19-20 August
Court of Arbitration for Sport suspends wrestler Narsingh Yadav for four years
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), situated in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 18 August 2016 banned wrestler Narsingh Yadav for four years following an appeal by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The CAS also ruled to disqualify all the competitive results obtained by Narsingh from 25 June 2016. The CAS panel further stated that there was no evidence to accept his claim that his food/drink was spiked.
Yadav, whose suspension begins immediately, will not be able to participate at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He was scheduled to commence his campaign on 19 August 2016 against Zelimkhan Khadjiev of France in the 74 category.
Background
•In July 2016, Narsingh Yadav was tested positive for a banned substance steroid in an out-of-competition test conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
•In the samples collected at the National camp in Sonepat, he was tested positive for the methandienone, which is a banned anabolic steroid.
•However on 1 August 2016, he was given clean chit by NADA, which accepted his claim of sabotage.
•Thereafter, WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS ad hoc Division to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate him following two positive anti-doping tests withmethandienoneon 25 June and 5 July 2016. WADA requested that a 4-year period of ineligibility be imposed on the athlete.
Sakshi Malik becomes India’s first female wrestler to win an Olympic medal
Indian wrestler Sakshi Malik on 17 August 2016 won bronze in the 58 kg category at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Malik won the bronze medal after an 8–5 victory over the reigning Asian champion Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan, despite trailing 0–5 at one stage, in the repechage medal playoff.
With this, Malik brought home India’s first medal of the competition. With the win, she also became India's first female wrestler and the fourth female athlete ever to win an Olympic medal.
About Sakshi Malik
•Born 3 September 1992, Sakshi Malik is an Indian freestyle wrestler.
•Her first success as a professional wrestler in the international arena came in 2010 at the Junior World Championships where she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg freestyle event.
•At the 2014 Dave Schultz International Tournament, she won gold in the 60 kg category.
•She had previously won silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
•At the 2015 Asian Wrestling Championships in Doha, she won the bronze medal.
India Post Payments Bank incorporated
The India Post Payments Bank Limited (IPPB) on 17 August 2016 was incorporated. In this regard, it has received the Certificate of Incorporation (CI) from the Registrar of Companies, Ministry of Corporate Affairs under the Companies Act, 2013.
With this incorporation, the bank has become the first Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Department of Posts (DoP).
The incorporation also paves the way for the constitution of the Board of the India Post Payments Bank Limited.
Features of India Post Payments Bank Limited
• It will allow all citizens of India, especially the 40 percent of the country's population that is outside the ambit of formal banking in the country will benefit from this project.
• Its services will be available across the country through 650 payments bank branches, linked post offices and alternative channels riding on modern technology including mobiles, ATMs, PoS/m-PoS (mobile-Point of Sale) devices etc and simple digital payments.
• Coupled with the physical presence across 1.55 lakh post offices and the reach of “The Dakiya”, the India Post Payments Bank aims to become a powerful and effective vehicle of real financial inclusion in the country.
• It will generate new employment opportunities for skilled banking professionals and will generate opportunities for propagating financial literacy across the country.
• It will create the largest bank in the world in terms of accessibility and in time, will encourage the move towards a less cash economy.
Background
• Considering the pace with which the bank has been incorporated, this could be the fastest roll out for a bank anywhere in the world.
• Setting-up of the IPPB to further financial inclusion was one of the budgetary announcements in February 2015.
• The Department of Posts had obtained the "in-principle approval" of the RBI in September 2015 to set up the India Post Payments Bank.
• In June 2016, the Union Cabinet approved its formation with 100 percent Union Government's equity.
• The India Post Payments Bank will leverage the Department’s network, reach, and resources to make simple, low-cost, quality financial services easily accessible to customers all over the country.
• The DoP is expected to complete the roll out of its branches all over the country by September 2017.
• The aspiration for the India Post Payments Bank is to become the most accessible bank in the world riding on state of the art banking and payments technology.
World’s biggest aircraft Airlander 10 makes maiden voyage in Britain
The world's largest airship, Airlander 10, flew for the first time on 17 August 2016 over London's Cardington airfield.
This flight of the 92-metre ship, nicknamed the Flying Bumfor its shape, lasted for about 30 minutes. The aircraft completed a series of flight manoeuvres and landed safely.
