Important Current Affairs 2nd August

RBI Issues On-Tap Bank Licence Norms

1. RBI has released the much-awaited guidelines for on tap universal banking licence.
2. It excluded large industrial houses as eligible entities from the purview, though they can invest in banks up to 10 per cent.
3. As per the guidelines for on tap the initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a bank should be Rs 500 crore.
4. The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the existing FDI.

India’s Power Gen Crosses 300 GW Mark

1. India’s total installed power generation capacity has crossed the 300-Gw mark.
2. It also includes 42 Gw of renewable energy sources, including solar and wind.
3. Private sector’s cumulative installed power generation capacity was 1,24,995.51 Mw as on June 30, 2016
4. Central plants account for 76,296.76 Mw & state capacities 101,825,94 Mw.
5. The target from clean sources in 2015-16 was 70 billion units.

China’s Didi Acquire Uber in $35 billion

1. Chinese ride-sharing giant Didi will take over Uber’s China business, in a deal worth USD 35 billion.
2. Uber will take a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi. Didi did not disclose the stake it will take in Uber.
3. Uber’s founder Travis Kalanick and Didi founder Cheng Wei will sit on each other’s company boards.
4. The two companies have been locked in a bitter battle for customers in China.

Anant to be Microsoft India President

1. Software giant Microsoft has named former Honeywell top executive Anant Maheshwari as the President of its India operations.
2. Maheshwari  will join Microsoft on Sept1& will take over operations of the company from Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik with effect from Jan1, 2017
3. He will be responsible for Microsoft’s product, service, and support offerings across India.

SBI Unveils Cheaper Home Loans

1. SBI has launched home loan schemes for defence & other govt employees.
2. It will offer two new home loan products ‘SBI Privilege Home Loan’ for government employees.
3. Other loan product SBI Shaurya Home Loan’ for defence personnel without any processing fee.
4. The launch of loan products is timed with the notification of 7th Pay Commission recommendations.

IRCTC’s App Ties-up with Mobikwik

1. Mobile payments company MobiKwik and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have announced an exclusive partnership.
2. MobiKwik will power e-cash payments on IRCTC’s e-catering app, Food on Track.
3. The app allows passengers to book & get food delivered right at their train coaches.
4. Transacting with MobiKwik wallet on the move is fast and convenient.

India’s Trade Deficit with China Jumps

1. India’s trade deficit with China has swelled to US $52.68 billion in 2015-16.
2. Increasing trade deficit with China can be attributed to the relative demand for imports.
3. The major imports from China include telecom instruments,hardware,fertilizer & electronic component.
4. Trade deficit is the amount by which the cost of a country’s imports exceeds the value of its exports.

Narsingh Yadav Gets NADA’s Clean Chit

1. The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) has given a clean chit to wrestler Narsingh Yadav from doping charges.
2. He now can participate in Rio Olympics.
3. He was tested positive for a banned steroid in an out of competition test conducted by the the NADA.
4. Following the doping storm, Parveen Rana was named as Narsingh’s replacement in the 74kg category.

Lehmann Extends Contract as Coach

1. Cricket Australia has extended head coach Darren Lehmann’s contract to cover the Ashes & the World Cup in 2019.
2. He took over a team Australia coach in 2013 & was initially contracted to mid-2017.
3. Lehmann had played 27 Tests & 117 one-day internationals for Australia
4. During Lehmann’s tenure, Australia regained the No. 1 test match ranking.
5. Australia also won the 2015 World Cup on home soil.

Walker Bags Title at PGA Championship

1. American golfer Jimmy Walker pulled off an astonishing triumph at the PGA Championship.
2. Jimmy Walker became the fourth first-time major winner this season.
3. He has also sealed his place in the US Ryder Cup team after a fine weekend at Baltusrol Golf Club.
4. The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America.

Anandiben Patel Quits as Gujarat CM

1. Anandiben Patel has offered to step down as Gujarat’s first woman chief minister.
2. Citing examples of party members who have stepped down after attaining the age of 75, Anandiben Patel said she was following the same.
3. She asked the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership to relieve her of the top responsibility in the state.
4. The BJP has accepted her offer & is expected to announce her replacement soon.

Gange Projects Worth Rs. 400 cr Approved

1. National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has approved several projects to be develop along river Ganga.
2. It includes development of ghats, crematoria & riverfront costing around Rs 400 crore.
3. The projects were cleared by the Empowered Steering Committee, that includes secretaries of ministries of water, environment, power & urban  & chief secretaries of the 5 states of the river’s basin.

Parliament Passes Medical Council Bill

1. The Rajya Sabha has passed The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill,2016 & the Dentists (Amendment) Bill,2016.
2. The Lok Sabha has already passed it.
3. The bills seek to replace the ordinances that were promulgated in May
4. The Bills provide for conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions at the undergraduate and post-graduate courses from next year.

IIT Goa Campus Inaugurated

1. Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javdekar inaugurated Indian Institute of Technology in Goa.
2. He also laid the foundation stone for IIT Goa students’ hostel.
3. The newly set up IIT Goa shall function from temporary campus at Goa Engineering College, Farmagudi.
4. The Union minister assured that new & permanent campus for the IIT Goa will come into being within 1000 days.

Rajasthan Launches SMS Monitoring System

1. Rajasthan govt has launched an SMS-based system through which meal data will be sent everyday by schools to a toll free number that will be monitored at the state-level.
2. The unique initiative is aim to remove corruption from mid-day meal scheme.
3. The in-charge has to report everyday about the type of school, the students’ attendance status,& the quantity of food items used.

Talgo Train Reaches Mumbai in 15 hours

1. The high speed Talgo train arrived in Mumbai from Delhi in 15 hours
2. It has slowed down in Gujarat because of heavy rain and flooding on the track.
3. Talgo aims to cut the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai to 12 hours from 16 hours.
4. The Spanish-made Talgo started its final round of trials from Delhi to Mumbai aiming at a maximum speed of 130 km per hour.

Typhoon Nida Make Landfall Near HongKong

1. Gale- force wind and heavy rain lashed Hong Kong after Typhoon Nida made landfall near Dapeng Peninsula in China’s Guangdong Province.
2. The Hong Kong Observatory reported that Nida had generated winds up to 150 kilometers per hour.
3. The government warned of flooding in low-lying areas.
4. Hundreds of train routes and flights had already been canceled in cities across southern China.

Harry Potter & the Cursed Child Launched

1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child book was launched globally.
2. The book based on the script of the play ‘Harry Potter & the Cursed Child’.
3. This is JK Rowling’s eighth Harry Potter story written along with Jack Thorne & John Tiffany.
4. Thorne scripted the two-part play based on the original story, which begins 19 years after ‘Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows’ was published in 2007.

China Holds Live-Fire Navy Drills

1. China’s navy has fired dozens of missiles and torpedoes during exercises in the East China Sea.
2. The live-fire drills follow China’s strident rejection of an international arbitration panel’s ruling.
3. The East China Sea exercises were aimed at improving the intensity, precision, stability & speed
4. China’s navy has been closing the gap with its U.S. rival in both ship numbers and tech.

Texas Allows Guns on University Campuses

1. A new law has come into effect in US’ Texas state that allows students to carry guns onto the campuses of public universities across the state.
2. The so-called state “campus carry” law allows people 21 & older with a concealed handgun license to carry pistols in classrooms.
3. The law took effect on the 50th anniversary of the clock tower massacre in which a student gunman shot 49 people, killing 16.