Current Affairs – July 8, 2011

‘News of the World’ Shut down

• ‘News of the World’: A British tabloid
  
• The tabloid shuts after 168 years of print following bedlam over phone hacking
  
• First edition: October 1, 1843
  
• News International: Umbrella Company of the News Corporation’s British Newspapers, including The Times London and The Sun
  

Exports of India to double by 2014

• As per Government India’s exports to double to $400 billion by 2014 provided the Exports retain steady growth
  
• India’s exports grew over 46% in June to $29.2 billion
  
• India can achieve it target by 2014, if exports keep growing at an excess of $79 billion as in the April-June period
  
• Due to the collective efforts and endeavors of manufacturers and exporters, this growth will be possible
  

The 5^th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians

The 5^th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians to commence in New Delhi

• Almost 130 delegates, observers and additional persons from the eight SAARC countries to attend the four day Conference
  
• Afghanistan, which joined SAARC in 2007 as its eighth member, joins the Conference formally for the first time
  

Railway e-Tickets via SMS : “m-Ticket”

• Railway passengers can now obtain their e-tickets on their cell phones instead of normal print-outs. This has been dubbed as M-Ticket.
  
• Passenger can book his train ticket through mobile phones. Passenger need not carry print out of his or her ticket and just have to show the SMS.
  UN appreciates India for being on track to reduce poverty
  
• United Nations highly praised India for being on path to lessen its poverty by half in four years from now.
  
• As per the latest UN report on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) India’s poverty rate is projected to fall to 22% by 2015 from 51% in 1990
  

135^th and the Final Space Shuttle Mission

• 135th and the final space shuttle mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida
  
• Space shuttle Atlantis was launched into history
  
• 12-day mission will ferry 3.5 tonnes of supplies to the ISS (International Space Station)
  
• Upon its return, the 30-year space shuttle programme will come to a close, with Atlantis and the other two shuttles retired to museums
  

Jayant reserves seat at the London Olympics

• Jayanta Talukdar reserved a seat for the 2012 London Olympics from the men’s individual recurve event of the Archery World Championship
  
• Indian Women’s Recurve Team of Deepika Kumari, Laishram Bombalya Devi and Chekrovolu Sworo has already qualified for the London Olympics
  

Mr. Shekhar Agarwal: New Secretary, Department of Defence Production

• Mr. Shekhar Agarwal assumed charge as Secretary, Department of Defence Production in the Ministry of Defence
• 1977 batch of the IAS
• Has enormous experience of working in Home, Finance and Personnel Administration

Prof. Amartya Drn honored by NUEPA

• Professor Amartya Sen was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa, by the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA).
• Professor Amartya Sen is the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University, and the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Science.
• Professor Amartya Sen is the second recipient of the Honorary Doctorate conferred by the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

1 Crore Aadhaar Numbers

• First resident to get the Aadhaar number, Ranjana Sonawane, is a resident of Maharashtra.
• She received her number on 29th September, 2010 in Tembhli village of Nandurbar district.
• Now, 52 year old, NK Chheda from the same state Maharastra has the got distinction of being the resident whose Aadhaar number was a milestone of reaching 1 Crore Aadhaar numbers.

India New Zealand to establish Joint Educational Council

• India and New Zealand have decided to establish a Joint Education Council to carry forward the education cooperation between the two countries.
• Both the countries already have signed an Education Exchange Programme during the visit of Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development to New Zealand.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2011