Current Affairs Today – July 24 2015

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 

• Maharashtra cabinet approves Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Jan Van Vikas Scheme

President nominates 2 members of Anglo-Indian Community to Lok Sabha

• President Pranab Mukherjee has appointed 2 members of Anglo-Indian Community to Lok Sabha as per the provisions of Article 331 of Indian Constitution. Nominted Persons are
• Professor Richard Hay: He hails from Kerala. Presently, he teaches economics in various academic institutes in India as well as abroad.
• George Baker: He hails from West Bengal and is actor by profession. Since 1970s, he has acted in several Assamese and Bengali movies.

First All-Women Trans Continental Road Expedition flagged off from New Delhi

• The All-Women Trans Continental Road Expedition has been flagged off from Delhi to London by Union Minister for Chemical & Fertilisers & Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports.
• The 3 participants will travel via Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Poland Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium & France for almost 55 days.
• The drive is approximately 12,000 kms from Delhi to London.

International Affairs 

• WTO members sealed a deal to cut tariffs on $1 trillion worth IT products
• 7 Indian companies among World’s largest companies: Fortune Magazine

Appointments 

Ajay Mathur appointed as Director-General of TERI

• R K Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by a woman employee, has been sacked as the chief of TERI.
• Ajay Mathur has been appointed as Director General of TERI ( The Energy and Resource Institute). Currently, he is the Director General of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Union Government.

T K Chand appointed as CMD of National Aluminium Company

• TK Chand has been appointed as the new chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of National Aluminium CompanyBSE(Nalco). Chand who has been Director (Commercial) of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), will take up his new position on Monday, July 27, 2015.
• The Public Enterprises Selection Board recommended his name for appointment as CMD of the Nalco in November last year after short-listing 11 candidates. The Department of Personnel issued the appointment order earlier this week.

Suresh Narayanan to replace Etienne Benet as Nestlé India MD

• The company’s managing director Etienne Benet is stepping down with immediate effect and will be replaced by Suresh Narayanan, who is currently the chairman of Nestlé Philippines.
• Benet is leaving with effect from 25 July 2015 and will be relocating to Nestlé Group head office in Switzerland.
• Nomination has been received from Nestlé SA for the appointment of Suresh Narayanan as the managing director of the company with effect from 1 August 2015.

Acquisitions & Mergers

Lupin buys U.S. firm Gavis for $880 million

• Indian pharmaceutical major Lupin has acquired US based Gavis Pharmaceuticals in cash-free and debt-free transaction for 880 million dollars (around 5,606 crore rupees). In this regard, Lupin has entered into definite agreement with Gavis Pharmaceuticals LLC and its subsidiary Novel Laboratories Inc.
• This acquisition will help the Indian company to expand and deepen its presence in US and enter into niche generics areas such as dermatology and controlled substances along with other high-value areas.

Business 

Reliance Group, Augur Overseas Operation signed MoU to manufacture Aerostats and Airships

• Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group through its entity Reliance Unmanned Systems on 23 July 2015 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Augur Overseas Operation of Singapore to manufacture Aerostats and Airships in India.
  Detailed view
• As per the MoU, both the parties will collaborate on new technologies for the civil and military market as part of the Make in India initiative of Union Government. The two companies have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) firm with Reliance having 51 percent stake as per Government’s policy.
• The joint venture will be involved in development, production, sales, modification and life support for different sizes of Aerostats and Airships. This JV will address the requirements of domestic market and also addressable regional/global markets.The Augur Overseas Operation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Augur Aeronautical Centre.

Science & Technology 

• Earth-like exoplanet Kepler 452b discovered

World’s first Malaria vaccine gets go-ahead from EU regulators

• The world’s first malaria vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline, has been approved by the European Medicines Agency for use in Africa from October after final trial data showed it offered partial protection for up to four years.
• European drugs regulators recommended that the drug should be licensed for use in babies in Africa at risk of the mosquito-borne disease.
• The vaccination, named Mosquirix, has been developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in partnership with the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative and it would be first licensed human vaccine against a parasitic disease
• In January 2001, GlaxoSmithKline and PATH entered into a public-private partnership to develop a vaccine against malaria with grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to PATH.
• Malaria killed an estimated 584,000 people in 2013, the vast majority of them in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 80 per cent of malaria deaths are in children under the age of five.
• Mosquirix has been designed specifically to combat malaria infection in children in Africa and will not be licensed for travellers

Sports 

Shubham Jaglan won IJGA World Stars of Junior Golf event 2015

• 10-year old Shubham Jaglan on 22 July 2015 won the IJGA World Stars of Junior Golf event in Las Vegas. Jaglan is the son of a milkman from rural Haryana, India.
• He shot a three round score of 106 winning by a five-stroke margin, ahead of two Americans Justin Dang and Sihan Sandhu and Thailand’s Pongsapak Laopakdee for the Boys 9-10 years category title.
• He also scripted a scintillating one-stroke win at the Junior World Golf Championships that was held at Welk Resort Fountain Course in California.