Current Affairs : 01st August 2017

Current Affairs : 01st August 2017
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APPOINTMENTS
Arvind Panagariya resigns as NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman
Arvind Panagariya, the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog was considered to be Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal pick for economic reforms announced his resignation.

The 62-year-old Panagariya is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. 
It is known for his market-friendly views and is a close associate of well-known trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati.
Lt Gen Abhay Krishna appointed as Chief of Eastern Command
Lt General Abhay Krishna, who owns extensive service experience of the Northeast India was appointed as the Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command. Krishna succeeds Lt Gen Praveen Bakshi who has retired from service. 

The appointment of Krishna comes at a time when India is facing a stand-off with Chinese troops along the Sikkim sector. Krishna was currently serving as the Head of the Army’s Jaipur-based Southwestern Command.

Sameer Garde named Cisco president for India SAARC region
Tech giant Cisco named former Philips Healthcare executive, Sameer Garde as President for its India and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) operations.

He succeeded Dinesh Malkani.
He will remain associated with Cisco as the strategic advisor till the end of September 2017.
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AWARDS AND HONOURS / RECOGNITIONS
Mukesh Ambani Becomes Asia’s Second-Richest Person
Mukesh Ambani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man as investors rallied behind his efforts to arm India’s poor with cheap data-loaded phones. 

The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He passed Li Ka-shing, whose empire spans telecommunications, retail, and ports. 

Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer to rope in 117.3 million users and become India’s fourth-largest operator, according to government data.

President Donald Trump awarded First Medal of Honor to Vietnam Army Medic
President Donald Trump awarded his first Medal of Honor to James McCloughan, an Army medic who served in Vietnam.
He rescues Vietnam War is the first person to receive the Medal of Honor from President Donald Trump in Washington.
Donald John Trump is the 45th and current President of the United States.
DEATHS
Dhrupad maestro Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar passes away
Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar, a classical vocalist and one of the leading exponents of Dhupad tradition, passed away following a brief illness in Pune. He was 78 and is survived by his wife and two sons. 

Known to his admires as Sayeed Bhai, Sayeeduddin belongs to Dagar family of musicians that is the only one to practice Dhrupad, a form of Hindustani classical vocal music. 

He is the 19th generation of the family practising this form of music. With his demice, Sayeeduddin’s sons Nafeesuddin and Aneesuddin Dagar will now be the 20th generation of the family to practice Dhrupad.

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India-Bhutan New Trade and Transit agreement come into force
The new bilateral Agreement on Trade Commerce and Transit between India and Bhutan came into force recently.
It aims to further strengthen the bilateral trade relations between both countries.
The bilateral trade relations between India and Bhutan are governed by the Agreement on Trade, Commerce, and Transit. The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan. 

The agreement provides for a free trade regime between the territories of India and Bhutan.
World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in Switzerland
The World's longest pedestrian suspension bridge 'Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge' has opened in Swiss Alpine resort of Zermatt Matterhorn in south Switzerland.

According to the Zermatt Matterhorn's press release, the steel bridge is 494 meters long and overtakes the "Titan-RT" bridge in Germany as the world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge.

The trail is considered by many ones of the most beautiful two-day hikes in the Alps and at a narrow 65 centimeters wide, the bridge stretches like a thin wire across the steep valley floor.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Delhi Metro Declared as World’s first Green Metro
The Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) was recently declared as the world’s first green metro after it added a green certification for all its major buildings and installations.

They got the platinum rating for its 10 residential colonies for adherence to green building norms by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).

DMRC became the first railway project in the world to be registered by the United Nations under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Swachh Survekshan-2018 launched to assess sanitation in all 4,041 cities and towns of the country
Union Government launched ‘Swachh Survekshan-2018’ to rank all the 4,041 cities and towns in the country based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services and their sustainability, outcomes, citizen connects and visible impact on the ground.

Under the survey launched by Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, 500 cities with more than 1 lakh population and state and UT capitals will have all-India ranking. Also, 3,541 cities with less than 1 lakh population will have state and zonal rankings.

In the 73 cities with a population of million plus each and all state, capitals were ranked in which Mysuru, Chandigarh, and Tiruchirapalli emerged as the cleanest cities in that order. In the 2017 Survey, 434 cities with a population of one lakh plus each and state capitals were assessed in which Indore, Bhopal, and Visakhapatnam were the cleanest cities.

Union Government enters into nine Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into 9 Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPAs) with Indian taxpayers.
The taxpayer has the option to rollback the APA for four preceding years, it makes a total of nine years of tax certainty is provided.
The international transactions covered in these nine APAs include the provision of software development services provision of IT enabled services, provision of engineering design services, distribution, contract manufacturing.

Supreme court bans use of five heavy metals in firecrackers
The Supreme Court imposed a ban on the use of five harmful heavy metals like lithium, antimony, mercury, arsenic and lead in the manufacturing of firecrackers as they cause air pollution.

The apex court held that it is the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure compliance with ban order particularly in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu where there are a large number of firecracker manufacturers.

PESO is the apex department to control and administer manufacture, storage, transport and handling of explosives, petroleum, compressed gases and other hazardous substances in India.

19th RCEP Trade Negotiating Committee Meeting held in Hyderabad
The 19th round of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) meetings and other related meetings were held from 17 to 28 July 2017 in Hyderabad, India.

The parallel meetings were also held by the three main Working Groups on Trade in goods, services, and investment. Working Groups in other areas like electronic commerce, Intellectual Property, Legal and Institutional Issues etc. also had held their meetings.

RCEP is a proposed comprehensive regional economic integration agreement (mega Free Trade Agreement) amongst the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam) and its six Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) partners namely Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, and Korea.

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SPORTS AFFAIRS
Los Angels to host 2028 Games and Paris gets 2024 for Summer Olympics
Los Angeles reached an agreement with the leaders of the International Olympic Committee on plans to host the 2028 Summer Games.
It announced its bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics after agreeing on a deal that paves the way for Paris to host in 2024.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896.
India won 24 medals at Jordan Open Table Tennis Tournament
India won total 24 medals at the Jordan Junior and Cadet Open table tennis tournament.
It includes 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 10 Bronze medals in the event, India was the second best finishers.
Payas Jain won silver in the tournament recently.
Rahul, Manu-Sumeeth won title at Lagos Open Title
Indian shuttler C Rahul Yadav and Men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy won the Men’s singles and Men’s doubles title at Lagos International challenge.

It was held in Nigeria.
Rahul recently won the bronze medal in the Russain Open Grand Prix.