Current Affairs Daily Updates: 4th July 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 4th July 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Syndicate bank appoints Melwyn Rego as CEO and Managing Director
  • Syndicate Bank appoints Melwyn Rego as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer from the month of July.
  • He has also held the position of Deputy Managing Director, IDBI Bank.
  • He was a rank holder at a programme on International Capital Markets at Oxford University, UK. He has also participated in several seminars including those organised by Entrepreneurship Development Institute / World Bank at Washington.
Signature Global Ropes In Vidya Balan as Brand Ambassador
  • Signature Global Ropes appointed Vidya Balan as Brand Ambassador.
  • Vidya Balan has been associated with awareness programme related to sanitation and hygiene. She was a brand ambassador for Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan under the Rural Development Ministry.
  • Signature Global has launched 9 affordable housing projects, comprising about 9,300 units.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Pune NGO wins UN prize for sustainable farming model
  • Swayam Shikshan Prayog, a city-based NGO, has been awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize for devising an ecologically sustainable agriculture model to combat the adverse impacts of drought.
  • It is the only Indian organisation to win the award, making the cut from more than 800 nominations across 120 countries.
  • Fifteen projects from organisations across Africa, Asia and Latin America won the award in recognition of innovative solutions to tackle poverty, and environment and climate challenges. Initiatives from Pakistan and Kazakhstan won recognition for the first time.
  • The prize-winning initiative is a women-led ‘climate resilient agro-ecological farming model’ for restoring land and soil.
  • Prema Gopalan, executive director, SSP, said the project has helped empower more than 20,000 marginal women farmers and their families in Marathwada by helping them make informed decisions about agriculture and the environment.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
India scores well on Financial Stability Board (FSB) reform report card to G20
  • The Financial Stability Board (FSB), an International body for the global financial system placed India in the league of countries that are compliant or largely compliant on the implementation of priority area reforms.
  • The G20 Summit in Germany to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other world leaders, the FSB has submitted its status report on progress in financial regulatory reforms in various jurisdictions, including India.
  • The country includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States of America.
Nandan Nilekani, Helion's Sanjeev Aggarwal launch $100-million fund Fundamentum
  • Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani and Helion Venture’s Sanjeev Aggarwal launched an investment fund called Fundamental with a capital of $100 million to back startups looking for growth capital.
  • The platform will focus on consumer Internet and software-as-a-service (SAAS) companies and make an investment from $10 million to $25 million in these companies.
  • The fund, which has so far closed $50 million, will see one-third of the corpus coming from Nilekani and Aggarwal. Fundamental has already brought on board six entrepreneurs who will also invest in the fund.
Svatantra Microfin launches cashless solution ‘Saathi’
  • Mid-sized microfinance institution Svatantra Microfin is looking at doubling its loan disbursals to Rs. 800 crore by 2019, even as it plans to expand its operations to more States within the same period.
  • The firm, founded and promoted by Ananya Birla in 2012, has so far disbursed micro-credits worth Rs. 450 crore. Its loan book stands at Rs. 260 crore, and it has grown 220 per cent year-on-year since its launch in 2014.
  • The firm also claims to have broken even this year.
  • Svatantra has also launched an app, an end-to-end cashless solution called Saathi, for an entire spectrum of operations in areas such as loan originating system, loan management system and collections.
  •  In partnership with third-party service providers, it has also created a affordable, cashless mediclaim product for up to five family members.
NMCE, ICEX to merge to create India’s third biggest commodity exchange
  • National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) will merge with Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).
  • This is the first merger deal in the commodity exchange space in India. It has been approved by the boards of both exchanges and is expected to be completed by December 2017.
  • It offers the world’s first diamond futures contract, which has already received in-principle approval from the marker regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Prime Minister releases photo book titled President Pranab Mukherjee A Statesman
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a photo book titled "President Pranab Mukherjee - A Statesman", at an event in Rashtrapati Bhawan.
  • The book mainly covers the Presidency and documents his various roles.
  • It is a comprehensive photographic record of India's 13th president.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
Independence Day in the United States: 4 July
  • Independence Day is annually celebrated on July 4 and is often known as "the Fourth of July". It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1776.
  • Patriotic displays and family events are organised throughout the United States.In 1775, people in New England began fighting the British for their independence. On July 2, 1776, the Congress secretly voted for independence from Great Britain.
