Daily Current Affairs, 10th August 2018

1) World Biofuel Day: 10 August

•The World Biofuel Day is observed every year on August 10 to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. The World Biofuel Day is being observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.

•On the occasion, PM of India, Narendra Modi unveiled a Booklet on “National Policy on Biofuels 2018”, and launched “Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive and Virtuous Environmental Single window Hub”[PARIVESH].

•The Government has approved the National Policy on Biofuels-2018 in June 2018. The policy has the objective of reaching 20% ethanol blending and 5% biodiesel blending by 2030. 

2) President Ram Nath Kovind Inaugurates ‘One District One Product’ Summit

•The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the ‘One District One Product’ Summit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The special emphasis was laid on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). After the agricultural sector, most people find employment in this sector. 

•Uttar Pradesh contributes around 44% in the total handicraft exports of the country. Under the ‘One District One Product’ scheme, the state government has set a goal of providing employment to 25 lakh people in five years through the financial assistance of Rs. 25,000 crores. 

3) NITI Aayog Hosts Investors’ Conference In Andaman & Nicobar, And Lakshadweep Islands

•NITI Aayog hosted an Investors’ Conference at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra for the Holistic Development of Islands along with the respective UT Administration. The Conference was inaugurated by Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. 

•It attracted investment for the sustainable development of eco-tourism projects in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands. The 11 anchor tourism projects are proposed to be implemented with private sector participation under the suitable risk-sharing model and through open-competitive bidding. 

4) Global Innovation Index, GII- 2018 Launched In India

•The Global Innovation Index 2018 was launched in New Delhi by Ratan P Watal, Principal Adviser, NITI Aayog & Member Secretary of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. The event was organized by theConfederation of Indian Industry (CII) – one of the founding partners of GII along with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). 

•India’s rank on the Global Innovation Index (GII) has improved from 60 in 2017 to 57 in 2018. India has been consistently climbing the GII ranking for the past two years. 

5) Chile's Michelle Bachelet To Be Next UN Human Rights Chief

•The United Nations announced that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has chosen former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet to be the UN’s new human rights chief. Bachelet would be succeeding Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein. 

•Bachelet’s name will now go forward for consideration and approval by the 193-member UN General Assembly.

6) Neeraj Chopra India’s Flag Bearer At Asian Games 2018 Opening Ceremony

•Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra will be the flag bearer for the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games 2018. The 20-year-old has won a gold medal in World Junior Championships, Asian Championships, South Asian Games and Commonwealth Games in his career so far. 

•The Haryana athlete equalled the national record when he recorded a throw of 82.23m at the 2016 South Asian Games. Chopra set a new national record when he registered a throw of 87.43m at the Diamond League in May 2018.