Current Affairs Update – 4th July 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 4th July, 2015. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO Mains 2015 and RBI Assistant 2015 Exam.

Finance/Industry
TN inks pact with
Adani Group for 648 MW solar power plant

  • The Adani Group on Saturday signed an agreement with the
    Tamil Nadu government for setting up a 648 MW solar power plant in
    Ramanathapuram district.
  • The solar plant at Kamudhi in Ramanathapuram will be set up
    at an investment of Rs. 4,536 crore and the State will purchase the power
    generated at Rs. 7.01 per unit, according to a press release from the Tamil
    Nadu government.
  • The plant at Ramanathapuram, which will have 5 power
    generation centres, will be the largest single solar power generation plant in
    the world, Rajesh Adani, Managing Director of the Adani Group, told government
    officials during a presentation, the press release said.
  • Tamil Nadu had set a target of generating 3,000 MW of solar
    power by 2015. The state will sign power purchase agreements for 1,000 MW by
    the end of this month, Electricity Minister Natham R. Viswanathan had said on
    Thursday.
  • Tamil Nadu expects to get about 2,000 MW of solar power by
    the end of this year.

BSNL rolls out
pre-paid card linked mobile wallet

  • BSNL launched a pre-paid card linked mobile wallet service
    on Friday which allows customers to transfer cash, pay for services as well as
    withdraw cash of up to Rs 1 lakh.
  • The wallet service, Speed Pay, allows a customer to load
    money even if he does not have a bank account. The money loaded in the wallet
    can be transferred to an account and even withdrawn at branches or at BSNL
    outlets.
  • Loading money into a mobile wallet from a bank account is an
    option. BSNL customers who don’t have bank accounts can also load money at any
    BSNL retail outlet and ask the retailer to recharge their mobile wallet account
    and pay for various services.
  • There will be one-per cent transaction charge if money from
    the wallet is transferred to other bank accounts or a there is cash withdrawal.

Union Cabinet
approved National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015
  • The Union Cabinet on 2 July 2015 approved the India’s first integrated
    National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015. The Policy
    acknowledges the need for an effective roadmap for promotion of
    entrepreneurship as the key to a successful skills strategy.

Vision of the
National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015
  • The Vision of the Policy is to create an ecosystem of
    empowerment by Skilling on a large Scale at Speed with high Standards.
  • It aims to promote a culture of innovation based
    entrepreneurship which can generate wealth and employment so as to ensure
    Sustainable livelihoods for all citizens in the country.

Thrust areas of
the National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015
  • It addresses key obstacles to skilling, including low
    aspirational value, lack of integration with formal education, lack of focus on
    outcomes, low quality of training infrastructure and trainers, etc.
  • The Policy seeks to align supply and demand for skills by
    bridging existing skill gaps, promoting industry engagement, operationalising a
    quality assurance framework, leverage technology and promoting greater
    opportunities for apprenticeship training.
  • Equity is also a focus of the Policy, which targets skilling
    opportunities for socially/geographically marginalised and disadvantaged
    groups.
  • Skill development and entrepreneurship programmes for women
    are a specific focus of the Policy.

India
Microsoft agreed to
set up Digital Village in Maharashtra

  • Software major Microsoft in first week of July 2015 agreed
    to develop Smart MIDC (industrial colony) and support Digital Village in
    Maharashtra.
  • The information was given by Maharashtra Chief Minister
    Devendra Fadnavis after his meet with India-born Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in
    Miscrosoft’s office in Seattle. Fadnavis is on a week-long visit to the US.

Other agreements
include
  • Microsoft agreed to provide technology support for health
    care services in remote tribal areas; it will setup a pilot project at Melghat
    in Amravati district in this regard. Microsoft has adopted Melghat village.
  • Microsoft agreed to set up a cyber-security centre at Pune.

Army launched
Operation Shiva to secure Amarnath Yatra
  • To provide security to those devotees taking part in the
    59-day-long annual Amarnath Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Army in first
    week of July 2015 launched Operation Shiva. The Yatra started on 2 July 2015.
  • The operation was launched on the basis of intelligence
    report suggesting that a group of 15 terrorists are likely to attempt a strike.
  • The operation will include Rashtriya Rifles unit, Unmanned
    Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance of Yatra route and cave shrine, combing
    of forests located along the Yatra track, Infantry Unit of Army, companies of Paramilitary
    Forces, CRPF and BSF.

Rajasthan to
replicate Maharashtra’s Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan
  • Maharashtra Government’s programme Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan
    that was launched with an aim to make Maharashtra a drought-free state by 2019
    was in news in first week of July 2015. The Abhiyan came in news as Rajasthan
    government is planning to replicate the programme in the state.
  • To learn more about the programme, Rajasthan government has
    sent a delegation comprised of a minister and senior bureaucrats to
    Maharashtra. During the visit, the delegation will visit few sites where the
    project is underway, like villages in Latur and Osmanabad.
  • Jalyukta Abhiyan is an ambitious program of Chief Minister
    Devendra Fadnavis that was launched in March 2015. It aims to make 5000
    villages free of water scarcity every year and make Maharashtra a drought-free
    state by 2019. It involves active participation of the peoples from the
    villages.

