Current Affairs 2nd Aug 2017

Current Affairs 2nd Aug 2017 - Important Points

• US army medic conferred Medal of Honour by President Trump 48 years later on - 1st August 2017
• Renowned scientist Pushpa Mitra Bhargava passed away on - 1st August 2017
• Planning to relocate tigers from Vidarbha region to sanctuaries by - Maharashtra government
• e-RaKAM portal for selling agricultural produce launched by - Union Government
• Rs 100cr corpus to study & find permanent solution to flood problem in North-East announced by - PM Modi
• Christopher Wray is confirmed as- FBI Director
• Agreement on transfer of sentenced persons signed between India - Somalia
•  Who has been appointed as Secretary General of FICCI ? - Sanjaya Baru

Current Affairs 2nd Aug 2017 - Details

US army medic conferred Medal of Honour by President Trump 48 years later on - 1st August 2017

US President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honour on 1st August 2017, first such award under his administration, to US army medic James McCloughan, who risked his own life to save wounded Americans during the Vietnam War.
The recognition comes to the war veteran after almost 48 years of his selfless acts.
Several senior White House and administration officials including Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and the new White House chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly attended the award ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion in the praise of McCloughan, Trump said, “I know I speak for every person here when I say that we are in awe of your actions and your bravery.” He pledged to give his all to represent the men who fought alongside him as the caretaker of this symbol of courage and action beyond the call of duty, after receiving the medal.
More about James C McCloughan

• Born on 30th April 1946, McCloughan is a former United States Army soldier and a Vietnam War veteran.
• After being drafted into the US Army in 1968, McCloughan became a combat medic, and he found himself amidst a raging Battle in May 1969.
• He willingly entered the main fighting zone to rescue the injured soldiers inspite of his own grievous injuries caused by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade.
• He left the Army in 1970 and spent the next several decades as a high school teacher and athletics coach in his hometown of South Haven in Michigan from there he retired in 2008.

Renowned scientist Pushpa Mitra Bhargava passed away on - 1st August 2017

Pushpa Mitra (PM) Bhargava, a veteran molecular biologist and a ardent critic of Genetically Modified crops, passed away on 1st August 2017 due to a prolonged illness. He was the Founder-Director of Hyderabad-based Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
More about Pushpa Mitra Bhargava

• Born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, he studied at Theosophical College, Lucknow and Queen's College, Varanasi and completed his BSc in PCM in 1944.
• He obtained his MSc in organic chemistry in 1946 and then his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the Lucknow University.
• He went to US in 1953 and worked as a project associate in a laboratory for cancer research.
• He was one of the leading scientists who led to the discovery of 5-fluorouracil which is an anticancer drug.
• He founded the CCMB as an institution for research in basic biology and to seek its application for the benefit of society in 1977.
• He opposed the approval of Genetically Modified (GM) crops in India and called for a temporary ban of at least 15 years on genetically modified crops in the country.
• He received more than 100 national and international honors and awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 1986 and the Legion d'Honneur in 1998 of France.

Planning to relocate tigers from Vidarbha region to sanctuaries by - Maharashtra government

Maharashtra Government is planning to relocate tigers from Vidarbha region of the state to the sanctuaries where their population  is smaller, including Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR).
Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) is located in Sahyadri ranges in the western Maharashtra, which has only seven tigers currently.

State’s forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar gave this information to the Legislative Assembly of the State. The forest minister said that the government had set up a committee to examine this issue, and
on the basis of recommendations decision will be taken shortly . The committee will examine translocation proposal. It will consult experts from the Centre and submit its report in 2-3 months.
He also said that most of the tiger deaths happen due to territorial fights owing to overpopulation.

e-RaKAM portal for selling agricultural produce launched by - Union Government

The Union Government launched a portal, e-RaKAM, to provide a platform to sell agricultural produce on 1st August 2017. This e-Rakam portal is a joint initiative by state-run-auctioneer MSTC and Central Warehousing Corporation arm CRWC. The platform is a digital initiative aiming to bring the farmers, PSUs, civil supplies and buyers together on a single platform to ease the buying and selling process of agricultural products.

