GK OF THE DAY JULY
Greece becomes first developed nation to default on IMF debt
Greece became the first developed economy in the world to default a loan with
the International Monetary Fund. It became a defaulter after it missed the
deadline for payment of 1.7 billion dollar (1.5 billion euro) to IMF. The Eurozone
Finance Ministers refused to extend its bailout to Greece after it rejected the proposal
given by the troika viz., International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European
Commission (EC) and European Central Bank (ECB).
Bharti Airtel becomes 3rd largest mobile operator in world
Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel has become the world’s third largest mobile
operator with 303 million subscriber. The global rankings were led by China
Mobile (China), which had 626.27 million subscribers and was followed
by Vodafone Group of the UK with 403.08 million subscribers worldwide.
Famous Writer Vishwanath Tripathi chosen for 28th Moorti
Devi Award
Veteran Writer Vishwanath Tripathi was selected for the 28th Moorti Devi
Award for the year 2014 for his book Vyomkesh Darvesh. Vyomkesh Darvesh is
a lifetime story of Acharya Hazari Prasad Dwivedi.
The Moortidevi Award is an annual literary award in India presented by
the Bharatiya Jnanpith organization for a work which emphasizes Indian
philosophy and culture. The prize includes an amount of Rs. Four Lacs, a
plaque, a statue of Saraswati, and a shawl.
The 'father of SMS,' Matti Makkonen, dies at 63
Matti Makkonen, a Finnish national, known as the “reluctant father of
SMS” has passed away at the age of 63. SMS, or Short Messaging Service, was
an idea that Makkonen first suggested at a Telecoms conference in 1984, but it was
only on December 3 in 1992 that the first text message was sent.
He won the prestigious The Economist's Innovation Award in 2008 in
the computing and telecommunications category for his work on SMS.
Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa win 2015 Canada Open
Indian shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the Canada Open
women's doubles title (2015) after beating the Netherlands pair of Eefge
Muskens and Selena Piek 21-19, 21-16 in the final. This was Jwala and
Ashwini's first title since their reunion after the 2012 London Olympics.
Current Affairs One-liners
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Cuba has become the first country in the world to eliminate the
transmission of HIV or syphilis from mother to child during childbirth
as announced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) .
Chennai became the seventh Indian city to have the metro rail
system after Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Jaipur.
Australia and New Zealand will play the first ever day-night Test under
lights
with
a pink
ball on 27
November at
the Adelaide
Oval (Australia) as announced in a schedule released by Cricket Australia
(CA).
Grandmaster and former world junior champion Abhijeet Gupta won
the 19th Commonwealth Chess Championship after settling for a quick
draw with Arghyadip Das.
Chile win Copa América after beating Argentina on penalties
Chile won the Copa America for the first time in the tournament's 99-year history
after a 4-1 victory on penalties over Argentina. This was the 44th Edition of
COPA America title, the prestigious football tournament for South American
countries, had started from 11 June 2015 in Chile. Peru defeated Paraguay 2-0
in the play-off match to finish the tournament at third place.
Literacy rate 71% in rural areas, 86% in urban areas: NSSO
survey
National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) survey has pegged literacy rate in
the rural areas at 71 per cent and 86 per cent in the urban areas in year 2014.
While among the age group of seven year and above, the male literacy rate was
registered at 83 per cent vis-a-vis the female literacy rate of 67 per cent.
India-born biologist Kamal Bawa elected to the Royal Society
Kamal Bawa, India's most prominent biologist and an evolutionary
ecologist, has been elected to the prestigious Royal Society in recognition of his
pioneering contributions in the area of conservation science. Currently he is serving
as Biology professor at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.
Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of Bangladesh-based poverty
alleviation NGO wins World Food Prize 2015
Fazle Hasan Abed, founder of Bangladesh-based poverty alleviation NGO
wins World Food Prize 2015. He is founder and chairman of Bangladesh-based
non-governmental organisation (NGO) BRAC (originally known as Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee) which is world’s largest NGO. Since its
formation, BRAC is being credited for helping more than 150 million people out of
poverty.
