DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : July 26, 2019

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Daily Current Affairs (July 26, 2019) 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.

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NATIONAL NEWS

India’s first Dragon blood-oozing Tree discovered in Assam

Researcher discovers Dracaena Cambodia a dragon tree species in Assam’s West Karbi Anglong district.
It is a plant that yields a dragon’s blood. It is a bright red resin used in ancient times as a medicine, body oil, varnish, incense, and dye.
The sap turns bright red after coming in contact with air. This is for the first time that a dragon tree species reported from India.
In India, the Dracaena genus belonging to the family Asparagaceae. It is represented by nine species and two varieties in the Himalayan region, the northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Dracaena cambodiana is the only true dragon tree species. It is an important medicinal plant as well as an ornamental tree. It is a major source of dragon’s blood, a precious traditional medicine in China.

The celestial object has landed in a village of Madhubani, Bihar

A celestial object has landed in a village of Madhubani, Bihar. The object weighs more than 10 kilograms. It has magnetic properties.
The object looks like a piece of rock. It glitters much more than that of an unpolished stone.

Meteorite:

A meteorite is a piece of rock or iron from a meteoroid or asteroid. As it passes through Earth’s atmosphere it survives impact with the ground.
Most meteorites originate from larger asteroid bodies which reside in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

PARLIAMENT NEWS

Lok Sabha passed the 2019 Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill

Lok Sabha passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 on 25 July.
The Bill was introduced by the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The bill is for the justice, respect and dignity of women.

Provisions of the Bill:

The Bill criminalises instant triple talaq among Muslims. It also approves a jail term of three years for the husband.
The bill will replace the ordinance passed by the previous government in February. It should be noted that around 20 Muslim countries in the world, including Pakistan and Malaysia, have banned the triple talaq.

The Companies Amendment Bill, 2019 introduced in Lok Sabha

The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been introduced in Lok Sabha on 25 July. The Bill was introduced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Provision of the Ordinance:

16 of the offences that are punishable with fine or imprisonment, or both has been categorised as it empowers the adjudicating officers, who are appointed by the central government, may now levy penalties instead.
The ordinance prohibits a company from issuing shares at a discount, except in certain cases.
It also says that a company cannot commence business unless it files a declaration within 180 days of incorporation or files a verification of its registered office within 30 days of incorporation.
The companies must register charges such as mortgages on its property within 30 days of creation of charge.

Lok Sabha cleared the Unlawful Activities Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2019

Lok Sabha cleared the Unlawful Activities Prevention (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill aims to end terrorism.

Provisions of the Bill:

The Bill will now empower the government to designate individuals as terrorists. If any person commits or participates in acts of terrorism or involved in terrorist, he/she can be designated as terrorist.
The Director-General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) can now grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the agency.

Rajya Sabha passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Rajya Sabha passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (POCSO Bill).
The Bill will now be sent to Lok Sabha for its approval. The Bill was introduced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
It was presented by the Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani.

Provisions of the Bill:

The Bill provides death penalty to the culprits for sexual assault on children. It also proposes strict punishments for other crimes that are committed against children.
The Bill also aims to check the increasing cases of child sexual abuse. The Act imposes fines and imprisonment to restraint child pornography.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Plastic-like Jute material developed in Bangladesh

Scientists in Bangladesh developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low cost biodegradable cellulose sheets named Sonali. It is used to wrap material along with a carry bag.
Mubarak Ahmad Khan Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) developed the new ‘sonali’.
It denotes the physical qualities of the invented jute fibre and plastic are quite similar. The Eco-friendly jute poly bags made up of Sonali can be used in garments and food packaging work.
The commercial production of these bags is likely to start by the year end. Government of Bangladesh approved 9 lakh dollars in April to help in large-scale production of these bags.
The main challenge in the large scale adoption of Sonali sheet is the relatively high cost of production which is almost doubles that of polythene.

Bangladesh

Capital: Dhaka
Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

Mark Esper sworn in as the US secretary of defence

Mark Esper sworn in as the US secretary of defence after receiving Senate confirmation on July 24.
He was an army veteran and former defence industry lobbyist. Esper was selected by a vote of 90-8. His appointment comes after a seven-month vacancy.
He joined in the post at the White House by the Supreme Court justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony attended by Donald Trump.
Esper has a wide range of experience in defence matters, as a congressional staff member. In the 1990-91 Gulf war, he served in the 101st airborne division and participated.
He then served as the deputy assistant secretary of defence. Esper worked in Raytheon for several years before becoming army secretary.

