Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are Important Current Affairs of 8th July, 2015. These are very important for the upcoming SBI PO Mains and RBI Assistant Exam 2015.
Finance/Banking
–
–
India to contribute
$18 billion to BRICS’ $100-billion foreign exchange reserves pool
$18 billion to BRICS’ $100-billion foreign exchange reserves pool
- India will contribute $18 billion to the $100 billion
foreign-exchange reserves pool that is being set up by five nations of the
BRICS grouping to help each other “in case of any problems with dollar
liquidity”. - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have signed an
agreement to set up the $100 billion pool, with maximum $41 billion coming from
China. - India’s contribution of $18 billion to the Pool will be same
as that of Brazil and Russia. South Africa would chip in $5 billion. - “The central banks of Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa have signed Operational Agreement on July 7, 2015 in Moscow. The
Agreement outlines the terms of mutual support for member states in the
framework of the Agreement on BRICS Pool of Conventional Currency
Reserves,” the Russian Central Bank said in a statement. - The fund will be an “insurance instrument” that
members nations could draw on if they experience problems with their balance of
payments. - The Pool will go into force on July 30.
India, Russia Sign
MoU for Funding of Hydro-Generation Projects
MoU for Funding of Hydro-Generation Projects
- In a significant step in economic cooperation, Russia’s
Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) today signed an MoU with India’s Infrastructure
Development Finance Company (IDFC) for funding of hydro-generation projects. - RDIF Director General Kirill Dmitriev told the BRICS
Business Council meeting here that his company signed an MoU with its partners
in the BRICS member-states to work with sovereign funds, with the BRICS Bank
and invest in the equity of infrastructure projects in these countries. - Highlighting cooperation with India and China, he said, the
BRICS initiative is already seeing practical negotiations on specific projects. - Dmitriev said the funds are forming together the IFI to work
with sovereign funds, with the BRICS bank and invest in the equity of
infrastructure projects.
HDFC Bank launched
watch banking application for Apple Watch
watch banking application for Apple Watch
- HDFC Bank, the country’s second largest private sector bank,
launched Watch Banking application for Apple Watch in the first week of July
2015. - With this, HDFC became the first bank in India to offer the
service of Watch Banking. In order to avail this service, customer will not be
required to download a separate app but they just need to activate it from an
upgraded version of HDFC Bank’s mobile banking app itself. - The Apple Watch app will work via Bluetooth on iPhone 5 and
above versions. The application will allow customers to make around 10 banking
transactions, like account information (on savings, current, fixed deposits),
credit cards, mobile and DTH recharge, request account statements and cheque
books.
Infosys bags
multi-million euro deal from Deutsche Bank
multi-million euro deal from Deutsche Bank
- Country’s second largest IT services firm Infosys has signed
a multi-million euro deal with Deutsche Bank. - Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, Infosys will
provide services like development, application maintenance, digital and
mobility, package implementation and testing services across the Deutsche Bank
Group, Infosys said in a statement on Wednesday. - The Bengaluru-based firm will also be a strategic partner
under Deutsche Bank’s Supplier Partnership Programme, it added. The programme
was launched in June 2014 to concentrate the most strategic vendors based on
business impact across all categories of the bank, it said.
PM
Visits –
Visits –
India, Uzbekistan inked
three agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation
three agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation
- India and Uzbekistan on 7 July 2015 signed three agreements
to deepen bilateral cooperation between the two nations. The agreements were
inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uzbekistan
from 6 July to 7 July 2015.
The agreements are
- Intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of
tourism - Protocol on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Uzbekistan, and Ministry of External Affairs, India was inked. - Agreement on Intergovernmental Programme of Cultural
Cooperation for 2015-17
Besides, during his first visit to Central Asian countries,
Modi met with President Islam Karimov and Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoev of
Uzbekistan.
