Daily Updates 31st July

1. India to be world’s most populous country by 2022: UN

• United Nations (UN) has released the report title World Population Prospects:The 2015 Revision at the UN Headquarters in New York.
• According to the report, India will surpass China to become the most populous nation in the world by 2022. In the forecast issued by UN in 2013 India was expected to surpass China’s population by 2028.
• At present, India’s population is approximately 1.31 billion as compared to China’s population of 1.38 billion.
• India is projected to retain the top spot till 2100 and its population is projected to grow for several decades after 2022. It is forecasted to grow to 1.5 billion in 2030 and 1.7 billion in 2050.
• The report is the 24th round of UN population estimates and it has been prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the UN Secretariat.

2. TN govt.institutes youth award in the name of Dr. Abdul Kalam

• The state government of Tamil Nadu has instituted a youth award in the name of former President Dr Kalam.
• Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has announced the annual “Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Award” consisting 8 gram gold, Rs 5 Lakh cash and a citation would be given from this year onward on every Independence Day to a person from the state who works with exceptional merit in science, humanities and students welfare.
• She has also announced that Dr Kalam’s birthday on October 15th would be celebrated as the “Youth Revival Day”.

3.Winter Olympics 2022: Beijing chosen to stage Games

• Beijing is set to become the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics after it was chosen to stage the 2022 Winter Games.
• International Olympic President Thomas Bach confirmed Beijing, which hosted the Summer Games in 2008, had been chosen ahead of Almaty in Kazakshtan at the 128th IOC session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

4. RBI to issue Rs 10 coins to mark International Yoga Day

• The Reserve Bank of India will soon issue 10 rupee denomination coins to commemorate International Yoga Day.
• Obverse : The obverse of the coin bears the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the center with the legend “सत्यमेव जयते” inscribed below, It also bears the Rupee ₹ symbol and denominational value “10” in the international numerals below the Lion Capitol.
• Reverse: The reverse of the coin bears the logo of “International Day of Yoga and “YOGA FOR HARMONY AND PEACE” around the logo and design. The date “21 JUNE” is written at the bottom of the logo.
• The year “2015” is written on the lower periphery in international numerals exactly below the logo.
• These coins are legal tender as provided in The Coinage Act 2011. The existing coins in this denomination will also continue to be legal tender.

5. August 7 to be celebrated as National Handloom Day every year

• 7th August every year will be celebrated as National Handloom Day.
• According to Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar , the decision is aimed at development of handloom weavers in the country.

6. Gates Foundation world’s wealthiest private charitable organization

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has topped the list of the world’s wealthiest private foundations established by living ultrahigh net worth (UHNW) individuals, according to a Wealth-X report.
• With total assets of USD 43.4 billion, the Gates Foundation accounts for more than half of the combined assets of the 10 charitable foundations on the list, the global wealth intelligence and prospecting firm has said.
• Li Ka Shing Foundation, founded in 1980 by Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-Shing, ranked second with USD 8.1 billion in assets followed by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (USD 6.4 billion) and Bloomberg Philanthropies (USD 5.4 billion) in the third and fourth place, respectively.
• Collectively, the 10 foundations have total assets of USD 83.1 billion, equivalent to 29.7 per cent of combined net worth of the UHNW individuals who established them.

7. SALt, a lamp that runs eight hours on water and salt, developed

• A start-up in Philippines in July 2015 developed a lamp named SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) that runs on a glass of water and two tablespoons of salt.
• The lamp is named after the company SALt that was founded by Aisa Mijeno and Raphael Mijeno.
• This cost effective lamp burns for eight hours at a time to lighten a room and will also be able to generate enough energy to charge a smart-phone through a USB cable.
• The lamp can also be lit by using ocean water and would be of great help for people living along the coastline.
• The start-up hopes that the lamp will be in the market by 2016.

8. Paytm bags BCCI sponsorship rights

• Mobile marketplace and payments site Paytm has bagged the title sponsorship rights of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for Rs. 203 crore.
• The sponsorship rights were acquired for all the 84 series (Tests, ODIs and T20Is) India will play till 2019. Paytm will pay Rs. 2.42 crore for every international match hosted by BCCI. The first home series will be against South Africa starting September.
• The Alibaba-backed company, owned by One97 communications and founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, won the bid against home-grown mobile handset maker Micromax, which paid Rs. 2.02 crore per match.