CURRENT AFFAIRS - JULY 2014 INFO TRACK

Economy

1. Central Board of Direct Tax (CBDT) on 17 July 2014 constituted a six-member empowered committee to reduce litigation at the dispute resolution forums in the Income Tax Department. The Committee will also suggest steps to reduce legal cases and has been asked to submit its report within two months.
2. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 15 July 2014 announced to ease the infrastructure financing norms in order to encourage infrastructure development and affordable housing.
3. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 15 July 2014 barred founder of Satyam Computers, B Ramalinga Raju and four other top executives from accessing the capital markets for 14 years.
4. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17 July 2014 issued draft guidelines for licensing of payments banks and small banks. Both these banks will be created with a common objective of furthering financial inclusion by adding value through adapting technological solutions to lowers costs.
5. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely on 9 July 2014 presented Economic Survey of India 2013-14 in the Lok Sabha. India’s economy in financial year 2014-15 is expected to grow in the range of 5.4 – 5.9 percent overcoming sub-5 percent growth. The Survey listed certain risk factors for the growth and they are poor monsoon, the external environment and the poor investment climate.
6. Union Budget introduced new scheme Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojna for tribals, National level institutes for Universal Inclusive Design, Mental Health Rehabilitation and a Centre for Disability Sports to be established.
7. Union budget to energize capital markets introduced uniform KYC norms and inter-usability of the KYC records across the financial sector.
8. The Union Budget provided finances to set up an institute which provides support to mainstream the 4PIndia, Comprehensive policy will be announced, to develop Jal Marg Vikas (project on Ganges) and encouraging Tier I and Tier II airports.
9. Union Budget 2014-15 provided new initiatives like National Industrial Corridor Authority and preparing master planning of industrial corridors and economic corridors to increase the industrial growth.
10. National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC) on 4 July 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of Small Farm Producers.
11. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 2 July 2014 approved the inclusion of onion and potato under the purview of stock holding limits under the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The inclusion will remain in force for a year. 
12. Indian Railways on 3 July 2014 successfully conducted a trial run of a semi-high-speed train to make travel faster between Delhi and Agra. This train is equipped with an electronic locomotive of WAP 5400 horse power from the Ghaziabad Loco Shed. It is the country’s fastest train. 

News

1. Business 20 (B20) Australia Summit was held in Sydney, Australia on 18 July 2014. At the Summit, the business leaders of G20 countries issued a blueprint for G20 leaders to boost economic and job growth and make global economy more resilient to deal with future shocks.
2. The Global Innovation Index 2014 (GII) was released at the B20 Australia Summit held in Sydney on 18 July 2014. The 2014 Index was released by the Australia’s industry minister Ian Macfarlane. GII 2014 in its 9th edition covers 143 countries around the world and uses 81 indicators across a range of theme.
3. Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane, MH-17, was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on 17 July 2014. The Plane was shot down at an altitude of 10000 meters (33000 feet).
4. 7th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit will be held in New Delhi, India in 2015. This was announced after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met South African President Jacob Juma on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil on 16 July 2014.
5. Om Prakash Kohli on 16 July 2014 took oath of office as Governor of Gujarat. He succeeded Kamla Beniwal who was transferred to Mizoram by the President of India
6. Environmentalist and social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt on 15 July 2014 was awarded with the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013.
7. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kuthar Warship was damaged in a mishap on 13 July 2014. This was the 15th such incident after INS Sindhurakshak sank on 14 August 2013. The Indian Navy ordered a Board of Inquiry to probe the incident.
8. World Population Day was observed across the world on 11 July 2014. The theme of World Population Day 2014 was investing in Young People. It is observed to bring awareness to people about importance of small families and living healthy lives.
9. India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2013 was released in New Delhi by Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests & Climate of 8 July 2014.  The report provides information on forest cover, tree cover, mangrove cover and growing stock inside and outside forest areas.
10. Emma Watson, the British Actress on 8 July 2014 was appointed as theGoodwill Ambassador for UN Women.
11. India on 8 July 2014 successfully test-fired an advanced version of the 290-km range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from Chandipur-on-Sea off Odisha coast.
12. President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 July 2014 joined Twitter with the handle -@RashtrapatiBhvn. He is the first serving president of India to join Twitter.
13. 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.
14. Four India-born Americans were honoured on the eve of US Independence Day on 4 July 2014. They were honoured for their contributions to the US during annual Great Immigrants tribute held in New York, US.
15. DY Patil, the Governor of Bihar, on 4 July 2014 assumed the additional charge of West Bengal as the acting Governor. His oath of the office was administered by senior most judge Justice Asim Kumar Bandyopadhya of the Calcutta High Court at a function in Raj Bhawan in Kolkata. 
16. Special Air India flight carried 46 Indian nurses and 137 others from Erbil in Kurdistan, Iraq arrived to Kochi in Kerala, India on 5 July 214. 
17. Bharat Vir Wanchoo, the Governor of Goa resigned on 4 July 2014. He is the fifth Governor to resign in last one month after M K Narayanan (West Bengal), B L Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh) and Ashwani Kumar (Nagaland).

 Corporate

1. B Ashok on 16 July 2014 took charge as Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the India’s largest oil firm.
2. M S Mehta was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reliance Infrastructure on 7 July 2014. He took charge as CEO for a period of five years.
3. Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ) on 4 July 2014 formed a joint venture (JV) with French shipping company CMA CGM to build a container terminal. The container terminal will be built at Mundra in Gujarat.
4. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 3 July 2014 announced to provide 50 million US dollars of equity investment into an Indian company, ReNew Power Ventures Private Limited.

