GK update : 13th July, 2016
By: D.K Choudhary
1. India, Kenya ink seven agreements:
1. MoU on Cooperation in the field of standardisation, expertise sharing and mutual trade between Bureau of Indian Standards and Bureau of Kenya Standards.
2. MoU on Cooperation in the field of National Housing Policy Development and Management.3. The line of Credit Agreement for US $15 million (first tranche of US $30 million) to IDB Capital Limited, Kenya, for the development of various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya.
4. The line of Credit Agreement for the US $29.95 million to the Government of Kenya for the upgrade of Rift Valley Textiles Factory (RIVATEX East Africa Limited), Kenya.
5. Revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
6. A bilateral agreement on the exemption of Visa for holders of Diplomatic passports.
2. Nepal’s first woman chief justice sworn in
i. Justice Sushila Karki took charge as the first woman chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court after her name was endorsed by a parliamentary panel. ii. The 64-year-old was administered oath of office and secrecy by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at Sheetal Niwas, the official residence of the head of the state.
iii. With Karki’s appointment, Nepal has three women in prominent positions.
iii. With Karki’s appointment, Nepal has three women in prominent positions.
3. President confers the 51st Jnanpith Award on Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari
i. The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 51st Jnanpith Award on the renowned writer, Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari. ii. The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith and is given to an author for the “outstanding contribution towards literature”. Instituted in 1961.
iii. Dr. Chaudhari represents the fluid brilliance that characterizes Indias pluralistic literary genius. It is indeed an example of his brilliant fluidity that an author, who strove to master Hindi academically, expressed himself in Gujarati in his literary pursuit.
4. D Rajkumar appointed CMD of BPCL; Utpal Bora to head Oil India
i. D Rajkumar and Utpal Bora has appointed as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Oil India Ltd, respectively. ii. Rajkumar, at present, working as Managing Director of Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, a unit of BPCL focused on exploration and production.
iii. Bora is Executive Director in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited.
5. HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri named best banking CEO in Asia
i. Aditya Puri, the chief executive and managing director (MD) of the second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank, has been ranked as the best banking CEO in Asia by the investor community. ii. The bank’s chief financial officer Sashi Jagdishan has been ranked as the best CFO, apart from getting ranked as the best IR company as well, thereby making it the most honoured one in the Institutional Investor magazine.
6. Ministry of Health launches Nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)”
i. Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda, Ministry of Health launched nationwide Intensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF)”. To be observed from July 11-23ii. The IDCF drive is a very cost -effective intervention to curb the risk of spread of diarrhoea which scales up during monsoon season Intensified community awareness campaigns on hygiene and promotion of Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) and Zinc therapy will be conducted at the state, district and village levels.
iii. Under this initiative, the government aims at covering over 80 % of children affected by diarrhoea across the country.
7. Maharastra Police launches 4 apps
i. Maharashtra police has launched four mobile apps for timely intervention into emergency situations. ii. The four applications Pratisaad Ask, Police Mitra, Vahanchoritakrar and Railway helpline app were launched by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Nagpur.
iii. With the launch of these apps, dependency on police emergency number 100 would reduce substantially and citizens can reach out to police to report any emergency situation or crime like robbery or assault on women 24X7.
8. Karnataka trade body inks pact with Sanya City
i. The Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Organisation (KRETO) and the Sanya People Municipal Government, China, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to foster trade between Sanya City and Karnataka.ii. The agreement allows for large and medium delegations from Sanya to visit Karnataka and vice-versa. This agreement also allows for Sanya city to be certified as an approved destination for delegation visits from Karnataka.
9. Lafarge to sell India assets to Nirma for $1.4 billion
i. Lafarge-Holcim has entered into an agreement with Nirma Ltd to sell its entire 100% holding in cement maker Lafarge India for an enterprise value of $1.4 billion.ii. The deal is subjected to approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) also the proceeds from the divestment will be used to reduce debt.
iii. Lafarge India operates three cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of around 11 million tonnes per annum. The company also markets aggregates and is one of India’s leading ready-mix concrete manufacturers. The proceeds from the divestment will be used to reduce debt further.
10. Sun Pharma introduces anti-cancer product in Europe
i. Sun Pharma has announced rollout of Gemcitabine InfuSMART in Europe. InfuSMART is a technology in which oncology products are developed in a ready-to-administer (RTA) bag.ii. With the introduction of Gemcitabine InfuSMART, Sun Pharma become the world’s first pharmaceutical company to manufacture and launch a licensed RTA oncology product.
iii. InfuSMART is a technology in which oncology products are developed in a ready-to-administer (RTA) bag after the company has received regulatory approval to produce InfuSMART in eight key SKUs (stock keeping units).
11. Jinson Johnson, Dharambir Singh, Renjith Maheshwari qualify for Rio 2016 Olympics
i. sprinter Dharambir Singh and Jinson Johnson along with Triple jumper Renjith Maheshwari were the latest athletes to join the line for representing the country at the Olympics in Brazil.ii. Renjith Maheshwari and Dharambir Singh also broke two national records in Triple jump and 200-metre race event respectively.
iii. After P Subramaniam who represented India at Moscow Olympics in 200-metre race, Dharambhir became the first male Indian to qualify at in the event for Olympic after 36 years. The men’s 4*400m relay team had secured their 4*400m relay qualification
