1) 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Announced
•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution".
1. Jacques Dubochet is from University of Lausanne, Switzerland
2. Joachim Frank is from Columbia University, New York, USA
3. Richard Henderson is from MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
2) Soumya Swaminathan, New Deputy Director General at WHO
•The World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Soumya Swaminathan one of two deputy Directors General. This is the first time such a post has been ever created within the organisation. The position is also the highest post held by an Indian in the WHO.
•Dr. Swaminathan is currently the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). She has been appointed as Deputy Director General for Programmes and Ms. Jane Ellison, who was Special Parliamentary Adviser to the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has been appointed as a Deputy Director General for Corporate Operations (DDC).
3) Karnataka Launches mid-day Meals Scheme for Pregnant Women
•The Karnataka government launched the Rs. 302-crore Mathru Poorna scheme, aimed at providing free mid-day meals to pregnant and lactating women in rural areas.
•The meals, which will be provided in Anganwadi centres, will include an egg, rice, pulses, vegetables, and milk. This is aimed at reducing child malnutrition and in turn curb infant mortality.
4) Russia Launches ‘World’s Biggest & Most Powerful’ Nuclear Icebreaker
•Russia has launched the world's largest nuclear-powered icebreaker ship in a bid to expand its strategic presence in the resource-rich, terrain of the Arctic.
•The massive vessel, named Sibir (Siberia), was developed as part of a huge push by the Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation to open up crucial shipping lanes in the icy Northern Sea Route.
5) Param Shah Appointed as FICCI UK Director
•The apex industry body, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) announced the appointment of Param Shah as the new Director for the United Kingdom (UK) operations.
•Shah will succeed Pratik Dattani whose tenure with FICCI ended recently.
6) First US Crude Oil Shipment Arrives in Paradip
•The first US crude oil cargo of 1(point)6 million barrels bought by Indian Oil Corporation from the US reached Paradip Port, Odisha. Indian Oil will process the crude at its East-Coast base refineries, located at Paradip, Haldia, Barauni and Bongaigaon.
•Indian Oil, which became the first Indian public sector refiner to source US crude has placed a cumulative order 3.9 million barrel from the US.
7) Government Names Rajnish Kumar as SBI's Next Chairman
•The Government named Rajnish Kumar as the new chairman of State Bank of India, for a three-year term. Kumar will succeed Arundhati Bhattacharya.
•At present, Rajnish Kumar is one of the managing directors of SBI. The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) had interviewed four managing directors for the post at the end of June and had recommended a name to the government. The government had extended Bhattacharya’s tenure for a year, with effect from October 7, 2016.
8) Chairman NHAI Launches New Website and PMIS Mobile App
•The Chairman of National Highways Authority of India Shri Deepak Kumar launched a world-class, new multilingual website of the organization. He also launched a Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS) Moblie App that will facilitate close, in-house monitoring of NHAI projects on a mobile phone.
•To ensure timely delivery of its projects, the NHAI is now digitally monitoring them through a state-of-the-art Project Monitoring Information System (PMIS), which has been developed in-house along with The Boston Consulting Group.
