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  • Current Affairs 30th August 2017

    Updated : 30-Aug-2017

    Current Affairs 30th August 2017 - Important Points

    • Ocean forecasting system for Comoros, Mozambique and Madagascar launched by - ICOSIS
    • Barefoot footballer Ahmed Khan passed away on - 27th August 2017
    • International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was celebrated across the world on - 30th August 2017
    • "YUVA - Skill Development Programme inaugurated by - Rajnath Singh
    •  No interview for non-gazetted posts in Uttar Pradesh announced by - The Uttar Pradesh Government
    •  Sri Lankan Selectors stepped down on - 29th August 2017
    • Gobindobhog rice gets Geographical Indication status on - 24th August 2017
    • Largest fossil of Ichthyosaurus discovered accidentally in Museum by -  UK Scientists 

    Current Affairs 30th August 2017 - Details

    Ocean forecasting system for Comoros, Mozambique and Madagascar launched by - ICOSIS

    The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences inaugurated the Ocean Forecasting System for Comoros, Madagascar and Mozambique on 25th August 2017.
    The system was revealed at the third Ministerial Meeting of RIMES (Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa). The meeting was held at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. The INCOIS is already providing these operational services to Sri Lanka, Maldives and Seychelles.

    Important highlights

    • The Ocean Forecasting System will provide information on high wave, currents, winds, tides, sub-surface ocean conditions.
    • The system will be catering to users like fishermen, research institutions, tourism sector, coastal defence officials, coastal population, marine police, port authorities and offshore industries of these countries.
    • These ocean services are focused towards safety at the sea.
    • The system would also be offering oil spill advisory services, port warnings, high wave alerts, forecast along the ship routes alongwith and storm and tsunami surge warnings and also help in search and rescue operations.
    • The ocean forecast and early warning services are most important for safe navigation and operations at sea and the blue economic growth of many of the Island Nations and Indian Ocean rim countries.

    More about Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services

    • It is an autonomous organization of the Government of India, established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of ESSO (Earth Sciences and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization).
    • It is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, government agencies, industry and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvements through focused and systematic research.

    Barefoot footballer Ahmed Khan passed away on - 27th August 2017

    Veteran footballer Ahmed Khan, India's oldest football Olympian, passed away on 27th August 2017.
    He was part of the famous 'barefoot' football squad that made its debut in Olympic football at London Games in 1948.

    More about Ahmed Khan

    • Born into renowned football families of Bengaluru, Ahmed started his professional career playing with his father Mehmood 'Baba' Khan.
    • He went on to join Bangalore Muslims team where he won a couple of matches including famous Rovers Cup victory in 1948, where they won from Mohun Bagan in the final.
    • He played for a decade for East Bengal by joining Kolkata Giants in 1949 and formed part of 'Pancha Pandavas'- Sale, Dhanaraj, Venkatesh and Appa Rao.
    • He guided the club in winning 1949 Durand Cup and IFA Shield double in 1951, followed by several fine performances which earned him the name of 'Forward of the Millennium'.
    • Ahmed played with Mohammedan Sporting till 1961 after East Bengal.
    • Khan represented the country in 1948 and 1952 Olympics at the International level.
    • His international success came in Asian Games in Delhi in 1951 where he led the team in winning gold.
    • He was nicknamed ‘Snake Charmer’ by the English after the 1948 Olympics, because of his flawless ball control and intelligent runs into the box.

    International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was celebrated across the world on - 30th August 2017

    The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was observed across the world on 30th August 2017. It was first observed in 2011 after a declaration by the United Nations Generally Assembly.
    The declaration followed the adoption of the International Convention for the Protection of All the People from Enforced Disappearance by the assembly on 20th December 2006.
    Important Details

    • By its resolution 65/209 the UN General Assembly expressed its deep concern regarding the increase in enforced or involuntary disappearances in various regions of the world, including arrest, abduction and detention on 21st December 2010.
    • The assembly also expressed its concern over the growing number of reports concerning ill-treatment, harassment, and intimidation of witnesses of disappearances or relatives of persons who have been disappeared.

    "YUVA - Skill Development Programme inaugurated by - Rajnath Singh

    The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated "YUVA - Skill Development Programme" on 29th August 2017. It is an initiative taken by Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana with an aim to connect with youth by upgrading their skill as per their calliber.
    Important highlights

    • The program will be helping the youth to get a gainful employment under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna (PMKVY) under the Union Ministry of Skill Development.
    • Delhi Police has tied up with NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide mass job linked skill training for the selected youth.
    • National Skill Development Corporation will be providing skill training to the youth under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojna.
    • The Confederation of Indian Industry will be providing job linked training through its Sector Skill Councils who are connected to industry and thereby provide job guarantee.
    • There are 32 police station buildings which are identified to open Skill Development Centers shortly.

