August Current Affairs

Paris Olympics,2024

India’s medal tally at the Paris Olympic Games:

Total 6 medals, 1 silver, 5 bronze (down form 7 at Tokyo)

Shooting:

• Swapnil Kulase ( Bronze, 50 metre rifle),
•  Manu Bhaker -Bronze medal, 10 m air pistol
• Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh- Mixed 10 m air Pistol
• Javelin Throw:Neeraj Chopra – Silver
• Wrestling:Aman Sehrawat – (Bronze, Men’s Freestyle (57 Kg))

• Team Event : Men’s Hockey: Bronze Medal (Captain: Harmanpreet Singh)
• New Records at the Paris Olympics:
• First woman to win 3 consecutive gold medals: Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon (Paris 2024, Tokyo 2020, Rio de Janeiro, 2016)
• Netherland’s Sifan Hassan : Medals in both 5000 m and 10,000 metre ( First since Emil Zatopek in 1952)
• Cuba’s Mijain Lopez : Fifth individual gold in 130 Kg Greco- Roman Wrestling
• Sweden’s Armand Duplantis broke the men’s pole-vaulting record for the 9^th time (6. 25 metres, Paris)
• USA’s Simone Biles, Gymnastics : Total of 7 Olympics Gold, cumulatively
• USA’s Katie Ledecky, Swimming: Total 9 gold medals cumulatively
• USA’s Sydney Mc-Laughlin-Lavrone , Hurdles race: 4 gold medals, cumulatively
• France’s Leon Marchand : Highest number of Gold medals at Paris Olympics: 4 ( 2 gold medals in the same day)
• Australia’s Arisa Trew : Youngest Gold winner at Paris Olympics (Skating, Park Event)
• Bulgarian Karlos Nasar became the lightest man to lift 400kg in weightlifting. He is nicknamed as the ‘Man from Mars’ and won Gold in Men’s 89 Kg category weightlifting.
• Marathon: Ethiopian Tamirat Tola won the Olympic Men’s marathon.

New events at the Olympics:

The 2024 Paris Games featured four sports that are fresh on the Olympics scene: breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing. Breaking (otherwise known as break dancing) made its Olympic debut, while the latter 3 events appeared in their second Olympic cycles (after the 2020 Tokyo Games).

Cananda’s Phil Wizard (original name: Philip Kim) won gold at Breaking.

Current International Olympics President: Thomas Bach (3^rd term)

Paralympics 2024 , Paris, France

Paralympics Committee of India Chairman: Devendra Jhajharia

Government News

Finance Secretary T.V. Somnathan was appointed as the new Cabinet Secretary.

The post of Cabinet Secretary: The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil service adviser to the prime minister and cabinet, supporting and advising on the running of cabinet and cabinet committees. Additionally, the cabinet secretary acts as the head of the cabinet secretariat and chief of secretaries of states.

India celebrates its 78^th Independence Day:

Important– It is the 78^th and not the 77^th Independence day. The Independence day celebrated in 1947 is counted as the first rather than the first anniversary celebrated in 1948. This makes Independence Day 2024 the 78^th Independence Day.

Business World News:

• Another report by U.S. based short seller Hindenberg accusing SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch of Conflict of Interest
• About SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India is the securities market regulator in India. It was established by an executive order in 1988 (i.e., no law was passed)

SEBI was given statutory status through SEBI Act, 1992

What is Conflict of Interest?

A conflict of interest occurs when a person or organization has multiple interests, and serving one interest could potentially work against another. This often happens when personal interests clash with professional duties or responsibilities. For example, if someone in a position of trust, like a public official or a company executive, stands to benefit personally from a decision they are making in their official capacity, this creates a conflict of interest.

• Google looses anti-trust case

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) had brought a case against Google which sought to prove that it had monopoly powers that it was abusing through exclusive deals with Mobile device manufacturers, browser developers and wireless carriers. It violated section 2 of the Sherman Act (anti-Trust/ Anti- Monopoly law)

Places in News:

Mullaperiyar Dam: Periyar River,Kerala

Tungabhadra Dam: Tungabhadra river, Karnataka (Tungabhadra is a tributary of Krishna River)

International News:

• Foreign Minister Dr.S.Jaishankar cocluded his 3 day trip to Maldives

Capital of Maldives: Male

President: Mohammad Muizzu

• Rwandan President Paul Kagame sworn in for a 4^th  term.

• Death in Uganda’s capital Kampala from a landslide at a garbage dump

• New global health emergency spreading across the world: MPOX

Mpox, earlier known as Monkey pox, has been declared as a health emergency by the WHO due to surge in cases in Congo. With cases emerging Asian countries like Pakistan and Philippines, India is on high alert.

Literature

• Indian writer Pankaj Mishra won the 2024 Weston International Award for his non-fiction writing.

Mishra writes on Global South, Western Imperialism in Asia and contemporary spirituality

He has written 8 non-fiction books, which include Age of Anger, From the Rules of Empire and Butter Chicken in Ludhiana, among others.

His novels are: The Romantics and Run and Hide.

About the Weston award: The award recognizes career achievement of an international author for non-fiction work, and provides a cash prize of $75,000.

Technology

ISRO tested its reusable hybrid Rocket RHUMI-I