Current Affairs Daily
Updates: 19th July 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Justice
Gopal Prasad Parajuli to be the new Chief Justice of Nepal
- Justice Gopal Prasad Parajuli will be the new Chief Justice of
Nepal.
- Justice Parajuli is the senior most judge of the Supreme Court after
the retirement of Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
- Prime Minister Sher BahadurDeuba, Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun,
Speaker OnsariGharti, chiefs of constitutional bodies, judges of the
Supreme Court and Chief Secretary, RajendraKishorChhetri, among others,
were present on the occasion.
Lilly Singh
appointed UNICEF’s Global Goodwill Ambassador
- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has appointed
Indian-origin Canadian YouTube star 'Lilly Singh' as ‘Global Goodwill
Ambassador’.
- Now, Singh will use her channel to show case the organization’s work
and urge millions of her followers to work for children’s rights.
- In 2017, she ranked 1st on Forbes Top Influencers List in the
entertainment category.
Swami
Smarananandaji Maharaj elected as President of Ramakrishna Math
- Swami Smarananandaji Maharaj was elected as the 16th President of
Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.
- The office of the President fell vacant following the death of Swami
Atmasthanandaji Maharaj on 18 June 2017.
- Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission are twin organizations
which form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement Ramakrishna Movement
or Vedanta Movement.
Smriti
Irani gets I&B ministry, Narendra Singh Tomar Urban Development
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the Information and Broadcasting
portfolio to Smriti Irani, a day after M. Venkaiah Naidu, who was handling
the Ministry, was picked to be the NDA’s Vice Presidential candidate.
- The Urban Development Ministry, which was also being handled by
Naidu, has been given to Narendra Singh Tomar.
- Naidu had resigned from his ministerial responsibilities.
BANKING AFFAIRS
SBI
launches realty website to facilitate home buyers
- State Bank of India, the country’s largest commercial bank, has
launched ‘SBI Realty’ – a one-stop integrated website www.sbirealty.in for
home buyers.
- SBI Realty will help customers to choose their dream home from 3,000
SBI approved projects across the country. These projects are spread across
13 states and Union Territories covering 30 cities, including metros, semi
metro and towns.
- Currently, there are 9.5 lakhs home units available on the website.
- Customers can compare the current and past trends of prices for the
properties in various localities.
- It will assist customers in calculating the appropriate loan amount
a customer should borrow based on his income and credit profile.
BUSINESS AND
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Reliance
Industries market capitalisation hits Rs 5 lakh Crore mark
- Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for the first
time in its trading history crossed Rs 5 lakh crore in market
capitalisation.
- It is the second company to cross Rs 5 lakh crore in market
capitalisation.
- Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) was the first company to hit Rs 5
lakh crore in market capitalisation milestone in July 2014.
GST Council
increases cess on cigarettes
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) council increased the Compensation
Cess rate on cigarettes to make the total tax incidence on cigarettes in
GST regime at par with the total tax incidence in pre-GST regime.
- The move will raise the prices of cigarettes that fell under the GST
regime.
BOOKS AND
AUTHORS
Amartya Sen
releases ‘Future of Indian Universities: Comparative and International
Perspectives’
- Nobel Laureate Professor Amartya Sen released a book titled “Future
of Indian Universities: Comparative and International Perspectives” at
Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Pranab Mukherjee, who received the first
copy of the book.
- The book is the academic and research work of scholars,
educationists and practitioners from India and abroad.
- It aims to provide international and comparative perspectives on
higher education and highlights issues being faced by Inidan Universities.
- The book ‘Future of Indian Universities: Comparative and
International Perspectives’ has been complied by Professor (Dr.) C. Raj
Kumar, Vice Chancellor of JGU University and is published by Oxford
University Press.
IMPORTANT DAYS
OBSERVED
18th July:
Nelson Mandela International Day
- Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) is an annual
international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18
July, Mandela’s birthday.
- The Nelson Mandela Foundation is dedicating this year’s Mandela Day
to Action Against Poverty, honouring Nelson Mandela’s leadership and
devotion to fighting poverty and promoting social justice for all.
- Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity as a
human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker
and the first democratically Elected President of a free South Africa.
NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
PM Modi to
inaugurate APJ Abdul Kalam’s memorial
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be inaugurating a memorial for
former Indian President A P J Abdul Kalam at his birthplace, Peikarumbu
near Rameswaram on 27 July 2017.
- The same was announced by Union Minister of State for Road Transport
Highways and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan in Madurai.
- The minister stated that the “Prime Minster will come to Tamil Nadu
next week to open the memorial”.
Karnataka
Govt appoints panel to design its own state flag
- The Congress-led Sidsaramaiah government in Karnataka has
constituted a nine-member committee to study the possibility of designing
its own ‘state flag’.
- The panel headed by Principal Secretary, department of Kannada and
Culture is expected to prepare a design for a separate state flag and soon
submit a report looking into the legal sancity of the same to the state
government.
- If the move does get legal sanction then it would make Karnataka the
only second state in the country to officially have its own flag after
Jammu & Kashmir, which enjoys special status under Article 370 of the
Constitution.
Tata Motors
develops country’s first Bio-Methane Bus
- Auto Major Tata Motors rolled out the country’s first Bio-CNG
(bio-methane) bus. The bus was rolled out at the Bio-energy programme
called ‘Urja Utsav’, which was organised by the Ministry of Petroleum
& Natural Gas.
- India’s first Bio-Methane bus was rolled out in the presence of
Minister of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and
Minister of State with Independent Charge of Power, Coal, New and
Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal.
- The bus was designed by Tata Motors, which is India’s largest
Commercial Vehicles manufacturer and the number one bus brand across the
country. The bio-methane engines (5.7 SGI & 3.8 SGI) will be available
for LCV, ICV & MCV buses.
Horasis
Asia Meeting to be held in Kolkata on 26-27 November
- The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in association with the West
Bengal government, will host Horasis Asia Meeting, a global business meet,
in the city in November.
- The two-day business meet, starting November 26, will focus on
sustainable business practices in various areas, including power and
energy. The event will be attended by over 500 delegates from over 65
countries.
J-K govt
launches weekly festival ‘Culture on Cruise’ at Dal Lake
- The spectacular Dal Lake here hosted first ever ‘Cultrue of Cruise’,
a weeekly cultural programme organised by the Jammu and Kashmir government
aimed to bring artists from various fields on one stage.
- The innovative programme series brings writers, performance
artistes, musicians, poets and academics together and offers a program of
performances, workshops, talks, forums and debates.
- The inaugural programme of the series saw artistes such as Mohammed
Yaseen Gundpuri, Mohammed Subhan Shah, and Bashir Kotur perform before a
select gathering of audience comprising singers, artists, writers, and
poets.
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS
ETH Zurich
Scientists develop 3D-printed soft silicone Heart
- Scientists from ETH Zurich in Switzerland have developed a
3D-printed soft silicone heart that closely resembles and functions like
the human organ.
- It is not an exact biological replica of the actual but can help to
save lives of people who suffer from cardiac failure.
- The 3D-printed soft artificial heart is a silicone monoblock with
complex inner structure. It weighs 390 gms and has a volume of 679 cubic
centimetres.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Indian
judokas won 3 medals in Asian Cadet Championships, Kyrgyzstan
- India won three medals, including gold in the Asian Cadet Judo
Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
- Thangjam Tababi Devi of Manipur won the yellow metal for India in
the girls below 44kg weight category.
- Haryana’s Simran won a bronze in the girl’s below 40kg division.
- Paramjeet of Haryana won a bronze medal in the boys below 90kg
category.
Neel Joshi
& Ananya Dabke win Dutch Open
- Neel Joshi (boy) and Ananya Dabke (girl) bagged the under-15 (boys
& girls) titles in the Dutch Open Junior Squash Championship in
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- In the boy final, Joshi beat 5/8 seed Khalil Alhassan (England)
9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6.
- In the girl final, Ananya Dabke beat 9/12 Serena Daniel (US) 11-7,
11-4, 12-10.