He has been bestowed with prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award (2010)
and UNDP’s Mahbub Ul Haq Award (also known as Human Development
Award) in 2004.
Scientist Sanjeev Galande gets G D Birla award
Professor Sanjeev Galande has been chosen for the G.D. Birla Award for
Scientific Research for 2014, the K.K. Birla Foundation announced. He is
Professor and Team Leader at the Centre of Excellence in Epigenetics of the Indian
Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune.
The award, instituted in 1991, seeks to recognize research by Indian
scientists aged below 50 and living and working in India. It carries a cash prize of
Rs. 2.5 lakh.
Current Affairs One-liners
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Ira Singhal, a physically handicapped IRS officer from Delhi, topped the
Civil services examination.
On 4th July 2015, International Day of Cooperatives was observed. It
is observed on first saturday of every july.
Indian-American Professor R. Paul Singh named for GCHERA World
Agriculture Prize 2015.
US wins Women’s FIFA World Cup for 3rd time
The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Japan 5-2 to become the 2015 FIFA
Women’s World Cup Champion The United States, winners in 1991 and 1999,
became the first nation to win the crown three times. US captain and skipper Carli
Lloyd scored a hat-trick in the finals.
2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Awards:
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Golden Ball Award: Carli Lloyd (US), Amandine Henry (France), Aya
Miyama (Japan).
Golden Boot Award: Celia Sasic (Germany), Carli Lloyd (US), Anja Mittag
(Germany).
Golden Glove Award: Hope Solo (US).
Young Player Award: Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada).
Fair Play Award: France.
India won 2015 South Asian Basketball Championship
Defending champions India have retained the South Asian Basketball
Championship (SABA) title. It was the 4th edition of the Championships. In the
final India defeated Sri Lanka by 93-44.
Top three teams of the championships were:
India (gold)

Sri Lanka (silver)
Nepal (bronze).
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Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain won 2015 Formula 1
British Grand Prix title
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won 2015 Birtish Grand Prix of
Formula One (F1). Nico Rosberg (Germany), also from Mercedes team,
finished second position while Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel (Germany)
secured third place.
7th BRICS Summit held in Ufa, Russia
The 7th BRICS summit was held from 8 to 9 July 2015 in the Russian city
of Ufa in Bashkortostan. The Summit comprised the heads of state of 5 BRICS
countries – Dilma Rousseff (Brazil), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Narendra
Modi (India), Xi Jinping (China) and Jacob Juma (South Africa). The theme of
the summit was “BRICS Partnership – a Powerful Factor of Global
Development“.
Note:- In a five-year summit cycle, the summit is hosted by Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa in the order. While the 6th BRICS summit was held
at Fortaleza in Brazil in 2014, New Delhi will be hosting the 8th summit
in 2016.
Russian astronaut Gennady Padalka sets record for spending
longest time in space
Russian cosmonaut Gennady
Padalka has
set
a Guinness
World
Record for spending longest time in space with a total of 804 days as on July
2015. With this he broke the previous record of 803 days, nine hours and 41
minutes set by Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev (now retired) across six
missions from 1998 to 2005.
China nominated Jin Liqun, former Chinese Finance Minster,
for the post of AIIB President
Former Finance Minster of China Jin Liqun was nominated by China to be the first
president of the Beijing-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB).
Note:- AIIB is a multilateral development bank proposed by the government of China
to provide finance to infrastructure projects in the Asia region. The bank was
proposed by China in 2013 and launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October
2014. The bank has 33 founding members from the Asian region and 17
founding members from outside the region. India is one of the founding
members of AIIB and has second highest stake in it after China.
Bandhan Bank appoints Ashok Lahiri as chairman
Ashok K. Lahiri, a former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA), was named as the
first Chairman of Bandhan Bank. The bank will start its operations from 23
August 2015 and will be inaugurated by the President of India, Pranab
Mukherjee.
India’s 1st Earthquake Warning System successfully installed in
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand became first Indian state to install a system to detect
earthquakes and disseminate warnings. The system was designed and
manufactured by Italian firm Space Dynamics which already installed this system in
Japan, Italy and US. The system will issue warnings 1¬-40 seconds before the
occurrence of earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more.
