Current Affairs Daily Updates: 26th July 2017

  /  
Mentor for Bank Exams
Current Affairs Daily Updates: 26th July 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Janalakshmi Financial Services appoints Ajay Kanwal as CEO
  • Janalakshmi Financial Services (JFS), the largest micro finance company announced the appointment of its new CEO Ajay Kanwal.
  • Kanwal, a veteran banker has 27 years of experience in both consumer and commercial banking sector, will take charge of office from August 1.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Veteran actress Shakuntala Barua gets Mahanayak Samman 2017
  • West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee conferred this year Mahanayak Samman 2017 to veteran actress Shakuntala Barua for her contribution to the world of cinema.
  • Suparnokanti Karati for Bisarjan film and Shiboprasad Mukhopadhyay of Windows Productions for Praktan film were also among the awardees for Best Film and Best Producer categories.
BANKING AFFAIRS
SIDBI starts merchant banking operations for MSMEs
  • Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has started full-fledged merchant banking operations to benefit the expanding number of growth-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially those with a strong technology and innovation quotient.
  • The initiative is aimed at enhancing the access of MSMEs to the capital markets, including the SME Trading Platform and Institutional Trading Platform.
Standard Chartered Bank announced publicly forex card
  • Standard Chartered Bank launched a Multi-currency Forex Card for overseas travellers.
  • The card will allow customers the convenience of loading up to 20 widely used currencies on one card with an online reload facility during overseas travel.
  • The card will offer travellers protection against the frequent currency fluctuations by locking in the currency exchange rate.
Aurionpro launches a Bank in a Box to reduce branch expansion cost for banks
  • Aurionpro Solutions a Global leader in digital innovation, enterprise security and banking solutions, announced its Branch-in-a-Box product, the Virtual Teller Machine (VTM) a fully integrated self-service kiosk for automating 90% of banking transactions at the branch level.
  • The other services include eKYC, account opening, passbook and statement printing, video assistance, bill payment, cash and cheques (single and bunched) deposit, cheque account summary, cash withdrawal, personalised instant card issuance, activation and replacement from the branch to the teller machines.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Michael Kors buys Jimmy Choo for USD 1.5 billion
  • Global fashion luxury brand Michael Kors announced to buy global luxury footwear and accessories brand Jimmy Choo for approximately USD 1.2 billion.
  • With this, Michael Kors aims to this coveted global brand to its lot as its own handbag and accessories sales suffer.
  • The transaction was approved by the Boards of Directors of both Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo.
Yatra acquires Air Travel Bureau to expand corporate travel business
  • Yatra Online India’s second-largest online travel operator acquired corporate travel services provider Air Travel Bureau (ATB).
  • It is India’s ‘largest corporate travel services provider’ with gross bookings of Rs 1,500 crore and a client base of 400 companies in the country.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Prime Minister Narendra Modi releases book Selected Speeches of Pranab Mukherjee
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released the fourth volume of Selected Speeches of Former President Pranab Mukherjee.
  • The book titled- Selected Speeches of President Pranab Mukherjee was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in presence of President-elect Ramnath Kovind and other dignitaries.
  • Under Former President Pranab Mukherjee, Rashtrapati Bhavan became a ‘Lok Bhavan’.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
India celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas day is observed on July 26
  • The Indian nation celebrates Kargil Vijay Diwas Day is observed on July 26.
  • On the occasion, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and three Chiefs of Services will lay a floral tribute at Amar Jawan Jyoti, India Gate.
  • Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated on July 26 every year to commemorate India’s victory in the 1999 Kargil War against Pakistan as it was on this day that the Indian Army had taken control of posts across the Himalayas in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, after fighting for 60 days.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Zimbabwe's Parliament passes bill to give President sweeping powers to appoint judges
  • Zimbabwe's Parliament has passed a bill amending the constitution to give the President sweeping powers to appoint the country's top judges without consulting any other institution.
  • Now, the bill has given Robert Mugabe the sole responsibility to appoint the chief justice and their deputy.
  • Under the 2013 constitution, the president could only appoint a chief justice from individuals recommended by the judicial services commission and after public interviews of the candidates.
  • A total of 182 lawmakers voted in favour of the changes that tinker with the country's constitution.
BRICS Youth Forum opens in Beijing
  • The 2017 BRICS Youth Forum opened in Beijing, China to discuss the development of the youth in the countries.
  • The theme of the three-day forum is 'Enhance BRICS Partnership, Promote Youth Development'.