About Airlander 10
•The Hybrid Air Vehicles HAV 304 Airlander 10is a hybrid airship made by Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV)in the United Kingdom.
•It was originally built for the US Army's Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) project.
•The US Army cancelled the LEMV project for cost reasons in February 2013.
•HAV bought back the airship in September 2013 for 301000 US dollar.
•In 2014, it was reassembled and refurbished for civilian use at RAF Cardington in England. It was also redesignated the Airlander 10.
•HAV announced the new version in March 2016, with potential civil, military and leisure uses.
•The aircraft is 143ft-wide and 85ft-high. It is about 50ft longer than the biggest passenger jets.
Union Government launched TARANG, e-Trans & DEEP to enhance transparency in power sector
Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal on 17 August 2016 launched TARANG Mobile App, e-Trans and DEEP e-bidding web portals in New Delhi.
They were developed by Rural Electrification Corporation Transmission Projects Company Limited (RECTPCL), a subsidiary of REC Ltd.
The initiatives were launched keeping in line with the Digital India initiative. The primarily seek to enhance transparency in power sector.
Features of TARANG
• It stands for Transmission App for Real Time Monitoring and Growth.
• The mobile application as well as the web portal will act as powerful monitoring tool to track upcoming transmission projects.
• It will also be utilized to monitor the progress of inter-state and intra-state transmission systems in the country.
• It helps the stakeholders - Ministry of Power, State Governments, all private sector transmission developers and PSUs like Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. for expeditious completion of such projects.
• Green Energy Corridors, an important component of renewable energy mission, would also be monitored through TARANG and help to meet ambitious targets in same on time.
• It shall enhance ease, accountability and transparency and would boost confidence of investors in power transmission sector.
• Better price discovery shall ultimately benefit the power consumers in India.
• It was developed through Regulated tariff mechanism as well as Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) route.
Features of e-Trans
• It is a web platform for e-bidding and e-reverse auction for Tariff Based Competitive Bidding (TBCB) in transmission projects.
• Till date, transmission sector providers have been participating in transmission bids through manual mode.
• With e-Trans, the interface will be electronic.
• On the lines of coal sector, reverse auction is being introduced in transmission sector to facilitate better price discovery in transmission projects.
Features of DEEP
• DEEP stands for Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price.
• It is an e-Bidding portal for medium term (1-5 years) purchase of power.
• It will provide a common e-bidding platform with e-reverse auction facility to facilitate nation-wide power procurement through a wider network.
• It facilitates realization of uniform and transparent process of power procurement.
• With this, the cost of procurement of power is expected to be reduced substantially, thereby significantly benefiting the ultimate consumers.
• The Portal is based on the Guidelines for Medium Term procurement of Power which was notified by Union Government in 2014 and further amended on May 2015.
• The scope of this portal shall be further expanded soon to cover medium term and long term procurement of power.
SBI board approved merger of 5 associate banks, BMB with itself
The State Bank of India (SBI) board on 18 August 2016 approved merger of its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itsel
Apart from the BMB, the 5 associate banks that will be merged with the SBI are -
i.State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur
ii. State Bank of Hyderabad
iii.State Bank of Mysore
iv. State Bank of Patiala
v. State Bank of Travancore
Further, the board also finalised the share swap ratio for three of the listed subsidiaries and Bharatiya Mahila Bank.
The listed subsidiaries of the SBIare - State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Travancore.
Highlights of the merger
• The merger will create a behemoth with an asset base of 37 lakh crore rupees or over 555 billion US dollar.
• The merged entity will have 22500 branches and 58000 ATMs serving a customer base of over 50 crore.
• SBI has close to 16500 branches, including 191 foreign offices across 36 countries while the five subsidiaries have nearly 6000 branches.
• The merger necessitates changes in various acts that govern the functioning of the SBI and its subsidiary banks - which require Union cabinet approval.
• The merger will make SBI as one of the top 50 banks in the world as currently no Indian bank features in the top 50 banks of the world.
Background
• The country's largest lender SBI had seven associate banks, of which it has merged State Bank of Saurashtra and State Bank of Indore with itself over the last 10 years.
• The parent bank had advances of 15.09 trillion rupees and deposits of 17.31 trillion rupees as of the end of the March quarter.
• Bank consolidation was proposed by the Union Government in March 2016 at a congregation of bankers and government officials where various issues pertaining to banks were discussed.
