Daily GK Update 30th & 31st July 2017, Important Current Affairs

1. United Nation's World Day against Trafficking in Persons: 30 July
i. The United Nations World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2017 is observed across the world on 30 July. This year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) selected ‘Act to Protect and Assist Trafficked Persons’ as the focus of the Day.
ii. The theme emphasizes one of the most pressing issues of the large mixed migration movements of refugees and migrants.

2. DRDO develops India's first unmanned tank 'Muntra'
i. Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed India's first unmanned tank, which has three variants – surveillance, mine detection, and reconnaissance in areas with nuclear and bio threats. It is called Muntra (Mission UNmanned TRAcked) and has been rolled out of the Chennai lab.
ii. The tanks will facilitate Indian Armed forces in conducting unmanned surveillance missions. Muntra-S has been developed for unmanned surveillance missions, whereas Muntra-M is built for detecting mines. Muntra-N will be deployed in areas where nuclear radiation or bio weapon risk is high.

3. Punjab launches ‘Apni Gaddi Apni Rozgar’ scheme
i. The Punjab government has recently announced the launch of its flagship 'Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar' scheme by flagging off over 100 uber MOTO bikes. Under the scheme, the state government will be providing commercial two wheelers and four wheelers to unemployed youth at subsidized rates.
ii. The scheme aims to generate job opportunities for youth and providing better mobile transport in Punjab.

4. Canara Bank launches 'CANDI' - its first digital branch in Bengaluru
i. Canara Bank has launched its first ‘Digital Banking Branch’ named 'CANDI' in Bengaluru. The branch will provide an end-to-end digital experience to customers.
ii. The most attractive feature of the Digital Branch is a humanoid robot that addresses basic queries of customers on banking products and services. This is a first-of-its kind initiative by a public sector bank in the country.

5. SBI cuts savings bank rate to 3.5% on deposits up to Rs. 1 cr
i. The decline in the rate of inflation and high real interest rates have prompted State Bank of India to cut the savings bank deposits rate from 4 per cent to 3.5 per cent on deposits below Rs. 1 crore.
ii. The savings bank deposits above Rs. 1 crore will continue to earn 4 per cent interest. The cut in SB rate will enable it to maintain the marginal cost of funds based lending rate at the current level.

6. RBI slaps Rs. 1 cr penalty on Union Bank for KYC non-compliance
i. The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs. 1 crore on state-owned Union Bank of India for “non-compliance” with the directions on Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.
ii. This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers.

7. 7th edition of SAARC Artists Camp & Exhibition of Paintings begins in Nepal
i. The 7th edition of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Artists Camp and Exhibition of Paintings has begun at Kathmandu.
ii. Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal, Jitendra Narayan Devhas inaugurated the event. These events provide platform to artists for exchanging ideas with fellow artists and helping in creating special bonding among them and 40 artists from SAARC member countries except Afghanistan taking part in the 4-day camp.


8. Ravi Mittal appointed part-time member on IRDAI board
i. Ravi Mittal, who has joined as additional secretary in the Finance Ministry in place of Anil Khachi, is now a part-time member of the board of IRDAI.
ii. Mittal has replaced N S Rao at IRDAI. Maruthi Prasad Tangirala has been appointed as an Executive Director (ED) at IRDAI. Suresh Mathur will be handling reinsurance portfolio at IRDAI as Executive Director.

9. Japanese, Sri Lankan among Magsaysay award winners
i. Yoshiaki Ishizawa, a Japanese historian who helped Cambodians preserve the Angkor temples, and Gethsie Shanmugam, a Sri Lankan teacher who counseled war widows and orphans to overcome their nightmares, are among the six winners of this year’s Ramon Magsaysay Awards.
ii. The other recipients named are Abdon Nababan, an Indonesian, a Singaporean businessman Tony Tay, a Philippine theater group and Lilia de Lima, a Filipino.

10. Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari wins Hungarian Grand Prix
i. Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari took the chequered flag at the Hungaroring to claim his fourth victory of the season.
ii. In a nail-biting finish, Vettel had his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen behind complaining that he could go faster but being used by the team as a buffer against Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas from Mercedes was in third place.

11. Shiva Thapa, Manoj Kumar strike gold at Czech Republic boxing tournament
i. Indian boxers packed quite a heavy punch at the 48th Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem, clinching five gold, two silver, and one bronze medal at the event in the Czech Republic.
ii. World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (60kg), former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Manoj Kumar (69kg), Amit Phangal (52kg), Gaurav Bidhuri (56kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) claimed gold medals after winning their respective summit clashes.

12. Caeleb Dressel becomes first ever Swimmer to win three gold medals in one night at worlds  Championship
i. The 20-year-old Caeleb Dressel established himself as America’s newest star of the pool recently, becoming the first swimmer to win three gold medals on a single night at either the worlds or the Olympics.
ii. Caeleb Dressel accomplished this feat at 2017 FINA World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Not even Phelps managed such an audacious feat. Dressel raced three times over the course of about two hours and won every time.

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