*CURRENT AFFAIRS (07:08:2014)

1. Famous cartoonist Pran Kumar Sharma, creator of the iconic
character Chacha Chaudhary and Sabu, breathes his last at 75.
- Popular cartoon characters like Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, Raman and
Channi Chachi are his other creations.
2. Centre clears bill to bring amendment to the the Juvenile Justice
Act in order to treat children above 16 indulged in heinous crimes
like rape and murder, as adults.
- It gives Juvenile Justice Board the discretionary power to decide if
the minor should be tried in a regular court or sent to a correctional
centre.
- The juvenile, however, can't be sentenced to death or life
imprisonment irrespective of the crime.
- The maximum punishment under the current Juvenile Justice Act is
three years' confinement at correctional homes.
3. Delhi and Mumbai are nominated by India to be sent for inscription
to World Heritage List of UNESCO.
- The names of nominated parts are "Delhi's Imperial Capital cities"
and 2. "Mumbai's Victorian & Art Deco Ensemble".
4. Dilipkumar Khandelwal becomes the Managing Director of SAP Labs India.
- Its the 3rd largest R&D center of German ERP giant SAP worldwide.
- He succeeds Anirban Dey as such.
5. Presently, there are 42 Indian languages in UNESCO's Critically
Endangered Language list .
- Indian government has a scheme known as "Protection and Preservation
of Endangered Languages of India" in this regard.
- Under the scheme, Central Institute of Indian Languages (Mysore)
works on protection, preservation and documentation of all the mother
tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 speakers keeping
in mind the degree of endangerment and reduction in the domains of
usage.
- According to the criteria adopted by the UNESCO, a language becomes
extinct when nobody speaks or remembers the language.
The UNESCO has categorized languages on basis of endangerment as follows:-
- Vulnerable
- Definitely Endangered
- Severely Endangered
- Critically Endangered
6. The 18th BASIC Ministerial Meeting will be held on 7th – 8th August
2014 at New Delhi.
- The meeting provides a platform for Environment Minister of BASIC
countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) to enhance
coordination and cooperation on issues of Climate Change.
- The meetings are hosted by rotation in member countries during each
quarter of the year.
7. Veteran Marathi actress Smita Talwalkar passes away aged 58.
- "Chaukat Raja", "Checkmate", "Ek Hoti Wadi", "Janma" and "Tu
Saubhagyavati Ho" are few of her notable films she did as an actress.