23rd & 24th July 2014 - Current Affairs Updates

23rd & 24th July 2014 - Current Affairs Updates

National Affairs

• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation ( DMRC) has slashed fares on Airport Express Line by 40 per cent. The rates were revised earlier this month and will take effect from today (24th July)
• In a sign that shows India has a lot of catching up to do, the country’s ranking in the Human Development Index (HDI) remained unchanged at 135 in 2013, reflecting little improvement in the living standard of its people, says a United Nations Development Programme report.
• Cabinet clears SEBI amendment bill. The Bill seeks to give Sebi sweeping powers like attachment of properties, launch of recovery proceedings, seeking call data records to investigate cases and ordering search and seizure against manipulators and fraudsters.

International Affairs

• The 14th round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Myanmar was held in New Delhi on 23rd  July 23 2014. The Indian delegation was led by Smt. Sujatha Singh, Foreign Secretary of India, and the Myanmar delegation by U Thant Kyaw, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.
• In order to raise concerns about the repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan's armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir, Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh will be meeting her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in Islamabad on 25th August. 
• The President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, called on the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on 23rd July. The PM described the meeting as "very fruitful." He tells World Bank President Jim Yong Kim that India requires ideas, knowledge and expertise "rather than dollars".
• Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will lead a large business delegation on a three-city tour of India in August, focusing on aerospace, retail and education sectors.
• India along with BRICS countries voted in support of a UN Human Rights Council resolution to launch a probe into Israel's offensive on Gaza.  In the 46-member council, 29 countries voted in support of the resolution while 17 nations abstained.
• Annual India-US bilateral Malabar naval exercise kicked off today in the Asia Pacific region. 

Books & Authors

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a biography of independent India's first home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Braille, prepared by ophthalmologist A Saibaba Goud.
• British-Indian writer Neel Mukherjee's latest novel 'The Lives of Others'  shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize 2014.

1. He is from Kolkata
2. This is his Second Novel
3. 'The Lives of Others' that is set in 1960s Bengal and revolves around a man's extremist political activism during troubled times

Deaths

• Former Maharashtra minister, senior PWP leader Mohan Patil, 68, passes away after prolonged illness
• Sundaram Sankaran passed away. He worked at the World Bank for over 25 years and served as the US correspondent for Indian dailies.

Business & Ecnomy

• The World Bank Group committed USD 15-18 billion loan to India over the next three years as it supports the country's potential 9 per cent growth rate. 
• CCEA raises FDI cap to 49% from 26% in insurance sector.
• CCEA approves sale of 10 million tonnes of wheat from FCI stock in the open market.
• Indirect tax collections in June recorded 13.5% growth to stand at Rs 44,356 crore, against Rs 39,085 crore last year. The highest-ever growth this year shows signs of economic recovery.
• IMF cuts global growth forecasts for 2014 to 3.4%, below its April forecast of 3.7%. Weaker growth in the U.S., China and several important emerging markets forced the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its forecast for the global economy.
• New Appointments
• Reuven Rivlin (a veteran lawmaker) was sworn in as Israel's 10th president.

Sports

• The 2014 Commonwealth Games (officially the XX Commonwealth Games) have begun in Glasgow, Scotland, after the opening ceremony kicked off the event at Celtic Park on Wednesday. These games are going to b held from 23rd July to 3rd August 2014.
• Sanjita Khumukcham and Mirabai Chanu Saikhom bagged a gold and silver, respectively, in women's 48kg weightlifting at the 20th Commonwealth Games today.