Daily Current Affairs : 1st – 5th July 2014

• Orkut, Google’s first social networking site, will cease to exist after September with the Internet giant deciding to shut down the service launched 10 years ago. Google said it will shut down Orkut, which is very popular in India and Brazil, on September 30. The service, however, did not do so well in other parts of the world and lost sheen to rivals like Facebook.
• India announced a new liberal visa policy for nationals of Afghanistsan on humanitarian grounds. The Policy was released by Union Home Ministry and will be effective from 1 July 2014. The new policy allows nationals of Afghanistan to stay in India on stay visa or resident permit for a period of two years at a time. Besides, Afghanistan nationals below 12 years or above 65 years are also granted exemption from police reporting.
• SBI launched six digital branches across the nation, as part of its programme to offer next generation banking solutions to the mobile and internet-savvy customer base. These branches are located in Mumbai, Bangalore,Chennai and Ahmedabad, besides Delhi. Named as sbiINTOUCH, these branches will have digital banking capabilities, which include instant account opening with personalised debit cards, instant loan approvals for education, car and home and remote expert advisors available via video links. The new branches are equipped with interactive wall and table displays and multi-function kiosks.
• IDBI Bank introduced mobile banking service for its customers. This facility enables the customer to meet all banking needs such as fund transfer, bill payments, visa money transfer, DTH/ mobile recharge and much more from any destination.
• The United States on 30 June 2014 named a mountain in Antarctica as Mt. Sinha to honour an eminent Indian-American scientist, Akhouri Sinha. The mountain was named in recognition of Sinha’s work done as an explorer in 1971-72. Sinha’s pioneering biological research expedition has provided critical data about animal populations in Antarctica.
• Sri Lanka and Seychelles signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance. The agreements were signed during the visit of Sri Lankan President to Seychelles. The six agreements were signed between Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President of Seychelles, James Michael in the capital, Victoria.
• Twitter is fattening its mobile ad portfolio by agreeing to acquire TapCommerce, a company that specialises in targeting app consumers, the latter has said. Based in New York, San Francisco and London, TapCommerce specialises in targeting consumers who have downloaded an app and trying to entice them to come back to it. The firm says it is present on 50,000 apps.
• Former Haitian president Leslie Francois Manigat on 27 June 2014 died at the age of 83. He was elected as the President of Haiti in January 1988 but was overthrown by General Henri Namphy in June 1988. He led the centre-left Assembly of Progressive National Democrats party (RNDP) that was founded in the late 1970s.

Daily Current Affairs : 2nd July 2014

• Jitu Rai is the world’s No 1 air pistol shooter after winning three medals in the ISSF World Cups in Munich and Slovenia recently. The 27-year-old army man from Lucknow is the seventh Indian shooter to have achieved this feat.
• Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani today inaugurated a First Aid Post at Shastri Bhawan in the National Capital. This unit will provide first aid services like blood pressure monitoring, dressing and other referral services to about 15000 employees of various Ministries posted at Shastri Bhawan and other nearby Government offices.
• Bank of Maharashtra was conferred “Best Bank – Public Sector” award in BFSI Awards-2014 by World HRD Congress in recognition of its performance in Banking category.The award focuses on the best practices of the BFSI Industry based on the Strategy, Security, Customer Service and the Future Technology Challenges and Innovations. Apart from Best Bank-Public Sector award, the bank has also won 4 other awards — Bank with Most Admired Services; Bank with Best Customer Orientation; Bank with Best Technology Orientation; and Corporate Communication Award.
• Kerala Government has appointed senior IAS officer A P M Mohammed Hanish as Nodal Officer for the matches likely to beld in Kochi during the 2017 FIFA under-17 world cup football.
• Business house Monnet Ispat head Sandeep Jajodia is all set to become the president of AIBA-approved Boxing India in its election to be held in Mumbai on July 9, according to a senior official of the group.
• There has been a sharp increase in the incidence of cyber crimes in the country. The number of cases registered in 2013 under the IT Act has gone up by 52 per cent at 4,192 as against 2,761 in the previous year. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh (undivided) have topped the list with 681 and 635 persons.
• France announced to provide one billion Euros (8200 crore rupees) line of credit over a three years period to India. The announcement was made by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius who is on a visit to India. The line of credit will help India take initiative in the climate control area and enable India to work closely with France on the issue of climate change.
• World Bank Group grants $150,000 grant to GNRC(Guwahati Neurological Research Centre). WBG, through its India Development Marketplace (IDM) initiative, chose to present this grant during a conference and workshop on development marketplace in Guwahati, according to a statement by the WBG. 
• Using ATMs outside the home branch network may cost you. RBI is in the process of deciding if banks can charge a fee for using automated teller machines (ATMs) to withdraw money outside the home bank ATM network. Home bank network means ATMs of the bank in which you have an account. The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has suggested to the RBI that customers who withdraw money from other banks ATMs should be charged.
• France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy has been charged with corruption and influence peddling. This was stated by French prosecutors in a statement today. The decision came after Sarkozy was questioned for 15 hours, marking the first time a French ex-head of state had been taken into custody in a criminal investigation. 

