Highlights of August 2016 Current Affairs (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of August 2016. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of August month (from 1st to 31st August 2016). We will try to provide the pdf version soon, but we advise you to write these on your own so that you wont forget them again. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

Note : The PDF Versions of both July & August 2016 Current Affairs Quick Reviews will be available by tomorrow

August 2016 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners)

• 41st 'Twins Days Festival', the largest gathering of twins in the world, was recently held in United States' Ohio.
• A 2 day meeting of BRICS Women Parliamentarian’s forum was recently held in Jaipur.
• A book titled R D Burmania: Panchamemoirs authored by senior Bollywood film and music-biz journalist Chaitanya Padukone was recently released.
• A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee on Capacity Building, has recommended that Banks should identify specialized areas for certification of staff manning key responsibilities. This Committee was headed by : G Gopalakrishna (former executive director)
• A total of 5 Indian companies have made it to the Forbes list of 'World's Most Innovative Companies' of 2016. India's largest paint company Asian Paints was ranked 18, the highest among Indian firms.
• According to an Assocham study, Delhi has the highest percentage (42.5%) of people with diabetes among Indian cities, followed by Mumbai (38.5%), Ahmedabad (36%).
• After Punjab National Bank and the United Bank of India, more banks are likely to start a facility wherein an account holder can electronically verify his Income Tax Returns (ITR) without having a netbanking account.
• Andhra Pradesh became the first state in the country to launch DNA Index System (DIS) for DNA (Deoxyribonucleac acid) profiling of criminals.
• Assam became first state in India to ratify The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014.
• Australia has recently announced that it is going to close the controversial Asylum seeker detention centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
• Australia won the 2016 Quidditch World Cup held in the German city of Frankfurt.
• Automobile manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has introduced DiGiSENSE, a cloud based technology solution to track vehicle information in real time.
• Bhutan is the world's first carbon negative country, meaning that the country's forests absorb more carbon dioxide each year than it produces.
• By pumping 100 cusecs of water from tubewells into a dug-up channel, the Haryana government has recently recreated the lost river ‘Saraswati’.
• China and India held their 8th high-level Financial and Economic Dialogue to strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the two Asian economies.
• China and ten member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to form a framework for a code of conduct to ease tension in disputed South China Sea.
• China has launched a cargo train service to Russia in an attempt to improve trade and commerce with the country.
• China has launched its first Tibetan-language search engine 'Yongzin'.  
• China has successfully launched the first satellite dubbed as The Tiantong-01 for mobile telecommunication.
• China is going to launch the world’s first quantum communication satellite which boasts of hack-proof ultra high security features to prevent wiretapping and intercepts.
• China joins the ranks of the world's 25 most-innovative economies in Global Innovation Index (GII). Switzerland topped the list.
• Coastal state of Goa has been given the opportunity to host the BRICS summit.
• Cricket icon and Rajya Sabha MP Sachin Tendulkar has selected Donja village in Osmanabad district for development under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna.
• Current Olympic and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will become the first tennis player to carry Team Great Britain’s flag at the Olympics.
• Doha Bank, one of the prominent banks in Qatar, is formally inaugurated its first branch in Kerala.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi will visit India from 1st to 3rd September 2016.
• England captain Wayne Rooney has confirmed his international retirement after the 2018 football World Cup in Russia.
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is going to address the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 26 in New York.
• Food and beverages brand Nestlé has topped Fortune Magazine's list of the 'Most Admired Food Companies' for 11 consecutive years, since 2006.
• Forbes has recently announced the '100 Richest Tech Billionaires in the World in 2016'. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has topped  this list. Two Indians Azim Premji and Shiv Nadar made it to the list.
• Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju will head a legal panel which will advise and guide BCCI in adopting the Lodha Committee recommendations.
• Gujarat has become the first state in the country to distribute two crore LED bulbs under the Centre’s UJALA scheme.
• Health insurance arm of Aditya Birla Financial Services Group (ABFSG) has received the final regulatory approval from sector watchdog IRDAI and it is likely to begin operations in the last quarter of 2016.
• Human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila has ended her 16-year-long fast against Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 and was granted bail by an Imphal court on ₹10,000 personal bond.
• In a major administrative revamp, the two-year-old Telangana government has issued draft notification on rearranging district borders to create 17 new districts. After the completion of the process, the number of districts in the State will go up to 27 from the present 10.
