Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 24th July, 2015. These are Important for the 2nd phase of RBI Assistant 2015 Exam.
RBI/Industry
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IDFC Gets RBI Nod for Starting Banking
Operation
Operation
- Infrastructure
financing firm IDFC Ltd today said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has granted
banking licence to IDFC Bank for undertaking banking business in the country. - “The RBI
on July 23, 2015 has granted Banking Licence to IDFC Bank Limited for
undertaking banking business in India under Section 22(1) of the Banking
Regulation Act, 1949,” IDFC said in a stock exchange filing. - IDFC and
Bandhan Financial Services Pvt Ltd emerged successful out of 25 contenders for
new bank licences issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April last year.
Bandhan Financial got RBI approval last month. - IDFC Bank
plans to start operation from October 1 with an initial loan book of around Rs
55,000 crore. The bank proposes to start operations with 20 branches. - It has almost
completed the process of demerger of financial undertaking into IDFC Bank. - The demerger
was in accordance with RBI conditions which require IDFC to transfer the
relevant business activities to the proposed IDFC Bank.
WTO members sealed a deal to cut
tariffs on $1 trillion worth IT products
tariffs on $1 trillion worth IT products
- World Trade
Organization (WTO) members on 24 July 2015 struck a deal to add more than 200
products to the list of goods covered by zero-tariff and duty-free trade. - In value
terms, the deal cuts tariffs on 1 trillion US dollar worth of information
technology (IT) products, which is equal to global trade in iron, steel,
textiles and clothing combined. - The deal was
agreed as part of need to update the 18-year old Information Technology
Agreement (ITA) as it has become redundant. - Products
added range from advanced computer chips to GPS devices, medical equipment,
printer cartridges and video-game consoles. - This will
give a major boost to producers of goods ranging from video games to medical
equipment. Technology manufacturers such as General Electric, Intel, Texas
Instruments, Microsoft and Nintendo are among the many companies expected to benefit
from the deal.
Reliance Group, Augur Overseas
Operation signed MoU to manufacture Aerostats and Airships
Operation signed MoU to manufacture Aerostats and Airships
- Anil
Ambani-led Reliance Group through its entity Reliance Unmanned Systems on 23
July 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Augur Overseas
Operation of Singapore to manufacture Aerostats and Airships in India. - As per the
MoU, both the parties will collaborate on new technologies for the civil and
military market as part of the Make in India initiative of Union Government.
The two companies have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) firm with Reliance
having 51 percent stake as per Government’s policy. - The joint
venture will be involved in development, production, sales, modification and
life support for different sizes of Aerostats and Airships. This JV will
address the requirements of domestic market and also addressable regional/global
markets. - The Augur
Overseas Operation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Augur Aeronautical Centre.
Lupin acquired US generics company
GAVIS Pharmaceuticals LLC
GAVIS Pharmaceuticals LLC
- Indian drug
company Lupin on 23 July 2015 acquired US generics company GAVIS
Pharmaceuticals and Novel Laboratories (GAVIS) for 880 million US dollars to
strengthen its presence in the United States. - The deal is
cash-free and debt-free and it will be funded by a bridge loan, with 10 crore
rupees from existing cash reserves deployed for it. - With this
acquisition, Lupin will get access to a host of specialty generic drugs and
niche products, mainly in dermatology, gastro-intestinal and injectables.
GAVIS’s New-Jersey based manufacturing facility will become Lupin’s first
manufacturing site in the US. - Both the
companies will now have a portfolio of 101 in-market products, 164 cumulative
filings pending approval and a deep pipeline of products under development for
the US. The acquisition creates the fifth largest portfolio of ANDA filings
with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
CSC, HCL form joint venture to provide
technology services, solutions to banks
technology services, solutions to banks
- IT companies
CSC and HCL Technologies have signed an agreement to form a banking software
and services company to provide technology services and solutions to the
banking industry. - The joint
venture will invest in platform modernisation and product functionality
enhancement and will capitalise on the proven capabilities of both companies in
addressing the multi-billion-dollar, global core banking software market. - CSC, which
serves over 100 premier banking and financial services clients in 15 countries,
will provide its core banking, cards, payments and default management industry
talent, software and product development expertise, the release added. - HCL will
provide capital investment, its experience in product engineering and
application implementation services, as well as banking sales and client
engagement expertise.
India
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FSSAI proposed Draft on regulating
sale of Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals
sale of Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals
- Food Safety
Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on 23 July 2015 proposed draft Food Safety
and Standards Regulations, 2015. The draft in its ambit seeks to regulate
Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Foods for Special Dietary Uses, Foods for
Special Medical Purpose, Functional Foods, and Novel Food. - FSSAI may ban
the trade of these foods if it is found that the food being placed in the
market is nor clearly distinguishable from the foods for normal consumption or
are not suitable for their claimed nutritional purpose or may endanger the
human health.
