Current Affairs 25th August 2018

NATIONAL

The Centre unveiled a draft scheme for extending the affordable air travel programme UDAN to international circuits, with state governments identifying the routes for operation. The draft International Air Connectivity (IAC) scheme envisages to increase the international ticketing to 20 crore by 2027.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice S J Vazifdar as head of a three-member committee to decide mining company Vedanta’s plea challenging closure of its Sterlite copper plant at Tuticorin.

INTERNATIONAL

A new European satellite named ‘Aeolus‘ using advanced laser technology to track global winds and improve weather forecasts has been successfully put into orbit on a Vega rocket from French Guyana.
The World Bank launched ‘bond-i’, the world’s first bond to be created, allocated, transferred and managed by using distributed ledger technology. This two-year bond successfully raised 110 million Australian dollars (USD 80.48 million).
Treasurer Scott Morrison has been elected the new Prime Minister of Australia after winning an internal vote of 45-40 against former Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

BANKING & ECONOMY

The Indian economy is expected to grow by around 7.5% in 2018 and 2019 as it is largely resilient to external pressures like those from higher oil prices, according to Moody’s Investors Service Global Macro Outlook for 2018-19.
Moody’s put G-20 growth at 3.3% in 2018 and 3.1% in 2019.
NITI Aayog released five thematic reports on Sustainable Development in Indian Himalayan Region. It was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant and member Dr V K Saraswat in New Delhi.
Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ujjivan Financial Services Ltd, has launched an overdraft (OD) facility for micro and small enterprise (MSE) customers across its branches nationally.

SPORTS

Indian rowers Sawarn Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Om Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh won the men’s Quadruple Sculls to win India’s fifth gold medal at the Asian Games 2018.
Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan notched up their maiden men’s tennis doubles gold medal at the Asian Games, in Palembang, Indonesia. Bopanna and Sharan defeated Aleksander Bublik and Denis Yevseyev of Kazakhstan.