Indian skipper Mithali Raj creates history by crossing 5000 runs
mark
Indian Skipper Mithali Raj became the first woman and second in women’s
ODI history to complete 5000 runs after England’s Charlotte Edwards.
Playing against New Zealand in Bengaluru, Mithali Raj's unbeaten knock of 81 runs
took her run tally to 5029 runs comprising of 5 centuries and 37 half centuries at an
average of 48.82 in 157 matches.
Isro successfully launches PSLV-C28 carrying 5 UK satellites
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched five British
satellites into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikotta. PSLVC28 was used to launch these. These five satellites were three
identical DMC3 optical earth observation satellites and two auxiliary satellites, viz.
CBNT-1 and De-OrbitSail and were built by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited
(SSTL). This was the heaviest commercial luggage carried by a PSLV rocket to
date.
Sunita Williams among 4 astronauts chosen to fly NASA’s first
commercial space vehicle
Indian-origin Sunita Williams is among four veteran astronauts chosen
by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to fly the first
commercial space vehicles. Other three astronauts are Robert Behnken ,Eric Boe
and Douglas Hurley.
11 July: World Population Day was observed
On 11th July 2015, World Population Day was observed across the
globe. Theme for year 2015 was "Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies".
Serena beats Muguruza to win sixth Wimbledon singles title
Serena Williams of United States has won Women’s Singles Wimbledon title
2015. In the final match played at London she defeated Garbine Muguruza of
Spain by 6-4, 6-4 score. It is her sixth Women’s Singles Wimbledon title and
overall 21th Grand Slam title.
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Six Australian Open Titles: 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015.
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Three French Open Titles: 2002, 2013 and 2015.
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Six Wimbledon Titles: 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2015.
Six US Open Titles: 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
She also has won Four Olympic gold medals, one in women’s singles and three
in women’s doubles.
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Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis win women's doubles Wimbledon
title
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza scripted history by becoming the first from the
country to win a women's doubles Grand Slam trophy as she lifted
the Wimbledon title with Swiss partner Martina Hingis. Sania and
Hingis defeated second seed Russian team of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena
Vesnina 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5 in a thrilling final.
Kagiso Rabada became second bowler to claim hat-trick on ODI
debut
South Africa’s 20-year-old pacer Kagiso Rabada became just the second
bowler after Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam to bag a hat-trick on
debut in the first ODI against Bangladesh in Mirpur.
IPL fixing: CSK, RR suspended for 2 years
Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals were suspended from the cashrich cricket league (IPL) for two years for betting activities of their key
officials Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra during the 2013 season.
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The punishment was handed down by a Supreme Court- appointed threemember committee headed by former CJI R M Lodha.
The
Committee
also
imposed
sanctions
including life
suspensions for Meiyappan and Kundra from being involved in any
cricket matches conducted by BCCI.
‘Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ wins best original screenplay award at
the Madrid Film Festival
'Buddha In A Traffic Jam’ film has won the best original screenplay in a
Foreign Language award at the Madrid International Film Festival. The film is
a political satire directed by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. It stars Arunoday Singh
and Mahi Gill in a lead role along with Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and introduces
Anchal Dwivedi.
Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai appointed as new Vice-Chief of
Army
Lt Gen Man Mohan Singh Rai has been appointed as the next Vice-Chief of the
Indian Army. Rai, at present the Eastern Army Commander, will replace Lt
Gen Philip Campose, who superannuates on July 31.
Nag anti-tank missile tested from helicopter platform
India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided
missile (HeliNa), which can hit a target upto seven km, from a helicopter at a firing
range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. HeliNa is a helicopter-launched version of Nag
and has been developed by the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO).
Tata, Boeing ink Strategic framework Agreement in lines with
Make in India
Tata
Advanced
Systems
Limited (TASL)
and US-based aircraft
maker Boeing have signed a strategic framework agreement for aerospace and
defence manufacturing. The agreement was signed by Sukaran Singh, MD & CEO
of TASL and Shelley Lavender, President of Boeing Military Aircraft in lines
with Make in India in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Iran reaches historic nuclear deal
Iran and the Europe (France,Germany and U.K) 3+3 (US, Russia and China)
and the UN atomic energy agency IAEA reached a nuclear deal.
