Current Affairs 4th July 2016

Current Affairs 4 July 2016 - Important Points

• Who won 2016 Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton Men’s Singles title - B Sai Praneeth
• What is the name of a former French Prime Minister who died recently - Michel Rocard
• Which state is all set to develop new Industrial Township at an expense of $5 billion – Haryana
• BRICS Working Group Meeting on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency begins in – Visakhapatnam
• Who relaxes Decision Review System for LBWs – ICC
• Eelectronic Cigarettes has been decided to be banned by - Kerala government
• Rapid Rural Police Response System launched by - Punjab Government
• Who becomes first Indian to play in Europa League - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu      

 Current Affairs 4 July 2016 - Details

Who won 2016 Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton Men’s Singles title - B Sai Praneeth

 Among Important Sports Current Affairs, On 3rd July 2016 Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth clinched the Canada Open Grand Prix Badminton Men’s Singles title at Calgary.

Praneeth grab this title from Lee Hyun II of Korea 21-12, 21-10.

Whereas, men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also grabbed Men’s doubles title at the tournament.

Also, top seed doubles pair Attri and Reddy defeated Adrian Liu and Toby Ng 21-8 21-14 in a lop-sided final. However, the pair of Attri and Reddy is the first Indian men's doubles pair to qualify for the Rio Olympics.

What is the name of a former French Prime Minister who died recently - Michel Rocard

Among International Current Affairs, on 2nd July 2016 former Prime Minister of France Michel Rocard at the age of 85 passed away in Paris.

From 1988 to 1991, Rocard served as Prime Minister under President Francois Mitterrand.

Know About Michel Rocard

• Michel Rocard entered politics as a student leader whilst studying at Sciences-Po. He also became chair of the French Socialist Students.

• He led the dissident Unified Socialist Party (PSU), from 1967 to 1974.

• He also ran in the 1969 presidential election but obtained only 3.6% of the vote.

Which state is all set to develop new Industrial Township at an expense of $5 billion – Haryana

Among Important National Current Affairs, on 2 July 2016 The Haryana Government declared that it would develop an industrial township in the state at an expense of 5 billion dollar.

In Sohna and Manesar areas of Gurgaon, the new industrial township will spread in over 1500 acres of land.

Also for this purpose, in New Delhi, the Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Fortune Land Development (CFLD) Company.

However, under the agreement, HSIIDC and CFLD Company would execute the project as a joint venture (JV).

BRICS Working Group Meeting on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency begins in – Visakhapatnam

On 4th July 2016, the first meeting of the BRICS Working Group on Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency commenced in Visakhapatnam.

The meeting is going to be concluded on 5 July 2016.

Here, the two-day meeting will be attended by all 5 members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries.

The meeting of the Working Group will be hosted by The Union Power Ministry.

Although, India assumed the BRICS chair for 2016 and will accordingly shape and steer the BRICS agenda.

Know About BRICS –

• Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, this grouping is originally known as "BRICS".

• However, The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialized country countries, but they are identified by their large, sometimes fast-growing economies and significant influence on regional affairs; all five are G-20 members.

Who relaxes Decision Review System for LBWs – ICC

Among Important Sports Current Affairs, on 2nd July 2016 ICC which is also known as The International Cricket Council finally approved a change to the DRS (Decision Review System) playing condition relating to the LBW “Umpire’s Call”.

This decision will definitely allow changes to the decision review system which will make it easier to overturn not-out LBW decisions.

At ICC’s annual conference in Edinburgh, the decision has been taken.

What this amendment says -

• The size of the zone inside which half the ball needs to hit any part of the stumps for a not out decision.  Currently, half of the ball would need to be hitting a zone between the Centre of leg and off stumps.

• From 1 October, this amendment will come into effect.

Eelectronic Cigarettes has been decided to be banned by - Kerala government

Among Important National Current Affairs, Kerala government has decided to ban 'electronic cigarette'.

Though, it was banned in view of studies claiming that its use can cause various health issues, including cancer and heart ailments too.

In this regard, the health ministry also directed the additional chief secretary (health) to issue an order banning the production, sale and advertisement of 'electronic cigarette' alias 'e-cigarette'.

After this ban, Kerala became the fourth Indian state to ban e-cigarettes. Other than Kerala, the three states are Punjab (1st state to do so), Maharashtra and Karnataka who banned the e-cigarette.

 Rapid Rural Police Response System launched by - Punjab Government

RRPRS, which means Rapid Rural Police Response System has been launched by the Punjab Government to ensure prompt and effective police response in 12,000 villages across the state.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Sukhbir Singh Badal launched the system and also flagged off 400 new motorcycles and 220 new Bolero jeeps under the new system.

 Who becomes first Indian to play in Europa League - Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

 Among Important Sports Current Affairs, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who is an Indian footballer in the first week of July 2016 became the first Indian to play in Europa League.

Sandhu was named in Norwegian club Stabaek FC's squad for their Europa League qualifying match against Welsh Premier League side Connah's Quay Nomads FC.

Who is Gurpreet Singh Sandhu?

• An Indian footballer, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu plays as a goalkeeper for Norwegian Tippeligaen club Stabæk and the India national team.

• Sandhu is the first ever Indian to play a competitive match for the first team of a top-division European club and the fifth Indian to play professionally in Europe after Mohammed Salim, Baichung Bhutia, Sunil Chhetri and Subrata Pal. He is also the first Indian to play in the UEFA Europa League.