Current Affairs 26th and 27th August 2018: Daily GK Update

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Current Affairs 26th and 27th August 2018: Daily GK Update

National News

1. India's 1st Biofuel-Powered Flight Lands In Delhi

i. In a Historic day for the country's aviation and energy sector, India's first biofuel-powered flight landed in Delhi, covering the distance between Dehradun & Delhi. The biofuel is developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun. The flight test was successfully completed by SpiceJet.

ii. The flight was powered with a blend of 75% air turbine fuel (ATF) and 25% biojet fuel. The advantage of using biojet fuel as compared to ATF is that it reduces carbon emissions and enhances fuel efficiency.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Jayant Sinha is the present Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

2. Tamil Nadu CM Lays Foundation Stone For Special Investment Region

i. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for setting up of a Special Investment Region (SIR) in northern Krishnagiri district to attract investments.
ii. The foundation stone for the Rs 2,420 crore project was laid through video conferencing from the State Secretariat. The SIR would be jointly developed by GMR Infrastructures Limited and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO).

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Banwarilal Purohit is the present Governor of Tamil Nadu.

3. Kolkata, Bhopal Top Among Indian Cities in Clean Transport: CSE Survey

i. The Statistics from 14 cities across India have been analysed by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the New Delhi-based think tank, to check how some cities, which hold sizeable shares of India’s urban population are positioned in the race for clean and low carbon mobility.

ii. Bhopal tops for lowest overall emissions and energy use from urban commute. The analysis titled The Urban Commute was released in Kolkata.

iii. Top 3 in Overall emissions and energy consumption:

1. Bhopal

2. Vijayawada

3. Chandigarh.

iv. Top 3 in Per-travel trip emissions and energy consumption:

1. Kolkata

2. Mumbai

3. Bhopal.

4. India Banking Conclave 2018 Held In New Delhi

i. India Banking Conclave 2018 was held in New Delhi. The India Banking Conclave 2018 was organized by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).
ii. Knowledge Partner of the conclave was NITI Aayog. The conclave focused on reforming the banking sector.

5. 'Atal Ji Ne Kaha', A book On AB Vajpayee Launched

i. "Atal Ji Ne Kaha" is the latest of the books on the BJP patriarch and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched with a message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

ii. The book is Authored and compiled by Brijendra Rehi. Mr Rehi is noted Doordarshan producer, and senior journalist. The book has been published by Darpan Publication.

International News

6. EAM Sushma Swaraj On 4-Day Visit To Vietnam And Cambodia

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj begun her four-day tour of Vietnam and Cambodia, with an aim to deepen India’s strategic cooperation with the two key nations in the ASEAN region. She will inaugurate the 3rd Indian Ocean Conference in Hanoi.
ii. In Vietnam, she will co-chair the 16th meeting of the Joint Commission along with her Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh.

iii. In the second leg of her two-nation tour, she will visit Cambodia. She will have a bilateral meeting with her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn and also call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and President of Senate Say Chhum.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Vietnam Capital: Hanoi, Currency: Vietnamese dong.
Cambodia Capital: Phnom Penh, Currency: Cambodian riel.

7. 4th Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum Begins in Colombo

i. In Sri Lanka, the fourth Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) begins in Colombo to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. The two-day forum is being held for the first time in South Asia with support from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Asian network for free elections (ANFREL).

ii. The AESF will be attended by more than 250 delegates from 45 countries. The theme is, ‘Advancing Election Transparency and Integrity: Promoting and Defending Democracy Together’. India is being represented by Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Ashwini Kumar and an NGO.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Sri Lanka Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Currency: Sri Lankan rupee, President: Maithripala Sirisena.

8. India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee Meeting Held in Kenya

i. The 8th meeting of India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee was held in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting was co-chaired by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and Mr Peter Munya, Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Government of Kenya.

ii. A meeting of India-Kenya Joint Business Council was held on the sidelines of the Joint Trade Committee meeting.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

India is one of Kenya's largest trade partners and the second largest foreign investor in Kenya.
Indians are the third-largest group of tourists to Kenya.
The last meeting of Joint Trade Committee was held in New Delhi in February 2015.

