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| Current Affairs |
Dear Readers,
Welcome to Mentor for Bank Exams. Here I am
posting Daily Current affairs News
Updates about the National and International events were listed here.
Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other
competitive exams can use this.
APPOINTMENTS
1) Intex appoints Madhuri Dixit as brand
ambassador for consumer durable products
Intex Technologies has appointed
cinestar Madhuri Dixit as brand ambassador for its consumer durable products,
including washing machines and refrigerators. The actor has been signed for a
period of two years.
In addition to Madhuri, Intex
already has many other stars as its brand ambassadors for other product
categories. For the mobile phones, the brand has Farhan Akhtar as the national
brand ambassador, Sudeep Sanjeev for Karnataka, Mahesh Babu for Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana and Suriya for Tamil Nadu.
2) Shambhu Singh Yadav appointed Deputy
Lokayukta of UP
Shambhu Singh Yadav, a retired
IAS officer and secretary to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was
appointed as the Deputy Lokayukta of the state. The governor today appointed
Shambhu Singh Yadav as the new Deputy Lokayukta (Up-Lokayukta) of the state.
The government had recommended
Yadav, a 1997-batch IAS officer, presently posted at the Chief Minister's secretariat
on extension.
Yadav, considered close to ruling
Samajwadi Party, had retired three years ago and served as special secretary to
former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in the previous SP government in
2003.
3) Aruna Sundarajan made new Secretary of
ministry of IT
The 1982 batch IAS officer of
Kerala cadre, Smt. Aruna Sundararajan, currently Secretary in the Ministry of
Steel has been appointed as Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology , Govt of India vice Smt Aruna Sharma on her appointment
as Secretary, Ministry of Steel.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1) AAAI confers Lifetime Achievement Award
2016 on Srinivasan Swamy
Srinivasan K Swamy, popularly
known as Sundar, was conferred with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) on 29 July 2016.The award was
bestowed on him in Mumbai.
2) National Tourism Awards for 2014-15 presented
Madhya Pradesh won the first
prize in the category of Best State/Union Territory for Comprehensive
Development of Tourism at the National Tourism Awards for 2014-15 awarded by
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan at a function here today.
Gujarat won the second prize in the category
while the third spot went to Karnataka.
Warangal in Telangana won the award for Best
Heritage City while India City Walks for the Built Legacy of Mughals (Old Delhi
Heritage Walk) and the Heritage Walk of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, were the joint
winners of the award for Best Heritage Walk.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
1) SEBI eases startup
listing norms
To encourage listing of startups,
Sebi on Friday proposed an easier framework that allows more investor
categories, relaxed shareholding norms and reduced trading lot amount.
Sebi had mooted changes to the
framework of Institutional Trading Platform (ITP), which has not seen much
traction, though it was put in place in August 2015.
Seeking to widen the eligibility
ambit for getting listed on ITP, Sebi has proposed increasing the category of
eligible investors when it comes to shareholding before the listing.
2) BPCL acquires 21% stake in Fino Paytech
Bharat Petroleum Corporation
(BPCL) has picked up a 21 per cent stake
in FINO PayTech for Rs 251 crore. BPCL has entered into an agreement for
acquiring 21 per cent stake.
FINO PayTech is a payments
technology solutions provider to banks, financial institutions & Micro
Financial Institutions. It has been granted a in-principle approval by the
Reserve Bank to start payments bank.
3) Government raises foreign shareholding
cap in stock exchanges to 15%
The Union cabinet on Wednesday
increased the foreign shareholding limit in Indian stock exchanges from 5% to
15%, as announced in the budget, bringing investments by foreign entities on
par with those by domestic institutions.
In another decision aimed at
encouraging private sector participation in defence manufacturing, the cabinet
moved to cut the red tape around public sector defence companies forming joint
ventures with private companies.
4) Oracle to Buy Cloud-Software Provider
NetSuite for $9.3 Billion
Oracle Corp. agreed to pay $9.3
billion for a cloud-computing pioneer that counts Larry Ellison as a major
investor, using its second-largest acquisition to try to catch up in a key area
where it has lagged.
