Current Affairs Update - 28 July 2016

Updated on : 11:06, 30 August 2016

— IMPORTANT DAYS —

World Hepatitis Day 2016 is Observed on 28th July, Raise Awareness to Combat Hepatitis B and C

• On 28 July World Hepatitis Day (WHD)brings the world together to raiseawareness of the huge burden ofviral hepatitis and to influence realchange in disease prevention andaccess to testing, treatment and care.
• One of just four disease-specific globalawareness days officially recognised bythe World Health Organization (WHO),WHD unites patient organisations,governments and the general public toboost the global profile of hepatitis.
• WHD2016 signals the start ofsomething big – the launch ofNOhep, a global movementto eliminate viral hepatitis by2030.
• The theme for this year’s globalcampaign is ELIMINATION.2016 is a pivotal year for viralhepatitis. At the World HealthAssembly in May, WHO MemberStates are set to adopt the firstever Elimination Strategy forViral Hepatitis,

World Nature Conservation Day

• World Nature Conservation day is celebrated on July 28 across the world in order to raise awareness about protecting nature and conserving our natural resources.
• With problems like deforestation and illegal wildlife trade on the rise, nature conservation has gone up on the list of priorities for a lot of countries.
• In India, the increased urbanisation has led to issues like lack of wildlife habitat, loss of forest cover and pollution. The government has recognised this as a problem and taken initiative to reverse it.

 

— NATIONAL —

Nalanda varsity to hold 1st convocation in 800yrs

• Nalanda University, one of the India’s oldest institutes, will conduct its first convocation in nearly 800 years on August 27 this year.
• President Pranab Mukherjee is expected to attend the event. Built in the 5th century as a Buddhist centre of learning, Nalanda started conducting academic sessions again in September 2014, with 15 students.

Cabinet okays India-Cambodia investment treaty

• The Cabinet approved the signing of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Cambodia, the first agreement to be inked on the basis of the model BIT text approved in December 2015.
• The treaty seeks to promote and protect investments from either country in the other’s territory with the objective of increasing bilateral investment flows, an official statement said.

Union Cabinet approves key changes to GST Bill, drops 1% additional tax

• The Cabinet cleared changes in the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill, dropping 1 per cent manufacturing tax and providing guarantee to compensate states for any revenue loss in the first five years of rollout of the proposed indirect tax regime.
• The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister NarendraModi, decided to include in the Constitutional Amendment Bill that any dispute between states and the Centre will be adjudicated by the GST Council, which will have representation from both the Centre and states.

Stalled 241 infra projects cause cost overrun of Rs 1.6 lakh crore

• As many as 241 infrastructure projects including those delayed due to land acquisition, forest clearances and other reasons, have led to cost overrun (Amount by which the actual cost exceeds the budgeted, estimated, original, or target cost) of Rs 1.59 lakh crore, as per official data.
• The Statistics Ministry monitored 1,076 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more across sectors such as power, railways and roads in May, 2016.
• Out of the 1,076 projects, 4 projects are ahead of schedule, 252 are on schedule, 330 are delayed, 241 projects reported cost overrun and 70 projects reported both time and cost overrun with respect to their original project implementation schedules.

India, Bangladesh Home Minister level talks on Thursday

• The fourth Home Minister level talks between India and Bangladesh will be held on Thursday and would include a review of the implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement, security and border management and related issues.
• Home Minister Rajnath Singh. AFPHome Minister Rajnath Singh. AFP
• Home Minister of Bangladesh Asaduzzaman Khan will be leading a high level delegation to India from 27 July to 30 July, said a Home Ministry statement.
• During the visit, the Bangladeshi delegation will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister NarendraModi.

Rs. 2333 Crore sanctioned for projects under SwadeshDarshan and PRASAD in last 18 months

• The Ministry of Tourism, in last 18 months, has sanctioned projects worth Rs. 2333 Crore under SwadeshDarshan and PRASAD, the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Tourism.
• These projects envisage world class infrastructural development of the sites with special emphasis on Tourist Facilities including Tourist Facilitation Centres, way-side amenities Parking, Public convenience, Illumination, Sound and Light Shows and Theme Parks.
• 11 projects in Amravati, Kamakhya Temple, Patna Sahib, Patna, Vishnupad Gaya, ShriJaggannathPuri, Amritsar, Ajmer-Pushkar, Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan and KedarnathDhamUttarakhand for Rs.284.53 have been sanctioned so far under the PRASAD scheme.

