Current Affairs Update - 22 July 2016

Updated on : 11:06, 30 August 2016

— NATIONAL —

PM Narendra Modi to lay foundation stone of AIIMS in Gorakhpur:

 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the Gorakhpur city where he will fulfil two promises made by him during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls – setting up an AIIMS hospital and second revival of the fertilizer unit.

Odisha to Set Op Judicial Commission to Reform Jagannath temple:

• With growing discontentment among the people of Odisha over breaking of age-old traditions in Lord Jagannath Temple at Puri, the state government announced that ajudicial commission will be set up to bring reforms in the management of the 12th century shrine.

ü  Odisha Governor    S C Jamir

ü  Odisha CM     Naveen Patnaik

ü  Odisha Capital       Bhubaneswar

New high-tech museum at Rashtrapati Bhavan:

• The history of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, from its construction to the lives of its occupants, will be on display in a high-tech story-telling museum (Garages Museum) which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 25 when President Pranab Mukherjee completes four years as the Head of State.

Modi, B’desh PM inaugurate S Asia’s biggest land port:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina jointly dedicated the Petrapole Integrated Check Post through video-conferencing.
• Prime Minister Modi said that the check post would not only boost bilateral trade, but also enhance connectivity, people to people ties and become a gateway of economic progress for both the countries.

Rajasthan: Maternal care mobile service launched:

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje launched mMitra, a mobile voice message service that delivers weekly messages to families about pregnancy, family planning, nutrition, childbirth, and maternal and child care.
• As per reports, the service will initially operate in 195 villages in Khanpur block of Jhalawar district on a pilot basis, with a scale-up across the district soon.

4,804 children rescued under ‘Operation Muskan’:

• Mumbai Railway Police has successfully traced as many as 4,804 “missing” children and reunited 4,386 of them with their family under ‘Operation Muskan’.
• Rest of the 418 children were handed to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of the state.

Government approves bill to protect transgenders:

• Over a year after the Rajya Sabha approved a private member’s bill to protect the rights of transgender.
• The Union Cabinet has approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 for introduction in Parliament.
• Through this bill, the government has evolved a mechanism for their social, economic and educational empowerment.

Kerala Government constitutes State Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation:

• The Kerala State Government constituted a State Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (STAGI) on the lines of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI).
• The Group will advise the State government on the policies and practices to be adopted and implemented under the National Immunisation Programme.

NDMC signs MoU with NEERI to develop sewage treatment plants:

• The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP).
• This project will help increase the green cover in NDMC areas and curb dust pollution.

India ranks 110 on Sustainable Development index:

• India was ranked 110 out of the 149 nations assessed on where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as per a Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung index.
• Countries were ranked on their performance across 17 goals, which are to be achieved by 2030. Sweden topped the index, followed by Denmark and Norway.

Andhra to distribute 42 lakh more LED bulbs:

• Andhra Pradesh will distribute 42 lakh LED bulbs in the state, in addition to the 1.90 lakh bulbs distributed previously, an official has said.
• Further, reports claimed that the state saved a monetary equivalent of Rs.600-700 crore through the bulbs’ distribution.
• Efforts are now on to make the bulbs available in the open market for ₹85, the official added.

Karnataka bans Chinese ‘manja’ used to fly kites:

• The Karnataka government has imposed an “unconditional” ban on the sale, and possession of Chinese ‘manja’ and other non-biodegradable threads used to fly kites.
• The threads, coated with finely crushed glass and other harmful substances, are blamed for causing injuries and claiming lives of birds.
• Reportedly, 268 birds entangled in Chinese ‘manja’ in Bengaluru were rescued between 2010-2014.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

2016 set to be world’s hottest year on record: WMO:

• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced that global temperatures for the first six months of 2016 broke many records. It means that 2016 is on the track to be the world’s hottest year on record.
• The WMO stated that Arctic Sea ice melted early and fast, which is another indicator of climate change. In addition, Carbon dioxide levels have also reached new highs.

 

— APPOINTMENTS —

Fox News CEO Roger Ailes resigns:

• Roger Ailes resigned as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox News Channel, putting an end to his 20-year reign over America’s powerful cable news channel for conservatives.
• He will be succeeded by Rupert Murdoch, Head of parent company 21st Century Fox and Founder of the empire that includes Fox.
• However, Ailes will continue to serve as an informal adviser to Rupert Murdoch and will receive a severance package of about 40 million US dollars.

Dhoni named ambassador of Aussie sports academy:

• Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named brand ambassador of the Craig McDermott International Cricket Academy in Australia.
• The academy offers a four-year bachelor’s degree in sports science and management with emphasis on cricket.
• Additionally, Dhoni has become the world’s first cricketer to be associated with a venture capital firm, tying up with Australia’s Secured Venture Capital.

Ajay Bhushan Pandey appointed as CEO of UIDAI:

• The Union Government appointed Ajay Bhushan Pandey as the Chief Executive Officer of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the promotion of Pandey with effect from 12 July 2016.
• Under Pandey’s tenure, UIDAI will have to deal with the legal cases involving privacy and parliamentary issues that Aadhaar has been embroiled in.

