Current Affairs 20th July 2017

14th President of India - Ram Nath Kovind

• NDA Presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind won the Presidential elections on 20th July 2017.
• After these elections, he becomes the 14th President of India. He won the presidential election by defeating with 1086 to the opposition candidate Meira Kumari.
• Ram Nath Kovind secured 2930 votes valued 2930 votes valued 702044, while, Meira Kumari managed to get only 1844 votes valued 367340.
• Lok Sabha Secretary General and Returning officer Anoop Mishra announced his victory.
• The counting of the votes for the Presidential election was done at the Parliament House complex did the votes counting and the results were declared after 8-round counting of the votes.

First state to have eco-friendly bridges for movement of tigers-Telangana

• In a first of its kind, the Indian state of Telangana will soon be having eco-friendly bridges for easy movement of tigers.
• The state will be having the bridges over a canal cutting across the tiger corridor linking the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra with the forests in Telangana's Kumram Bheem Asifabad district.
• The intervention needs the fertile soil laying in order to grow grass and plants over the structure, so that fragmentation of the reserve forest can be camouflaged.
• The Telangana Irrigation Department has already given green signal to construct the eco-bridges. However, recommendations on the size and locations of the bridges are awaiting for the final approval

World’s first Laser Weapons System tested by - US Navy

• The United States Navy has tested the world’s first-ever active Laser Weapons System (LaWS) successfully, which is now deployed, and is all ready for any sort of attack on the Persian Gulf.
• The USS Ponce amphibious transport ship deployed The LaWS.
• During the test, the system was able to destroy a drone in flight and other moving targets in the Persian Gulf. After this testing, USS Ponce becomes the first ship in the world to be deployed with such an advanced weapons system.

UK’s first woman Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill elected in - Home Affairs Select Committee

• Britain’s first woman Sikh Member of Parliament was elected to an influential cross-party panel in the UK Parliament that examines the workings of the Home Office in July 2017. Preet Kaur Gill after winning the Edgbaston seat for the Labor party on 8th June 2017 during snap general election, elected to the Home Affairs Select Committee in the UK Parliament. 
• She will be one of the 11 MPs on the cross-party home affairs committee. She has also been chosen to lead the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) for British Sikhs, responsible to promote the interests of Sikhs in Britain.

Flame-proof, rust-resistant material developed by - Researchers from IISER Kolkata

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata have recently developed an organic-inorganic hybrid material which is rust and fire resistant.
• This achievement was published in a journal called ACS Omega.
• This hybrid material was synthesised by combining polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and diphenylalanine. The POSS molecule by itself has unique properties like fire retarding ability and high thermal stability. While both POSS and diphenylalanine are water repellent by nature and this hydrophobic nature gets increased once they are combined together.

New sanctions on Iran over missile tests imposed by - US

• The United States imposed fresh sanctions against 18 individuals and entities over their support for Iran's ballistic missile program and other military-related activities in July 2017. In a statement issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on 18th July 2017, it is stated that it was targeting 16 entities and individuals for "engaging in support of illegal Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity."
• The State Department also said it was designating two Iranian organizations which were involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program.
• Those sanctioned have supported Iran's military or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by developing military equipment, producing and maintaining fast-attack boats, and procuring electronic components, as per the treasury statement.
• The sanctions came a day after the US certified that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal and will be continuing to receive nuclear-related sanctions relief.
• On the other side, Iran condemned the new sanctions and responded with its own sanctions against Americans. The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and other world powers eased sanctions against Tehran in return of curbs on Tehran's nuclear program.

Revised policy of scheme to improve girl child ratio approved by - Maharashtra government

• The Maharashtra government approved a revised policy of the 'Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree' scheme in an attempt to improve girl child ratio in the state on 18th July 2017. The revised scheme will be benefitting families that have a yearly income of up to Rs 7.5 lakh. This decision was taken during the cabinet meeting held in Mumbai.

• The 'Majhi Kanya Bhagyashree' scheme was launched by the Maharashtra government on 1st April 2016 in place of ‘Sukanya’ scheme.
• It is aimed at improving skewed girl child ratio, preventing sex determination, female foeticide and supporting female education.

Union Government to replace MCI oversight committee is allowed by - Supreme Court

• The Supreme Court allowed the Union Government to replace the Oversight Committee set up to supervise the functioning of the Medical Coucil of India (MCI) with a new committee of five eminent doctors on 18th July 2017.
• Chief Justice J S Khehar headed the five-judge Constitution bench which made this ruling. The bench also ruled that the government can replace any doctor in the list with another if in any case he does not wish to be a part of the oversight committee. The term of the previous MCI oversight committee, headed by former Chief Justice R M Lodha, expired recently.

Nine-judge bench to decide whether privacy is a fundamental right on - 18th July 2017

• Supreme Court of India decided to set up a nine-judge bench to decide whether the right to privacy in the world’s largest democracy can be defined as a fundamental right under the Constitution or not on 18th July 2017. The nine-judge bench will be starting hearing the issue and decided whether the fundamental rights, described under Part III of the Constitution, also include the right to privacy from 19th July 2017.
• The decision to form a nine-judge bench was taken by a five-judge Constitution bench while hearing a bunch of petitions pertaining that the Aadhaar Scheme, which requires the mandatory parting of biometric details, is a violation of citizens right to privacy. Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar led the five-judge Constitution bench. Rest of the members of this bench were Justice J Chelameswar, Justice S Abdul Nazeer,Justice SA Bobde, and Justice DY Chandrachud.

SBI Realty portal for home buyers launched by - SBI

• SBI has launched a dedicated portal ‘SBI Realty’ on 18th July 2017 with an aim to help home buyers to choose flats from its 3000 approved projects across the country. ‘SBI Realty’ is a one-stop integrated website for home buyers.
• Customers can choose their dream home from 3000 SBI-approved projects with the helpof SBI Reality , which are spread across 13 states and union territories covering 30 cities.
• There are 9.5 lakh homes are available on the website currently where customers can compare current and past trends of prices for the properties in various localities in the city.
• Customers will be getting the help in calculating appropriate loan amount he/she should borrow based on income and credit profile through this portal.

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