Current Affairs - July 22, 2017 Current Affairs

The 5th edition of South India Writers Ensemble (SIWE) will be held at Chengannur in coastal Alappuza district, Kerala from July 24, 2017 with 'Tolerance' as the core theme. The 3-day annual literary will be organised by People for Performing Arts and More, an art-cum-cultural outfit. The purpose of the SIWE is to bring about an enriching interaction between writers from different languages and regions.

Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Fortune 500 list of the world's biggest corporations in terms of revenue, with the retail giant Walmart topping the global rankings. Among the seven Indian companies, four are from the public sector while Reliance Industries (RIL) is the top-ranked among private sector firms, followed by Tata Motors and Rajesh Exports. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is ranked highest at 161st among Indian firms.

Shanmugh Natarajan has been appointed as the Managing Director for Adobe Systems in India. Natarajan, who was formerly the executive director, will continue to lead Adobe operations in India, in addition to his ongoing responsibility as vice president (engineering and digital media) at Adobe.

The Centre and the Government of Haryana joined hands to revive the long lost River Saraswati and provide water to the drought-prone areas of India. The Haryana Government and ONGC have signed a Memorandum of Agreement for drilling of 10 water wells along the Petro Channel of Saraswati River up to a depth of 400-500 meters, which will aim at providing water in drought-prone areas".

Sports Minister Vijay Goel and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off the 10th Slum Yuva Daud at Khichripur in New Delhi. The Slum Yuva Daud is a part of the Adopt a Slum campaign of the Sports Ministry and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan.

State Bank of India (SBI) and marquee private equity investor Carlyle Group will acquire GE Capital Group's entire 26 percent stake in SBI Card. SBI Card is a joint-venture between SBI Cards and Payment Services and GE Capital Business Process Management Services, which issue credit cards and process card transactions.

According to the report of centre over 77.55 lakh GSTIN registration have been done till 18th of this month. In GST registration, the supplier is allotted a 15-digit GST identification number called GSTIN. Registration of any business entity under the GST Law requires obtaining a unique number from the concerned tax authorities for the purpose of collecting tax on behalf of the government.

Bank of Baroda BSE -0.12 % has entered into an agreement with Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) for extending various banking services to Government e-Marketplace (GeM). The relationship of the bank with GeM will immensely benefit all stakeholders and ensure a support system ncluding a dedicated team for seamless functioning of the portal.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to repeal certain Acts, a move that was legally necessary in the wake of the merger of State Bank of India (SBI) with its subsidiary banks from April 1 this year. He introduced the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 to repeal the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 and the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956.

Mayak satellite is the third brightest object in the sky only after the Sun and the Moon. he satellites that were launched included an Earth observation Kanopus-V-IK satellite, the main payload, and 72 smallsats. The satellite will orbit the Earth, about 370 miles (600 km) high, giant mylar reflector with a surface area of 170 square feet.

The 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) will be held in New Delhi from November 23-24, 2017. The GCCS is one of the world's Largest conference on Cyber Space and related issues. The theme of the conference will be "Cyber for all: An Inclusive, Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure Cyberspace". India is the 2nd Asian country, after South Korea, who will be organizing such conference.

Walmart topped in the Fortune 500 list of 2017. Fortune 500 marks the 63rd running of the list. In total, Fortune 500 companies represent two-thirds of the U.S. GDP with $12 trillion in revenues, $890 billion in profits, $19 trillion in market value, and employ 28.2 million people worldwide.

Sanjay Kothari, Chairman of Public Enterprises Selection Board appointed as Secretary to President-elect Ram Nath Kovind. Senior Gujarat-cadre forest service officer Bharat Lal will be Joint Secretary.

Brenda Marjorie Hale, the senior-most judge of United Kngdom (UK) has been appointed as the first female President of the Supreme Court (SC). She will take charge as the head of Britain's top judging panel in September following the retirement of current President, Lord Neuberger. She has served as Neuberger's deputy since 2013. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the UK, and criminal cases from England, Northern Ireland and Wales - which means it considers cases where an order had already been made in a lower court and is being challenged.

Former minister Lord Davies is appointed as new chairman of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC). He will serve for a period of 3 years and will replace the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt.

India, China and Pakistan are among the 10 countries that accounted for more than 95 per cent of all new HIV infections in the Asia and the Pacific region in 2016, according to a UN report.