1. Union Government
launched Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan
i. Union
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan on
21 July 2015 launched the Surakshit Khadya Abhiyan, a countrywide campaign, to
create mass awareness and capacity building for safe and hygienic food.
ii. The
initiative complements the widely popular multi-media campaign Jago Grahak Jago
which empowers the consumers of its rights and demands. This campaign, planned
by CII and Consumer Organization VOICE, and National Association of Street
Vendors of India (NASVI), is an effort towards building a culture of food
safety in the country.
iii. Under the campaign,
nationwide sensitisation sessions on cleaning, hygiene & sanitation for
safe food, Walkathons and Media dissemination programmes for Consumers, Street
Food Industries will be organized across the country.
iv. The
ministry also launched a website and a logo of the campaign and also signed a
pledge for adopting safe food practices.
2. NRIs can invest
in NPS: PFRDA
i.
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) can invest in National Pension System (NPS) to get
a social security cover.
ii. While
RBI has communicated to PFRDA about NRIs being eligible to make such
investments, the government will shortly come out with a clarification on
Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) guidelines to facilitate non-resident
Indians to invest in National Pension System (NPS).
iii.
Highlighting the importance of NPS scheme for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), he
said such residents especially living in the Middle-East are not having any
mandatory social security benefit.
iv. The
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is in talks with
lenders such as SBI, HDFC Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank and several other
south India-based banks to tap potential of NRIs.
3. United Nations
Security Council adopts resolution endorsing Iran nuclear deal
i. The
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution for
endorsing the historic deal on Iran’s nuclear program. It was supported by all
15 representatives of countries on the Security Council and opened path to lift
nuclear-related economic sanctions on Iran.
ii. It
also paved the way for establishing a monitoring system for Iran’s nuclear
programme. UNSC’s passed resolution marks the endorsement of the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which had find out the final historic
diplomatic solution for Iranian nuclear issue in Vienna, Austria on 14 July
2015.
iii.
There was a decade long deadlock between Iran and Western countries over the
issue of Iran’s Nuclear Programme and safety concerns of uranium enrichment.
Western Countries especially US, had alleged that Iran’s Nuclear Programme may
be used by them to produce enriched uranium to develop nuclear warheads.
4. Naomi Klein wins
2015 American Book Award
i. Noted
Canadian author Naomi Klein has won the 36th edition of American Book Award
2015. She has won this award for her environmental work This Changes
Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate published in 2014.
ii. Apart
from her, 14 others also have won the award. Some of them are Marlon James (A
Brief History of Seven Killings), Carlos Santana (The Universal Tone) etc. Poet
Anne Waldman was honoured with lifetime achievement award in this edition of
prize.
iii.
American Book Award honours persons for their excellence in American literature
without restriction to sex, race, ethnic background or genre. The awards do not
have any individual categories and since 2000, Lifetime Achievement award is
also given.
7. Pipavav Defence
inks pact with Russian firm Zvyozdochka to refit submarines
i. Anil
Ambani-led Reliance Group’s Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering (PDOE)
inked a multi-crore agreement with Russian firm Zvyozdochka, JSC Ship Repairing
Centre.
ii. The
agreement was signed in lines with Make in India initiative for the Medium
Refits and Life Certification of 877 EKM Submarines in India. With this,
Reliance Group became the first private sector Indian company to refit of
submarines in India.
iii. Both
entities will execute the programme under a joint venture (JV) company with an
indicative value of 11,000 crore rupees in which PDOR will have 51 per cent
stake.
iv. As
per the agreement, Zvyozdochka will provide complete technical support and
assistance to the JV Company. It will also provide the enhancement of
infrastructure at the PDOC facilities in Gujarat and training of engineers.
8. Ananth Narayanan
appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Myntra
i. Former
McKinsey director Ananth Narayanan on 21 July 2015 was appointed as the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the Flipkart-owned fashion store Myntra. He will
assume the charge on 1 October 2015.
ii. He
will succeed Myntra’s co-founder Mukesh Bansal who is presently serving as the
head of Flipkart's commerce platform.
iii.
Prior to this appointment, he was leading McKinsey’s product development in
Asia and its Automotive Practice in India. He has worked with McKinsey for 15
years across four offices, namely Chicago, Shanghai, Taipei and Chennai.
iv. The
acquisition of Myntra by Flipkart for more than 300 million US dollars in May
2015, the company in June 2015 also roped in Google Chromecast head Ambarish
Kenghe as Senior Vice President and Head of Product.
9. India and
Singapore signed agreement to enhance maritime cooperation
i. India
and Singapore on 21 July 2015 signed Technical Agreement (TA) on sharing
white-shipping information to enhance maritime cooperation between the two
navies. The agreement was signed during the visit of Navy chief Admiral R K
Dhowan to Singapore.
ii. The
White-shipping refers to commercial shipping information about movement of
cargo ships.
iii. The
Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy conduct the Singapore-India Maritime
Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) together annually. In 2015, the SIMBEX was held in
May, this was the 22nd in the series.
iv. Both
navies also interact regularly through high-level visits, dialogues, joint
military training, courses and other professional exchanges.