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Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the US, the European Union and the
United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing to long-term curbs on
a nuclear programme that the West suspects is aimed at creating a nuclear
bomb.
The deal puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities for at least
a decade and calls for stringent U.N. oversight, with world powers hoping
this will make any dash to make an atomic bomb virtually impossible. In
return, Iran will get sanctions relief although the measures can “snap back”
into place if there are any violations.

The international
arms
embargo against Iran will
remain
for five years. Tehran has accepted allowing the U.N. atomic watchdog
tightly-controlled “managed access” to military bases.
Sinhastha Kumbh Mela begins in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik
World’s largest religious congregation Sinhastha Kumbh Mela has begun
at Trimbakeshwar, Nashik district of Maharashtra with the traditional
ceremony of hoisting of flags and thousands of people taking a holy dip in Kushawart
and Ramkund in Godavari river in the two towns.
Note: The Kumbh Mela is held every third year one of the four places by rotationat
four places in India – Allahabad (Ganga), Nashik (Godavari), Hardwar (Ganga)
and Ujjain (Shipra). It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation.
Sayed Haider Raza honoured with highest French civilian
honour Legion of Honour
Modern Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza, has been conferred with the
highest French
civilian
honour,
the
Commandeur de
la
Legion
d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour). Raza was bestowed with this award for his
peerless achievements in transcending all boundaries, forging ties
between France and India and for continuing artistic quest straddling nations,
religions, cultures and philosophies.
15th July: First ever World Youth Skills Day celebrated
World Youth Skills Day was observed across the globe On 15th July. This was
the first time ever this day was observed as this was established by the United
Nations (UN) General Assembly on 11 November 2014. This year’s theme is
“Youth skills for work and life in the post-2015 agenda”. On this
occasion Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the National Skill
Development Mission.
Tata, Boeing ink Strategic framework Agreement in lines with
Make in India
Tata
Advanced
Systems
Limited (TASL)
and US-based aircraft
maker Boeing have signed a strategic framework agreement for aerospace and
defence manufacturing. The agreement was signed by Sukaran Singh, MD & CEO
of TASL and Shelley Lavender, President of Boeing Military Aircraft in lines
with Make in India in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Iran reaches historic nuclear deal
Iran and the Europe (France,Germany and U.K) 3+3 (US, Russia and China)
and the UN atomic energy agency IAEA reached a nuclear deal.



Under the deal, sanctions imposed by the US, the European Union and the
United Nations will be lifted in return for Iran agreeing to long-term curbs on
a nuclear programme that the West suspects is aimed at creating a nuclear
bomb.
The deal puts strict limits on Iran’s nuclear activities for at least
a decade and calls for stringent U.N. oversight, with world powers hoping
this will make any dash to make an atomic bomb virtually impossible. In
return, Iran will get sanctions relief although the measures can “snap back”
into place if there are any violations.
The international
arms
embargo against Iran will
remain
for five years. Tehran has accepted allowing the U.N. atomic watchdog
tightly-controlled “managed access” to military bases.
Sinhastha Kumbh Mela begins in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik
World’s largest religious congregation Sinhastha Kumbh Mela has begun
at Trimbakeshwar, Nashik district of Maharashtra with the traditional
ceremony of hoisting of flags and thousands of people taking a holy dip in Kushawart
and Ramkund in Godavari river in the two towns.
Note: The Kumbh Mela is held every third year one of the four places by rotationat
four places in India – Allahabad (Ganga), Nashik (Godavari), Hardwar (Ganga)
and Ujjain (Shipra). It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation.
Sayed Haider Raza honoured with highest French civilian
honour Legion of Honour
Modern Indian artist Sayed Haider Raza, has been conferred with the
highest French
civilian
honour,
the
Commandeur de
la
Legion
d’Honneur (the Legion of Honour). Raza was bestowed with this award for his
peerless achievements in transcending all boundaries, forging ties
between France and India and for continuing artistic quest straddling nations,
religions, cultures and philosophies.
