Important Current Affairs 18th July 2016

HCL Tech appoints Vijay Kumar as COO

1. HCL Technologies has appointed C Vijaykumar as the Chief Operating Officer (COO).
2. He is currently the president of Global Infrastructure Services business.
3. He is responsible for strategy, product, sales and delivery and is two decade a veteran in the company.
4. In his new role, he will be responsible to accelerate growth in the core outsourcing business.

M3M Group to Sell Gurgaon IT-SEZ

1. M3M India has entered into an agreement with Tata Realty & Infrastructure (TRIL) to sell its proposed IT-SEZ at Gurgaon .
2. The deal size is around Rs.500 crore.
3. M3M India’s had got a formal approval from the Commerce Ministry to develop a 25 acre SEZ for electronic hardware, IT/ITES in Gurgaon.
4. TRIL is a 100% subsidiary of Tata Sons to serve as a real estate & infrastructure development arm.

SoftBank Agrees to Buy ARM Holdings

1. Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp has agreed to buy Britian’s ARM Holdings PLC for 23.4 billion pounds ($31 billion).
2. ARM is the most valuable tech company listed in London & provides technology for the iPhone.
3. It is a major presence in mobile processing, with its processor & graphics technology used by Samsung, Huawei & Apple.
4. The deal would be one of the largest in European technology to date.

Govt. Unveils Fourth Tranche of SGB

1. The Ministry of Finance has launched the 4th Tranche of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) for resident individuals & investors.
2. The bonds will be open for investment from July 18 to 22.
3. The issue price of the 4th tranche has been fixed at Rs 3119 per gram of gold.
4. The SGB was announced in the 2015-16 Budget with a view to reduce the demand for physical gold &divert savings into financial instruments.

Developing Asian Economies to Grow 5.6 %

1. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cut its 2016 growth projection for developing economies in Asia & the Pacific.
2. It has cut the forecast to 5.6 percent, down from its earlier forecast of 5.7 percent.
3. The ADB in his report released kept the growth forecast for 2017 of 5.7 % unchanged.
4. The ADB is a regional development bank established on 19 Dec 1966 which is located in Manila, Philippines.

UST Global Wins Award for Learning

1. UST Global,a California-based  company has won the ATD BEST Award for Learning & Talent Development.
2. The awards were presented by the Association for Talent Development (ATD).
3. It recognizes organizations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success, directly resulting from employee talent development initiatives.
4. UST Global is a digital tech services company that provides next generation solutions.

Commerce Ministry Starts e-Marketplace

1. The Commerce Ministry has launched an e-marketplace for online purchase of goods & services by various central govt ministries & departments.
2. The move is aimed at bringing in more transparency& streamlining the govt procurement of goods & services.
3. The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) has developed the portal.
4. E-commerce is a fast growing industry in the country

Aziz Ansari Bag Emmy Nomination

1. Indian-origin American comic Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series Master of None has bagged three Emmy nominations,
2. The show has been nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing & Outstanding Directing .
3. He is the first Indian-American actor to get Emmy nominations for his series.
4. An Emmy Award recognizes excellence in the television industry & corresponds to the Academy Award.

Dipika, Saurav Bags National Squash Title

1. Dipika Pallikal Karthik dethroned defending champion Joshna Chinappa to regain the women’s title in the 73rd Senior National Squash Championship.
2. World no.19 Dipika was playing in the nationals after a five-year gap.
3. The men’s crown was captured by title holder & top seed Saurav Ghosal.
4. He created history by winning it for the 11th time,defeating fourth seed Harinderpal Singh Sandhu.

Aneurin Smashes 123-ball Double Century

1. Glamorgan teenager Aneurin Donald equalled Ravi Shastri’s record for the fastest double-century in first-class cricket against Derbyshire.
2. Donald’s knock included 15 sixes,with his 200 from just 123 balls equalling the mark set by former India Shastri in his home country in 1985.
3. He came to the crease at Colwyn Bay (UK) with his side 96-3 in the County Championship encounter.

