1. Michael Phelps becomes first swimmer to win 4 Gold in a row
- American swimmer Michael Phelps became the first swimmer ever to win four consecutive golds in the same event.
- H won the 200m individual medley Olympic title and with this he won the four consecutive in a row.
- To grab the 200m individual medley Olympic title he completes the race at one minute, 54.66 seconds.
- Japan’s Kosuke Hagino won the silver medal and China’s Wang Shun took the bronze.
- Phelps earned his 13th individual Olympic gold.
2. Assam becomes first state to pass (GST) Bill
- The Assam Assembly unanimously passed the Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014.
- With this Assam becomes the first state to pass (GST) Bill.
- The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 8 August 2016 and by the Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2016.
- The GST will have two components keeping in mind the federal structure of India: the Central GST (CGST) and the State GST (SGST).
- For goods and services that pass through several states, or imports, the Centre will levy another tax, the Integrated GST (IGST).
Note:
- At least 16 states are required to ratify the Constitution amendment bill on GST.
- It will be then sent to the GST Council which will decide on the new tax rate as well as centre and state taxes that will be subsumed in the new tax regime.
3. Manjula Chellur named new Chief Justice of the Bombay high court
- Justice Manjula Chellur has been named the new Chief Justice of the Bombay high court.
- Justice Manjula Chellur was the first female Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
- With this appointment, she becomes second female Chief Justice of the Bombay high court.
Note: Justice Sujata Manohar became the first woman Chief Justice of the Bombay high court in 1994.
4. Nagaland Govt. announced 33% reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies
- The Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang had announced to grant 33% reservation to women in Urban Local Bodies.
- The decision was announced during the State Level Watershed Conference held in Kohima.
5. Times Internet & HDFC Bank join hands to launch co-branded Debit Card
- Times Internet join hands with HDFC Bank to launch co-branded card.
- The co-branded card will called the Times Points Debit Card.
- The card marries the concept of Times Points, an online loyalty product with over 18 million users, and Times Card, a co-branded credit card currently used by 3.5 lakh customers that was launched in 2013 by Times Internet in association with HDFC Bank
6. Nawazuddin won best actor award at IFF Melbourne
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui won the best actor award at Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2016.
- He won the award for his role of psycho serial killer in “Raman Raghav 2.0″.
- On other side, Sonam Kapoor won the best actress award for her performance in Neerja Bhanot’s biopic, “Neerja.
- Rishi Kapoor was honoured with the lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema.
- The theme for this edition is ‘Women Empowerment’. “Angry India Goddesses,”.
7. Smart Ganga City programme launched in 10 cities
- Union Ministers M. Venkaiah Naidu and Uma Bharti today jointly launched ‘Smart Ganga City’ programme in 10 cities.
- The objective of the programme is to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and improve drainage network there on hybrid annuity mode on public private partnership basis.
- The list of the cities/ towns where the programme will be implemented in the first phase includes; Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Patna, Sahibganj and Barrackpore.
8. Ma Long becomes fifth male Grand Slam winner at Rio Olympics
- China’s table tennis champion Ma Long became the fifth male player to complete the Grand Slam.
- He defeated China’s Zhang Jike by 4-0 to grab the gold medal in Table Tennis at Rio Olympics.
- He also becomes second male player ever to be the defending champion of all three majors at the same time.
9. South Indian Bank, SBI Card to launch co-branded credit card
- South Indian Bank and SBI Card, announced the launch of co-branded credit cards for the customers of South Indian Bank.
- With this partnership both South Indian Bank and SBI Card will launch two variants of credit card on VISA platform, namely South Indian Bank Platinum SBI Card and South Indian Bank SimplySAVE SBI Card.