24 July 2017 Current Affairs
Navy chief begins visit to Mozambique, Tanzania
Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had begun an eight-day-long two-nation tour of Mozambique and Tanzania with an aim of exploring new avenues of bilateral defence cooperation. Admiral Lanba, who also heads the powerful Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), will visit first Mozambique. Later on his tour, Admiral Lanba will begin his five-day-long visit to Tanzania on July 26. He is scheduled to meet President of Tanzania John Magufuli, Defence Minister Hussein Mwinyi and other higher delegations. Indian Armed Forces cooperate with the armed forces of Mozambique and Tanzanian on many fronts, which include training and hydrography, besides participating in each other’s defence events. India and Mozambique have a Joint Defence Working Group (JDWG) for defence and security cooperation.
Brenda Hale to be First Woman President of UK SC
The UK government has appointed 72-year-old Brenda Marjorie Hale as the first female president of the Supreme Court, the head of the highest court in the country. Hale will take charge as the head of Britain’s top judging panel in September following the retirement of current President, Lord Neuberger. She has served as Neuberger’s deputy since 2013. Three new justices have also been appointed to the Supreme Court – Lady Justice Black, Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Lord Justice Brigg – who will take up the role when Lady Hale is sworn in officially as President on 2nd October.
India, Bangladesh sign pact to connect both countries by waterways
India and Bangladesh have signed a pact to connect both the countries by waterways. The waterways will facilitate movement of passengers and goods between India’s northeast and West Bengal with Bangladesh. Union Minister of State for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya said in Agartala that infrastructure for the services would be set up along the major rivers in Bangladesh, West Bengal and Brahmaputra in Assam. He said, the services are expected to start by the end of this year.
Former ISRO Chief U R Rao passes away at 85
Eminent space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao passed away due to age related ailments. He was 85. He was currently serving as the chairman of the governing council of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad and the chancellor of the Indian institute of science and technology in Thiruvananthapuram. Professor Rao, who served as ISRO Chairman for 10 years during 1984-1994, was inducted into International Aeronautical Federation (IAF) Hall of Fame last year during the closing ceremony of IAF Congress 2016 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Under the 2017 Padma Vibhushan award winning scientist, India carried out at least 20 satellites project including the country’s first, Aryabhatta.
India lose Women’s World Cup 2017 final to England by 9 runs
Indian eves lost to England by a narrow margin of nine runs in the ICC Women’s World Cup final at Lord’s in London. Chasing a target of 229, Indian middle-order collapsed like a pack of cards, being bowled out for 219 in 48.4 overs. India put up a tough fight but England lift the World Cup. It is the fourth time England has won, following successes in 1973, 1993 and 2009. Opener Poonam Raut was top scored with 86, while Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 51. Earlier, Natalie Sciver’s 51 and Sarah Taylor’s 45 laid the foundation for England’s decent total of 228 for 7. For England, it was their fourth Women’s World Cup.
CM Mukul Sangma launches ‘Mission Football’ in Shillong
Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma launched ‘Mission Football’ at a grand ceremony at JN Sports Complex, Shillong recently. During the occasion, Dr. Mukul Sangma stated that through this mission the future of Meghalaya can be foreseen when the State will be connected with the rest of the world because of the love and passion for the game. Mission Football is an initiative to help develop skills of football enthusiasts and develop young footballers for the country. It is a dedicated program for talent identification and nurturing of talents to develop national and international players. A total of eight grounds will be developed and the development of football stadiums in seven districts with an investment of Rs 5 crores per stadium.
Sr Congress Leader & Freedom Fighter Shivajirao Patil passes away
Shivajirao Girdhar Patil, Senior Congress Leader, freedom fighter and former Maharashtra Minister passed away at a private hospital in Mumbai. He was 92. The father of late national Award winning actress Smita Patil, he began his social activism at an early age when he took part in the Indian Independence movement. Patil like his daughter had always displayed a staunch commitment to social causes across sectors with unwavering resolve and contribution in the fields of education and agriculture through the cooperative sector. He was married to Vidyatai Patil, a social worker, who passed away in March 2015 after 77 years of marriage. He served as an active politician since a very young age and had been associated with several political parties including CPI, Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.
