18 July 2017 Current Affairs
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 seperate 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.
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.
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.
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.