News

Who has been appointed new Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog ?                                             Rajiv Kumar

Noted economist Rajiv Kumar was on August 5, 2017 appointed the new Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog, replacing Arvind Panagariya who had resigned from the post to return to academics. Mr. Kumar is a D. Phil in economics from Oxford University. He was a senior fellow at the centre for  Policy Research at Delhi at the time of his appointment as the Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog. The Central government also appointed Dr. Vinod Paul of the AIIMS as a member of the Aayog.

Who was elected 13th Vice-President of India ?                                                Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu

Veteran BJP leader and ruling NDA-backed candidate Mr. M. Venkaiah Naidu was elected the 13th Vice-President of India with an overwhelming two-thirds votes in his support on August 5, 2017. He got 516 votes in his support of the total 771 votes cast while opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi received 244 votes only. 11 votes were declared invalid. The strength at present of the electoral college for Vice-President of India comprising both elected and nominated MPs of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 790. Mr. Naidu was sworn-in as the new Vice-President of India on August 11 by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

Who has been appointed the new Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha ?                    Desh Deepak Verma

Former IAS officer of 1978-batch, Desh Deepak Verma was appointed the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha in August 2017, succeeding Shumsher K. Sheriff on this post. Prior to his new assignment, Mr. Verma was the chairman of UP Electricity Regulatory Commission. He will have a tenure of three years from the date of his joining as the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha. Mr. Verma had served on several administrative posts including Director-General of Sports Authority of India. The Rajya Sabha Secretary-General enjoys the rank of cabinet secretary and exercises all the administrative and financial powers with regard to functioning of the Upper House.

Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel ‘Shaurya’ was commissioned in                                                 Goa

Indian Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Shaurya’ was commissioned on August 12, 2017 by Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan in Vasco, Goa. It is the fifth OPV in the series of six, designed and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd. The 105 metre long ship will be based at Chennai under administrative and operational control of commander Coast Guard east region. It is propelled by 9100 kilowatt diesel engine and is powered with 30 mm CRN 91 naval gun and integrated bridge system besides high power external fire fighting system. It can carry one twin engine light helicopter along with many boats.

Indian navy commissioned its second amphibious landing ship L 52 of                                             MK-IV Class

Indian navy commissioned its second amphibious landing ship L 52 of MK-IV class on August 21, 2017 at Port Blair with a displacement of 830 tonnes. The L 52 is designed and built by Garden Reach Ship Builders with a purpose of transporting various kinds of combat equipments such as Arjun tanks and troops upto 160. L 52 amphibious landing ship would be based in the Andaman and Nicobar naval command. It would be deployed for multi-role activities such as beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations and evacuation from distant islands.

The US Senate approved the appointment of Christopher Wray as                                         The Director of FBI

The US Senate on August 1, 2017 voted to confirm Christopher Wray as the new director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 92 senators supported Wray’s appointment as FBI director while 5 voted against him in the vote. US President Donald Trump nominated Wray to the top post of the American investigative agency in June this year subject to the approval of the Senate. Christopher Wray succeeded James Comey on the post.

UN Security Council adopted tougher sanctions on North Korea over its                                                               Intercontinental ballistic missile tests

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution to strengthen sanctions on North Korean exports in response to its intercontinental missile tests on July 3 and 28, this year. The 15-member global security body denounced North Korea’s attempts to intensify situation in Korean peninsula, passing the resolution on August 5, 2017. The resolution imposed a blanket ban on the export of coal, iron and iron ore from North Korea. Prior to this resolution, these items could be exported for livelihood purposes with a cap on the limit. The UN sanctions on North Korea aims to force it to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missile programme by hitting hard on its economy.                                 

Which Australian City has been adjudged the most liveable city in the Global Liveability Report ?           Melbourne 

Australian city Melbourne secured top rank as the most liveable city in the world on the Global Liveability Report compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Austria’s Vienna and Canada’s Vancouver were on the second and third places respectively on the report which is based on 140 cities across the globe. War-torn Damascus emerged as the least liveable city of the world. It was placed on the bottom on 140th position. The rank of the cities on the report were decided on their performance in healthcare, education, stability, culture and environment and infrastructure sectors.

Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau who passed away in Pakistan, was popularly known as          Pakistan’s Mother Teresa

Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, a German physician and nun was popularly known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa, a title lovingly given to her for her more than five decades long selfless services to the poor in Pakistan. Ruth passed away on August 10, 2017. She was deservedly accorded a full state funeral, a first for a Christian lady in Pakistan. She served thousands of patients and the poor, suffering from leprosy, tuberculosis and other diseases in an about 57 years long career as a social activist in Pakistan. She arrived in Karachi in 1960 and dedicated herself for the services of patients.