Current Affairs Update – 13th July, 2015

• State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, has
  partnered online financial product aggregator ‘bankbazaar.com’ along with the
  bank’s subsidiary SBI CAP Securities.
• “Under this arrangement, the bank will be able to display
  its home loan products on bankbazaar.com, generate leads and provide door-step
  delivery, thus improving the response time. Bankbazaar.com offers end to end
  solutions to the home loan seekers from getting the customised quotes,
  comparison of the offers and submission of online application to SBI,” SBI said
  in a statement.
• This partnership will help the bank to provide yet another
  online platform to the prospective tech savvy home loan borrowers to apply for
  SBI Home Loans online. The tie up with bankbazaar.com also highlights SBI’s
  strategy to augment its Home Loan portfolio by leveraging digital channels and
  increasing its presence in the digital/online space, it added.

• Retail inflation rose to eight-month high of 5.4 per cent in
  June on costlier food items, fuel, housing, clothing and footwear even as
  prices of sugar and confectionery items eased during the month.
• The retail inflation measured in terms of Consumer Price
  Index (CPI) was at 5.01 per cent in May. The rate of price rise was at 6.77 per
  cent in June last year.
• Prices of pulses rose by 22.24 per cent in June over the
  same month last year, as per the data released by Central Statistics Office
  (CSO) on Monday.
• The overall food inflation also increased to 5.48 per cent
  during the month under review, from 4.8 per cent in May.
• However, it was lower than food inflation of 7.21 per cent
  in June last year.
• The inflation for fruit and vegetables was 3.51 per cent and
  5.37 per cent, respectively, in June.
• Among others, milk and its products were costlier by 7.18
  per cent in June over the same month last year.
• Prices of protein-rich items such as ‘meat and fish’ rose by
  6.99 per cent, while spices turned costlier by 9.71 per cent in the month.

• Country’s fourth largest software services firm HCL
  Technologies has said it will buy certain assets of Trygstad Technical Services
  in an all-cash deal.
• Trygstad is a U.S.-based IT consulting services and solutions
  firm and has deep expertise in areas of core engineering, Internet of Things,
  embedded systems and Intelligent Systems.
• The financial value and terms were not disclosed.

• After relaxing maternity and paternity policies, e-commerce
  major Flipkart is now offering an allowance of Rs. 50,000 to employees looking
  to adopt children.
• The “adoption allowance”, effective July 10, can be used
  towards legal, agency, regulatory costs or any other expenses that may arise
  during the adoption process, a Flipkart spokesperson told PTI.
• According to data from Central Adoption Resource Authority
  (CARA), 1,368 children found new homes in the January-March quarter of 2015.
  The adoption rates have been dismal in the country even though India has one of
  the largest population of children who are abandoned, deserted or are in
  institutional care.
• According to the new policy, Flipkart will allow its female
  employees adopting a child below the age of 12 months the same benefits as
  under maternity leave policy, i.e., six months paid leave along with four
  months of flexible working hours.

• India and Tajikistan on 13 July 2015 signed two
  agreements/Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs) to further strengthentheir
  defence cooperation which is a strong pillar of strategic partnership between
  both the friendly nations.
• The agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime
  Minister Narendra Modi to Tajikistan from 12 July to 13 July 2015.

• Programme of Cooperation (POC) in the field of Culture for
  the years 2016-18: It envisages cooperation in the field of culture through
  exchange of expertise in protection, preservation and promotion of cultural
  heritage in both countries, exchange of information and experts and
  organization of cultural days in each other’s countries for greater cultural
  understanding between the countries.
• Exchange of Note Verbale (NV) on setting up of Computer Labs
  in 37 Schools in Tajikistan: The Note Verbale conveys the intention of Indian
  side to set up computer labs in 37 schools in Tajikistan for supporting
  Government of Tajikistan’s human resource and skill development efforts. The NV
  also outlines responsibilities of both sides in implementing the project.

• In fresh trials, India has test-fired its indigenously
  developed Nag anti-tank guided missile, which can hit a target upto seven km,
  from a helicopter at a firing range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
• Three-round trial of helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa)
  missile was conducted yesterday at the Chandhan firing range.
• HeliNa is a helicopter-launched version of Nag and has been
  developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the
  Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
• The missile was aimed at hitting targets at varied distances
  of upto 7 km.
• While Nag missile has a maximum range of 4 km, the IIR
  seeker proved to be accurate only up to 2.5 km in extremely hot conditions in
  the trials conducted earlier.
• Sources said the problem with the Nag was its range.
• Once inducted in the Armed Forces, the HeliNa missile will
  be integrated with the weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopter
  (ALH) Dhruv, the light combat helicopter produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd
  (HAL).

• Vyapam scam was in news in July 2015 as Central Bureau of
  Investigation (CBI) on 12 July 2015 constituted a special team of 40 officers,
  under a Joint Director level officer, to probe the multi-crore Vyapam scam of
  Madhya Pradesh.
• Vyapam scam is an admission and recruitment scam involving
  politicians, senior officials and businessmen in Madhya Pradesh. The scam
  involved a collusion of undeserving candidates, who bribed politicians and
  MPPEB officials through middlemen, to get high ranks in these entrance tests.
• The CBI constituted the team following the direction of
  Supreme Court (SC) of India. SC bench headed by Chief Justice of India HL Dattu
  on 9 July 2015 transferred the probe of all cases related to Vyapam scam to the
  CBI. It also asked the agency to file its report before it on 24 July 2015.
• Earlier, the case was being handled by a Special Task Force
  and was monitored by the High Court.

