7th August 2015 Daily Current Affairs / Gk / GA : 48th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers’ meet was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between 4 August and 6 August 2015.
- Anifah Aman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia chaired the meet.
Theme: “Our People, Our Community, Our Vision”, to create an ASEAN Community which is truly people-oriented, people-centred comprising all areas of cooperation.
PM Narender Modi declared 7th August as National Handloom day to commemorate the 110 year old mark 1905 swadeshi movement
- It was announced at the function held in Chennai.
- PM Modi also launched the ‘India Handloom’ brand to help weavers with brand for global markets.
- The aim behind observing National Handloom Day is to honour the handloom weavers and to carter an impetus to India’s handloom industry.
Amitava Ghosh appointed as vice president – engineering of snapdeal.
- Ghosh, who has over 17 years of experience in building web-based products and platforms, will lead the development of intuitive technology solutions at the Delhi-based online marketplace.
- Prior to this, Ghosh was the chief technology officer at TaxiForSure before Ola Cabs acquired the company. He headed the India engineering team of Tribune Digital Ventures earlier.
Smart Humsafar, a unique plan launched by private insurer SBI Life Insurance on 6 August 2015.
- It offers multiple benefits of savings and insurance cover for husband and wife under a single policy.
- The plan complements the couple’s efforts to achieve prosperity along with protection to fulfill their dream of leading a better life.
- In case of death of one of the spouses, a payment of sum assured is made to the surviving spouse, in addition to waiver of future premiums
Recommended for You : Yuvayana Current Affairs Digest Pdf – July 2015
Accenture India appointed Rekha Menon as chairman and Anindya Basu as managing director in india.
- Menon is currently MD, human resources, for company’s growth markets and has been leading HR strategy for Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Russia, Turkey and Latin America.
- Basu will be responsible for driving Accenture’s domestic business in India and building relationships with key clients by leveraging the company’s capabilities in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations, it said.
Indian-American Atul Keshap confirmed as the U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, becoming the second Indian-origin diplomat to be posted to the region after Richard Rahul Verma.
- He is a former official at the US Embassy in India, was on Wednesday confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the country’s envoy which would be his first Ambassadorial posting.
- He is currently working as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in South and Central Asian Affairs Bureau of State Department. He joined the Foreign Service in 1994.
- He has also served as special assistant for the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia for the under secretary of state for political affairs.
Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje signed MOUs worth 2,452 crore rupees at an investor event organised in New Delhi.
- The event was organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) by the Bureau of Industry Promotion in Rajasthan.
- Investment pacts were signed between the state government and several private companies that plan to set up industrial units in Rajasthan.
- These investments are expected to generate over 7000 direct and more than thousand indirect jobs.
Hollywood Actor George Cole, best known for playing role of Arthur Daley in the TV series Minder passed away. He was 90.
- In a TV and film career spanning seven decades, he became a household name playing cockney wideboys in the Flash Harry in the early St Trinian’s films to the role of a crooked car dealer Daley in Minder.
Egypt has launched a major expansion of the Suez Canal.
- It was inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a lavish ceremony held at port city of Ismailiya ( located on west bank of canal).
- The project was started in August 2014 for the expansion of the Ballah Bypass from 61 metres to 312 metres. The project was dubbed as the New Suez Canal.
- It aims to increase the traffic handled by the canal in order to boost Egypt’s economy and global standing by turning the Suez Canal zone into a global logistics and trade center.
Retired Colonel Harwant Singh, a World War-II veteran and hero passed away in Patiala, Punjab. He was 95.
- He was commissioned in 2nd battalion of the Sikh Regiment of then British Army in September 1941. D
- During the World War (WW)-II he had served in Palestine, North Africa, Iraq, Cyprus and Italy for the British Army.
Also Read : Weekly The hindu current affairs – 3 August 2015 – 9 August 2015
The radical militants of Sunni Islamist militant group Islamic State (IS) have seized Qaryatain, a key town in central Syria.
- It was seized following heavy clashes with Syrian forces
- It is IS’s biggest advance after it had captured the historic town of Palmyra in May 2015.
- The town of Qaryatain lies southwest of Palmyra and it is heavily populated town with a mixed population of around 40,000 Sunni Muslims and Christians, as well as thousands or internally displaced people.
