Current Affairs: 7 August 2017

The centre approved a proposal to rename the Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh after RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
The proposal was given by the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh in a bid to revive the legacy of Upadhyaya, who died in 1968 at the junction itself.
The junction, the fourth busiest railway station in the country, is located on the main Howrah-Delhi Grand Chord line. The Uttar Pradesh government, headed by Yogi Adityanath, had in June approved the proposal of renaming the station and forwarded it to the Ministry of Railways for final approval.

Amid deepening Indo-Iranian ties, the government is hopeful that the strategic Chabahar Port will be operational by 2018
The Road, Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister will represent India at the oath taking ceremony Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tomorrow.
As per the MoU signed between the two nations in May last year, India is to equip and operate two berths in Chabahar Port Phase-I with capital investment of USD 85.21 million and annual revenue expenditure of USD 22.95 million on a 10-year lease.
Ownership of equipment will be transferred to Iranian side on completion of 10 years or for an extended period, based on mutual agreement. The Iranian side had requested for provision of a credit of USD 150 million in accordance with the MoU.

The legend of Vijender Singh continued to grow as the Indian boxing star outslugged his Chinese opponent Zulpikar Maimaitiali in a close bout to retain the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight title in Mumbai
It was double delight for the fans as Singh also snatched the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight title from the Chinese, who is nine years younger to him. It was the 32-year-old Beijing Olympic bronze medallist’s ninth successive win in his professional career.

Japan on Sunday marked 72 years since the world’s first nuclear attack on Hiroshima, with the nation’s traditional contradictions over atomic weapons again coming into focus.
The anniversary came after Japan sided last month with nuclear powers Britain, France and the US to dismiss a UN treaty banning atomic weapons, which was rejected by critics for ignoring the reality of security threats such as North Korea.
Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic attacks, in 1945.

National Handloom Day is being observed today to encourage people to use hand-made loom in the country. The main event will be held in Guwahati to celebrate the third National Handloom Day.
Central Government has declared August 7 as National Handloom Day, to be celebrated every year due to its significance in India's history, as 'Swadeshi Movement' was launched in 1905 on this day. The movement involved revival of domestic products and production processes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the first National Handloom Day on August 7 in 2015

S. Aparna, an IAS officer from Gujarat cadre has been appointed as Executive Director, World Bank to represent the constituency of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka for three years.
A 1988-batch IAS, she is currently Principal Secretary to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. At the World Bank, she will replace Subhash Garg, who was recently appointed Economic Affairs Secretary, Ministry of Finance.

Economist Dr Rajiv Kumar was appointed the new vice-chairman of NITI Aayog
His appointment comes five days after the incumbent vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya announced he was quitting the government think tank on 31 August to return to Columbia University.
Kumar, a senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research (CPR), is also chancellor of the the Gokhale Institute of Economics and Politics in Pune, and is the founding director of Pahle India Foundation, an organisation that specialises in policy-oriented research and analysis.

NDA nominee M Venkaiah Naidu was on Saturday elected as the next vice-president of India by securing over two-thirds of votes, leaving opposition candidate Gopalkrishna Gandhi far behind. Naidu got 516 votes out of total 771 votes cast while Gandhi could only manage 244 votes. Of the 771 votes polled, 11 were invalid. Although 785 MPs are there in both Houses of Parliament, 14 MPs could not vote.
Naidu will be the 13th person to hold the second highest constitutional post. The strength of the electoral college comprising both elected and nominated MPs of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 790.

India signed a loan agreement with Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for financing USD 329 million
The agreement was signed by Joint Secretary (MI) in the Ministry of Finance, Sameer Kumar Khare, on behalf of India and Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, AIIB, D J Pandian on behalf of the AIIB.
The objective of the project is to improve the rural road connectivity and accessibility (by providing all weather road connectivity) to 1,060 villages in all the 33 districts in Gujarat state benefiting about 8 million people.
The project will also benefit the service providers such as public transport operators, educational institutions, hospitals, local markets and traders