Important Current Affairs 15th July 2016

RBI Forms Panel to Study Digital Banking

1. The RBI has set up an inter-regulatory working group to study issues concerning financial technology & digital banking.
2. The 13-member working group will be chaired by Sudarshan Sen, ED at the RBI.
3. The panel will frame an appropriate regulatory response with an aim to enhance Fin Tech & digital banking opportunities
4. It will also assess opportunities & risks arising for the financial system.

Ban Cash Transactions above 3 lakh:SIT

1. The Supreme Court-constituted special investigation team (SIT) has recommended a ban on cash transactions above Rs.3 lakh.
2. It also suggested capping the cash holdings of companies & individuals at Rs.15 lakh.
3. This is the 5th report by the SIT which was constituted in 2014 under former SC judge M.B. Shah.
4. The committee was formed to look into ways to curb generation of black money

Vistara Names Ravinder Pal Singh as CIO

1. Vistara has appointed Ravinder Pal Singh its chief information officer.
2. He will be in charge of the full-service carrier’s IT as well as innovation functions.
3. He would consolidate, identify, acquire, evaluate and incubate the right technology to support the airline’s IT & digital platforms .
4. Vistara is a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines& has a fleet of 11 aircraft.

Honda Announces 2nd largest Recall

1. Honda Cars India will recall 190,578 units of the previous generation of its Accord, CR-V, Civic,City & Jazz models.
2. This will be the company’s seventh recall in the Indian market in two years.
3. This is part of its precautionary global recall concerning Takata front airbags.
4. Millions of vehicles have been recalled across the globe due to defective safety airbag manufactured by Japan’s Takata Corp.

Amazon Opens Largest Fulfilment Centre

1. Amazon India has opened its largest fulfilment centre in Sonipat, Haryana.
2. A warehouse sprawled across 200,000 sq. ft with a capacity of more than 800,000 cu. ft.
3. It has built up the largest warehousing capacity in the consumer Internet business in the country.
4. The fulfilment centre in Sonipat will help sellers in north India to stock their products with Amazon.

Yatra to Merge with Terrapin

1. Online travel agent Yatra has inked a deal to merger its business with the Nasdaq-listed Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corporation (TRTL).
2. The merger deal values Yatra at an enterprise value of $218 million.
3. Yatra portal was founded in 2006 & will continue to be led by co-founder & CEO Dhruv Shringi.
4. TRTL has been formed as a special purpose acquisition company for undertaking merger, acquisition.

India Ranks 152 in the FIFA Rankings

1. India made a big leap of 11 places to occupy 152nd spot in the latest world football rankings issued by FIFA.
2. India is now ranked highest in South Asia & 27th in Asia.
3. Overall,Argentina remains on top despite losing to Chile in the Copa America summit clash.
4. Belgium, Colombia &Germany retained their places at second,third & fourth place.
5. Euro champions Portugal moved up two places to be at sixth.

Misbah Becomes Oldest Test Centurion

1. The 42-year-old Misbah-ul-Haq from Pakistan became the oldest ever to score a Test ton in the 21st century .
2. He became the oldest player to score a Test century for 82 years when he reached the three-figure mark against England at Lord’s.
3. He scored in the first of a 4 Test series.
4. England’s Patsy Hendren made a century against Australia aged 45 in 1934 had an older player scored a Test hundred.

GM Harika Wins Fide Women’s GP Trophy

1. India’s Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won the Fide Women’s Grand Prix trophy in Chendu in China.
2. Harika finished on 7 points in the round robin tournament featuring the world’s top 12 players to be crowned the champion.
3. Other India Grand Master Koneru Humpy also finished her campaign on 7 points
4. Harika was declared winner for finishing with a better tie-break record in the tournament.

