Current Affairs 2nd July 2014

Current Affairs 2nd July 2014

Updated : 02-Jul-2014

Current Affairs 2nd July 2014 - Important Points
Current Affairs 2nd July 2014 - Details
Bor sanctuary to be Maharashtra's sixth and country's 47th tiger reserve
On 1st July 2014, Maharashtra got its sixth tiger reserve Tuesday with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) approving the state's proposal to notify Bor Wildlife Sanctuary in Wardha district as a tiger reserve. Bor becomes the sixth tiger reserve in Maharashtra after Tadoba, Melghat, Pench, Nagzira and Sahyadri, and the 47th in the country. The approval aimed at strengthening the conservation efforts of the national animal.

Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Environment, Forests & Climate Change, and Chairperson of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, declared the 13,812-hectare area of Bor Sanctuary, New Bor Sanctuary and New Bor Extended Wildlife Sanctuary as a core, critical tiger habitat. The sanctuary, an important corridor between Tadoba-Andhari and Pench Tiger Reserves, lies on the boundary of Nagpur and Wardha districts.
Camel declared as the State animal of Rajasthan Government
On 30th June, Rajasthan government decided to declare Camel as the state animal. This decision was taken cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Vasundhara Raje. One of the important decisions is to declare camel as the state animal. The cabinet gave its nod to prepare an act for the protection and conservation of the animal which will help in checking smuggling and migration of the animal.
Over the years these animals are slaughtered for its meat and are also illegally transported to neighbouring states. Camels are also killed as part of sacrifice in several districts of the Rajasthan. As a result, the camel population in Rajasthan has dwindled sharply. Thus, besides declaring Camel as the State Animal, the State government is also in a process to draft a new law that bans slaughter, illegal trade and transportation of camels. The step includes camel milk in its food security programme and fast disappearing grazing areas leading to severe food crisis for camels.
Jitu Rai, Indian pistol shooter ranked No. 1 in the world
Sports Current Affairs : After winning three medals in the ISSF World Cups in Munich and Slovenia recently, in-form Indian shooter Jitu Rai on 1st July 2014, achieved the world's number one ranking in air pistol event. The 27-year-old armyman from Lucknow is the seventh Indian shooter to have achieved this feat.
Anjali Bhagwat, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Gagan Narang, Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Ronjon Sodhi and Heena Sidhu are the others to have claimed the first position in their respective events.
Jitu Rai became World Number 1 pistol shooter in the men's 10m air pistol category. Earlier, Rai was ranked 26th in the World but his recent performance in Maribor and Munich Shooting World Cup made him number 1 pistol shooter in the World.

President conferred National, Shilp Guru and Sant Kabir Awards for 2011
On 1st July 2014, the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Awards for Handicrafts and Handlooms, Shilp Guru Awards and Sant Kabir Awards for the year 2011. The awards were given to weavers and artisans at a function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
Sant Kabir Awardees are
- L Subadani Devi of Manipur
- Gour C Basak of West Bengal
Shilp Guru Awardees are
- Ghulam Mehdi Joo of Jammu and Kashmir
- MM Mahapatra of Odisha
- Ghanshyam Nimbark of Rajasthan
- Shabbir Hasan of Rajasthan
- K Rahmatullah of Tamil Nadu
- Subhrendu B Roy of Tripura
- Kaneez Asghar of Uttar Pradesh
- Fayyaz Ahmad of Uttar Pradesh
- Babu Ram Yadav of Uttar Pradesh
- Alima Khatun of West Bengal
Besides, President Pranab Mukherjee also gave National Merit Certificate to 20 people in Handicrafts category and to 21 persons in Handloom category.
Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of Berkeley Law School
On 1st July 2014, Sujit Choudhry became the first Indian-American dean of the Berkeley Law School, University of California. Born in Delhi and raised in Toronto, Choudhry, 44, who was the Cecelia Goetz Professor of Law at New York University School of Law and founder of its Centre for Constitutional Transitions, began a five-year term as Berkeley Law's 12th dean.
Berkeley Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Claude Steele has called Choudhry a "brilliant scholar, professor, and mentor," who would inspire and lead with "big ideas" during a time of rapid change in the legal profession.
He is a noted expert in comparative constitutional law and his core work addresses basic methodological questions in comparative constitutional law. He also studied constitutional design as a way for states to transition from civil war to peaceful democracies, especially in ethnically divided societies.
Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurates the "First Aid Post" at Shastri Bhawan
On 2nd July 2014, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan along with the Union Minister for Human Resources Development, Smt. Smriti Irani inaugurated the "First Aid Post" at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi.

In a bid to expand the network of health care of its beneficiaries, CGHS is opening this post at the premises of Shastri Bhawan. This unit will provide first aid service like B.P.Monitoring/Dressing and other referral services to about 15000 employees of various Ministries posted at Shastri Bhawan and other nearby Government offices. CGHS is already running five such health posts in Delhi. These are located at Central Secretariat, Parliament House, Vitthal Bhai Patel House, Supreme Court and Nirman Bhawan premises.
India became the first Country to Ratify the Marrakesh Treaty
On 30th June 2014, India became the first country to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to facilitate access to published works for persons who are blind and visually impaired.
Dilip Sinha, the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, handed over the Instrument of Ratification to Francis Gurry, Director General, WIPO. The instrument was handed over at a ceremony held during the 28th Session of SCCR in WIPO Headquarters.
The Treaty was adopted by 79 member countries of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on June 27, 2013. The Marrakesh Treaty will come into force once 20 countries ratify it. The treaty requires signatories to adopt national law provisions that facilitate the availability of published works in formats like Braille that are accessible to the blind and allow their exchange across borders by organisations working for the visually impaired.

Note :
WIPO : World Intellectual Property Organisation
SCCR : Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
Current Affairs July 2014