Daily Current Affairs: July 18 & 19, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (July 18 & 19, 2021) 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 – July 18 & 19, 2021, now @ our Bankersdaily Tests.

SUBSCRIBE to Race Youtube Channel for CA QUIZ LIVE Sessions

Check: Previous – Daily Current Affairs – Banking Exam

Important Day

Nelson Mandela International Day – 18 July

• Nelson Mandela International Day is observed on 18 July every year. This day is celebrated in honour of Nelson Mandela. This day was officially declared by the United Nations (UN) in November 2009 and the first UN Mandela Day was celebrated on 18 July 2010.

National News

Union Government launches digital platform ‘Kisan Sarathi’ to facilitate farmers to get ‘right information at the right time’ in their desired language

• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar and Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw launched a digital platform named ‘Kisan Sarathi’ on the 93^rd Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Foundation Day.
• Kisan Sarathi is a digital platform to facilitate farmers to get the ‘right information at the right time’ in their desired language.

Haryana Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala introduces the ‘One Block, One Product’ scheme

• Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana Dushyant Chautala introduced the ‘One Block, One Product’ scheme to encourage and promote small industries in rural areas.
• Haryana’s ‘One District, One Product’ scheme, which is being implemented under the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), has come up as a model across India.

Haryana           

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
• Governor: Bandaru Dattatraya
• National Parks: Sultanpur National Park, Kalesar National Park
• Dance: Phag, Dhamal, Loor, Khoria

India’s first-ever monk fruit cultivation exercise begins in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu

• The ‘monk fruit’ from China, which is known for its properties as a non-caloric natural sweetener, was introduced for field trials in Himachal Pradesh by the Palampur-based Council of Scientific Research and Industrial Technology-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

Himachal Pradesh

• Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
• Chief Minister: Jai Ram Thakur
• Governor: Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
• National Parks: Inderkila National Park, Simbalbara National Park, Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park, Khirganga National Park

MeitY inked an MoU with MapmyIndia to enable map services in the UMANG app

• Union Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MapmyIndia to enable the map services in the “Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) app”.
• This MoU will help to ease the lives of citizens by facilitating online delivery of government services and further enhance the initiatives of the Digital India programme, keeping in view the theme of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

CESL partners with WRI India to build a strategy for the renewable energy sector

• Convergence Energy Services Ltd. (CESL) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) India have signed a pact to work on strategising for India’s transition towards a net-zero emission
• Under this partnership, WRI India will support CESL in building adaptative business models to help state governments in India realise their targets, including decentralising renewable energy and improving battery storage capacities.

International News

Zurich International Airport signs shareholder agreement with NIAL for Noida International Airport development

• The Zurich International Airport signed a shareholder agreement with the Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) for the development of the Noida International Airport.
• According to the shareholder agreement, NIAL will hold one golden share in Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd. (YIAPL), a 100% subsidiary of Zurich Airport International and the right to nominate two directors to the board.

Uttar Pradesh          

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)
• Zoological Parks: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden

Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as the President of Syria for the fourth seven-year term

• Bashar al-Assad was sworn in as the President of Syria for the fourth seven-year term. He won 1 per cent of the votes cast in the election. He is the 19^th President of Syria since 17 July 2000.

Syria

• Capital: Damascus
• Currency: Syrian Pound
• Prime Minister: Imad Khamis
• President: Bashar al-Assad

Africa becomes the first continent to complete collection of digital land-use data

• Africa became the first continent in the world to complete the collection of accurate, comprehensive and harmonised digital land use and land-use change data under the Africa Open Data for the Environment, Agriculture and Land Initiative (DEAL)
• The data collection and analysis initiatives were led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union Commission (AUC).

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• Headquarters: Rome, Italy
• Director-General: QU Dongyu
• Founded: 16 October 1945
• Motto: “Fiat panis” (Let there be bread)

US, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan announce a new Quad group for the Afghanistan peace process

• The US, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan have agreed in principle to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform focused on enhancing regional connectivity.
• The countries consider long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan critical to regional connectivity and agree that peace and regional connectivity are mutually reinforcing.

Banking and Economy

Union Government increases FDI limit in NPS fund managers to 74% from 49%

• The Union Government notified a hike in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in pension fund management to 74% from 49% under the National Pension System (NPS).
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act links the FDI ceiling in the sector to the same in the insurance sector.