R K Chaturvedi Appointed CBSE chairman

1. Rakesh Kumar Chaturvedi was  appointed as new Chairman of CBSE.
2. Chaturvedi a 1987 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh and has been appointed for a period of five years.
3. The post of CBSE Chairman had been lying vacant since December 2014.
4. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is a Board of Education for public & private schools, under the Union Government of India.

India Test Advanced Artillery Gun System

• Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted the proof firing of armament system for 155 mm x 52 calibre Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS).
• ATAGS is fully indigenous towed artillery gun system project.
• The gun will have a firing range of 40 kms & boasts of advanced features such as high mobility, quick deployability & auxiliary power mode.

Talgo Becomes the Fastest Indian Train

1. A lightweight Talgo train manufactured by a Spanish firm clocked 180kmph during the second phase of high-speed trials between Mathura and Palwal.
2. It shattered the record by an Indian train – previously held by Gatimaan Express, at 160kmph.
3. It will aim at a top speed of 220kmph.
4. Talgo is a leading Madrid based manufacturer of semihigh speed (160-250kmph) and high-speed (350kmph) passenger trains.

BJP Launches Northeast Alliance

1. BJP chief Amit Shah has formally launched the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), a grouping of non-Congress parties n Guwahati.
2. NEDA is a political platform of 11 regional parties of Northeast India, including BJP.
3. The motive of the new political front was to protect the interest of the people of the region.
4. Himanta Biswa Sarma was appointed as the convenor of the front.

V K Dev Appointed Deputy EC

1. Vijay Kumar Dev was appointed as the new Deputy Election Commissioner.
2. He is an IAS officer of 1987 batch from UT cadre.
3. He was appointed Deputy Election Commissioner in place of Vinod Zutshi.
4. The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India.

Delhi Govt Approves DMRC Phase-4

1. The Delhi government has approved the fourth phase of the Delhi Metro.
2. A mega project that will take the mass rapid transit to the outer areas of the national capital.
3. After the completion of Phase IV, the total length of the metro corridor in the city will cross the 450-km mark
4. The construction will start next year and is scheduled to end within three years.

15-July: World Youth Skills Day

1. The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed on 15 July.
2. World Youth Skills Day serves as an opportunity to highlight the importance of youth skills development.
3. The UN General Assembly celebrates the World Youth Skills Day to raise awareness about the importance of investing in youth skills development.
4. Theme 2016 is “Skills Development to Improve Youth Employment.”

Kuwait Sets Min Wage for Domestic Helps

1. Kuwait has become the first Gulf Arab country to set a minimum wage for domestic servants.
2. A notice published on the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry’s listed the minimum salary as 60 Kuwaiti dinars ($198) a month.
3. Kuwait is the first country in the Gulf to regulate the work conditions of domestic staff through legislation.
4. The decree also requires employers to pay overtime for any extra hours worked.

Juno Spacecraft Send First In-orbit View

1. JunoCam – the camera aboard NASA’s Juno mission  has sent back some of the first images of Jupiter.
2. An image released shows Jupiter surrounded by three of its four largest moons.
3. The colour image shows atmospheric features on Jupiter, including the famous Great Red Spot.
4. The picture was taken when the Juno spacecraft was circling 3 million miles away.

Philippines, Japan Hold Maritime Drill

1. The Philippine & Japanese Coast Guard have conducted sixth Joint Maritime Law Enforcement (MARLEN) Exercise in the vicinity of Manila Bay.
2. The exercise was done after Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of the Philippines over its South China Sea dispute with China.
3. The agencies deployed vessels including an oil tanker, rigid hull inflatable boat & a helicopter to carry out drills.

5 Libya Sites on Heritage-in-danger List

1. The UN’s cultural agency UNESCO has added Libya’s five World Heritage sites to its danger list.
2. The sites named include the Old City of Ghadame & the Cyrene,one of the principal cities in the Hellenic world.
3. The rock-art sites of Tadrart Acacus that feature thousands of cave paintings are also listed.
4. The other two are the coastal archaeological sites of Leptis Magna & Sabratha.