1) President Pranab Mukherjee launches 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile app
•President Pranab Mukherjee today launched the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application, aimed at raising awareness about female foeticide and sex selection. The President urged people to take photographs with their daughters and upload them to make the campaign a success.
•The campaign was started by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur in Haryana's Jind district. The former sarpanch had been working in the field of women empowerment and village development. The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child, which, in turn, will result in improving child sex ratio.
2) India, Pakistan Become Full Members Of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
•India and Pakistan became full members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the first-ever expansion of the China-dominated security grouping after 2001. With the inclusion of India and Pakistan, SCO now represents over 40% of world population and nearly 20% of the global GDP.
•2017 SCO summit was based on the theme “Future Energy”. The document was signed at Astana, Kazakhstan during the SCO Summit. (SCO) member-states viz. China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
3) Minister of Railways Inaugurates 1st Indian Railways HR Round Table Conference
•Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated Indian Railways' 1st HR Round Table Conference in New Delhi. The Conference was organized around three themes i.e.
(i) Stakeholders Expectations from HR.
(ii) The Future of Work – HR Role
(iii) Creativity Within Constraints
•HR experts and leaders of industry held round table discussion on each of the above mentioned themes.
4) Govt sets up 18 sectoral groups for smooth GST rollout
•The government has set up 18 sectoral groups, comprising senior members from the Centre and the States, to ensure the smooth rollout of the Goods and Services Tax. The 18 groups pertain to sectors such as banking and insurance, textiles, exports, information technology, transport, and oil and gas.
•As per the Finance Ministry, these 18 sectoral groups containing senior officers of the Centre and the States are being set up to timely respond to the issues and problems of their respective sectors.
5) Microsoft signs agreement to acquire Israeli security firm Hexadite
•Ransomware attacks have prompted Microsoft to sign an agreement to acquire Hexadite. This deal cost $100 million. Hexadite is an Israeli startup that uses Artificial Intelligence to identify and protect against cyber attacks.
6) IOC approves new events for 2020 Tokyo Game
•The International Olympic Committee has approved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games, including a number of mixed gender competitions. The IOC’s Executive Board made the decision at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. The choices reflect the IOC’s focus on gender equality and appeal to young people.
•The additions include a mixed team event for judo. Table Tennis will also get a mixed doubles competition. The event was featured in the recent world championships in Germany. Three-on-three basketball is an example of the IOC’s focus on youth and urban sports. The IOC has recommended awarding the hosting rights for both the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time.
