Current Affairs Update - 18 July 2016

Updated on : 11:06, 30 August 2016

— IMPORTANT DAYS —

Nelson Mandela International Day 2016 observed on July 18:

• 18 July: Nelson Mandela International Day
• Nelson Mandela International Day was observed across the world on 18 July 2016 to honour the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nelson Mandela (1918-2013).
• The day is aimed at inspiring individuals to take action to help change the world for the better.
• The Day was celebrated for the first time on 18 July 2010 as per a UN General Assembly resolution of November 2009.

 

— NATIONAL —

3 Indian Sites make it to UNESCO’s List

• Khangchendzonga National Park  in Sikkim & Capitol Complex in Chandigarh have been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO.
• The listing was announced at the 40th session of the WHC at Istanbul.
• Earlier,the Nalanda Mahavihara was also marked as a heritage site.
• This is the first time that any country got three sites inscribed in the list at a single session

India’s 1st E-Court Opened in Hyderabad

• India’s first e-court was opened at High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad, common high court for the states of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.
• Supreme Court Justice Madan B Lokur inaugurated the first ever e-Court at the High Court premises.
• E-Courts (paperless courts) will ensure easy and better access to justice for public
• The purpose of e-courts was to ensure speedy justice for the litigants.

Govt. Unveils Fourth Tranche of SGB

• The Ministry of Finance has launched the 4th Tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) for resident individuals & investors.
• The bonds will be open for investment from July 18 to 22.
• The issue price of the 4th tranche has been fixed at Rs 3119 per gram of gold.
• The SGB was announced in the 2015-16 Budget with a view to reduce the demand for physical gold &divert savings into financial instruments.

Pema Khandu sworn in as the 10th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh:

• Pema Khandu (36) of Congress Party was sworn in as the 10th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
• With this,he became the youngest Chief Minister in the country.
• He was administered the oath to office and secrecy by Governor Tathagata Roy at the Rajbhavan in Itanagar.
• Besides, Chowna Mein was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.
• Now he has to prove his majority in the floor test. He is also supported by the ousted Chief Minister KhalikoPul, who has returned to the Congress party with 30 dissident Congress MLAs.

Government mulling law with stern provisions against river polluters:

• Government is working to bring a law having stringent provisions against the river polluters.
• Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said the government is proposing to bring the law in consultation with states to act against polluting industries.
• She reiterated government’s commitment to clean the Ganga during its tenure and added that 20 thousand crore rupees have been allocated for the project.
• The Minister said the government has decided to implement waste management in the cities along the river to prevent city drains from discharging into the Ganga.

Supreme Court accepts Lodha panel recommendations on structural reforms in BCCI:

• The Supreme Court accepted major recommendations of the Lodha Committee on reforms in BCCI including a bar on ministers and civil servants and those above 70 years of age from becoming its members.
• However the apex court left it to the Parliament to decide whether it should come under RTI and if betting on the game should be legalised.
• The apex court also accepted the recommendations of the Committee headed by retired Chief Justice of India Justice R M Lodha to have a CAG nominee in BCCI.

Culture Ministry to rate Indian artists, writers:

• To prevent a clique from dominating the official cultural space, the Culture Ministry has decided to rate Indian artists and writers, on the basis of which they will be sent to represent India.
• As a pilot project, the ministry has graded 185 artists into three categories – O (Outstanding), P (Promising), W (Waiting) – for representing India in festivals abroad.

TRI-NETRA System developed for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather:

• The Ministry of Railways developed the TRI-NETRA system on locomotives for enhancing the vision of Locomotive Pilots in inclement weather. TRI-NETRA stands for Terrain imaging for diesel dRiversINfra-red, Enhanced opTical&Radar Assisted system.
• TRI-NETRA system is be made up of high-resolution optical video camera, high sensitivity infra-red video camera and additionally a radar-based terrain mapping system.
• These three components of the system act as three eyes (Tri-Netra) of the Locomotive Pilot.