Davis Cup: India beat South Korea 4-1

1. India have defeated South Korea 4-1 in the Davis Cup Asia\Oceania Group I tie in Chandigarh.
2. Rohan Bopanna edged past Hong Chung while playing in his first Davis Cup singles match in 4 yrs.
3. Ramkumar lost the close contest 3-6, 6-4, 6-7.
4. India will now make attempt to qualify for the elite 16-nation World Group.
5. India last played in World Group in 2011 when it lost the first round against Serbia.

India’s 1st E-Court Opened in Hyderabad

1. India’s first e-court was opened at High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad, common high court for the states of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.
2. Supreme Court Justice Madan B Lokur inaugurated the first ever e-Court at the High Court premises.
3. E-Courts (paperless courts) will ensure easy and better access to justice for public
4. The purpose of e-courts was to ensure speedy justice for the litigants.

Industrial Park for Women Entrepreneurs

1. The country’s first of its kind industrial park,exclusively for women entrepreneurs was launched by Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat.
2. The event was organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO)
3. The park will be located in Uttarakhand’s Sitarganj district.
4. The park will be spread over 200 acres & is expected to attract women entrepreneurs & help them to initiate start-ups in the state.

Online Skill Training Portal Launched

1. Ministry of Skill Development has launched an online platform for imparting skills with an aim to reach millions of skill seekers in the country.
2. The web portal (indiaskillsonline.com) is a part of the govt Skill India campaign.
3. It will provide free online courses to aspirants registered for skill training schemes .
4. The website will also offer courses on soft skills, languages & digital literacy.

‘Operation Golden Nose’ Launched

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the deployment of crack canine dog teams named ‘Operation Golden Nose’ to prevent terror attack on Parliament.
2. The ITBP has requested by the Parliament Security Services (PSS) to deploy their crack K9 units.
3. ITBP dogs are said to be one of the most highly trained in the world.
4. The operation will finish with the end of the Monsoon session.

3 Indian Sites make it to UNESCO’s List

1. Khangchendzonga National Park  in Sikkim & Capitol Complex in Chandigarh have been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO.
2. The listing was announced at the 40th session of the WHC at Istanbul.
3. Earlier,the Nalanda Mahavihara was also marked as a heritage site.
4. This is the first time that any country got three sites inscribed in the list at a single session

Bill Gates Pledges $5 billion for Africa

1. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has pledged to invest $5 billion over the next five years for Africa’s development.
2. The pledge of $5 billion is in addition to the $9 billion that he has already invested in Africa.
3. He made the pledge while was delivering the 2016 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture at the University of Pretoria.
4. The theme of this year’s Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture is ‘living together’

11th ASEM Summit Issues Declaration

1. The eleventh edition of the Asia-Europe Meeting Summit has issued Ulaanbaatar Declaration
2. The declaration has reaffirmed ASEM’s commitment for greater partnership through informal political dialogue.
3. It also has expressed its commitment for united fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
4. The ASEM is an exclusively Asian–European forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation.

Ergüner named UNESCO Artist for Peace

1. The Director-General of UNESCO,Irina Bokova, has appointed Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner as UNESCO Artist for Peace.
2. Kudsi Ergüner is a musician,player of the ney (reed flute),composer,teacher & author.
3. He is named in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values of music.
4. UNESCO Artists for Peace are renowned personalities who use their influence to promote UNESCO programs.

Robot that walks just like us Developed

1. Scientists have developed a new robot with human sized feet laced up in a pair of sneakers that closely imitates the walking motion of humans.
2. The humanoid robot DURUS was designed by SRI International & Georgia Tech’s Advanced Mechanical Bipedal Experimental Robotics.
3. The robot steps with a heel-toe motion copies human locomotion more closely than flat-footed robot walkers can.