Current Affairs Update – 31st July, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs Update of 31st July, 2015. These are Important for the upcoming IBPS RRB Exam.

RBI
RBI decided to issue
10 rupees coins to commemorate International Day of Yoga
  • The Reserve Bank of India on 30 July 2015 decided to put
    into circulation 10 rupees coins to commemorate the International Day of Yoga.
    The coins have been minted by the Government of India.
  • The reverse of the coin bears the logo of
    “International Day of Yoga”, with inscription “सामंजस्य एवं शान्ति
    के लिए योग”
    in Devnagri Script and “YOGA FOR HARMONY AND PEACE” around the logo
    and design.
  • These coins are legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act
    2011. The existing coins in this denomination will also continue to be legal
    tender.

Appointments
Govt names Addl
Secretary to RBI board in place of Fin Secy

  • In an unusual move, the Finance Ministry has nominated Ajay
    Tyagi, Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs to the RBI
    board in place of Economic Affairs Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.
  • According to the convention, the Economic Affairs Secretary
    besides the Financial Services Secretary is part of the Central Board Directors
    of RBI.
  • Mehrishi also holds the Finance Secretary’s position in the
    ministry.
  • Following this notification on June 22, RBI had a board
    meeting which would not have been attended by the incumbent Finance Secretary.
  • The 552nd meeting of the Central Board of Reserve Bank of
    India was held on July 2 at Chennai.
  • According to the RBI website, there are 17 board members
    including the RBI Governor and four Deputy Governors. Rajiv Mehrishi’s name is
    still part of the central board of directors as reflected on the website.

IAS Officer Arun Goel
Takes Over As New VC of DDA
  • Punjab-cadre IAS officer Arun Goel today took over as the
    vice-chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), ending a month-long
    vacancy of the urban body’s top post.
  • The 1985-batch officer, posted with the DDA as Additional
    Secretary, took over as Vice-chairman this morning, a senior DDA official said.
  • Prior to his joining DDA, Goel was Joint Secretary,
    Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance (since June 2012) and on his
    promotion as Additional Secretary has been posted in DDA.
  • Goel, a postgraduate in Development Economics from
    University of Cambridge, England with distinction, succeeds IAS officer
    Balvinder Kumar, who was tranferred to Ministry of Mines on July 1, following
    which the post had fallen vacant.

Days
India to celebrate
‘Handloom Day’ on August 7

  • A new ‘India Handloom’ brand will be launched by Prime
    Minister Narendra Modi next week in Chennai to help the handloom sector better
    position its items in the domestic and international markets.
  • The government has decided to declare August 7 – the day of
    launch of the handloom brand – as ‘National Handloom Day’, Minister of State
    for textiles Santosh Gangwar said at a press conference on Friday.
  • The handloom weavers who want to adopt the new brand will
    have to give an application to the textile commissioner following which
    officials will hold field visits. Once officials are satisfied with the quality
    of products being produced by weavers, they would be allowed to use the brand.
  • All states also have been asked to arrange celebration of
    National Handloom Day, Gangwar added.
  • Over 43 lakh persons are engaged in handloom weaving and
    allied activities in India, according to government figures.

World Day Against
Trafficking in Persons observed across the world
  • World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was observed across
    the world on 30 July 2015. To mark the day, United Nations Office on Drugs and
    Crime (UNODC) launched the global campaign #IGiveHope to raise awareness around
    the plight of survivors of trafficking in persons.
  • On this day, UNODC called for definitive and marked action
    to both end the impunity of traffickers, and to drastically boost the
    much-needed support being provided to victims.
  • According to UNODC’s biennial Global Report on Trafficking
    in Persons, at least 152 countries of origin and 124 countries of destination
    are affected by trafficking in persons.

Sports
Beijing chosen to
host 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics
  • Thomas Bach, the President of International Olympic
    Committee (IOC) on 31 July 2015 announced that Beijing will host the 2022
    Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Chinese capital was chosen ahead of Almaty,
    Kazakshtan at the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • With this, Beijing became the first city to host both the
    Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. It hosted Summer Olympics in 2008.
  • Beijing was confirmed to host the Winter Olympics 2022 after
    Chinese bid beat Almaty by 44 votes to 40 with one abstention.
  • The IOC said that Beijing was awarded the Games because it
    fitted its new agenda for a stronger focus on sustainability, legacy, and
    transparency.
  • The 2014 Winter Olympics was held in Sochi, Russia and at 51
    billion US dollars was the most expensive Olympics in history.
  • In 2018, the Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang,
    South Korea.

Ravichandran Ashwin
presented with Arjuna Award on Friday

  • India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was today presented
    the Arjuna Award, which was conferred on him last year, by the Sports Minister
    Sarbananda Sonowal here.
  • Ashwin was not present during the Award Ceremony at
    Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29, 2014 as he was a part of the India ODI team,
    which was touring England at that time.
  • The 28-year-old Ashwin, who has taken 124 wickets in 25
    Tests, 139 in 99 ODIs and 26 wickets in 25 T20 internationals, was expressed
    his delight after receiving the prestigious award.

World
SALt, a lamp that
runs eight hours on water and salt, developed
  • A start-up in Philippines in July 2015 developed a lamp
    named SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) that runs on a glass of water and
    two tablespoons of salt. The lamp is named after the company SALt that was
    founded by Aisa Mijeno and Raphael Mijeno.
  • This cost effective lamp burns for eight hours at a time to
    lighten a room and will also be able to generate enough energy to charge a smart-phone
    through a USB cable.
  • The lamp can also be lit by using ocean water and would be
    of great help for people living along the coastline.

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