Key points in proposed draft
- No person
shall manufacture, pack, sell, offer for sale, market or otherwise distribute
or import any food products referred to in the draft regulations unless they
comply with the requirements laid down under these regulations. - The
formulation of the foods shall be based on sound medical or nutritional
principles and supported by validated scientific data, wherever required. - Every package
of food or health supplements shall carry the words FOOD or HEALTH SUPPLEMENT
and the term ‘NOT FOR MEDICINAL USE’ shall be prominently written on the label. - It is
proposed to fix the limit on maximum usage levels per day for the milk of cow,
buffalo and camel, ghee, curd, butter, honey, gold, gold foil, silver, pearl in
ayurveda, siddha and unani ingredients based products. - Benefits of
specialty foods containing ingredients based on ayurveda, unani and siddha and
other traditional health systems of India, should be shown by science based
evidence. - No hormones
or steroids or psychotropic ingredients shall be added in these foods.
No citizen or institution has a
fundamental right to affiliation or recognition: SC
fundamental right to affiliation or recognition: SC
- The Supreme
Court on 23 July 2015 held that fundamental right given under Article 19(1)(g)
of the Constitution does not give an institution or a person or a citizen the
fundamental right to affiliate or recognition of their institutions within the
meaning of the Article 19(6). - Article 19(6)
providing for reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights reads, “Nothing in
the 19(1)(g) shall prevent the State from making a law with respect to
providing necessary professional or technical qualification for practising any
profession or carrying on any occupation, trade or business.” - On the other
hand, Article 19(1)(g) says that the citizens have been conferred the right to
practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business. - The decision
of the SC bench comprising of Justice MY Eqbal and Justice Arun Mishra relied
on 1993 judicial case which said that “education has always been treated in
this country as religious and charitable activity and making it commercial is
opposed to the ethos, tradition and sensibilities of this nation. A citizen of
this country may have a right to establish an educational institution but no
citizen, person or institution has a right, much less of fundamental right, to
affiliation or recognition.”
Maharashtra cabinet approved scheme
for development of villages around Tiger reserves
for development of villages around Tiger reserves
- Maharashtra
Cabinet on 23 July 2015 approved Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Van Vikas Scheme.
The scheme proposed by Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar in the state’s annual
budget 2015-16 aims at creation of comprehensive development of villages in the
buffer zones of tiger reserves and around them. - Its
objectives are to reduce the man-animal conflict and achieve sustainable
development of these villages. The scheme also aims at reducing the dependence
of villagers on the forest. - The scheme
will seek to boost the supplementary businesses to farming activities and
create alternative employment possibilities in these areas. The scheme will be
launched on project basis from 2015-16 to 2019-2020.
IMI Kolkata signs pact with Sinchuan
University of China
University of China
- International
Management Institute (IMI) Kolkata has signed an agreement with the Sinchuan
University of China for exchange of students and researchers and joint work
programmes. - The agreement
was signed by Arindam Banik, Director, IMI Kolkata, and Xie Heping, President,
Sinchuan University, last week, IMI said in a release. - Based on the
agreement, four students from Sinchuan University shall be spending a trimester
in IMI Kolkata.
World
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Earth-like exoplanet Kepler 452b
discovered
discovered
- Earth-like
exoplanet Kepler 452b was discovered by Kepler Mission. The discovery of it was
made public during the NASA press conference on 23 July 2015. It resides in a
year-long orbit in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star in the constellation
of Cygnus some 1400 light-years away. - The planet is
a near-twin of Earth orbiting Sunlike Star and is estimated to 1.6 times (60
percent) larger than Earth. - It is likely
rocky and could have a mass of anywhere between one to five times that of our
own planet. - In addition
to Kepler 452b, the Kepler Mission also discovered 11 yet-to-be-confirmed
candidate planets that appear to be small, rocky and potentially suitable for
life. - One of them,
presently known only as KOI-7235.01, looks to be only 15 percent larger than
Earth, and orbits right in the middle of its star’s habitable zone. If
confirmed, it would surpass even Kepler 452 b to become the most Earth-like
world astronomers have ever found beyond our solar system.
