Current Affairs – 25, July  2017 : Exhibition “Traditional Head Gear of India” Begins in National Museum:

NATIONAL

Government withdraws Architects (amendment) bill 2010 from Rajya Sabha:

The government withdrew from the Rajya Sabha a bill to amend the Architects Act, 1972 which provides for registration of architects. 

The bill has been withdrawn as the government seeks to redraft it with further amendments to the Act, said by junior HRD Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey. The bill was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha by the previous government in 2010, which was later referred to the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development.

AAI, Uttarakhand Govt.ink MoU on aviation development:

Going ahead with its commitment towards the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in the country, Airports Authority of India (AAI), has signed an MoU with Government of Uttarakhand and joined hands with Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA).

The scope of the MoU is to identify relevant factors influencing the development of civil aviation infrastructure in Uttarakhand, assessing commercial potential of various airports of the State.

Uttarakhand

• Capital: Dehradun
• Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat
• Governor: Krishna Kant Paul

Kerala to host literary fest with tolerance as theme:

Kerala is getting ready to host a literary festival with “Tolerance” as the core theme. Creative writers, journalists, theatre and film personalities will deliberate on tolerance at the fifth edition of South India Writers Ensemble (SIWE), to be held at Chengannur, a sleepy town in coastal Alappuza district, from July 24. 

Organised by People for Performing Arts and More, an art-cum-cultural outfit, the three-day annual literary gathering is aimed at bringing about an enriching interaction between writers from different languages and regions.

Kerala

• Capital: Tiruvanantapuram
• Chief Minister: Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor: P. Sathasivam

Now, file sexual harassment complaints online:

Women employees of the central government can now lodge complaints of sexual harassment at workplace online.

Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi launched a web portal, ‘SHe-Box’ for this, saying its scope will soon be widened to enable women employees in private sector as well.

Mobile App for Road Maintenance “Aarambh” launched:

The Hon’ble Union Minister Shri Tomar and Ms. Greenfield launched the following publications and Mobile App for Road Maintenance “Aarambh”.

Concept Note and Guidance Note “Mobilizing Funds for Maintenance of Rural Road”:

Resource mobilization for rural roads maintenance has always been a challenge for the States. This Concept Note outlines innovative ways which can be adopted by the state Governments for mobilizing additional funds for road maintenance and presents some international best practices worldwide.

FSSAI bans Stapler Pins in tea bags from January 2018:

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned the use of stapler pins in tea bags from January 2018. 

The FSSAI order directs the concerned food business operators to discontinue the manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of stapled tea bags by 1 January 2018.

Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal confirmed that 13,872 villages electrified under rural scheme DDUGJY:

Union Government Shri Piyush Goyal confirmed that 13,872 villages electrified till 30th June 2017 in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Sikkim are the states where 100% villages are electrified till date.

Exhibition “Traditional Head Gear of India” Begins in National Museum:

Smt. Rashmi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Culture & Tourism inaugurated an exhibition entitled “Traditional Head Gear of India” organised by the National Museum in National Museum Complex, Janpath, New Delhi. This small exhibition is arranged to showcase printed turban, embroidered dopalli and Maratha stitched cap and zardozi cap.

INTERNATIONAL

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.

Bangladesh

• Capital: Dhaka

• Currency: Bangladeshi taka

World’s first floating wind farm emerges off coast of Scotland:

The world’s first full-scale floating wind farm has started to take shape off the north-east coast of Scotland.

The revolutionary technology will allow wind power to be harvested in waters too deep for the current conventional bottom-standing turbines. The Peterhead wind farm, known as Hywind, is a trial which will bring power to 20,000 homes.

Scotland

• Capital: Edinburgh

• Currency: Pound sterling

BANKING & BUSINESS

IMF retains 2017 growth forecast for India at 7.2%:

The Indian economy is forecast to grow at 7.2% in 2017-18 and 7.7% in 2018-19, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest forecast.

CCEA gives in-principle approval for selling 51% stake in HPCL to ONGC:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave in-principle approval for sale of government’s 51.11 percent stake along with management control in HPCL to ONGC, informed by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

APPOINTMENTS

Google CEO Sundar Pichai joins Alphabet board of directors:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been appointed to the board of directors of Alphabet, the search giant’s parent company.

SPORTS

Mithali named captain of ICC Women’s World Cup team:

India skipper Mithali Raj was chosen as the captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team by the International Cricket Council.

          The 34-year-old Indian was selected as captain after she led India to the final of the just-concluded ICC Women’s World Cup.

India end campaign with 5 medals in World Para Athletics Championship:

India ended their World Para Athletics Championship campaign with five medals, including a gold.

India collected five medals with a gold, two silver and two bronze medals to finish outside top-30 in the medal standings.

MP govt announces Rs 50 lakh award for Indian women’s cricket team:

The Madhya Pradesh government has announced Rs 50 lakh award for the Indian women’s cricket team, which finished as runners-up in the Women’s Cricket World Cup.

Madhya Pradesh

• Capital: Bhopal
• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan
• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

Konsam wins gold in Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting Championships:

Indian weightlifter Konsam Ormila Devi (126kg lifted a total of 126kg to claim the women’s 44kg gold medal) has bagged a gold medal at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Nepal

• Prime minister: Sher Bahadur Deuba

• Currency: Nepalese rupee

• Capital: Kathmandu

India finish 7th in Commonwealth Youth Games with 11 medals:

India finished at seventh position in the sixth Commonwealth Youth Games at Nassau in Bahamas after winning 11 medals, including four gold. India won four gold, one silver and six bronze medals in the six-day multi-sporting event which concluded.

Soni picked up India’s first gold medal by winning the 73kg category event, beating Australia’s Uros Nikolic. Ashish followed with a bronze medal in the 60kg category, with a win over England’s Harry Zane-Prosser.

Among the girls, Antim Yadav and Rebina Devi Chanam won two more bronze medals in the 48kg and 57kg categories respectively. In boxing, India bagged four medals with World Youth champion Sachin Siwach clinching the gold in lightweight (49kg) category after defeating James Nathan.

Bahamas

• Currency: Bahamian dollar

• Capital: Nassau

India to host maiden men’s World Boxing Championship in 2021:

In a historic first for Indian boxing, the country will host the elite men’s World Championship in 2021 besides conducting the women’s World Championship for the second time next year, the International Boxing Association (AIBA) has announced.

Hashan Tillakaratne appointed temporary batting coach for Sri Lanka cricket team:

The Sri Lanka cricket team has roped in former cricketer Hashan Tillakaratne as their temporary batting coach ahead of the three-match home Test series against India.

Srilanka

• Currency: Sri Lankan rupee
• Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
• Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe

OBITUARY

Former Chief Secy Sudripta Roy dies:

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh mourned the demise of former Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh Sudripta Roy, who passed away at a hospital in New Delhi. Roy, a 1978-batch IAS officer, held the post from 2012 to 2014.

Renowned scientist Professor Yash Pal passes away:

Renowned scientist Professor Yash Pal passed away at his residence in Noida, in Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. He was 90.

Pal also served as the Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi from 2007 to 2012. Pal was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1976 and India’s second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2013.

Former Australia and French Open Tennis champion Mervyn Rose dies:

Mervyn Rose, who won two grand slam titles and a pair of Davis Cups for Australia before coaching some of the greats of the game, has died at 87.

June Month National Affairs Part 2

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