Current Affairs: 9 July 2017

National Events

Delhi Govt Launches Scheme Allowing 'Free Surgeries' in 48 Private Hospitals

• If patients do not get a date for surgery at a government hospital within one month, they can get themselves treated in private ones free of cost under the Delhi government's 'Free Surgery Scheme'.
• Such cases will be taken care of at 48 NABH-accredited private hospitals in Delhi-NCR. These include Moolchand Hospital, Rockland Hospital and Batra Hospital in south Delhi.
• The facility is available for 52 types of specified surgeries like heart by-pass, kidney stone surgery and laparoscopic gall bladder surgery.
• A patient should be a bona fide resident of Delhi to avail the scheme. The government has not put any income restriction to undergo free surgery.
• The patient will have the option of choosing a private hospital, where he wants to undergo surgery.

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Bengaluru to host international meet on social justice

• A three-day Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar International conference on social justice will be held in Bengaluru from July 21 to 23
• The conference will unveil the 'Bengaluru Declaration' outlining specific constitutional, institutional and policy responses to concerns of equity, human rights, freedom and democracy,"
• The conference on 'Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar' is a coming together of progressive forces committed to safeguarding the constitutional idea of India,
• Calling for a re-think on the social, political and economic paradigms to transform the spirit of politics, the Chief Minister said the stakehlolders should study why and how marginalised groups were being discriminated against or excluded. 
• The conference will strive to resolve all these concerns. We will form an 'alliance of equity' to lay the foundation of a new India for a new time

India to join new Global Foreign Exchange Committee

• India will soon get a seat on the Global Foreign Exchange Committee (GFXC), a newly-constituted forum of central bankers and experts working towards promotion of a robust and transparent forex market. 
• The committee has been set up under the guidance of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an international financial organisation owned by 60 member central banks, representing countries from around the world. 
• In a progress report on 'reducing misconduct risks in the financial sector', the Financial Stability Board (FSB) informed the G20 Summit, 
• FSB is an international body for global financial system. 
• This Code will be maintained and updated by the new GFXC, comprising public and private sector representatives from the foreign exchange committees of 16 international forex trading centres. 

First Edition of WINGS 2017 Sab Uden, Sab Juden"- Expanding Regional Connectivity Hosted in New Delhi

• The First edition of WINGS 2017 Sab Uden, Sab Juden"- Expanding Regional Connectivity was hosted in New Delhi by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 
• Around 338 delegates from Government and Civil Aviation sector participated in the first edition of WINGS-2017. This event brought together the key stakeholders of the Aviation Sector such as States, Tourism Departments and Tour Operators as a Group representing airline consumers to facilitate interaction with various airlines, airport operators, cargo operators and other ecosystem players at a common forum. 
• The WINGS-2017 lived upon the expectations and served as a unique outcome oriented platform for the stakeholders of the entire ecosystem in the Civil Aviation sector. Some notable outcomes expected from the forum are identification, marketing of new routes, destination and most importantly making flying accessible to the citizens across the country. 

Ahmedabad becomes India’s first World Heritage City

• The Walled City of Ahmedabad, founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century, has been declared India’s first World Heritage City.
• The World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO made the announcement in Poland’s Krakwo.
• The 5.5 km walled city area with an approximate population of four lakh, living in century old wooden residences in around 600 pols or neighbourhoods, is regarded as a living heritage. The UNESCO had preferred Ahmedabad over Delhi and Mumbai. 
• It has now joined the privileged club of heritage cities like Paris, Cairo, Edinburg and two cities in the subcontinent, Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka.

First International Aviation Security seminar organised by National Security Guard in Haryana

• National Security Guard (NSG) organized First International Aviation Security Seminar in Manesar, Haryana.
• The seminar was inaugurated by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha whereas Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (I/C) Rajiv Pratap Rudy attended the seminar.

Govt to push e-education with 4 digital initiatives

• The Union government invited nearly 1,000 vice-chancellors of central, state, deemed and private universities and directors of premier institutes such as Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for the launch of four major digital initiatives in higher education on Guru Purnima 
• Pranab Mukherjee launched Swayam — an indigenously designed massive open online course (MOOC), Swayam Prabha — 32 Direct-to-Home channels for transmitting high-quality educational content, the National Digital Library containing 6.5 million books, and the National Academic Depository for authenticating all certificates issued by institutions.
• These initiatives will increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in the higher education from 24.5 (2015-16) to 30 by 2020,
• Swayam programme would target those students who could not complete their studies and professional who wished to upgrade their knowledge. Swayam, however, would not run courses such as engineering, medicine, dental, pharmacy, nursing, architecture, and physiotherapy.

India to invite 10 Asean leaders for Republic Day in 2018

• Taking an assertive step in its Act East Policy, India will invite the ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), leaders for the Republic Day parade and celebrations next year
• Republic Day 2018 will be the first time ever that so many leaders will together be chief guests at the parade which showcases India's military might. 
• It comes at a particularly tense time for China and India, who are engaged in a stand-off over their border that they share with Bhutan.
• Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are the members of Asean.
• Future focus areas of cooperation between ASEAN member states and India can be described in term of 3Cs- Commerce, Connectivity and Culture

International Events

Ex-martial arts star wins election as Mongolia's president

• Former martial arts star Khaltmaa Battulga won Mongolia’s presidential run-off election
• Battulga, 54, a member of the Democratic Party, won with 50.6 percent of the vote as 60.9 of Mongolia’s voters went to the poll, according to data from the General Election Commission. Battulga was running against parliament speaker Miyeegombo Enkhbold of the ruling Mongolian People’s Party, who drew 41.2 percent of the vote.