Cabinet approves setting up of new AIIMS in Bhatinda

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi has approved the establishment of a new AIIMS at Bhatinda in Punjab under the PradhanMantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana (PMSSY).
• The institution shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency/Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds, Private Beds and ICU Speciality& Super Speciality beds. In addition, there will be an Administration Block, AYUSH Block, Auditorium, Night Shelter, Hostels and residential facilities.

LokSabha passes Bill to check benami transactions

• Seeking to check black money, LokSabha today passed a comprehensive Benami Transactions Amendment Bill, with Finance Minister ArunJaitley assuring that genuine religious trusts will be kept out of the purview of the legislation.
• Moving the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Bill 2015 for the consideration and passage, the Minister said the legislation was predominately an anti-black money measure and its purpose is to seize benami property and prosecute those indulging in such activities.

LokSabha nod for Lokpal Act amendment

• The LokSabha approved an amendment to the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, to allow extension of the time given to public servants and trustees and board members of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) receiving government funds of more than Rs. 1 crore or foreign funding of more than Rs 10 lakh to declare their assets and those of their spouses.
• Senior Ministers of the government made it clear that the amendment was for providing immediate relief to public servants facing the July 31 deadline.
• The provision would be examined closely by a parliamentary standing Committee, which will submit its report before the next session of Parliament.

IRCTC to launch travel insurance facility at Re 1

• The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has set to launch the facility of travel insurance for passengers who book tickets on its website.
• The service, scheduled to come into effect from September, can be availed at a premium of Re 1.
• The scheme offers passengers or their families’ compensation of up to Rs 10 lakh in the event of death or permanent total disability, Rs 7.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, up to Rs 2 lakh for hospitalisation expenses.
• The scheme is being implemented by the IRCTC in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Royal Sundaram and Shriram General.

India signs $1bn deal for submarine hunter planes

• India signed a deal worth about $1 billion with US-based aerospace company Boeing for four P-8I submarine hunter planes, reports said.
• This comes after Boeing delivered the last of eight such planes last year in a $2.1 billion deal.
• The eight submarine hunters have already been deployed and are tracking submarine movements in the Indian Ocean.

 

— INTERNATIONAL —

Tim Kaine Accepts Vice-Presidential Nomination at Democratic National Convention

• Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia accepted the Democratic vice-presidential nomination Wednesday night, making his debut on the national political stage and immediately turning his fire on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump for running what he called a detail-free campaign that relies on the phrase, “Believe me.”

Indo-US counter-terrorism joint working group to meet today

• Indian and US officials will meet here today for the 14th US-India counter-terrorism Joint Working Group, an official statement said.
• “The United States looks forward to continued counter terrorism exchanges with India to broaden and deepen the partnership between the two countries,” the State Department said in a statement yesterday.
• The American delegation would be led by the acting coordinator for counter-terrorism Justin Siberell, while the Indian delegation will be led by Ministry of External Affairs Additional Secretary Ravi Thapar.

 

— BANKING —

Andhra Pradesh seeks Rs 7,269 crore central sales tax dues

• Andhra Pradesh government has requested the Centre to release Rs 7,269.46 crore central sales tax compensation to the state pending since 2012-13.
• State Finance Minister YanamalaRamakrishnudu made this plea to Union Finance Minister ArunJaitley at the Empowered Committee meeting of Finance Ministers in New Delhi, a press release from the state’s Information and Public Relations Department said.
• Andhra Pradesh is scheduled to get Rs 935.74 crore for 2012-13 fiscal yearRs 2,247.98 crore for 2013-14 and Rs 618.19 crore till June in 2014-15 fiscal before the bifurcation of the state.

GDP growth to rise to 7.9% in FY 17 due to good monsoon: CRISIL

• A latest CRISIL (Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited) report has expected GDP growth to rise to 7.9%, agricultural growth to come in above trend at 4% and CPI inflation to remain contained at 5% in fiscal 2017, assuming rainfall is evenly distributed across time and regions.
• As per the third advance estimates for 2015, output is down 2% in rice, 12% in coarse cereals, 0.5% in pulses, 4% in sugarcane and 6% in oilseeds, exacerbating rural distress.
• Agriculture GDP growth averaged 0.4% in the last two fiscals, much below the long-term trend of 3%. That’s more reason to hope the monsoon is normal this year.

