1. PM Modi launches 'Skill India' campaign
i) Prime Minister
Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched the 'Skill India Mission' in the national
capital. The Prime Minister will formally launch the National Skill
Development Mission, unveil the new National Policy for Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship 2015 and roll out on all-India flagship scheme.
ii) Narendra Modi’s
ambitious Skill India Mission targets 40.2 crore workers by 2022 .Pushing ahead
with its ambitious Skill India mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will
launch 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana' on Wednesday to create skilled
manpower at grass-root level by providing them vocational, technical and skill
development education.
iii)These include a
redesigned Model Skill Loan Scheme, Skill Card for persons certified under
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana and the new National Policy for Skill
Development.
2.Boeing, Tata Advanced Systems ink aerospace
partnership deal.
i) A collaboration
in aerospace and defence manufacturing and potential integrated systems
development opportunities has been inked between Tata Advanced Systems Ltd
(TASL) and Boeing. The deal will include unmanned aerial vehicles.
ii) The framework agreement was signed by Shelley Lavender, President of Boeing
Military Aircraft, and Sukaran Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer of TASL.
iii) TAL has also
provided ground support equipment for the C-17 Globemaster III strategic
airlifter.
3. India’s first railway-line built under PPP model
inaugurated in Gujarat
i) Minister of
Railways Suresh Prabhu on 14 July 2015 inaugurated the broad-gauge railway-line
between Gandhidham and Tuna-Tekra Port in Gujarat by flagging off a goods
train.
ii) The rail line
is India’s first railway-line built with private sector participation under
Non-Government Railway (NGR) Policy 2012 of Indian Railways. The rail line has
been built at a cost of approx 185 crore rupees for M/s Kandla Port Trust (KPT)
to bring about better and faster rail connectivity to Port of Tuna & Tekra.
iii) The rail-line
between Gandhidham, a town in Kutch district of Gujarat, and Tuna-Tekra Port, a
port 20-km west of Kandla in Gulf of Kutch, was funded by M/s Kandla Port Trust
(KPT) and Western Railway Zone of Indian Railways coordinated and pioneered it.
4. Maharashtra assembly passed Guarantee of Public
Services Bill, 2015
i)Maharashtra
legislative assembly on 14 July 2015 passed the Maharashtra Guarantee of Public
Services Bill, 2015. The bill was unanimously passed by the assembly in the
absence of Congress and NCP members.
ii)Features of the
Bill
• It empowers
citizens to avail their rights in stipulated time with less efforts and
cost.
• It will pave way
for curbing corruption, bringing transparency and empowering citizens.
• It ensures
essential services are delivered in a time-bound manner and at nominal
charges.
• In case of
failure in delivery in the stipulated time, the government employee will be
penalized for default, which ranges between 500 rupees to 5000 rupees.
iii) It provides
for three-tier Appellate Authorities with first two being Government Officials
or Designated Officers and third will be a Right to Service Commission.
5. Skill Development Ministry inks pact for using
Railway infra for training.
i)Ahead of the
Prime Minister’s launch of the Skill India Mission on Wednesday, the
Railways has tied up with the Ministry of Skill Development to offer ‘sparable’
space for training in its infrastructure, such as wayside stations, railway
training centres, railway schools and institutes.
ii)An agreement in
this regard was signed here on Tuesday between the Railway Ministry and the
Skill Development Ministry. “Our schools can be made available and our
employees can teach as part of their social duties,” said Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu, adding that the Railways otherwise will have a ‘limited role’ to
play.
iii) The Railways already has 300 training centres and 150 schools, of which about 70 per cent have optical fibre cable network connections
iii) The Railways already has 300 training centres and 150 schools, of which about 70 per cent have optical fibre cable network connections
6. Andromeda acquires apnapaisa.com in stock and
cash deal.
i) Andromeda, one
of the country's largest loan distributors, has acquired the apnapaisa.com, an
online loan solutions space in a stock and cash deal, the company said.
ii) Apnapaisa.com,
promoted by Harsh Roongta, a personal finance professional, has worked with
several financial lending institutions.
iii) Andromeda's
acquisition of apnapaisa is in line with the increasing trend of digitization
and the tech-edge that apnapaisa brings would drive the growth of
Andromeda
7. Krishnapatnam Port receives Golden Peacock award
for environment management
i)Krishnapatnam
Port in Andhra Pradesh has been awarded Golden Peacock environment management
award for its achievements and initiatives in the field of environment.
ii) The award was
presented during the 17th World Congress on Environment Management to C
Sasidhar, Managing Director of Krishnapatnam Port by Union Minister of State
for Environment Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi.
iii) Green initiatives of Krishnapatnam Port are Plantation of over 20 lakhs trees within the port and more than 50,000 trees in the surrounding villages, Installation of solar lights in the port and solar water heaters in the employee colony, Establishing gas connections for villagers so as to discourage them from cutting of mangroves as fuel wood.
iii) Green initiatives of Krishnapatnam Port are Plantation of over 20 lakhs trees within the port and more than 50,000 trees in the surrounding villages, Installation of solar lights in the port and solar water heaters in the employee colony, Establishing gas connections for villagers so as to discourage them from cutting of mangroves as fuel wood.
8. Iconic musician Joan Sebastian passed away
i) Iconic Mexican musician
Joan Sebastian passed away on 13 July 2015 after battling bone cancer for more
than 15 years in Juliantla, Mexico. He was 64. He was also known as El Rey del
Jaripeo (the King of Mexican Rodeo).
ii) Born as Jose
Manuel Figueroa, he was best known for his sentimental love songs such as
Secreto de Amor and Tatuajes On Billbord’s Regional Mexican Albums chart, he
placed 10 hit albums at No 1 position, second only to Vicente Fernandez with 15
hit albums. He was also honoured by Billboard multiple times, first with Hall
of Fame honors at the 2006 Billboard Latin Music Awards and then Voice Award at
the 2013 Billboard Mexican Music Awards.
iii)He won seven
Latin Grammy Awards and five Grammy Awards, making him the most awarded Mexican
performer in Grammy's history.