Current Affairs July 16, 2015

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1. Ottappalam to have India’s first defence industrial park: In a major fillip to industrial infrastructure in the Palakkad region, the Union government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has approved a proposal from the Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) to set up the country’s first defence industrial park at Ottappalam.
2. Telangana first State to make IT parks differently abled-friendly: Telangana will soon be the first State in the country to make its IT and ITES buildings differently abled-friendly. In a first-of-its-kind initiative undertaken by the NASSCOM Foundation, 175 companies based out of two IT parks in Hyderabad will go for retrofitting their buildings to suit the needs of differently abled employees.
3. ‘Even truth is not a defence’: The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions filed by political leaders seeking de-criminalisation of defamation. Subramanian Swamy one of the petitioner contended that “for a nation with the motto of Satyameva Jayate it is ironic that truth is not a complete defence in criminal defamation."
4. SC reserves verdict on NJAC: After marathon court hearings spanning over a month, the Supreme Court reserved its judgment on the constitutionality of the NDA government's National Judicial Appointments Commission laws replacing the Collegium system of judicial appointments to the highest courts.
5. India can be world’s HR capital: PM: Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for making India a ‘human resource capital’ of the world like China has become a ‘manufacturing factory’ as he launched a number of schemes here to train 40 crore people in various skills by 2022 as part of “war against poverty.” India has the potential to provide a workforce of about 4-5 crore to the world if the capabilities of the countrymen are honed through proper and dynamic skill training, he said.
6. Boeing and Subsidiary of Tata sons to defence Manufacturing: Adding more momentum in the area of defence product manufacturing under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, American aerospace and defence major Boeing has signed a framework agreement with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, to collaborate in aerospace and defence manufacturing. Both companies, as per this agreement, will jointly work on potential integrated systems development opportunities, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
7. Huawei gets security nod to set up unit in TN: Chinese telecom solutions provider Huawei’s proposal to set up a manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu has received security clearance from the Union Home Ministry, albeit with certain conditions, including the appointment of Indian nationals at key positions.
8. China Building 314m high dam, World’s tallest: China has begun building a 314-metre high dam which will be among the world’s tallest, officials said, as the country massively expands in hydropower. The Shuangjiankou dam on a tributary of China’s mighty Yangtze river will be completed in 2022, the environmental ministry said . The facility, costing 36 billion yuan ($5.8 billion), will be higher than the world’s current tallest dam, the 305metre Jinping-1, also in China.