Current affair of 25th August, 2019

Thirty five officers were awarded the Smart Policing Awards

Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh presented the Smart Policing Awards at the Homeland Security 2019 conference which was held in New Delhi. 35 officers were awarded the Smart policing Awards.

Key highlights:

1. The award recognized their work in the various police initiatives including the areas of crime investigation & prosecution, anti-insurgency, child safety, community policing,  cybercrime management, emergency response, human trafficking, road safety & traffic management, smart police station, surveillance & monitoring, training & capacity building, women safety. The Minister also released a collection on  ‘Best Practices in Policing’. 
2. The award wad instituted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The award has been instituted for best practices in Smart Policing in India. 

Odisha announces Rs. 500 crore to develop Puri as World Heritage City

India is an enriching and continuous tradition of culture. Odisha is also a blessed land in terms of heritage, history, and culture. Odia culture has its own impression on the entire Indian culture.Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a special package of Rs 500 crore to develop Puri as a World Heritage City.

Key highlights:

1. The considering the present security environment, it is highly essential to strengthen the security features of the Shree Jagannath Temple. 
2. The projects that were given the green signal in the meeting are a new 1.5 km long link road connected by a trumpet Bridge (Shree Setu Project), redevelopment of the Jagganath Ballav Matha as an attractive pilgrim centre with multi-level car parking, amenities, commercial and meditation space and multi-modal hub at a cost of Rs 180 crore.
3. It also includes a plan of rejuvenation of the Musa River and connecting it with the Mangala river at a cost of Rs 85 crore. The development of Atharnala as an iconic pedestrian heritage bridge with the support of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the development of a lake on 28 acres of land at a cost of Rs 35 crore.
4. This is not the first package announced for Puri as Patnaik had recently announced various projects for the region at a cost of Rs 265 crore under the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme.

NITI Aayog VC discusses Rice Fortification Pilot Scheme

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar today met Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in New Delhi . He discussed the Rice Fortification Pilot Scheme.

Key highlights:

1. The meeting it was decided that in order to ensure effective tackling the problem of Malnutrition. It is a road map will be charted out by the Department of Food and Public Distribution for taking the pilot scheme of Rice Fortification all over the country. 
2. All-State Government departments and other stakeholders will be consulted to enhance cooperation by fostering the involvement of State Governments in the economic policy-making process. They deliberated in-depth on the various measures that can be taken to overcome these issues.
3. Foster involvement and participation in the economic policy-making process by the State Governments of India

Akshay Kumar takes 4th spot in Forbes highest paid actors list 2019

Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar made it to the 4th position on the Forbes magazine’s Worlds Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 list. Akshay earned around $65 million. Hollywood star Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson tops the Forbes list of the 10 highest-paid actors.

Key highlights:

Here’s the list of the World’s Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 listed by Forbes:
1. Dwayne Johnson ($89.4 million)
2. Chris Hemsworth ($76.4 million)
3. Robert Downey Jr. ($66 million)
4. Akshay Kumar ($65 million)
5. Jackie Chan ($58 million)
6. Bradley Cooper ($57 million)
7. Adam Sandler ($57 million)
8. Chris Evans ($43.5 million)
9. Paul Rudd ($41 million)
10. Will Smith ($35 million)

NDTVs interim CEO Suparna Singh steps down

Interim CEO Suparna Singh resigned from her role with immediate effect. Singh was the former head of NDTV Convergence named as its CEO in December 2017.

Key highlights:

1. Suparna Singh informed the company that she will step down from her responsibilities as Interim CEO with immediate effect.The board resolved to appoint Suparna Singh as its CEO subject to the receipt of requisite approval from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
2. This approval was promptly applied for on December 12, 2017,
3. Suparna Singh company entered into an appointment agreement to appoint Singh as the CEO where the appointment was conditional upon receipt of such approval. Accordingly, Suparna Singh has been acting as the interim CEO during this interregnum.The media company said that the matter will be placed before the board and committee members for consideration.
4. The probe agency booked the media outlet's former CEO Vikramaditya Chandra under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.

India would not accept interference or mediation in its internal affairs

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu India would not accept interference or mediation in the internal affairs of the country.  The asserted that restructuring of Jammu Kashmir state aimed at improving governance and fostering inclusive and equitable growth.

Key highlights:

1. He was addressing 60 heads of Estonian diplomatic missions. It is along with the Foreign Minister of Estonia, Urmas Reinsalu on the last day of his tri-nation tour to the Baltic Region. 
2. He arrived in New Delhi this morning after completing a series of official engagements in Estonia. 
3. He decided to spread misinformation and internationalize the re-structuring of Jammu & Kashmir which was purely an administrative matter and within the purview of the Indian government. 
4. He urged all members of the UN to demonstrate a collective political will for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism which was proposed by India in 1996. He called for comprehensive reform of the UNSC and sought support for India's claim to permanent membership of the UN body.