Oracle said it is paying $109 a
share in cash for NetSuite Inc., a 19% premium to the company’s closing price
Wednesday of $91.57.
The deal is raising questions
about the role of Mr. Ellison, Oracle’s chairman, who is the biggest
shareholder in both companies.
5) CBDT extends due date for filing of
Income Tax Returns to 5th August, 2016
The due date for filing of Income
tax returns by certain persons under the Income Tax Act is 31st July of the
following year.
However, taking into
consideration the strike by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) on Friday, 29th July,
2016 and the last date for filing of returns being a Sunday, 31st July, 2016, The
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to extend the last date for
such returns which were due on 31st July, 2016 to 5th August, 2016. This
extension would apply to taxpayers all over India except the state of J&K.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
1) United Nations World Day against
Trafficking in Persons 2016 observed
The United Nations World Day
against Trafficking in Persons 2016 was observed across the world on 30 July
2016.
On this day, the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) launched the campaign #igivehopeto show
victims of human trafficking.
The day aims at raising awareness
of the plight of human trafficking victims, and promoting and protecting their
rights.
2) International Day of Friendship 2016
observed globally
The International Day of
Friendship was on 30 July 2016 observed across the world.
The Day is aimed at supporting
the goals and objectives of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a
Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1) Clinton campaign 'hacked' along with
other Democratic groups
Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign has been hacked as part of a
larger cyber attack against Democratic Party institutions, US media report.
The latest hack follows two data
breaches involving the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee.
US officials widely believe that
the cyber attacks were committed by agents working for the Russian government.
Some fear that Russia may be
trying to influence the presidential election.
2) Exercise Maitree 2016: Joint Indo -
Thailand Military Exercise Culminates
The Indo - Thailand Military
Exercise MAITREE concluded today at Krabi, Thailand. The exercise had commenced
on 15 July 2016 under the aegis of the Royal Thailand Army. 90 soldiers of
Indian Army and Royal Thailand Army had participated in the two week long
Exercise.
The exercise included combined
training, familiarization with weapons & equipment used by both the
countries, analyzing groupings, drills and tactics while operating in counter
terrorism environment and modalities for conduct of Area Domination operations
in urban environment apart from operations like Cordon and Search, raids and
Seek and Destroy Missions.
NATIONAL NEWS
1) First BRICS Employment Working Group
meeting held in Hyderabad
The first-ever meeting of BRICS
Employment Working Group (BEWG) was held in Hyderabad, Telangana from July 27
to 28, 2016. The agenda of the two day meeting was to shape the agenda for
labour and employment track in BRICS countries.
Highlights of meeting: BRICS member countries were able to reach a
consensus on employment generation, social security agreement and networking of
labour institutes. The meeting set the agenda to promote decent work and
promote job creation between BRICS countries.
2) Haryana Government launches Pashudhan
Bima Yojana
Haryana Government has launched
Pashudhan Bima Yojana, an insurance cover scheme for cattle breeders in the
state. It was launched by Haryana Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister, O. P.
Dhankar in Jhajjar.
Pashudhan Bima Yojana will
provide insurance cover to cattle breeders in the state at different premium
rates for different animals. Insurance cover will be provided at a premium of
Rs 100 for cows, buffaloes, bulls, camels and at Rs 25 for sheep, goat and pig
for a period of three years.
3) TVSN Prasad committee formed for
exploring possible alternatives to Pellet Guns
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
has constituted a seven-member expert committee for exploring possible
alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons on 26 July 2016.
The committee will be chaired by
Joint Secretary (Police Modernisation) TVSN Prasad. It has been asked to submit
its report within two months.
The committee was constituted to
rethink on the use of pellet guns after its use by CRPF for crowd control in
Kashmir was blamed for causing fatal injuries and blindness among protestors
during the recent unrest.
4) Strategic Forces Command exempted from
ambit of RTI
The Strategic Forces Command
(SFC) which forms part of the National Command Authority (NCA) has been added
to the Second Schedule of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005.