Federal Bank launches ‘FEDDY’ AI-powered virtual assistant for customers

• The Federal Bank has launched ‘FEDDY’, an Artificial Intelligence-powered virtual assistant to help customers with banking-related queries
• ‘FEDDY’ is also integrated into Google Business Messaging, the first-of-its-kind feat by an Indian based bank.

Federal Bank

• Headquarters: Aluva, Kerala
• MD & CEO: Shyam Srinivasan
• Tagline: “Your Perfect Banking Partner”

Acquisitions and Mergers

Reliance Retail acquires 66.95% stake in Just Dial for Rs. 5,719 crores

• Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL) acquired a 66.95 per cent stake in Just Dial for 5,719 crores, bolstering its digital play in the rapidly growing online commerce market in India.
• RRVL will acquire 25.33 per cent in Just Dial through a preferential allotment at Rs. 1,022.25 per share and take another 15.62 per cent from its founder VSS Mani at Rs. 1,020 per share.

Science and Technology

IIT Madras develops an AI algorithm to spot cancer-causing mutations

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed an Artificial Intelligence-based mathematical model to identify cancer-causing alterations in cells.
• The algorithm uses a relatively unexplored technique of leveraging DNA composition to pinpoint genetic alterations responsible for cancer progression, which is difficult using present methodologies.

Awards and Recognitions

Former Indian goalkeeper Shibaji Banerjee was conferred with Mohun Bagan Ratna posthumously

• Former Indian goalkeeper Shibaji Banerjee was conferred with Mohun Bagan Ratna He denied Brazil’s legendary football player Pele from scoring a goal in an exhibition match in 1977.

Mohun Bagan Executive Committee has announced the following awards:

• Fijian footballer Roy Krishna was named the Best Footballer of 2020–21.
• Bengal cricket team skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran was chosen as the Best Cricketer. Bidisha Kundu, who won the 100 m hurdles and high jump in the National Championship, was named the Best Athlete.

Two Indian organisations won the 2021 UNDP Equator Prize

• Aadhimalai Pazhangudiyinar Producer Company Limited and Snehakunja Trust are among the 10 awardees of the 2021 United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) Equator Prize for their work in the field of conservation and biodiversity.
• The UNDP gives a biennial award to recognise community efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Julia Ducournau of France becomes the second woman to win Palme d’Or at the 74^th Cannes Film Festival

• The 37-year-old French director Julia Ducournau became the only second woman in history to win the Palme d’Or at the 74^th Cannes Film Festival.
• She was awarded the Palme d’Or Prize for the film Titane, a wildly imaginative movie about a serial killer.

India’s Payal Kapadia wins the Oeil d’Or Award for Best Documentary at the 74^th Cannes Film Festival

• Director Payal Kapadia’s documentary ‘A Night of Knowing Nothing’ won the Oeil d’Or (Golden Eye) Award for Best Documentary at the 74^th Cannes Film Festival held in Cannes, France.

Bangladesh Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to receive Olympic Laurel

• Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus will receive the Olympic Laurel at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. He will be honoured for his extensive work in sport for development.
• The award was given for the first time at the 2016 Rio Games to former Kenyan Olympian Kip Keino, who opened a children’s home, a school and an athletes’ training centre in Kenya.

Books and Authors

A new book titled ‘The India Story: An Epic Journey of Democracy and Development’ was authored by Bimal Jalan

• Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan’s new book titled ‘The India Story: An Epic Journey of Democracy and Development’ was released. This book was published by Rupa Publications India.

Obituary

Former Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain passed away at 80

• Former President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain passed away after a prolonged illness. He was born in Agra in 1940 and migrated with his parents to Pakistan in 1947. He served as the 12^th President of Pakistan between September 2013 and September 2018.

Sports News

Lewis Hamilton wins the 2021 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton (Britain) won the 2021 Formula 1 British Grand Prix. This is his 99^th career win and his 8^th win at the Silverstone Circuit, England.
• Lewis Hamilton was followed by Charles Leclerc (Monaco) and Valtteri Bottas (Finland).

Daily CA July 18 and 19 One-liner:

Can you score 20/20 in Today’s Current Affairs Quiz? Attempt the Current Affairs Quiz of  July 18 & 19, 2021, now from the link given below.