Important Current Affairs 23rd July 2016

14 PSU Banks Post Losses in Last Year

1. Fourteen public sector banks out of 27 posted losses in the last financial year.
2. The main reason for their losses was Asset Quality Review initiated by the RBI
3. As a result,the banks had to suddenly make provisions for accounts categorized as non-performing assets.
4. Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar revealed that the govt has allocated 25,000 cr rupees to these banks.

IMF’s Lagarde to Face Trial

1. The International Monetary Fund head,Christine Lagarde will stand trial over a state payout to the French tycoon Bernard Tapie.
2. She is charged with negligence over the award to Mr Tapie of €404m in 2008 when she was France finance minister.
3. A ruling that could hamper her second term as head of the IMF.
4. The case stems from Mr Tapie’s sale of his majority stake in the sports equipment company.

SBI Ties with IRCTC, Aditya Birla Group

1. SBI has partnered with IRCTC & Aditya Birla Group to start digital booking of railway tickets through its payment application, State Bank Buddy.
2. Customers will also be able to make digital payment for things bought from stores of the Madura Fashion &the Lifestyle division of Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail.
3. SBI’s has around 3.4 million customers for its mobile application.

NDB Announces Loans worth $ 900 million

1. The New Development Bank launched by 5 emerging economies has announced its first round of loans worth about 900 million dollars.
2. The Bank held its first general meeting in Shanghai.
3. Brazil,Russia, India, China & South Africa established the institution last year.
4. The first set of loans will fund five renewable-energy development projects, including those related to solar & wind power generation.

Tata STRIVE Opens Centre in Hyderabad

1. Tata STRIVE,an initiative of Tata Community Initiatives Trust has launched its first Skill Development Centre (TSSDC) centre in Hyderabad.
2. The centre will equip the youth in the State with skills in BPO, banking & financial services,to make them employable.
3. The centre was inaugurated by Telangana IT & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.
4. Its aim is to address need of skilling youth for employment.

Govt Plans to Create 10 Solar Zones

1. The Indian government is aiming to create 10 solar zones across the country by 2021.
2. Each solar zone will cover an area of 10,000 hectares of wasteland.
3. India plans to set up 100,000 megawatt (MW) of solar power capacity by 2022.
4. The latest initiative is aimed at showcasing such zones as a flagship facility to encourage project developers & investors.

Vardhan Launches ‘Solar Power Tree’

1. The Minister of Science & Tech Harsh Vardhan has launched a Solar Power Tree,
2. It is an innovative way to generate electricity in a limited space.
3. The model is actually designed like a tree with branches made of steel to hold the photovoltaic panel.
   It takes less land of only 4 sq ft for a 5 kW solar power tree as compared to 400 sq ft of the conventional solar photovoltaic layout.

Kohli Hits Maiden Double Ton

1. Virat Kohli made history with his first double century to become the first captain from India to compile a Test double century overseas.
2. Kohli is now the first Indian captain to score a double hundred away from home.
3. He managed 200 off 283 balls before he was bowled out by West Indies pacer Shannon Gabriel.
4. His score is also the highest by a player in his maiden Test innings as captain in the WI.

India Junior Cyclists No1 in Team Sprint

1. The men’s junior team has been ranked No 1 in the Team Sprint category as per the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) ratings release.
2. In the latest rankings released the Indian men’s junior team has moved from a previous rank of 11th place to top of the table.
3. In the women juniors Team Sprint the cyclists moved up four places to occupy eighth.

Keni Harrison Break World Hurdles Record

1. American Keni Harrison broke a 28-year-old world record in the 100m hurdles, clocking 12.20 seconds at the London Anniversary Games.
2. The previous world record of 12.21 had stood since 1988 and was held by Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria.
3. Harrison was already the fastest woman in the world this year,
4. She will not to compete at next month’s Olympics after finishing only sixth in the US trials.

Govt Appoints AB Pandey UIDAI CEO

1. Bhushan Pandey was appointed as the chief executive officer of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
2. He is a 1984 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
3. He has been involved with the UIDAI established under the Aadhaar Act & implementation of Aadhaar since Sept 2010.
4. The UIDAI is a central govt agency of India & issue a 12-digit unique identity number called Aadhaar to each resident.

NDMC Signs Agreement with NEERI

1. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has signed an agreement with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP).
2. Each STP will have a capacity ranging from 50,000-1 L litres.
3. NEERI has an expertise in this field & the treatment plants will help NDMC to irrigate its parks.
4. This project will help increase the green cover in NDMC areas.

PM lays Foundation Stone of AIIMS

1. PM Modi has laid the foundation stone of All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) & revival of fertilizer factory at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
2. The AIIMS  will built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,011 crore to provide super-specialty health care.
3. It will be spread in a total area of 112 acres & will be completed in 45 months.
4. It will also conduct research on prevalent regional diseases

Kerala Tourism Won Gold at PATA Awards

1. Kerala Tourism has struck gold at the Pacific Asia Travel Association awards.
2. The state was awarded in recognition of its trend setting marketing initiatives.
3. The Marketing Media awards are in the categories of Travel Advertisement Broadcast Media & E-Newsletter,
4. They were clinched by the successful ‘Visit Kerala’ television commercial campaign& the popular Kerala Tourism E-Newsletter.

Panel to Draft Law on River Ganga

1. The Union water resources ministry has set up a Committee to prepare a draft legislation on river Ganga.
2. The Committee will be headed by justice (retired) Giridhar Malaviya.
3. The Committee has been asked to prepare a Draft Act on Ganga ensuring wholesomeness of the River.
4. The Act should have provisions to ensure cleanliness (Nirmalta) & uninterrupted e-flow (avirlta) of Ganga.

Haryana Inducts 3 New Ministers

1. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar  has expanded his ministry with the induction of three new ministers.
2. The new ministers are Vipul Goyal , Manish Grover & Banwari Lal .
3. Vipul Goyal has been made a cabinet minister while Grover & Lal have been inducted as ministers of state with independent charge.
4. Khattar also dropped two ministers of state, Ghansham Das Saraf & Vikram Thekedar, from his ministry.

India, Mexico Approve 14 Joint Projects

1. India’s Dept of Science & Tech & Mexico’s National Council of Science & Tech (CONACyT) have approved 14 joint projects.
2. The focus areas of cooperation will be water,seismology,solar energy & biotechnology.
3. This was decided at the 6th meeting of the Indo-Mexican Committee on Science & Tech.
4. During the visit of PM Modi cooperation on science & tech was highlighted as one of the priority areas.

2016 Set to be Hottest year yet: WMO

1. The world is on track for its hottest year on record according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
2. June marked the 14th straight month of record heat for land and oceans.
3. Under December’s Paris Agreement nearly 200 govts agreed to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial times.
4. The last month with global temperatures below the 20th century average was Dec 1984.

Hillary Selects Tim as her Running Mate

1. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton has selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her vice presidential running mate.
2. Clinton’s selection of Kaine could help bolster the her chances in Virginia
3. Republican candidate Donald Trump had picked Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate almost a week back.
4. Clinton & Kaine will now take on Trump & Pence for the upcoming election.

Obama Signed Opioid Addiction Bill

1. U.S President Obama has signed a bill into law aimed at combating a nationwide epidemic of heroin & other opioid addictions.
2. The Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act aims to counter the country’s opioid addiction crisis.
3. Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain.
4. U.S. deaths from drug overdoses hit a record high in 2014 propelled by abuse of prescription painkillers.