30th July 2015 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• The 'World Population Prospects : The 2015 Revision' launched in United Nations today projected that the population of India is expected to surpass that of China within seven years (by 2022).
• China and India remain the two largest countries in the world, each with more than 1 billion people, representing 19 and 18 per cent of the world's population, respectively.
• Currently, the population of China is approximately 1.38 billion compared with 1.31 billion in India.
• Ten largest countries in the world
• Five are in Asia (Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan),
• One in Africa (Nigeria),  
• Two are in Latin America (Brazil and Mexico), 
• One is in Northern America (USA), 
• One is in Europe (Russian Federation).
• Note : According to this report, India will remain the most populous the country in the world till 2100.
• Cyclonic storm 'Komen' hit the Bangladesh coast today evening, bringing with it heavy rainfall in Gangetic West Bengal and Odisha.
• With total assets of USD 43.4 billion, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has topped the list of the world’s wealthiest private foundations established by living ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals, according to a Wealth—X report.
• Li Ka Shing Foundation, founded in 1980 by Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing, ranked second with USD 8.1 billion in assets followed by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (USD 6.4 billion) and Bloomberg Philanthropies (USD 5.4 billion) in the third and fourth place, respectively.
• Pakistan today received some USD 336 million from the United States for its ongoing role in combating a Taliban insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan.
• The injection of cash, which comes as the Taliban steps up its annual summer offensive launched in late April, has helped Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves reach a fresh high of about USD 19 billion.
• Note : Regular payments to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) programme began in 2001 when Pakistan joined the US-led coalition in Afghanistan as a "frontline ally".
• Pakistan provides use of its air bases and other facilities in exchange for the reimbursements.

National Affairs

• In wake of the recent Maggi noodle incident, government has made it mandatory for all food business operators to have testing of packaged food products.
• As per the conditions of license prescribed in the Food Safety And Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011, all food business operators have to ensure testing of relevant chemical and microbiological contaminants in food products in accordance with these regulations. 
• Minister of Health and Family Welfare : Shripad Yesso Naik
• In a spontaneous outpouring of grief, thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to former President APJ Abdul Kalam who was on today laid to rest with full state honours in his home town in Rameswaram.

Deaths

• 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon executed today at Nagpur central jail. 
  
• This is India’s third execution since it lifted its informal eight-year moratorium on executions in December 2012, when it hanged Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. 
• In early 2013, Afzal Guru was hanged for his role in the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament.  
• About 1993 Mumbai Serial Blasts :
• The 1993 Bombay bombings was the name given to 13 serial explosions that took place in Mumbai on Friday, March 12, 1993.
• The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. 
• This was first of its kind serial-bomb-blasts across world. 
• The single-day attacks resulted in over 350 fatalities and 1200 injuries.

Business & Economy

• Seeking to provide mobile banking services to customers in the remotest of regions, Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) today launched a mobile banking app 'Kotak Bharat' which requires no internet connectivity.
• The 'inclusive digital banking' app is primarily targetted to benefit customers in the under-banked and un-banked regions, who can access its services in their preferred language.
• It is currently available in Hindi and English and would also be available in Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada in about a month, followed by other Indian languages.
• App-based taxi aggregator service Ola today launched an app named Ola Store announcing its entry into on-demand grocery delivery services. 
• The app helps customers to get all groceries delivered at the door step from local vendors within 60 minutes. 
• The app has been lauched on a pilot basis and is currently only available in Bengaluru.
• Britain's largest state-owned bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is in talks to sell off its private banking operations to Sanctum Wealth Management. 
• For this, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc has signed a non-binding framework agreement.

New Appointments

• Information technology hardware industry body, MAIT (the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology) has appointed Debjani Ghosh, vice-president sales and marketing group and managing director of Intel Corporation, South Asia, as the new President. S
• She is the first woman President of MAIT in its 32 years of history. 
• She succeeds Amar Babu, chief operation officer at Lenovo, Asia Pacific and chairman, Lenovo India.
• Note : Ghosh, who has been working with Intel for more than 19 years, was ranked among the 25 Most Powerful Women by Fortune India in 2013.

Books and Authors

• Indian writer Anuradha Roy and British-Indian Sunjeev Sahota are among the 13 international authors on the longlist for the Man Booker Prize of 2015.
• Ms. Roy has been selected for her novel Sleeping on Jupiter.
•  Mr. Sahota for her novel The Year of the Runaways.

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