25th July 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• The members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) today resolved an on-going deadlock and issued a joint statement that the ASEAN remains "seriously concerned" over recent developments in the South China sea issue. 
• Note : The deadlock was over Philippines' request to include a UN Court ruling rejecting China's South China sea claims, which was blocked by China's ally Cambodia.
• During the G-20 countries' seminar that ended yesterday, Finance chiefs of world's biggest economies signalled toward rising concerns over anti-globalisation sentiment. 
• There is more importance of inclusive economic growth after 'Brexit' vote, an official said. 
• IMF chief Christine Lagarde said that there was a consensus that more needs to be done to share benefits of growth and economic openness.
• Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has resigned, plunging the Himalayan nation into a fresh bout of political uncertainty.
• Important Note : He was elected the 38th Prime Minister of Nepal in October 2015.

National Affairs

• The Union Government is planning to redraw Red Corridor by reducing the number of Maoist (LWE: Left wing extremism) affected districts by about a fifth. 
• In this regard, approximately 20 of the 106 districts which have been described as being Maoist-affected and are part of the Red Corridor may be removed from the list. 
• Once these districts are taken off the list of Red Corridor, the financial aid made available to these districts annually for various developmental works will dry up.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has launched a pilot project of e-complaint system on an experimental basis in Pune.
• The system will be launched across the state in next eight months.
  

General Knowledge

• The world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, was born on this day (25th July) in the year  1978 after her parents became the first couple to successfully undergo In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). 
• Louise was born in Manchester, United Kingdom and turns 38 years old today. 
• Important Note : Her autobiography, titled ‘My Life As The World’s First Test-Tube Baby’, was published in 2015.

New Appointments

• FMCG major ITC today appointed Sanjiv Puri as its Chief Operating Officer (COO) with immediate effect. 
• He will be responsible for overseeing the FMCG, paperboards, paper and packaging, and agri businesses of ITC. 

Business & Economy

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹5 crore on Bank of Baroda in the alleged ₹6,000 crore forex related irregularities that were observed in October last year. 
• The RBI had carried out an investigation and noted weaknesses and failures in the bank's internal control mechanisms including transaction monitoring, and assigning of Unique Customer Identification Code.
• With a user base of more than 335 million globally, Airtel is currently world's 3rd largest telecom provider. 
• Aimed to serve its 335 million user base in a much better way, Airtel recently launched MyPlan for its postpaid users with the tagline ‘Choose Anything. Waste Nothing’, allowing users to customise their bills as per their need.
• US internet firm Yahoo is being acquired by American telecoms giant Verizon Communications for nearly $5bn (£3.8bn) in cash.
• Note : Yahoo will be combined with AOL, another faded internet star, which Verizon bought last year.

Sports

• Professional cyclist, Chris Froome became Britain's first three-time winner of the Tour de France after finishing the 21-stage race in Paris.  
• The 3,529-km 23-day long Grand Tour, which started on July 2, featured a total of 198 riders from 22 teams.
• F1 driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix to top the drivers’ championship table for the first time this season. 
• Note : This is Hamilton’s fifth win at the Hungaroring circuit, making him the most successful driver at the track.

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