5th July 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• India is going to host meet of the heads of Anti-Narcotics agencies of BRICS nations to discuss issues related to narco-terrorism and money laundering. 
• • This one day meeting will be held on 8th July 2016.
  • This meeting will be hosted by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
  • Aim of this meeting : To take into consideration of illicit drug trafficking including diversion of precursors and chemicals, usage of new psychoactive substances.

National Affairs

• The government has today renamed the Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras High Courts. 
• • These courts, established after an 1862 order by Queen Victoria of Great Britain, will now be called the Mumbai HC, the Kolkata HC, and the Chennai HC. 
  • This decision needs to be approved by the President.
• The annual Rath Yatra (Chariot festival) will commence in Puri, Odisha from 6th July 2016, and its return, Bahuda Yatra will fall on 15th July 2016. 
• • The Hindu festival involves devotees carrying chariots with idols of Lord Jagannath, Balaram and sister Subhadra to visit their aunt for nine days.  
  • The festival is taken to an international level by the ISKCON Foundation.
• Indian Cabinet today,
• • Apprised of a joint issue of postage stamps between Department of Posts and Portugal Post.
  • Approved extension of interest subvention on crop loans to farmers.
  • Approved increase in foreign investment from current approved level of 62% to 74% of total paidup share capital of Axis Bank.
  • Approved long-term contract with Mozambique for import of pulses either through pvt channels or Govt-to-Govt sales through State Agencies.
  • Approved MoU between India and Tanzania in Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.
  • Gave 'in-principle' approval for setting up a Major port at Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu.
  • Cleard National Apprentice Promotion Scheme.
  • • The Scheme will catalyze the entire apprenticeship ecosystem in the country and it will offer a win-win situation for all stakeholders.
    • It is expected to become one of the most powerful skill-delivery vehicle in the country. 
• The 3rd phase of the Centre's ‘Mission Indradhanush’ will cover 13 districts in Madhya Pradesh. 
• • Launched by Health Minister JP Nadda in 2015, the initiative aims at the full immunisation of children against 7 vaccine-preventable diseases (Diphtheria, Whooping cough, Tetanus, Polio, Tuberculosis, Measles and Hepatitis B), by 2020. 
  • The initiative will be monitored in real-time on a daily basis.
• The Assam government today announced a 100-day plan for the development of agriculture, urban infrastructure, and veterinary sectors in the state. 
• • The plan includes issuing soil health cards to farmers, building cold storages, setting up e-tendering of seed distribution, and urban infrastructure development. 
  • The government also plans to commercialise four of the 22 poultry farms across Assam.
    

New Appoitments

• 19 new Ministers of State inducted in the Union council of Ministers today.
• Sudarshan Sen has today appointed as the Executive Director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). 
• • He will replace NS Vishwanathan who was elevated as Deputy Governor of RBI. 
  • In his new role, Sudarshan Sen will look after Department of Banking Regulation, Department of Co-operative Bank Regulation and Department of Non-Banking Regulation.
• Linda Burney, has became the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Representatives (lower house) of the Parliament of Australia. 
• • She achieved the fete after claiming victory in the marginal seat of Barton.
  • With this, she joins first Aboriginal MP Ken Wyatt of the conservative Liberal Party who was elected in 2010.
• Mr K B Koliwad was today unanimously elected as Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. 
• Noted scientist M V Dhekane has assumed the office of Director of ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 
• • With this Dhekane becomes the 7th director of IISU which functions under the aegis of the Department of Space.

Business & Economy

• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) at Nhava Sheva in Raigad District of Maharashtra has become the first port in India to implement logistics data bank tagging system of containers. 
• • The first of its kind system has been launched as part of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiatives implemented at JNPT Port. 
  • It focuses on document, time and cost reduction for the benefit of trade.
• The Madhya Pradesh state cabinet today gave its nod to a proposal for imposing entry tax on online shopping.
• • Now 6% entry tax will be levied on the online shopping in the state.

Science & Technology

• NASA's $1.1 billion Juno spacecraft today successfully entered the orbit of Jupiter, the largest planet of the solar system. 
• • Launched five years ago, the spacecraft will study Jupiter's composition, gravity, magnetic field and search clues about the planet's formation. 
  • Juno will be the second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, following the Galileo probe which orbited from 1995–2003.
  • Check complete details about Juno Spacecraft from here. 
• Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, was born on this day (5th July) in the year 1996, in Scotland.
• • Scientists cloned Dolly after 277 failed attempts, as most of them ended up in miscarriages and deformed births.
  • Dolly, who later gave birth to several lambs, developed lung disease along with arthritis and eventually died in 2003.
• English scientist Isaac Newton's 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy' was published on this day (5th July) in the year 1687. 
• • The book, originally written in Latin, contains mathematical formulations of Newton’s laws of motion, law of gravity, and a derivation of the laws of planetary motion. 
  • In this book, Newton also developed the calculus, a key mathematical tool in the domain of science and engineering.
• Switzerland-based MSC Cruises will launch its first smart ship, MSC Meraviglia, in June 2017 to sail across the western Mediterranean. 
• • The ship, which can house 4,500 guests, features an indoor promenade with a 262-foot LED sky. 
  • In addition to two F1 simulators and a 5D cinema, the technologically advanced ship will also let guests pay for items using smart bracelets.

Deaths

• Noel Neill (95), the first actress to play Superman's girlfriend, 'Lois Lane' on the big screen, passed away. 
• • Her first appearance as Superman's love interest was in 1948's movie serial, 'Superman'. 
  • She received the Golden Boot Award in the year 2004 and also has a life-size statue of her as 'Lois Lane' in Metropolis, Illinois.

Awards & Honors

• South African writer and filmmaker, ‎Liduduma lingani‬ has won the ‎Caine Prize‬ 2016 for his short story, 'Memories We Lost'.
• • Memories We Lost is told by a girl who acts as protector of her sister, whose serious mental illness is badly misunderstood in a South African village.
  • About Caine Prize
  • • This £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, and was named in memory of Sir Michael Harris Caine, former Chairman of Booker Group plc.
    • The prize is also known as the "African Booker".
• The final instalment of the Harry Potter series, 'The Deathly Hallows' is recognised by Guinness World Records as 'the fastest selling book of fiction in 24 hours' with a total of 15 million books sold. 
• • With 12 million books printed in the first run, it also holds a record for the 'highest initial print run for a fiction book'.

Sports

• The Olympians Association of India (OAI), the first-ever association for Indian Olympians, by the Olympians, was launched today. 
• • The Olympians Association of India's official Twitter account, @IndianOlympians, will serve as the platform for real-time updates of the Indian contingent at the upcoming Rio Olympics. 
  • Important Note : Five-time Olympian Shiva Keshavan will serve as the association's First President.
• The official theme song of the Rio Olympics, titled ‘Alma e Coração’ (Heart and Soul), was released today. 
• • The song has been composed by Samba star Thiaguinho and rapper Projota, both Brazil natives, and features shots of Rio’s Olympic Aquatics Stadium and Leblon beach. 
  • Four children, whose stories have inspired the song, are also featured in the music video.

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