Awards

9. Asia Society To Honour PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi As 'Game Changer of The Year'

i. PepsiCo's India-born CEO Indra Nooyi will be honoured with the Game Changer of the Year award by a global cultural organisation Asia Society in recognition of her business achievements, humanitarian record and advocacy for women and girls around the world.

ii. The 2018 Asia Game Changer Awards will be given in October to individuals and institutions.

10. Reliance Power Unit Wins $56-million International Arbitration Award

i. Reliance Power has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Power Netherlands BV has won an international arbitration award of $56 million (Rs 390 crore) against Prestige Capital Holdings (a Seychelles-based company) and Kokos Jiang.

ii. Kokos Jiang is the owner of Sugico Group in Indonesia, from whom Reliance Power had acquired the entire economic interest in three coal mining concessions in Indonesia in 2010.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

The Arbitration Tribunal was constituted under Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) rules in Singapore.

Appointments

11. G. Satheesh Reddy Appointed New DRDO Chairman

i. The Centre appointed renowned scientist, Dr G Satheesh Reddy, as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Secretary in Department of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D).

ii. The topmost post of the DRDO was lying vacant when the then chief Dr S Christopher stepped down. Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra was then given additional charge of the organisation.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

DRDO Headquarters in: New Delhi, Founded in: 1958.

Sports News

12. Japan Wins 1st Ever Title at FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018

i. The U-20 Japan Women's National Team won against the U-20 Spain Women's National Team at the final of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018, taking down the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup title for the first time in Japanese football history.

ii. Takarada Saori was named as the Player of the match with her goal and an assist. Takarada was also awarded the Adidas Bronze Boot as well as the Adidas Silver Ball, while Minami was awarded the Bronze Ball.
iii. Japan received the Fair-play award as a team and the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018 has closed its curtains.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

Japan Capital- Tokyo, Currency- Japanese yen.

13. Sports Policy For Steel Ministry CPSEs Launched

i. Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh, unveiled the corporate sports policy for Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Steel.

ii. The policy will provide a framework for promotion of sports by Steel Ministry CPSEs. Steel CPSEs will allocate a specific budget for sports activities, as per their financial strength, and this budget will be separate from the company’s CSR funds.

Asian Games 2018

14. Tejender Pal Singh Toor Wins Historic Gold in Shot Put

i. India's Tejinder Pal Singh Toor wins the Gold medal in Men's Shot Put final at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia. He brought India its seventh gold medal with an Asian Games record throw of 20.75 meters in Jakarta.

ii. Tajinder is the first Indian to win the men's shot put gold at the Asian Games since Bahadur Singh Sagoo, who had thrown a best of 19.03m to win the gold in Busan in 2002. It's the eighth men's shot put gold for India in Asian Games history.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games.

15. Hima, Anas & Dutee Win Athletics Silvers

i. 18-year-old Hima Das won the Silver medal in 400-meter race in ongoing Asian Games 2018, Indonesia. Hima clocked 50.79 seconds to complete her race.

ii. Dutee Chand also bagged silver medal in women's 100 meter race. Dutee clocked 11.32 seconds to complete her race. Muhammed Anas won Silver medal in Men's 400m race. Anas clocked 45.69 seconds to complete his race.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for Indian Bank PO Exam 2018-

The Host cities for Asian Games 2018 are Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia.
Bhin Bhin, Kaka, and Atung are the mascots of the 2018 Asian Games.

Obituaries

16. US Senator John McCain Passes Away At 81

i. US Senator John McCain, a celebrated Vietnam war hero, passed away after losing a battle to brain cancer. He was 81. The six-term senator, McCain was also a Republican presidential nominee in 2008.

ii. A fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, he spent more than five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down.