DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : July 3, 4 & 5, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (July 3 , 4 & 5, 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

Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) has been currently deployed across the Kaziranga National Park

  • The Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) has been currently deployed across the Kaziranga National Park. A first ever batch of 82 constables of a SRPF has been deployed in various parts of UNESCO World Heritage Site Kaziranga National Park in Assam.
  • The force consists of 74 men and 8 women who underwent 43 weeks of training. The constables assumed their duties across the national park to protect one horned rhino.
  • This is the first time a special force that has been dedicated to keep a check on rhino poaching and related activities in the Kaziranga National Park. From 2013, there was rampant rhino poaching in Kaziranga. In 2013 and 2014, 27 poaching incidents each year was reported. In the last 2 years there have been 6 cases each year. In 2019, there have been three cases so far.

Union Cabinet approved the Organised Group A Service status to senior officers of the CAPF

  • The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has granted the Organised Group A Service status to senior officers of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs). This will ending the years of legal battle and ensure better service benefits for the CAPF.
  • The cabinet approved the extension of benefit of Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) to the group A service officers of these paramilitary forces.
  • The move comes after a Supreme Court order asked the government to extend the benefits, which are already available to IPS, IAS, IRS and IFS officers, to CAPF officers. CAPF refers to a combination of seven security forces in India. It functions under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi flags off 1st batch of Haj pilgrims

  • The first batch of Haj pilgrims flagged off by Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from Indira Gandhi International Airport. Around 2 lakh Indian Muslims are going to Haj this year.

 

  • Naqvi congratulated Haj pilgrims and extended best wishes to them for their pilgrimage. He chaired the 112th governing body and 65th general body meetings of Maulana Azad Education Foundation at Antyodaya Bhawan.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

IAEA reported that Iran has exceeded the limit on the amount of enriched uranium

  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ atomic watchdog, reported that Iran has exceeded the limit on the amount of enriched uranium in its stockpile set out in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
  • It verified that 300kg (660lb) limit had been exceeded. In May, Iran has stepped up production of enriched uranium which is used to make reactor fuel but also potentially nuclear bombs.
  • Iran was exercising its right to respond to a unilateral US withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed punishing sanctions on Tehran. Hence Iran’s the accumulation of more enriched uranium than permitted under the deal was not a violation of the pact.

IMF approves $6 billion loan for cash-strapped Pakistan

  • International Monetary Fund Executive board sanctioned a three-year $6 billion loan package for Pakistan. The main aim is to rein in mounting debts and stave off a looming balance of payments crisis.
  • The Board approved the immediate disbursement of around $1 billion with the remainder to be phased in over the period of the programme. Pakistan decided to agree to tough conditions for the coming three years.
  • The package made an approval $38 billion from Pakistan’s international partners over the programme period. The programme requires “decisive fiscal consolidation” and a multi-year plan to strengthen Pakistan’s weak tax system.
  • Despite securing billions of dollars in loans from friendly countries including China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates which results in economic headwinds forced the government to turn to the fund.
  • The central bank controls the currency hiked interest rates to 12.25% and slashed the rupee to historic lows against the dollar.

Russia withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty

  • The Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a bill that suspends Russia’s participation in the nuclear arms treaty. Putin’s decree formalizes the withdrawal of Russia from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF) with the United States.
  • The move comes after the withdrawal of US from the pact. Russia’s withdrawal from INF treaty is a response to the U.S. withdrawal from the key arms control pact signed by the Soviet Union and the United States in 1987.
  • US accused Russia of violating the treaty with impunity, covertly developing and fielding a prohibited missile system that poses a direct threat to the allies and troops abroad. The U.S. and Europe said that the range of the new cruise missiles from Russia violate the treaty.  Russia denied the accusations.

RANKING & INDEX

Maharashtra ranked first in NITI Aayog’s AM FFR Index

  • Maharashtra got first rank in NITI Aayog launched plan “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)”. The index ranks states based on the degree of reforms they have undertaken in agricultural marketing.
  • AMFFRI got a score that can have minimum value “0”.The score implies no reforms and they have maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas.

Maharashtra
Capital: Mumbai
Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao
Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis

BANKING & FINANCE

ICICI partnered with IndoStar Capital to finance commercial vehicles

  • ICICI Bank tied up with non-banking financial company IndoStar Capital for vehicle financing. IndoStar originate and provide service through the customers through the entire loan life-cycle including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan servicing.
  • IndoStar originate customers in tier-II, III, IV cities. There is a branch network of 322 branches. The cities which are included here Coimbatore, Salem, Tirunelveli, Kurnool, Calicut, Trivandrum, Jabalpur, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jodhpur, Alwar and Meerut. The partnership will leverage upon the bank’s efficient lending mechanism.

ICICI Bank
Founded: 5 January 1994
Chairman: Girish Chandra Chaturvedi
MD & CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi

Karnataka Bank launches web tool for NPA recovery process named ‘Vasool So-Ft’

  • Karnataka Bank launched a web tool named VASOOL SO-Ft (VASOOL SOFAST) for digitizing NPA recovery process. The tool will enable easy & faster processing, real-time information and immediate decision making in the recovery area.
  • The digital tool for the recovery of stressed assets will provide an end-to-end digital solution. The faster processing and real time information and immediate decision making in the recovery area.