Daily Current Affairs : 3rd July 2014

• Michelle Howard became the first female four-star admiral in US Navy. She is the first women admiral in 236 year old history of US Navy. Vice-Admiral Michelle was promoted to the highest rank of four-star admiral at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in US on 1 July 2014. The Promotion ceremony was presided over by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
• India became the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind and visually impaired. Dilip Sinha, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, handed over the Instrument of Ratification to Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO. The instrument was handed over at a ceremony held during the 28th Session of SCCR (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights) in WIPO Headquarters.
• Sardar Singh to Captain India in Commonwealth Games. There were few surprises as Hockey India (HI) selected a 16-member side, led by Sardar Singh, for the 2014 Commonwealth Games that would be held in Glasgow, July 23-Aug 3. Most the players of the squad, that finished ninth in the Hockey World Cup, barring goalkeeper Harjot Singh, midfielders S.K Uthappa, Jasjit Singh and forward Mandeep Singh.
• First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan: published by The Week Magazine.A coffee-table book titled First Citizen: Pranab Mukherjee in Rashtrapati Bhavan was released on 2 July 2014 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book’s first copy was received by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India. The book has been published by The Week Magazine and was released by Dr. Karan Singh in the presence of Pranab Mukherjee and Philip Mathew, the Managing Editor of The Week. 
• PM Narender Modi met Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. With the government using social media like never before, PM Modi told Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg that direct communication with people is critical for governance. Modi, describing himself as an avid user of social media, said on his page that “a platform such as Facebook can be used for governance and better interaction between the people and governments. Sandberg is on her first visit to India after becoming COO of the world’s most popular social networking site.
• Asian Development Bank has made financial commitment of USD 350 million in loan and equity investment for two energy projects in India.
• CARE Ratings has placed rating for Dhanlaxmi Bank’s tier II bonds under “credit watch” after private sector lender reported loss of Rs 252 crore for financial year 2013-14. Its capital adequacy (under Basel III) stood at 8.67%, below minimum regulatory requirement of 9% at end of March 2014. These factors would trigger the lock-in clause pertaining to the Upper Tier II Bond.
• An Indian Passenger Semi-Bullet Train Sets New National Speed Record of 160 kilometres an hour (100 miles an hour) on Thursday during a test between the capital and the Taj Mahal city of Agra.The introduction of high-speed links and bullet trains were one of the key poll campaign promises of India’s new right-wing prime minister, Narendra Modi, who won elections in May. Despite setting a new record, the train is still some way from the Japanese “Shinkansen” admired by Modi which reach speeds of 320 kilometres an hour.
• SBI to open 5K new ATMs with an aim to curb the financial burden. The move is aimed at helping improve the debit cards-to-ATMs ratio for the bank and may also possibly help it save money expended on ATM interchange fees.

Daily Current Affairs : 4th July 2014

• President Pranab Mukherjee becomes first serving President of India to join Twitter. President joined on Twitter with @RashtrapatiBhvn (https://twitter.com/RashtrapatiBhvn). The account is the official Twitter account of Rashtrapati Bhavan and is run by President’s Secretariat and tweets from the President Pranab Mukherjee are signed. PM Modi also has an account on twitter with the handle @narendramodi and former President Abdul Kalam with the handle @apj_abdul_kalam.
• Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, a onetime aide to British Prime Minister David Cameron, has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for participating in a conspiracy to hack the phones of celebrities, politicians and crime victims.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) restored the limit of Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) by an Indian company under the automatic route of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 2004. With this decision now an Indian company can undertake financial commitment or invest up to 400 percent of the net worth in all its Joint Ventures (JVs) and/or Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (WOSs) abroad.
• Ram Naresh Yadav was sworn-in as Governor of Chhattisgarh at Raj Bhawan, Raipur on 2 July 2014. Ram Naresh Yadav, Governor of Madhya Pradesh, has been given the additional charge of Chhattisgarh. He was administered oath of secrecy by the Chief Jusitce Yatindra Singh of Bilaspur High Court, Chhattisgarh.Ram replaced Shekhar Dutt, who resigned as the Governor of Chhattisgarh on 18 June 2014.
• Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris will be visiting India next week to hold talks with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj on key issues, including the welfare of Tamil community in Sri Lanka and the resolution of the fishermen issues.
• Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and American World War II veteran who survived two years as a prisoner of war, has died at the age of 97. He died peacefully on Wednesday after a 40-day battle with pneumonia. Zamperini’s life was the subject of the 2010 book Unbroken and an upcoming film adaption to be released this year.

Daily Current Affairs : 5th July 2014

• Four Indian-Americans were among 40 people who were honoured for their contributions to the US in the annual great immigrants tribute in New York on the country’s Independence day. Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella, comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi, Carnegie Mellon University president Subra Suresh and former president of the University of West Georgia, Beheruz Sethna were honoured along with 36 others, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• Goa Governor B V Wanchoo on Friday resigned as Governor of Goa as government went about finalizing its plans for replacing the Governors appointed during the previous UPA regime. 63-year-old Wanchoo sent his resignation after he received a call from Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami on Friday morning asking him to resign.
• The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) and the Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly implement schemes for the promotion of farm producer organisations (FPOs). Under the deal, Nabard will leverage the benefits of the equity grant and credit guarantee fund for FPOs set up by SFAC to ensure that finance for producer companies flows smoothly, an Agriculture Ministry release said.
• Indian nurses freed from Iraq return to Kochi. Air India special aircraft, AI 160, ferrying them along with the remaining 137 evacuees made a smooth touchdown at 11.52 a.m. as a motley crowd of relatives, friends, officials, and the media gathered outside the international terminal.
• Senegal President Macky Sall has sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure after her ruling party was beaten in local elections. 51-year-old Ms. Toure, heading the Alliance for the Republic, APR, was named Prime Minister last year and replaced incumbent Abdoul Mbaye in September.
• Germany beat France 1-0, reach fourth successive semifinal. Mats Hummels’ first half header proved decisive as Germany marched into the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup for a record fourth time in a row with a 1-0 win over fellow European giants France in Rio De Janeiro on Friday.
• A sensational David Luiz free kick took Brazil into the World Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Colombia but the tournament hosts saw star striker Neymar carried off in agony. Brazil’s captain Thiago Silva will also be suspended for Tuesday’s semi-final against Germany after he followed up his first World Cup goal with his second yellow card of the tournament.