Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 17 August 2021, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Daily Current Affairs 17 August 2021
Ladakh will host country’s first Himalayan Film Festival
The union territory of Ladakh will host the first edition of The Himalayan Film Festival 2021 (THFF) from September 24 to 28 in Leh capital city.
The five-day festival also aims to create an interactive and exposure platform to promote aspiring local filmmakers and to showcase Ladakh as an attractive film destination.
The festival is being organised by Leh in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Popular films from the Himalayan states viz Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh besides Indian panorama selected films will be showcased during the festival.
Indian Bank launched a MSME mentoring Programme in West Bengal
Indian Bank recently launched its flagship Business Mentoring Programme ”MSME Prerana” in West Bengal.
MSME Prerana is a unique and innovative business mentoring programme in collaboration with Poornatha and Co. to empower MSME entrepreneurs in driving business more efficiently by optimizing value and capacity.
Indian Bank, with 598 branches in the state, had an exposure of Rs 8,566 crore to MSMEs as on March 21.
It posted a growth of 27.64 per cent in the MSME portfolio on a year-on-year basis in the state and is confident to continue the momentum in the current fiscal.
The bank has developed 28 MSME Cluster schemes for providing financial support at very competitive rates of interest and terms to various sectors.
UNSC called for establishment of new representative govt in Afghanistan
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) recently called for an immediate cessation of all hostilities and the establishment of a new government in Afghanistan that is united, inclusive, and representative.
UNSC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter.
Its powers include establishing peacekeeping operations, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. The UNSC is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions on member states.
The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote. Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.
The Security Council has expressed deep concerns over reported serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses in Afghanistan.
Government sanctioned 1.13 crore houses under PMAY-U
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved proposals for the construction of 16 thousand 488 houses at the 55th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).
The houses are proposed to be constructed under Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC) and Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) verticals of PMAY-U.
The total number of sanctioned houses under PMAY-U has now gone up to over 113 lakh. Of them, 85.65 lakh houses have been grounded for construction and more than 51 lakh have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries.
The approval for proposals under Model-2 of Affordable Rental Housing Complexes was also reviewed by the Secretary with five states, namely Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.
A total of 59 thousand 350 units, including single bedroom and double bedroom units and dormitory beds, have been approved for urban migrants and poor, involving a Technology Innovation Grant of over 135 crore rupees.
Centre inaugurated world’s 2nd-largest refurbished National Gene Bank
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the world’s second-largest refurbished National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
The Gene Bank was established in 1996 to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources for future generations.
It has the capacity to preserve about ten lakh germplasm in the form of seeds.
Presently, it is protecting four lakh 52 thousand accessions, of which over two lakh are Indian germplasm.
Government approved proposals for construction of 16,488 houses
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has approved proposals for construction of 16,488 houses at the 55th meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).
The houses are proposed to be constructed under Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC) and Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP) verticals of PMAY-U.
With this, the total number of sanctioned houses under PMAY-U has now gone up to over 113 lakh.
Of them, 85.65 lakh houses have been grounded for construction and more than 51 lakh have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries.
The approval for proposals under Model-2 of Affordable Rental Housing Complexes was also reviewed by the Secretary with five states, namely Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as Malaysia’s PM
Malaysia’s Muhyiddin Yassin has resigned as prime minister after months of political turmoil culminated in the loss of his majority.
Mr. Muhyidddin’s departure comes less than 18 months after taking office and will plunge the country into a fresh crisis amid a worsening pandemic.
Muhyiddin Yassin is a Malaysian politician who served as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1 March 2020 to 16 August 2021.
He is currently appointed as the Caretaker Prime Minister until a new Prime Minister is elected under orders from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, based on his powers provided by the Federal Constitution.
He served as the 10th Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs and in many other Cabinet positions under former Prime Ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Najib Razak and Mahathir Mohamad, from May 1995 to February 2020.
During the 2020–21 Malaysian political crisis, Mahathir’s abrupt resignation on 24 February 2020 led to Muhyiddin being declared Prime Minister by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 29 February 2020.
75 Hunar Haats to be organized across country
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that 75 Hunar Haats will be organized across the country under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
Hunar Haat is an exhibition of handicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the minority communities.
These are organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme.
These Haat aim to provide market exposure and employment opportunities to artisans, craftsmen and traditional culinary experts.
It envisages boosting the skills of craftsmen, weavers and artisans who are already engaged in the traditional ancestral work. ‘Hunar Haat’ has proved to be “Empowerment Exchange” for master artisans and craftsmen.
World’s best educational institution in field of Yoga
Ayush Minister Sarbabanda Sonowal reported that the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga has the potential to become the world’s best educational institution in the field of Yoga at par with the US’s Harvard University.
