DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : Jul 23, 2020

Daily Current Affairs (Jul 23 2020) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

Also, Don’t forget to attend the Daily Current Affairs Quiz : Jul 23, 2020 now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

Current Affairs Quiz – Jul 23, 2020

Important Days:

National Refreshment Day-July 23:

National Refreshment Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of July every year. This year the day falls on 23rd July 2020. This day is celebrated to remind us to refresh oneself from the busy and hectic routine. Taking regular intervals from the regular schedule will detoxify the stress.

National News:

Union Home Minister Amit Shah to launch Vriksharopan Abhiyan:

Vriksharopan Abhiyan will be organized by Ministry of Coal during which large scale plantation would be carried out in mines, colonies, offices & other suitable areas of Coal/Lignite PSUs & seedlings to be distributed in nearby areas to promote plantation.

Andhra Pradesh inks MoU with AMUL for dairy development:

Andhra Pradesh Government which stands 4th in milk production signed an MoU with milk cooperative giant AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) to provide fillip to the empowerment of women self-help groups & by encouraging milk cooperatives in government sector.

Andhra Pradesh:

Capital: Amaravati
Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy
Governor: Biswa Bhushan Harichandan
Folk dances: Kuchipudi, Vilasini Natyam, Bhamakalpam, Veeranatyam.
National Park: Sri Venkateswara National Park ,Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Papikonda National Park.

Punjab government signs MoU with IIT Ropar for skill development:

Punjab government has signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, in the area of skill development. It provides for the IIT’s technical education department to become an academic mentor for the state’s engineering colleges.

Punjab:

Capital:Chandigarh
Chief Minister:Captain Amarinder Singh
Governor: V P Singh Badnore

International News:

World Trade Organisation General Council Grants Turkmenistan Observer Status:

Turkmenistan became the last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with the trade body. Turkmenistan has been granted Observer status by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council, WTO’s highest-level decision-making body.

World Trade Organizations (WTO):

Director General: Roberto Azevedo
Location: Geneva, Switzerland.

India revives initiative with South African Customs Union for the Preferential Trade Agreement:

South African Customs Union (SACU) comprises of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and Eswatini. India and the South African Customs Union held a virtual meeting to discuss the aspects of Preferential Trade Agreement.

NPCI and FCC to host world’s largest virtual Global Fintech Fest:

Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), the fintech committee of Internet and Mobile Association of India, in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Payments Council of India, will be hosting a virtual fintech event
The two-day event themed ‘Fintech: With and Beyond Covid’ will be held on July 22-23 with over over 100 speakers.
The event is presented by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI):

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Non-Exe Chairman: Biswamohan Mahapatra
MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe

Banking and Economy:

RBI panel recommends incentives to increase popularity of QR code transactions:

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should allow a lower, controlled interchange fee instead of zero Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Quick Response (QR) code, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and RuPay debit card transactions, according to a RBI panel.
The ‘Committee for Analysis of QR Code’ also recommended that tax incentives be given to merchants who accept payments through electronic mode.

Bank of Baroda rolls out ‘Insta Click Savings Account’:

The self-assisted online savings account can be activated in real-time and offers customers a wide range of digital channels. Bank of Baroda (BoB) stated it has launched ‘Insta Click Savings Account’, a 100 percent paperless digital self-assisted online savings account.

Bank of Baroda (BOB):

Headquarters: Baroda (Vadodara) , Gujarat
MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha.
Chairman: Hasmukh Adhia
Tagline: “India’s International Bank”.

Nomura estimates India’s GDP to contract by 6.1% in FY21:

Economic activity continues to remain weak and will lead to a 1 per cent contraction in India’s GDP in the current fiscal, a foreign brokerage Nomura Economic estimated. June quarter is likely to be the ‘Nadir’ from a growth perspective and the economy to contract by 15.2%.

Nomura:

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan.
CEO: Koji Nagai.

LIC ties up with Union Bank of India for Corporate Agency:

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India and Union Bank of India, after its amalgamation with Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank, have announced a Corporate Agency Tie-up by which LIC policies will be distributed through the bank.
The bank will market LIC products of term insurance, pension, plan, children plan, ULIPs & endowment schemes.

FamPay launches India’s first numberless card for teenagers:

A mobile bank for teenagers FamPay brings cashless convenience to millions of teens and their parents, has announced the launch of India’s first numberless card – FamCard.
It claims FamCard is just like a debit card that teenagers can use to make payments independently, relieving parents of the trouble of giving them physical cash or their debit/credit card.

Science and Technology:

Russia Successfully Holds Flight Test Of 3D-Printed Aircraft Engine:

Russia has for the first time conducted a successful flight test of the MGTD–20 gas turbine engine made by a 3D-printed aircraft engine, and its production is scheduled for 2021-2022. The flight tests were held at Kazanbash aviation centre in Tatarstan.

Russia:

Capital: Moscow
Currency: Russian Rouble
President: Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin

India’s indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile ‘Dhruvastra’ test-fired:

India has successfully conducted three flight tests of its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile ‘Dhruvastra’ from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the helicopter-launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.

Appointments and Resignations:

Sumit Deb succeeds N Bajendra Kumar as CMD of National Mineral Development Corporation:

Sumit Deb has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), iron ore mining major of the country, according to a Personnel Ministry. He succeeds N Baijendra Kumar who superannuates this month-end.

Rahul Bajaj steps down as chairman of Bajaj Finance:

Business tycoon Rahul Bajaj will step down as chairman of Bajaj Finance Ltd on 31 July after 33 years at the helm and He will be replaced by his son Sanjiv Bajaj (the present Vice Chairman of the company) from August 1.
Rahul Bajaj will continue to serve as a non-executive non independent director of the company.

DG RPF Arun Kumar nominated as Vice-Chairman of International Union of Railways:

India will be represented on the high table of global rail transport policy making as Arun Kumar, Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), has been nominated to be the vice-chairman of the Security Platform of the Paris-based Union Internationale Des Chemins/International Union of Railways (UIC).
Arun Kumar, who is a 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.

Shikhar Dhawan signs agreement with IMG Reliance:

Sports management firm IMG Reliance, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and US-based IMG Worldwide announced that Indian cricket star Shikhar Dhawan has signed an exclusive worldwide marketing and management agreement with the company.

Awards and Recognitions:

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg wins first Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity:

Young Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg was awarded the first Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The award carries a €1,000,000 prize and the entire amount would be donated by Thunberg to project and organizations fighting for a sustainable world.

Arnab Chaudhuri to be conferred with Legend of Animation award:

Legendary animation director Arnab Chaudhuri has been named as the recipient of this year’s Legend of Animation award instituted by the Toonz Media Group (TMG).
The award will be posthumously conferred to Arnab at the Animation Masters Summit (AMS) 2020- Digital Edition. that will be held from July 20 to 24 over the Zoom platform, . Arnab, who passed away on December 25, 2019.

National Award for Excellence in Forestry awarded to Kannan C S Warrier:

Senior principal of Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB) scientist Kannan C S Warrier has received the National Award of Excellence for Outstanding Research in Forestry for the year 2019.
The award was conferred on him by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE).

Rankings:

India Ranks Among 10 Worst Countries For Working People: ITUC

India is among the 10 worst countries for working people, according to the seventh edition of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index that ranks 144 countries on the degree of respect for workers’ rights.
The others include Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Honduras, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

Obituary News:

Veteran Odia Actor Bijay Mohanty Passes Away at 70:

Odia film actor and director Bijay Mohanty passed away at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar at the age of 70 after he suffered a cardiac arrest. An alumnus of National School of Drama, the actor started his career in the Odia film industry in 1977.