27 July 2017 Current Affairs
Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, has resigned from his office. He resigned on 26 uly 2017 after citing differences with ally RJD in the issue of corruption charges against Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. After submitting his resignation to Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi, Nitish said under the circumstances prevailing in Bihar, it bacame difficult to run the grand alliance government. He said, I tried to work it out and didn’t ask for anybody’s resignation but asked Tejashwi Yadav to explain the charges of corruption.
Union Govt plans to open over 100 new post offices by 2018
The Union government is planning to open 81 sub-post offices and 100 branch post offices during the 2017-18 fiscal year under the “Rural Business & Access to Postal Network” scheme. The same was notified to the Parliament. The Communications Minister, Manoj Sinha in a written reply in the Lok Sabha said that under the scheme, the Department of Posts plans to open 66 new branch post offices during the current fiscal year by creation of new post offices in 32 worst affected Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-hit districts in the country.
Delhi Govt constitutes State Names Authority
The Delhi government constituted the state Names Authority, a seperate body mandated to name government roads and institutions under the state purview. The State Names Authority (SNA) will be headed by deputy CM Manish Sisodia. While, Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain will be the Vice-Chairman of the Authority. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal has gave his approval for the formation of the authority. The authority will have a total of 34 members including the Union home secretary, the Union HRD secretary, the DDA vice-chairman, the Delhi PWD secretary and the Delhi Principal secretary (Home). Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers Rajesh Gupta, Nitin Tyagi, Vishesh Ravi, Sanjeev Jha, Rakhi Birla, Bhavna Gaur and Adarsh Shastri will also be the members of the Authority.
Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM, Sushil Modi as his Deputy
Nitish Kumar, who resigned as Chief Minister of Bihar iting circumstances prevailing in Bihar, was sworn-in as the Cheif Minister of the state on 27 July 2017. He took oath as Bihar Chief Minister with Bharatiya Janata Party as a partner of his Janata Dal-United. With this, the JD(U) President Nitish Kumar has sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the sixth time. Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi adminstered the oath of office to Nitish Kumar at the Raj Bhavan in Patna. In addition to this, BJP’s Sushil Kumar was sworn-in as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
PM Modi inaugurates Kalam’s memorial in Rameswaram
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s memorial at Pei Karumbu in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu on the second death anniversary of the former President. Mr Modi unveils a statue of Dr. Kalam and hoisted the National flag at the memorial. Mr. Modi will flag off Kalam Sandesh Vahini, an exhibition bus which will travel across the country and reach Rashtrapati Bhavan on 15th of October, which marks the birth anniversary of the former President. The majestic memorial for the missile man Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has been designed and built by the Defence Research and Development Organization.
Uttarakhand records second highest tiger count in India
The count of tigers in Uttarakhand shot up 242 with an increase of 63 big cats in the year 2017. the news was announced by Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. In addition, 11 cubs were also found in the two tiger reserves, the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, in the state. While announcing the statistics, the Chief Minister congratulated the forest department for the great work being done for the conservation of tigers and added that in terms of area and tiger population ratio. Uttarakhand is the second state in terms of tiger count behind Karnataka, which has 400 big cats.
Microsoft launches ‘Made for India’ Kaizala app
Technology giant Microsoft has officially launched ‘Kaizala’, a productivity app that has been designed to enhance the collaboration and communication experience for Indian enterprises. The ‘Made for India’ app is designed for large group communications and work management and works even on 2G networks. The product will make it possible for organizations to interact with people within the organization as well as outside like partners and vendors in a seamless manner.
Subhash Garg appointed on ADB Board of Governors
Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has been appointed as Indias Alternate Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Finance Ministry announced recently. Garg has been appointed in place of former DEA Secretary Shaktikanta Das. The appointment came into effect from July 12.
Scientists discover glow-in-the-dark shark in Pacific Ocean
A group of scientists identified a new species of glow-in-the-dark shark in the Pacific Ocean off the coast f the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The shark has an unusually large nose, weighs a little less than a kilo measures less than a foot. TThe new species is a member of the lantershark family. The species has been named Etmopterus Lailae.
Former Karnataka CM Dharam Singh passes away
N. Dharam Singh, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, passed away following a heart attack. He was 80. He was the 17th Chief Minister of the state. He headed the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government from May 2004 to February 2006. Dharam Singh represented the Karnataka Legislative Assembly seven times without a defeat and was a member of the Lok Sabha from Bidar constituency once (2009).
Guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme revised
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval for revision of guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) Scheme with a view to achieve its intended objectives.
Two sets of changes have been made in the scheme:
1. Specific changes have been made in the attributes of the scheme to make it more attractive, mobilise finances as per the target and reduce the economic strains caused by imports of gold and reduce the Current Account Deficit (CAD).
2. Flexibility has been given to Ministry of Finance to design and introduce variants of SGBs with different interest rates and risk protection / pay-offs that would offer investment alternatives to different category of investors. Ministry of Finance (the issuer) has been delegated this power to amend / add to the features of the Scheme with approval of the Finance Minister to reduce the time lag between finalizing the attributes of a particular tranche and its notification.
CAC adopts universal standards for pepper, cumin and thyme
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) adopted three Codex standards for black, white and green pepper, cumin and thyme, paving the way for universal agreement on identifying quality spices in various countries. The decision was taken during the Codex Alimentarius Commission’s 40th session in Geneva. The step is seen as a major recognition of India’s efforts to benchmark global spices trade.
Axis Bank acquires FreeCharge from Snapdeal for Rs. 385 crore
Axis Bank announced the acquisition of Snapdeal-owned mobile payments provider Freecharge in an all-cash deal worth Rs. 385 crore. The deal is subject to regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the indicative time-frame to complete the acquisition is two months, the private sector lender said in an exchange filing. With this buyout, Axis Bank will get over 50 million customers of Freecharge along with its niche and patented technology and human resources. Founded in 2010 by Mumbai based entrepreneur Kunal Shah, FreeCharge started as a recharge deal coupons platform before turning into a full-scale mobile wallet. Amazon had in fact placed a higher bid for FreeCharge, however the Snapdeal-owned payments platform opted for the Axis Bank offer.