IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS IN AUGUST 2017

• Person sworn in as the 45th Chief Justice of India recently - Justice Dipak Misra

• Campaign announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Mann ki Baat - Cleanliness is Service

• Person who won the Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific Excellence-2016 - Digambar Behera

• Organisation that launched Three Year Action Agenda that aligns with the development strategy of India - NITI Aayog

• India’s PV Sindhu settled for the silver medal at the 2017 BWF World Championships. Gold was won by - Nozomi Okuhara of Japan

• The winner of the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix is - Lewis Hamilton

• She was recently crowned as the 2017 Miss TransQueen India - Nitasha Biswas

• The winner of the 2017 SAFF U-15 Championship is – India

• He will head the task force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that was constituted by government for the country's Economic Transformation - Dr. V. Kamakoti of IIT Madras

• Nearly 300 houses were demolished inside Amchang Reserve Forest in August 2017. Amchang reserve forest is a part of - Assam

• This country hosted the 8th edition of Mountain Echoes festival- Bhutan

• This country is soon going to allow gender-neutral passports - Canada

• The Union government has imposed restrictions on the import of gold and silver items from this country – South Korea

• Researchers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Indore have jointly developed a biosensor that will help determine disorder in this human organ in less than 8 minutes - Kidneys

• International Day Against Nuclear Tests is observed every year on - 29 August

• India's first 'Videsh Bhawan' was inaugurated in - Mumbai

• Person appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uber - Dara Khosrowshahi

• Veteran barefoot footballer who passed away recently - Ahmed Khan

• The National Sports day is celebrated on this day to mark the birth anniversary of legendary Hockey player Dhyan Chand - 29 August

• President-elect of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovak Republic who called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss on a range of topics including terrorism is - Miroslav Lajcak

• Eight AC coaches of Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto Express derailed near this station near Thane - Titwala

• The winner of the 2016-17 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year Award is - Cristiano Ronaldo

• The winner of the 2016-17 UEFA Women’s Player of the Year Award is - Lieke Martens

• The International Atomic Energy Agency recently opened the Low Enriched Uranium Bank, which is located in – Kazakhstan

• He was recently named the Managing Director of Harley-Davidson India - Peter MacKenzie

• Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu officially launched this much-awaited portal by the Sports Ministry on 28 August 2017 - National Sports Talent Search Portal

• Tensions are expected to escalate after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over this nation- Japan

• The Reserve Bank of India has introduced the new Rs 200 note in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The note depicts this historic Indian monument on the reverse - Sanchi Stupa

• The Textiles Ministry has proposed to organise Pan India camps for weavers and artisans to commemorate the birth centenary year of this former politician - Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay

• North Korea recently test fired a ballistic missile over this nation - Japan

• This state has decided to end the process of holding interview for selection of candidates for the government jobs in the non-gazetted posts of Group B, C and D categories - Uttar Pradesh

• Sri Lankan selection panel of Cricket team resigned on 29 August 2017. He was chairman/head of the selection panel - Sanath Jayasurya

• India in August 2017 gave 20 students of this country to study Hindi at the Central Institute of Hindi in Agra - Sri Lanka

• The wild card entrant boxer from India who became the second Indian to enter semi-finals in the debut world championship is - Gaurav Bidhuri

• Chief Minister of this state has inaugurated the Startup Yatra programme in its capital on 30 August 2017 - Uttar Pradesh

• Rajnath Singh recently inaugurated “YUVA- Skill Development Programme.”  The programme is an initiative of - Delhi Police under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

• The Geographical Indications Registry recently granted Geographical Indication status to Gobindobhog rice. The rice belongs to - West Bengal

• The first edition of Gramin Khel Mahotsav recently kick-started from - New Delhi

• The disease against which the Union Government will soon launch a new drug is - Japanese Encephalitis

• The Union Cabinet approved MoU with Myanmar for the Conservation of Earthquake-Damaged Pagodas at - Bagan

• The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was observed on this date- 30 August

• This state’s government has released Rs 1935 Cr to undertake relief operations in its flood hit areas – Bihar

• This state’s government has announced its decision of introducing a new sports policy to promote talent in various games in the state - Chhattisgarh

• India signed agreement with this nation on technical cooperation to improve the conditions for grid integration of renewable energies with conventional power grids – Germany

• This court expressed strong dissatisfaction over possible felling of thousands of trees for the creation of Ramdev’s proposed food park - Allahabad High Court