BANKING & FINANCE

Asian Development Bank sanctions Rs 1,925 cr power project in Tripura

Asian Development Bank (ADB) sanctioned Rs 1,925 crore projects for up-gradation of power generation and distribution in Tripura, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma.
The amount was recently sanctioned to the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) after the state government had sought the ADB’s assistance, Dev Varma who is also the power minister.
The project sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Project to 120 MW. It is at an estimated cost of Rs 699.80 crore.
The project sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Project to 120.
They modernizing Gumti Hydro Electric Project at an estimated cost of Rs 1225.88 crore. Rokhia project is located at West Tripura district.
North East Council approved sanction of Rs 12.7 crore for an overhaul of the 49.15 km-long Ambassa-Gandacherra power transmission line.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

PayPal opens new centre in Hyderabad, to have around 100 techies

American digital payments firm PayPal announced expansion of its India footprint with the launch of third global technology centre.
PayPal India house involves 100 engineers across roles including risk management and operations.
Their main is to provide cutting-edge digital payments solutions to customers around the world.
The expansion follows the acquisition of fraud prevention platform Simility in 2018.
The new centre will focus on leveraging PayPal’s extensive expertise in data science, risk management and machine learning to identify and protect them from fraud.
They play a critical role in advancing the digitisation goals of the Indian government and the Reserve Bank of India by enabling new-age businesses to adopt digital payments in a safe and secure manner.

Pay Pal

It is an American company operating a worldwide online payments system. They support online money transfers.
It serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appointed PAC Chairman

Congress party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appointed as the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The post was held by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge
He recently concluded elections lost from Gulbarga constituency in Karnataka to BJP’s Umesh Jadhav.
Chowdhury along with former Union Ministers Satyapal Singh and Jayant Sinha elected as the members of PAC.
The other members elected to the committee from Lok Sabha are TR Baalu (DMK), Subhash Chandra Baheria, Sudheer Gupta, Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Ajay (Teni) Misra, Jagadambika Pal, Vishnu Dayal Ram, Ram Kripal Yadav (all BJP).
And also the members are Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD), Rahul Ramesh Shewale (Shiv Sena), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD-U) and Balashowry Vallabbhaneni (YSRC Party).

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A Coffee Table Book showcasing the history and achievements of the Fire & Fury Corps released in Leh

A book showcasing the history and achievements of the Fire and Fury Corps.
It guards the Line of Control (LoC) and Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
The coffee table book titled ‘Fire and Fury Corps — Saga of Valour, Fortitude and Sacrifice’. The book covers the serenity and mysticism of Ladakh and its people.
It is as a tribute to the symbiotic relationship shared by the Indian Army and the people of Ladakh region.
The documents the courage and bravery of the Fire and Fury Warriors specifies about the rich heritage and ethos of the Indian Army.
The book was released in Leh by Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh.
The nation is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas. It is a repository of exemplary valour and utmost dedication to the nation.
It also brings to the fore the numerous sagas of great courage, supreme sacrifices and other hitherto hidden facets of soldiering displayed by the Corps.

PM Narendra Modi releases book on Former PM Chandra Shekhar

PM Narendra Modi released the book “Chandra Shekhar – The Last Icon of Ideological Politics”.
The book has been written by Shri Harivansh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, and Shri Ravi Dutt Bajpai. The book release eats the Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building.
The Prime Minister presented the first copy of the book to the Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu.

SPORTS NEWS

Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao won WBA Super Welterweight title 2019

Manny Pacquiao (40) won the WBA (World Boxing Association) welterweight championship 2019.
He defeated Keith Thurman of US at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, United States. Two judges scored it 115-112 in favour of Pacquiao.
The one judge scored it 114-113 to Thurman. The eight-division world champion Pacquiao improved to 62-7-2 score with 39 knockouts.
He is currently serving as a senator of the Philippines won 12 major world titles as well as being the first boxer to win the lineal championship in five different weight classes.
He won the “Best Fighter ESPY Award”. He currently ranks No. 4 in Boxer’s ranking of the greatest pound for pound boxers of all time.

Kristof Milak created a new world record in the 200 metres butterfly at the 2019 FINA world championship

Hungarian swimmer Kristof Milak created a new world record in the 200 metres butterfly at the FINA world championship 2019 in Gwangju, South Korea.
He clocked 1:50.73. He broke the record set by Michael Phelps who clocked 1:51.51 in an event in Rome 2009.

Kristóf Milák:

Country : Hungary
Capital : Budapest
Sport : Swimming

IMPORTANT DAYS

July 26th: Kargil Vijay Diwas

The country will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Kargil Vijay Diwas today.
On this day in 1999, the Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, formally came to an end, with Indian soldiers successfully recapturing mountain heights that had been seized by Pakistani intruders.
The Kargil War was the last time India and Pakistan came to a full-blown armed conflict.
The Kargil War was also the first time India and Pakistan got into an armed conflict after becoming nuclear powers.
The Kargil War was prompted by the Pakistan Army intruding into India across the Line of Control and capturing strategic mountain peaks.
The intrusion was first detected in May 1999, but at that time it was assumed that the intruders were militants or terrorists and not regular Pakistan Army troops.
In response, India launched a military and diplomatic blitz, pushing the Pakistani intruders off the captured heights and isolating Islamabad on a global level.
India recaptured all the peaks by July 26, 1999, bringing the Kargil conflict to an end. More than 500 Indian soldiers died in the Kargil War.