1. PM Modi inaugurates APJ Abdul Kalam's
memorial
i. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a national memorial on the second death
anniversary of former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in Rameshwaram (Tamil
Nadu).
ii. The
Kalam memorial was built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO) in Pei Karumbu.
iii. The
memorial, built at a cost of 20 crores, blends Mughal and Indian architecture.
iv. Its main
entrance resembles Delhi's India gate and the main door is a replica of the
entrance of the Brihadiswara Temple in Tanjavur.
2. Delhi government constitutes State Names
Authority
i. The Delhi
government has constituted a separate body 'State Names Authority', which has
the mandate to name government roads and institutions under the state purview.
ii. The
State Names Authority (SNA) to be headed by the deputy CM Manish Sisodia.
iii. The
authority will have a total of 34 members including the Union home secretary,
the Union HRD secretary, the DDA vice-chairman, the Delhi PWD Secretary and the
Delhi Principal Secretary (Home).
3. Cabinet approves revision of guidelines
of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme
i. The Union
Cabinet has approved the revision of guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds Scheme
with a view to achieving its intended objectives.
ii. As per
the changes, the investment limit per fiscal year has been increased to 4 kg
for individuals, 4 kg for Hindu Undivided Family & 20 kg for Trusts and
similar entities notified by the Government from time to time.
iii. The
ceiling will be counted on Financial year basis and will include the Sovereign
Gold Bonds purchased during the trading in the secondary market.
4. Government plans to open new post
offices in 2017-18
i. The union
Government will open 81 Sub-Post Offices and 100 Branch Post Offices during the
current financial year under the Rural Business and Access to Postal Network
Scheme.
ii. It has
also planned to open 66 Branch Post Offices by the creation of new posts in 32
worst affected Left-Wing Extremism districts in the country.
5. Centre makes registration of marriages
compulsory
i. The union
Govt. has decided to make registration of marriages compulsory in a bid to
prevent harassment of women.
ii. Compulsory
registration of marriages will help prevent marriage frauds and protect the
women.
Earlier, in
2006, Supreme Court had directed that registration of marriages should be
compulsory for all citizens.
iii. As of
now, there is no proposal to link Aadhaar for the registration of Marriage.
6. Cabinet approves new wage code bill to
ensure minimum wage across all sectors
i. The Union
Cabinet has approved the new wage code bill to ensure a minimum wage across all
sectors by integrating four labour related laws.
ii. The
proposed legislation is expected to benefit over 4 crore employees across the
country.
iii. The
bill seeks to empower the Centre to set a minimum wage across all sectors in
the country and states will have to maintain that.
iv. At
present, the minimum wages fixed by the Centre and states are applicable to
workers getting up to 18,000 rupees pay monthly.
v. States
will be able to provide for higher minimum wage in their jurisdiction than
fixed by the central government.
7. New continent discovered under New
Zealand, called Zealandia
i. The
mostly submerged unknown continent beneath the South Pacific has been named as
‘Zealandia’.
Zealandia
measured 1.9 million square miles and is 94% underwater.
ii. It had
only three major landmasses, New Zealand’s North and South Islands to the
south, and New Caledonia to the north Zealandia.
iii. Zealandia
is a distinct geological entity and meets all the criteria applied to Earth’s
seven other continents - elevation above the surrounding area, distinctive
geology, a well-defined area and a crust much thicker than that found on the
ocean floor.
8. Microsoft launches ‘Made for India’
Kaizala app
i. Microsoft
officially unveiled a mobile-only productivity application ‘Kaizala’ to
simplify large group communication for Indian organizations.
ii. “Microsoft
Kaizala, a made for India product, brings together the two disparate worlds of
mobile only messaging apps and a digitally integrated modern workplace.
iii. The
application had been optimized for 2G networks to enable connectivity in remote
locations and offered features with offline support.
iv. While
the basic version would be free for Android and iOS users, Microsoft would also
make available a ‘Pro’ version (Rs.130 per user per month).
9. Janalakshmi Financial Services appoints
Ajay Kanwal as CEO
i. The
largest micro finance company 'Janalakshmi Financial Services' (JFS) has
appointed a veteran banker 'Ajay Kanwal' as its new chief executive
officer(CEO).
ii. Kanwal
will take charge of office from 1st August this year. Currently, Kanwal is a
senior adviser to private equity firm TPG Capital and global payments company
Mastercard. The current CEO V. S. Radhakrishnan will take over as
Vice-Chairman.
10. Axis Bank to snap up FreeCharge
i. The Axis
bank has decided to acquire digital wallet FreeCharge from Snapdeal in a deal
worth Rs. 385 Crore.
ii. Now, the
acquisition will need approval from Reserve Bank of India among others.
iii. According
to the RBI regulations, any bank can have one license for prepaid payments
instrument(PPI) like FreeCharge.
iv. Axis
Bank already have a PPI license, the lender has surrender one of the licenses.
11. Former Karnataka CM Dharam Singh passes
away
i. Congress
Leader and former Chief Minister of Karnataka N. Dharam Singh (80-year) passed
away due to a heart attack in Bengaluru.
ii. Mr.
Singh headed the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government from May
2004 to February 2006.
iii. He
represented the Karnataka Legislative Assembly seven times without a defeat and
was a member of the Lok Sabha from Bidar constituency in 2009 general election.
Also
Read:
- Daily GK Update 26th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 25th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 23rd & 24th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 22nd July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 21st July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 20th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 19th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 18th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
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More GK
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