The Daily Brief – 1st September, 2016

The Daily Briefs are a comprehensive update of current affairs for the day. To know more about them, read this. If you’d like to receive updates for current affairs every day, you’ll need to subscribe by entering your email address at the right side of this page. The previous Briefs can be accessed at the archives here. Also, check out our mock tests!

• The 2016 BRICS Convention on Tourism has begun at the UNESCO World heritage site, Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, to promote intra-regional tourism. The convention has been organised as a precursor to the BRICS Summit to be held in Goa in October 2016.
• The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme for granting of Permanent Residency Status (PRS) to foreign investors. However, this status will be subject to the relevant conditions in the FDI Policy notified by the Central Government from time to time. The scheme is expected to encourage foreign investment in India and facilitate Make in India Programme.

• Two Indians TM Krishna and Bezwada Wilson have received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay prize for the year 2016. They were among six persons/organisations who received the prestigious award, often regarded as Asia’s Nobel Prize. The award ceremony was held in the Philippines, on August 31st, the birth anniversary of former Filipino President Ramon Magsaysay. Bezwada Wilson is the National Convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, while TM Krishna is a carnatic music vocalist, and was bestowed with this award ensuring social inclusiveness in culture.
• The Union External Affairs Ministry has officially confirmed that 13 Indians have been tested positive for the Zika virus in Singapore. These cases of outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported among the three dozen workers on a construction site there. Asia’s first case of Zika was also reported in Singapore.
• The Union Defence Ministry has sanctioned the construction of a National War Memorial and National War Museum in New Delhi. The National War Memorial will honour the memory of all soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces who have lost their lives for the nation.
• India has jumped 19 places to the 35th rank in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2016. The report, brought out every two years, measures countries across six components—customs, infrastructure, international shipments, logistics quality and competence, tracking and tracing, and timeliness.
• Brazil’s Senate voted to impeach its President, Dilma Rousseff, ending 13 years of Leftist rule in Latin America’s biggest economy. Ms. Rousseff was convicted by 61 of the 81 Senators of illegally manipulating the national budget. Subsuquent to the two thirds majority vote, she was immediately removed from office. Michel Temer, Brazil’s former Vice President, was then sworn in as the interim President.
• Pakistan is set to acquire at least eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines from China by 2028 in a nearly $5 billion agreement. China is Pakistan’s biggest supplier of military hardware.
• The first regular commercial flight in more than 50 years from the United States landed in Cuba, as the two nations took the latest step in their efforts to boost ties.

Today’s Quiz