• In June 2016, the Union Cabinet gave its approval for the merger.
20 August
Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma to be conferred with Sangeet Martand Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award
The Sursagar Society of Dilli Gharana in third week of August 2016 announced that it will confer the annual Sangeet Martand Ustad Chand Khan Lifetime Achievement Award on santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
The society has been felicitating stalwarts of Indian classical music and dance with the award since 1986 to recognise their contribution towards enriching the art forms.
In 2015, the honour was conferred upon Kathak exponent Pandit Birju Maharaj. Other recipients of the award include Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Abdul Haleem Jaffar Khan, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and a centenarian Ustad Abdul Rashid Khan.
The award carries a cash prize of 50000 rupees, a memento and a citation.
About Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma
•Pandit Shiv kumar Sharma is an Indian Santoor player, the folk instrument of Jammu & Kashmir.
•He was born in Jammu on 13 January 1938.
•He is credited with making the Santoor a popular Classical Instrument.
•He composed the background music for one of the scenes in Shantaram's Jhanak Jhanak Payal Bajein 1956.
•In 1967, he teamed up with flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and Brij Bhushan Kabra to produce a concept album, Call of the Valley, which turned out to be one of the greatest hits in Indian Classical Music.
World Humanitarian Day observed with theme One Humanity
19 August: World Humanitarian Day
World Humanitarian Day was observed on 19 August 2016 with the theme One Humanity.
The theme explains how our shared human experiences bind us across divides, and create a common responsibility to demand action for the most vulnerable and at risk of being left behind.
The digital campaign for the World Humanitarian Day 2016 was The World You’d Rather.
The day is dedicated to recognize humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives working for humanitarian causes. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the spirit that inspires humanitarian work around the globe.
Background
•World Humanitarian Day was designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as part of a Swedish-sponsored resolution on the Strengthening of the Coordination of Emergency Assistance of the United Nations.
•The day was designated by the General Assembly to coincide with the anniversary of the 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq in which the then Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello and 21 of his colleagues were killed.
Indian badminton player P V Sindhu wins silver in women's singles badminton event at Rio Olympics
Badminton player P V Sindhu on 18 August 2016 won historic silver medal in women’s singles badminton event at Rio Olympics.
With this, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal in Olympics. She also became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London). Moreover, she became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics.
Sindhu lost to Carolina Marín of Spain in the final by a score of 19-21, 21-12, 21-15.
In her quarterfinal match, Sindhu defated World No.2 Wang Yihan by 22-20, 21-19.
About P V Sindhu
•Born 5 July 1995, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu is an Indian professional badminton player.
• She received international attention as she broke into the Top 20 in the Badminton World Federation rankings released on 21 September 2012.
•On 10 August 2013, she became the first ever Indian women's singles player to win a medal at the 2013 World Championships.
•On 30 March 2015, she received India's fourth highest civilian honour, Padma Shri.
• She also became the second Indian female shuttler to win an Olympic medal after Saina Nehwal's Bronze medal at 2012 Summer Olympics at London.
9th edition of Global Innovation Index 2016 released
The 9th edition Global Innovation Index (GII) 2016 was released on 15 August 2016 jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The GII 2016 was based on the theme of Winning with Global Innovation.
India has ranked 66th in the 2016 Global Innovation Index. In this edition, India has jumped up by 15 spots from 81st position in 2015 GII.
The report explores the rising share of innovation carried out via globalized innovation networks. The report also found that gains from global innovation can be shared more widely. The report also concludes that there is ample scope to expand global corporate and public R&D cooperation to foster future economic growth.
Top 5 countries in the ranking
|
Rank |
Countries |
|
1 |
Switzerland |
|
2 |
Sweden |
|
3 |
United Kingdom |
|
4 |
United States of America |
|
5 |
Finland |
Highlights of the GII 2016
• China joins the ranks of the world’s 25 most-innovative economies. China’s top-25 entry marks the first time a middle-income country has joined the highly developed economies.
• Switzerland, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Finland and Singapore lead the 2016 rankings in the Global Innovation Index.
• GII 2016 data indicate that global R&D grew by only 4% in 2014.
• Among the GII 2016 leaders, Japan, the U.S., the UK, and Germany stand out in innovation quality, a top-level indicator that looks at the calibre of universities, number of scientific publications and international patent filings.