• India and Bangladesh have agreed to jointly produce a documentary on the 1971 War which led to independence for Bangladesh.
• India and Bangladesh have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Route Permit for carrying Petroleum Goods to Tripura via Bangladesh.
• India and Germany have signed an agreement on vocational training that aims to foster conditions to create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India’s industrial clusters.
• India and Myanmar have signed four Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation and bilateral relations between the two countries.
• India and the United States have signed Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) that will enable both countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of defence supplies.
• India and the US have agreed on a $30 million joint research initiative on Smart Grid and Energy Storage Technology.
• India approves $318 million loan for Sri Lanka Railways to upgrade its communications system and rolling stock in the Tamil-dominated north.
• India has announced financial assistance worth Nepali Rs 3.9 crore for the construction of a new building and a hostel facility at a Sanskrit school in eastern Nepal.
• India has been ranked 77th on the World Risk Index 2016. This list was topped by Island state of Vanuatu.
• India has figured among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world with a total individual wealth of $5,600 billion while the United States topped the chart.
• India has jumped 15 spots to become 2nd most innovative middle income economy in world.
• India has provided One million US Dollars grant to Zimbabwe in the wake of El Nino induced drought disaster.
• India has ranked 66th in the 2016 Global Innovation Index (GII).
• India has witnessed its highest-ever tea production during 2015-16, at 1233.14 million kilograms.
• India ranks a low 39th in terms of fixed broadband adoption in the list of 53 Asia Pacific countries.
• India’s first ever BIO-CNG plant producing CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) from agricultural residue was inaugurated in Pune, Maharashtra.
• India’s first facility to produce Nickel was launched by the Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) at its Indian Copper Complex (ICC) at Ghatshila in Jharkhand.
• Indian boxer Vijender Singh broke into the World Boxing Organisation's top-10 rankings for the first time, after being ranked 10th following his Asia Pacific super middleweight title win last month over Australian Kerry Hope in New Delhi.
• Indian Martial artist Vivek Teja won the Martial Arts Championships in Sydney, Australia,  to become the World Karate Champion.
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ashraf Ghani have jointly inaugurated the renovated Stor Palace in Kabul through video conferencing.
• Indian Railways has announced the commencement of the world's tallest girder rail bridge on the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line in Manipur.
• Indian Railways has launched 'Rail Geet', a three-minute song with moving trains visuals, as an ode to its employees and to establish a connect with the public. Titled 'Indian Railways, we love Indian Railways', the song will be played now at every railway function's beginning.
• Indian state-owned telecommunications company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is going to launch its 4G service during the next financial year.
• Indian tennis player Sania Mirza along with her Romanian partner Monica Niculescu, won her 7th title of the year and 39th title overall after clinching her career's third Connecticut Open.
• Indian wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt's bronze medal from the London Olympics 2012 has upgraded to Silver after the silver medallist from the 2012 Games, deceased Besik Kudukhov of Russia, has been stripped off his medal for using banned substance.
• India's first tiger cell will be set up in Dehradun to aid the tiger conservation efforts.
• Iran has launched the first phase of the country's own national internet network to provide high speed and quality connections at low costs.
• Israeli Parliament has passed the 'Youth Bill' amid a surge in attacks by young Palestinians. This bill allows imprisoning children under the age of 14 convicted of "terrorist offences".
• Jack Ma, Founder of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, is the richest Asian in the '100 Richest Tech Billionaires in the World in 2016' list.
• Japanese PM Shinzo Abe's cabinet has approved fiscal stimulus worth around $277 billion, which is about 6% of their GDP.
• Japan's largest public broadcaster NHK has started the world's first 8K resolution regular TV satellite broadcast, which is 16 times as sharp as 1080p and allows 22.2-channel audio.
• Karnataka Bank has launched ‘KBL-SMARTz’, a mobile application (app) built on the unified payments interface (UPI) platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• London-based risk analysis firm Verisk Maplecroft has ranked India the fourth riskiest in a list of 198 countries losing out on business opportunities due to civil unrest. War-torn countries Syria, Yemen and Libya took the first three spots on the list.  
• Maharashtra and Telangana states have signed agreement for three irrigation projects to be constructed on Godavari, Pranahita and Painganga rivers.
• Maharashtra became the first state in the country to draft its own internal security legislation The Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA), 2016.
• Maharashtra Government has unveiled ambitious Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project in Mumbai.
