Current Affairs Updates - 17th August

Daily Current Affairs GK Updates - 17th August

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US declares Hizbul Mujahideen as Foreign Terrorist Organisation

• The US State Department has designated militant group Hizbul Mujahideen as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The department said it is freezing any assets that the organisation may hold in the United States, and has prohibited its citizens from any dealings with it. In June this year, US had designated Hizbul Mujahideen leader Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist.

Post HC order, Sreesanth plays match for 1st time in 4 yrs

• Indian cricketer S Sreesanth played his first cricket match in four years on Tuesday in Kochi, captaining a side in an exhibition match. This comes after the Kerala High Court recently sanctioned BCCI to lift the ban imposed on him. "I'm really happy that I'm back and I'm beginning my return from same ground where it all began," said Sreesanth.

New Appointments: National

Sankara Rao to be appointed as New IFCI Managing Director & CEO.

• IFCI Ltd, a government company, is set to have a new Managing Director & CEO in E Sankara Rao, who is currently Chief General Manager at India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL).
• The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has given its nod for the Department of Financial Services (DFS) proposal to appoint Emandi Sankara Rao as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of IFCI Ltd, official sources said.
• A formal order from DFS is expected soon. Rao’s appointment will be valid for three years. Rao is also currently a director and chief executive officer at IIFCL Asset Management Company Ltd.

Santosh Sharma appointed CMD of Hindustan Copper Limited

• Santosh Sharma was today appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Coper Limited (HCL). 
• He is at present Director (Operations) in the HCL. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment to the post for a period of five years, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said. 
• Emandi Sankara Rao has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IFCI Ltd. 

New Appointments: International

Japan becomes fastest growing economy in the G7 (Group 7 Countries)

• Japan, the world's third largest economy, expanded at an annualised rate of 4% in the April-June quarter, making it the fastest growing economy among the G7 nations. This was the country's fastest growth in over two years, and the sixth straight quarter of expansion, official data showed. Notably, this is Japan's longest uninterrupted run of growth in a decade.

India will host the next steering committee meeting of the proposed 1,814 kilometre-long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline, senior officials on both sides confirmed.

• The decision was came during the sixth joint Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) meeting on trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation.
• The meeting was followed by a meeting between visiting Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov and Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan.
• “I strongly believe in this project, and this is the position of Turkmenistan,” Mr. Merodov said at a small interaction.
• “It is not just a commercial project, but one which will be a good foundation for providing peace and security in the region,” he added.

Rankings

World's most liveable city: Melbourne takes top spot for seventh year running

• Melbourne has once again been named the world's most liveable city by The Economist, receiving a perfect score for healthcare, education and infrastructure.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Liveability Index ranks 140 cities each year on those topics, as well as stability, culture and environment.
• Vienna once again came second and Vancouver third.
• Adelaide was the next best Australian city finishing in fifth spot, followed by Perth at number seven. Sydney was ranked 11th.
• It was a record seventh time in a row in the top spot for Melbourne, which scored 97.5 out of a possible 100.
• Top five most liveable cities (Rank Lists): 1. Melbourne, 2. Vienna, 3. Vancouver, 4. Toronto, 5. Adelaide, Calgary

National Affairs

PM Narendra Modi pays tribute to Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (philosopher and sage ) on his 145th birth anniversary.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to philosopher and sage Sri Aurobindo on his 145th Birth Anniversary. PM took to Twitter and shared a post saying, “I pay my tributes to Sri Aurobindo on his Jayanti. 
• His rich thoughts & grand vision for India continue to be a great source of inspiration.” Earlier in the day Prime Minister Modi greeted the nation on the occasion of India’s 71st Independence Day and Krishna Janmashtami. He wrote, “Independence Day greetings to my fellow Indians. Jai Hind. Greetings on Janmashtami.”

Partition museum to open in Amritsar, 70 years after the painful event

• In the 70 years since India and Pakistan were created from the former British Empire, there has never been a venue focused on the stories and memorabilia of those who survived that chaotic and bloody chapter in history until now. A new museum on the Partition of the Indian subcontinent opens this week, as the two South Asian giants mark seven decades as independent nations. 
• The exhibitions are housed in the red-brick Town Hall building in the north Indian border city of Amritsar. They include photographs, newspaper clippings and donated personal items meant to tell the story of how the region’s struggle for freedom from colonial rule turned into one of its most violent episodes. 

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the next generation projection mapping system at the iconic Gateway of India in south Mumbai.

• Actors Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar narrated the story and history of Mumbai at the arch monument against the backdrop of a laser and light show held tonight. 
• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, business tycoon Anand Mahindra, ministers Subhash Desai, Ram Shinde, Jaykumar Rawal were also present on the occasion. 
• "The amazing show at #Gateway is about the story of Mumbai as the city of cricket legends, dabbewalas and spirited fighters against terrorism," Fadnavis tweeted.

Narendra Modi launches website to honour gallantry award winners

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a website to honour all the gallantry award winners since Independence.
• Announcing the launch of the website "Gallantryawards.gov.in" in a series of tweets, Mr. Modi said “the portal will preserve and tell the stories of our bravest men and women, civilians as well as armed forces personnel.”
• “In remembrance of our heroes who have been awarded gallantry awards since Independence, launched the site "Gallantryawards.gov.in" the Prime Minister said.

Science & Technologies

Scientists develops a new injectable tissue bandage that can repair damaged heart without surgery

• Scientists have succeeded in developing an injectable tissue bandage even smaller than a postage stamp. This patch is capable of repairing damaged hearts. It repairs heart tissue destroyed by a heart attack or any other medical condition with regenerative cells or tissues. This usually requires an open heart surgery but this patch is injectable through a small needle. 
• The AngioChip is a tiny patch of heart tissue with its own blood vessels and heart cells beating with a regular rhythm.
• "If an implant requires open-heart surgery, its not going to be widely available to patients," said Milica Radisic from University of Toronto.

Agreements (MoU)

Nepal, China sign three pacts to boost energy, economic ties

• Nepal and China today signed three pacts to further boost their ties in power and energy sectors and undertake a feasibility study to excavate natural gas and petroleum in the Himalayan country, including in the southern Terai plains. 
• The pacts were signed after visiting Chinese vice premier Wang Yang held discussions with Nepal's deputy prime ministers Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar and Krishna Bahadur Mahara. 

Reliance Communications-Aircel merger gets company law tribunal approval

• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday passed an order allowing the Aircel-Reliance Communications merger and also the Brookfield Towers sale to proceed.
• According to sources, the tribunal overruled objections of Bharti Infratel, GTL and Ericsson.
• The NCLT also allowed Reliance Communications (RCOM) tower arm 51 percent stake sale to Brookfield for Rs 11,000 crore.
• RCOM and Aircel had signed a definitive document for a proposed merger scheme of their respective wireless businesses on September 14, 2016. Subsequently, the two telecom operators moved all the relevant statutory and regulatory bodies for approval of the merger scheme. The Competition Commission of India gave its approval to the merger scheme in February 2017.

Sports: Awards & Honours

Indian athletes bag record 37 medals at the 7th World Dwarf Games in Canada.

• The 21-member Indian contingent captured a record haul of 37 medals at the recently concluded 7th World Dwarf Games in Canada. India won 15 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals across events at the games, which saw participation of nearly 400 athletes from 24 countries. Indian athletes were felicitated at the Indian consulate in Toronto on