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Current Affairs Today – July 18 2015

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Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.

**Blue Heading are Detailed News, Click the News to Read More**

Indian Affairs 

Govt approves bill to scrap 295 obsolete laws

  • Government has approved a bill to scrap a set of 295 obsolete Acts dealing with several issues.
  • The Repealing and Amending (Fourth) Bill, 2015 will be introduced in Lok Sabha for scrapping 295 Acts, several of them over 30 years old, which have been declared as redundant by respective central ministries.
  • 125 archaic laws have already been repealed. The Law Ministry has identified 1,871 more laws which have lost relevance today.

India’s first private air freight station all set to open in Chennai

  • India’s first air freight station in the private sector has come up at Irungattukottai near Chennai.
  • The first AFS in the country was set up in 2007 inside Central Warehousing Corporation in the city.
  • The AFS is set up by the city-based Indev Logistics at a cost of Rs50 crore.This will provide relief to the long winding queues of cargo near the airport gateways.
  • Madras airport lost out a lot of cargo because of congestion and inefficient ways of handling. The AFS aims to tackle such problems with the help of technology.

46th Session of Indian Labour Conference on July 20-21, 2015 in New Delhi

The 46th Session of the Indian labour Conference will be held on July 20-21, 2015 in New Delhi and will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.

The agenda of conference are:

  • Implementation of the conclusions/ recommendations of the 43rd, 44th and 45th Indian Labour Conference particularly on Contract Labour, Minimum Wages and Scheme Workers and Tripartite Mechanism.
  • Social Security for the workers both in organized and unorganized sector.
  • Amendment of Bonus Act – Removal of conditions on payment ceiling, eligibility limits, decisions to pay minimum bonus without linking to loss when the performance indicator satisfy grant of bonus.
  • Labour Laws amendments proposed/done either by the Central or State Governments.
  • Employment and Employment Generation

International Affairs 

EU approves 7 Billion Euro Short-Term Loan to Greece

  • European Union has formally approved a short-term loan of 7.16 billion euros to Greece
  • This agreement is backed by the 28 member states and this loan will allow Greece to pay its debt to European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) till new bailout plan is ratified.

Indian students help US win Math Olympiad after 21 yrs

  • Two Indian-origin students Shyam Narayanan, 17, and Yang Liu Patil, 18 have helped the US win the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad after more than two decades.
  • The six-member US team that won the renowned award after a gap of 21 years. India was ranked 37th in the competition.

 

Awards

Acquisitions 

Mindtree acquires 2 Companies from UK and US

  • Mindtree, IT services company has announced acquisitions of two companies Bluefin Solutions and Relational Solutions.
  • Bluefin Solutions is a British technology consultancy while Relational Solutions is a US-based analytics firm.

Torrent Pharma completes Zyg Pharma acquisition

  • Drug company Torrent Pharmaceuticals has completed acquisition of Encore Group firm Zyg Pharma Pvt Ltd.
  • Zyg Pharma is a part of the Merchant family-promoted Encore Group. It manufactures various dermatological formulations like creams, ointments, gels, lotions and solutions.

Environment 

Two new plant species discovered in Western Ghats

Two new plant species discovered in Western Ghats

Scientists from Kerala have discovered two new plant species from the forest regions of Western Ghats.

The two plants are:

  • Anisochilus shoolamudianus – Ashrub plant belonging to the mint family.
  • Eriocaulon manoharanii – A herbaceous plant belonging to the pipeworts family

The findings were published in the June 2015 issue of the international journal Webbia: Journal of Plant Taxonomy and Phytogeography.

Obituary

Uruguay’s soccer legend Alcides Ghiggia passes away

  • Uruguay’s soccer legend Alcides Edgardo Ghiggia has passed away at 88.
  • He scored the winning goal in the final game of the 1950 World Cup to give Uruguay a stunning 2-1 victory over Brazil.

Jules Bianchi: F1 driver dies from Suzuka crash injuries

  • French Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has died of critical head injuries sustained at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix. He was 25.
  • He had been in coma since the accident in last October.
  • Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, the GP2 Series and Formula Three and was a Ferrari Driver Academy member.

Important Days