DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: JULY 20, 2018

Daily Current Affairs (July 20, 2018) 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.

NATIONAL

Indian Air Force to join ‘Pitch Black’ warfare exercise in Australia

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in the multinational “Pitch Black” warfare exercise in Australia. The IAF contingent is led by Group Captain CUV Rao.

The IAF contingent for the July 24-August 18 biennial multi-national large force employment warfare exercise will consist of 145 air-warriors including Garud team, four Su-30MKI fighters, one C-130 special operations aircraft and one C-17 transporter

Pitch Black is hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and will see eight other nations participating with over 100 aircraft.


Swaraj hosted 10th edition of 2 day Delhi Dialogue in New Delhi

The External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj hosted the 10th edition of the Delhi Dialogue (DD X) in the national capital, New Delhi. The theme of this year’s DD X is“Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation.”

The Dialogue is a premier annual event to discuss politico-security, the economic and socio-cultural engagement between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

DD X is being organised in partnership with the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).


Chhattisgarh Launches ‘Abhar Aapki Sewa Ka’ App For Pensioners

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh has launched an online portal and mobile app called ‘Aabhaar-Aapki seva ka’ by the online pension management system for the pensioners of the state.

Through this app and the website, 80,000 pensioners of the state will now get all the information related to pension and payment online.The app has been launched to provide transparency in the pension facility.


Parliament nod to bill for merger of subsidiary banks with SBI

The Parliament has approved the bill to merge six subsidiary banks with the State Bank of India (SBI) with the Rajya Sabha clearing the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017.

The bill repeals the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956 besides amending the State Bank of India (SBI) Act, 1955.

The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on July 21, 2017, and has been passed by the lower house.


RBI To Issue New Design Rs 100 Denomination Banknote

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly issue Rs 100 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing the signature of Governor Urjit Patel. . The central bank said all the notes in the earlier Rs 100 series will continue to be legal tender.

The new denomination notes will be lavender colour bearing the motif of ‘Rani Ki Vav’, which depicts India’s cultural heritage.

Rani ki vav is an intricately constructed stepwell situated in the town of Patan in Gujarat, India. It is located on the banks of Saraswati River.


Cabinet approves MoU on aviation with BRICS nations

The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amongst BRICS nations on Regional Aviation Partnership.

The government aims for the BRICS nations to benefit from the establishment of an institutional framework to corporate in the field of civil aviation.

The MoU signifies an important landmark in the civil aviation relations between India and the other BRICS Member States and has the potential to spur greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges amongst the BRICS Nations.

BRICS Nations: India, China, Russia, South Africa, Brazil.


Elphinstone station of Mumbai renamed as Prabhadevi by Western Railways

The Western Railway renamed Elphinstone Road suburban railway station in Mumbai, Maharashtra to Prabhadevi Station.

The station was initially named after Lord Elphinstone, who was Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860.It has now been renamed in honour of local deity Prabhadevi.


INTERNATIONAL

Two Plus Two Dialogue Between India And US To Be Held In New Delhi

The US State Department has announced that the inaugural ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ between India and the United States will be held in New Delhi.

The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis will travel to India for the dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

India and US will discuss strengthening of strategic, security and defence cooperation as both the nations jointly address challenges in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.


India and Ghana Ink 2 MoUs

India and Ghana has signed two agreements in an effort to enhance the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

MOUs on Cultural Exchange Programme and on cooperation between Bureau of Indian Standards and Ghana Standards Authority were signed.

Ghana

Capital: Accra

Currency: Ghanaian cedi


EU, Japan Sign Massive Free Trade Deal

The European Union and Japan signed a huge free trade deal on that cuts or eliminates tariffs on nearly all goods.

The agreement covers 600 million people and almost a third of the global economy. It’s also a major endorsement of a global trading system that is under increasing threat from protectionism.

It will remove tariffs on European exports such as cheese and wine. Japanese automakers and electronics firms will face fewer barriers in the European Union.

Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, hailed the agreement as the “largest bilateral trade deal ever.”


UNEP Partners With Google For Monitoring Impact Of Human Activity On Ecosystem

The UN has entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems by using sophisticated online tools.

The aim of the partnership is to develop a platform to enable governments, NGO’s and the public to track specific environment-related development targets with a user-friendly Google front-end.

The partnership was launched during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters in New York.

It has its initial focus on fresh-water ecosystems including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes.Google will periodically produce geospatial maps and data on water-related ecosystems by employing massive parallel Cloud computing technology.

United Nations Environment Programme

Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

Head: Erik Solheim


Jeff Bezos topped the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2018

Jeff Bezos is the richest person in modern history.

The Amazon.com Inc. founder’s net worth broke $150 billion in New York, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s about $55 billion more than Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, the world’s second-richest person.


BANKING AND ECONOMY

India fastest growing economy in Asia; on track to meet FY18 target: ADB

According to Asian Development Bank (ADB), India will continue to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, ahead of China, with 7.3 per cent growth rate in 2018-19 and 7.6 percent in 2019-20.

The growth in India will be driven by increased public spending, higher capacity utilisation rate and uptick in private investment.

The economic growth in China will decelerate to 6.6 per cent in 2018 and further to 6.4 per cent in 2019. China’s growth rate was 6.9 per cent in 2017.

ADB also said India is the dominant economy in the South Asia sub-region with its growth gaining momentum at 7.7 per cent in the last quarter ended March of 2017-18, the highest rate of growth since first quarter of 2016-17.


SPORTS

Brij Bhushan Saran Singh To Be Named India’s Chef De Mission At Asian Games

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh was officially appointed as the Chef de Mission (CDM) of the Indian contingent for the upcoming 18th Asian Games to be held in twin cities of Jakarta and Palembang from August 19 to September 2.

Along with the CDM, four Deputy Chef de Missions have also been appointed to lead the Indian contingent’s participation in the 2018 edition of the Asian Games.

The four Deputy Chef de Missions are Raj Kumar Sacheti, Col Satyavrat Sheoran, Balbir Singh Kushwaha and Dev Kumar Singh.


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