India, Kazakhstan signed
five Agreements including a contract for supply of uranium
five Agreements including a contract for supply of uranium
- India and Kazakhstan on 8 July 2015 signed five agreements
during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kazakhstan. The
agreement was signed in the presence of PM Modi and Kazakh President Nursultan
Nazarbayev in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. - Narendra Modi is on an eight-day visit to five Central Asian
states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan from 6
July to 13 July 2015.
List of Agreements
signed
signed
- Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons
- Agreement on Defence and Military – Technical Cooperation
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation on Physical
Cultural and Sports - MoU on Technical Cooperation in the field of Railways
- Long term contract between Department of Atomic Energy,
India and KazAtomProm for sale and purchase of natural uranium concentrates
- In addition to above agreements, a MoU between JSC «Kazxnex
Invest» and JSC «Invest India», which includes a Road Map on Trade, Economic
and Investment Cooperation was also signed during the visit. The roadmap would
identify concrete projects in various sectors and assist in efficient
implementation of projects in both the countries to activate bilateral trade and
economic relations. - Besides, the two leaders also issue a joint statement title
Tej Kadam highlighting the continuation of strategic partnership between the
two nations that was established in 2009 and a shared desire for regional and
international peace and stability.
India, Kazakhstan
launched first drilling at Satpayev oil block
launched first drilling at Satpayev oil block
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Kazakhstan Prime Minister
Karim Massimov on 7 July 2015 jointly launched the first exploratory drilling
of the Satpayev oil block by ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and KazMunaiGaz of
Kazakhstan. - OVL, the overseas arm of the state-run Oil and Natural Gas
Corp (ONGC), had picked up 25 percent stake in Satpayev oil block in the North
Caspian Sea in 2011 and committed to invest 400 million dollar in exploration
in the block. - The Satpayev oil block is an offshore field (1582 sq km) in
the Northern Caspian Sea, in water depths of 6-8 m. It has a potential reserves
estimated at 1.8 billion barrels crude oil and natural gas. ONGC Videsh has estimates a peak output of 2
lakh 87 thousand barrels per day from the Satpayev structures.
India
–
–
Entire Nagaland
Declared as ‘Disturbed Area’
Declared as ‘Disturbed Area’
- The Centre has declared entire Nagaland as a “disturbed
area” as it finds that a “dangerous condition” prevails in the
state and armed forces should assist the civil administration in maintaining
law and order. - In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said that it
was of the opinion that the whole state of Nagaland is in such a disturbed or
dangerous condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is
necessary. - “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by
Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958, the central government
hereby declares that whole of the said state to be a disturbed area for a
period of one year with effect from June 30, 2015 for the purpose of the
Act,” Joint Secretary in the Home Ministry Shambu Singh said in the
notification. - The decision came almost a month after NSCN-K, the dominant
Naga rebel group, attacked an army convoy in Manipur’s Chandel district and
killed 18 soldiers. - Subsequently, army commandos carried out an attack in the
camps of militants inside Myanmar.
India to Supply 500
MW Additional Power to Bangladesh in 12 Months
MW Additional Power to Bangladesh in 12 Months
- India will begin to supply up to 500 MW additional power to
Bangladesh as soon as the work on SAARC grid is accomplished in the next one
year or so, said Power System Operation Corporation Executive Director V K
Agrawal. - India will also draw considerably higher volumes of hydro
power from nations such as Bhutan and Nepal, Agrawal said at a conference
organised by the PHD Chamber. - The participants suggested that the government should bring
in legislation empowering right to electricity in view of massive capacity
additions and set up a statutory mechanism to regulate state electricity
boards.
NDDB launched mobile
application Pashu Poshan to boost dairy farmers’ income
application Pashu Poshan to boost dairy farmers’ income
- The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on 7 July 2015
launched a mobile application named Pashu Poshan that will boost dairy farmers’
income by raising milk yield and cutting feed cost. The app will recommend a
balanced diet for cows and buffaloes. - The mobile application was launched by the Union Agriculture
Minister Radha Mohan Singh. - The application will be available on both web and android
platforms. It can be accessed by registering on the INAPH portal inaph.Nddb.Coop. - To use this application, the farmer needs to provide
complete animal profile including breed, age, milk production, fat content in
milk apart from food items being currently fed to the animal along with the
cost in order to formulate the balanced ration formula.
