Important Current Affairs 24th June 2016

Anil Kumble is Team India’s head coach

1. Anil Kumble (45) has been named head coach of the Indian team for the next 12 months.
2. He will take charge from the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
3. Kumble edged out former team director Ravi Shastri after 57 aspirants entered the fray for the coveted post.
4. Kumble with 619 wickets from 132 matches, is the 3rd most successful bowler in Test history behind Muralitharan (800) & Shane Warne (708).

Brazil too opposes India’s entry to NSG

1. Brazil, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland and Turkey opposed India’s induction into the 48-member group.
2. India’s application was not on the main agenda of the plenary, but sources said that Japan raised the issue in the opening session.
3. China has also stalled the issue by saying membership of the NSG should be limited to countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Boxers Manoj & Vikash qualify for Rio

1. Indian boxers Manoj Kumar and Vikas Krishan have qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics scheduled to be held in August 2016 in Rio de Janerio.
2. Both of them booked their berth after beating their opponents in quarter-finals of AIBA World Olympic qualification event.
3. With this total 3 Indian boxers have assured of Olympic berths.  Shiva Thapa was the first Indian boxer to qualify for Rio Olympics.

British PM David Cameron resigns

1. Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he will resign after Britons voted to leave the EU despite his campaign to keep it in the bloc.
2. Mr. Cameron promised to try to “steady the ship” over the next months & did not give a precise timetable for his departure but said a new leader should be installed by October.
3. His successor will trigger the formal process for Britain to leave the EU.

Kuwait seeks $1 bn in damages from IOC

1. Kuwait has filed suit in a Swiss court seeking $1 billion in damages from the International Olympic Committee over its suspension from Olympics.
2. IOC & FIFA suspended Kuwait over laws that allow govt. interference in sports.
3. Apart from the IOC & FIFA, 16 other international sporting federations have also blacklisted Kuwait.
4. It is the 3rd time since 2007 that FIFA & IOC have suspended Kuwait.

GD Birla award for IIT Kanpur professor

1. IIT-Kanpur professor Sanjay Mittal has been awarded the 25th GD Birla Award for Scientific Research for the year 2015.
2. This is an annual scientific award given to Indian scientist below the age of 50, living & working in India for their outstanding scientific research.
3. It was established 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation in the honour of philanthropist Ghanshyam Das Birla.

Britain leaves European Union

1. Britain has voted to leave the European Union to take greater control of its economy & its borders, shattering the stability of the continental unity forged after World War II.
2. ‘Leave’ side prevailed 52% to 48% in vote, which had a turnout of 72%.
3. Financial authorities around the world have warned that a British exit will reverberate through a delicate global economy.

Haryana: 100% rebate in property tax

1. In a major relief to all those whose properties were damaged during Jat quota stir in February, Haryana has decided to provide 100% rebate in property tax for all properties.
2. The rebate would be given for a period of 2016-2017 financial year.
3. Govt. has already waived electricity dues for the current & impending billing cycles of all those consumers whose properties were damaged or looted.

Tata ordered to pay NTT DoCoMo $1.2B

1. Tata Sons Ltd. has been ordered to pay NTT DoCoMo Inc $1.2 billion to buy DoCoMo’s stake in a joint venture, by international arbitration court.
2. The award was for Tata Sons’ breach of their shareholders’ agreement.
3. In 2009, NTT Docomo acquired a 26.5% stake in Tata Teleservices Limited for around 127.4 billion rupees. In April 2014, it announced plans to exit the venture.

India slips to 12th in HNWIs Ranking

1. India has slipped to 12th spot in terms of millionaire population, with 200,000 HNWIs.
2. Last year, India was ranked 11th, with 198,000 such high net worth individuals (HNWIs), according to a report by Capgemini.
3. In 2015, Asia-Pacific held $17.4 trillion in wealth with a 5.1 million HNWI population in comparison to North America’s $16.6 trillion in HNWI wealth & 4.8 million in population.

Aveek Sarkar, Chief Editor ABP resigns

1. Aveek Sarkar resigned as the Editor-in-Chief of Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP) & The Telegraph. He would continue as the chairman of the group. He is succeeded by Arup Sarkar.
2. Aveek Sarkar will now play an advisory role as Editor (Emeritus) & Vice Chairman.
3. He is one of the most prominent publishing personalities, was tutored by the legendary Harold Evans, then the editor of The Sunday Times.

Famed Qawwal Amjad Sabri shot dead

1. Renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri, who was known for More Haji Piya, was shot dead by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen in Karachi, Pakistan.
2. He is known as Rock Star of Qawwali due to his modern style of rendition, he was one of the best Sufi musicians & qawwals from Pakistan.
3. He was the son of renowned Qawwal Ghulam Farid Sabri of ‘Bhar Do Jholi Meri’ fame.

Govt. launches CNG two wheelers in Delhi

1. Union Government has launched a pilot programme to run CNG two wheelers in New Delhi to curb air pollution.
2. The project was jointly launched by Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan & Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
3. It is being implemented by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) under its “Hawa Badlo” movement along with GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited).

India, Switzerland ink MoU in skill dev.

1. India & Switzerland have signed a MoU to establish formal cooperation in the fields of skills development, vocational & professional education & training.
2. The MoU was signed by Switzerland’s State Secretary Mauro Dell’ Ambrogio and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
3. This MoU will institutionalise cooperation between the 2 countries in the field of skill development.

Sanjay Malik to lead Nokia India

1. Nokia has announced the elevation of Sanjay Malik as the new Head of India market, effective from 1 Aug.
2. He takes over from Sandeep Girotra, who will oversee the Asia-Pacific & Japan markets.
3. Malik is currently Head of Network Implementation at Nokia Global Services & is credited with efficiently driving growth and delivering strong performance both in terms of revenue & operational efficiency.

Colombia, FARC rebels sign for ceasefire

1. Colombian Govt. & FARC rebels signed a ceasefire & disarmament agreement towards ending a half-century conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
2. President Juan Manuel Santos & FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez shook hands & smiled after negotiators signed the deal in Cuba.
3. The Colombian conflict has left 260,000 people dead, 45,000 missing & nearly 7 million displaced.

Vodafone plans to file for India IPO

1. Vodafone Group is likely to file a draft prospectus for the planned IPO of its Indian business in August with the listing expected in the fourth quarter, in a deal seen raising as much as $2.5 billion.
2. Vodafone has hired Bank of America Corp, India’s Kotak Investment Banking, UBS AG in April as global coordinators for the IPO.
3. It is set to be India’s biggest stock market listing since 2010.

Solar Impulse 2 makes successful landing

1. The Solar Impulse  project Solar Impulse 2 aircraft completed its Atlantic leg today, after it made a successful landing in Seville, Spain.
2. The three-day trip began on Monday from New York.
3. Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is a fully solar-powered, single seater with more than 17,0000 solar cells built into wings and which possesses a wingspan of 72 meters – exceeding that of a Boeing 747.

Syria’s Assad appoints new PM

1. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has named electricity minister Imad Khamis as the new prime minister.
2. Imad Khamis, 54-year-old engineer replaces Wael al-Halqi who had held the post since August 2012.
3. The changes come two months after Mr. Assad’s Baath party and its allies won a majority of seats in parliamentary elections dismissed internationally as a sham.

TN passes indirect mayor election bill

1. TN Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Municipal Corporation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016 which seeks to ensure election of Mayors by councillors and not by the people directly.
2. The state’s Municipal Administration Minister said the bill’s objective was to ensure better delivery of services to the public.
3. However, the opposition claimed the bill was aimed at “stifling the voice of democracy”.