India to host 2017 Global Conference on Cyber Space
India will host Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) 2017, the world’s largest conference on cyber space and related issues in New Delhi in November 2017. This is for the first time GCCS is taking place outside Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. It will be the fifth edition the conference. The theme for the GCCS 2017 is ‘Cyber4All: An Inclusive, Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure Cyberspace‘. The cyber security will be one of the major focus areas in GCCS 2017. It will serve as a platform for the exchange of ideas with global think thanks and promote closer co-operation among the international community. The GCCS is a prestigious international conference that aims at encouraging dialogue among stakeholders of cyberspace. It was incepted in 2011 in London.
UP Govt to launch all-women ‘Pink’ AC busses with CCTV cameras
The Uttar Prasedh (UP) Government announced to launch ‘Pink’ air-conditioned buses installed with CCTV cameras exclusively for women. The staff including the conductor in these buses, will be women only. The ‘Pink’ buses will have panic buttons installed for emergencies. The presentation in this regard was made before the Union Ministry of Women Child Development by the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) authorities. Following this, the Union Ministry sanctioned funds for the 50 buses from its ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ for the ‘Pink’ buses in UP. The ministry permitted the state government to buy the buses and install CCTV cameras in the other 12500 busesn owned by the UPSRTC.
Prannoy Clinches 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton title
Rising shuttler H S Prannoy defeated Parupalli Kashyap to clinch the $120000 US Open Grand Prix Gold in Anaheim, Calfornia. Prannoy defeated Kashyap 21-15 20-22 21-12 in the summit clash, which lasted an hour and five minutes. In the women’s singles category of the tournament, Aya Ohori of Japan won the final by defeating Michelle Li of Canada. The 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold was the eleventh Grand Prix’s badminton tournament of the 2017 BWF Grand Prix and overall eight Grand Prix Gold title of 2017 BWF Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament.
Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 introduced in Lok Sabha
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Lok Sabha. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance 2017, which was promulgated in May 2017.
Provisions of the Bill:
- It authorises the RBI to direct the banking companies to resolve the problem of stressed assets.
- It also allows the RBI to initiate insolvency resolution process on specific stressed assets.
- It empowers RBI to issue other directions for resolution, appoint or approve authorities or committees to advise the banking companies for stressed asset resolution.
- The recovery proceedings will be carried out under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 that provides for a time-bound process to resolve defaults.
India ranks 132 in commitment to narrow income inequality
India has ranked 132nd out of 152 countries on the inaugural “Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index” released by international NGO Oxfam in association with Developmental Finance International. Sweden topped the index while Nigeria took the bottom most spot. Sweden is followed by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany. Among India’s neighboring countries, China’s rank is 87; Pakistan fared worse than India at 146 while Bangladesh ranked at 148.
Union Govt launches SHe-box portal
The union Ministry of Women and Child Development launched an online patform ‘SHe-box (Sexual Harassment Electronic Box) to enable women employees of the Central government to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the work place. The Ministry also instructed officials to make the ‘SHe-box’ portal as interactive as possible. The e-platform will be hosted on the WCD ministry’s website and the complaints will then be taken up with the respective ministries or departments. Once a complaint is registered, it will be forwarded to the concerned ministry or department where the woman works. Initially, only the central government women employees can file complaints through the portal, but later its ambit will include the private sector as well.
World’s largest supercarrier USS Gerald R Ford commissioned in USA
US Navy commissioned world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford into the fleet. The commissioning ceremony was held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia in presence of US President Donald Trump. USS Gerald R. Ford is the first ship in this new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy. The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States Gerald Ford and has been built by Newport News Ship Building Company. The massive 1,106-foot-long carrier displaces a staggering 100,000 tons fully loaded and is powered by two new generation nuclear reactors.