Telangana Government
signed MoU with Uber to expand operations in Hyderabad
signed MoU with Uber to expand operations in Hyderabad
- Telangana Government on 6 July 2015 signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with transportation facilitation app Uber. - The MoU is aimed at creating thousands of jobs and
entrepreneurship opportunities, foster technical innovation and research into
smart city initiatives and a commitment to make significant investments to
expand its operations in Hyderabad.
Highlights of the
MoU
MoU
- Uber will collaborate with The Telangana Academy for Skills
and Knowledge (TASK) to identify and train around 2000 candidates by the end of
2016 who will then drive on the Uber platform. The focus of this initiative
will be on women and poor people. - Uber will invest upwards of 50 million US dollars into
Hyderabad to establish a state-of-the-art facility that will house hundreds of
new employees. With this, India will have Uber’s second-largest employee pool
after the USA. - Uber will engage with T-Hub and the government and explore
synergies to foster the smart cities initiative and technological innovation in
the city using big data analysis.
Hilliard Energy plans
to set up 650 MW renewable energy projects in AP
to set up 650 MW renewable energy projects in AP
- Hilliard Energy Limited has expressed its intent to set up a
multi-phase 650 MW solar and wind energy project in Anantapur district of
Andhra Pradesh. - Sterling Hilliard, Director of Hilliard Energy India, part
of the US company, in a letter of intent submitted to Palle Raghunath Reddy,
Information Technology Minister of Andhra Pradesh Government, has expressed the
company’s interest to set up 150 MW of wind power and 500 MW of solar power
with a possible deviation of 10 per cent either side. - The letter of intent submitted to Reddy, who is now in the
US, by Hilliard Energy Director, has been circulated to the media here. - According to the letter of Intent submitted to the Minister,
Hilliard has indicated that the project cost could be about $ 600 million. - The company said that they look forward to following this
intent with specific information on the location, power purchase agreement etc
before closing the deal. - Hilliard has a history of renewable energy acquisition and
green filed developments totalling 2800 MW in the US and other locations.
Government launches
learning portal for MGNREGA
learning portal for MGNREGA
- Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh
today launched an Online Learning Portal (OLP) for MGNREGA, and expressed
confidence that it will help both the government officials and beneficiaries of
the rural job flagship scheme. - The OLP will build capacities of technical functionaries and
help in developing qualitative and sustainable assets. - The governmnet said that it is expected to ensure flow of
knowledge and skill from the brains of MGNREGS field functionaries through to
the hands of MGNREGS unskilled labourers on to the ground, to result in
qualitative and sustainable assets with enhanced livelihoods. - All the field functionaries like Gram Rozgar Sevak,
technical assistants, junior engineer, engineering consultants and others can
take use this OLP.
UGC accorded Heritage
Status on 19 Colleges across the country
Status on 19 Colleges across the country
- University Grants Commission (UGC) on 2 July 2015 accorded
special Heritage Status on 19 Colleges across the country. These include St
Xavier’s College, Mumbai and Fergusson College, Pune among others. - The Heritage status was granted to institutions across the
country with an aim of conserving college campuses which are more than 100
years old. The UGC also approved financial assistance for the improvement and
upgradation of these 19 colleges.
