Current Affairs Update – 26th July, 2016

Hello and welcome to exampundit . Here are the Important Current Affairs of 26th July, 2016. These are important for the upcoming UBI PO PGDBF and RBI Grade B Phase I Exams 2016.

Current Affairs at a Glance – 26th July, 2016

  1. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched an Instant Money Transfer (IMT) Payment System
    on its ATMs in India
    . IMT enables a payment up to Rs. 10000 to be
    made from any SBI bank account to a person
    using just his/her mobile
    number as the identifier. The recipient of this payment can withdraw funds
    instantly from an IMT-enabled ATM of SBI without using a debit card.
  2. Flipkart Ltd on 26 July 2016 acquired online fashion portal Jabong
    through its unit Myntra in a move to maintain its position as the market
    leader. However, the financial details of the deal were not revealed.
  3. The Central Government has approved an additional investment of Rs. 16,641 crore
    for affordable housing for construction of nearly 2.44 lakh houses for urban
    poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana
    (Urban)
    .
  4. State Bank of India, country
    largest commercial bank entered into an MoU with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to engage IOC Kisan
    Seva Kendras (KSK) as Business Correspondents (BCs) of SBI
    . The MoU is
    an initiative as part of the financial inclusion programme of SBI.
  5. Gita Gopinath, a professor of
    International Studies and Economics at Harvard University and a resident of
    Weston, MA, has been appointed financial advisor to newly-elected Kerala Chief
    Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
    .
  6. The 114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai
    stretch of Southern Railway
    in
    Tamil Nadu on 24 July 2016 became India’s first Green Rail Corridor.
  7. The United Nations Department of
    Field Support (DFS) on 22 July 2016 announced that India provided 100000 US dollar
    for the Trust Fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse
    .
    With this, India has become the first country in the
    world to make a contribution to the Trust Fund
    .
  8. Second phase of the Feed the Future-India
    Triangular Training Programme
    was launched on 25 July 2016. The
    programme was launched in New Delhi by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
    Welfare and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID).
  9. Haryana
    Government
    on 25 July 2016
    notified the “Freight Assistance
    Scheme
    ” for the exporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
    located anywhere in the State.
  10. Noted archaeologist Buddha Rashmi
    Mani
    was on 25 July 2016 appointed
    as Director General of National Museum
    for three years or till
    attaining the age of 70 years.
  11. Sanjiv Puri was on 25 July 2016 appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Kolkata-based
    ITC Ltd
    . with immediate effect.
Finance/Industry/Banking –
SBI launches Instant Money Transfer facility at ATMs
  • State Bank of India (SBI) has
    launched an Instant Money Transfer (IMT) Payment System on its ATMs in India.
  • IMT enables a payment up to Rs.
    10000 to be made from any SBI bank account to a person using just his/her
    mobile number as the identifier. The recipient of this payment can withdraw
    funds instantly from an IMT-enabled ATM of SBI without using a debit card.
  • SBI said this facility will be
    more useful for the migrant population who are regularly sending the money to
    their native places. IMT will also eliminate the middle men who are charging
    commission for remittances.
  • IMT is a payment system launched
    in India by Empays Payment Systems. It enables a payment to be made to a mobile
    phone from a bank account. There is no requirement for the beneficiary to have
    a bank account. The receiver can obtain the funds immediately from any
    IMT-enabled ATM.
Flipkart acquires online fashion portal Jabong
  • Flipkart Ltd on 26 July 2016
    acquired online fashion portal Jabong through its unit Myntra in a move to
    maintain its position as the market leader. However, the financial details of
