Current Affairs July 09, 2017

1.  12th G20 Summit held in Hamburg, Germany

The 2017 G20 Hamburg summit was the twelfth meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20), which was held on 7–8 July 2017, at Hamburg Messe, in the city of Hamburg, Germany.

As well as permanent members of the committee, the leaders of Guinea, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Senegal, Singapore, Spain and Vietnam were also in attendance.

THE G20, or group of 20, is an international meeting between heads of states, finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s leading economies.

Founded in 1999 to give developing countries a more powerful voice in the global economy, the summit brings together industrialised and emerging economies.

The group makes up 85 per cent of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of its population.

Next G-20 summit will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2.  Petroleum Minister to represent India at 22nd World Petroleum Congress

Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan will be visiting Istanbul, Turkey from 10 - 12 July 2017 to represent India at the 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) International Conference.

During his participation at the Conference, Shri Pradhan will be chairing a Ministerial Session on the subject “Current Economic Strategies in Indian Oil & Gas Sector” and a Plenary Session on ‘Supply and Demand Challenges for Oil, Gas and Products’.

He is scheduled to hold several bilateral meetings with visiting Petroleum Ministers.

The tri-annual WPC Conference is widely recognized as the `Olympics` of the oil and gas industry.

3.  India, Bangladesh to construct bridge along Mizoram border

India and Bangladesh have decided to construct a bridge over Mizoram’s Khawthlangtuipui river (also known as Karnaphuli river) to facilitate trade and improve communication between the two neighbours.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had given the approval to construct the bridge and linking roads.

4. Chhattisgarh tops list of states in issuance of soil health cards

Chhattisgarh has topped the list among all the states in the country for having issued over 43 lakh soil health cards (SHCs) to farmers in the past two years.

As against the target of providing 38,90,709 SHCs in the first phase of the scheme between 2015 and 2017 financial years, as many as 43,37,595 SHCs were issued to farmers in the state.

5.  India’s first university for Dalit students to come up in Hyderabad

A proposal to establish an exclusive university for Dalit students in Hyderabad is under active consideration of the Telangana government.

The university is said to be part of the government’s policy of providing education free of cost to students from weaker sections from kindergarten to post-graduation (KG to PG) level.

The proposal was mooted by a government arm - Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS).

6.  Goa gets Rs 100 crore for tourism infrastructure

Goa has been allotted Rs 100 crore by the Union ministry for tourism under phase II of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

The funds will be used for developing the state's coastal circuit from Panaji to Palolem.

While the initial allotment of Rs 100 crore under phase I for coastal circuit development is being utilized for developing the coastal belt in North Goa from Sinquerim to Keri, the phase II allotment of Rs 100 crore will be utilized for developing the South Goa coastline from Panaji to Palolem.

7.  Naqvi inaugurates first Gharib Nawaz Skill Development Centre in Hyderabad

Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that besides providing various job-oriented skill development courses, Gharib Nawaz Skill Development Centres of Ministry of Minority Affairs will also offer certificate course in Goods and Services Tax accounting/programming and other related subjects.

While inaugurating the first Gharib Nawaz Skill Development Centre at Vijayanagar Colony in Hyderabad, Shri Naqvi said that the youths, after completing about three-months duration Goods and Services Tax course, will not only be able to help small-medium traders and the common people, but they will also immensely benefitted by this course as it will open vast job opportunities in the related sectors.

8.  Khaltmaa Battulga to be Mongolia’s New President

Khaltmaa Battulga of the opposition Democratic Party, a businessman and former judoka, has won the Mongolian presidential election with more than 50 percent votes.

Miyegombyn Enkhbold, candidate of the ruling Mongolian People's Party (MPP), acknowledged defeat in the second round of the country's presidential election.

9.  Tata Steel bags PM’s trophy for best integrated steel plant

Tata Steel has won the Prime Minister’s trophy for being the best performing integrated steel plant in the country during 2014-15 and 2015-16.

This makes it the third consecutive-year for the firm to be honoured with this coveted award.

Tata Steel has been recognised as the best integrated steel plant for 12 times and has won the PM’s Trophy 10 times.

10.  Hyderabad-headquartered WaterHealth wins global award

Water Health International (WHI), a US-based company with operating headquarters in Hyderabad, has been awarded the Unilever Global Development Award for its endeavours in providing clean, safe and affordable drinking water to marginalised communities in India, Ghana and Nigeria.

It was presented at the 20th Responsible Business Awards ceremony, held in London on July 4.

The award is an annual event organised by the Business in the Community (BITC), a part of the Prince of Wales' Responsible Business Network