List of 19
Heritage Colleges
Heritage Colleges
- St Xavier’s College, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
- Ferguson College, Pune (Maharashtra)
- Hislop College, Nagpur(Maharashtra)
- Midnapore College (West Bengal)
- St Xavier’s College, Kolkata (West Bengal)
- Khalsa College, Amritsar (Punjab)
- Kanya Mahavidyalya, Jalandhar (Punjab)
- CMS College, Kottayam (Kerala)
- Government Brennan College, Thalassery (Kerala)
- Old Agra College, Agra (Uttar Pradesh)
- Meerut College, Meerut (Uttar Pradesh)
- St Joseph College, Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu)
- St Bede’s College, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh)
- Langat Singh College, Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
- University College, Mangalore (Karnataka)
- Cotton College, Guwahati (Assam)
- Government Medical Science College, Jabalpur (Madhya
Pradesh) - Gandhi Memorial Science College, Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir)
- DAV College, Ambala (Haryana)
Appointments
–
–
Bharti Enterprises
appoints Rahul Bhatnagar as MD&CFO
appoints Rahul Bhatnagar as MD&CFO
- Bharti Enterprises on Wednesday appointed Rahul Bhatnagar as
its new Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer. - He will report to Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti
Enterprises. - Mr. Rahul takes over from Manoj Kohli, who has assumed the
role of Executive Chairman, SBG Cleantech — a JV between SoftBank, Bharti and
Foxconn for renewable energy, Bharti Enterprises said in a statement. - In his new role, Mr. Rahul will build strategic business
value proposition for Bharti’s non-telecom businesses, it said. - He will be responsible for further strengthening the
financial management processes and governance of these businesses and also lead
new business development for the group, it added.
Ashok Haldia
appointed MD and CEO of PTC India Financial Services
appointed MD and CEO of PTC India Financial Services
- PTC India Financial Services said on Wednesday that Ashok
Haldia was appointed the company’s new Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer. - Haldia has been a part of the company’s board as a
whole-time director for the last seven years. Prior to joining PTC India
Financial Services, Haldia served as a Secretary in the Institute of Chartered
Accounts of India. He has also been a member of several Central Government
committees.
World
–
–
Female Supreme Court
Nominee Rejected by Afghan Parliament
Nominee Rejected by Afghan Parliament
- The first-ever female nominee for the supreme court in
Afghanistan has failed to garner enough votes of approval from the parliament. - Anisa Rasoli received 88 votes today, nine short of the 97
needed for her nomination to pass. Zahir Qadir, the deputy parliament speaker
who was chairing the session, asked. - President Ashraf Ghani to bring forth another nominee.
- During the same session, Mohammad Yasuf Halim was approved
for the supreme court and Khalilullah Sediq was approved as the governor of the
central bank.
Russian cosmonaut
Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for spending 804 days on ISS
Gennady Padalka entered Guinness World Records for spending 804 days on ISS
- Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka in the first week of July
2015 entered Guinness World Records for spending most number of days in the
space. He achieved the feat by spending
804 days on the International Space Station (ISS). - He surpassed cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, also a Russian,
record of 803 days, nine hours and 41 minutes in the space which Sergei
achieved across six missions from 1998 to 2005. - Padalka, who is also the commander of the crew on the ISS,
is scheduled to return to earth in September 2015. It means he would have spent
a total of 877 days in space by then. - ISS is a space station that was launched in 1998. It is the
largest artificial satellite body that orbits earth nearly 400 km above the
surface and it can be seen with naked eye. ISS moves at a very high speed and
it completes 15.54 orbits per day.
Sports
–
–
Indian Women Crush NZ
to Win Series, BCCI Awards Rs 21 Lakh
to Win Series, BCCI Awards Rs 21 Lakh
- Indian women produced a clinical performance to crush New
Zealand by nine wickets in the fifth and final one day international cricket
match and winning the series by 3-2 margin. - The win also brought another piece of good news as BCCI
announced a cash award of Rs 21 lakh for the team as they fought back valiantly
from being 1-2 down to win the series. - The final match turned out to be an anti-climax of sorts
with New Zealand being shot out for 118 in 41 overs as seven of their batsmen
failed to reach double digits. - Suzie Bates top-scored with 42 while left-arm spinner
Rajeswari Gayekwad had the best figures of 2/15. Jhulan Goswami with 2/17 was
economical as ever while Deepti Sharma took 2 for 22. - In reply, India surpassed the target in 27.2 overs with DT
Thirushkamini scoring 62 off 78 balls with 13 boundaries. - Deepti showed her all-round prowess scoring an unbeaten 44
off 78 balls with 8 boundaries.
