Current Affairs 29th Week -

11th July to 17th July 2016

Best of Current Affairs Desk

31st July 2016

IN THIS WEEK Dear Readers,

Nirdeshak.com has initiated all new Current

WHAT'S NEW NIRDESHAK.COM Affairs (BNCA) with weekly pdf update. In todays
competitive scenario, it has become most crucial
Place to read more analytical and absorbable content,
ECONOMY in order to get best result. The content is
BANKING developed scientifically developed so that it
PEOPLE becomes short, easy to remember and only
ENVIRONMENT
relevant part is recalled for exam preparation.
This is helpful for current affairs preparation,
SPORTS
developing acumen for interviews, GD and
MISSION SANKAT MOCHAN
overall remembering more get best scores in
competitive exams, for Banks, IBPS PO, SBI, IAS,
SSC and other exams.

In the week, many place, events and policy

remained important as India and world saw
many developments. Further know more about
key personalities of the week, banking news,
government policies and foreign relations with
neighbours.

Happy learning,

Warm regards

Editorial Team
Nirdeshak.com
Following are the important current terms important for exams, discussions
and interview.

Why following Terms and Events are important

When Lifeline Express was started?

Where is Permanent Court of Arbitration situated under the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)?

Who is Eder?

Operation Sankat Mochan

What is North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA)

Which is Tamil Nadu-based Microfinance institution

What do you mean by?

Place - Nice Nalanda University

Copper-Titanium alloy MARCOS East
technology
Cairns Energy
Nougat

Nintendo Pokemon GO

Important Terms for Discussion and interviews

Know about WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion

Flying Daggers

Holey Artisan Bakery

Jawahar Lal Nehru Port

Who is Theresa May ?

In which state 5 crore trees were planted on a single day?

Person
Sushila Karki

Took over as the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal country on 11 July 2016?

To Know: Justice Sushila Karki was administered the oath of office and secrecy by
Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari on 11 July 2016 at a special programme
organised at the Presidential Residence, Sheetal Niwas. Justice Karki thus became
the first-ever woman Chief Justice of Nepal.

The Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee had on 10 July 2016 approved the
name of Karki who was recommended by the Constitutional Council on 10 April
2016.

Theresa May

Who will become Britains second female prime minister after Andrea Leadsom, the
only other candidate in the race, withdrew her name on 11 July 2016?

To Know: 59-year old Theresa May has served as Interior

Minister for the past six years. She is now set to become
Britains second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher.

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom abruptly withdrew from the

contest to succeed David Cameron as Britains prime minister on 11 July 2016,
leaving her rival Theresa May as the only candidate.

Leadsom, who has no cabinet experience, was barely known to the British public
until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful campaign for Britain to
leave the European Union (EU).

Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari

Gujarati writer was conferred with the 51stJnanpith Award by President of India, Dr.
Pranab Mukherjee on 11 July 2016.

To Know: 77-year old Dr. Raghuveer Chaudhari is a noted

novelist, poet and critic of Gujarati language.

While his most significant contributions have been in Gujarati

language but he has also written Hindi articles. He received
the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, for his novel trilogy Uparvas.
 On 11 July 2016 he was conferred with the Jnanpith Award, considered to be
Indias highest literary award, by President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee. Chaudhari thus
became the 51st recipient of this prestigious award.

Banking
HDFC
Which financial entity launched the first sale of so-called masala bonds from 12 July
2016 that is basically a rupee-denominated bond sold overseas?

To Know: A masala bond is a rupee-denominated bond sold overseas. Such bonds

allow an issuer to raise funds in the overseas market without taking on the currency
risk typically associated with foreign-currency denominated bonds or loans.

HDFC thus became first Indian public issuer of synthetic rupee notes. The
synthetic rupee notes are in the nature of rupee denominated bonds as per
applicable Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. The bonds will bear a fixed
coupon and will have a tenor of 3 years and 1 month.

The concept of masala bonds was first spelt out by RBI in April 2015, following
which the central bank issued guidelines for the securities in September.

