Current Affairs 26th August 2016

Current Affairs 26th August 2016

National News:

• Minister of State for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched a new Hindi website and released an updated version of the English website of his ministry
• Cabinet approves signing of Air Services Agreement between India and Fiji
• Cabinet approves MoU with Myanmar for cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine
• National Career Service signs MoUs with Eleven Strategic Partners
• Madhya Pradesh, Delhi Assemblies pass GST Bill
• The Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) has organised a film festival in Nagaland. Titled ‘CFSI Film Bonanza’
• Cabinet approves MoU with South Africa to establish cooperation in Grassroots Innovation

International News:

• Turkey launched its largest military operation into Syria, sending tanks, planes and ground forces into Jarabulus in an effort to clear the Islamic State from its last remaining frontier with Turkey
• India, US innovation forum to be launched next week

New Appointments:

• Wrestler Sakshi Malik was named as Haryana’s brand ambassador for Beti Bachao, Beti Padao (save daughter, educate daughter) campaign in Haryana

Banking:

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation for all retail payments system in India, announced that customers of 21 banks will shortly be able to use Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for sending and collecting money via a smartphone using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA)

Business & Economy:

• The Union Cabinet gave its nod for signing of revised double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus, a popular tax haven

Awards & Honours:

• G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO’s DG (Missiles & Strategic Systems), was conferred the first IEI-IEEE Award for engineering excellence 2015
• A total of five Indian companies have made it to the Forbes list of ‘World’s Most Innovative Companies’ of 2016

Science and Technology:

• Astronaut Jeffrey Williams has a new record for NASA under his space belt

Obituary:

• Akhlaq Ur Rahman Kidwai, who served as Governor of States, including Bihar, West Bengal and Haryana, passed away