15th July: First ever World Youth Skills Day celebrated
World Youth Skills Day was observed across the globe On 15th July. This was
the first time ever this day was observed as this was established by the United
Nations (UN) General Assembly on 11 November 2014. This year’s theme is
“Youth skills for work and life in the post-2015 agenda”. On this
occasion Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the National Skill
Development Mission.
EU countries approve 7 billion euro short-term loan to Greece
European Union (EU) has approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion
euros to Greece after it was backed by the 28 member states.
o
o
o
o
This loan will allow Greece to pay its huge debt to European Central
Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) till new
bailout plan is ratified.
The loan will be given through the European Financial
Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM) which is a rescue fund set up
during the first time bailout of Greece in 2010.
But presently it covers the whole of the 28 EU member nations and
not just the 19 eurozone members.
This loan fund will be officially for three months, but looking at present
debt crisis of Greece it can be sustained until 20 August 2015.
Remnants of India’s One of the Oldest Port Found in Goa
A team of scientists from Goa based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO)
discovered the remnants of a historically important port on Goa’s Zuari
river which is expected to be amongst the oldest signs of human trade on the
central west coast.
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The Port is supposed to be existed between 1000 to 3500 AD which makes it
India’s oldest ports.
The researchers are also of the opinion that they may discover a dockyard
similar in structure to Lothal dockyard in Gujarat which was discovered
by Archeological Survey of India (ASI) in 1954.
Uruguay’s soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia passes away
Uruguayan soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia has passed away due to heart attack
in Montevideo, Uruguay. He was 88. He had scored the winning
goal against Brazil in the final match of World Cup 1950 which had helped
Uruguay to win World Cup for the second time.
Note: Uruguay for the first time had won the FIFA World Cup in 1930 which was
the inaugural Football World Cup.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez suspended from Bowling in
International Cricket for 1 Year
International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned Pakistan’s all-rounder
cricketer Mohammad Hafeez from bowling in international cricket for a period
of one year.
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He was banned after he failed in ICC’s independent assessment on his
suspected bowling action which violated permitted 15-degree limit.
Hafeez had tested
his bowling action in Sri
Ramachandra
University in Chennai after his actions violated the limit during the second
Test match against Sri Lanka.
BRICS bank opens for business in China
The New Development Bank (NDB) created by Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa (BRICS) nations to step up infrastructure funding in
the emerging economies formally started its operations at its headquarters
in Shanghai (China). Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, Shanghai
Mayor Yang Xiong and the bank’s first President K V Kamath from India
attended the opening ceremony.
Bhanu Pratap Sharma appointed as Chairperson of FSSAI
Union
Government has
appointed Bhanu
Pratap
Sharma as
Chairperson Food
Safety
and
Standards
Authority
of
India (FSSAI). Presently, he is Health and Family Welfare Secretary was
given additional charge of FSSAI for three months. Sharma is an IAS officer
of 1981 batch from Bihar cadre.
Godfather actor Alex Rocco dies at 79
Alex Rocco, the US actor best known for his role in crime drama The
Godfather, has died of cancer aged 79. Rocco won an Emmy for his role in 1990s
sitcom The Famous Teddy Z. He also voiced the studio boss behind Itchy and
Scratchy in The Simpsons.
Eden Gardens to host 2016 World T20 final
Kolkata’s Eden Gardens will host the final of the ICC World T20, to be held in
India from March 11 to April 3, next year. Matches will take place across
Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi and Kolkata.
Amelie Mauresmo inducted into the International Tennis Hall of
Fame
Amelie Mauresmo, the two-time Grand Slam winner and former number
one tennis player of France, was inducted into the International Tennis Hall
of Fame. She is one of 21 players in the history of the WTA to rise to No.1,
spending a total of 39 weeks there in the 2004 and 2006 seasons. Amelie won 25
singles titles and was a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
India ranks 12th in terms of power generation from nuclear
source
India ranks 12th in the world in terms of power generation from nuclear
sources, according to data published in May 2015 by the Power Reactor
Information System (PRIS) of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA).