The primary idea was to allow Indian companies to raise money through an
overseas debt instrument where the currency risk lies with the investor rather than
the issuer.

Tamil Nadu-based Microfinance institution (MFI) Grama Vidiyal

To Know: Grama Vidiyal is the name of a Tamil Nadu based microfinance institution
(MFI) that has a customer base of 1.2 million customers with an asset base
of Rs.1,500 crore.

IDFC Bank has received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the
transaction.

IDFC Bank started banking operations on 1 October 2015, converting itself from an
infrastructure focused lender into a universal bank. IDFC was one of two entities that
got a banking licence from the RBI in 2014 along with Bandhan Bank.

Environment
Uttar Pradesh

Which state made a world record of planting around 5 crore trees on a single day on
11 July 2016?

To Know: The Uttar Pradesh Government on 11 July 2016 undertook the herculean
task of planting a whopping five crore trees in 24 hours, in a bit to create a new
Guinness record. The initiative was part of the Green UP Clean UP campaign that
was launched on the same day.

The current record for the most trees planted in a day is 8,47,275 which was
accomplished in Pakistan in 2013.

More than 800,000 people, including students, lawmakers, government officials,

housewives and volunteers of UP participated in the well-orchestrated campaign to
plant the saplings at designated spots along country roads and highways, rail tracks
and forest lands.

Corporate
Japans Nintendo CO Limited

What is the name of the newly launched mobile game that resulted in almost $7.5
billion increase in Japans Nintendo Co Limiteds valuation due to huge popularity
gained by the game? Pokemon GO

To Know: Pokemon GO is the name of the long-awaited

mobile gaming venture of Japans Nintendo Co Limited.

The game, which marries the classic 20-year old

franchise Pokemon with augmented reality, allows players
to walk around real-life neighbourhoods while seeking virtual Pokemon game
characters on their smartphone screens.

It was launched in the United States on 8 July 2016 and within two days after its
release it was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the country.
According to web analytics firm SimilarWeb, Pokemon GO is now on more Android
phones than dating app Tinder and its rate of daily active users was neck and neck
with social network Twitter.
 As the game took the U.S. by storm, Nintendos shares surged by a quarter in
value on 11 July 2016 to their highest level since November 2015.

Cairns Energy

British oil exploration group recently sought $ 5.6 billion in compensation from the
Indian government for raising a retrospective tax demand of Rs. 29,047 crore on it.

To Know: Edinburgh (UK)-based oil exploration group Cairns Energy filed

Statement of Claim with an international arbitration panel on 28 June 2016 seeking
withdrawal of a retrospective tax demand of Rs. 29,047 crore made by the Indian
Government on 10-year old internal reorganisation of its India unit.

The Income Tax Department had in January 2014 slapped a draft tax assessment
of Rs. 10,247 crore on Cairn Energy on alleged capital gain it made when it in 2006
transferred its India assets to a new subsidiary, Cairn India and listed the firm.

This year, a final assessment order was slapped on it that included a Rs. 18,800
crore of interest on top of Rs. 10,247 crore principal tax amount.

Yatra Online

Which Indian online travel agency firm was acquired by the US-based special
purpose acquisition firm Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corp. (TRTL) that valued this travel
firm at $218 million?

To Know: The purpose acquisition firm Terrapin 3 Acquisition Corp. (TRTL) agreed
to buy Indian online travel agency firm Yatra Online, Inc. in a multi-phased
transaction that values Yatra at an enterprise value of $218 million.

Yatra intends to be listed on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol YTRA
following completion of the transaction

Launched in August 2006, Yatra Online, through its yatra.com website, is a one-
stop online shop for all travel-related services aimed at both leisure and business
travellers in India.

Yatra customers booked more than 2.8 million air travel reservations and hotel
stays with total transaction value worth more than $900 million (at current exchange
rates) during the fiscal year ended March 2016.
Bharti Airtel

Which Indian company emerged as the most transparent company in Berlin-based

Transparency Internationals survey of the 100 most transparent companies in 15
emerging market countries that was released on 11 July 2016?

