Amardeep Singh Bhatia appointed as Director of SFIO

Senior IAS officer Amardeep Singh Bhatia was appointed as new director of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). He is a 1993 batch IAS officer of Nagaland cadre. At present, he is joint secretary in Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The SFIO is a fraud investigating agency in India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The SFIO is involved in major fraud probes and is the co-ordinating agency with the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Israel to name a station after Trump

Israel’s transport minister wants to dig a railway tunnel under Jerusalem’s Old City and name a station next to the Western Wall after US President Donald Trump. Yisrael Katz said he wanted to honour the US president for his decision to recognise the city as Israel’s capital. The Western Wall is the holiest site where Jews are permitted to pray.

Indo-Maldives Joint Exercise ‘Ekuverin’ Concludes

The two-week long eighth edition of the Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, ‘Ekuverin’, came to an end at Belagavi, Karnataka. ‘Ekuverin’ means ‘friends’ in the Maldivian language. The bilateral annual exercise was a 14-day joint military training between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). The exercise has been held alternatively in India and Maldives since 2009.

Prithvi supersonic interceptor missile successfully test fired

Indigenously developed Prithvi Advanced Air Defence (AAD) supersonic interceptor missile was successfully test-fired from a test range in Odisha. It is capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile in low altitude. The target missile Prithvi interceptor AAD missile was launched from launch complex 3 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha. After getting signals by tracking radars the missile directed its trajectory to destroy hostile target missile in mid-air in an endo-atmospheric altitude.

Agriculture Minister launches LDF app

Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh has launched Livestock Disease Forewarning – Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App). The app is developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics, Bengaluru. Apart from early warning, the app will also provide information about clinical samples for the diagnosis in case of the epidemic.

Prince Harry named President of African Conservation Group

Prince Harry has been named the president of African Parks, a conservation group that manages a dozen wildlife areas across the continent. As per the environmentalist organisation, Prince Harry will contribute to its effort to protect Africa’s natural heritage and support both wildlife and communities, who live in and around conservation areas.

Chola MS honoured with Golden Peacock Award for risk management

Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited has been awarded the prestigious “Golden Peacock Award for Risk Management” for the year 2017. The Golden Peacock Awards were instituted in 1991 by the Institute of Directors (IOD), now regarded as a benchmark of Corporate Excellence worldwide, are presented annually to recognise the best corporates through competition.

India ranks 5th in list of countries with highest NPA levels

According to a report by CARE Ratings, India has the highest level of non-performing assets (NPA) among BRICS countries and is ranked 5th on a list of countries with the highest levels of NPAs. The only countries ranked higher than India on the list are Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Ireland in order.

Viswanathan Anand wins World Rapid Chess Championship

India’s ace chess player Viswanathan Anand won the World Rapid Chess tournament title in Saudi Arabia by beating Russia’s Vladimir Fedoseev 2-0 in a two-game tie-break. Saudi Arabia hosted the world chess tournament for the first time.

Ex-footballer George Weah to become Liberia’s president

The former football star George Weah has won Liberia’s presidential election, defeating the vice-president, Joseph Boakai, in a runoff with 61.5% of the vote.

International sweet festival going to held in Hyderabad

Featuring more than 1,000 sweets, an international sweet festival will be held in Hyderabad, Telangana for the first time ever. Telangana Tourism is planning to hold a mammoth inter-State sweet festival where the most popular delicacies from each State will be offered in various varieties.

India’s first bitcoin trading app

Cryptocurrency dealer Pluto Exchange announced the launch of India’s first mobile application for transacting in virtual currencies. The Pluto Exchange mobile app offers a solution to the coordination problem between payment processors, financial gateways, and banks. By using a four-digit personal identification number, users can now buy, sell, store and spend bitcoins via a mobile number.

Russia launches satellite for Angola

Russia has launched a rocket carrying Angosat-1, the first national telecoms satellite for Angola. The Zenit-2SB rocket carrying Angosat to orbit was supplied by Ukrainian maker Yuzhmash, making the launch a rare joint project between the two countries since 2014. The Angosat project was agreed by Russia and Angola in 2009.

Triple Talaq Bill passed in Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriages) Bill 2017 making instant triple talaq illegal with up to three years in jail for the husband. The proposed law would only be applicable on instant triple talaq or ‘talaq-e-biddat’. Ravi Shakar Prasad is Minister for Law and Justice. The bill will now be sent to the Rajya Sabha for approval.