Current Affairs : 23 August 2016

IOA chief Ramachandran awarded the Olympic Order

• Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President N. Ramachandran has been awarded the Olympic Order(established in May 1975). 
• Olympic Order is the highest award of the Olympic Movement and is awarded for distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement. 
• The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach presented the award to Ramachandran.

Kamal Haasan gets prestigious French honor

• Prominent film actor Kamal Haasan (birth name- Parthasarathy) will be awarded the prestigious Chevalier de L’Ordre Arts et Lettres(The Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Government. 
• He will be the second Tamil actor after the legendary Sivaji Ganesan to be chosen for the honor. 
• The other recipients of the Chevalier Order from India include actors Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai,Nandita Das and Shah Rukh Khan.

Telangana CM Announces Rs 50 Lakh Reward to Dipa Karmakar

• Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced cash prize of Rs. 50 lakh to Dipa Karmakar (from Tripura), who finished fourth in women’s gymnastics at Rio Olympics. 
• Mr. Rao took the decision recognizing the need to encourage girls in all disciplines. 
• Deepa created a record as the lone Indian woman to qualify for a gymnastic event in Olympics after 52 years.

Maneka Gandhi Inaugurate Animal Birth Control Centre in Dehradun

• Union Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi has inaugurated the Uttarakhand’s first animal birth control center (ABC) at Dehradun. 
• It will take up birth control measures with stray dogs the population of which has been rising in the city and the state. 
• The centers will be set up in Nainital and Mussoorie and other municipal corporations in Haridwar, Haldwani, Kashipur and Roorkee.

P D Gupta appointed VC of Homi Bhabha National Institute

• Eminent scientist P D Gupta has been appointed as Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai. 
• The HBNI is an aided institution of the Department of Atomic Energy and is a deemed university under the UGC Act.

Sunil Mittal re-appointed Chairman of Bharti Airtel

• Sunil Bharti Mittal has been re-appointed as the Chairman of Bharti Airtel for next 5 years with effect from October 1st ,2016. 
• Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian global telecommunications services company based in New Delhi, India. 
• It operates in 18 countries across South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands.

Former international umpire Subrata Banerjee dies

• Former international umpire Subrata Banerjee (71-year) passed away in Kolkata. 
• Banerjee had a 15-year career at the international level, where he officiated in 13 ODIs. 
• He officiated in men’s and women’s international matches as well as in age group tournaments and stood in a women’s Test match.

Scientists for first time develop laser from fluorescent jellyfish proteins

• First-time Scientists have developed LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) from fluorescent jellyfish proteins that were grown in bacteria. 
• It represents a major advance breakthrough in so-called polariton lasers operating at room temperature. 
• Polariton laser works by passing photons back and forth between excited molecules.

Brazil defeats Germany, wins first Olympic soccer gold

• Brazil has beaten Germany to bag their Olympic Men’s Football gold for the first time in its history. 
• The pulsating Final ended 1-1 at the end of regulation time. 
• In the shootout, Brazil defeated Germany 5-4.

Sania Mirza clinches world No 1 spot in women’s doubles after winning Cincinnati title

• Sania Mirza moved to the number one spot in the WTA doubles rankings after she teamed up with her new partner, Barbora Strycova. 
• Together they beat Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe 7-5, 6-4 in Cincinnati final. 
• Mirza is set to take sole possession of the highest rank, according to the reports, after spliting from her former partner, Martin Hingis.