Current Affairs Aug 14, 2015

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1. Maggi ban goes, but fresh tests ordered: The Bombay High Court revoked the nationwide ban on Maggi noodles but in the interest of public health, ordered fresh testing of all variants of the product to be completed within six weeks.

2. India rejects Italy’s Rs.4.4-crore offer to free marines: India has rejected Italy’s offer to pay 600,000 euros, roughly Rs. 4.4 crore, to secure protection from any legal action against the two Italian marines, saying “murders are not compensable offences”.

3. Decoding the genetics of Bargur’s unique buffaloes: Scientists have launched a project to genetically document the buffaloes of Bargur in Erode district, a breed kept in 32 hamlets by vegetarian Lingayats to meet their protein requirements.

4. Bacteria that can help degrade plastic isolated: In a promising development that could provide a solution to the menace posed by plastic waste, a scientist attached to the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences (MBGIPS) in Kozhikode has isolated six strains of bacteria capable of breaking down plastic into biodegradable polymers.

5. RBI to transfer Rs 65,896 crore surplus to government: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will transfer a surplus of Rs 65,896 crore for 2014-15 to the Government of India. It is about 25 per cent more than the amount transferred in 2013-14.

6. Sindhu stuns Olympic champion Xuerui; Saina in quarterfinals: Two-time bronze-medallist P V Sindhu stunned Olympic champion and former World No. 1 Chinese Li Xuerui in a hard-fought contest, while Saina Nehwal sailed into the women’s singles quarterfinals after an easy win in the World Badminton Championship. With this victory, Sindhu has moved a step closer to claiming a hat-trick of medals in the World championship.

7. Massive explosions in Chinese city kill 50, injure 700: The blasts, whose effect are estimated to be equal to 21 tonnes of TNT, The death toll massive explosions in Tinjian, around 150km from Beijing, rose to 50 with authorities fearing the numbers could rise as more than 70 of the 700-odd people injured are in critical condition.

8. Rupee breaches 65 as China continues to devalue Yuan: The rupee breached the 65 level to close at a two-year low of 65.11 against the dollar, 30 paise lower than its previous close of 64.81 following China's third successive devaluation of the yuan.

9. Yamaha likely to start production at its third India plant in Chennai next month : Yamaha will likely commission its third India manufacturing facility next month with an initial capacity of 4,50,000 two-wheelers. The plant, which has come up with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in Chennai, has already started trial production, a senior executive said.

10. Abu Dhabi Bank to Buy RBS’ Overseas Loans to Indian Cos: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is poised to sell loans worth $1.1 billion given to Indian companies such as Reliance Industries (RIL) and Vedanta to the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) as RBS retreats from international banking to focus on the UK more.