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
In terms of number of reactors in operation, India, with 21 reactors,
stood in the sixth position globally.
The current installed nuclear power capacity is 5780 MW, which is
expected to increase to 10080 MW on progressive completion of projects
under commissioning and construction by 2019.
Ananth Narayanan appointed as Chief Executive Officer of
Myntra
Former McKinsey director Ananth Narayanan was appointed as the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the Flipkart owned fashion store Myntra. He will
assume the charge on 1 October 2015. He will succeed Myntra’s cofounder Mukesh
Bansal who is presently serving as the head of Flipkart's commerce platform.
Conakry named as World Book Capital for 2017 by UNESCO
United
Nations
Educational,
Scientific
and
Cultural
Organization(UNESCO) has named Conakry, the Capitl city of the Republic
of Guinea as the World Book Capital for year 2017.



World Book Capital is a title bestowed by UNESCO to a city in recognition of
the quality of its programs to promote books and reading and the dedication
of all players in the book industry.
At present, Incheon city of South Korea is World Book Capital For
Year 2015.
Madrid, capitl of Spain in 2001 was the first city to be recognised
as World Book Capital.
July 23: National Broadcasting Day observed
Every year July 23 is observed as National Broadcasting day. On this day
in 1927, Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) began organized radio
broadcasting from Bombay station.
7 Indian companies among World’s 500 largest companies:
Fortune Magazine
Seven Indian companies have found their place in 2015 Fortune
Global Companies list compiled by Fortune Magazine. They are:



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



500
Indian Oil: ranked 119th with revenues of 74 billion dollars.
Reliance Industries: ranked 158th with revenues of 62 billion dollars.
Tata Motors: ranked 254th with revenues of 42 billion dollars.
State Bank of India (SBI): ranked 260th with revenues of 42 billion
dollars.
Bharat Petroleum: ranked 280th with revenues of 40 billion dollars.
Hindustan Petroleum: ranked 327th with revenues of 35 billion dollars.
Oil and Natural Gas: ranked 449th with revenues of 26 billion dollars.
Top 5: Walmart (1st) of US, Sinopec Group (2nd) of China, Royal Dutch
Shell (3rd) of Netherlands, China National Petroleum (4th) and Exxon
Mobil (5th) of US.
Lupin acquires US pharmaceutical firm Gavis
Indian company Lupin acquired US generics
company GAVIS Pharmaceuticals
and Novel Laboratories (GAVIS) for 880 million US dollars to strengthen its
presence in the United States. Gavis is a privately-held company specialising in
formulation development, manufacturing, packaging, sales, marketing, and
distribution of pharmaceuticals products.
PM launches new scheme Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti
Yojana for power reforms in rural areas
Union
Government
launched Deendayal
Upadhyaya
Gram
Jyoti
Yojana (DUGJY) in Patna, Bihar. The flagship scheme was launched by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to provide 24×7 uninterrupted electricity
supply to each rural household across the country by 2022.
Two members of Anglo-Indian Community nominated to Lok
Sabha
The President has nominated Prof. Richard Hay and Mr. George Baker as
members of the Anglo-Indian Community to the Lok Sabha.


Mr Baker, who has acted in several Assamese and Bengali movies since
1970s, had joined BJP in 2014 and unsuccessfully contested on a party ticket
from Howrah in West Bengal. Baker's most notable film was 'Chameli
Memsaab' (Assamese and Bengali) which won national film award in 1975.
Professor Hay teaches economics in various academic institutes in India as
well as abroad.
Ramachandra Guha chosen for Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize
2015
Historian Ramachandra Guha was chosen for the Fukuoka Asian Culture
Prize 2015 in the Academic Category. Guha is well known for his book, India
After Gandhi. He is currently working on a two-volume biography on Mahatma
Gandhi. The first volume, Gandhi Before India was published in 2013.

The Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize, established in 1990 by the Japanese city
of Fukuoaka, recognises outstanding achievements by individuals or groups
in preserving and creating the unique and diverse cultures of Asia

The Fukuoka
Prize is
offered
in three categories
prize, Academic prize and Arts and Culture prize.
viz. Grand
Ajay Mathur appointed as Director-General of TERI
Ajay Mathur was appointed as the DirectorGeneral (DG) of The Energy and
Resources Institute (TERI). He succeeded RK Pachauri who was removed from
the top most position over sexual harassment charges. Currently, Mathur is
working as the Director General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the
Union Government.


TERI is a nonprofit research institution that conducts research work in the
fields of energy, environment and sustainable development.
It was established in 1974 as Tata Energy Research Institute and was renamed
as The Energy and Resources Institute in 2003.
Current Affairs One-liners



NASA’s Kepler mission has confirmed the first near-Earth-size
planet, Kepler-452b, in the “habitable zone” around a Sun-like star.
The world's first malaria vaccine named Mosquirix, was given the green
light by London-based European Medicines Agency after more than 30 years
of research.
Swiss food group Nestle has appointed Suresh Narayanan as new
Nestle India MD after Maggi scare that forced it to withdraw its popular
instant noodles.
Missile man of India APJ Abdul Kalam passes away
Former President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam passed away due to
massive cardiac arrest in Shillong, Meghalaya. He was 83. He was widely
acclaimed as the ‘People’s President’ and the ‘Missile man’ of India. He was was
one of India’s most eminent scientists.
About APJ Abdul Kalam:
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Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was an Indian scientist who
served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007.
Kalam was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied
physics and aerospace engineering.
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He spent the next four decades as a scientist and science administrator,
mainly at the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was
intimately involved in India’s civilian space program and military missile
development efforts. He thus came to be known as the Missile Man of
India for his work on the development of ballistic missile and launch
vehicle technology.
He also played a pivotal organizational, technical and political role in
India’s Pokhran-II nuclear
tests
in 1998,
the first since
the
original nuclear test by India in 1974.
Awards and Honours: Bharat Ratna (1997), Padma Vibhushan (1990),
Padma Bhushan (1981).
His famous books: India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium
(1998), Wings of Fire: An Autobiography by A P J Abdul Kalam
(1999), Ignited Minds: Unleashing the Power Within India (2002), The
Luminous Sparks (2004), Mission India (2005), Reignited: Scientific
Pathways to a Brighter Future (2015) etc.
Ram Sevak Sharma appointed as Chairman of TRAI
Ram Sevak Sharma was appointed as the Chairman of telecom regulator
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He succeeded Rahul
Khullar who had retired in May 2015. Sharma is also set to retire in September
2015 as a Secretary for Department of Electronics and Information
Technology. Ram Sevak Sharma is an IAS officer of 1978 batch, Jharkhand
Cadre.
IDFC gets banking licence from RBI
Infrastructure
Development
Financing
Company (IDFC).
Ltd
became second lender to enter the banking sector since 2004, as the Reserve
Bank of India granted Banking licence on 24 July 2015. It was Yes Bank that got
banking licence in 2004. However, IDFC and Microfinance Company Bandhan
Financial Services Pvt Ltd were granted preliminary bank permits by RBI
in April 2014.
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Bandhan got Banking licence from RBI in June 2015 and plans to start
its operations from August 2015.

whereas IDFC plans to start operations from 1 October 2015. IDFC will
start its operations with 20 branches and with initial loan book of 55,000
crore rupees.
CSC and HCL forms joint venture to provide technology services,
solutions to banks
Computer
Science
Corporation (CSC)
and Hindustan
Computer
Limited (HCL) to big IT companies have signed an agreement to form a new
company to provide technology services and solutions to the banking
industry. The joint venture will invest in platform modernization and product
functionality enhancement and will capitalize on the proven capabilities of
both companies in addressing the multi-billiondollar, global core banking software
market.
British Cyclist Chris Froome Wins Tour De France
Cyclist Chris Froome from Britain of Team Sky has won the 102nd edition Tour
de France, an annual three-week multiple stage bicycle race at Champs Elysees in
Paris. This is second time Froome has won Tour de France title and for the first
time he had won it 2013. He defeated Nairo Quintana (Colombia) of Movistar
Team.
