9th JULY CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. Prakash Javadekar to inaugurate 17th World Sanskrit Conference

Human Resource Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar will inaugurate the 17th World Sanskrit Conference to be held at Vancouver, Canada from 9th July to 13thJuly, 2018.

• More than 500 scholars and delegates from over 40 countries will be participating in this conference and exchange their knowledge by presenting papers on various subjects followed by discussions from amongst the members.
• There will be a special panel discussion on over a dozen topics like; History & Education of Women in Vedic Literature; Sanskrit Buddhist Manuscripts; Mimamsa Beyond the Yagasala; The Yuktidipika Forging a Place for Sankhya; Introducing Bhagavata Purana Commentaries; Research on the Gargiyajyotisa.
• Over 500 papers on various themes are likely to be presented during the 5-day conference.
• The purpose of this conference is to promote, preserve and practice the Sanskrit language all over the world by the people.
• The World Sanskrit Conference is being held in various countries across the globe once in every three years and so far it has been held thrice in India.

2. 51 lakh houses approved under PMAY (Urban) in 3 years of its implementation

Under PMAY (U)  so far more than 51 Lakhs dwelling units have been sanctioned against the validated demand of 1 crore in last 3 years of implementation.

• This is a huge jump in comparison to erstwhile housing scheme wherein only 12.4 Lakh houses were approved in around 9 years of its implementation.
• Out of over 51 lakh sanctioned houses, over 28 lakhs have already been grounded and are in various stages of construction.
• Further over 8 lakh houses have already been completed and nearly 8 lakh houses have been occupied by the benficiaries.
• The Government of India is committed to provide “Housing for All” by the end of the Mission period-2022.

3. RBI cancels licence of Alwar Urban Co-operative Bank

The RBI said the licence of Alwar Urban Co-operative Bank in Alwar, Rajasthan has been cancelled as it is not in a position to pay its depositors in full as and when their claims accrue, among other reasons.

• The present financial position of the bank leaves no scope for its revival, the RBI said, adding that the cancellation of the licence is effective from the close of business on July 5.

4. Dipika Pallikal to represent Asia in CGF AAC

 

Squash player Dipika Pallikal has been appointed as Asia’s representative in the prestigious Athletes Advisory Commission of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).

• The appointment was made by the CGF.
• The CGF Athletes Advisory Commission was proposed in August 2017.
• Each continent is represented by one athlete in CGFAAC.

5. Uday Kumar Varma appointed BCCC member

Former Information and Broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma has been appointed as a member of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council,

• BCCC is self-regulatory body for general entertainment channels.
• Varma, a former IAS officer of 1976 batch from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, attended the council's recent meeting.

6. 'The English Patient' voted best-ever Man Booker Prize winner in 50 years

Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient' was named the greatest-ever winner of the Man Booker Prize at an event celebrating five decades of the prestigious literary award.

• 'The English Patient' won the Booker in 1992 and was made into a 1996 movie starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche that won nine Academy Awards.

7. Dipa Karmakar wins gold in Gymnastics World Cup

Returning to action after a long lay-off of nearly two years due to injury, India's premier gymnast Dipa Karmakar clinched the gold medal in the vault event of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup at Mersin, Turkey.

• The 24-year-old from Tripura, who had finished fourth in vault event in the 2016 Rio Olympics, scored 14.150 to win gold here.
• She had topped the qualification also with a score of 13.400.
• This is Dipa's first medal in a World Challenge Cup.

8. Former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob passes away

Senior Congress leader and former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob passed away due to age-related ailments. He was 90.

• Jacob, a former Union Minister, had also served as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha in the 80s.        
• Jacob had served as general secretary and treasurer of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee and Chairman of the Kerala State Seva Dal Board and an elected member of AICC for many years.