  • Two days later, on July 4, 1776, the final wording of the Declaration of Independence was approved, and the document was published.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Syrian President Bashar Assad Will Be Face of New Bank Note
  • A new 2,000 Syrian Lira ($3.9) bank note with the face of President Bashar Assad goes into circulation
  • The notes are the first time Syria will depict President Bashar Assad on its currency since he took office 17 years ago.
  • Assad's face appears on the new banknotes at a time when his government is boasting military successes against the armed rebellion across the country. The currency previously only carried images of historic icons or pictures of his father, Hafez Assad.
President approves Ordinance allowing Kambala in Karnataka
  • President Pranab Mukherjee approved the promulgation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, making it possible for Kambala - a traditional buffalo race - to be conducted.
  • They are organised in the Dakshin Kannada and Udupi districts of coastal Karnataka.
  • The Government passed a Bill to exempt Kambala and bullock-cart racing from the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
India placed 88th in money hoarded in Swiss bank
  • India slipped to the 88th place in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss National Bank (SNB).
  • The analysis shows that the money officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04% of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system.
  • India was ranked in top-50 continuously in terms of holdings in Swiss banks between 1996 and 2007 but slowly declined in fourth coming years.
Google Doodle Celebrates 140 Years of the Wimbledon Championships
  • Google Doodle Celebrates 140 years of Grand Slam of Wimbledon carrying a green background, which is a tribute to the grass courts of matches are played.
  • Roger Federer and Pete Sampras are joint most successful players in the Men's Singles category as they have won 7 titles.
  • Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber are the top seeds in Men's Singles and Women's Singles category respectively.
World Health Organisation declares an end to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the end of the latest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
  • The announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in the affected Bas-Uélé province of DRC tested negative for the disease for the second time.
  • Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a viral hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates caused by Ebolaviruses.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) extended for six months
  • Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) declared Entire Nagaland as “disturbed area” for six more months.
  • It is a disturbed and dangerous condition where the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.
  • The Central Government declares the whole state to be a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of six months with effect from 30th June 2017 for the purpose of Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958.
Kerala Chief Minister launches ride sharing app for techies G-Ride
  • Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched a Group of Technology Companies G-Ride app.
  • It is a digital ridesharing platform designed and deployed for the Information Technology industry by the Group of Technology Companies (Gtech).
  • The main aim is to launch this app is to bring down the use of vehicles by half.
  • The G-Ride app automatically matches co-workers and neighbours and help them travel together to work. It is available in Android and iOS versions.
Rajeev Pratap Rudy & Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid foundation stone of Country’s biggest Global Skill Park
  • Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajeev Pratap Rudy and MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan laid the foundation stone of the country’s biggest Global Skill Park in Bhopal.
  • The 37-acre land has been allotted in Narela Shankari area of Bhopal for the Global Skill Park.
  • The park will be constructed at a cost of 645 crore rupees.
Asian Development Bank sign 220 million dollar loan to improve connectivity on State Highways of Rajasthan
  • The Centre and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a 220 million dollar loan for improving connectivity as well as transport efficiency and safety on State Highways of Rajasthan.
  • A 500 million dollar for Rajasthan State Highways Investment Program, approved by ADB Board in May this year.
  • It will improve about one thousand kilometres of State Highways and major district roads.
  • The Asian Development Bank started in 1960 as a financial institution to improve economic growth and cooperation in one of the poorest regions in the world.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
India test fired quick reaction surface-to-air short range missile (QR-SAM)
  • India successfully test-fired its developed quick reaction surface-to-air short range missile (QR-SAM).
  • It was test fired in a launch complex-3 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
  • The QR-SAM has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other establishments.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
Donegal beat holders Monaghan to clinch Ulster Ladies Senior Football title
  • Geraldine McLaughlin hit 2-6 as Donegal clinched a 4-11 to 0-15 win over Monaghan in the Ulster Senior Ladies Football Final at Clones.
  • The victory over the holders gave Donegal their second title after their first triumph two years ago.
  • Roisin Friel and Yvonne McMonagle hit early goals as Donegal took control.
  • Donegal's winning margin would have been even bigger but for a final goalkeeping display by Linda Martin.
Novak Djokovic wins Eastbourne Aegon Championship by defeating Gael Monfils
  • Novak Djokovic has won the Aegon Championship in Eastbourne by beating Gael Monfils in Saturday's final.
  • The world No 2's preparation for Wimbledon concluded with a 6-3 6-4 victory at Devonshire Park - just his second title of 2017 so far.
  • Djokovic then confirmed that Mario Ancic, the former Croatian player, would join Andre Agassi as part of his new-look coaching staff before Wimbledon.