Mosquirix, world’s first malaria
vaccine, approved by European Medicines Agency
vaccine, approved by European Medicines Agency
- The world’s
first malaria vaccine called RTS,S or Mosquirix on 24 July 2015 got approval
from European Medicines Agency (EMA). - The vaccine
was licensed for use on babies aged between 6 weeks and 17 months in Africa,
which is at the highest risk of the mosquito-borne disease. - The vaccine
developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in partnership with the PATH
Malaria Vaccine Initiative, would be the first licensed human vaccine against a
parasitic disease and could help prevent millions of cases of malaria. - The vaccine
is also part-funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and it was in
development since 1987 under a team of researchers led by Joe Cohen, a GSK
scientist.
First All Women Trans Continental road
expedition from Delhi to London flagged off
expedition from Delhi to London flagged off
- First All
Women Trans Continental Road Expedition from Delhi to London was flagged off on
23 July 2015. The expedition, which started from Major Dhyanchand Stadium of
New Delhi, was flagged off by Union Minister of Chemical and Fertilizers,
Ananth Kumar and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs &
Sports Sarbananda Sonowal. - The three
woman participants, namely Nidhi Tiwari, Rashmi Koppar and Soumaya Goel, will
reach United Kingdom in 55 days. During the journey they will cover a distance of
15000 kms via Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia,
Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium and France. - This all
women team will be travelling in one vehicle without any backup vehicle and the
journey will be sponsored by Mahindra First Choice Wheels Limited.
Awards
& Honors –
& Honors –
Peter Higgs received Royal Society’s
Copley Medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize
Copley Medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize
- Nobel Prize
winner Professor Peter Higgs on 20 July 2015 won the world’s oldest scientific
prize, the Royal Society’s Copley Medal. With this, 86-year old Higgs joined
the ranks of Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. - He was
awarded the medal for his fundamental contribution to particle physics and his
pioneering work on the theory of the Higgs boson that explains the origin of
mass in elementary particles. The presence of Higgs boson was confirmed by the
experiments at Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in 2012. - Modern
physics suggests that matter consists of a set of particles that act as building
blocks and that between these particles lie forces that are controlled by
another set of particles. A fundamental property of the majority of particles
is that they have a mass.
Appointments
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Suresh Narayanan appointed new Nestle
India MD after Maggi scare
India MD after Maggi scare
- Swiss food
group Nestle has replaced the head of its Indian operations as the company
battles its worst ever public relations crisis in the country, following a food
scare that forced it to withdraw its popular instant noodles. - Nestle India
said in a statement on Friday that its managing director for India, Etienne
Benet, would move to the group’s head office in Switzerland. - He will be
replaced by Suresh Narayanan, a former Nestle India executive and currently
chief executive of the company’s Philippines unit. He will take the reins on
Aug. 1. - Nestle has
been at the centre of India’s worst food scare in a decade, after a regulator
in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in May found excess lead in a sample of
its hugely popular Maggi noodles.
Sports
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Shubham Jaglan won IJGA World Stars of
Junior Golf event 2015
Junior Golf event 2015
- 10-year old
Shubham Jaglan on 22 July 2015 won the IJGA World Stars of Junior Golf event in
Las Vegas. Jaglan is the son of a milkman from rural Haryana, India. - He shot a
three round score of 106 winning by a five-stroke margin, ahead of two
Americans Justin Dang and Sihan Sandhu and Thailand’s Pongsapak Laopakdee for
the Boys 9-10 years category title. - He also
scripted a scintillating one-stroke win at the Junior World Golf Championships
that was held at Welk Resort Fountain Course in California.
List
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Forbes Asia’s Fabulous 50 List of the
year 2015 released
year 2015 released
- The Forbes
Asia’s Fabulous 50 list of the year 2015 was released on 22 July 2015. The Fab
50 list is an annual honor roll highlighting some of the brightest stars in the
Asia Pacific. The companies from China dominate this year’s list that depicts
the region’s best big publicly traded companies. - The list was
dominated by 25 Chinese firms, while India claimed the second-highest number of
companies in the list with a total of 10 firms. South Korea stood at third
place with four companies in the list. - Four
countries Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore each have two companies
listed in the list and Taiwan, Japan and Indonesia have one each. - Indian
Companies in the list - The list
depicts India’s HDFC Bank as the brightest star. HDFC is the second-largest
bank in India’s private sector, after ICICI Bank. The bank now has a market
capitalisation of 43 billion US dollar, nearly 32 million customers and a
network spanning more than 4000 branches in almost 2500 towns and cities.
The Indian companies on the list are:
- Aurobindo
Pharma - HCL
Technologies - HDFC Bank
- Lupin
- Motherson
Sumi Systems - Sun
Pharmaceutical Industries - Tata
Consultancy Services - Tata Motors
- Tech Mahindra
- Titan
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