Sports

Valtteri Bottas wins Austrian Grand Prix

• Valtteri Bottas roared to the second victory of his career on Sunday when he won the Austrian Grand Prix for Mercedes ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari.
• The Finn, in his first season with Mercedes after replacing 2016 champion Nico Rosberg, came home 0.658 seconds clear of Vettel who increased his lead ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the drivers championship to 20 points.

Harinder wins South Australian Open title

• India's Harinder Pal Sandhu beat Rhys Dowling of Australia 11-8 12-10 11-4 in the final to win the South Australian Open squash title here today. 
• After winning the first game comfortably, Sandhu was down 1-7 as the Australian fought back strongly.
• However, Sandhu mounted a comeback to win the game. 
• The third game was a no-contest as the Indian, a former national champion, shut out Dowling's challenge to wrap up the title win in the PSA World Tour event. 
• Sandhu had upset top seed Piedro Schweertman of the Netherlands 11-9 14-12 7-11 11-9 in the semifinal

Asian Athletics Championships: Sudha Singh wins gold in women's steeplechase

• Sudha Singh clinched a gold in women's 3000m steeplechase event to swell India's medal tally on the third and penultimate day at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships
• The Uttar Pradesh athlete won the race in 9 minute 59.47 seconds to grab the first gold of the day for India in front of a packed crowd at the Kalinga Stadium.
• In men's 110m hurdles, India's Siddharth Thingalaya finished fifth in 13.72 seconds. Kuwait won both the gold and silver with Abdulazia Al-Mandeel and Yaqoub Al-Youha clocking 13.50 and 13.59 respectively.
• With this gold, India have swelled their medal tally to 7 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze.

Polo: India score thrilling win vs Pakistan, clinch World Cup spot

• India defeated Pakistan 8-7 in a crucial qualifying match of the Polo World Cup in Tehran 
• Both teams fought well but India put pressure on Pakistan from the start and scored quick goals. Pakistan bounced back, and the score read 7-7 in the last chukker. 
• However, in the dying minutes, India secured a penalty and Dhruvpal Godara converted it to seal the match.

14-year-old amateur becomes youngest LET winner

• Atthaya Thitikul, 14, became the youngest winner on the Ladies European Tour on Sunday when she beat Ana Menendez of Mexico by two strokes in the inaugural Ladies European Thailand championship at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Chinburi
• At 14 years, four months and 19 days, Atthaya broke the previous record of the formerly top-ranked Lydia Ko, who at 14 years and eight months won her first professional event at the New South Wales Open in 2012.

Banking & Finance

Nepal SBI launches first paperless banking services

• Nepal SBI Bank, a subsidiary of the State Bank of India, today launched its fully automatic digital banking services in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.
• This is for the first time the State Bank of India has expanded the paperless banking system outside India.
• Digital banking provides various services including cash deposit, opening of new accounts, distribution of debit card, ATM and online banking information on touch of the screen.
• Customers can avail the services from SBI Intouch Bank.
• The digital banking unit also has a robot, which provides important information to customers in an interactive manner.

Awards & Achievements

A R Rahman shortlisted for World Soundtrack Awards

• Double Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman is delighted to have been shortlisted for the World Soundtrack Awards Public Choice Award for Viceroy’s House.
• Set in 1947, Viceroy’s House, directed by Gurinder Chadha, revolves around the story of Partition, and features Huma Qureshi, the late Om Puri, Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and Michael Gambon.

India creates history, tops medal tally at Asian Athletics C’ships

• In a stunning show of dominance, India clinched five gold to top the medal tally for first time in the history of Asian Athletics Championships, pushing China to second spot, in their most successful campaign in the continental flagship event here on Sunday.
• With Sunday’s 5 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze, India ended the four-day championships on top with their highest ever medal haul of 29 medals (12 gold, 5 silver and 12 bronze). 
• India’s best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition where they had won 22 medals (10 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze).
• China ended this edition on second position with 8 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze. They won 3 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze on Sunday.

Ranveer Singh & Baahubali's Prabhas ranked under '50 Most Influential Young Indians'

• Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, Baahubali fame Prabhas, badminton ace P.V. Sindhu and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma have been named in a list of the 50 Most Influential Young Indians of 2017 by GQ India magazine.
• The GQ Power List was celebrated with the announcement of 50 most influential Indians under the age of 40 from a diverse range of backgrounds and professions - business and entrepreneurship, politics, fashion, design, media, food and drink, entertainment, sports, and real estate to name a few.
• Some of the Other names to feature in the list include Akash Ambani, Alankrita Shrivastava, Amrita Pandey, Nitesh Kripalani, Aneeth Arora, Rajkummar Rao, Prabhat Choudhary, Radhika Apte, Diljit Dosanjh, Sanjay Garg, Kanan Gill, Vir Das and Zorawar Kalra.

Appointments

John Joseph to take charge as chief of GST intelligence agency

• A key intelligence agency tasked with checking evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has got its new chief.
• Senior bureaucrat John Joseph has been appointed Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DG GSTI),
• He is at present posted in Mumbai and expected to take the new charge soon.
• Joseph, a 1983 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), has worked in the Finance Ministry's important departments, including the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
• The DG GSTI is the new name given to the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), mandated to check service tax and central excise duty evasion.

Raninder Singh re-elected NRAI president

• Raninder Singh was re-elected as president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for another four-year term.
• In the elections conducted on the PCA stadium premises here, Singh defeated Shyam Singh Yadav, president of Uttar Pradesh Rifle Association, with an overwhelming 89-1 margin.
• Raninder is the son of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

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