IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 6th, 2017

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 6TH, 2017

1. India Signed 7 Agreements with Israel

i. A total of seven agreements were signed between India and Israel in sectors ranging from agriculture to water conservation and space as they sought to deepen ties beyond high-priced defence deals.

ii. The PM of India Mr. Narendra Modi and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu presented a series of agreements for cooperation on satellite technology, water and agriculture, as well as the creation of a $40 million innovation fund.

2. Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the 9th edition Delhi Dialogue

i. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has inaugurated the 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue.

ii. The theme for Delhi Dialogue 9 is 'India-ASEAN relations: Charting the Course for the Next 25 Years'.
3. 5th Meeting of BRICS Education Ministers held in China                                                     

i. Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Education was held in Beijing, China. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Human Resource Development, India.

ii. Javadekar highlighted some of the initiatives of the Govt. of India in education. He specifically spoke about the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), SWAYAM platform which has already hosted over 480 courses online, research initiative IMPRINT and Smart India Hackathon.

4. AIIB approves USD 329 mn loan to build roads in Gujarat

i. China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) announced its approval to a $329 million loan to build access roads across 4,000 villages in Gujarat.
ii. The funds have been approved to construct road linkages for last-mile connectivity to schools and tribal areas in 33 districts of the state. 

5. 10th Session of the India- Jordan Trade and Economic Joint Committee held in New Delhi

i. The 10TH India-Jordan Trade and Economic Joint Committee (TEJC) Meeting was held in New Delhi under the co-chairs of Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce and Industry, (India) and Mr. Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply (Jordan).

ii. The two leaders also inked the revised Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement between India and Jordan, aiming at boosting and diversifying bilateral trade relations, in addition to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation based on the principle of equity, non-discrimination.

6. Jammu & Kashmir Assembly passes resolution to implement GST in the state

i. Jammu and Kashmir Assembly adopted a resolution to implement the goods and services tax (GST), bringing the state’s indirect taxation into the new unified tax regime that the rest of the country adopted on 1 July at a landmark ceremony in Parliament.

ii. With this Jammu and Kashmir has become the last state to pass the GST bill in the state.
7. Pradeep Kumar Rawat appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Indonesia         

i. Pradeep Kumar Rawat presently a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Indonesia.
ii. Rawat, an Indian ForeignService (IFS) officer of the 1990 batch, is expected to take up his assignment shortly.
8. N Chandrasekaran appointed as Chairman of Tata Global Beverage Limited                

i. Tata Global Beverages Ltd. appointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as the Chairman of its board with immediate effect. Chandrasekaran will succeed Harish Bhat.

ii. The Board has also appointed Siraj Azmat Chaudhry as Non-Executive Independent Director.

9. Trilateral Malabar exercise to kick off on July 10

i. The Malabar naval exercise involving Indian, American and Japanese navies will kick start on July 10 in the Bay of Bengal.
ii. The aim of the Malabar exercise is to achieve deeper military ties and greater interoperability among the three navies in the strategically-important Indo-Pacific region. India and the US have regularly conducted the annual exercise since 1992.

10. Pankaj Advani-led Indian team beat Pakistan to clinch Asian Snooker Championship

i. India’s leading cueist Pankaj Advani teamed up with Laxman Rawat to demolish Pakistan in the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Advani pieced together a brilliant break of 83 to seal the first tie of the best-of-five final.

ii. Advani remained the only player not to lose a single individual match in the team event. This title brings up Advani’s second Asian title this season and 8th overall while it was a first major first international title for Rawat.
11. South Indian Bank ties up with PFForex                                                                                 
i. South Indian Bank has tied up with PFG Forex for remittance facility for the benefit of Indian expatriates from Australia. The new facility will leverage the bank to reach the Indian diaspora.
ii. Under this arrangement, NRIs can enjoy cost-effective and fast remittance services using SIB's Express facility. NRIs can visit the PFG Forex outlets across Australia for remittances to India. SIB is already having correspondent banking arrangement with National Australia Bank and Fly World Money Exchange for remittances to India.