In this regard, Union Government
has issued a notification mentioning SFC has been brought under sub-section (2)
of Section 24 of the RTI.
The Section 24 of the RTI exempts
security and intelligence establishments from its purview. Section 24 and
Second Schedule of RTI.
5) Cochin Chamber launching Aadhaar-based
e-certificate of origin
The Cochin Chamber of Commerce
& Industry is launching an Aadhaar based e-Certificate of Origin service.
A certificate of origin, a
critical document in the course of export, is issued to exporters by the
Chamber of Commerce to avail duty benefits under Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
or prove from where the goods originated.
6) India to host
international summit on tobacco-control
India will host a crucial global
summit in November to eliminate the illicit trade of tobacco products in which
delegates from 180 countries will take part.
The summit is scheduled from Nov
7-12 in Noida will aim “to eliminate illicit trade of tobacco products.
About 1,000-1,500 delegates from
180 countries are expected to participate in the summit. The percentage of
tobacco-related cancers is 30.1 of the population as a whole.
7) India’s tiger population to double by
2022
Union Environment Minister Anil
Madhav Dave on July 29 expressed hope that India, home to 70 per cent of
world’s tiger population, would be able to double the number of wild cats by
2022 through “conservation and care”.
“India has 2,226 tigers spread
out in over 17 states and 49 sanctuaries across the country,” Dave said.
“A healthy tiger is a symbol of
healthy environment,” he said on the International Tiger Day.
In an official statement, Dave
expressed hope that India will be able to double the population of tigers by
2022 by “conserving and caring for them.”
8) Home Minister Visits Flood-Hit Assam; 13
Dead, 18 Lakh Affected
Union home minister Rajnath Singh
today visited Assam to take stock of the damage caused by the floods there.
Assam is reeling under heavy flood which has affected at least 18 lakh people
across 3,374 villages in 22 districts in the state.
Mr Singh, accompanied by Union
Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and Minister for DoNER Jitendra Singh,
will take stock of the situation in the districts of Nagaon and Morigaon
besides the Kaziranga national park.
9) Centre sanctions nearly Rs 620 crore to
UP as drought assistance
Nearly Rs. 620 crores have been
sanctioned to Uttar Pradesh by the Centre as assistance for the recent drought
situation in the state.
The Central Government also
approved almost Rs. 80 crores for Rajasthan which was affected by hailstorm and
Rs. 15 crores to Manipur which was affected by earthquake.
A decision to this effect was
taken at a meeting in the national capital chaired by Union Home Minister
Rajnath Singh.
10) HP govt signs MoU with NTPC, NHPC for
hydro engineering college in Bilaspur
The establishment of the first hydro
engineering college in Himachal Pradesh will boost regional development and
provide more job opportunities, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said.
He was speaking at an event where
anMoU was signed between the Himachal Pradesh government and National Thermal
Power Corporation (NTPC) and National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) for
setting up of the hydro engineering college in Bilaspur.
11) WB tourism department launches app
The West Bengal Tourism
department has launched a mobile App based on its theme of ‘Experience Bengal’.
Alongside information on places of tourist interest, the App would be loaded
with other facilities like maps and directions.
The sight would be powered by
information on each and district of the state and the various places that can
be visited and activities that can be taken up. There would also be information
on the various festivals of the state.
OBITUARY
1) RajjatBarjatya, MD and CEO of Rajshri
Productions no more
RajjatBarjatya, MD and CEO of
RajshriMedia, passed away on Friday (July 29) at a hospital in Mumbai. Cousin
of filmmaker SoorajBarjatya, Rajjat took his last breath at 6:30 in the
evening.
He had cancer and was admitted in
Jaslok Hospital from last few days. According to media sources Rajjat suffered
from lukaemia in the past and survived the same.
SPORTS
1) Weightlifting federation bans Russian
team from Rio Olympics
The International Weightlifting
Federation (IWF) became the second sports body to ban the entire Russian team
from participating in the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Russia’s
track & field team had been excluded earlier.
Russia’s Sports Minister said 272
of the original 387 athletes selected had been cleared to complete in Rio. The
Games get under way on 5 August.