Note : Tour de France is the name of the annual cycling event primarily held
in France since 1903. It is the most famous and one of the toughest cycling
races in the world.
Sanjeev Chaturvedi, Anshu Gupta win Ramon Magsaysay Award
Two Indians Sanjiv Chaturvedi and Anshu Gupta have been awarded
prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2015. They are among the total five
awardees have been conferred with this year’s award which is often regarded
as Asia’s Nobel Prize.
Recipients of 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award are
Sanjiv Chaturvedi: He has been bestowed with this award in recognition of
his exemplary integrity, tenacity and courage in uncompromisingly
exposing and investigating corruption in public office. Chaturvedi is an Indian
Forest Service (IFS) officer and presently working as deputy secretary of All
India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). From 2012-14, he had served as
a Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS.
Anshu Gupta: He has been awarded for his creative vision in transforming the
culture of giving in India and for his enterprising leadership in treating in cloth as a
sustainable development resource for the poor. He is founder of NGO
Goonj based in Delhi which was established in 1999. The NGO is operational in 21
Indian states and primarily works in disaster relief, community development and
humanitarian aid.
Kommaly Chanthavong: She hails from Laos and has been chosen for her
indomitable spirit in reviving and developing the ancient Laotian art of silk
weaving, Loa’s priceless silken cultural treasure. It had led in
creating livelihoods for thousands of war-displaced, poor people and the
dignity of women in Laos.
Ligaya Fernando-Amilbangsa: She hails from Philippines and has been
recognized for her crusade in preserving the endangered artistic heritage classical
dance form called pangalay (gift offering) of southern Philippines and propagating
a dance form which celebrates and spread the sense cultural identity.
Kyaw Thu: He hails from Myanmar and was recognized for his generous efforts of
compassion in addressing the fundamental needs of people of Myanmar both
the living and the dead regardless of their religion or class for greater social good.
About Ramon Magsaysay Award
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It is Asia’s highest honor and often regarded as the region’s equivalent of
the Nobel Prize. Established: in 1957 in the memory of Philippines’ 3rd
President Ramon Magsaysay who had died in air disaster in March 1957.
It was established by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller
Brothers Fund and Philippine government.
It
is
awarded
annually
to individuals
or
organizations from Asia region for their altruistic and philanthropic
service.
Award carries: Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon
Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.
Kazakhstan became 162th member of WTO
Kazakhstan became 162th member of World Trade Organization (WTO). The
agreement was signed between the WTO Director General Robert Azevedo and
Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev at Geneva. The final accession will
be done when the membership agreement is ratified by Kazakhstan Parliament on 31
October 2015.
Microsoft launches new operating system Windows 10
US Software giant Microsoft launched its new operating system Windows10 with a host of new features. It was launched by Microsoft’s India-born CEO Satya
Nadella at a global launch event held in Kenya.
Windows 10 is coming to PCs and tablets first, but it’s also designed to run phones,
game consoles and even holographic headsets. It has new features, a streamlined web
browser called Edge and a desktop version of Cortana, the online assistant that is
Microsoft’s answer to Google Now and Apple’s Siri.
Note:- Microsoft Edge- new web browser which has replaced Microsoft’s
Internet Explorer.
Ashish Bahuguna appointed as Chairman of FSSAI
Union Government has appointed former IAS officer Ashish Bahuguna as the
chairman of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). He
will have tenure of three years. Before this appointed Health Secretary Bhanu
Pratap Sharma was temporarily in-charge of the post.
Current Affairs One-liners
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Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has
cancelled Sahara Asset Management Company's licence, saying it's not
a "fit and proper person" to carry out the business of mutual fund.
Automobile
manufacturer Renault
India announced
actor Ranbir
Kapoor as its brand ambassador.
HIV researcher Dr Suniti Solomon, the first to bring to the world the
prevalence of the infection in India in 1986 and one who successfully led
research into the treatment of the deadly virus, passed away.
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Former South African all-rounder cricketer Clive Rice passed away in
Johannerburg, South Africa. He was 66 and was suffering from brain
tumour.
Ferrari’s driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany won the 2015 Hungarian
Grand Prix of Formula One (F1).