• The Union Government on 12 July 2015 appointed international
  lawyer Rodrigo Oreamuno to arbitrate with the UK telecom major Vodafone in the
  20000 crore rupees tax case on its behalf. Oreamuno replaces former Chief
  Justice of India RC Lahoti, who recused himself in May 2015.
• Vodafone already named Yves Fortier of Canada as its nominee
  on the panel. Now, Oreamuno and Fortier would name a third arbitrator, who will
  act as a chairman of the tribunal for the case.
• The Union Government and Vodafone had earlier decided to
  appoint Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of the International Court of Justice as the
  third arbitrator. However, he declined to be part of the three-member panel in
  June 2015.

• Popular Bollywood playback singer Shreya Ghoshal was
  presented with the Sera Sera Bangali award (the Best of the Best Bengali
  honour) at Houston North American Bengali Conference 2015.
• The 31-year-old playback singer considers it one of her most
  “special” awards.
• Shreya was here to attend the 35th Banga Sammelan that is
  underway at GRB Convention Center, which was attended by over 6000 North
  American Bengalis from all over USA and various other artists from India.
• The singer is touring US for the fifth time, which kicked
  off yesterday here.
• She is scheduled to perform in Washington, today. Los
  Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Cincinnati and Tampa will be her other stops.

• Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division was on 11 July 2015
  conferred with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) 2015 in
  New Delhi.
• It was presented by the Union Environment, Forest and
  Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar to Sanjay Rajoria, General Manager of
  West Bokaro, Tata Steel of Jharkand.
• Tata Steel won the coveted award for its responsible
  environmental practices and resource management while upgrading the skills of
  employees through training as new technologies evolve.

• Seventh seed Indo-Swiss pair of Leander Paes and Martina
  Hingis on 12 July 2015 won mixed doubles title at Wimbledon. In the final
  clash, the duo defeated the fifth seed Austrian-Hungarian team of Alexander
  Peya and Timea Babos 6-1, 6-1.
• It was Paes’ 16th Grand Slam trophy and eighth mixed doubles
  title. Overall it was 18th Major title for the Swiss and third in mixed
  doubles.
• This was second mixed double win for Paes and Hingis
  together. They had won the Australian Open in February 2015.

• The Indo-Vietnamese pair Sumit Nagal-Nam Hoang Ly on 12 July
  2015 won the 2015 Wimbledon Boys’ Doubles title by defeating Opelka and Akira
  Santillan in the final match held in London.
• The eighth seeded pair defeated the fourth seeded
  USA-Japanese pair 7-6 (4) 6-4.
• With this win, the 17-year- old Sumit Nagal became the sixth
  Indian to win a Grand Slam junior title.
• Ramanathan Krishnan (1954 Wimbledon), Ramesh Krishnan (1979
  French Open and Wimbledon), Leander Paes (1990 Wimbledon and 1999 U.S. Open),
  Sania Miraza (2003 Wimbledon Girls Doubles) and Yuki Bhambri (2009 Australian
  Open) are the other junior Grand Slam singles champions from India.

• LG Electronics has appointed Kim Ki-Wan as the new Managing
  Director of its India operations effective August 1. He is currently the
  Executive Vice-President of LG’s Home Entertainment Overseas Sales &
  Marketing Group, the company said on Monday.
• Kim, who has been with LG for over 30 years, has held
  various positions. He will replace Soon Kwon who will take over as the global
  head of LG’s Information Display business. Kwon, who held the position of MD of
  the India operations for the past five years, will relocate to LG’s Korea
  headquarters.

• The book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in
  India was in news in the second week of July 2015. It was written by former
  Union Environment and Forest Minister (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.
• It unveils the story of environmental policy making in India
  from the perspective of a pivotal decision maker.
• It chronicles India’s environmental decision-making since
  the 1991 movement, telling the story of how, for the first time, the doors of
  the environment ministry were opened to voices, hitherto unheard, into the
  policy-making process.

• Satoru Iwata, who led Japanese video game company Nintendo
  Co through years of growth with its Pokemon and Super Mario franchises, died on
  Saturday after a lengthy illness, prompting emotional tributes from game fans and
  industry rivals. He was 55.
• The company’s statement today said Iwata died of a bile duct
  tumor.
• There was a torrent of sorrow online for Iwata as a person
  dedicated to entertaining others. On Twitter, fans thanked him for childhood
  memories and for bringing families together. On some Internet sites, an image
  of the flag in the Super Mario game was flying at half-staff.
• Nintendo America announced it was suspending social media
  activity for the day “in remembrance” of Iwata.
• Iwata led Nintendo’s development into a global company, with
  its hit Wii home console and DS handheld, and also through its recent troubles
  caused by the popularity of smartphones.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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