Daily Current Affairs For Competitive Exam - 8th August

National Affairs

Prime Minister Modi today officially launched the first phase of 'Mission Bhagiratha' in Telangana's Medak district to provide piped drinking water to every household in Telangana. 

The mission, expected to cost around ₹42,000 crore, aims to create a water grid for supplying drinking water. 

Note : PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for a 1,600 MW super thermal power plant.

The Kerala Congress (M) today left the United Democratic Front (UDF) after being a part of it for more than three decades. 

The Kerala Congress (M) will now work as a separate independent opposition block in the Assembly.

All houses in Tiring, Jharkhand, will have nameplates bearing the names of unmarried girls and their mothers residing there, to address the village's skewed sex ratio and female literacy rate. 

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today inaugurated the transit campus of Indian Institute of Technology in Jammu. 

MOUs & Agreements

The Telangana government today signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for setting up a Telangana Water Resources Information System (TWRIS) on ISRO’s geo-portal Bhuvan (similar to Google Earth). 

The system aims at capturing and marking every field-level irrigation structure, including dams/barrages, canals and field channels, on the satellite visualisation tool.

Awards & Honors

'Father of the Green Revolution' MS Swaminathan was placed in the 'Time 20' list of the most influential Asian people of the 20th century. 

Born on August 7, 1925, Swaminathan led the development of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice to avert a famine in India. 

Note : The only other Indians in the list were Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.

New Appointments

BJP leader Vijay Rupani (60) today took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. 

He was declared the CM by the BJP after former CM Anandiben Patel resigned from the post citing age factor. 

Important Note : Besides Rupani, Nitin Patel was also sworn in as Deputy CM of Gujarat.
Actor Ajay Devgn has been named the ambassador for KFC India's initiative 'Hope'. 

The initiative is looking to provide 20 million meals to underprivileged children by 2020 through its partnerships with World Food Program (WFP)and India Food Banking Network (IFBN). 

To support this campaign, customers can choose to add ₹5 to their bill for every meal at KFC.

Business & Economy

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions has accepted the 7th Pay Commission's recommendation of increasing the minimum monthly pension for retired central government employees by 157.14%, from ₹3,500 to ₹9,000. 

Further, such employees will be entitled to a maximum pension of ₹1.25 lakh, a Ministry order said. 

India currently has about 58 lakh central government pensioners.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has been made the Nodal authority for banks to report high-value frauds worth over ₹50 crore in public sector banks.

A Joint Director-level officer has been authorised to receive complaints, who can recommend an investigation by any CBI wing. 

The CBI had probed 171 bank fraud cases involving funds of over ₹20,000 crore in 2015.

Vietnam has the second fastest GDP growth rate per capita in the world since the 1990s, behind only China. 

Reports suggest this may be due to Vietnam simplifying its trade rules, with trade accounting for 150% of its GDP. 

Note : Vietnam's government has barred officials from forcing foreigners to buy inputs domestically and promotes competition among its 63 provinces.

London-based risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft has ranked India the fourth riskiest in a list of 198 countries losing out on business opportunities due to civil unrest. 

War-torn countries Syria, Yemen and Libya took the first three spots on the list. 

Note : Countries like Bangladesh (6th) and Nigeria (10th) were found to be safer for conducting businesses than India.

Science & Technology

NASA has announced five research projects that may help make planes more efficient and green. 

The projects are aimed at shrinking fuel use, reducing aviation’s impact on the environment and quieting noise around airports. 

One of these studies will be based on Lithium-Air "breathing batteries” which expel oxygen as the battery is being charged.

General Knowledge

Bengali poet, popularly called 'Gurudev', Rabindranath Tagore's  (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) Death Anniversary today.

The writer, most famous for composing India's national anthem, passed away 75 years ago on August 7, 1941.

He was the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, when he received the award for Literature in 1913.  

The national anthems of both India and Bangladesh have been taken from his works. 

Indian national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' was taken from a hymn titled 'Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata'.

Bangladesh's national anthem 'Amar Sonar Bangla' is derived from a song of the same name. 

Deaths

Veteran Tamil director and script writer Vietnam Veedu Sundaram (73) has passed away.

'Vietnam Veedu' became part of his name after he wrote the script for the film 'Vietnam Veedu', starring actor Sivaji Ganesan in the 1970s. 

Sundaram is also known for directing films including 'Gauravam', 'Gnana Paravai' and 'Payanam'.

Sports

The Olympic flame made its first appearance in the modern Games at Amsterdam in 1928, where it was lit atop a tower overlooking the Olympic Stadium. 

The first time a torch was used to transport the flame was in 1936 Berlin Olympics, when the originating flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, a tradition that continues till date.

The International Paralympic Committee has confirmed a blanket ban on Russia in the Paralympics Games. 

India’s women archers defeated the Colombian archery team in the Round of 16, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Rio Olympics’ women archery recurve team event. 

The Indian trio of Deepika Kumari, Bombayla Devi and Laxmirani Majhi, defeated the Colombians 5-3 in a 4-set match. 

The team will now face Russia in the quarters today's night.

Australia's Emma McKeon, Brittany Elmslie, Bronte Campbell and Cate Campbell set a world record in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay with a time of 3:30.65 minutes.  

Note : Australian squad's Cate Campbell currently holds the 100 metres freestyle world record with 52.06 seconds.

Hungary's 'Iron Lady' Katinka Hosszu broke the world record in the women's 400 metres individual medley (IM) to claim her first Olympic medal at her fourth Olympic Games. 

Vietnam clinched their first ever Olympic gold medal when Vinh Xuan Hoangwon the men's 10m air pistol event today. 

The nation, which has a population of around 89.71 million, had won a total of two silver medals and three bronze medals in eight previous editions of the Olympics it had participated in.

Great Britain’s 21-year-old swimmer Adam Peaty set a new world record in themen’s 100 metres breaststroke heats at the Rio Olympics. 

Peaty broke his own record of 57.92 seconds by clocking a timing of 57.55 seconds. 

Important Note : This is the Rio Olympic’s first new world record in swimming, and the second new world record overall.