Important Current Affairs 14th July 2016

Cabinet Approves Disinvestment in NBCC

1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the disinvestment of 15% paid-up equity in NBCC India Ltd out of govt’s 90 % shareholding.
2. The divestment, which is expected to raise ₹1,706 crore.
3. National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Urban Development.
4. It has interests in construction, engineering & project management.

G-20 Labour Ministers Meet in Beijing

1. G-20 nations have adopted an action plan to encourage entrepreneurship.
2. Representatives gathered in Beijing for the G-20 Labour & Employment Ministerial Meeting.
3. India Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya also took part in the meeting.
4. The main outcome was adoption of the Entrepreneurship Action Plan,
5. The action plan have identified entrepreneurship as a major opportunity to increase employment.

HCC 1st to Get Debt Relief Under S4A

1. A consortium of 27 lenders led by ICICI Bank have decided to restructure more than Rs.2,000 crore worth of debts of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC).
2. The debt will be restructured under the new RBI guidelines of ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets’ or S4A.
3. HCC is the first company to opt for benefits from RBI’s latest policy to get relief.

CCEA Allow ITI Ltd to Transfer Shares

1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal regarding transfer of shares by ITI Limited to Special National Investment Fund (SNIF).
2. This was done to meet Securities & Exchange Board of India’s minimum public shareholding requirement.
3. ITI Ltd is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Comm & IT.
4. it has incurred accumulated losses to the tune of Rs. 5,166 crore.

NABARD to Issue Bond for Irrigation Fund

1. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will be issuing 15-year bonds to raise Rs 20,000 crore for an irrigation fund.
2. The bonds will be issued from next month according to NABARD chairman HK Bhanwala.
3. The fund will be used for irrigation of 19 lakh hectares of land.
4. FM Arun Jaitley had announced the creation of a long-term irrigation fund in his Budget speech.

Govt Approves Revival of 3 Urea Units

1. Govt has approved revival of three closed fertiliser plants at Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Sindri (Jharkhand) & Barauni (Bihar).
2. This is as part of its efforts to meet demand of eastern states and make India self-sufficient in urea output.
3. These three fertilisers units would be revived by means of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Public Sector Units (PSUs) namely NTPC, CIL & IOCL.

Dutee Chand, Shrabani Nanda Felicitated

1. Indian women athletes, Dutee Chand & Shrabani Nanda, who have qualified for the Rio have been felicitated by Union Minister for Petroleum Dharmendra Pradhan.
2. They were felicitated in the presence of Union Minister of State for Sports & Youth Affairs Vijay Goel.
3. Shrabani has qualified for Women’s 200m event.
4. Dutee became the first Indian to qualify in the Women’s 100m event after PT Usha in 1980.

Sania Launches her Autobiography

1. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has launched the autobiography of star tennis player Sania Mirza titled ‘Ace Against Odds’.
2. The autobiography was penned by Sania himself & her father Imran Mirza.
3. The book chronicles the Hyderabad girl’s journey to becoming the World No 1 in the women’s doubles rankings.
4. Sania is an Indian tennis player who is currently ranked No.1 in the women’s doubles rankings.

Book ‘Ringside with Vijender’ Released

1. The book titled Ringside With Vijender authored by Rudraneil Sengupta was released.
2. The book throws light on the Beijing Olympics bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh’s life post his transition to the world of pro boxing.
3. It offers an insight into his struggles,training and his personal life.
4. The book also deals with the boxer’s sudden decision to turn pro just an year ahead of the Rio Olympics.

India launches Op ‘Sankat Mochan’

1. India has launched “operation Sankat Mochan” to evacuate about 600 stranded Indians in war-torn South Sudan.
2. The overall charge of the mission was being given to Minister of State for External Affairs General V K Singh.
3. Two C-17 Globemaster aircraft have being dispatched to capital Juba.
4. Indian nationals have stuck in fighting between the forces loyal to President of South Sudan & rival forces.

