Current Affairs - July 22, 2018 Current Affairs

Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) has taken over additional charge of General Manager South Eastern Railway. He was previously working as Chief Electrical Engineer in South Eastern Railway. Rao has previously worked in Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, Diesel Locomotive Works, East Central Railway and North Central Railway.

Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating world no. 1 Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship held in Jakarata. The Indian shuttler created history by beating the top-seed 21-19 and 21-18, thus clinching the championship.

The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed every year on July 15 to call for increased prospects for youth to gain access to quality training and skills development. The purpose of the day is to spread awareness on the importance of youth developing skill development. The 2018 theme is "Improving the image of TVET (Technical & Vocational Education and Training)".

IISC Bangalore India and Park Systems to open 'Park Nanoscience Lab' at Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE). The Nanoscience Lab will be equipped with Park NX20 AFM at the CeNSE & will hold workshops on the latest advancements in nanometrology. The Lab at Indian Institute is a tremendous step forward for researchers in India in fields of science & technology.

India's largest online retailer Flipkart has forged an alliance with video streaming service Hotstar and launched a video advertisement platform. It is part of a broader strategy to generate more revenue from the booming video advertising business. The new platform, Shopper Audience Network, will allow brands to target consumers through personalized video ads on Hotstar. Flipkart plans to leverage data from its massive user base and help brands connect with potential consumers using these targeted ads.

The 8th BRICS Health Ministers' Meeting was held at Durban, South Africa on July 20, 2018. In it, J P Nadda (the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare) highlighted the achievements of India in the health sector. He said that to reduce Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), India has already initiated universal screening for prevention and management of five common NCDs including hypertension, diabetes and three common cancers of oral cavity, breast and cervix at pan India level. Beside this, India has started a unique initiative called AMRIT Deendayal pharmacy Centres that provide medicines for cancer & cardiovascular diseases and cardiac implants at significantly reduced prices.

India's third-biggest software services exporter, Wipro Ltd, has decided to buy US-based Alight Solutions' India operations for $117 million in cash. Alight Solutions provides benefits administration and cloud-based HR and financial solutions to 1,400 clients serving 19 million employees and their 18 million family members. The current CEO of Wipro is Abidali Neemuchwala.

The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme for nationwide implementation at a ceremony in Gurugram, Haryana. According to Home Minister, SPC would lead to a silent revolution over the years by focusing on character building by imparting moral values to budding minds.

Government has announced the launch of a new MicroDot Technology that would help check on vehicle thefts. Under this thousands of small dots laser etched will be sprayed with a vehicle identification number on all over the vehicle's body including its engine. This technology is yet to be finalized by the highest automobile technical standard making body CMVR-TSC. Delhi Police officials has been associated with this project as per transport ministry's order.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced that it has shortlisted 734 young players for a scholarship programme under the Khelo India Talent Identification Development scheme. An annual stipend of Rs 1.2 lakh will be given to each player on a quarterly basis to meet their pocket expenses.

Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the first of a kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. The giant true colour LED display will give real-time air quality index on the 24x7 basis with colour coding along with 72-hour advance forecast. It can track UV-Index, PM1, Mercury and Black carbon in real time and will provide health advisory and related precaution.

Israel has passed a law to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country. The nation-state law, backed by the right-wing government, was passed by a vote of 62 for and 55 against and two abstentions in the 120-member parliament after months of political argument. The law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. It stipulates that Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it. The bill also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a special status that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions. The members of the Arab minority have criticized the law as racist and verging on apartheid.

Federal Bank has obtained the regulatory nod from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) to open offices in Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore. Federal Bank is waiting for local clearances to start operations. It already has representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Federal Bank does not have any plans to increase its presence in India. It will focus on the digital alternatives to reach out to more customers. Federal bank will focus more on the unsecured lending segment, where it stands at Rs 380 crore currently.

The Cabinet approved Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2018, to set up Central University in Andhra Pradesh.

The nodal satellites division URSC (U.R. Rao Satellite Centre) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed with Alpha Design Technologies P Ltd., Bharat Electronics Ltd., Tata Advanced Systems Ltd., to help it assemble 27 satellites at a quick pace over the next three years.