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 31 August 2017 will be participating in the 2nd Indian Ocean Conference that will be held in - Sri Lanka

• Amazon announced a partnership with the Akshaya Patra Foundation to implement - the Karnataka Government’s Ksheera Bhagya Scheme in the city

• The Union Cabinet recently gave its approval to an MoU on Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund. The MoU is signed with - Israel

• The biggest X-ray laser gun on earth named, European X-ray Free Electron Laser, is scheduled to be opened in September 2017. It is located in – Germany

• The noted Kannada singer mostly known for the song "Kolumande Jangamadevaru" who passed away recently is - L. N. Shastri

• The Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi will be giving away National Level Awards to - Anganwadi workers

• China’s TCL Corporation is going to launch a waterproof, full touchscreen phone under this brand name - BlackBerry

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch India’s 8th navigational satellite. It is called -  IRNSS-1H

• India and this nation submitted joint proposal to the WTO calling for the elimination of Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) as a prerequisite for consideration of other reforms in domestic support negotiations - China

• Winners of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award 2017 - Para athlete Devendra and hockey player Sardar Singh

• Winner of the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2017 in Land Adventure category - Premlata Agrawal

• University presented with the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for the year 2016-17 - Punjabi University

• Organisation that announced the Women Transforming India Awards 2017 - NITI Aayog

• India and this group on 30 August 2017 agreed to strengthen cooperation between their security and intelligence agencies to combats the threat of terrorism – European Union

• The 10th India-European Union Counter Terrorism Dialogue was held on 30 August 2017 in – New Delhi

• The former Information and Broadcasting Secretary who was recently appointed as the new Election Commissioner is - Sunil Arora

• The gene-altering leukemia treatment that was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration is – Kymriah

• He was recently appointed as the Chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh - Mahendra Nath Pandey

• The IGCAR nuclear scientist who was recently appointed as the Chief Executive of the Heavy Water Board is - U Kamachi Mudali

• The Scimago Institutions ranking World Report 2017 ranked CSIR as ninth amongst a total of 1207 government institutions. The institution that topped the ranking is - Chinese Academy of Sciences

• This annual conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on 1 September 2017 - Rajaswa Gyan Sangam, 2017

• India signed two MoUs on technical cooperation in the field of Railways with this nation - Switzerland

• He took charge as the new Union Home Secretary on 31 August 2017 -Rajiv Gauba

• This Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced his resignation from the position on 31 August 2017 - Rajiv Pratap Rudy

• This senior bureaucrat was appointed as the new Secretary in the Department of Financial Services (DFS)- Rajiv Kumar

• Two countries that signed an MoU for cooperation in the fields of Zebu Cattle Genomics - Brazil and India

• Creamy Layer ceiling approved by Union cabinet for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) category - Rs 8 Lakhs

• Estimated value of demonetised bank notes received by the RBI as per RBI Annual Report 2016-17 - Rs 15.28 trillion

• Person appointed as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India recently - Rajiv Mehrishi

• Person presented with Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel 'Hawthan' - Mahabaleshwar Sail

• This Indian city has been accorded the status of India’s first ‘World Heritage City’ by UNESCO - Ahmedabad

• This state has launched an online Public Grievance Redressal System for its citizens - Goa

• The institution that topped the overall ranking as released by the Scimago Institutions is - Chinese Academy of Sciences

• A famous American actor, who portrayed Oscar Goldman in the 1970s series "The Six Million Dollar Man" and its spinoff "The Bionic Woman," passed away recently. His name is - Richard Anderson

• Person appointed as Executive Director of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India - Mamta Suri

• Person appointed as the Secretary to Vice President of India M Venkaiah Naidu - I V Subba Rao

• Union Cabinet gave its approval to complete this project in Jharkhand and Bihar - North Koel Reservoir Project

• This city was declared as the world’s most liveable city by The Economist’s Global Liveability Report-2017 - Melbourne

• A new species of a 100-million-year-old damselfly was named in honour of - Sir David Attenborough

• The World Humanitarian Day is celebrated annually on – 19 August

• This airline has grounded over 80 of its flights due to technical issues - Indigo

• Nepal signed three pacts to boost bilateral relations with this country - China

• This asteroid will pass safely by Earth on 1 September, coming closer than it has ever come before since 1890 – Asteroid Florence

• The Union Cabinet gave its approval for raising Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) upto this much money for Long Term Irrigation Fund during fiscal year 2017-18- Rs 9020 Cr

