Current Affairs July – 9, 2017 –  Centre allots Rs 100 crore to Goa under Swadesh Darshan scheme:

 NATIONAL

Metro to link old, new Gurugram:

    With a view to provide better connectivity, the Haryana government has decided to link Old and New Gurugram through a metro link from HUDA City Centre to Gurugram railway station. The feasibility report for the project has been prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

    According to the feasibility report, the 17.11-km metro corridor would connect HUDA City Centre with Gurugram railway station. The corridor would feature 15 stations and would be completed at a cost of Rs.3,739 crore.

Vizag-Colombo flight launched:

    The inaugural flight of SriLankan Airlines from Visakhapatnam to Colombo was flagged off by Union Minister of Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju at Visakhapatnam International Airport.

    Mr. Raju recalled the cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka. At present, Visakhapatnam has flights to Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia respectively by Air India, SilkAir, and AirAsia.

Andhra Pradesh:

• Capital: Amaravati
• Chief Minister:  N. Chandrababu Naidu
• Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan

Badal lays foundation stone of maize-based food park in Punjab:

    Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal laid the foundation stone of a Rs 123.7 crore mega food park with focus on maize processing in Kapurthala district, Punjab.

    The park is being developed by Sukhjit Mega Food Park and Infra Limited at village Rehana Jattan. It will boost job opportunities and environment conservation.

Punjab:

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: V. P. Singh Badnore
• Chief Minister: Captain Amarinder Singh

President Mukherjee to launch 4 digital initiatives over e-education:

    President Pranab Mukherjee will launch digital initiatives Swayam, Swayam Prabha, National Digital Library and National Academic Depository in New Delhi to push e-education in the country.

    Massive Open Online Courses, Swayam will host courses taught in classrooms from Class IX to post graduation, which can be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

    Swayam Prabha is the platform of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting high-quality educational programmes 24X7 using GSAT-15 satellite, the National Digital Library containing 6.5 million books, and the National Academic Depository for authenticating all certificates issued by institutions.

    “These initiatives will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in the higher education from 24.5 (2015-16) to 30 by 2020,” said a Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

UNESCO declares Ahmedabad as world heritage city:

    Ahmedabad city has been declared as a World Heritage City at the 41st session of UNESCO’s world heritage committee being held at Krakow in Poland. Nomination of Ahmedabad was supported by close to 20 countries, including Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia, Portugal, Peru and Kazakhstan.

Gujarat:

• Capital: Gandhinagar

• Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani
• Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

BMC to launch new family planning programme on World Population Day:

    The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in association with the Centre and the Maharashtra government, will launch a new family planning programme, ‘Antara’ to mark World Population Day on July 11.

    The main objective of adding the additional methods of contraception under the National Family Welfare Programme, is to bring down the maternal deaths, abortion related maternal deaths, maternal morbidity and the neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Maharashtra to adopt Andhra pattern of loan waiver implementation to plug systemic corruption:

    The Maharashtra government will adopt Andhra Pradesh pattern of loan waiver implementation to plug systemic corruption and ensure that the fruits of debt waiver reach actual beneficiaries.

    Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said that a digital platform will be adopted to transfer the money to avoid corruption and misuse of tax payers money. The minister also challenged the Opposition parties to take a similar decision in states where they are in power.

Maharashtra:

• • Capital: Mumbai
  • Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
  • Governor: C. Vidhyasagar Rao

Centre allots Rs 100 crore to Goa under Swadesh Darshan scheme:

    The union tourism ministry has allotted Rs 100 crore to the state under the Swadesh Darshan scheme to augment its tourist infrastructure, Goa Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar.

    A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by the Goa government’s department of tourism under the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) made a presentation before the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee after which the amount was approved.

Goa:

• Capital: Panaji
• Chief Minister: Manohar Parrikar
• Governor: Mridula Sinha

India’s first university only for Dalit students to come up in Hyderabad by 2018:

    A proposal to establish an exclusive university for Dalit students in Hyderabad is under active consideration of the state government. The university is said to be part of the government’s policy of providing education free of cost to students from weaker sections from kindergarten to post-graduation (KG to PG) level.

    The proposal was mooted by a government arm – Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) which runs nearly 268 residential institutions for Dalit students from Class V to under-graduate level, besides the recently sanctioned 39 non-residential play schools with pre-primary education.

Chhattisgarh tops list of states in issuance of soil health cards:

    Chhattisgarh has topped the list among all the states in the country for having issued over 43 lakh soil health cards (SHCs) to farmers in the past two years, a state minister informed at Raipur.

Chhattisgarh:

• Capital: Raipur
• Chief Minister: Raman Singh
• Governor: Balram Das Tandon               

Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board launches green campaign:

    Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) and Parayavarana Margadarsi Vaisakhi (PMV) jointly initiated the campaign ‘Connecting People to Nature’ at the Public Library as part of World Environment Day (June 5).

    A poster with the tagline ‘Protect Environment for Future Generation’ was also released on the occasion. Awareness campaigns on environment protection will be held in various areas till the end of this month.

Railways to install bar-coded flap gates at stations to facilitate faster ticket checking:

    The Railways will go the Metro way and install automatic flap gates with bar code scanners at stations to facilitate faster ticket checking and ease the pressure on ticket examiners and collectors.

    To begin with, the access control system, already operational in Kolkata and Delhi Metro services, will be implemented at non-metropolitan stations where traffic rush is very less.

Bengal Government to celebrate Kanyashree Utsav on July 25:

    Kolkata, on July 25 will mark the celebration of Kanyashree Utsav the day will witness representatives from all corners of the state coming together to congratulate accomplished Kanyashrees, who will be felicitated by the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself.

    Students who have benefited from the Kanyashree Scheme from every district will participate in the celebratory event of this flagship scheme.

