secretary Ram Lal.



International Affairs
World’s Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge Opens in Switzerland Alps
  • The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has been inaugurated in southern Switzerland, carrying hikers 1,620 feet across an Alpine ravine at a height of up to 300 feet.
  • It forms part of the Europaweg, part of a two-day mountain trail connecting the towns of Grächen and Zermatt, and saves walkers a long detour after a previous bridge was damaged by falling rocks.
US President Donald Trump is going to award his first Medal of Honor to a Vietnam War medic
  • An Army medic from Michigan who risked his life multiple times to rescue Vietnam War comrades is becoming the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump.
  • Trump is set to present America's highest military honor to James McCloughan on Monday at a White House ceremony.
  • McCloughan was a 23-year-old private first class who had been drafted into the Army when, in 1969, he found himself in the middle of the raging, days long Battle of Hui Yon Hill. McCloughan voluntarily entered the "kill zone" to rescue injured comrades, even as he was pelted with shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade.
  • In its announcement last month, the White House said McCloughan "voluntarily risked his life on nine separate occasions to rescue wounded and disoriented comrades. He suffered wounds from shrapnel and small arms fire on three separate occasions, but refused medical evacuation to stay with his unit, and continued to brave enemy fire to rescue, treat, and defend wounded Americans."
Science & Technologies
World's smallest spacecraft launched successfully by Indian rocket in low Earth orbit by ISRO's PSLV rocket. Named Sprites.
  • The world's smallest spacecraft ever launched have successfully been placed in low Earth orbit by ISRO's PSLV rocket. Named Sprites, the 3.5cmx3.5cm space probes weigh 4 grams each and run on sunlight. The probes are part of Breakthrough Initiatives, a $100 million program aimed at sending one-gram chips to star systems beyond the solar system in search of extraterrestrial intelligence.
Defence & Railway
Railways to introduce designer, easy-to-clean blankets soon
  • In its report tabled in Parliament, the country’s top auditor said the washing and sanitation of linen as well as blankets are not done as per the norms established by the railways.
  • Faced with complaints of dirty blankets, the Indian Railways has firmed up an action plan to increase the frequency of washing blankets and replace the existing ones with designer, lightweight blankets in a phased manner.
  • Besides, used blankets would be sanitised on a regular basis before being given for further use.
  • Though the directive is to wash the blankets every one or two months, a CAG report had recently highlighted the unhygienic condition of blankets which were not washed for even six months.
  • However, smelly blankets may soon become a thing of past on trains.
Schemes / Programme
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launches “Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2” in Mumbai
  • Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi today said here that the NDA Government has been working with commitment to “inclusive growth” and “Antyodaya” to ensure prosperity, security and dignity of the last person of the society.
  • Addressing a large number of people from Parsi community and renowned personalities from various fields at the launch of “Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2” at Mumbai, Shri Naqvi said that Parsi community has immense contribution in nation building and Parsi community has been a “role model” for other communities for its culture and traditions. The Parsi community has given so many great people who have been “architects of nation building”.
Swachh Survekshan-2018 launched to assess sanitation in all 4,041 cities and towns of the country 
  • Central Government today launched ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’ to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns of the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connect and visible impact on ground.
  • Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched the survey, the third in the series and released a comprehensive Survey Tool Kit, explaining the methodology, weightages and new features and thrust areas  that helps cities and towns prepare for the field survey over the next six months.
Agreements (MoU)
India & Bhutan signed the bilateral Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit come into force.
  • India and Bhutan mutually decided to bring into force the 'new' bilateral Agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit with effect from this July 29, an official statement said on Monday. The new agreement will further strengthen the bilateral trade relations between India and Bhutan, it said.
  • The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan. The agreement also provides for duty-free transit of Bhutanese merchandise for trade with third countries. It was last renewed on July 29, 2006 for ten years. The validity of this agreement was extended (with effect from July 29, 2016) for one year or till the new agreement comes into force, through exchange of diplomatic notes.
Summit /Conference / Events / Host
Los Angeles to Host 2028 Olympic Summer Games, Paris Gets 2024
  • Los Angeles will be the host of the 2028 Summer Olympics instead of the 2024 games, officials confirmed on Monday.
  • "Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time in 44 years is a golden opportunity for LA," Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson said in a statement on Monday.
  • After reaching a deal with the International Olympic Committee, the Olympics will return to the City of Angeles in 2028, the third time since it first hosted in 1932.
