Current Affairs - August 4, 2017 Current Affairs

Walmart India has appointed Devendra Chawla as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He was CEO of the Future Consumer Limited (FCL) and Group President Food, FMCG, Brands Future Group.

Maharashtra Government launched two online portals MahaDBT and MahaVASTU to streamline the process of direct benefit transfer (DBT). It is the first state in the country to launch such a system that will provide direct benefits with Aadhaar authentication.

A bill to enable exit of RBI from NABARD and increase authorised capital of the development institution six times to Rs 30,000 crore was introduced in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to amend certain clauses in the light of reference of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 and the Companies Act, 2013 in the proposed legislation.

A photograph of an erupting volcano hit by a bolt of lightning has earned Sergio Tapiro Velasco of Mexico the prestigious title of 2017 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year. Velasco will receive a 10-day trip for two to the Galapagos Archipelago with National Geographic Expeditions, as well as a $2500 prize. Velasco's incredible photo was selected from over 15,000 entries from participants in more than 30 countries.

The first Israeli satellite for environmental research was launched early from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. The satellite is a joint effort by the Israel Space Agency, under the aegis of the Science and Technology Ministry, and the French Space Agency (CNES) and was built in Israel by Israel Aerospace Industries. It weighs only 265 kilograms , at an altitude of 720 kilometers.

State Bank of India plans to raise Rs. 2,000 crore by allotting Basel-III compliant bonds to various investors. SBI said the bonds will carry a coupon rate of 8.15 per cent per annum with a call option after 5 years or the anniversary date thereafter.

The first meeting of the Japan-India Coordination Forum (JICF) for Development of North-Eastern Region was held in New Delhi. Priority areas of cooperation identified by Indian side including Connectivity and Road Network Development, especially inter-State roads & major district roads; Disaster Management; Food Processing; Organic Farming and Tourism were discussed in the meeting.

Hassan Rouhani officially was sworn in as the President of Iran for a second term. As per Iran's Election Law, a President Elect is required to get the Leader's approval before being sworn-in before the Parliament. Rouhani won the re-election in May 2017, after securing 57% of the votes. He defeated his main contender Ebrahim Raeisi.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the proposed merger between Bharti Airtel and Telenor India. Airtel covers its spectrum in all seven circles namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam. It also covers Telenor India's outstanding spectrum payments of some Rs1,650 crore and other operational contracts, including tower leases with Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers.

Customers can book their Tatkal railway ticket and choose to pay later under the new scheme announced by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC). The users can use 'pay on delivery' option to save payment time, increasing their chances of booking a confirmed ticket under the Tatkal quota.

The Bihar Government has decided to compulsory retire non performing head masters, teachers and education department officials above the age of 50 years.

Fintech startup InCred has signed up former Captain of Indian Cricket Team, Rahul Dravid, as its brand ambassador. The Mumbai-based start-up has raised $85 million, one of the largest rounds of funding of a start-up in the Indian financial services industry recently.

In an attempt to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture, Government will launch 2nd AGRI-UDAAN programme in New Delhi. This 6 month program is a unique platform for scale up stage innovators, entrepreneurs and start ups in the Food and Agribusiness sectors.

The Haryana government barred school teachers from stepping inside the classrooms with mobile phones and decided to hold head of the school "accountable" for violation of this norm. Teachers will keep mobile phones in the staff room or in an area earmarked by the head of school.

Qatar's Cabinet approved a draft law making permanent residency available to some non-citizens of the country. Under the new law, Residency permits will be granted to children of Qatari women married to foreigners.