IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 23, 2016

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 23, 2016

• India was ranked 110 out of the 149 nations assessed on where they stand with regard to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as per a Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Bertelsmann Stiftung index. 
• Countries were ranked on their performance across 17 goals, which are to be achieved by 2030. 
• Note : Sweden topped this index followed by Denmark and Norway.
• PM Narendra Modi and Bangladesh's PM Sheikh Hasina have jointly inaugurated a land port at the India-Bangladesh border, Petrapole Integrated Check Post through video-conferencing. 
• Important Points to Note : 
• The check post will be the biggest land port in South Asia.
• Over 50% of the trade, worth more than ₹15,000 crore, between the two countries passes through Petrapole.
• The Karnataka government has imposed an "unconditional" ban on the sale, and possession of Chinese 'manja' and other non-biodegradable threads used to fly kites. 
• The threads, coated with finely crushed glass and other harmful substances, are blamed for causing injuries and claiming lives of birds. 
• Reportedly, 268 birds entangled in Chinese 'manja' in Bengaluru were rescued between 2010-2014.
• The Lok Sabha has On July 22, 2016 passed the National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) (NITSER) Bill, 2016. 
• The bill seeks to establish a National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Andhra Pradesh as an institute of national importance under the NITSER Act, 2007 with an effect from August 2015.
• The Union Cabinet has given its approval for establishment of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. 
• It will be established under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) which aims at correcting imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities in different parts of country and also augmenting facilities for quality medical education in under-served states.  
• The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has signed a MoU with National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to develop 12 sewage treatment plants (STP). 
• NEERI will provide its expertise in this field and the treatment plants to help NDMC to irrigate its parks in a bid to develop green areas and revamp big and small parks. 
• The 12 STP projects of NDMC will also help increase the green cover in NDMC areas and curb dust pollution.  
• Writer Amitav Ghosh’s latest book, The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable, was recently released.
• The book addresses the challenges of representing the complexity of climate change in literature and the responsibility of writers to document the extreme reality humans are now facing.
• Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has toppled Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett to become the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $65.05 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 
• Bezos has surpassed Buffett's wealth by $32 million. 
• Important Note : Currently, the world's richest person is Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates with a net worth of $89.1 billion.
• 7 Indian companies have featured in the latest Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue. 
• Indian Oil Corporation, having a revenue of $54.7 billion, was ranked the highest among Indian firms at 161. 
• Reliance Industries was the top-ranked private Indian firm at 215. 
• Further, US-based Walmart topped the global rankings with $482 billion in revenue.
• The National Flag of India was adopted in its present form during the meeting of Constituent Assembly held on this day (22nd July) in the year 1947, a few days before India's independence from the British on August 15, 1947. 
• The national flag contains three equal strips of saffron, white and green, with a navy blue chakra having 24 spokes.
• The Guinness World Record for the largest human national flag involved 43,830 participants when they gathered to form the Indian National Flag. 
• The record was set on 7th December 2014 at the YMCA Grounds in Chennai. 
• Senior IAS officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey On July 22, 2016 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). 
• Beverages company Coca-Cola appointed Sarvita Sethi as the new Vice-President (Finance) for India and South West Asia.