Awards & Honours
Japanese and Sri Lankan among the winners lists of Magsaysay awards 2017
  • A Japanese historian who helped Cambodians preserve the Angkor temples and a Sri Lankan teacher who counseled war widows and orphans to overcome their nightmares are among the six winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Awards, regarded as Asia's version of the Nobel Prize.
  • The other recipients named Thursday are an Indonesian working for the return of large tracts of forest land to indigenous communities, a Singaporean who leads the cooking of 6,000 meals a day for the destitute, a Philippine theater group which stood up to a dictatorship and a Filipino who oversaw the opening of job-generating export processing zones.
  • The awards, named after a Philippine president who died in a 1957 plane crash, are to be presented in Manila on Aug. 31.
Sports: Awards & Honours
India bagged 24 Medal in Table Tennis including 7 Gold, 7 silver and 10 bronze at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament (ITTF Junior Circuit).
  • India bagged a rich haul of 24 medals, including 7 gold, at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament (ITTF Junior Circuit) here. India bagged 7 gold medals, 7 silver and 10 bronze to complete a sweep of sorts, making the trip to Amman successful.
Formula1 Racer "Sebastian Vettel" wins Hungarian Grand Prix
  • Sebastian Vettel throws his trophy into the air. He now leads Lewis Hamilton by 14 points in the drivers’ championship. “It was a really difficult race,” says Vettel. “I had my hands full. The steering was off. I had to stay focused for the whole race.”
Katerina Siniakova stuns Caroline Wozniacki to win the Swedish Open
  • Caroline Wozniacki suffered a shock defeat by Katerina Siniakova as the Czech won her second WTA title at the Swedish Open.
  • Siniakova is ranked 50 places below her top-seeded opponent, the world number six, but stormed to a 6-3 6-4 victory in Bastad.
  • Injury may have played a part as both players took medical time-outs on the red clay but Siniakova held firm to enhance her reputation as one of the most promising players in the women's game.
  • The 21-year-old adds to her maiden success in Shenzhen earlier this year and is set to climb to world number 39 on Monday.
Caeleb Dressel(Swimmer) becomes first ever to win three gold medals in one night at worlds
  • Caeleb Dressel knows the comparisons are coming. After pulling off an unprecedented Triple Crown at swimming’s world championships, it’s time to take on the legacy of Michael Phelps.
  • The 20-year-old Dressel established himself as America’s newest star of the pool Saturday, becoming the first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at either the worlds or the Olympics. Not even Phelps managed such an audacious feat.
  • Dressel won the 50m freestyle and the 100m butterfly before leading off a world-record performance in the 4x100-meter mixed freestyle relay.
  • “The comparisons are probably inevitable,” Dressel said. “But I’m not the same person as Michael.”
Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched the men's singles and men's doubles title respectively at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria.
  • Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched the men's singles and men's doubles title respectively at Lagos International challenge in Nigeria.
  • Fourth-seeded Rahul surpassed compatriot Karan Rajan Rajarajan 21-15 21-13 in the summit clash to lay claim to the title at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Saturday.
  • The 19-year-old, who had won the Maritius Open last year, stunned top-seed and World No. 55 Misha Zilberman in the semifinals.
  • A shuttler from Gopi Chand Academy, Rahul had recently won the bronze medal in the Russain Open Grand Prix.
Miscellaneous
Flipkart launches ‘made for India’ budget brand Billion
  • Billion is the first initiative of Flipkart co-founder and executive chairman Sachin Bansal since he stepped aside as CEO in January 2016.
  • India’s largest online retailer Flipkart Ltd has launched a new brand called Billion—across categories such as home appliances and fashion—the first initiative of the company’s co-founder and executive chairman Sachin Bansal since he stepped aside as CEO in January 2016.
  • Flipkart has already launched mixer grinders, cookware, backpacks and irons under the brand and will expand to other categories later this year, Bansal said in an interview. The central idea behind the brand is to offer products designed specifically for Indian shoppers, who Bansal thinks aren’t served satisfactorily by most of the existing brands across product categories.
Request You All Our Readers: If You Like Our Quality please share with your friends & in Groups. 
banner
Join Your Competitor in FB Groups
Join Your Competitor in Telegram Groups
Study Materials and Important Notifications
Latest Govt. Schemes Monthly PDF Download
Newsletters Form

  • Comments
  • Google+
  • Disqus