To Know: The Berlin-based watchdog Transparency

International on 11 July 2016 released the
Transparency In Corporate Reporting Survey 2016
pertaining to transparency in reporting standards of 100
companies in 15 emerging market countries of the world.
The survey included all major emerging countries like
India, China, Brazil, Russia and Mexico.

Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel topped the list. The company took first place with
a score of 7.3 out of 10, followed by six units of conglomerate Tata and technology
company Wipro.

The survey disclosed that while India has the most transparent companies,
Chinese firms are the most opaque. Thirty-seven Chinese companies were
evaluated, making them the surveys biggest group, but they had the weakest overall
performance.

One reason Indian companies came out on top is strict government requirements
for financial disclosures, including operations in different countries.

Political
North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA)

The new group of non-Congress parties of northeastern states of the country that
was formally launched on 13 July 2016 in Guwahati.

To Know: North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the grouping of non-Congress

parties of northeastern states of the country led by the BJP, was launched in
Guwahati on 13 July 2016.

NEDA, a pet project of BJP president Amit Shah, was established on 24 May 2016.
BJPs Himanta Biswa Sarma, who played an important role in partys victory in the
recent Assam Assembly elections, was made convener of the NEDA.
 Chief Ministers of Assam Sarbananda Sonowal, Nagaland T.R. Zeliang, Pawan
Kumar Chamling Sikkim and former CM of Arunchal Pradesh Kalikho Pul took part in
the launch function.

According to Amit Shah, increasing coordination among the states of the region will
be the primary objective of NEDA. He identified development and connectivity as two
key solutions to the woes of the region.

Defence
75th (Platinum Jubilee)

INS India, the Base Depot ship of the Indian Navy in New Delhi, completed 75th
years of its establishment on 13 July 2016.

To Know: Established as HMIS India in 1941 during British rule, it was rechristened
as INS India on 26 January 1950.

Started as a small unit with a complement of just a handful of officers and sailors,
INS India is now a major establishment in New Delhi with a plethora of duties and
responsibilities. In addition, the establishment provides administrative and logistics
cover to all officers and sailors borne in Naval Headquarters and other units at Delhi.

The Base Depot ship, stone ship in naval parlance, has the privilege of being the
Flagship of the Chief of the Naval Staff.

Mission - Operation Sankat Mochan

To Know: Operation Sankat Mochan was

launched by the Ministry of External Affairs
(MEA) on 13 July 2016 to evacuate its citizens
from South Sudan which has been rocked by
violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.

The operation has been overseen by Union Minister VK Singh, who left for South
Sudan capital Juba on 14 July 2016. Under the operation two C-17 military transport
aircrafts were sent bring back Indians stranded in South Sudan to Delhi.

According to the MEA, there are around 600 Indians in South Sudan, of them 450
are in Juba and nearly 150 are outside the capital.
 The latest bout of violence in South Sudan started after a localised gunfight outside
President Salva Kiirs residence in Juba on 7 July 2016 when he was holding a
meeting with Vice-President Riek Machar.

Defence - Safran Helicopter Engines (SHE)

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) entered into a tie-up with French entity to set up a
helicopter engines maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre to service Indian
and foreign customers.

To Know: Under the agreement HAL and Frances Safran Helicopter Engines will
jointly set up a helicopter engines maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre to
service Indian and foreign customers using Safrans aero engines.

The centre will provide MRO services for Safran TM333 and the co-developed
Shakti engines that are used in helicopters built by HAL.

About 1,000 Shakti engines are likely to fly on Indian helicopters in the coming
years.

Person
Pema Khandu

Who took over as the new Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 17 July 2016 to
become the youngest-ever Chief Minister in India.

To Know: Pema Khandu was on 17 July 2017 sworn in as the

ninth Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. 37-year old Khandu is
the son of late Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and he thus became
the youngest Chief Minister in the country. Chowna Mein was
sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

His swearing-in also marked the culmination of fast-paced

political developments in the state.

It is worth mentioning that, hours ahead of the scheduled floor test in the Assembly
on 16 July, the Congress Legislature Party elected Pema Khandu, in place of Nabam
Tuki, who was restored as Chief Minister a few days earlier by the Supreme Court.

