Current Affairs 23rd August 2016

Current Affairs 23rd August 2016

National News:

• The Himachal Pradesh assembly today unanimously ratified the constitution amendment bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• Gujarat, Chhattisgarh assemblies to hold special sessions today to ratify GST Bill
• Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel Flagged off Tiranga Yaatra of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan – NYKS volunteers at Red Fort in New Delhi to mark 70th anniversary of India’s independence

International News:

• Prime Minister NarendraModi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday jointly inaugurated the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul through video conferencing
• Nepal’s new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ will embark on a three-day official visit to India on September 15

New Appointments:

• Amul Managing Director R S Sodhi has been appointed as independent director on the board of India Post Payment Banks (IPPB) — the payments bank arm of postal department
• Vistara, which is a joint venture between Tata Sons Ltd and Singapore Airlines, has announced Deepika Padukone as its brand ambassador
• Mr.VP Singh Badnore took oath as the new Punjab Governor and also as Administrator of Chandigarh

Business:

• Google has agreed to partner with Railways for digitising and showcasing its heritage on digital platforms
• Navaratna company NLC Ltd, which comes under the Ministry of Coal, is planning to add over 6,821 megawatt (Mw) of power, with an investment of over Rs 27,740 crore in these projects

Awards and Honours:

• Actor Kamal Haasan will be awarded the Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts etLettres (The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government
• Olympic Medalists P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik will get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards. Shooter Jitu Rai and Gymnast Dipa Karmakar have also been selected for the top national sports award.
• The International Olympic Committee has awarded the Olympic Order to Indian Olympic Association president N. Ramachandran for his outstanding services to the Olympic movement

Sports:

• Wrestler Sakshi Malik, who won India’s first medal in the Rio Olympics has country’s flag bearer at the Summer Games Closing Ceremony
• President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach declared the official closing of the 31st Olympics games 2016 at Rio
• India’s SaniaMirza took sole possession of the WTA doubles number one ranking after teaming up with BarboraStrycova to beat former partner Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-4 in Cincinnati final

Science and Technology:

• Scientists have, for the first time, developed laser from fluorescent jellyfish proteins that were grown in bacteria