International

1. 7th BRICS Summit will be held in Russian city of Ufa in 2015. The announcement was made in Fortaleza Declaration on 16 July 2014 on the sidelines of 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
2. Bolivia on 18 July 2014 passed a law to legalise child labour for kids from age 10. The bill was approved by Bolivian Congress in June 2014. The bill was signed into law by the Vice President of Bolivia.
3. 6th BRICS Summit was held in Fortaleza, Brazil on 15 July and 16 July 2014. The theme of the Summit was Inclusive Growth: Sustainable Solutions.
4. India and Brazil on 16 July 2014 signed three agreements during the sixth BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil. The agreement was signed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Brazilian President official residence the Itamaraty Palace.
5. Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as Syria’s President in Damascus for a seven-year term on 16 July 2014. With this he became the President for the third consecutive term. He was re-elected after a presidential election that was held in June 2014. 
6. India and Canada has signed an India-Canada Audiovisual Co-production Treaty with an aim to create jobs in both countries and boost tourism. This audiovisual treaty is the first of its kind for India and was signed in Delhi. The treaty came into force on 1 July 2014 but the announcement was made on 9 July 2014.
7. India and United Kingdom on 8 July 2014 decided to launch negotiations forcivil nuclear cooperation. The decision was taken during the visit of UK foreign secretary of state William Hague to India.  He visited India on 7- 8 July 2014.
8. German Cabinet headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 3 July 2014 approved a new law that allows dual citizenship for the children of immigrants on 3 July 2014.
9. Senegal President Macky Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.
10. UN Tribunal, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 8 July 2014 ruled on the Indo-Bangladesh maritime border dispute of the Bay of Bengal. The court has awarded 19467 square kilometers, a major part of disputed area to Bangladesh from a total disputed area of 25602 square kilometers.
11. Senegal President Macky Sall on 4 July 2014 sacked Prime Minister Ms Aminata Toure. She was sacked due to her failure to win a seat from Dakar in the 2014 local elections.
12. Japan on 1 July 2014 ended the 60 years of pacifism giving Army the option to exercise force. The resolution towards this was adopted by Japanese Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Shizo Abe.
13. China – South Korea bilateral summit was held in Seoul on 3 July 2014. The summit was held between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was held during the Chinese President Xi’s first visit to South Korea since he became the President in 2013.
14. Japan on 3 July 2014 issued multiple entry visas for short term stay to Indians. The visas will allow Indian visitors to spend up to 15 days on a visit and the visas are likely to be valid for three years.
15. Four-party meet held in Berlin on 2 July 2014 agreed on a series of step to resume the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. The four-party meet was held between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.
16. France on 30 June 2014 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.
17. Sri Lanka and Seychelles on 28 June 2014 signed 6 agreements of bilateral importance. The agreements were signed during the visit of Sri Lankan President to Seychelles.
18. India and China on 30 June 2014 signed three agreements in the fields of commerce, water resources and human resources development. The signed agreements will facilitate China to set up industrial parks, share hydrological information during Brahmaputra floods and impart training to public officials.

 Sports

1. Germany was ranked number One in the latest release of the FIFA's world rankings released on 17 July 2014. Germany improved its position by one places as it was ranked number two behind Spain until now.
2. Philipp Lahm, the captain of Germany’s football team announced his retirement from international game on 18 July 2014. He announced his retirement just five days after Germany led by him won its fourth football World Cup beating Argentina
3. The 127th edition of the Durand Cup Football Tournament will be held in Goa from 28th October 2014 to 9th November 2014. This was revealed by a Defence press release from Mumbai on 15 July 2014.
4. Mahela Jayawardene, the former skipper of Sri Lankan cricket team, announced his retirement from Test cricket on 14 July 2014. He will retire from Test Cricket after the home series against Pakistan in August 2014
5. Sim Bhullar became the first basketball player of Indian origin to join the National Basketball Association (NBA). He signed a summer contract in second week of July 2014 with the Sacramento Kings, a professional basketball team in the US.
6. Germany on 13 July 2014 became the 2014 FIFA World Cup championafter defeating Argentina 1-0 at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The single goal of the final was made by Mario Gotze during the extra-time. 
7. FIFA on 9 July 2014 suspended Nigeria from all international football competitions with immediate effect. Nigeria was suspended on account of government interference in running Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
8. Sania Mirza, the Indian tennis ace, along with her Zimbabwean doubles partner Cara Black on 7 July 2014 were ranked career-best fifth in the latest WTA Doubles rankings. 
9. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and TheFootballLink on 8 July 2014 jointly launched F-Cube, technology to promote football at the grass-root level. F-Cube technology was launched at the Weightlifting Auditorium of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. 
10. Petra Kvitova of Czechslovakia on 5 July 2014 won the women’s single of Wimbledon Tennis Open of 2014. To win her second title, she defeated the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-0.
11. Novak Djokovic of Serbia on 6 July 2014 won the Men’s Wimbledon Tennis Open defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland. He defeated Federer 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-4. This is the second Wimbledon title for 27-year-old, Djokovic and seventh career Grand Slam. Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.
12. Marylebone Cricket Club XI on 5 July 2014 won the match played to celebrate 200-years (bi-centenary) of Lord’s Cricket Ground – the Home of Cricket. Sachin Tendulkar-led MCC XI beat Shane Warne-led Rest of the World XI in Lord’s in London, UK.
13. Jitu Rai became World Number 1 pistol shooter in the men's 10m air pistol category. This was revealed by the latest rankings released by the International Shooting Federation (ISSF) on 1 July 2014.
14. Pankaj Advani, the Indian cueist on 29 June 2014 won his maiden IBSF 6-Red World snooker title at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. To win the title, he defeated Kacper Flilpiak of Poland in a game that lasted for an hour.