Important Current Affairs 25th July 2016

Foundation Stone for MSME Centre Laid

1. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu  laid the foundation of Ministry of MSME technology centre at Pudi in Visakhapatnam district.
2. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises technology centre (MSME)  will help AP become a hub of industrial activity
3. The Centre has decided to locate a world-class technology centre with an investment of up to Rs.120 crore.

Maruti Unveil Book on Golden Q’lateral

1. Leading passenger vehicle maker, Maruti Suzuki India has paid tribute to India’s first modern highway network – The Golden Quadrilateral
2. It has unveiled a coffee table book titled ‘The Golden Quadrilateral’.
3. The book is authored by auto expert Bob Rupani & the foreword is by RC Bhargava, Chairman,Maruti.
4. The Golden Quadrilateral highway was a vision of the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Corp Bank Launches ‘Green PIN’ Facility

1. Corporation Bank has launched a new facility called ‘Green PIN’.
2. It is an online module for generation of Personal Identification Number (PIN) for credit card holders.
3. The facility enables credit card users to generate PIN online.
4. Green PIN’ facility enables the cardholders to generate the PIN instantly.
5. PIN is compulsory for all point-of-sale terminal transactions at merchant establishment.

Reforms in India not Fast Enough: IMF

1. IMF has listed out as many as six core areas that need further reforms in India.
2. It has warned that weaknesses in the decelerating pace of reforms & sluggish exports may weigh on India economic growth.
3. IMF has recently lowered its GDP growth projection for India to 7.4 % .
4. The key areas it has recommended further reforms  include product market, labour, infrastructure, banking & legal system.

RBI Imposes Rs 5 crore Penalty on BoB

1. The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on Bank of Baroda
2. The penalty has been imposed in the alleged Rs 6000 crore forex related irregularities that came to light in Oct last year.
3. The amount was allegedly transferred in the garb of payments for imports that never took place
4. Now the RBI investigation has noted deficiencies & failures in respect of certain anti-money laundering provisions.

All DBT to be Linked to Aadhar by yr end

1. All DBT or Direct Benefit Transfers will be linked to Aadhaar by the end of the current calendar year.
2. The centre has also decided to bring all subsidies and welfare schemes under the DBT net by March 31, 2017.
3. The DBT is a major initiative to check leakages of welfare funds & was launched on Jan 1, 2013.
4. Through DBT, all cash benefits are transferred directly to the beneficiary’s bank account.

Chris Froome Wins Tour de France Title

1. The British rider,Chris Froome has won his third Tour de France title in four years.
2. He becomes the first man to successfully defend his title in more than 20 years.
3. Froome finished with a 4 minutes, 5 second advantage over Frenchman Romain Bardet, while Nairo Quintana of Colombia placed third overall.
4. The Tour de France  is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France.

Lewis Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

1. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has emerged triumphant at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
2. With 192 points, Hamilton has now taken the Championship lead off teammate Nico Rosberg who finished second in race.
3. Rosberg currently stands six points behind Hamilton on 186 points.
4. Australian Daniel Ricciardo finished third for Red Bull & Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished fourth in race.

Indian Shooters Clinch Bronze in Jr. WC

1. Indian shooter Manavaditya Rathore has won the trap bronze medal in the Champion of Champions match at the Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy.
2. Manavaditya Rathore is son of Athens Olympics silver medallist Col Rajyavardhan Rathore.
3. Anant Naruka bagged a bronze in skeet.
4. In the Champion of Champions event, the medallists of the three Junior World Cups of the year compete against each other.

India beat West Indies in 1st Test Match

1. India defeated West Indies in Antigu by an innings and 92 runs in the first cricket Test match.
2. India has taken a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
3. India notched up 566 for eight declared in their first innings & then bowled out West Indies for 243 to take a lead of 323 runs.
4. Forced to follow-on, West Indies were bundled out for 231 in their second innings.
5. The second test will begin on July 30.

Hosking Wins Women’s Tour de France

1. Australian rider Chloe Hosking has won the 2016 La Course by Tour de France in a sprint finish ahead of Finland’s Lotta Lepisto & Dutch legend Marianne Vos.
2. It was the third running of the race known as La Course by Le Tour de France.
3. Unlike the men’s three-week event, this is a one-day, 89km course raced around 13 laps of the Paris circuit that forms the end of the men’s race.

Narsingh Fails Dope Test

1. Top wrestler Narsingh Yadav has tested positive for a banned substance.
2. The 74kg freestyle wrestler has bagged a bronze medal in last year’s World championship to qualify for the Olympics.
3. He was tested positive for a banned steroid in an out-of-competition test conducted by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA).
4. If Narsingh is found guilty then he may face a four-year suspension.

India First Green Train Corridor Opened

1. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated country’s first ‘Green Train Corridor’ in a 114 km Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch.
2. It will be free from human waste discharge from trains.
3. All the trains running on the section have bio-toilets.
4. This has eliminated human defecation on the tracks.
5. Prabhu also inaugurated an upgraded free Wi-Fi at the Chennai Central.

A Kanyakumari to get Kalanidhi Award

1. Violinist A Kanyakumari was chosen for the Sangita Kalanidhi award by the Music Academy.
2. He was the first woman violinist to get the award in the history of the Music Academy.
3. She has an experience of over 50 years as an accompanist, soloist and teacher.
4. Music Academy plays an important role in promoting primarily the Carnatic Music Indian art form.

Bappi Lahiri Conferred Mahanayak Award

1. Critically-acclaimed filmmaker Goutam Ghose &  composer-singer Bappi Lahiri were conferred the West Bengal’s “Mahanayak Samman” awards.
2. Paran Bandyopadhyay and Jishu Sengupta received the best actor (male) awards.
3. Sohini Sarkar received the best actor (female) award.
4. The awards were instituted in 2012 in the memory of Bengali matinee idol Uttam Kumar.

Panel Forms to Probe Mann Incident

1. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has formed a 9 member panel to probe Bhagwant Mann’s breach of security posting a video of Parliament’s interiors.
2. The panel will be  chaired by Kirit Somaiya.
3. The speaker also advised Mann not to attend the House for remainder of session.
4. The MP stoked a controversy after he shot a video clip of his journey including movement past various security check points.

Nepal PM Khadga Prasad Oli Resigns

1. Nepal’s Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, has resigned from his post.
2. Mr. Oli had become Prime Minister in October 2015 heading Nepal’s eighth government in the past 10 years.
3. He has been facing a no-trust motion after the Maoists withdrew support from the coalition government.
4. Nepal’s President is now expected to ask political parties to nominate a consensus candidate for prime minister.

Advay Ramesh wins Google Community Award

1. Advay Ramesh, a 14-year-old student from Chennai has won the prestigious Google Community Impact Award from Asia.
2. He was awarded for creating a device that enhances fishermen’s safety and productivity.
3. Ramesh’s  FishErmen Lifeline Terminal (FELT) is a hand-held terminal uses the Standard Position Services (SPS) to enhance fishermen’s safety & productivity at the sea.

Another Type of Zika Mosquito Discovered

1. Brazilian scientists have identified Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito infected by the Zika virus as another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito.
2. It was identified by researchers from the Brazilian laboratory Fundacion Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz).
3. Up until now,transmission of the Zika virus was only known through the Aedes aegypti mosquito.
4. The Zika virus has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly.