Current Affairs Daily
Updates: 22nd July 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Anil Kumar
Raturi is new DGP of Uttarakhand
- Anil Kumar Raturi appointed the new Director General of Police of
Uttarakhand.
- He will replace DGP MA Ganapathy, who will join as additional
director general of police (ADG), Central Industrial Security Force
(CISF).
- Raturi takes over from M A Ganpati who has been appointed as the
Additional Director General of the CISF by the Union Home Ministry.
Sanjay
Kothari appointed Secy to new Prez Ram Nath Kovind
- Sanjay Kothari, Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board, has
been appointed as Secretary to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind.
- Senior journalist Ashok Malik has been named as Press Secretary to
Kovind, by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
- Senior Gujarat-cadre forest service officer Bharat Lal will be Joint
Secretary to Kovind.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, has cleared these appointments for an initial period of two
years.
- Kothari, a 1978-batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, retired in June
last year as DoPT secretary. He was in November 2016 appointed as the
chief of the government’s head-hunter the PESB.
Gopal
Baglay appointed Joint Secretary in PMO
- Senior diplomat and External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal
Baglay was appointed as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Baglay, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Baglay’s
appointment to the post for three years. He has been appointed in place of
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, who has been already named as India’s Ambassador to
Paris.
AWARDS AND
HONOURS
Karamjyoti
Dalal bags Bronze at World Para Athletics
- India’s Karamjyoti Dalal has won bronze medal at the World Para
Athletics Championships 2017 in the discus-throw. In the women’s F55
category of discus-throw, she managed a throw of 19.02 m.
- Earlier, Sundar Singh Gurjar had opened India’s account at the 2017
World Para Athletics Championships by winning gold medal in the men’s
javelin throw event.
- Later, Amit Saroha won silver medal in the club throw event in the
F-51 category. Dalal is currently ranked World No. 8 and had finished
fourth at the 2015 IPC Para-athletics championships.
BANKING AFFAIRS
BoB signs
MoU with DGS&D for services to govt’s e-marketplace
- Bank of Baroda has entered into an agreement with Directorate
General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) for extending various
banking services to Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
- DGS&D has been mandated to set up GeM, an initiative intended to
bring greater transparency and efficiency in public procurements.
- The relationship of the bank with GeM will immensely benefit all
stakeholders and ensure a support system including a dedicated team for
seamless functioning of the portal.
BUSINESS AND
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
SBI,
Carlyle to buy GE Capital stake in SBI Card
- State Bank of India (SBI), the Carlyle Group and GE have announced
that they have signed definitive agreements, whereby SBI and Carlyle Group
will acquire GE Capital’s entire stake in SBI Card, the second-largest
credit card franchise in India.
- SBI Card is operated through two joint venture companies, SBI Cards
& Payment Services and GE Capital Business Process Management
Services, which issue credit cards and process card transactions in the
Indian market. Following the transactions, SBI and Carlyle will own 74
percent and 26 percent respectively in each of the two entities.
- The transaction is expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2017,
subject to regulatory approvals, according to Carlyle Group.
- Currently, SBI holds 60 percent in SBI Cards & Payment Services
and 40 percent in GE Capital Business Process Management.
Karnataka
Bank, PNB MetLife launch Met Loan and Life Suraksha
- Karnataka Bank, in association with its PNB MetLife, has launched
Met Loan and Life Suraksha (MLLS), a single premium plan covering the loan
liability of a customer.
- In the year of celebrating 15 years of its partnership with M/s PNB
MetLife, the bank also introduced ‘KBL MLLS’ app exclusively for KBL
employees to instantly calculate insurance cover and premium based on loan
liability of their borrowers.
Eurofins
Scientific to acquire Tata Group’s Advinus Therapeutics
- Tata Industries announced that its preclinical contract research
company Advinus Therapeutics will soon be acquired by laboratory testing
major Eurofins Scientific.
- As per Tata Industries, Advinus expertise complements Eurofins
contract research, development and manufacturing (CDMO) capabilities.
- Advinus Therapeutics is a premier preclinical contract research
company for regulatory toxicology, CMC services, Analytical R&D
Services and others.
- It has over 25 years of GLP compliance and certification. Eurofins
Scientific is an international group of laboratories, headquartered at
Luxembourg.
- It provides testing and support services to the pharmaceutical,
food, environmental and consumer products industries and to governments.
DEATHS
Chester
Bennington, lead singer of Linkin Park passes away
- American singer and songwriter Chester Bennington, the lead singer
of Linkin Park (41-year) passed away in California, U.S.
- He was best known as the frontman for the rock band Linkin Park the
sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new
millennium.
- He was also the lead singer for Dead by Sunrise and fronted Stone
Temple Pilots from 2013 - 2015.
- The band has sold over 70 million albums worldwide and has won two
Grammy Awards.
NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Vijay Goel,
Nitin Gadkari flag off 10th ‘Slum Yuva Daud’
- Sports Minister Vijay Goel and Road Transport and Highways Minister
Nitin Gadkari today flagged off the 10th Slum Yuva Daud at Khichripur in
New Delhi.
- The Slum Yuva Daud is a part of the Adopt a Slum campaign of the
Sports Ministry and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.
- Thousands of youth from Delhi slums participated in the run which
started from Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, Khichripur and ended at Dr.
Bhimrao Ambedkar Stadium, Trilokpuri.
Literary
Festival themed ‘Tolerance’ to be held in Kerala
- At a time when the country witnesses raging debate over intolerance,
Kerala is getting ready to host a literary festival with tolerance as the
core theme.
- Creative writers, journalists, theatre and film personalities will
deliberate on tolerance at the fifth edition of South India Writers
Ensemble (SIWE), to be held at Chengannur, a sleepy town in coastal
Alappuza district, from July 24.
- Organised by People for Performing Arts and More, an
art-cum-cultural outfit, the three-day annual literary gathering is aimed
at bringing about an enriching interaction between writers from different
languages and regions.
Supreme
Court asks Centre & States not to protect any kind of vigilantism
- The Supreme court of India asked the Union Government and the states
not to protect any kind of vigilantism. It alsom sought their response on
violent incidents of cow vigilantism.
- A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Dipak Misra
comprising Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice M M Shantanagoudar was
informed by the Centre that law and order is a state subject but it does
not support any kind of vigilantism in the country.
- The bench also sought the assistance of the Centre and states for
removing violent content related to cow vigilantism uploaded on social
media. The centre’s response was on a petition filed by social activist
Tehseen Poonawala, who in his plea seeks a direction to states and centre
to take action against so-called Gau Rakhasks, who profess to protect
cows.
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Mayak
satellite may be third brightest object in sky after Sun and Moon
- Mayak satellite is the third brightest object in the sky only after
the Sun and the Moon.
- The satellites that were launched included an Earth observation
Kanopus-V-IK satellite, the main payload, and 72 smallsats.
- Mayak means beacon in English, is a standard cubesat that has been
developed by Moscow Polytechnic University (MAMU).
- The satellite will orbit the Earth, about 370 miles (600 km) high,
giant mylar reflector with a surface area of 170 square feet.
