Current Affairs [Monthly]

Notes:
Veteran star Meryl Streep will become the first-ever recipient of the TIFF Tribute Actor award at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF-2019). She will receive the award in person on 9th September for her tremendous contribution to cinema, television and the stage spans five decades. Streep is a 3-time Oscar winner for ‘The Iron Lady’, ‘Sophie’s Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer. She previously scored an Emmy win for her leading role in HBO’s miniseries adaptation of ‘Angels in America’. The actor’s next film “The Laundromat”, about the Panama Papers scandal, is among the films that will be screened at the famed festival.

Notes:
Renowned Indian philosopher and educationist Prof. K. Ramakrishna Rao has authored his autobiography, which is titled as ‘A Child of Destiny: an autobiography’. It was released by the Indian Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, in Visakhapatnam.
The Professor, Vice Chancellor of GITAM University, was also the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award. He had also been awarded the National Fellowship of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.

Notes:
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 was legislated to protect the scheduled communities from harassments and atrocities.
In March 2018, the Supreme court gave a judgement diluting the original act and it even granted anticipatory bail for those booked in the atrocity case. After huge protest, the government amended the original act and passed the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018. This amendment has been upheld by the apex court.

Notes:
Recently, BIMSTEC and South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration jointly organized the conference titled ‘Increase Cooperation in the Energy Sector in BIMSTEC Region.’ The BIMSTEC members are planning for a 3000 km BIMSTEC power grid called BIMSTEC grid interconnection. The MoU was signed in 2018.

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Union Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry has launched CHAMPIONS portal www.champions.gov.in.
It is a control room-cum-management information system aimed at assisting Indian MSMEs and solving their grievances. The ‘CHAMPIONS’ stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength. It uses advanced technology like AI, Machine Learning and integrated with the Centre’s CPGRAMS grievance portal.

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Exports of silk and silk products from India is US$ 291.36 million in 2018-19. The market share of Indian Silk exports in the global silk trade is 4-5%.

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The United States President Donald Trump has signed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act into law. He also signed an executive order ending US preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Autonomy Act was passed unanimously by the Congress. It gives provisions to the country, to hold accountable the individuals involved in suppressing Hong Kong’s freedom. After this act, Hong Kong will be treated the same as mainland China by the US.

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A 180-feet Bailey bridge in Jauljibi sector of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand has been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), amidst frequent landslides and heavy rains.
The 50-metre span concrete bridge was damaged in the month of July as the area was hit by a cloud burst. The bridge construction by BRO will help around 15,000 people in 20 villages of the district.

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The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been implementing a separate Central Sector Scheme ‘Eklavya Model Residential Schools’ (EMRSs) from 2019-20 with the prime objective to provide quality upper primary, secondary and senior secondary level education to Scheduled Tribe (ST) students to enable them to access the best opportunities in education and to bring them at par with the general population.

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The apex court of India, the Supreme Court has asked the Government of India to issue directions within a month regarding or regulating the use of disinfection on humans, in disinfection tunnels.
The Supreme Court stated that though the Centre had issued advisory that spraying of disinfectant on human body is not recommended, no steps were not taken in this regard to prevent or regulate it.