In the 60-member House with an effective strength of 58, Congress now claims the
support of 47 MLAs, including two independents.
Person

D. Subbarao - Who Moved My Interest Rate

To Know: Duvvuri Subbarao, was Governor of the RBI between 2008 and 2013.

He has written about the experiences of his 5-year RBI tenure in the book titled Who
moved my interest rate? Leading the Reserve Bank of India through Five Turbulent
Years.

The book is replete with stories of how finance ministers, during the time he was in
charge of the central bank (P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee), often made
public their differences with the RBI on decisions on the interest rate.

The book was released on 15 July 2016.

Railways
Lifeline Express - The worlds first hospital on train completed 25 years of its
launch on 16 July 2016.

To Know: The Lifeline Express is the flagship project of

Impact India Foundation. It was developed in
collaboration with the Indian Railways and Health Ministry
and has been funded by Impact UK, international
charitable sources, Indian corporate houses and
individuals.

The train completed 25 years of its launch on 16 July 2016.

Lifeline Express has the distinction of being the first ever hospital-on-rails in the
world. This unique hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art medical facilities and
equipment to cater to the needs of the rural patients.

It was launched on 16 July 1991 with an engine and three coaches with the
objective of providing medical facilities to poor and rural people where there were no
hospitals available. It has covered 173 projects in 18 state and also covered two lakh
kilometres distance.

The train has medically served more than 10,00,000 poor in rural India, restoring
sight, movement, hearing and correction of cleft lips with dental and neurological
treatment and more, completely free of cost.
International
Turkey

The Middle-East country witnessed a failed attempt to ouster the government

through a coup on 15 July 2016.

To Know: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan survived a coup attempt on 15

July 2016 as a faction of the Turkish Army tried to take control of important
government establishment including Presidential residence and state-owned
television station.

The coup began with warplanes and helicopters roaring over Ankara and troops
moving in to seal off the bridges over the Bosphorus River that link Europe and Asia
in Istanbul.

For a few hours it looked as pro-coup forces had taken control of airports a state-
owned television station.

Later the pro-government police and security forces took control of the situation as
the United States declared its firm backing for Erdogans government.

A successful overthrow of PM Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would
have marked one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years, transforming one
of the most important U.S. allies while war rages on its border.

Since the modern state of Turkey was established in 1923, the Turkish armed
forced have staged coups three times in 1960, 1971, 1980 and 1997.

International

Theresa May, who took over as the new Prime Minister of Britain on 13 July 2016,
was looking after which Cabinet post till now? Home Secretary

To Know: Since 2010, May has served as Home Secretary (also called Secretary
Home Affairs), the UKs top social and domestic Cabinet post. During her time in
office, she has repeatedly expressed vociferous opposition to the UKs historically
high immigration levels.

She became the countrys new prime minister on 13 July as incumbent Prime
Minister David Cameron delivered on his promise to resign after the Brexit vote.

May thus became the second woman in the countrys history to take the top UK job
after Margaret Thatcher (1979-90).
Place
Nice

84 people were killed and hundreds other were injured as a Tunisian-born French
national deliberately drove a 19 ton cargo truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day
(French National Day) on 14 July 2016.

To Know: France was hit by yet another terrorist attack on 14

July 2016 as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a Tunisian resident
of France mowed hundreds of people by his 19 ton cargo in the
French Riviera city of Nice.

Thousands of people had assembled to take part in the

Bastille Day celebrations, which is celebrated to commemorate the storming of the
Bastille, an event that lead to the French Revolution in 1789.

The dead included nationals of different countries including France, the US,
Switzerland, UK, Germany, Russia, Morocco, Algeria and Armenia.

The incident was described as the third major terrorist attack in France since
January 2015, following the le-de-France attacks on 79 January 2015 and Paris
attacks on 13 November 2015.