• Maharashtra has became the first state to sign an agreement with the Civil Aviation Ministry to develop 10 almost non-functional regional airports/airstrips helping move closer to reality the Centre's ambitious regional connectivity plan.
• Man Kaur, a 100-year-old sprinter from Chandigarh, finished a 100-metre sprint in one minute and 21 seconds, to win Gold at the American Masters Games in Vancouver.
• Marking the National Handloom Day, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched ‘Baristha Bunakar Sahayata Yojana’,  a pension scheme for the weavers in the state.
• Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg (Germany) has won the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix of Formula One.
• 'Motorcycle ambulance' is an initiative currently functional in Chhattisgarh, which helps save lives in remote regions in India where four-wheelers can't reach.
• Mumbai has been named the most expensive city in India for travellers but the second least expensive city in the world after Hanoi in Vietnam by TripAdvisor.
• Mumbai-born Chetna Gala Sinha, an economist-turned-farmer, had founded India’s first rural financial institution for women, called the ‘Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank’ in 1997.
• Myanmar has officially announced to support for China’s ambitious One Belt and One Road (OBOR) connectivity initiative along the ancient Silk Road.
• Nalanda University, one of the India's oldest institutes, conducted its first convocation in nearly 800 years on 28th August 2016.
• Nepal's new Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will embark on a 3-day official visit to India on 15th September 2016.
• Odisha Cabinet has approved the Odisha Startup Policy 2016. The aim of this policy is to promote entrepreneurship for start-up ventures with provision of govt incentives.
• Orkut Büyükkökten, creator of Google's social networking platform Orkut, has launched a new social network 'Hello' to connect people who share the same passions across the world.
• Pakistan is going to host the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad and Murree during 9th & 10th November 2016.
• PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the first phase of the ₹12,000-crore Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran for Irrigation (SAUNI) project in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.
• Policy think tank Niti Aayog has inked a pact with the US Energy Information Administration to set up a portal which will constitute all data related to the energy sector.
• Prime Minister Modi has officially launched the first phase of 'Mission Bhagiratha' in Telangana's Medak district to provide piped drinking water to every household in Telangana.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the 1st phase of SAUNI-Saurastra Narmada Avataran Irrigation yojana at Sanodara of Jamnagar district of Gujarat.
• Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has inaugurated the state's first 'Sewa Kendra' where people will be able to avail 243 services under one roof.  
• Putting an end to a 92-year-old tradition of the colonial era, the Railway Budget will be merged with the General Budget from 2017-18 onwards.
• Qatar National Bank (QNB) has obtained an approval from the Indian regulatory authorities to open a branch in India to offer banking services.
• Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to approve sewage and waste water policy.
• Russia has lifted its ban on charter flights to Turkey.
• Season-3 of the Indian Super League (ISL) Football would be held from 1st October 2016 to 18th December 2016, with the opening game scheduled in Guwahati and the venues of the two-legged semi finals to be decided later.
• South American nation Venezuela, with a score of 188.2%, has been ranked 'most miserable' in the world by the Misery Index (computed by adding inflation to the unemployment rate), out of 74 economies surveyed by Bloomberg.
• South Indian Bank, leading private sector bank, and SBI Card, one of India's leading Credit Card issuers, announced the launch of co-branded credit cards for the customers of South Indian Bank.
• Space-exploration startup Moon Express has became the first ever private company to receive permission by the US government to travel to the moon.
• Sri Lanka and China have signed a tripartite agreement to proceed with the construction of a mega multi-billion dollar port city project in capital Colombo.
• Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath (38) became the oldest player to take a Test hat-trick, when he achieved the feat against Australia in Colombo.
• Swimmer Michael Phelps will be the flag bearer of the USA contingent at the Rio Olympics opening ceremony on 5th August 2016.  
• Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa has announced 500 Amma gymnasiums and parks for as many as 1,000 villages in the state.
• Thailand’s tallest building (314 metres tall), the 'MahaNakhon' was officially inaugurated.
• The 2 day SAARC Finance Ministers’ Conference was recently held at Islamabad.
• The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup will be hosted in Ahmedabad, Gujarat during 7th to 22nd October 2016.
• The 300 residents of the Australian village of Tyalgum have backed a plan to switch off the national power lines and set up their own solar power supply.
• The 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was recently held in Kenyan capital Nairobi.
• The 7th meeting of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Immigration Authorities was recently held in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• The Assam Assembly has passed the Assam Amusements and Betting Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to give a fillip to the local film industry by reducing the service charge of cinema tickets.