 

— BANKING —

RBI to monitor banks on customer rights:

• Reserve Bank will shortly start monitoring banks on issues relating to customer rights in five broad areas.
• The areas on which the regulator will be conducting surveys and supervision at various banks are –

ü  Right to privacy,

ü  Right to fair treatment & transparency,

ü  Fair and honest dealing,

ü  Right to suitability and

ü  Right to grievance redress & compensation

Federal Bank ties up with Reliance Jio Money:

• Federal Bank has signed an agreement with Reliance Jio Money for one-click payment service.
• Reliance Jio Money is a wallet application that will be launched soon for mobile devices where Federal Bank will enable a direct payment option for its customers.
• Through this service, the leading private sector bank’s customers can complete a transaction without funding the wallet. The bank’s customers will get a facility to directly pay from their account for the services offered through the wallet (without pre-loading their wallet).

IRCTC joins hands with SBI to promote rail ticketing:

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has joined hands with the State Bank of India to chalk out a detailed plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities, including internet ticketing and unreserved ticketing system.
• The MoU was signed by IRCTC CMD A K Manocha and Arundhati Bhattacharya, CMD, SBI.
• The MoU also envisages for undertaking activities which can provide value to customers and bring about synergy in working of both the organisations.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

Marlon Samuels named West Indies Cricketer of the Year:

• West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels was named Cricketer of the Year and ODI Player of the Year at the West Indies Cricket Board annual awards’ function in Antigua.
• Samuels was Man of the Match in the World T20 final, which West Indies won, earlier this year. Darren Bravo got the award for Test Player of the Year.

Deepest freediving world record set at 102 m:

• New Zealand diver William Trubridge has set a new world record of 102 metres for the deepest unassisted freedive.
• The 36-year-old held his breath for four minutes and 14 seconds as he descended the world’s deepest marine cavern, the Dean’s Blue Hole in the Bahamas. This is Trubridge’s 18th record overall, and the third of this year.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

Walmart tops Fortune Global 500 list

• US-based retail giant Walmart has emerged on top of the latest Fortune Global 500 list, which ranks the world’s biggest companies in terms of their revenues.
• With $482.13 billion in revenue, Walmart has bagged the title for the third consecutive year.
• Further, China’s state-owned firms State Grid and China National Petroleum were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Seven Indian firms on Fortune 500 list; Rajesh Exports replaces ONGC:

• Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue with the retail giant Walmart topping the global rankings.
• Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC) is ranked highest at 161st among Indian firms, while another state-run firm Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) has moved out of the rankings for 2016.
• Private gems and jewellery major Rajesh Exports Ltd has made its debut at 423rd position.
• Among the seven Indian companies, four are from the public sector while Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the top-ranked among private sector firms, followed by Tata Motors Ltd and Rajesh Exports.

NHAI awards Rs 533 crore contract in Rajasthan:

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a Rs 533 crore contract for widening of Salasar-Nagaur Section of national highways 65.
• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued Letter of Award (LOA) for development of national highway section in Rajasthan under phase IV of National Highways Development Projects (NHDP) to Dineshchandra R Agrawal Infracon Pvt Ltd.

Ford Motor Company setting up R&D Centre in Tamil Nadu:

• Ford Motor Company is in the process of setting up a Research and Development (R&D) centre in Tamil Nadu, the first such facility to be located outside of the US.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

NASA marks 40th anniversary of Mars landing:

• NASA celebrated a historical milestone on July 20, the 40th anniversary of the first U.S. spacecraft to land on Mars.
• On July 20, 1976, NASA successfully reached the Martian surface with their Viking Lander 1.
• The Viking project – comprised of two separate spacecraft – together took more than 65,000 images of the planet and collected overwhelming amounts of data.
• The primary goal of the Viking mission was to search for evidence of life on Mars.

New ‘giant thief’ dinosaur found in Argentina:

• Fossils of a carnivorous dinosaur unearthed in Argentina are shedding new light on an intriguing group of predators that apparently were just as happy to slash victims to death with sickle-shaped hand claws as to chomp them into an early grave.
• Murusraptor barrosaensis, lived about 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, measured about 21 feet (6.5 metres) long and was a pursuit hunter more lightly built than some other predatory dinosaurs.

 

— SPORTS —

Spain announces Lopetegui as Del Bosque’s replacement for head coach position:

• Spain’s new football coach Julen Lopetegui has promised to build on the success of predecessor Vicente Del Bosque after being named as his replacement.

ü  Spain PM   Mariano Rajoy

ü  Spain Capital     Madrid

ü  Spain Currency  Euro

Sam Allardyce set for England head coach job, confirms FA chairman Dyke:

• Sam Allardyce is set to be hired as the New England manager at a Football Association board meeting at Wembley.
• Allardyce has been selected by a three-man panel who decided the Sunderland boss was the best bet on a short-list that also included Hull manager Steve Bruce, Bournemouth chief Eddie Howe and USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

 

— OBITUARY —

Former French cyclist Dominique Arnaud passes away:

• Former French cyclist Dominique Arnaud passed away in Dax, Aquitaine, France due to cancer. He was 60.