1. Eminent
musician Vasundhara Komkali passes away
a)
Prominent Indian classical vocalist Vasundhara
Komkali passed away on July 29. She was wife & disciple of legendary classical
singer Pandit Kumar Gandharva & mother of Kalapini Komkali, yet another
finest classical vocalist.
b)
A doyen of the Gwalior Gharana, Vasundhara
Komakali was honoured with ‘Sangeet Praveen’
title. She was also awarded with a Padma Shri & a Sangeet Natak
Academy Award.
2. Microsoft launches Windows 10 in India
a)
Microsoft has announced that ‘Windows
10’ will now be available in India. A 90-day free trial edition of the system will be available initially.
b)
Cortana, Microsoft’s voice-based
digital assistant, an Xbox gaming app and a new web browser called Microsoft
Edge, are some of its features.
c)
Windows 10 will be available on several devices like
PCs, tablets, phones, Raspberry Pi, Xbox One, HoloLens & more.
3. 10 Rs coins to be issued to commemorate International Yoga
Day.
a)
The RBI has announced to begin circulation of 10
Rs. coins to commemorate International Yoga Day.
b)
The coin will bear the logo of International
Yoga Day with the inscription ‘Samanjasya evam Shanti ke Liye Yog’
in Devanagari script & the words ‘Yoga for Harmony and
Peace’ around the logo.
c)
On the coin’s left periphery, a Devanagari
inscription ‘Antarrashtriya Yog Divas’
will be written whereas on the right periphery, ‘International Day
of Yoga’ will be in English.
d)
The coin will also bear the Lion Capital of
Ashoka Pillar in the centre with Sathyamev Jayate inscribed below. The coins will be minted
by Central Government under The Coinage Act 2011.
4. Philippine firm develops lamp that runs on water & salt
a)
A small company from Philippines has developed a
cost-effective lamp which burns for almost eight hours on one glass of
water & two tablespoons of salt.
b)
Called Sustainable Alternative Lighting or SALt
lamp, it generates enough energy to charge a smartphone through USB cable.
c)
The mechanism of the lamp is based upon a galvanic
cell battery, which consists of an electrolyte solution of salt & water
& two electrodes.
d)
As the lamp runs on sea water, it is cost-efficient,
sustainable and safe for usage.
5. Karnataka govt. passes Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill
a)
Karnataka state assembly has amended the Karnataka
Lokayukta Act of 1984 by passing the Karnataka Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill,
2015.
b) By this bill, removal of Lokayukta can be effected only with a majority of two-third members in both the legislative Houses, unlike the earlier amendment that required only a simple
majority.
c)
This bill has been passed due to the recent controversy
over an alleged bribery scandal connected to the Karnataka Lokayukta, Bhaskar
Rao’s son.
6. Cyclone Komen over Bay of Bengal
a)
Cyclonic storm Komen has intensified in the
northeast part of Bay of Bengal.
b)
The cyclone has already resulted in heavy rains in
Bangladesh and West Bengal.
c)
Indian Meteorological department (IMD) has
forecasted heavy to very heavy rains in the region. The sea conditions are
expected to be very rough in the north of Bay of Bengal.
7. Anuradha Roy & Sunjeev Sahota shortlisted for Man
Booker Prize
a)
Indian author Anuradha Roy & British-Indian
writer Sunjeev Sahota are among the 13 international authors long-listed for
the Man Booker Prize 2015.
b)
Anuradha Roy was shortlisted for her third novel- Sleeping on Jupiter. This book tries
to expose the hypocrisies of the Indian society.
c)
Sunjeev Sahota was shortlisted for his The Year of the Runaways. This book tells
the story of Indian migrant workers living in Britain.
8. UN releases World Population Prospects 2015 report
a)
UN has released the World Population Prospects:
The 2015 Revision report, at its headquarters in New York.
b)
As per the report, India is expected to exceed
China in terms of population by 2022.
Presently, China & India comprise 19% & 18% of the world
population, respectively.
c)
By 2050, the population of six countries, namely
China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan & USA is expected to exceed 300
million more.
d)
The current population of the world is 7.3
billion. It is expected to reach to 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion by 2050 &
11.2 billion in 2100.
9. Tourist E-Visa
facility for Chinese, Hong Kong & Macau citizens
a)
Tourist E-Visa facility will be available for
citizens of China, Hong Kong & Macau from 30th July. With this, the total
number of countries availing this facility will be 77.
b)
As a result of this facility, tourism in India will
get a boost & bilateral ties between respective countries and India will be
strengthened.
c)
Central Government had launched this facility in
November 2014 and is planning to extend it to many other countries in phases.
10. Kalyani Group – Rafael tie-up to make Spike missiles
a)
Indian firm, Kalyani Group will tie-up with
Israel’s Rafael to produce Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) in
India. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will be system integrator for the missile
production.
b)
As per FDI regulations, the Kalyani
Group will hold 51% ownership in this joint venture.
c)
Spike is a third generation , fire-and-forget, man-portable, anti-tank missile developed by Israeli company Rafael.
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