Current Affairs 1st August 2016

National News:

• A protection committee to avert breaches in any embankment in flood-hit Assam will be set up with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal issuing directions to Chief Secretary V K Pipersenia
• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today directed the district collectors to extend ‘Madhubabu Pension Scheme’ to three lakh more beneficiaries from August 15
• The Central government proposes to organise a ‘Make in India’ conference in Bhubaneswar in December
• Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister meets District Nodal Officers of Eastern and North Eastern States; 23 lakhs connections issued so far under PMUY
• India to supply free ration to jobless workers in Saudi Arabia

Books & Authors:

• ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ book launches in London

New Appointments :

• Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leylandhas announced, in a BSE filing, that the company’s Non-Executive Vice-Chairman – R Seshasayee has resigned from the board of directors with effect from July 28
• Senior IRS officer Rani Singh Nair is set to be appointed as the new CBDT Chairperson with incumbent Atulesh Jindal retired
• Satish Mathur, a 1981-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, has been appointed the new Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra

Banking :

• ICICI Bank has set up a team to improve monitoring of credit and provide early warning of loans going bad after a sharp rise in non-performing assets (NPAs) in the last fiscal year
• At least 15 banks, both from public and private sectors, are ready to roll out the unified payments interface (UPI) starting July 31
• Bank of India (BoI) will issue shares on a preferential basis to the government for capital infusion of Rs 1,338 crore

Business & Economy:

• A collection under Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme reaches a new high

Science & Technology:

• New artificial leaf converts CO2 into usable hydrocarbon fuel using sunlight
• SpaceX Wins Second NASA Contract To Take Astronauts To International Space Station

Sports:

• Bryan brothers pull out of Rio 2016 Olympics citing health concerns

Awards & Honours :

• Kerala Tourism bagged six National Tourism awards for 2014-15 in the marketing category for states. It received two more awards, including the one for its Responsible Tourism (RT) initiative in Wayanad
• The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) conferred its Lifetime Achievement Award on famous adman Srinivasan K.Swamy