Current Affair Updates 27 July 2015 Download | Daily GK Updates

1. Veteran mountaineer Nalini Sengupta is set to become the first Puneite to have a Himalyan peak christened in her honour. Sexagenarian Sengupta, who has scaled several summits till now, was bestowed with his honour recently after trekkers of Giripremi, a noted mountaineering institute in the city, conquered peak 5260 in the Hamta pass region in Himalayas and decided to name it as “Mount Nalini”, to salute her persistent efforts to inculcate mountaineering in youngsters since 1970.

2. India’s ODI cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named the ninth most marketable sportsperson in the world ahead of the likes of football superstar Lionel Messi in a list prepared by London School of Marketing. Dhoni also pipped football star Cristiano Ronaldo and Andy Murray in the list of the world’s 20 most marketable sportspersons.

3. In a major welfare measure for women employees in Jammu and Kashmir, the state government has approved Child Care leave for them for a period of two years to look after their children. As per the new provision, a women employee can avail a maximum period of 730 days of child care leave during her entire service for taking care of her two eldest children, an official spokesman said.

4. The first cargo ships passed through Egypt's New Suez Canal on 25th July in a test-run before it opens next month on 6th August, 11 months after the army began constructing the $8 billion canal alongside the existing 145-year-old Suez Canal.

5. WTO members has finalised a deal to cut tariffs on $1 trillion worth of information technology products in a boost for producers of goods ranging from video games to medical equipment. The agreement to update the WTO's 18-year-old Information Technology Agreement (ITA) adds more than 200 products to the list of goods covered by zero-tariff and duty-free trade.

6. Singapore’s Foreign Affairs and Law Minister will address an industry symposium in India on 27th July as part of the city-state’s 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations. K Shanmugam will address the ‘Singapore Symposium 2015′, which will host dignitaries and experts in a discussion and exchange with South Asian countries on issues pertinent to the region.

7. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has finalised a “new Green Highways (Plantation and Maintenance) Policy, 2015” to “tree-line” 140,000 kilometres of national highways. Under this policy, one per cent of the civil cost of national highway development projects will have to be set aside for the planting of trees in a planned manner, covering both existing NH sections and new routes that would be added to the network.

8. Roelant Oltmans is new coach of the Indian hockey team, replacing Paul van Ass, who was sacked after a bitter spat with Hockey India President Narinder Batra. The 61-year-old Dutchamn will be at the helm of affairs at least till next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Van Ass was the fourth foreign coach to be shown the door unceremoniously ever since Hockey India took over the reins of the game in 2009.

9. Centre has said foreign direct investment amounting to USD 1.31 million has been received in the defence sector in last three years and current year. Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said that since the opening up of FDI in defence sector in 2012, 34 proposals involving foreign investment have been approved so far. He also said that a total 287 industrial licenses have been issued till date in defence sector.

10. Prime Minister of India has launched various development projects at Patna: Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana; inaugurated the Daniawan-Bihar Sharif new railway line; flagged off the Rajgir-Bihar Sharif-Daniawan-Fatuha passenger train and Patna-Mumbai AC Suvidha Express; dedicated to the nation the permanent IIT Campus at Patna; and inaugurated the construction of the first phase of the Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline project.