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.