• Defence Ministry in August cleared a proposal to procure 6 Apache attack helicopters for Army. These helicopters will be procured at an expense of - Rs 4168 crore

• President Ram Nath Kovind has presented the National Safety Awards (Mines) for the years 2013 and 2014. The National Safety Awards (Mines) was established in - 1982-83

• Vishal Sikka on 18 August 2017 resigned as Managing Director and CEO of a software company. Name the company is – Infosys

• He was appointed as the interim managing director and CEO of Infosys in August 2017 - UB Pravin Rao

• The Union Cabinet recently approved an MoU between India and Sweden on - Intellectual Property Rights

• The football club that won the 2017 Spanish Super Cup is - Real Madrid
• As per the 4th Advance Estimate of production of major crops for 2016-17, total food grain production in the country is estimated at -275.68 million tonnes

• The Pakistan based terror outfit that was recently declared as Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the United States is - Hizbul Mujahideen

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management for the speeding of- strategic disinvestment

• Energy efficient appliances such as LED bulbs, tubelights and fans are soon going to be sold at petrol pumps across India under this flagship scheme - Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All (UJALA)

• This dinosaur reportedly fills the huge gap between two of the major dinosaur groups- plant-eating herbivores and carnivores- Chilesaurus

• He said these words- “racism, xenophobia and islamophobia must be opposed by everyone”- Antonio Guterres

• President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu have extended their greetings and good wishes to this community on the occasion of their New Year, Navroz - Parsi

• President Juan Manuel in August 2017 declared that the country’s 50-year conflict with the FARC ended, as the last truckloads of decommissioned weapons rolled away to be melted down. Juan Manuel is the President of this country - Colombia

• RBI in its notification said that farmers can avail short-term loans up to this amount at subsidised interest rate of 7 per cent that could go down to 4 per cent on prompt repayment – Rs 3 Lakh

• India's first Partition Museum was opened recently in - Amritsar

• Archaeologists have discovered three ancient tombs dating back around 2000 years in - Egypt

• Companies asked to remove Blue Whale game link by the Union Government - Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo

• Renowned poet who passed away recently and was known for his poem 'Madras Central' - Vijay Nambisan

• The country that will host the next steering committee meeting of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is – India

• The pharmaceutical company that recently received nod from US Food and Drug Administration to market Lanthanum Carbonate chewable tablets is - Natco Pharma

• The winner of the Men’s Singles title at the 2017 Rogers Cup is - Alexander Zverev

• The war museum that was lit up in the colours of Indian National Flag for the first time ever to mark 70th Independence Day of India is - War Museum of Auckland

• The winner of the Women’s Singles title at the 2017 Rogers Cup is - Elina Svitolina

• This state’s CM launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra to provide job opportunities to the unemployed youth - Maharashtra

• Scientists from Stanford University have developed a highly sensitive blood test to detect this terminal disease - Cancer

• Britain is seeking to leave the EU without having any borders in this part of the United Kingdom - Northern Ireland

• The government sponsored food outlet called Indira Canteens was inaugurated in this city - Bengaluru

• This country would be hosting the G-7 Interior Ministers’ summit 2017 on security issues - Italy

• Person appointed as the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for physical activity in South-East Asia Region - Milkha Singh

• PM Narendra Modi launched a website to honour gallantry award winners. This is the highest gallantry award in India - Param Vir Chakra

• Person appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Tata Motors in August 2017 - PB Balaji

• Union Ministry that launched the ‘GeMSamvad: The GeM-Industry forum’ - Ministry of Commerce

• This country will chair the International Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) in November 2017 in Bay of Bengal - Bangladesh

• The Horn of Africa country that was in August 2017 declared free of Polio – Somalia

• The 2017 World Snooker Open will be held in - Southeast China

• The athlete who won the Men's 5000 metre title at the IAAF World Championships is - Muktar Edris

• As per a recent research, the largest volcano range on earth was recently discovered in – Antarctica

• The Indian Coast Guard Ship Shaurya was recently commissioned in - Goa

• The sprinter who bid a goodbye to the Athletics world on 13 August 2017 by announcing his retirement at the World Athletics Championships in London is - Usain Bolt

• The Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has launched a campaign to protect elephants in elephant across India mainly in elephant range states of India. The campaign is - Gaj Yatra

• World Elephants Day was observed globally on - 12 August

• This pair bagged gold medal in the skeet mixed team event on the concluding day of the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun in Astana - Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Rashmmi Rathore

• The 'India Day' was hosted by the 'India Club' two days before the Independence Day at the popular Zoo Lake resort in this city – Johannesburg