    the deal were not revealed.
  • This acquisition will strengthen
    Flipkart Group’s position in Fashion and Lifestyle segment to compete with
    Amazon Fashion in India.
Govt approves additional investment for houses for urban poor
  • The Central Government has
    approved an additional investment of Rs. 16,641 crore for affordable housing
    for construction of nearly 2.44 lakh houses for urban poor under Pradhan Mantri
    Awas Yojana (Urban).
  • In a statement, the Ministry of
    Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation said that this was done during the first
    four months of this financial year and will benefit urban poor in 11 States.
  • The Central government will be
    providing assistance of Rs. 12,604 crore for construction of these houses.
    During the last financial year (2015-16), 6,83,724 houses were approved for the
    urban poor in 18 States with a total investment of Rs. 34,927 crore, the
    official statement added.
SBI signs MoU with Indian Oil Corporation to empower farmers
  • State Bank of India, country
    largest commercial bank entered into an MoU with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC)
    to engage IOC Kisan Seva Kendras (KSK) as Business Correspondents (BCs) of SBI.
    The MoU is an initiative as part of the financial inclusion programme of SBI.
  • IOC has set up 6,500 KSKs in
    rural and remote areas which provide access to various agricultural inputs like
    diesel, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc. to the farmers. The MoU with SBI
    will enable KSKs to make banking facilities available in the remotest parts of
    the country and also supplement their income by earning revenue on banking
    transactions.
  • SBI is the largest financial
    services provider with 62,341 Customer Service Points (CSP) in India which
    handles over 1 million transactions per day. The initiative will help farmers
    to avail the facilities of various products and services by SBI CSPs viz.
    Savings Account, Term Deposit, Recurring Deposit, Micro Credit, Remittances,
    Social Security Schemes, Aadhaar Seeding through KSKs.
  • The bank also facilitates farmers
    to buy agriculture inputs by using Rupay Debit Cards issued to them, thus
    eliminating the need to carry large amounts of cash.
India’s first green rail corridor launched between Rameswaram and
Manamadurai stretch
  • The 114-km long
    Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch of Southern Railway in Tamil Nadu on 24 July
    2016 became India’s first Green Rail Corridor.
  • This green corridor was
    inaugurated by of Southern Railway via videoconferencing from Chennai Central
    Station.
  • This corridor ensure zero toilet
    discharge on rail tracks.
  • Trains in the section are
    equipped with bio-toilets to ensure zero discharge of human waste on the rail
    tracks.
BSE signs MoU with Mauritius bourse
  • The BSE has entered into a
    Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Stock Exchange of Mauritius (SEM)
    identifying broad areas for collaboration, which inter-alia include,
    investments, products, cyber security and various other initiatives.
  • The MOU was signed during India
    Mauritius Global Partnership Conference, organized by India Mauritius Trade and
    Cultural Friendship Forum for promotion of bilateral relations, it said.
Haryana notifies Freight Assistance Scheme for exporting MSMEs
  • Haryana Government on 25 July
    2016 notified the “Freight Assistance Scheme” for the exporting
    Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) located anywhere in the State.
  • It has given time till September
    9 to submit the claim application on the web portal of the Industries and
    Commerce department for the financial year 2015-16.
  • The decision was taken in
    backdrop of the additional cost that is borne by the MSMEs exporting unit
    located in the state due to large distances from the sea ports. This distance
    results in making their products non-competitive in comparison to the exporting
    units located in the coastal area.
  • In order to enhance
    competitiveness of exporting units, this scheme would defray the transportation
    cost.

