2nd August 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Under the "Campus Carry" law passed today, students in Texas over 21 years of age, with a concealed handgun license will be allowed to bring pistols into classrooms. 
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the law could help prevent mass shootings in colleges. 
• India’s Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has reportedly requested the Nepali citizens visiting India to carry identity cards with them. 
• Those without proper ID cards would be turned back from the border points. 
• Identification, however, is not needed in the bordering markets like Jhulaghat, Dharchula and Pithoragarh.
• US warplanes bombed Islamic State targets in Libya today following a request from the UN-backed government in the country, marking the start of a sustained air campaign. 
  
• Libya's PM Fayez Sarraj said the air strikes targetted the IS-stronghold of Sirte.

National Affairs

• The West Bengal State Assembly today approved a proposal to rename West Bengal as "Bengal" in English and "Bangla/Banga" in Bengali. 
• The proposal will be forwarded to the Centre for approval. 
• This was initiated after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee complained that state officials had to wait a lot during Central meetings due to alphabetically-ordered time slots.
• The Parliament has passed Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to conduct of uniform entrance examination for admission to all medical educational institutions. 
• The bill seeks to replace the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016 and its provisions will come in to force retrospectively from May 24, 2016.
• The Lok Sabha today passed the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provisions (Amendment) Bill, 2016. 
• The Bill aims to strengthen the debt recovery laws with an objective to improve the ease of doing business in India. 

Places in News

• The only underground museum in India will open at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on 2nd October 2016. 
• The museum will display British era paintings, gifts received by the Presidents and daily life at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Indian Railways has announced the commencement of the world's tallest girder rail bridge on the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line in Manipur. 
• The bridge with a height of 141 metres will surpass the existing tallest bridge in Europe which has a height of 139 metres. 
• Note : The country’s longest rail tunnel will also be developed along the Manipur railway line.

People in News

• After the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, Cabinet Minister for Health in the Government of Gujarat in India, Nitin Patel is likely to become the next CM.

General Knowledge

• Nazi leader Adolf Hitler became the absolute dictator of Germany on this day (2nd August) in the year 1934 under the title 'Führer' or 'Leader'. 
• The German dictator is known for leading his country to the Second World War, which ended with Germany's defeat in 1945. 
• Former American sprinter Michael Johnson became the first man to win Olympic gold medals in both 200-metre and 400-metre men’s sprint, on this day (2nd August) at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
• Note : Sprinter Usain Bolt broke Johnson’s 200-metre record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Science & Technology

• Japan's largest public broadcaster NHK has started the world's first 8K resolution regular TV satellite broadcast, which is 16 times as sharp as 1080p and allows 22.2-channel audio. 
• The 'Super Hi-Vision' test channel was launched today and broadcasts content in both 4K and 8K resolutions, and NHK is installing viewing stations across Japan to showcase footage from Rio Olympics.

Business and Economy

• Large industrial companies can invest only up to 10% in banks, and thus, cannot set up lenders, according to banking licenses' final guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India today. 
• Entities with total assets of at least ₹5,000 crore, where non-financial business does not account for 40% or more of total assets are eligible, RBI added.
• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises today announced that it has launched a performance and credit rating scheme to assess the capabilities and creditworthiness of industries in the sector. 
• The 'Performance and Credit Rating Scheme' will provide "trusted" third party opinion to create awareness about the strengths and weaknesses of enterprises' existing operations.
• IIM Bangalore's entrepreneurship summit 'Eximius 2016' is set to begin from August 6. 
• The two-day summit would be a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas through events including pitching to VCs, workshops and panel discussions. 
• Author and leadership consultant Devdutt Pattanaik and actors Kunal Kapoor and Piyush Mishra will be attending the summit.

Books & Authors

• A book titled R D Burmania: Panchamemoirs authored by senior Bollywood film and music-biz journalist Chaitanya Padukone was released today. 
• The book throws light on the life of legendary musician Rahul Dev Burman.

Awards & Honors

• Madhya Pradesh has received the first prize in the 'Best State/Union Territory for Comprehensive Development of Tourism' category, followed by Gujarat and Karnataka respectively, at the National Tourism Awards for 2014-15. 
• While Gujarat won the award for the 'Best Film Promotion Friendly State', Warangal in Telangana won the award for 'Best Heritage City'.

Sports

• Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju will head a legal panel which will advise and guide BCCI in adopting the Lodha Committee recommendations. 
• Katju will be assisted by three legal counsels, including BCCI legal advisor Abhinav Mukerjee. 
• Note : In a ruling in July, the Supreme Court had given BCCI six months to “reform” as per the Lodha Committee recommendations.
• Indian Martial artist Vivek Teja won the Martial Arts Championships in Sydney, Australia,  to become the World Karate Champion.

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