• This state has launched Facebook’s 'She Means Business' programme for aspiring women entrepreneurs- Odisha

• This state’s assembly has passed the Religious Freedom Bill 2017 with the aim to stop forced conversions- Jharkhand

• This country has voted in favour of boosting investment in its missile defence by more than $500 million in response to US sanctions – Iran

• The India-ASEAN Youth Summit 2017, which marks the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership, was held in- Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

• This veteran theatre personality and wife of late actor Utpal Dutt, passed away at the age of 93 on 13 August 2017 - Shobha Se

• He authored the second volume of Economic Survey 2016-17 that was presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in both houses of the Parliament on 11 August 2017 - Arvind Subramanian, the Chief Economic Adviser

• He in August 2017 became first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London - Davinder Singh Kang

• This district of Nagaland aims at achieving Open Defecation Free status by 2018 - Dimapur

• The International Youth Day was celebrated on 12 August 2017 with this theme - Youth Building Peace

• The import duty on crude palm oil was increased to what per cent by union government in August 2017 - 15 per cent

• The import duty on refined oil was increased to what per cent by union government in August 2017 - 25 per cent

• This union ministry has planned to celebrate Sankalp to Siddhi- New India Manthan in all the districts of the country from 19th to 30th of August 2017 - Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare

• The Supreme Court has decided to hold final hearing in Ayodhya title dispute from - 5 December 2017

• All India Council for Technical Education, AICTE, has decided to close down those technical colleges which recorded less than ______ per cent admissions in the last five years - 30 per cent

• In Egypt, at least 44 people were killed and nearly 180 others injured after two trains collided near Egypt's coastal city of - Alexandria

• He was appointed as Chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, CBFC, for a period of three years - Prasoon Joshi

• He was re-elected as the President of Kenya on 11 August 2017 - Uhuru Kenyatta

• Government of this state has directed all Madrassa to compulsorily hoist the national flag and sing the national anthem on Independence Day - Uttar Pradesh

•  The National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved 10 projects worth more than Rs 2000 Cr for sewage infrastructure and treatment and river front development in - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal

•  This country hosted the 15th Ministerial meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation – Nepal

•  The Supreme Court of India has issued a list of directions in an attempt to curb pollution that includes no renewal of vehicle insurance unless the owners produce– PUC certificate

•  NASA's Cassini spacecraft is set to begin its final five ultra-close orbits around this planet - Saturn

•  The football club that won the UEFA Super Cup 2017 is - Real Madrid

•  The Lok Sabha recently passed the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Bill seeks to repeal - SBI (Subsidiary Banks) Act 1959 and State Bank of Hyderabad Act 1956

•  The country whose Constituent Assembly recently declared itself superior to all other government bodies is – Venezuela

•  He was recently elected as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board - Najam Sethi

•  India and the United States of America will co-host the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in November 2017 at - Hyderabad

•  NASA rover that has recently captured the images of Martian clouds - Curiosity Rover

•  National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) launched Android Skill Development programme with - Google

•  Private bank that introduced an instant credit card against savings account - ICICI Bank

•  International Youth Day is celebrated every year - 12 August

•  Rajya Sabha on 10 August 2017 passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017. The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill. The bill seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act of - 1949

•  Former Union Minister Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu was sworn in as Vice President of India on 11 August 2017. With this he became – 13th Vice President of India (in person)

• The NGT has issued a complete ban on use of non-biodegradable plastic bags in this city -New Delhi

• The IT Ministry has set up this centre to scan web traffic and detect cyber threats - National Cyber Coordination Centre

• The second round of National Deworming Day was held across the nation on - 10 August 2017

• This acclaimed Bollywood actor of ‘Peepli Live’ fame passed away early morning on 10 August 2017 after battling kidney and lung cancer- Sitaram Panchal

• Person appointed as the 45th Chief Justice of India (CJI) - Dipak Misra

• Amazon India signed a MoU to educate weavers and artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon customers with - Telangana

• Union Ministry of Commerce started process to shut down - Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D)

• Supreme Court sought response from five states on a plea alleging non-compliance of order related to - High Security Registration Plates

• India recently ratified the Second Commitment Period of - the Kyoto Protocol

• India’s rank in the 2017 Global Retirement Index is - 43rd

• The country that topped the 2017 Global Retirement Index is – Norway

• The states that launched the Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra is - Uttar Pradesh