West Bengal:

• Capital: Kolkata
• Chief Minister:  Mamata Banerjee
• Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi

INTERNATIONAL

India in talks with Canadian firm to buy coking coal:

    The government is in talks with Canada’s Teck Resources, the largest North American producer of coking coal used to make steel, for long-term purchase agreements after a cyclonic disruption in Australia cut supplies earlier this year.

    Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh will be in Canada along with executives of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) for talks with Vancouver-based Teck over long-term, formula-based price deals.

    At present, SAIL meets a little over three-fourths of its needs from BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest shipper of coking coal, according to a second government official. India needs about 56 million to 57 million tonnes of coking coal every year, of which about 85 per cent is imported. According to the government’s newly-drafted National Steel Policy, India’s coking coal requirements will more than double by the financial year ending in 2031. 

Canada:

    Capital: Ottawa

    Currency: Canadian Dollar

G20 Summit 2017: PM Modi invites Norway pension funds to invest in India:

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited Norwegian pension funds to invest in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) as he met Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who gifted him a symbolic football.

    Continuing his series of bilateral meetings in Hamburg, Germany on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Modi also met South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. He held a bilateral meeting with President of Argentina Mauricio Macri.

    Prime Minister Modi invited Italy’s participation in World Food India — the food processing exhibition to be held in India in November this year.

Norway:

    Capital: Oslo

    Currency: Norwegian Krone

Army gets DAC nod for 2,806 cr. Upgrades:

    The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, accorded approval to the Army for upgrades worth 2,806 crore.

    Of this, the upgrades of armoured fighting vehicles is expected to cost about 2,400 crore, while the Carrier Command Posts of the artillery will need 400 crore.

G20 nations pledge to strengthen health systems:

    The G20 nations, including India, pledged to strengthen health systems and also combat the menace of antimicrobial resistance, AMR in Hamburg, Germany. The group termed AMR as a growing threat to public health and economic growth.

Trump pledges $50 mn to World Bank fund formed by Ivanka to help women entrepreneurs:

    President Donald Trump said the US would contribute $50 million to a new World Bank fund conceived by his daughter that aims to help women entrepreneurs’ access capital and other support.

    Ivanka Trump joined World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on the sidelines of the Group of 20 world leaders’ summit in Hamburg, Germany, to launch the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative.

Friendship Bridge along Mizoram border set to transform India-Bangladesh ties:

    To foster friendly relations across borders, India and Bangladesh have chalked out to construct a bridge over Mizoram’s Khawthlangtuipui River to facilitate trade and improve communication between the two neighbours.

Bangladesh:

• Currency: Bangladeshi taka
• Capital: Dhaka

Mizoram:

• • Capital: Aizawl
  • Chief Minister: Lal Thanhawla
  • Governor: Nirbhay Sharma

BANKING & BUSINESS

India’s forex reserves at record-high of USD 386.53 billion:

    India’s foreign exchange reserves have increased by 4.007 billion US dollars to touch a record high of 386.539 billion US dollars in the end of 30th June.

RBI for setting up public credit registry:

    The Reserve Bank of India made a strong case for setting up a public credit registry in India to address the twin balance sheet problem of the banking sector and the corporate sector.

About Public Credit Registry:

    According to the World Bank Doing Business Project, “Public credit registry coverage reports the number of individuals and firms listed in a public credit registry with current information on repayment history, unpaid debts, or credit outstanding. The number is expressed as a percentage of the adult population.”

AWARDS

Hyderabad-headquartered Water Health wins global award:

    Water Health International (WHI), a US-based company with operating headquarters, has been awarded the Unilever Global Development Award for its endeavours in providing clean, safe and affordable drinking water to marginalised communities in India, Ghana and Nigeria. It was presented at the 20th Responsible Business Awards ceremony, held in London on July 4.

Tata Steel bags PM’s trophy for best integrated steel plant:

    Tata Steel has won the Prime Minister’s trophy for being the best performing integrated steel plant in the country during 2014-15 and 2015-16.

    APPOINTMENTS

WHO appoints Saima Hossain as South-East Asia goodwill ambassador for autism:

    Ms Saima Wazed Hossain, a globally renowned champion for the cause of autism spectrum disorder, has been appointed as WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in South-East Asia Region.

Ex-martial arts star wins election as Mongolia’s president:

    Battulga, a member of the Democratic Party, won of Mongolia’s voters went to the poll, according to data from the General Election Commission.

    Battulga was running against parliament speaker Miyeegombo Enkhbold of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, who drew 41.2 percent of the vote.

Mongolia:

• Currency: Mongolian togrog
• Capital: Ulaanbaatar

SPORTS

Harinder wins South Australian Open title:

    India’s Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia in the final to win the South Australian Open squash title.

Australia:

• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar
• Prime minister: Malcolm Turnbull

Sudha brightens the day:

    The months after the last year’s Rio Olympics were very disappointing ones for Sudha Singh. The 3000m steeple chaser, a former national record holder, was down with swine flu soon after Rio which virtually sapped her of all energy.

    The UP athlete Sudha Singh resumed training this year and evening won her maiden steeplechase gold at the Asian Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium.

Calmejane wins Tour de France stage with panache:

    Young Frenchman Lilian Calmejane took victory on the eighth stage on the Tour de France after a solo break on the final climb.

    Dutchman Robert Geesink was second while Chris Froome retained his overall lead after the group of favourites finished together 50 seconds behind the winner.

OBITUARY

Former Bengal cricketer Gour Ghosh passes away:

    Former Bengal and Jharkhand First-Class cricketer Gour Ghosh, 77, passed away.

A right-hand batsman and wicketkeeper, Ghosh played 17 First-Class matches in a career spanning 1960-61 to 1970-71.

Current Affairs Quiz – July 9, 2017