Goa to host the Youth
Delphic Games in February 2016
Delphic Games in February 2016
- Goa will host the fifth Youth Delphic Games in February 2016.
The announcement was made in June 2015. The motto of the 2016 Games is
Celebrating Arts and Cultures. - Started a 100 years after the modern edition of the
Olympics, the youth edition of the Delphic Games will be hosted in India for
the first time from 1 February to 14 February 2016 in Goa. - The Youth Delphic Games are held at every four years and
invites participants of the age group of 15 to 25 years. The games will include
competitions in six categories:
- Musical arts and sounds (singing, instrumental music,
electronic sounds) - Performing arts (dance, theatre, circus, puppetry)
- Language arts (literature, poetry, moderation)
- Visual arts (painting, graphics, sculpture, installation,
fashion, photography) - Social arts (communications, Internet, media, pedagogic,
didactic) - Ecological arts & architecture (urban planning,
landscaping, preservation and conservation of nature, monuments)
Books
& Authors –
& Authors –
India Central Asia
Relations authored by Amiya Chandra
Relations authored by Amiya Chandra
- Book titled India Central Asia Relations: The Economic
Dimension authored by Amiya Chandra came in news in second week of July 2015.
It came in news during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to central
Asian countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and
Turkmenistan. - The book focuses on the economic dimensions of the ties. The
author through the book wants to say that India can compete with China if it
focuses on quality instead of quantity and improves credit line. The book also
says that for that purpose, India will have to seriously take forward the trade
disputes.
Kashmir: The Vajpayee
Years authored by AS Dulat & Aditya Sinha released
Years authored by AS Dulat & Aditya Sinha released
- The book titled Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years was published on
6 July 2015 by HarperCollins. It was co-authored by AS Dulat and Aditya Sinha. - The book focuses on initiatives launched by the Vajpayee
government between 1998 and 2004 to restore normalcy in India’s most beautiful
but troubled state. - The book includes firsthand account of AS Dulat, who was
chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) during Vajpayee government, about
the difficulties, successes and near triumphs in the effort to bring back
Kashmir from the brink.
Awards
& Honors –
& Honors –
Jodhpur Film Society
honoured with Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15
honoured with Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15
- The Film Society of Jodhpur was on 7 July 2015 conferred
with the Pritiman Sarkar Award 2014-15 for the consequent fourth time for being
the best film society in Northern Region in raising awareness and film
appreciation. - The award was presented by the Federation of Film Societies
of India (North Region). The award was given in recognition of screening of a
series of films by the society in 2014-15 in Jodhpur to mark 100 glorious years
of Indian cinema under the Incredible Journey of Indian Cinema. - The society screened 24 films of different times, culture
and languages for Incredible Journey of Indian Cinema. These screenings
included the films as old as Raja Harishchandra. - The first Pritiman Sarkar Award in 1997-98 was also given to
the Film Society of Jodhpur.
Obituaries
–
–
Legendary producer
Jerome Charles Weintraub died
Jerome Charles Weintraub died
- Jerome Charles Weintraub, the legendary producer who
produced Ocean’s Eleven, died on 6 July 2015 following cardiac arrest in a
Santa Barbara hospital, California. He was 77. He is survived by his four
children and his wife Susan Ekins. - Weintraub got fame in the 1960s as a music manager and
concert promoter. Later as a producer, he produced Nashville in the 1970s and
other hits including Oh God!, The Karate Kid and the immensely popular caper-comedy
series Ocean’s Eleven. - Weintraub was an executive producer of HBO’s comedy show The
Brink. He worked with everyone from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to Led
Zeppelin and George Clooney.
:: Download Today’s PDF ::
Regards
Team ExamPundit
Sponsored
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
Books For 2015 Banking/Insurance Exams