• Name of the ancient Hindu tradition of Nepal - that banishes women from home during mensuration and after childbirth - that was criminalized by passing a law is Nepal’s Parliament is - Chhaupadi

• Muslim clerics and imams from India has passed a resolution calling for an action against him by the United Nations for his anti-India activities - Hafiz Saeed, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief

• The 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting will be held in – Kathmandu, Nepal

• NITI Aayog has chosen three states for transformative change in health sectors under its 'Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) ' initiative. The states are -  Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka

• NITI Aayog has chosen three states for transformative change in education sectors under its 'Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) ' initiative. The states are - Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha

• International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrated every year on - 9 August

• Actor honoured with Asia Society Game Changers Award 2017 - Dev Patel

• Person appointed as Deputy Comptroller for Minority Affairs in New York - Dilip Chauhan

• 15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC countries will be hosted by - Nepal

• Railway station in Uttar Pradesh renamed after Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay - Mughalsarai Junction railway station

• This institution or organization has said to the Supreme Court that a mosque could be built in a Muslim-dominated area at some distance from disputed site in Ayodhya is - Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board

• A high-intensity earthquake of magnitude 7 on the Richter scale struck China on 8 August 2017. The epicenter of this quake was in - Sichuan province

• The Indian shooter who on 8 August 2017 won a bronze in men's trap event at the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun at Astana, Kazakhstan is - Kynan Chenai

• This state’s government has decided to raise $270 million from the Green Climate Fund with the help of 2030WRG – Maharashtra

• This former Union minister and BJP MP from Ajmer passed away in New Delhi on 9 August 2017 at the age of 62 - Sanwar Lal Jat

• The Union government has formed a new committee with the aim of making this product more affordable- Drugs

• India celebrated the 75th anniversary of this historic movement on 9 August 2017 - Quit India Movement

• India finished the Asian Junior Boxing Tournament in Puerto Princesa, Philippines with these many medals- 8 (2 silver, 6 bronze)

• This Indian cricketer has been suspended from playing the third test between India and Sri Lanka- Ravindra Jadeja

• This Indian has been ranked as No. 1 Test all-rounder in the ICC 2017 rankings- Ravindra Jadeja

• The 3rd National Handloom Day was celebrated across India on this day – 7 August

• This country has vowed to retaliate against the United States for the latest sanctions issued against it by the UN – North Korea

• ‘The dawn of cruise tourism in India’, a special event held to promote cruise tourism in the country was inaugurated in this city – Mumbai

• This IAS officer, also the Principal Secretary of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, has been appointed as the Executive Director at the World Bank in the United States- S Aparna

• This noted economist has been appointed as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog – Rajiv Kumar

• This state’s government has announced that it would be spending Rs 1 lakh Cr on development works – Jammu & Kashmir

• The Union Government has declared a state as a disturbed area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) for one month – Assam

• He was elected as the new vice President of India on 6 August 2017 - Venkaiah Naidu

• Assembly of this state has passed a bill to reclassify coconut as a tree ensuring legal protection to it - Goa

• These two Indian Boxers won silver medals in the Asian Junior Boxing Championships in Puerto Princesa, Philippines on 7 August 2017 -  Satender Rawat and Mohit Khatana

• This state’s high court has asked its government to file a reply to a public interest litigation seeking preventive action against cow vigilante groups ahead of next month's Eid ul Adha - Maharashtra

• Indian shooter who clinched the individual as well as the team gold medal in men's double trap at the 7th Asian Shotgun Championship in August 2017 is - Ankur Mittal

• The city where Asia's biggest basketball tournament, known as FIBA Asia Cup, will be held in August 2017 is - Beirut, Lebanon

• Indian metro that became world’s first green metro system - Delhi Metro

• India's first unmanned tank developed for surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance of nuclear threats - Muntra

• Life insurance company directed to take over the Sahara India Life Insurance Company - ICICI Prudential Life Insurance

• App launched for dissemination of alerts towards the livelihood of coastal community as well as their safety at Sea - Sagar Vani

• The Union Minister for Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi recently launched Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2 in Mumbai. The Phase-I of Jiyo Parsi Publicity was launched in – 2013

• The country that won the final of the Division ‘B’ of 2017 FIBA women’s Asia Cup is – India

• The winner of the 2017 Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix is - Sebastian Vettel

• The Wheeler Island was recently named as Dr. Abdul Kalam Island.  The island is located in - Odisha

• Russian President Vladimir Putin in July 2017 asked 755 diplomats of this country to leave the country - The United States