• The autonomous apex statutory body Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has imposed Rs 35 lakh fine on Bharti Axa General Insurance Co Ltd for violation of various norms including outsourcing activities and corporate governance guidelines.
• The Bank of England has cut its benchmark interest rate to the lowest in its 322-year history at 0.25%, its first cut since 2009.
• The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed a kit for onsite determination of toxic Hexavalent Chromium Cr (VI) in drinking water.
• The Cabinet has approved a proposal to offer Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors meeting minimum investment and employment generation criteria.  
• The Cabinet has recently approved the Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2016. The main aim of this bill is to ban commercial surrogacy but permitting “altruistic” surrogacy under strict rules.
• The Children's Film Society of India (CFSI) has organised a film festival in Nagaland. Titled ‘CFSI Film Bonanza’, the week-long festival will cover all major cities like Kohima, Wokha, and Dimapur.
• The Committee on Border Protection has submitted its report to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The committee has made a detailed study on threat perception, field visits and made a detailed recommendations pertaining to strengthening of border protection on Indo-Pakistan Border. The Committee was headed by : Madhukar Gupta (former Home Secretary)
• The first Children Court of South India was launched at the Nampally Criminal Courts Complex in Hyderabad, Telangana to fast disposal of cases related to children.
• The first National Conference of Investigating Agencies was held from August 12 to 13, 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Youth Parliamentarians Conference on `Peace and Harmony for Development’ was recently held in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• The Gujarat high court has quashed 10 percent reservation quota for the Economically Backward Classes (EBCs).
• The Indian government is going to launch ‘AsliTarakki (Real development)’ campaign in the five cities of the National Capital Region to promote awareness about the need for sanitation.
• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kanpur has adopted five villages in Uttar Pradesh under the Namami Gange programme.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch a record 68 satellites in one mission by early next year.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested its Scramjet (Supersonic Combusting Ramjet) engine from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
• The International Olympic Committee has unanimously agreed to add karate, skateboarding, surfing, sports climbing and baseball/softball to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
• The Maharashtra Government became first state in the country to launch India’s first comprehensive ‘Crime Criminal Tracking Network System’ (CCTNS) in Mumbai.
• The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions has accepted the 7th Pay Commission's recommendation of increasing the minimum monthly pension for retired central government employees by 157.14%, from ₹3,500 to ₹9,000.
• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Textiles have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in a bid to "bring a paradigm shift in the handloom industry".
• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) application has become operational.
• The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has constituted five-member review committee to probe the Indian shooters’ Rio Games debacle. The committee will be headed by : Abhinav Bindra (India’s first and only individual Olympic gold-medallist).
• The only underground museum in India will open at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on 2nd October 2016.
• The Parliament has passed Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions.
• The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated a CII-IIEST Conference in Kolkata, West Bengal. Theme of this conference : “Enabling Make in India through Industry Academia Innovation Platform”.
• The Rajya Sabha has passed the Goods and Services Tax (Amendments) Bill with most of the political parties, except the AIADMK, voting in its favour.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced bi-monthly monetary policy review on 9th August 2016. In this review, the RBI kept the rates unchanged.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that they had set up a committee to study why Indians spend a large sum of money on gold and also understand their household financing patterns. The Committee will be chaired by : Tarun Ramadorai (Professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to provide loans up to Rs 3 lakh at 7 per cent interest rate to Women Self-Help Groups (SHG). This loan scheme must be provided under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)-Aajeevika scheme during 2015-16.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalty on two cooperative banks in Chhattisgarh under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a website 'Sachet' to identify instances of illegal acceptances of deposits, and provide timely information to the public.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark the country’s position vis-à-vis both peer countries and advanced countries. The committee will be headed by : Tarun Ramadorai (professor of Financial Economics, University of Oxford)
• The Rio Olympics, are the first Summer Olympics to be held during the host country's winter season.
• The State Bank of India’s (SBI’s) board of directors has approved merger of its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself.
• The state-owned telecommunications company, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Microsoft India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to offer telecom and IT solutions for big businesses to meet the demand for IT and cloud services.
• The tallest moving observation tower in the world, the 'British Airways i360' opened in Brighton city, United Kingdom.
• The Telangana government has signed an MoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for setting up a Telangana Water Resources Information System (TWRIS) on ISRO’s geo-portal Bhuvan (similar to Google Earth).