     No interview for non-gazetted posts in Uttar Pradesh announced by - The Uttar Pradesh Government

    The Uttar Pradesh Government decided to end the process to conduct interview for the selection of candidates of the government jobs in all the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories on 29th August 2017. The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
    An official statement said, “The decision was taken keeping in mind the system followed by the Government of India.”
    Sidharth nath Singh , State Government spokesperson and Health Minister stated on the occasion it is done with an aim to bring transparency in recruitment in government jobs,
    the state government has decided not to do the interview in the recruitment of non-gazetted officers between Class II and IV.

     However, for the recruitment of gazetted officers in Class II category, Interview will is a must. The spokesperson said the state government will be following the directives of the Union government.
    This new rule won't be binding on the ongoing recruitment for Class II officers.

     Sri Lankan Selectors stepped down on - 29th August 2017

    Following the disastrous performance of Sri Lankan cricket team against India in Test and ODI series, the Sri Lankan selection panel on 29th August 2017 has decided to resign. The selection panel was headed by the great cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lankan team, Sanath Jayasurya.
    The panel will be discontinuing their roles from 7th September 2017, the day after the last game in the bilateral series against India.
    In the test series, Sri Lankan team was white washed 3-0 by India and in one-day international series they are trailing 0-3 in the five-match ODI series.

    Jayasurya stated that his resignation has been submitted on to country’s sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara and has mentioned the reasons for it. His resignation came as the cricket management has come under pressure after the team’s poor performance for last few seasons.
    Other members of the selection committee were Ranjith Madurasinghe, Romesh Kaluwitharana,Asanka Gurusinha and Eric Upashantha. Former Test Cricket Captain and Minister Arjuna Ranatunga in a letter to the President Maithripala Sirisena and the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had earlier suggested handing over the present cricket administration to a commissioner or an Interim committee.

    Gobindobhog rice gets Geographical Indication status on - 24th August 2017

    West Bengal’s Gobindobhog rice recently received the Geographical Indication (GI) status from the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) on 24th August 2015.
    The state government had applied for the GI status for this rice brand. The rice is a speciality from Burdwan (now divided into the districts of east and west Burdwan) district of West Bengal. The region of Burdwan is also called as the rice bowl of Bengal.
    After getting the GI tag, rice from other regions or of other varieties cannot be branded as  ‘Gobindobhog’ resulting in strong marketing of the rice for the local, national and international markets.

    More about Gobindobhog rice

    • It is mainly cultivated in east Burdwan district, located in the southern basin of the Damodar river in the Raina 1, Raina 2 and Khandaghosh blocks.
    • The rice was cultivated in an area of 35 hectares until 2016. Out of this, 20 hectares were spread over Raina 1 and Raina 2 blocks.
    • The south Damodar belt used to be the traditional area of Gobindobhog rice cultivation.
    • This rice is cultivated late and therefore not much affected by rains.
    • These rice are less prone to pests as well.
    • The productivity per area of the Gobindobhog rice is comparatively higher and farmers get better prices for it.

    Largest fossil of Ichthyosaurus discovered accidentally in Museum by -  UK Scientists 

    Scientists from the United Kingdom and Germany have discovered the largest Ichthyosaurus on record.
    They also found that the Ichthyosaurus was pregnant at the time of its death. Sven Sachs , Paleontologist of the Bielefeld Natural History Museum in Germany had noticed the specimen on-display at the Lower Saxony State Museum. He then informed University of Manchester palaeontologist and ichthyosaur expert, Dean Lomax. They examined the new specimen in early 2017. They identified it as an example of an Ichthyosaurus somersetensis. The study regarding the specimen was published on 28th August 2017 in the scientific journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
    Important highlights

    • The new specimen is estimated to be between 3 meter and 3.5 meter long and is an adult female.
    • Ichthyosaurs were a highly successful group of sea-going reptiles which became extinct about 90 million years ago.
    • Often misidentified as swimming dinosaurs, these reptiles were appeared before the first dinosaurs had evolved.
    • During the mid-1990s The new specimen was originally discovered on the Somerset coast and is from the Early Jurassic era.  But no one studied them until it showed up in the collection in the Museum
    • The specimen not only provides new insights into the size range of the species, but also records only the third example of an Ichthyosaurus that is known with an embryo.
    • The embryo is incomplete and had preserved only a portion of the back bone, a forefin and a few other bones.
    • The preserved string of vertebrae is less than 7 centi meters long. The bones of the embryo are not fully hardened.
    • This new specimen tail did not belong with the rest of the skeleton.
    • Ichthyosaurus is one of the most common fossil reptiles in the UK, with thousands of specimens known which ranges from isolated bones to complete skeletons.