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India –
Second phase of the Feed the Future-India Triangular Training Programme
launched

  • Second phase of the Feed the
    Future-India Triangular Training Programme was launched on 25 July 2016. The
    programme was launched in New Delhi by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
    Welfare and the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID).
  • The programme will provide
    specialized agriculture training to 1500 agricultural professional across
    Africa and Asia.
  • Objectives of Training: To
    address human and institutional capacity gaps in food & nutritional
    security in select African and Asian countries.
Key Highlights of the Second
Phase
  • Under this 32 Training programme
    of 15 day-duration will be conducted in India and 12 Training programs of 10
    days duration will be conducted in selected African and Asian Countries during
    2016-20.
  • The entire expenditure will be
    met by USAID and National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management
    (MANAGE), Hyderabad.
  • The training areas will be
    identified based on demand analysis conducted in participating countries.
The programme covers 17 countries
and they are
a) In Asia: Afghanistan,
Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Mongolia, and Vietnam
b) In Africa: Kenya, Malawi,
Liberia, Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique,
Tanzania, Sudan, Botswana and Ethiopia
Earlier, a team of faculty of
MANAGE visited Cambodia and Vietnam in Asia and Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa
as part of Demand analysis.
Union Government plans to redraw Red Corridor
  • Union Government has decided to
    reduce the number of Maoist-affected districts by about a fifth.
  • As per reports, about 20 out of
    106 districts described as being Maoist-affected and part of the Red Corridor
    may soon no longer be part of the list.
  • Dropping of these districts from
    the list will result in drying of the financial aid given to the districts. The
    aid was being provided to the tune of 30 crore rupees annually for various
    developmental work.
Highlights
  • The red corridor expands in 106
    districts of 10 states of the country. The ten states are Bihar, Jharkhand,
    Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh,
    Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
  • These districts are described as
    those affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and constitute the Red Corridor.
World –
India becomes first contributor to UN Trust Fund for sexual abuse
victims
  • The United Nations Department of
    Field Support (DFS) on 22 July 2016 announced that India provided 100000 US
    dollar for the Trust Fund in support of victims of sexual exploitation and
    abuse.
  • With this, India has become the
    first country in the world to make a contribution to the Trust Fund.
  • The UN Secretariat had requested
    voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund when it was established.
Solar Impulse 2 completes first round-the-world journey
  • The first round-the-world solar
    powered flight by Solar Impulse 2 was completed on 26 July 2016 after the
    aircraft landed successfully in Abu Dhabi.
  • The plane has travelled 26744
    miles since setting off from Abu Dhabi. The aircraft has racked up 558 hours of
    flight time.
Appointments –
Harvard Professor Gita Gopinath Appointed Financial Advisor to Kerala
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
  • Gita Gopinath, a professor of
    International Studies and Economics at Harvard University and a resident of
    Weston, MA, has been appointed financial advisor to newly-elected Kerala Chief
    Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
  • The 38-year-old professor who hails
    from Kannur, the home district of Chief Minister, told India Today that she
    looked forward to serving the state in her new role.
  • Gopinath also served as a member
    of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for India’s Ministry of
    Finance. In 2011, she was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic
    Forum. Before coming to Harvard, she was an assistant professor of economics at
    the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.
Buddha Rashmi Mani appointed as Director General of National Museum
  • Noted archaeologist Buddha Rashmi
    Mani was on 25 July 2016 appointed as Director General of National Museum for
    three years or till attaining the age of 70 years. His appointment was approved
    by Appointments Committee of Cabinet.
  • He had retired as Additional
    Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in 2015.
Sanjiv Puri appointed as Chief Operating Officer of ITC Ltd
  • Sanjiv Puri was on 25 July 2016
    appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Kolkata-based ITC Ltd. with
    immediate effect. He will be responsible for running day-to-day operations of
    the company as COO, a position created for the first time at ITC.
  • With this appointment, Puri has
    emerged the front-runner to succeed ITC Chairman YC Deveshwar, who will step
    down as Executive Chairman of ITC in February 2017. He will continue as
    Non-Executive Chairman for at least three years thereafter.
Lists –
TCS, Infosys in Forbes ‘Super 50’ list; Tata Motors, HUL dropped
  • Software majors TCS and Infosys,
    pharma giants Sun Pharma and Lupin and private sector lenders HDFC Bank and
    Axis Bank feature in Forbes India’s Super 50 List this year, while biggies like
    Tata Motors and HUL have been dropped.
  • The list, in its second year,
    also features 14 newcomers, including Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Forge,
    Alembic Pharma, Gillette India, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kansai Nerolac and
    LIC Housing Finance, among others.
  • Companies which have been dropped
    from the list include Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, MRF, Glaxo SmithKline
    Consumer Healthcare, Pfizer, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, HDFC
    and Kotak Mahindra Bank.

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