• As per reports, India and Pakistan will hold talks on two hydropower projects, namely Kishenganga and Ratle, under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) at - the World Bank headquarters in Washington  

• Union Health Minister JP Nadda has announced that the government will provide Hepatitis C vaccine free from next year and it would help in tackling - the liver related diseases

• This country has made a historic breakthrough by producing natural gas from flammable ice - China

• This state government is going to launch ‘streets with cycle track’ project to encourage the use of bicycle- Maharashtra

• The United States (US) has said that the time for talk with this country is over – North Korea

• This Union Minister has said that tiger-bearing forests play a mitigative role in combating Climate Change- Harsh Vardhan

• Organisation that signed MoU with the National Skill Development Corporation on skill development - Border Security Force

• Player who won the Atlanta Open title of tennis recently - John Isner

• Amazon Prime Video signed a worldwide exclusive content deal with - Salman Khan

• World’s largest exporter of beef, as per OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026 report - Brazil

• This Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, passed away on 27 July 2017 - Sam Shepard

• This bill seeking constitutional status for the National Commission for Backward Classes was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 31 July 2017 - Constitutional (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017

• The Supreme Court has imposed a ban on the use of these five harmful metals in firecrackers - Lead, Mercury, Lithium, Arsenic and Antimony

• Donald Trump honoured this army medic with the Medal of Honour for risking his life to save the wounded during the Vietnam War - James McCloughan

• India signed a new bilateral agreement on Trade, Commerce and Transit with this country – Bhutan

• This city was chosen as the host of 2024 Summer Olympics - Paris

• This city was chosen as the host of 2028 Summer Olympics - Los Angeles

• The union government has ordered state-run oil companies to raise subsidised cooking gas, LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), prices by this amount per cylinder every month - Rs 4

• Germany lent support to France's push to make operational a new multinational military force in this region of Africa to tackle Islamist militants – Sahel region

• The government has allowed trade of several commodities such as locally produced vegetables and garments at four border haats between India and Bangladesh. They are - Baliamari-Kalaichar, Lauwaghar - Balat, East Madugram and Middle Place of Sagaria - Srinagar, and Tarapur-Kamalsagar

• Neuroscientist who studied Albert Einstein’s brain and died recently - Marian Diamond

• Survey launched to rank cities and towns of India based on infrastructure development for improved sanitation services - Swachh Survekshan-2018

• Indian sportsperson conferred with the East Bengal Football Club’s highest honour 'Bharat Gaurav' - Dhanraj Pillay

• Anthem launched to inspire the people to participate in the Swachhata Jan Andolan and connect themselves with the ‘Swachhata Survekshan-2018’ - Swachhata Ki Jyot Jagi Hai

• A two day Conclave of Tax Officers ‘Rajaswa Gyansangam’ will be held on 1-2 September 2017 in - New Delhi

• He was recently re-appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra - C P Gurnani

• India recently signed an agreement on transfer of sentenced persons with – Somalia

• The portal that was recently launched by the Union Government to provide a platform to sell agricultural produce is - e-RaKam

• Famous neuroscientist Marian Diamond passed away recently. She was mostly known for studying the brain of - Albert Einstein

• The Reserve Bank of India recently cut its repo rate by - 25 basis points

• Cabinet of this state has approved Religious Freedom bill 2017 in which forceful or allurement induced religious conversion will be a non-bailable criminal offence - Jharkhand

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

• This state has formed a committee to examine trans-location proposal of tigers from one region to sanctuaries of the state - Maharashtra

• The Government has approved establishment of Post Graduate Institutes for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy at - Nagmangla in Karnataka and Jhajjar in Haryana

• Government of this state has recommended a CBI probe into the appointment made in its Public Service Commission between 2012 and 2017 - Uttar Pradesh

• Longest suspension pedestrian bridge of the world was opened in - Switzerland

• The Aadi Perukku festival that pays tribute to the water bodies is celebrated annually on the 18th of the Aadi month in this Indian state - Tamil Nadu

• The WCD Ministry has launched a contest for designing the logo for this festival that is scheduled to be held in October 2017 - ‘Women of India Festival’

• This project has been sanctioned for implementation by the Railway Ministry with technical and financial assistance of the Japan government - Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project (MAHSR)

• Committee, constituted to study and identify key data protection issues and recommend methods for addressing them, will be headed by  - Justice BN Srikrishna

• Person confirmed as the Director of Federal Bureau of Investigation - Christopher Wray