Nalanda University

The ancient site of Bihar was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

To Know: UNESCO declared the site of the ruins of

Nalanda Mahavihara as a World Heritage Site on 15 July
2016. With the inclusion of Nalanda, this would be the
second UNESCO Heritage Site in the state of Bihar after
Bodh Gayas Mahabodhi temple.

Last year, the ruin of Nalanda university was inspected by an expert team from the
Paris-based International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

Nalanda University, the ancient seat of learning, was one of the worlds oldest
universities construction of which began in 5th century AD. It flourished under the
Gupta rulers. It came to an end in the 12th century when it was destroyed in 1193
AD by the invading Turkish army led by its commander Bakhtiar Khilji.

It is a rare combination of outstanding achievements in institution-building, site-

planning, art and architecture.
Philippines

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague

ruled against Chinese claims to rights in the South
China Sea in its order on 12 July 2016. The court
said that China had caused severe harm to the
coral reef environment of the sea by building
artificial islands.

To Know: The case against China was brought to the Permanent Court of
Arbitration by the Philippines which is of the opinion that China had violated its
sovereign rights in the South China Sea.

The ruling given by the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which both countries have signed.
The court said there was no evidence that China had historically exercised exclusive
control over the waters or resources.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including reefs and islands in the
region. It called the ruling ill-founded and says it will not be bound by it.

The ruling is binding but the Permanent Court of Arbitration has no powers of
enforcement.

Place - Vishakhapatnam

The first dedicated base for Indian Navys elite force MARCOS East, was
commissioned on 12 July 2016 in the form of INS Karna. This base has been
established at which place?

To Know: Indian Navys long pursued endeavour of establishing a dedicated base

for its Special Operation Forces MARCOS East (Marine Commandos East) was
fulfilled on 12 July 2016 as Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned
INS Karna at Vishakhapatnam.

This first base for MARCOS East will have capability to operate in all three
dimensions of warfare air, land and sea,

MARCOS East was raised on October 26, 1992 and since then it has been the
primary special operations unit in Eastern Naval Command (ENC). The unit has
been at the forefront in various operations undertaken by the Navy like Operation
Zabardast (Sri Lanka February 1993), Operation Tasha (1990-2009), Operation
Leech (1998) and Operation Sagittarius (anti-piracy operations in Malacca Strait).
Sports
WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight Champion

Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh defeated Australian boxer Kerry Hope on
16 July 2016 to become the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight champion.

To Know: Professional boxing made a rousing start in India on 16 July 2016 as

Vijender Singh became the WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight champion with a
convincing win over Australian Kerry Hope in an important bout held at Delhis
Thyagraj Stadium.

This was the seventh straight win in Vijenders professional boxing career. He won,
this time by unanimous decision, even though his reputation as the Knockout King
took a backseat.

It was his toughest fight yet, stretching to the maximum 10 rounds at the end of
which he was as drained as his opponent.

The win also saw Vijender climb to 15th in the world in his category.

On the other hand, Siddhartha Verma defeated Dilbagh Thakran to lift the IBC
Super Welterweight Championship Title fight and become the countrys first-ever
professional boxing title holder.

Person

Eder

Portugal achieved footballing glory as it won the UEFA Euro Cup 2016 by defeating
hosts France 1-0 in extra-time in the final on 10 July 2016. This is Portugals first
Euro Cup title. Who scored the winning goal for Portugal?

To know: Lille striker Eder settled the final

match between Portugal and France with a low
25-yard strike in extra time to give Portugal its
maiden Euro title. The final was played at
Stade de France in Paris on 10 July 2016.

With this title win Portugal became

10 country to win the Euro title. Earlier 9 winners of this prestigious title are Soviet
th

Union, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czechoslovakia, France, Netherlands, Denmark and

Greece. Spain and Germany have won the title thrice each.
 The victory also ended Portugals run of 10 straight defeats against France, who
had eliminated them in the semi-finals at Euro 1984, Euro 2000 and the 2006 World
Cup.

The Golden Boot was awarded to Antoine Griezmann (France), who scored
highest 6 goals in the tournament, one goal in the group stage and five in the
knockout phase.

(Photo Courtesy: goal.com)