Current Affairs 24th July 2016

National News:

• The Lok Sabha passed the National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) (NITSER) Bill, 2016
• An AN-32 aircraft of the IAF, with 29 personnel on board, including four officers, went missing over Bay of Bengal+ on its way from near Chennai to Port Blair raising concerns over its fate
• Farmers are sowing pulses in a big way as area under the crop has increased by over 39% to 90.17 lakh hectares so far in the 2016-17 kharifseason with Karnataka on top
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) organised a day-long conference on Startup India on July 23 in Delhi to discuss policies and progress made on the Startup India initiative
• The Ministry of Science and Technology has come up with a ‘Solar Power Tree’, an innovative way to generate electricity using solar power in a limited space
• To attract investment in IT, electronics and biotechnology sector, the state government has decided to organize an investors’ meet in Bengaluru on August 26 in line with the Centre’s Make in India week held in Mumbai in February.
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation said it is launching a host of initiatives, including passenger insurance and unreserved ticketing
• The United Nations Department of Field Support has announced that India has become the first country to contribute to a trust fund set up in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peacekeepers
• The Mother Teresa International Film Festival (MTIFF), a film festival focusing on Mother Teresa’s life and teachings is going to be held at over 100 locations in India and around 50 other countries
• The Aanayoottu festival was held at the Njangattiri Bhagavathi Temple in Palakkad district of Kerala
• India to become Daimler’s mobility strategy hub

International News:

• Jeff Bezos just snuck past Warren Buffett to become the third-richest person on Earth
• The international airport in Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo’s hometown, Madeira, is set to be renamed after the footballer
• Russian adventurer, FedorKonyukhov, has broken the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth in a hot air balloon in just over 11 days
• One of the biggest electronic music festivals in the world, Tomorrowland entered its first day on Friday in the Belgian city of Boom

New Appointments:

• Online jewellery firm CaratLane has made two of its senior employees co-founders of the business. Avnish Anand, Senior Vice-President — Product and Category Management, and G.Gurukeerthi, Senior Vice-President, Technology and Fulfilment, will be co-founders of the business along with CEO and Founder Mithun Sacheti

• BJP LokSabha member Ganesh Singh was appointed the new Chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Land Acquisition Bill

Banking :

• Corporation Bank has launched a new facility called ‘Green PIN’,an online module for generation of Personal Identification Number (PIN) for credit card holders

Awards & Honours :

• Renuka Yadav, a former milk seller from Rajnandgaon, Chattisgarh, has become the state’s first female Olympian, after being selected in the women’s hockey team
• Kerala Tourism won two Gold Gongs at the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Awards

Business & Economy :

• Apple has regained the status as the world’s favourite company on Future Brand’s annual ‘Global Top 100 Companies’ list after losing it to Google last year
• French cosmetics firm L’Oreal has agreed to acquire US-based IT Cosmetics for $1.2 billion, its largest acquisition in eight years
• Fourteen public sector banks out of 27 posted losses in the last financial year.The main reason for their losses was Asset Quality Review initiated by the Reserve Bank of India
• Government says DBT scheme saves Rs 21K cr in LPG subsidy in 2 years
• HDFC Ltd will issue non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis to raise Rs 2,000 crore
• Government asks RBI to provide low interest-rate loans to EXIM Bank
• With nearly 2.3 million employees in 68 countries, Walmart is the biggest private employer in the world

Science & Technology :

• Facebook Inc announced the successful completion of test flight of a solar-powered drone named Aquila

Sports:

• India test team captain Virat Kohli became the first Indian captain to score a double century outside India
• American hurdler, Kendra Harrison broke the 28-year-old world record in the 100-metre hurdles after clocking 12.20 seconds at the London Anniversary Games
• Sony Pictures Networks India has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to telecast the 2016 edition of the International Champions Cup (football) in India
• Jamaican sprinter and six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt won the 200-metre sprint at the Anniversary Games in London’s Olympic Stadium

Obituary:

• Modern Indian artist Syed Haider Raza passed away aged 94 today following prolonged illness
• Eminent Journalist and Doordarshan News Correspondent in Hyderabad, Sanjiv Thomas is no more