• Person appointed as the Chief of the Indian Army’s Eastern Command - Lt General Abhay Krishna

• Hindustani classical vocalist and one of the leading exponents of Dhrupad tradition who died recently - Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar

• Person appointed as the Secretary General of industry chamber FICCI - Sanjay Baru

• Name the mobile application that was developed by the Indian Army to enable serving soldiers to track details like postings, promotions, and monthly payslips as well as form 16 - Humraaz

• Scientists have developed a technique to edit embryos of a piece of faulty DNA that causes heart disease in families. The technique is - CRISPR

• Punjab government has decided to appoint this cricketer as DSP with the state’s police - Harmanpreet Kaur

• The Election Commission has rejected plea by parties to remove this option from the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat- None of the Above (NOTA)

• Reports suggest that the Union Cabinet in August 2017 cleared a proposal that amends electoral laws to extend proxy voting rights to - Overseas Indians/NRIs

• Name the institution/organization that in its report has said that India is more attractive to FDIs as compared to other emerging markets – Nomura, Japan's financial services major

• He won the National Rapid Chess Championship - Anwesh Upadhyay

• He recently took over as the new Air Officer-in-charge Administration of Indian Air Force - Air Marshal Hemant Narayan Bhagwat

• Israel recently launched its first environmental research satellite. Name of the satellite is – Venus

• The Lok Sabha recently passed the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 by – Voice Vote

• This UN organisation adopted a resolution on eliminating supply of weapons to terrorists - United Nations Security Council

• Country allowed to construct hydroelectric power facilities on tributaries of the Jhelum and Chenab rivers under Indus Waters Treaty - India

• Repo Rate fixed by RBI under Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2017-18 - 6.00 per cent

• Eminent scientist and Founder-Director of Cellular and Molecular Biology who passed away recently - Pushpa Mittra Bhargava

• The National Human Rights Commission has sent notice to this state for its many cases of political murders - Kerala

• This city hosted the 2nd AGRI-UDAAN programme, launched by the Government of India – New Delhi

• ISRO is working on the NISAR mission along with this international space research organisation- NASA

• Ninety-seven of these endangered species, which were illegally smuggled out of the country, were found and will be brought back to their natural habitat - Indian Star Tortoises

• The state government that has decided to give compulsory retirement to the non-performing head masters, teachers and education department officials above the age of 50 years - Bihar

• This country in August 2017 extended a technical hold on a proposal to list Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief and Pathankot terror attack mastermind Masood Azhar as a designated terrorist by the UN - China

• The country that recently passed the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill to help protect the country's reputation as one of the least corrupt in the world is - New Zealand

• IBM recently opened its first Machine Learning Hub in - Bengaluru

 • The Banking Regulation Bill 2017 that was passed in Lok Sabha on 3 August 2017 seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and replace - the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017

• With his nomination by the selection committee, he became the first paralympian to be recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award - Devendra Jhajharia

• This state’s government would be launching a new Scheme called Scheme for Compassionate Family Pension (CFP) in lieu of Compassionate Appointment - Assam

• This high court in India has stated that there will be no leniency in deciding on cases of violation of sex determination laws- Bombay High Court

• The Law and Judiciary Department has issued an order for the setting up of first three of the total 24 fast track courts for Maharashtra in these two cities – Mumbai and Thane

• This country will be building a stadium resembling an Arabian skull cap for the 2022 World Cup - Qatar

• The Union Ministry of Defence delegated administrative and financial powers to the Border Roads Organisation right up to the level of - Chief Engineer and Task Force Commander

• The Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi announced that the Union Government decided to proffer 40 per cent reservation for - girls at - 100 Navodaya-type schools

• A German physician and nun, who dedicated her life to eradicating leprosy in Pakistan, was recently laid to rest in Karachi. Her name is - Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau

• The famous American comedian and filmmaker who passed away recently is - Jerry Lewis

• Polish-US playwright and screenwriter who died recently and was known for his play Antigone in New York - Janusz Glowacki

• World Photography day is observed every year on  - 19 August

• Person who resigned recently as the chief strategist of US President Donald Trump - Steve Bannon

• The base colour of Rs 50 banknote, that was introduced recently by RBI, will be - Fluorescent blue

• A 12-year-old Indian-origin boy who was crowned as the UK’s ‘Child Genius’ in a popular television quiz competition on 20 August 2017 is - Rahul Doshi

• Android 8.0 Version that was recently launched by Google - Android Oreo

• Satellite that was launched by NASA for ensuring that astronauts at the International Space Station can communicate with Earth - Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-M)