The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India. It is the nodal agency for Planning, Training, Promotion and Coordination of Yoga Education, Training, Therapy and Research.
The Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga is a Government of India initiative with a mandate to promote the yoga culture and spread the yoga philosophy nationwide.
The functioning of the Institute is under the Ministry of Ayush. The Institute is mandated to promote Yoga philosophy and facilitate training and advanced research on the subject.
MDNIY has been organising Yoga Mahotsav annually since 2016. Yoga Mahotsav is a curtain raiser for International Day of Yoga to sensitize the masses regarding celebration of IDY.
Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme
Ministry of Defence (MoD) has launched Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state-of-the-art testing infrastructure in partnership with the private industry.
The scheme was launched by Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on May 08, 2020.
The scheme would run for the duration of five years and envisages setting up of 6-8 Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure facilities that are required for defence and aerospace related production.
The projects under the scheme will be provided with up to 75 per cent Government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’.
The remaining 25 per cent of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituents of which will be the Indian private entities and state governments.
Government launched the Season 2 of ‘Rag Rag Mein Ganga’
The Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Anurag Singh Thakur jointly launched the Second Season of the popular series ‘Rag Rag Mein Ganga’.
The Season one of the series which was telecast on Doordashan in 2019 anchored by actor Rajeev Khandelwal had received an overwhelming response following which the second season was launched.
The travelogue series has been made by Doordarshan in collaboration with National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
The program highlighted Ganga’s journey from Gomukh to Gangasagar including an account of the spiritual, religious, cultural and socio-economic heritage of the river.
It also highlighted the present situation of Ganga in terms of cleanliness along with the measures taken by the government, with the call for action to the people.
Uttar Pradesh launched Operation Langda against criminal
Uttar Pradesh state government has launched “operation langda” where that Police has injured at least 3,302 alleged criminals in 8,742 ‘encounters’, leaving several of them with bullet wounds on their legs.
The Criminal Law (Amendment), Act 2013 was enacted for effective deterrence against sexual offences. Further, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted to prescribe even more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years.
Emergency Response Support System provides a pan-India, single, internationally recognized number (112) based system for all emergencies, with computer aided dispatch of field resources to the location of distress.
Using technology to aid smart policing and safety management, Safe City Projects have been sanctioned in first Phase in 8 cities (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow and Mumbai).
Tamil Nadu presented an exclusive budget for agriculture
Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, an exclusive budget for agriculture was presented by the Tamil Nadu Minister for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare MRK Pannerselvam.
According to the budget, there are 12,524 village panchayats in the state and in each year, the scheme will be implemented in one-fifth of the village panchayats.
The scheme is set to be implemented in 2,500 village panchayats this year. The state government has allocated Rs 250 crore for the scheme.
The government has also allocated Rs 4508.23 crore to Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to provide free electricity for agriculture.
Agriculture is in state list. Centre can make laws in state list based on international treaties. But the schemes that are provided by centre in agriculture are delivered only by the respective state government’s agriculture agency or department. The centre will only assist financially.
Ayesha Malik became first woman chief justice of Pakistan
Justice Ayesha Malik became the first woman chief justice of Pakistan after outgoing CJP Mushir Alam recommended her for the elevation in the Supreme court.
Malik started her legal career by assisting Fakhurddin G Ebrahim at his legal firm in Karachi from 1997 till 2001.
Malik studied law at the Pakistan College of Law in Lahore. After this, she got a master’s degree from the prestigious Harvard Law School in London. In March 2012, Malik became a justice in the Lahore High Court.
In 2019, Malik became the president of the Committee for Protection of Women Judges in Lahore. The panel was formed in the same year against hooliganism by lawyers in district courts” toward female judges.
She is also a part of The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ), an initiative of women empowerment through equality and justice for women.
A single bench led by Malik announced the verdict in a set of petitions, filed in March and June 2020 by rights activists along with a PML-N lawmaker.
Shaurya Chakra conferred on CoBRA commandos for anti-Naxal ops in Chhattisgarh
Three CoBRA commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been awarded the ‘Shaurya Chakra’ for displaying bravery and killing four “hardcore” Naxals in the worst Maoist violence-affected Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
The Shaurya Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy.
It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, sometimes posthumously. It is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards and comes after the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra.
Established as the “Ashoka Chakra, Class III” by the President of India, 4 January 1952 (with effect from 15 August 1947).
The statutes were revised and the decoration renamed on 27 January 1967. Before 1967, the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class III.
Subsequent awards of the Shaurya Chakra are recognized by a bar to the medal ribbon (to date five have been awarded).
