Today’s Current Affairs 14th – August- 2018 – MyProgressCard

National News

1. IRDAI constitutes a working group to review surveyor norms

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) constituted a 7 member working group for norms regarding insurance surveyors.
• The group will headed by Yegna Priya Bharat, Chief General Manager (Nonlife), IRDAI.
• The group will work on: (a) Areas pertaining to licensing, renewal and others as per the existing regulatory framework for Surveyors and Loss Assessors and (b) Analysis of the existing regulatory framework as per requirements of the industry.

2. Ashish Kumar Bhutani has been appointed CEO of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)

• Ashish Kumar Bhutani was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) till 9th May 2020.
• Ashish Kumar is an IAS officer of the 1992 batch of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.

3. Rajnath inaugurates NDMC Smart City projects

• Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated various initiatives as part of smart city project of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).
• The facilities inaugurated includes smart poles with free wi-fi, 360 degree cameras and environmental sensors, solar tree with the LED lights, mobile charging points, ideation centre for promoting smart city entrepreneurs.

4. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launches road safety awareness video

• Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched road safety awareness video with Brand ambassador of road safety campaign actor Akshay Kumar in New Delhi.
• The priority of the Government is to reduce road accidents.
• The Ministry has written to Home Ministry to consider the good Samaritans in road accidents also for getting National Bravery Awards.

5. Railways Ministry releases Report on Station Cleanliness; ranks Jodhpur as cleanest railway station

• Minister of Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal released the Third Party Survey Report on Station Cleanliness.
• The report covers 407 stations which include 75 stations in ‘A1’ and 332 stations in ‘A’ category stations.
• Under A-1 category, two important tourist stations – Jodhpur and Jaipur of North Western Railway in Rajasthan were ranked first and second respectively.

6. Chhattisgarh first state to provide Right to Skills’ Development to youth

• Chhattisgarh has become the first state in India to provide Right to Skills’ Development to the youth.
• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh flagged off 15 Skill Chariots to launch the government’s ‘Skills on Wheels’ project in Chhattisgarh
• The chariots are aimed at spreading awareness about the project.

7. ‘North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom’ in Manipur will be inaugurated

• Dr. Najma A. Heptulla, Hon’ble Governor of Manipur will be inaugurating the project “Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom” implemented under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
• The above project is the first project under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme being inaugurated in the country.

Books/Authors

8. PM Modi’s book ‘Exam Warriors’ releases in Odia

• Union Minister for Oil and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan launched the Odia edition of the book ‘Exam Warriors’ written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• The Odia edition of the book was released by Odisha Book Emporium. It is a motivational book for children.
• It helps children to handle examination stress. It was earlier released in English and Hindi in February 2018.

New Appointments

9. Imtaiyazur Rahman takes over as interim CEO of UTI MF

• UTI Mutual Fund appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman the acting chief executive officer after Leo Puri stepped down as MD and CEO.
• Prior to this, he was the Group President and Chief Finance Officer of UTI MF.
• His appointment has been made effective from 14th August 2018.

Banking News

10. PNB scam: Govt dismisses Usha Ananthasubramanian from service

• Nearly three months after Allahabad Bank divested its MD & CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian from all functional responsibilities, the government has dismissed her from service.
• She is the former CEO & managing director of scam hit Punjab National Bank.
• She was named in a CBI charge-sheet in the Rs 14,000 crore PNB fraud.
• She was to superannuate on 13 August but has been dismissed from the service.

Sports News

11. Ramesh Powar has been appointed as Head Coach of Indian women’s cricket team: BCCI

• Ramesh Powar is appointed the head coach of the women’s national cricket team after the coach tushar arothe resigned.
• Ramesh will be the coach for the ICC World T20, scheduled to be held in November, by BCCI.
• He is the third coach of women’s team in the past one and a half year after Purnima Rau and Tushar Arothe.

Obituaries

12. Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Dass Tandon passes away

• Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Dass Tandon, collapsed following a cardiac arrest in Raipur, Chhattisgarh at 90.
• In 1953, he became a Corporator in Amritsar Municipal Corporation. He was a six-time MLA.
• He was also deputy chief minister of Punjab. He was jailed from 1975 to 1977 during Emergency.

13. Asian Games gold medallist Hakam Singh passes away

• Asian Games gold medallist athlete Hakam Singh died due to liver and kidney ailments in Sangrur, Punjab.
• Hakam Singh was 64 years old. He had won gold medal in 20 km race walk event at the 1978 Asian at Bangkok and created a new Record.
• He also won gold at Asian track and field championship held at Tokyo in 1979.

Expected GK Questions from the above Current Affairs

1. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has constituted a 7 member working group for norms regarding insurance surveyors. Who is the head of the group?

A. Yegna Priya Bharat                                               C. Sunil Mehta
B. Neerav Shah                                                            D. Amit Ghosh

2. Who was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)?

A. Amritha Kumari                                                      C. Sudeep Bhagat
B. Ashish Kumar Bhutani                                          D. Samar Mishra

3. Which Union Minister inaugurated Smart City projects undertaken by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), in New Delhi?

A. Hardeep Puri                                                           C. Dharmendra Pradhan
B. Rajnath Singh                                                          D. Harsh Vardhan

4. Who has been appointed the brand ambassador for road safety campaign?

A. MS Dhoni                                                                C. Amitabh Bacchan
B. Rajini Kanth                                                            D. Akshay Kumar

5. Which railway station has been ranked the cleanest railway station in India?

A. Jodhpur railway station
B. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station
C. Pune railway station
D. Bengaluru City Railway station

6. Which state has become the first in India to provide Right to Skills’ Development to the youth?

A. West Bengal                                                             C. Odisha
B. Haryana                                                                     D. Chhattisgarh

7. Governor of Manipur Dr. Najma A. Heptulla, inaugurated project “Development of North East Circuit: Imphal & Khongjom”, under which scheme of Ministry of Tourism?

A. Discover India                                                          C. Swadesh Darshan
B. Incredible North East                                              D. New India

8. What is the book written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that was released in Odia by Union Minister for Oil and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan in Bhubaneswar on 13th August 2018?

A. Stress Buster                                                             C. Champion’s Guide
B. Exam Warriors                                                           D. A guide to success

9. Who was appointed as the acting chief executive officer of UTI Mutual Fund?

A. Leo Puri                                                                       C. Rahul Srivastava
B. Imtaiyazur Rahman                                                   D. Manish Sharma

10.  Name Allahabad Bank’s MD and CEO, who was fired from her position?

A. Shikha Sharma                                                           C. Chanda Kochar
B. Usha Ananthasubramanian                                     D. Ritu Bannerjee

11. Who has been appointed as head coach of the women’s national cricket team till the ICC World T20, to be held in November 2018?

A. Sunil Gavaskar                                                            C. Rahul Dravid
B. Ramesh Powar                                                            D. Tushar Arothe

12. Balramji Dass Tandon, collapsed due to cardiac arrest on 14th August 2018. He was the Governor of which state?

A. Jharkhand                                                                  C. Chhattisgarh
B. Rajasthan                                                                    D. Gujarat

13. Hakam Singh died due to liver and kidney ailments in Sangrur, Punjab. He was a _____?

A. Politician                                                                    C. Actor
B. Film Maker                                                                 D. Athlete