Canara Bank gets shareholders nod to raise capital

• Canara Bank has got shareholders’ approval to raise its capital by up to Rs 2,000 crores.
• RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 2 crores on it for violation of anti-money laundering norms.
• The capital adequacy ratio of the bank, as on March 31, 2016, stood at 11.08 per cent, and was well above the 9 per cent stipulated (demand or specify (a requirement), typically as part of an agreement) by the Reserve Bank.

 

— BUSINESS AND ECONOMY —

ADB raises Rs.500 crore in rupee-linked bonds

• Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank today stated that it has raised around ₹500 crore by issuing five-year offshore Indian rupee-linked bonds.
• The transaction, with the longest maturity and the largest size of any ADB rupee bond, demonstrates “investor interest” in India, an official said.
• The proceeds from the bonds are meant to support private sector lending in India.

RBI slaps Rs 27-crore penalty on 13 banks for FEMA violations

• In a major crackdown for FEMA violations and KYC lapses, the RBI has imposed Rs 27-crore penalty on 13 public and private sector banks, including PNB and HDFC Bank, while asking eight others, including SBI and ICICI Bank, to ensure strict compliance with guidelines.
• On the basis of inputs received from a public sector bank, the Reserve Bank had undertaken a scrutiny on advance import remittances in 21 banks in October and November 2015.

 

— APPOINTMENTS —

Sunil Munjal steps down as Hero MotoCorp Joint MD

• The Hero Group today said that Sunil Kant Munjal, joint managing director of Hero MotoCorp and Chairman Hero Corporate Services will step down from the Board of Directors of the two-wheeler maker to focus on his independent core business and to pursue new business interests.
• Sunil Kant Munjal is the youngest son of BrijmohanLallMunjal. During his lifetime itself the succession plan of Hero MotoCorp was decided with the elevation of PawanMunjal as the Chairman of the company.

UIDAI European Union appoints chief Brexit negotiator

• European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker appointed Michel Barnier, a former EU Commissioner for internal markets, to lead negotiations with Britain to leave the European Union.
• Barnier will take up his post on October 1, Juncker said in a statement. Barnier was earlier involved in reforms of the financial services, some of which were opposed by Britain.

 

— AWARDS AND HONOURS —

West Bengal wins All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015

• West Bengal has been selected for the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015. This is the first time the state will be receiving this award.
• It was selected by the 51st committee from the Indira Gandhi KrishiBikash Kendra. Earlier, West Bengal won the Krishi Kamran Puraskar for three consecutive years.
• The state has been selected for the award for its achievement in four key areas that include scientific research for seeds.
• The state government has also bagged the award for the second position for participating in International Agriculture and Horticulture Expo. It was held for three days from July 22 to 24 at PragatiMaidan in Delhi.

 

— SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY —

Gujarat govt selects Infibeam for e-com training programme

• The Gujarat government’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) said it has selected the Ahmedabad-based e-commerce company Infibeam as knowledge partner for its e-commerce training and development programme, aimed at grooming budding entrepreneurs and individuals to set up their businesses.
• The state government had recently launched an e-commerce workshop programme ‘How To Start E-commerce Business’ in partnership with Infibeam Incorporation Ltd to create awareness on e-commerce.

 

— SPORTS —

IOC Olympic channel to launch at Rio 2016 Games end

• The International Olympic Committee’s new television Channel will launch officially on August 21, the last day of this year’s Rio de Janeiro Games, as the organisation looks to attract a new generation of fans.
• The digital platform will look to maintain interest in the Games year-round, especially in the two-year period between summer and winter Olympics with original programming, live events, news and highlights.

 

— OBITUARY —

Mahasweta Devi, eminent writer and social activist, dies

• The Jnanpith, Padma Vibhushan and Magsaysay awardee died on Thursday at a Kolkata hospital following prolonged illness.
• She was 90. Devi had been suffering from old age-related illness, kidney and lung problems besides bacteraemia, a bacterial infection in the blood
• The Ramon Magsaysay winner is survived by her daughter-in-law and grandchild. Mahasweta Devi’s son pre-deceased her two years ago.

‘Father of Hybrid Sorghum’ passes away

• Noted agricultural scientist Neelamraju Ganga PrasadaRao, passed away in Hyderabad on Wednesday. He was 89 years.

• Dr. Rao was well-known for basic and applied research in breeding and agronomy of several dryland crops especially towards sorghum improvement, hence also earned the title of ‘Father of Hybrid Sorghum’ in India.