Current Affairs 25th August 2016

Current Affairs 25th August 2016

National News:

• The government today launched Accessible E-Library ‘Sugamya Pustakalaya’ for Divyang under Prime Minister’s Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan
• Krishna Pushkaram river festival concludes with grand display of Pavitra Harati
• President of India inaugurates CII-IIEST conference on “Enabling Make in India through Industry Academia Innovation Platform”
• Odisha Cabinet has approved the Odisha Startup Policy 2016
• Maharashtra becomes first state to sign an agreement with the Civil Aviation Ministry to develop 10 non-functional regional airports
• Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu commissioned a new railway line between Nandyala and Yerraguntla
• MP Assembly ratifies GST Constitution Amendment Bill
• Haryana CM announces Sakshi malik as brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao campaign
• Meeting of BRICS ministers of Disaster Management concludes in Udaipur
• Centre to provide employment opportunities to 1.4 lakh youths in J&K
• Maharashtra, Telangana sign pact for 3 irrigation projects
• Cabinet approves draft bill on surrogacy

International News:

• Two-day SAARC Finance Ministers’ Conference begins in Islamabad
• India has figured among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion while the United States topped the chart
• The world’s largest indoor theme park is set to open in Dubai to lure back some of the tourists and residents who often flee abroad during the scorching desert summer
• U.S. Postal Service to issue Diwali stamp
• President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will visit India from 1st to 3rd of next month

New Appointment:

• Eminent scientist P D Gupta was today appointed as Vice Chancellor of Mumbai-based Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI)

Business:

• Software giant Microsoft has bought a smart scheduling app Genee, as part of its effort to embed artificial intelligence (AI) to compete with the likes of Google Now and Apple

Awards & Honours:

• Astrophysicist Anjali Tripathi from California and physician Tina R Shah from Chicago are among the 16 White House Fellows appointed from across the nation for the year 2016-17

Science and Technology:

• China’s unmanned submersible sets new national record
• China has launched its first Tibetan-language search engine ‘Yongzin’.  The search engine will serve as a unified portal for all major Tibetan-language websites in China
• FSS launches new authentication platform ‘FSS Access Control Server’ for online transactions
• North Korea test fires new ballistic missile

Sports:

• The Indian men’s hockey team slipped one place to sixth in the FIH rankings after a lacklustre show at the Rio Olympics while the women gained one position to be at 12th in the latest charts released
• Vikash Anand wins premier title in National Racing
• Russia will not compete at next month’s Paralympics in Rio after losing an appeal against a ban imposed for state-sponsored doping