Current Affairs 17th August 2016

Current Affairs 17th August 2016 - Important Points

• Who has been appointed as Governor of Manipur - Najma Heptullah
• First SAARC Youth Parliamentarians Conference begins in – Islamabad
• A R Rahman honoured with - Tamil Ratna Award
• CLRI scientist P Shanmugam awarded with - APJ Abdul Kalam Award
• India’s first bio-CNG plant inaugurated in – Pune
• Union Government launched which scheme in 10 cities - Smart Ganga City Scheme

Current Affairs 17th August 2016 - Details

Who has been appointed as Governor of Manipur - Najma Heptullah

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 17th August 2016 Former Union Minister Najma Heptullah has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur. 

Now, Heptullah will be the 18th Governor of the state.

Heptullah will replace the V Shamuganathan, the Governor of Meghalaya, who was looking after the state of Manipur since September 2015.

However, on 12th July 2016 Heptullah had resigned from the Union Ministry as she completed 75 years of age.

First SAARC Youth Parliamentarians Conference begins in – Islamabad

Among Important International Current Affairs, The first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Youth Parliamentarians Conference on `Peace and Harmony for Development’ was held in Islamabad, Pakistan. 

However, from August 16 to 18, 2016 i.e. the two-day intends to offer young Parliamentarians’ narrative as a prelude to the 19th SAARC Summit to be hosted by Pakistan in November 2016. 

Do You Know – 

• In this conference, Parliamentary delegates from 8 SAARC member countries are participating. Lok Sabha MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, is leading the three member Indian delegation. 

• This conference was hosted by the Pakistan National Assembly and was inaugurated by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

A R Rahman honoured with - Tamil Ratna Award

Among Important Entertainment Current Affairs, on 15th August 2016, singer and music composer A.R. Rahman has been honoured with the Tamil Ratna Award.

This award was presented by New York based Tamil Sangam.

Here, Rahman was bestowed with the honour after his concert at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) chamber.

A.R. Rahman was also invited at the UNGA to perform a concert to honour M.S. Subbulakshi, the doyen of Carnatic music. 

However, the concert was sponsored by India's UN Mission and Sankara Nethralaya, a Chennai-based charity organisation.

CLRI scientist P Shanmugam awarded with - APJ Abdul Kalam Award

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 15th August 2016 Central Leather Research Institute's (CLRI) Principal Scientist P Shanmugam has been awarded with the APJ Abdul Kalam Award for his meritorious services in the Higher Education Department of Tamil Nadu.

The award includes a certificate, 5 lakh rupees cheque and also 8 gram gold medal.

India’s first bio-CNG plant inaugurated in – Pune

On 13th August 2016, India’s first bio-CNG plant was finally launched in Pune, Maharashtra. 

Here, the plant was jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Union Government launched which scheme in 10 cities - Smart Ganga City Scheme

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 13th August 2016 the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti and Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the Smart Ganga City Scheme in 10 cities.

However, the scheme was launched through video conference in ten important cities, here are the names the cities – Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura-Vrindavan, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Sahibgunj, Barrackpore.