• At the national level, the report says that innovation policies should more explicitly favour international collaboration and the diffusion of knowledge across borders.
• In Northern America, the U.S. (4th) continues to be one of the world’s most-innovative nations.
• Canada (15th overall in the GII) has top scores in its regulatory environment, the ease of starting a business, the sophistication of its financial market, including venture capital, the quality of its universities and scientific publications, as well as in online creativity.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritius takes the top spot among all economies in the region (53rd).
• In Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile takes the top spot among all economies in the region (44th) driven by good scores on the indicators for institutions, infrastructure and business sophistication.
• In South East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania region, Singapore (6th), the Republic of Korea (11th), Hong Kong (China) (14th), Japan (16th), and New Zealand (17th) lead the rankings in this region.
India in the report
• India is the top-ranked economy in Central and Southern Asia, showing particular strengths in tertiary education and R&D.
• India also over-performs in innovation relative to its GDP.
• It ranks second on innovation quality amongst middle-income economies, overtaking Brazil.
• Relative weaknesses exist in the indicators for business environment, education expenditures, new business creations and the creative goods and services production.
Union Government launches web portal for star rating of major mineral mines
The Union Ministry of Mines on 18 August 2016 launched a web portal for star rating of major mineral mines.
The portal was launched by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Mines, Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy.
A web enabled online system for evaluation of measures has been developed with the help of National Institute of Smart Governance(NISG), Hyderabad.
The main objective of the system is to bring all mines to a minimum standard of Star Rating in the shortest possible time frame to adopt sustainable practices. A two layered system providing self-evaluation templates to be filled in by the mine operator followed by validation through Indian Bureau of Mines.
The star rating will be based on the following parameters:
•Scientific and systematic mining to mitigate environmental impact.
•Addressing social impacts of resettlement and rehabilitation of mining affected people.
•Local community engagements and welfare programmes for socio-economic development of local community.
•Progressive and final mine closure to ensure for restoration of mined out land in better conditions then original.
•Adoption of international standards for mining operations and reporting.
The main advantages of the Star Rating of Mines will be:
•Comprehensive mitigation of environmental impacts on land, air and water by mining activities.
•Collation of various technical, environmental and social data of the mining sector at one platform by IBM, which would be utilised to enable better management and monitoring of the compliance of various conditions laid down by statutory authorities for mining.
•In addressing cumulative impacts in mining areas through coordinated and collective action in the long run by helping in formulation of Comprehensive Regional Plans, which is a robust Environment & Social Management framework.
•Availability of the information on mining as well as the conservation activities in public domain to enable greater transparency to enable effective participation of stakeholder and speedy resolution of conflicts.
•Reduced delays in obtaining various clearances (environmental, forest, mining plan, etc.) for mines. Self-certification to be allowed for the approvals for scheme of mining.
•The progressive and final mine closures will be monitored to ensure that the lessee leaves the area after proper management of any adverse impact over the mined area.
•Encourage adoption of highest standards and sharing and good practices.
Usain Bolt wins ninth Olympic gold as Jamaica wins 4x100m relay
Jamaican sprinter on 19 August 2016 won gold in 4x100m relay final at the Rio Olympics. He combined with Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade to finish in 37.27 seconds.
With this, Bolt obtained three sprinting gold medals in three consecutive Olympics, and finished his Olympic career with a 100% win record in finals.
Japan won the silver and Canada lifted the bronze.
Earlier on 14 August 2016, Bolt clinched gold in the 100-metre final at the Olympics to become the first man to win the event three times at consecutive Olympic Games. He followed the win with a gold medal in the 200 m, which also makes him the first athlete to win the 200 m three times at the Olympic Games.
About Usain Bolt
•Born 21 August 1986, Usain Bolt is a Jamaican sprinter.
•He is regarded as the fastest person ever timed.
•He is the first man to hold both the 100 metres and 200 metres world records since fully automatic time became mandatory. He also holds the world record in the 4 × 100 metres relay. He is the reigning World and Olympic champion in these three events.
•He is the first man at the Olympic Games to win nine gold medals for sprinting.
•He was the first to win consecutive Olympic 100 m in 2008 and 200 m titles in 2012.
•His achievements in sprinting have earned him the media nickname Lightning Bolt.
•His awards include the IAAF World Athlete of the Year, Track & Field Athlete of the Year and Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.