Op-Blue Freedom flagged off by KirenRijiju and Baichung Bhutia

Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Kiren Rijiju and former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia made the flag-off dive for Delhi-NCT leg for the Op-Blue Freedom at SPM Swimming Pool Complex.' Op-Blue Freedom' is a nation-wide Adaptive Scuba Diving Programme for people with disabilities and able-bodied alike. The parent project Special Forces Adventures.The real awareness about adventure sports amidst the abled and disabled souls of this nation.

Key highlights:

1. The activities certainly spike up human morale and self-esteem overall to make them feel self-sufficient.
2. The country imbibes the skill sets that are being imparted by the team for the community in the future to generate legit work opportunities for themselves.The dive sessions will be kept open from 22nd - 25th August. The successful leg of 'Op-Blue Freedom' in Chandigarh conducted in the last week of July.
3. The skill sets that are being imparted by the team hold immense significance for the youths.
4. The team can work to better lives by helping the government to preserve the inland water bodies and by imparting skill sets at their own level for the civil lives.

First World Youth Conference on Kindness was held in New Delhi

President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the first World Youth Conference on Kindness on 23 August in New Delhi.

Key highlights:

1. The conference aimed to impart critical competencies like empathy, compassion, mindfulness and critical inquiry in global youth. It aimed to inspire, empower and enable them to transform themselves and build long-lasting peace in their communities.
2. The conference was organized by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, Ministry of Human Resource Development.
3. A number of youth leaders from around the world, representing over 27 countries, and young men and women participated in the first World Youth Conference on Kindness.

India signed MoUs with France to strengthen strategic ties in Key sectors

During his two-day visit to France, Prime Minister Modi and his France counterpart President Emmanuel Macron held talks discussed to strengthen strategic ties in key sectors on 22 August. They signed various MoUs in different sectors.

Key highlights:

1. An administrative arrangement was signed between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of India and the Ministry of National Education and Youth of the French Republic. The MoU aimed for Cooperation in Skill Development and Vocational Training.
2. A memorandum of agreement was signed between National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE), Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of India and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA).
3. The cooperation agreement was signed between the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and ATOS.
4. Implementing agreement was also signed between ISRO and CNES France for Joint Maritime Domain Awareness.

Indian Army signed MoU with Tata Realty and Housing

Indian Army signed an MoU with Tata Realty & Housing on 22 August 2019. It is a historic milestone achieved by the Indian Army.

Key highlights:

1. The MoU will empower the Indian Army personnel to take over, with immediate effect, dwelling units in 13 'Ready to Move in' projects of Tata Realty across India. The projects are spread over 10 cities including Gurugram, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune among others at a discount ranging from 11% to 27%.
2. The provision also includes the Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO). AWHO has always provided quality housing for Army personnel who are deployed in remote locations across the country. 
3. Rather than building houses for the soldiers, the MoU facilitates the Army for the acquisition of homes from reputed private builders.

NASA found more than 40 pieces of debris created by Indias anti satellite test

A survey by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Orbital Debris Program Office reported that more than 40 pieces of debris created by India's anti-satellite test.

Key highlights:

1. India had shot down the Microsat-R satellite on March 27, 2019. It intended to demonstrate that it can shoot down the space-based infrastructure of an enemy country. India is only the fourth country to have demonstrated this capability.
2. The debris created by the test conducted by ISRO on 27 March is still moving around in space even as the majority of the debris has disintegrated. 
3. The survey also said that 101 big pieces have been tracked and 49 continue to be in the orbit as of July 15.

Researchers have developed a lens that works like human eye

Harvard researchers have developed metalens, an electronic flat lens that works like the human eye.

Key highlights:

1. The technology used in the new artificial eye will revolutionize the lenses used in cameras, VR/AR headsets and eyewear. The special features of the lens include simultaneous focus, control of aberrations caused by astigmatisms and image shifts. 
2. The Lens demonstrates the feasibility of embedded optical zoom and autofocus for a wide range of applications, including cell phone cameras.  It uses tiny nanostructures to focus light and hence the entire visible light spectrum at a single point.

BookMyForex join hands with YES Bank for foreign exchange travel card

BookMyForex partnered with YES Bank and card payment company Visa to launch a co-branded multi-currency forex travel card that will provide a smooth payments solution to Indians traveling abroad. They can load up to 10 currencies on the card. The forex travel card will be available to Customers on the BookMyForex platform for free of cost across major cities in India.

Key highlights:

1. The platform will offer zero margin or exact inter-bank rates 24*7 on purchases made through the forex travel card. BookMyForex will also offer modern contactless cards that allow a user to simply tap their card on a POS machine, a must-have feature in countries like UK(United Kingdom) where some merchants only allow contactless payments.
2. Customers will be able to manage the travel cards through the mobile app by getting real-time notification alerts and view the INR (Indian rupee) equivalent of all amounts they spent.
3. They will also get value-added services like tracking currency-wise balances, locating surcharge-free ATMs (Automated Teller Machine) nearby and reload their travel cards while traveling abroad.