Guinness Book
Recognises Madhya Pradesh’s World Record in Washing Hands

  • The Guinness Book of World Records has recognised a record
    created in Madhya Pradesh on ‘World Hand washing Day’ on October 15, 2014.
  • According to the official website of Guinness Book,
    12,76,425 students created a new world record by washing their hands
    simultaneously at programmes held by panchayats and rural development
    departments on the World Hand washing Day at 13,196 different locations across
    51 districts in Madhya Pradesh, he said.
  • The record was held jointly by Argentina, Peru and Mexico
    earlier after 7,40,870 people washed their hands simultaneously at different
    locations on October 14, 2011.
  • Madhya Pradesh is the only state, which has surpassed the
    joint record of these three countries on October 15, 2014.
  • Additional Chief Secretary of Panchayats and Rural
    Development Aruna Sharma said that washing hands with soap was done at
    government primary and middle schools as well as anganwadi childcare centres to
    create awareness about hygiene.
  • Guinness Book of World Records had video graphed and
    recorded the event on mobile phones in 19,735 schools.

Union Government
approved introduction of Common Norms for all the Skill Development Schemes
  • The Union Cabinet on 2 July 2015 approved the introduction
    of Common Norms across all skill development schemes being implemented by
    different Ministries or Departments of Union Government.
  • Common Norms seek to rationalise the whole spectrum of skill
    development processes and systems including inputs, outputs, funding/cost
    norms, third party certification and assessment, monitoring/tracking mechanisms
    and empanelment of training providers.
  • Common Norms define the activities constituting Skill
    Development in the country, skill development courses and their alignment with
    the National Skills Qualification Framework, broad input standards for training
    programmes and the outcomes expected from these programmes.
  • The outcomes of skill training programmes have been defined
    in terms of placement achieved in wage and self- employment, both for fresh
    trainees as well as existing workers who have undergone Recognition of Prior
    Learning.

Awards
& Honors –
World Food Prize 2015
to be conferred on Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh

  • The World Food Prize Foundation on 1 July 2015 announced to
    confer the 2015 World Food Prize on Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh.  He will be awarded the prize in October 2015
    during the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium at Des Moines in Iowa, the
    USA.
  • He was selected for the coveted award by the Selection
    Committee for the World Food Prize headed by eminent Indian agricultural
    scientist Prof MS Swaminathan.
  • Sir Abed has been recognized for his decades of service to
    human development and through building Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
    (BRAC) that operates in 10 countries around the world.

Appointments
C D Balaji took
charge as Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency

  • Commodore C D Balaji (Retd) on 3 July 2015 took charge as
    the Director of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Programme
    Director of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). He succeeded P S Subramanyam,
    Distinguished Scientist, who superannuated on 30 June 2015.
  • Prior to this appointment, Balaji, an outsatnding
    scientists, was Project Director of the LCA’s naval version. He was
    commissioned into the Indian Navy’s engineering branch in September 1978 and
    since then, he has specialised in the Naval Aviation Arm.

Books
& Authors –
Book titled ‘Uniki’
written by Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao presented to the prez

  • The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the
    first copy of the book ‘Uniki’ in Hyderabad today (July 3, 2015). The book has
    been written by Shri Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Governor of Maharashtra. The President
    received the book from Shri K Chandrashekar Rao, Chief Minister of Telangana
    who formally released it.
  • Speaking on the occasion, the President appealed to the
    people of both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to work in close
    harmony, so as to ensure sustainable development and betterment of the people
    of the country and help it earn its rightful place in the comity of nations. He
    said that we all belong to India. He stated that we need to remember that we
    can choose our friends but cannot choose our neighbours. Therefore, it is us
    for decide whether we should live in harmony and peace with our neighbours.
  • The President said that he was happy to receive the first
    copy of the book ‘Uniki’ authored by Shri Vidyasagar Rao. He congratulated Shri
    Rao for bringing out this useful compilation of writings and reflections on his
    life and experiences. He stated that the title, ‘Uniki’, which means Existence,
    evokes a philosophical view of the issues and events that have been written
    about in this book.

Sports
Brilliant McCullum
Hits Record 158 in T20 Blast

  • New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum’s explosive hitting saw
    him set a new record in the English T20 Blast competition with a blistering 158
    not out off 64 balls for his county Warwickshire.
  • The 33-year-old flayed the Derbyshire attack, bringing his
    century up off 42 balls and his final total yesterday equalled a previous score
    he hit for Kolkata Knight Riders in the first-ever IPL match in 2008 — that
    one coming off 73 balls.
  • McCullum’s innings — which included 11 sixes and 11 fours
    — is the second highest T20 score ever, behind West Indian batsman Chris
    Gayle’s 175 in the Indian Premier League in 2013.
  • McCullum, who recently signed a one-year extension to his
    contract with the national side despite fears over a persistent back problem,
    broke the previous mark of 153 set by Luke Wright for Sussex in 2014.

Obituaries
Former Chief Justice
of India Y K Sabharwal passed away

  • Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Y K Sabharwal on 3 July
    2015 passed away following a prolonged illness. He was 73. He is survived by
    two sons Chetan and Nitin.
  • Born on 14 January 1942, Justice Sabharwal mainly practised
    in civil and constitutional cases. He was elevated as an additional judge of
    the Delhi High Court in 1986 and became its permanent judge in April 1987.
  • He later went on to become the Chief Justice of Bombay High
    Court in 1999, from where he was elevated as a judge of the apex court in 2000.
  • He was appointed as the CJI in 2005 and retired after a term
    of 14 months. As a judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Sabharwal delivered
    several important judgments dealing with constitutional matters, including the
    verdict in January 2006, that held the dissolution of Bihar Assembly as illegal
    and unconstitutional.

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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:17 am