Current Affairs : 17 July, 2017-Matunga Becomes India’s First Railway Station with All-Women Staff:

 NATIONAL

Matunga Becomes India’s First Railway Station with All-Women Staff:

Matunga suburban railway station in Mumbai has become the first station in India to be run by an all-women staff. A total of 30 women staffers, including eleven booking clerks, five Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and seven ticket checkers are working under station manager Mamta Kulkarni, who was the first female station master in Central Railway’s Mumbai division.

Maharashtra:

• Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
• Governor: Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao

Soldiers exempt from toll tax in Madhya Pradesh:

          Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced exemption for soldiers from paying toll-tax on highways in the state. The decision came after a delegation of BSF officials apprised him about their grievances while he was on a personal tour to Jaisalmer.

 Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

J-K govt launches weekly festival at Dal Lake:

The spectacular Dal Lake here hosted first ever Culture of Cruise, a weekly 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,” J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) Secretary Aziz Hajini.

Jammu and Kashmir:

• Capital: Srinagar
• Chief Minister: Mehbooba Mufti
• Governor: Narinder Nath Vohra

INTERNATIONAL

Mexican city named best for travel, Udaipur ranks 14:

San Miguel de Allende in Mexico has been named the World’s Best City in a survey by Travel and Leisure magazine, while Udaipur (Rajasthan) has been ranked 14th. US city Charleston, Thai city Chiang Mai, Japanese city Kyoto and Italian city Florence have completed the top five.

Mexico:

• Currency: Peso
• Capital: Mexican City
• President: Enrique Pena Nieto

 Indonesia renames part of South China Sea:

Indonesia has named waters in its exclusive economic zone that overlap with China’s expansive claim to the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea, an assertion of sovereignty that has angered Beijing.

Indonesia:

• Currency: Indonesian rupiah
• Capital: Jakarta

 AWARDS

IIFA Awards 2017: Shahid-Alia win Best Actor and Actress, Neerja wins Best Film:

          The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards 2017 kick-started with a bang on July 14. The show is being held in New York.

Best Actor: Shahid Kapoor (Udta Punjab)

Best Actress: Alia Bhatt (Udta Punjab)

Best Film: Neerja

Best Actor in a Comic Role: Varun Dhawan (Dishoom)

Best Actor in a Negative Role: Jim Sarbh (Neerja) 

Style Icon of The Year: Alia Bhatt       

Best Debutante: Disha Patani (M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story)

Best Debutant: Diljit Dosanjh (Udta Punjab)

Woman of The Year: Taapsee Pannu

Special Contribution to Indian Cinema: AR Rahman

Best Supporting Actress: Shabana Azmi (Neerja)

Best Supporting Actor: Anupam Kher (M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story)

Best Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury (Pink)

Best Story – Shakun Batra and Ayesha DeVitre Dhillon (Kapoor & Sons)

Best Music Director: Pritam (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

Best Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

Best Singer Male: Amit Mishra (Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)

Best Singer Female: Tulsi Kumar (Airlift) and Kanika Kapoor (Udta Punjab)

 Singapore Airlines rated best airline in the world:

Singapore Airlines has been rated the world’s best airline in a survey by the Travel and Leisure magazine. It has been followed by Emirates and Qatar Airways at second and third place respectively, while Cathay Pacific Airways and Japan Airlines have completed the top five.

Singapore:

• Capital: Singapore
• Currency: Singapore Dollar

Chitraveena maestro Ravikiran to get ‘Sangita Kalanidhi’ title:

          Chitraveena maestro N Ravikiran would be conferred with the “Sangita Kalanidhi Award” instituted by the Music Academy.

BANKING & BUSINESS

MobiKwik, Samsung Pay to enable one-tap payment solution for e-wallet users:

Digital payments company MobiKwik has partnered Samsung Pay, under which consumers will be able to make payments with a single tap using select Samsung handsets.

As part of the tie-up, MobiKwik wallet is now integrated with Samsung Pay Mini to enable one-tap payments at more than 1.4 million MobiKwik-powered merchants across the country, the digital payments firm said in a statement. MobiKwik’s mobile wallet will also be available soon to Samsung Pay users, it added.

