CURRENT AFFAIRS 7th August, 2014

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1. Union Cabinet cleared the proposal to set the composite cap for foreign investment in the defence sector at 49 per cent with management control in the hands of Indians. Some railway operations in projects like high speed rail, freight corridor were allowed to receive up to 100 per cent FDI.

2. Governor of Mizoram Kamala Beniwal was removed by the president just two months before the end of her tenure. Governor of Manipur V K Duggal has been asked to discharge the functions of the governor of Mizoram until regular arrangements are made.

3. Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has launched the construction of a "new Suez Canal" which would run parallel to the original built 145 years ago. The project costs $US4 billion and aims to speed up traffic along the existing waterway and boost the country's battered economy.

4. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) to invest at least 15% (as against 5% earlier) in securities receipts (SRs) issued by them on the purchase of distressed assets from banks. Most public sector banks are selling bad loans to ARCs following the tighter provisioning norms for restructuring loans issued by RBI.

5. The inventor of genetic fingerprinting has been awarded the world's oldest science prize, the Royal Society's Copley Medal. Prof Sir Alec Jeffreys stumbled on a method for distinguishing individuals based on their DNA in 1984.

6. Thousands of homes and businesses across Britain are expected to switch off their lights for an hour leaving a single light or candle burning on 4th August as a part of Lights Out project to commemorate the start of the First World War.