  • The five BRICS countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa first came up with the idea of establishing a dialogue mechanism for BRICS youth in 2014 during a meeting between BRICS leaders in South Africa.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
FSSAI bans stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018
  • The FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) directs the concerned food business operators to discontinue the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of stapled tea bags by 1stJanuary,2018.
  • The FSSAI has also directed all food safety commissioners to take action to prevent the use of unsafe packaging materials by companies and take up measures for enforcement of its order.
Madras HC makes Vande Mataram mandatory in schools, private & govt offices
  • The Madras High Court ruled that Vande Mataram should be sung in all schools and colleges across Tamil Nadu atleast once in a week and in government and private offices atleast once in a month.
  • While issuing order, Justice MV Muralidharan stated that to instil a sense of patroitism in each and every citizen of Tamil Nadu, the National song ‘Vande Mataram’ shall be played and sung in all educational institutions atleast once a week, preferably on Monday and Friday.
Union Home Minister chairs first meeting of Islands Development Agency (IDA)
  • The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Islands Development Agency (IDA).
  • He presented the vision for developing India’s maritime economy while preserving the natural eco-system and addressing the security concerns. He emphasised upon the need for sustainable development of Islands with people’s participation.
  • He informed that Concept Development Plans and Detailed Master Plans are being prepared for identified islands with principles of sustainability, people’s participation, eco-system preservation and determination of carrying capacity as the guiding principles. Such an exercise is being taken up for the first time in the country.
Right to Education is Right to Quality Education says SC
  • The Supreme Court quashed the regularisation of 1.78 lakh Shiksha Mitras as teachers in Uttar Pradesh (UP) or not holding adequate qualification as fixed under Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.
  • A bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit ruled that their jobs could not be regularised at the cost of fundamental right of children to free quality education by duly qualified teachers.
  • It ruled that Right to Education means to right to quality education. The court held that appointment of Shiksha Mitras was not as per qualification prescribed for a teacher and they could not be regularized as teachers.
Union Government approves construction of 30,000 affordable houses on Private land
  • The Centre approved the construction of 30,000 houses for the urban poor on private land in Maharashtra’s Sholapur.
  • The main aim is to give momentum to affordable housing in urban areas.
  • Under the Centre’s flagship programme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry gave approval to the Central assistance of Rs 450 crore for the project.
  • Under PMAY(U) the Raynagar Cooperative Housing Federation, Sholapur had submitted a proposal to build 30,000 houses for its members comprising beedi and textile workers and other urban poor belonging to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at a cost of Rs 1,811 crore.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Reliance Defence launches first two naval patrol vessels Shachi and Shruti
  • Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited ( a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure) announced the launch of its first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs) – ‘Shachi’ and ‘Shruti’ – at their shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat.
  • The two NOPVs are ‘Shachi’ and ‘Shruti’ to be launched by a private sector shipyard in India.
  • The five NOPVs are patrol ships armed with a 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) system along with two 30 mm AK-630 guns, which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.
Researchers generate human antibodies in the lab
  • A team of scientists developed a method to rapidly produce specific human antibodies in the laboratory. The revolutionary technique could speed the production of antibodies to treat a wide range of diseases and facilitate the development of new vacancies.
  • Antibodies are produced by the body’s B cells to fight off infections by bacteria, viruses, and other invasive pathogens. When an individual B cell recognizes a specific pathogen-derived “antigen” molecule, it can proliferate and develop into plasma cells that secrete large amounts of antibody capable of binding to the antigen and fending off the infection.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Kylie Masse wins 100m backstroke world gold in record time
  • Canada’s Kylie Masse (21-year) stormed to women's 100m backstroke gold in a new world-record time at the world aquatics championships in Budapest.
  • Earlier, she tied for the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in 100 m backstroke.
  • Masse clocked 58.10 seconds and breaks Gemma Spofforth’s previous mark of 58.12 seconds from the 2009 championships.
  • Kathleen Baker (United States) took silver, at 0.48 seconds.
  • Emily Seebohm (Australia) brushed off a cold to claim bronze, at 0.49 seconds.
India to host maiden men’s World Boxing Championship in 2021
  • The International Boxing Association (AIBA) announced India will host their first Men’s World Championship.
  • The AIBA Men’s World Championships 2019 will be held in Russia city of Sochi.
  • The 2019 Women’s World Championships will be held in Trabzon, Turkey.
  • It is the first time ever that a country has been awarded two major Championships.