Union Government launches Transforming India Website:

• The Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology and Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad launched Transforming India website
• Transforming India website is a repository for sharing the impact of various governance initiatives with citizens in real-time.

Centre released Rs.28k cr under MGNREGA this year:

• The Centre, has released Rs.28,022.87 crore to states under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
• The amount has been given to states/UTs to cover previous fiscal’s liabilities and for running the programme in 2016-17, Minister of State for Rural Development Ram KripalYadav, said.

Free bus pass scheme launched for students in Tamil Nadu:

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched the free bus pass scheme for school and college students for 2016-17.
• The scheme, aiming to benefit students from poor backgrounds, covered 28.05 lakh students in 2015-16, an official statement said.
• This year, 31.11 lakh students would be provided free smart card bus passes at an estimated Rs.504.31 crore, the statement added.

LS Speaker launches e-portal to reduce paperwork:

• To reduce paperwork in the day-to-day functioning of the Parliament, LokSabha Speaker SumitraMahajan launched an e-portal enabling online interaction with various branches of the Secretariat.
• “The members can put questions and give notices online as well,” she said.
• By this, the government is not only preserving the environment but also saving money, she added.

Pune bikers launch traffic rules awareness drive:

• Biker group Soaring Eagles Moto Club launched a campaign to create awareness about traffic rules in Pune, which began with a song and dance.
• The club will hold similar events across the city every month. Its president said, “The objective… is to make the young generation, especially the children, aware of the traffic rules”.

Inter-exchange telephone services banned in J&K:

• Inter-exchange calls on all telephone connections, except mobile services of BSNL, have been suspended in the valley due to the prevailing law and order situation.
• Customers can not make calls to any phone number outside their respective districts, calls can only be made within a district.
• Broadband internet services have also been banned across the valley.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

Ergüner named UNESCO Artist for Peace

• The Director-General of UNESCO,Irina Bokova, has appointed Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner as UNESCO Artist for Peace.
• Kudsi Ergüner is a musician,player of the ney (reed flute),composer,teacher & author.
• He is named in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values of music.
• UNESCO Artists for Peace are renowned personalities who use their influence to promote UNESCO programs.

China to conduct 3-day military drill in South China Sea:

• China will conduct a 3-day military drill in South China Sea from tomorrow, state-run media quoting the Maritime Safety Agency.
• The Agency warned that entry to the exercise area will be prohibited during the exercise.
• Tensions remain high in the region after the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that China has no legal basis to claim historic rights to islands in the South China Sea.

Digital art exhibition opens in Tokyo:

• Art collective teamLab opened a digital art exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, which allows visitors to engage with interactive artworks
• The 3,000-square-metre exhibition features a kaleidoscopic digital maze where visitors can control the intensity and hue of the lights.
• It also features a ‘flower universe’ installation into which visitors can release butterflies using their smartphones.

 

— APPOINTMENTS —

Turkish musician KudsiErguner named UNESCO Artist for Peace:

• Turkish musician KudsiErguner was appointed as the UNESCO Artist for Peace by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.
• Erguner was appointed for the post at a ceremony held at the Congress Center in Istanbul (Turkey) after the opening ceremony of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee, which ends on 20 July 2016.

Navjot Singh Sidhu resigns from RajyaSabha:

• BJP MP Navjot Singh Siddhu today resigned from the RajyaSabha. He was nominated to the Upper House in April this year.
• Deputy Chairman P J Kurien announced in the House that his resignation has been accepted.

 

— BANKING —

ICICI Pru Life files for India’s 1st insurance IPO:

• ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has filed for an initial public offering of shares, a draft prospectus released, which will be India’s first insurance sector IPO.
• It could reportedly raise around Rs.5,000 crore, the biggest local IPO in six years. India’s ICICI Bank, holding nearly 68% of the insurer, will sell up to181.34 million shares.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

6-yr-old Bengaluru boy sets limbo-skating world record:

• A six-year-old Bengaluru boy skated under 35 cars parked next to each other on Sunday to set the Guinness World Record for farthest distance limbo-skating under cars.
• The boy, Om SwaroopGowda, held his body parallel to the ground and covered a distance of 65 metres under the cars to shatter the previous record of 48.21 metres set in 2012.