• The Tourism Ministers of BRICS countries will meet in Madhya Pradesh's temple city Khajuraho for a two-day long conference from 1st September 2016.
• The Tunisian Parliament has voted to approve the new government led by Prime Minister-designate Youssef Chahed, who backs the implementation of an austerity programme.
• The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution approving an agreement to make the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) part of the UN (United Nations) as a related organisation, underlining a closer legal and working relationship between them is needed “more than ever”
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Fiji. The Agreement is for updation of the existing ASA between the two countries which was signed in January, 1974.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to create a Project Development Fund (PDF) for catalysing Indian economic presence in the CLMV countries viz. Cambodia, Laos Myanmar and Vietnam. It will be operated through the EXIM Bank.
• The Union Finance Ministry has constituted 11 members high-level committee to suggest steps to promote card payments with an aim to discourage cash transactions. The committee will be headed by : Ratan P Watal (Principle Adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog and former Finance Secretary).
• The Union Government has allowed online authentication using Aadhar for new mobile connections.
• The Union Government has constituted a National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) to develop the pan-India road map for trade facilitation. This Committee will be headed by : Pradeep Kumar Sinha (Cabinet Secretary of India).
• The Union Government has set up a Committee to look at easing the policy regime for e-commerce players, including the rules for foreign direct investment (FDI). This committee will be headed by : Amitabh Kant (CEO of NITI Aayog).
• The Union Human Resource Ministry has formally launched Indian Institute of Techonogy (IIT) Dharwad in Karnataka.
• The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) e-box, in New Delhi.
• The United Nations has issued a stamp in honour of carnatic music legend, M S Subbulakshmi, on her birth centenary on August 15th, coinciding with the celebrations of India's 70th Independence Day.
• The United States declared Pakistan based Jamaat-ur-Ahrar (JuA) as a ‘terror group’ by adding it to its list of global terrorists.
• The United States is going to create world’s largest protected marine reserve area named as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the Hawaiian coast.
• The urban development ministry has certified 10 towns - five each in Maharashtra and Telangana - as Open Defecation Free (ODF).
• The US Air Force declared the first squadron of fifth-generation F-35A fighter aircraft as 'Combat Capable'.
• The Uttar Pradesh government has increased the House Rent Allowances (HRA) of government employees by 20%.
• The West Bengal State Assembly approved a proposal to rename West Bengal as "Bengal" in English and "Bangla/Banga" in Bengali.
• The World Bank has approved a $100 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) to support the Sri Lanka's economic reforms programme.
• The world’s first self-driving taxi service was launched in Singapore.
• The world's "largest aircraft" the Airlander 10 embarked on its maiden flight, four days after a previous attempt was abandoned due to technical issues.
• The Yemeni government has accepted a UN-proposed peace agreement to end Civil War in the country.
• The youth wing of the Congress, called Indian Youth Congress (IYC), has launched ‘Adhikar’, a free legal aid centre for the poor.
• To enhance transparency in power transmission sector of the country, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, Piyush Goyal has launched the ‘TARANG’ Mobile App, ‘e-Trans’ & ‘DEEP’ e-bidding web portals.
• Under the "Campus Carry" law, which was recently passed, students in Texas over 21 years of age, with a concealed handgun license will be allowed to bring pistols into classrooms.
• Union Health Minister JP Nadda has launched a nationwide breastfeeding campaign called MAA (Mother's Absolute Affection).
• United States has announced 138 million dollar new aid to South Sudan.
• US Secretary of State John Kerry was on a 3-day visit to New Delhi. During this visit, he co-chaired the 2nd India-US Strategic and Commercial Dilogue along with US commerce secretary Penny Pritzker, Indian External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Commerce and Industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• Uttarakhand has emerged as the top state in India in terms of growth in industry and service sectors during 2004-05 to 2014-15.
• Vietnam has the second fastest GDP growth rate per capita in the world since the 1990s, behind only China.
• Western Railway won the overall team championship in the 82nd All India Railway athletic Championship held at Tiruchirapalli Tamil Nadu.
• With a total of 302 weeks as World No 1 in ATP World Rankings, Tennis player Roger Federer holds the record for most number of weeks at the top spot.  
• World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), an annual celebration which is observed every year during 1st to 7th August.
• World number one Novak Djokovic was elected as the ATP Player Council President, ahead of the US Open.

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