Daily Current Affairs, 25th August 2018

1) Former President Pranab Mukherjee Launches NETA App To Rate MPs And MLAs

•Former President Pranab Mukherjee launched the National Electoral Transformation (NETA) mobile application to rate Members of Parliament (MPs) and Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs). 

•'Neta - Leaders' Report Card' App, the brainchild of 27-year-old entrepreneur Pratham Mittal, is a platform where voters can review and rate their elected representatives and hold them accountable as well. 

2) India’s Largest Business Incubator Bhamashah Techno Hub Launched In Jaipur

•In a big step forward to strengthen the startup ecosystem in Rajasthan, the Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched India’s largest business incubator the Bhamashah Techno Hub in Jaipur. 

•The incubator will provide end-to-end support to startups, ranging from infrastructure, technology, angel funding, access to venture capitalists, mentorship, exposure to national and international organisations and experts and much more. 

3) India, Singapore Sign 2nd Protocol Amending Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement

•India and Singapore have signed the Second Protocol amending the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in New Delhi which will boost bilateral trade between the two countries. The Protocol was signed in New Delhi by Rajneesh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Francis Chong, Senior Director, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Government of Singapore.

•Both sides agreed to expand the coverage of tariff concessions, liberalize the Rules of Origin, rationalize Product Specific Rules and include provisions on Certificate of Origin and Cooperation on its verification. 

4) INS Vikramaditya To Get Upgrade For Its Air Wing From Russia

•For the first time, India's only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will be fitted with a marine hydraulic system to boost the air operations of the ship. Hydraulics technology uses fluid pressure to power machines. 

•Technodinamika, a subsidiary of Russia's Rostec State Corporation, will install the system in the Indian Navy ship by May 2019. The GS-1MF hydraulic system is used in helicopters, while GS-3 is used in aircraft. 

5) DAC Approves Procurement For Services Amounting To Rs46,000 Crores

•The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for procurement for the Services amounting to approximately Rs. 46,000 crores. 

•The DAC in a landmark decision approved procurement of 111 Utility Helicopters for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs. 21,000 crores. This is the first project under the MoD’s prestigious Strategic Partnership (SP) Model that aims at providing the significant fillip to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme. 

6) Myanmar Media Group Inks MoU With Prasar Bharati

•Prasar Bharati and Mizzima Media Group of Myanmar signed an MoU to realize cooperation and collaboration in broadcasting and content sharing. The agreement was signed in the presence of Prasar Bharati CEO, Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Editor-in-chief and MD, Mizzima in New Delhi. 

•The Agreement will realize cooperation and collaboration in broadcasting and envisions content-sharing covering a wide range of genres, including culture, entertainment, education, science, news and sports along with other areas of mutual interest. 

7) Exercise SCO Peace Mission 2018 Started In Russia

•Exercise Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Peace Mission 2018, the latest in 'Peace Mission' series formally started at Chebarkul, Russia. The opening ceremony was conducted in Chebarkul, Russia with military contingents of the all eight SCO member nations participating in this exercise. 

•The SCO Peace Mission Exercise is one of the major defence cooperation initiatives amongst SCO nations and will be a landmark event in the history of SCO defence cooperation. 

8) U K Varma Appointed Assocham Secretary General

•Industry chamber Assocham appointed former bureaucrat Uday Kumar Varma as its new Secretary General. He succeeds DS Rawat who held the position for nearly 14 years.

•Varma retired from the position of Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India in 2013, and has extensive administrative experience at the highest levels of administration both in the state government (of Madhya Pradesh) and central government.