18th & 19th july 2014 - Daily Current GK

National Affairs

1. 45th Bank Nationalization Day observed on 19th July 2014.
2. Nation Remembers the revolutionary Mangal Pandey who sparked the sepoy mutiny of 1857 on his birth anniversary (19th July 2014).
3. The overall detection of HIV positive cases in Manipur rose from 25,919 in March 2007 to 40,855 in March 2012, indicating the serious magnitude in the state, according to a copy of the CAG report.

International Affairs

1. Bolivia passed a law authorizing children to work from age 10, saying the rule is necessary due to realities in the impoverished country where kids join the labor market prematurely.
2. A digital exhibition featuring the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela as two of the greatest leaders of the past century has kicked off a month- long Indian festival at Johannesburg that will celebrate the strong bonds between India and South Africa.
3. The Supreme Court ordered setting up of a special court to exclusively hold trial of the coal blocks allocation scam and asked the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to nominate a judge, who will deal with the cases arising out of the investigation conducted by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate.
4. Family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose have appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for solving the mystery behind the nationalist leader’s disappearance.
5. The negotiations between the P51 nations and Iran on the latter's nuclear programme failed to reach an agreement before the deadline of July 20 and agreed to extend the talks till November 24 for brokering an agreement.
6. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is visiting the Middle East to help mediate in the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Business and Economy

1. Finance Minister ArunJaitley presents Rs 36,776 crore Delhi budget; no new taxes proposed in the budget. 260 crore for power subsidy.
2. The Indian Government is going to set up a special fund of Rs 2,000 crore in the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for development of food parks in the country.
3. Pressing ahead with its policy to promote domestic military industry, the government on Saturday cleared procurement proposals worth over Rs 21,000 crore and also okayed a project for the production of transport aircraft which is open only to Indian private sector companies.
4. Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) controlled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, on Saturday reported a 13.7 percent rise in first quarter consolidated net profit on the back of higher refining margin.