19-year-old equals Shastri’s fastest double ton record:

• Nineteen-year-old Welshman Aneurin Donald hit a 123-ball double century in an English county match to equal Ravi Shastri’s record for the fastest double ton in first-class cricket.
• Interestingly, Shastri’s knock had come in the same innings in which he had hit six sixes in an over. Moreover, Donald reached the landmarks of 100, 150 and 200 with sixes.

Japan’s Hokkaido tops ‘Best in Asia’ list:

• Travel guide Lonely Planet has published its ‘Best in Asia’ list, ranking the Japanese island of Hokkaido the best destination in Asia.
• Shanghai in China, Jeonju in South Korea, Con Dao Islands in Vietnam and Hong Kong completed the top five.
• Meanwhile, Meghalaya, the only Indian destination featured on the list, was ranked ninth.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

ADB cuts developing Asia’s 2016 growth forecast:

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) trimmed its 2016 growth forecasts for developing economies in Asia-Pacific region to 5.6% as against the earlier estimate of 5.7%.
• This follows a slowing US economy and the near-term impact of the ‘Brexit’ vote, analysts said
• India’s economy is still forecast to grow 7.4% this year and 7.8% in 2017, the ADB added.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

SpaceX launched unmanned Dragon cargo capsule to International space station:

• SpaceX launched its unmanned Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station, carrying a key piece of equipment that was lost in 2015 due to rocket explosion.
• The launch to the ISS is a resupply mission for NASA.
• Dragon spaceship was packed with nearly 23000 kilograms of gear, including science experiments and equipment for the astronauts living in space.

 

— SPORTS —

Dipika Pallikal Karthik, Saurav Ghosal clinches 73rd Senior National Squash Championship:

• The 73rd Senior National Squash Championship held from 12 July – 17 July 2016 concluded in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Women: Final Result

• DipikaPallikalKarthik (World no. 19) dethroned defending champion JoshnaChinappa 4-11 11-6 11-2 11-8 to regain the women’s title. Dipika was playing in the nationals after a five-year gap when she won in 2011.

Men: Final Result

• Top seed SauravGhosal defeated fourth seed Harinderpal Singh Sandhu 11-7 7-11 3-11 11-8 14-12 in five hard-fought games to claim the title.
• With this win, Ghosal also created a history of winning the title for the 11th time and went ahead of RK Narpat Singh’s feat of 10 titles, won from 1946 to 1955.

Pakistan win their first Test at Lord’s in 20 yrs:

• Pakistan registered their first Test victory at Lord’s after a gap of 20 years, with their 75-run-win over England.
• Needing 283 to win the Test, England were bowled out for 207, courtesy Yasir Shah’s overall figures of 10/141.
• Shah’s figures are the best overall figures registered by an Asian bowler at Lord’s.

Lord’s hero Shah scales number one spot in ICC Test rankings:

• Wrist spinner Yasir Shah has scaled the number 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings, becoming the first Pakistani bowler to do so since Mushtaq Ahmed achieved the feat in December 1996.
• He reached the number-one spot after bowling Pakistan to a 75-run victory over England in the first Test at Lord’s on Sunday.
• Yasir, who returned with figures of six for 72 and four for 69, has leapfrogged India spinner RavichandranAshwin and England’s fast bowling pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad into the top spot after his achievement earned him 32 points.
• In the Test Batsmen rankings, Australia’s Steve Smith maintained his top spot ahead of New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
• In Test team rankings, Australia and India currently take the top two places, followed by Pakistan and England at third and fourth spots.

Himachal wins champion trophy in All India Electricity Board Kabaddi tournament:

• Himachal Pradesh won the champion trophy in the 41st All India Electricity Board Kabaddi tournament held at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu.
• In the final held last evening Himachal Pradesh defeated Punjab 36-22.