A K Patnaik Appointed Natgrid CEO

1. Senior IPS officer A K Patnaik has been appointed as CEO of Natgrid, an integrated intelligence grid.
2. He was appointed as the CEO of Natgrid till Dec 2018.
3. The National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID is the integrated intelligence grid connecting databases of core security agencies of the .
4. It will develop a legal structure through which information can be accessed by the law enforcement agencies.

Cabinet Approves PM Kaushal Vikas Yojana

1. The Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with an outlay of Rs 12000 crore.
2. It aim to impart skill training to one crore people over the next four years (2016-2020).
3. PMKVY will impart fresh training to 60 lakh youths & certify skills of 40 lakh persons who have acquired non-formal training.
4. It will focus on skill training aligned with international standards.

Cabinet Nod to Ease Citizenship Rules

1. The Union cabinet has amended Citizenship Rules 2009.
2. The Cabinet has approved facilities being extended to persons from minority communities of Afghanistan, Bangladesh & Pakistan staying on Long Term Visa (LTV) in India.
3. Now the foreign migrants living in the country on the LTV can open bank accounts, get PAN card, Aadhaar & driving licence.
4. It also allows the migrants to purchase property.

Nabam Tuki Resumes Duty as Arunachal CM

1. Former Arunachal Pradesh’s Congress Chief Minister Nabam Tuki has resumed his duty as the Chief Minister of the state.
2. He resumed the office from Arunachal Bhavan in New Delhi.
3. The Supreme Court has ordered the restoration of the Nabam Tuki govt in Arunachal Pradesh.
4. Tuki was earlier dismissed by a special session of the state assembly held in a make-shift venue in Itanagar on Dec 16 & 17.

Vice President Leaves for Mongolia

1. Vice President Hamid Ansari left for Mongolia leading an Indian delegation to the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit.
2. The two-day ASEM Summit will be held in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia..
3. The theme for the Summit is “20 Years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity”.
4. ASEM comprises of 53 entities – 51 countries from Asia & Europe and two regional bodies.

Theresa May is Britain’s New PM

1. Theresa May became Britain’s new prime minister, taking over from David Cameron with the task of negotiating Britain’s exit from the EU.
2. May takes over from Cameron, who resigned after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
3. Mrs May is the UK’s second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.
4.  Boris Johnson was appointed as British foreign minister by the country’s new PM Theresa May.

No-Trust Vote Tabled Against Nepal PM

1. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has filed a  no-confidence motion against Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli.
2. The motion was filed in parliament after the Maoist party pulled out of the govt.
3. Mr. Oli became Prime Minister last Oct,heading Nepal’s eighth govt in the past 10 years.
4. The Maoists & the main opposition Nepali Congress party are now trying to form a new coalition govt.

Historian William H McNeill passed away

1. William H. McNeill, a professor & prolific author has passed away.
2. His most well-known book “The Rise of the West” was among the most acclaimed works of the 20th century.
3. It became a best seller, won the National Book Award for history & biography.
4. He wrote more than a dozen books and taught for 40 years at the University of Chicago, where he was also chairman of the history dept.

Peru Declares Zika Emergency

1. Peru has declared Zika a health emergency across the northern half of the country after confirming that 102 people have been infected with the virus.
2. Zika is seen as a cause of microcephaly – abnormally small heads and brains in babies.
3. A major Zika outbreak in neighbouring Brazil, where nearly 1,600 babies have been born with the birth defect.
4. The disease is principally transmitted by mosquitos.

Lebanon Fails to Elect New President

1. The Lebanese parliament failed for the 42nd time to elect a new President due to lack of the constitutionally required quorum.
2. Lebanon has been without a president since May 25, 2014.
3. The sharp political division among the Lebanese parties hindered the elections.
4. Only 37 MPs arrived at the parliament building to take part,while two thirds represents the required quorum.