• Wreckage of the lost World War II cruiser USS Indianapolis was recently found in - Pacific Ocean

• Person selected for the prestigious Global Agriculture Leadership Award-2017 - K Chandrasekhar Rao

• The country that is not a part of the proposed Asian Trilateral Highway is – Bhutan

• Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, on 21 August 2017 launched the Digital Police Portal under - the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems

• British scientists recently developed the world’s smallest surgical robot named - Versius

• The Union Ministry of Agriculture is organising the ‘Sankalp Se Sidhi’ program to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of – the Quit India Movement

• The Indian Council of Medical Research along with the Union Health Ministry signed a MoU with this South Korea-based institute for vaccine research and development - International Vaccine Institute (IVI)

• The Union government of India has issued a notification imposing anti-dumping duty on tempered glass imported from- China

• This state would be hosting the International Film Festival of India 2017 - Goa

• He was named the convenor of the 40-member 'preview committee’ that would be selecting films for IFFI 2017 - Vivek Agnihotri

• Supreme Court has struck down the practice of Triple Talaq in Muslim community by saying that the practice violates certain articles of Indian Constitution. The two articles were being violated are - Article 14 and 21

• A research team led by Dr Pinaki Panigrahi has found Probiotic Bacteria that could protect newborns from a deadly infection at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. Name the infection is – Sepsis

• The Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has given in-principle approval to acquire government’s stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL). The per cent of government stake at HPCL that will be taken by ONGC is – 51.11 per cent

• As per a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an asteroid that eliminated dinosaurs would have also pushed earth into darkness for nearly - 2 years

• The National Sports Museum will be soon established in - New Delhi

• The International Seabed Authority recently extended India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in Central Indian Ocean Basin by - 5 years

• The noted poet who was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Punjab Kala Parishad is - Surjit Patar

• India recently granted Pfizer a patent for - pneumonia vaccine

• Campaign launched by Ministry of Human Resource Development to prepare a physical Health Card for more than 12 lakhs of Kendriya Vidyalaya students - Swasth Bachche, Swasth Bharat

• Person recently appointed as the Director General of Railway Protection Force - Dharmendra Kumar

• Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ship inducted into Indian Navy recently - LCU L52

• Student who developed nano missile for Indian Army - Dacharla Panduranga Rohith

• UIDAI tied-up with this organisation for launching door step enrolment facility for the elderly, patients and others who cannot travel the Aadhaar centres - Common Services Centres (CSC)

• US has slapped sanctions on individuals and companies of these two nations accusing them for supporting North Korea’s nuclear programme and attempting to evade US sanctions - China and Russia

• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has said that India and this country should work for increasing trade to the tune of one billion US dollar by March 2018 - Uzbekistan

• Angola voted on 23 August 2017 after longtime President Jose Eduardo dos Santos decided to step down after - 38 years in power

• Communications Minister of this country has said that negotiations are underway with Twitter to unblock the service, which has been banned for years despite being used even by the country's supreme leader - Iran

• The British sci-fi writer who died aged 92 in August 2017 is - Brian Aldiss

• Qatar in August 2017 restored its diplomatic relations with this country is - Iran

• The country who’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment will lead a major mission to India to deepen collaboration in the fields of agribusiness and food, higher education among others in August 2017 is - Australia

• The strongest typhoon to hit southern China in 53 years that claimed life of about 16 people in August 2017 is - Hato

• The country that will host the 2018 ITTF Team World Cup is - England

• Brazil recently abolished a vast national reserve in the Amazon to open up the area to mining. The name of the reserve is - National Reserve of Copper and Associates

• The entity that recently organised Tiranga Yatra to commemorate 75th anniversary of the Quit India Movement is - Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation

• The author of the book titled “I am HIV positive, so what?” is - Jayanta Kalita

• Union Government recently increased the creamy layer ceiling of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) to - Rs 8 Lakh

• India signed MoU with Nepal for construction of a new Bridge over - Mechi River

• Person appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of the Infosys Board - Nandan Nilekani

• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is observed every year on - 23 August

• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has launched free wifi-facility on this line, which is its largest operational corridor – Blue line

• This state has signed a MoU with Microsoft India to develop a unique ‘farm price forecasting model’ - Karnataka

• This state has launched e-waste disposal process in its schools - Kerala

• This senior BJP leader became a member of the Parliament for the first time after being sworn into the Rajya Sabha on 25 August 2017 – Amit Sha