Current affairs- July 27, 2016
Irom Sharmila to end fast, contest elections in Manipur
Sixteen years after starting her hunger strike demanding the
repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Irom Chanu Sharmila has
decided to end it on August 9 and contest the Manipur Assembly elections as an
Independent candidate.
- She is the woman crusader who has been on a fast-unto-death since November 2000 demanding the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur. She was also recently acquitted in a case of attempted suicide registered in 2006.
International arbitration
tribunal rules against Antrix
An international tribunal in The Hague has ruled against the
Indian government over the cancellation of a contract between
telecommunications firm Devas Multimedia and Antrix Corporation Ltd., in a
decision that could cost the Centre billions of dollars in damages.
- The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague has ruled that the government’s actions in 2011 amounted to expropriation and that in annulling the ISRO-Devas contract, the country has breached treaty commitments to accord fair and equitable treatment to Devas’s foreign investors.
High-level panel to recast UGC, AICTE
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has directed the high-level
committee, headed by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya, to prepare a
road map for reforming the two regulatory bodies in the field of education —
the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical
Education (AICTE) — as well as the board looking after Homeopathy and Ayurvedic
education in the country.
India's biggest online retailer Flipkart is buying a smaller rival Jabong for $70 million (Rs.470 crore) in cash, according to Jabong's parent company Global Fashion Group (GFG).
GFG which is backed by Germany's highest-profile startup investor Rocket Internet SE and Sweden-based investment AB Kinnevik said the transaction is a decisive step in GFG’s strategy to refocus its business on core markets and further accelerate its path to profitability.
Flipkart would combine Jabong's business with Myntra, creating a firm with a base of 15 million monthly active users and offering luxury brands such as The North Face, Swarovski, Timberland and Lacoste.
Solar Impulse 2:
Solar Impulse 2 has completed the first round-the-world flight by a solar-powered aeroplane, after touching down in Abu Dhabi.
The plane, which has a wingspan wider than a Boeing 747 and carries more than 17,000 solar cells on its wings, began the circumnavigation in March 2015 in Abu Dhabi. It has since crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans using no fossil fuel and has spent more than 23 days in the air.
SC on jallikattu
While asserting that it disapproves arguments that the
‘Jallikattu’ should be allowed because it’s centuries old, the Supreme Court
has set August 30 as the final hearing date to decide on the constitutionality
of Jallikattu.
Background:
The court’s strong response was after Tamil Nadu argued that
Jallikattu – the mostly southern bull-racing sport – should be permitted as it
showcases a cultural tradition that has been part of the custom and culture of
people of the state for 5,000 years.
- The Supreme Court already banned Jallikattu once, in May 2014. At the time it said bulls could not be used as performing animals, either for Jallikattu or for bullock-cart races. However, in January, the Centre allowed the ‘sport’ in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. It was seen as a pre-state election manoeuvre; state elections were held in Tamil Nadu in May.
Indo-U.S. expedition discovers natural gas in
Indian Ocean
A large natural gas discovery has been made in the Indian Ocean
following a joint expedition by India and the U.S., opening up a new resource
to meet energy needs. India’s Oil Ministry and the U.S. Geological Survey made
the discovery of large, highly enriched accumulations of natural gas
hydrate — an icy form of the fuel — in the Bay of Bengal.
- This is the first discovery of its kind in the Indian Ocean that has the potential to be producible.
Union Govt. approved about 2lakh houses:
The
Union government has approved the construction of 2,44,267 houses for urban
poor by the year-end.At
present, the government is battling a housing deficit of 18.78 million units,
95 per cent of it for the urban poor.
The Housing
Ministry aims to build two crore houses in urban areas by 2022.
Person in News:
1. Arundati Ghose:
- She was an Indian diplomat.
- She was Permanent Representative of India to the UN Offices in Geneva and was head of the Indian delegation that participated in the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty(CTBT) negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva in 1996.
- She also served as Ambassador to the Republic of Korea and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
- He became the second Rio-bound athlete to fail a drugs test.
- 1st person is- Narsingh Yadav(Wrestler)
3. Taban Deng Gai:
- South sudan's New Vice-president.
- President- Salva kiir