 Deposits in Jan Dhan accounts touched new high of Rs 64,564 crore:

Deposits in Jan Dhan accounts have touched a new high of 64,564 crore rupees, of which over 300 crore rupees came in the first seven months of demonetisation.

Finance ministry said responding a Right to Information (RTI), application. It, on 16th November last year, there were 25 crore 58 lakh PMJDY accounts with an aggregate deposit of 64,252 crore rupees.

Thus, between November 16 last year and June 14 this year, about 312 crore rupees had been added to Jan Dhan accounts.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, PMJDY, aims at bringing hitherto unbanked areas and people under a formal banking system.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Behind Green Eyes: New species of deep-water hermit crab found:

‘Green-eyed hermit crab’ is the common name for a new species recently discovered off the West Coast of South Africa. Apart from its magnetic stare, however, there is a number of characteristic morphological traits and an unusual home preference that all make the crustacean unique.

Super-flexible and strong artificial silk developed:

Scientists from the University of Cambridge have developed super-stretchy and strong artificial silk, composed almost entirely of water, which may be used to make eco-friendly textiles and sensors.

The fibres, which resemble miniature bungee cords as they can absorb large amounts of energy, are sustainable, non-toxic and can be made at room temperature.

 APPOINTMENTS

Ragpicker appointed Srinagar’s civic brand ambassador:

Bilal Dar, an 18-year-old Ragpicker, has been appointed as Srinagar Municipal Corporation’s brand ambassador.

Dar, a resident of Laharwarpora of Bandipora district, earns his living by cleaning Wular Lake.

As a brand ambassador of the SMC, Dar will be given a special uniform and a vehicle.

                                                          SPORTS

India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu wins Victorian Squash Open title:

India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu continued his fine run by winning a second title in two weeks, beating top-seed Rex Hedrick of Australia in a 77-minute final of Victorian Open squash, a PSA Tour event, in Melbourne.

Govindan Lakshmanan wins gold in 5000m, three meet records broken:

Asian champion Govindan Lakshmanan grabbed a gold medal in men’s 5000m race while three meet records fell by the wayside on the opening day of the National Inter-State Athletics Championships.

The 27-year old Lakshmanan, who bagged a gold medal at the recently concluded Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, has already qualified for the World Championships to be held in London next month.

Meanwhile, Loganathan Suriya (women’s 5000m), Anu Raghavan (women’s 400m hurdles) and Sarita Singh (women’s hammer throw) all created meet records at the newly-laid blue colour track at the Acharya Nagarjuna University ground.                    

 Tajinder wins gold but misses Worlds:

Asian season leader Tajinder would have liked. The 22-year old won the gold without any difficulty with a 19.46m effort but he was still far away from the 20.50m he desperately needed to qualify for the next month’s World Championships in London.

 Wimbledon 2017: Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis win mixed doubles title:

           Martina Hingis clinched her 23th Grand Slam title as the Swiss star and Scottish partner Jamie Murray beat Henri Kontinen and Heather Watson in the Wimbledon mixed doubles final.

Roger Federer beats Marin Cilic to win record 8th Wimbledon title, 19th Grand Slam.

Lewis Hamilton wins fourth straight British Grand Prix:

Lewis Hamilton swept to his fourth consecutive victory at the British Grand Prix to move within a single point of world championship leader Sebastian Vettel.

 Britain:

• Currency: Pound sterling
• Capital: London
• Prime minister: Theresa May

BOOK & AUTHOR

Katie Price unveils new novel:

Former glamour model Katie Price has unveiled the cover for her next novel “Playing With Fire“, which will be available later this year.

The 39-year-old television personality took to social media to share a first glimpse of the artwork for her 11th novel, which she announced would hit shelves on October 19, reported Contact music.

Historical Events of the Day

International Justice Day –JULY 17 2017:

International Justice Day is celebrated throughout the world on July 17, 2017 as part of an effort to recognize the emerging system of International Criminal Justice.

It is also referred to as Day of International Criminal Justice or World Day for International Justice. July 17 was chosen because it is the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court (ICC).

OBITUARY

Former Sikkim CM Nar Bahadur Bhandari passes away:

Nar Bahadur Bhandari, one of the longest-serving chief ministers of Sikkim, died. Mr. Bhandari, a three-term former Chief Minister, was 77.