Important highlights

• The e-RaKAM is a first-of-its-kind initiative that leverages technology to connect smallest villages farmers to the biggest markets of the world through e-RaKAM centers and internet.
• While launching the portal, the Union Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan stated that the effort should auction 20 lakh tonnes of pulses in the first phase through the platform.
• This platform will help the various crops for which price increases due to rainfall or bad weather conditions will be managed and get the market.
• The portal is aiming at strengthening the agriculture-oriented farmers and Indian economy,playing an important role in the national development.

Rs 100cr corpus to study & find permanent solution to flood problem in North-East announced by - PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 100 crore corpus to study and find a permanent solution to the flood problem in the North-Eastern states of India on 1st August 2017.

In addition to this corpus of Rs 100 crore, the Prime Minister has also announced Rs 2350 crore as an immediate aid to the North East after holding a review meeting on the flood situation with several North Eastern states in Guwahati. The corpus was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Guwahati, Assam. He was in Assam to take stock of flood situation of Assam and few other North-Eastern States.
Modi chaired a series of high-level meetings to review the flood situation and relief operations during his visit. The Chief Ministers and senior officials of Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur attended this meeting.  Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that the Prime Minister has announced this corpus to find a long-term solution to the flood problem in the area by setting up a high- powered committee and a research project to study Brahmaputra River and its role to create a devastating flood.
Assam Water Resource minister Keshab Mahanta said that Rs 250 crore has already been released for Assam for the immediate rehabilitation measures.
He said the Prime Minister announced Rs 2000 crore rupees to the flood affected North Eastern states for the development of infrastructure.
The Prime Minister also asserted that Assam’s problem is also the problem of the nation and assured to take steps to convert problems into possibilities. The Prime Minister had announced Rs 2 lakh earlier in July 2017 to each to the relatives of those who have lost their lives in the floods in Assam.

Modi also announced Rs 50 thousand each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for those who are seriously injured. Flood water affected around 30 lakh people in 29 districts in Assam, wildlife parks, submerging huge crop land and damaged infrastructures.
An inter-ministerial team has already visited Assam to assess the damages caused due to erosion and flood. The Assam government submitted a memorandum to the team to assess the initial loss to the tune of nearly Rs 3000 crore.

Christopher Wray is confirmed as- FBI Director

The appointment of Christopher Wray was confirmed by the US Senate as the Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on 1st August 2017. He was elected to the post by winning 92-5 votes of the Senate. Before appointing him, Andrew McCabe was serving as an acting FBI director.

More about Christopher Wray

• He is a graduate of Yale University, where he also received his law degree in 1992.
• He was a Federal Prosecutor in the US attorney's office for the Northern District of Georgia between May 1997 and May 2001.
• Between May 2001 and May 2005, he held various high-ranking positions in the Justice Department.
• He left the Justice Department after being appointed as the Head of the criminal division as an Assistant Attorney General in 2005.
• As a partner, he has worked on white-collar crime and regulatory cases at the King & Spalding law firm.

Agreement on transfer of sentenced persons signed between India - Somalia

India and Somalia signed a bilateral agreement to transfer the sentenced people on 1st August 2017.
The move is step forward in deepening humanitarian cooperation between both the nations.

Signing of this agreement with the nation Somalia will be facilitating the Indian prisoners imprisoned in Somalia or vice-versa to be near to their families, to serve remaining part of their sentence. The step will also be facilitating their social rehabilitation.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia Yusuf Garaad Omar signed the agreement.
The Foreign Minister,Yusuf-Garaad Omar of the Federal Republic of Somalia arrived in New Delhi on 31st July 2017 on a five-day visit on the invitation of Sushma Swaraj.  This is his first visit to India after assuming office earlier in 2017.

 Who has been appointed as Secretary General of FICCI ? - Sanjaya Baru

Sanjaya Baru was appointed on 1st August 2017 as the Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with effect from 1st September 2017. He is succeeding A Didar Singh, who served as Secretary General for 5 years. However, Didar Singh will be continuing to serve as a strategic advisor to Pankaj Patel, President of the FICCI. Baru had served as the media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier.

More about Sanjaya Baru

• Baru served as media advisor and chief spokesperson of Manmohan Singh between May 2004 and August 2008.
• After that, he was appointed as the Editor of Business Standard, a position he served between January 2010 and October 2011.
• He released his book The Accidental Prime Minister, a detailed chronicle of his experience of serving the Prime Minister in April 2014 that was published by Penguin India.