(Current Affairs For SSC Exams) In The News | July 2014

Current Affair In the news

Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, who won the hearts of Indonesians with his common man image, won Indonesia’s presidential election with 53 per cent of the vote.
The numbers were released shortly after his opponent, former general Prabowo Subianto, declared he was withdrawing from the contest, saying there was massive fraud during the election.

Shiv Sena MP Rajan Vichare, who was caught on camera force-feeding a Muslim employee of Maharashtra Sadan during Ramzan, posted an uncharacteristic message on Facebook on July 21: Walk away from arguments that lead you to anger and nowhere.

A biography of Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled “ Modi—Incredible emergence of a star” has been published in the Chinese language.
The biography by Tarun Vijay, a BJP MP and a journalist, is published by Sichuan University’s South Asia Study Centre.

Former Union Minister Ram Naik appointed as Governor of Uttar Pradesh and veteran Delhi leader O.P. Kohli will move to Gujarat as Governor.
According to the communique, Keshari Nath Tripathi, a former Uttar Pradesh Speaker will take over the post of Governor in West Bengal.
Balram Das Tandon, 87, founder member of Jan Sangh in 1951, was appointed Governor of Chhatisgarh.
Padmanabha Acharya, was appointed as Governor of Nagaland.

Environmentalist Chandi Prasad Bhatt will be awarded the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for 2013 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted by the government in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
This annual award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. It carries a plaque, citation and an amount of Rs. 1 crore.
The recipients of this award include former Tanzanian President Dr Julius K Nyerere, founder President of Sarvodaya Sharamadana movement in Sri Lanka Dr A.T. Ariyaratne, Dr Gerhard Fischer of Rama Krishna Mission in Germany, Baba Amte, Dr Nelson Mandela etc.

Nadine Gordimer, died peacefully in her sleep at her home in Johannesburg. She was 90 years old.
Nadine Gordimer was first a writer of fiction and a defender of creativity and expression, she was also a determined political activist in the struggle to end white minority rule in her country.

Senior Advocate Pinky Anand has been appointed Additional Solicitor-General in the Supreme Court.
She is the second woman lawyer to be appointed ASG after senior advocate Indira Jaising.

Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal transferred to Mizoram for the remainder of her term.
Vakkom Purushothaman, Governor of Mizoram, was shifted and appointed as Governor of Nagaland for the rest of his term. However, Mr. Purushothaman will continue to hold the additional charge of the office of the

According to the communiqué, Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva will discharge the functions of the Governor of Gujarat, in addition to her own duties, until regular arrangements are made. Her tenure finishes in August.

Two days after the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) recorded his statement as a witness in the probe into kickbacks in the 2010 AgustaWestland chopper deal, M.K. Narayanan has resigned as Governor of West Bengal.
The first Governor to be questioned by an investigative agency, Mr Narayanan is the fourth Governor to resign following pressure from the BJP government on appointees of the UPA government. A formal acceptance of the resignation by the President is awaited.

Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha made a frontal attack on the Centre for unilaterally segregating senior advocate Gopal Subramanium’s name for elevation as a Supreme Court judge without his knowledge and concurrence.
Speaking at a farewell function for Justice B.S. Chauhan on his superannuation, the CJI said “the segregation of Mr. Gopal Subramanium’s name was done unilaterally by the Executive without my knowledge and concurrence which was not proper.”

Goa Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo, who was quizzed by a team of the Central Bureau of Investigation as a “witness” in AgustaWestland Chopper deal scam, submitted his resignation in the evening.
He forwarded his resignation to the President of India.The Governor, a former chief of the elite Special Protection Group, recorded his statement as a “witness” in the VVIP helicopter case under Section 161 CRPC. Continuing its probe into allegations of over Rs.360 crore bribe paid in the purchase of VVIP helicopters, a team of CBI comprising officials from Mumbai and Delhi recorded Mr. Wanchoo’s statement.
His questioning comes a week after former West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan was quizzed by the CBI; Mr. Narayanan resigned thereafter.

An influential Chinese journalist and a crusading environmental lawyer from China are among this year’s winners of Asia’s Magsaysay awards.
Among this year’s six awardees is Hu Shuli (61), founder and editor of Caijing, a business magazine famed for its groundbreaking investigative reporting that has had a profound impact on China.
Another winner was Chinese lawyer Wang Canfa (55), founder of the Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, which has handled thousands of environmental complaints and beaten powerful industrialists in court.
Also honoured were Indonesian anthropologist Saur Marlina Manurung, National Museum of Afghanistan director Omara Khan Masoudi, Filipino teacher Randy Halasan, and the Pakistani non-government group The Citizen’s Foundation.

K V Chowdary has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the top policy making body of the Income Tax department.
The officer was till now working as the Member (Investigations) of the direct taxes revenue collection board. He has earlier served as the Director General of I-T (Investigations) in the national capital where he headed a number of high-profile tax probes, including the 2G spectrum allocation case and the HSBC Geneva taxpayers list along with a number of cases dealing with black money and tax evasion.
CBDT has six members apart from the Chairman and is the apex body for framing policy and administrative issues related to direct taxes and the Income Tax department.