Karnataka Bank 
Founded: 1924
Headquarters: Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
MD & CEO: Mahabaleshwara M. S

Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana

  • Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer Bharti AXA Life POS (Point of Sale). Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana, a pure life term insurance decided to plan up to Rs 5 lakhs.
  • The scheme is aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India. The policy available at all the Airtel Payments Bank’s 25,000 retail outlets. It will be expanded to cover over 60,000 banking points
  • The customers are offered the option of life cover between 3-5 lakh. The scheme further extended up to Rs 25 lakh. Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the scheme Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY).

Airtel Payment Bank 
CEO: Anubrata Biswas
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 2016

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Economic Survey for 2018-19 predicted a 7 percent GDP growth for financial year 2019-20

 

  • Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey for 2018-19 in the Parliament on 5 July. The survey predicted a 7% GDP growth for financial year 2019-20 as compared to 6.8% in 2018-19. The Economic Survey was prepared by Chief Economic Advisor KV Subramanian.
  • In the Second term of the NDA govt. PM Modi laid a goal to bring Indian economy to a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. According to the Economic Survey, India needs to sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8%.
  • The report also said that India continued to remain the fastest-growing major economy in the world in 2018-19, despite a slight moderation in gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 7.2% in 2017-18 to 6.8% in 2018-19.

COMMITTEES & RECOMENDATIONS

UP govt to set up Committees in all 25 districts situated on the banks of river Ganga

  • State Government of Uttar Pradesh decided to set up Ganga Committees in all 25 districts. It is situated on the banks of river Ganga. This is part of the large scale program to clean the holy river.
  • Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat discussed issues like water conservation, revival of dry rivers, rainwater harvesting and plantation drive.
  • The state has listed 15 rivers which gone dry at present and will be revived under the action plan. A special plantation drive on the banks of prominent holy rivers is taken up.
  • Uttar Pradesh
    Capital:Lucknow
    Governor: Ram Naik
    Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Uttar Pradesh State govt. has announced piped water for every rural home in the state within two years

  • The Uttar Pradesh State government has announced piped water for every rural home in the state within two years. The Yogi Adityanath-led government has already begun its work on the piped water programme.
  • The State has planned to divide Jal Nigam’s work into urban and rural areas for better implementation. The works are carried out under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The State govt. has warned concerned officials of serious consequences including jail, if they fail to do their job.
  • It has also asked the district magistrates (DMs) to fix accountability of gram panchayats for repairing hand pumps and ensuring the supply of drinking water.
  • District magistrates will address through a video conference. Complaints will receive during a review of the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Manoj Kumar Nambiar is appointed as the Chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN)

  • Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Managing Director of Arohan Financial Services, is appointed as the Chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN). He was elected at 6th annual general meeting of MFIN.
  • Nambiar is also a director on boards of IntelleCash Microfinance Network Company. He will replace Ujjivan Financial Services CEO and MD Samit Ghosh. Vineet Chattree of Svatantra Microfin will be the vice-chairman, the industry association and self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the microfinance industry in India. 
  • Also, MFIN has inducted Gyan Mohan and Jagadish Ramadugu in its governing board. The announcement was made by MFIN Chief Executive Officer Harsh Shrivastava.
  • Microfinance Institutions Network
  • Formed on: 2012
  • Location: Haryana, India
  • President: Udaya Kumar
  • Vice President: Dibyajyoti Pattanaik
  • Chairman: Manoj Kumar Nambiar
  • Chief Executive Officer: Harsh Shrivastava

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

USISPF honors Wipro Chairman Azim Premji & Mastercard CEO and President Ajay Banga with Global Excellence Award 2019

  • Indian multinational corporation Wipro’s Chairman, Azim Premji, and Global Financial services company Mastercard’s CEO and President, Ajaypal Singh Banga chosen for 2019 Global Excellence Award.
  • The award will be given by LIS-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) for their contribution to strengthening economic ties between the US and India. The awards will be given at the USISPF Second Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July 11, 2019.
  • US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, LIS Energy Secretary Rick Perry, LIS House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republic from Arkansas and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Shringla attend the leadership summit.
  • The aim is to highlight bilateral cooperation, trade, and investment, strategic energy ties, manufacturing, and innovation partnership of two countries. 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA successfully tested Ascent Abort-2, a test of a launch-abort system, for the Orion capsule

  • NASA, UN Space Agency, has successfully carried out Ascent Abort-2, a test of a launch-abort system, for the Orion capsule designed to take U.S. astronauts to the Moon. The three-minute test exercise was carried out at Cape Canaveral in Florida. 
  • Ascent Abort-2 was aimed to test in almost real-life conditions the evacuation of astronauts from the capsule in the event of an explosion or rocket booster failure.
  • In the test, an unmanned Orion capsule was launched by a mini-rocket, a re-purposed first stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile. NASA’s Orion spacecraft has been built to take humans far in space. Orion is an exploration vehicle. It will carry the crew to space. 
  • It is built to provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. NASA’s Orion spacecraft has been planned to carry the first woman and the next man to the moon in 2024. 

SPORTS NEWS

Hyderabad Sailing Week, 34th edition of the National level sailing championship, began in Telangana

  • Hyderabad Sailing Week, the 34th edition of the National level sailing championship, began in Telangana on 2 July. It was inaugurated by the Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan.
  • It will be at the Hussain Sagar Lake. The event will take place from July 2 till July 7. The Championship aims to place the State into the world sailing map.
  • The State currently has three participants who previously were Asian medalists. The event is being jointly organised by the EME Sailing Association (EMESA) and supported by Sports Authority of Telangana State.
  • Hyderabad has been chosen as the wind conditions in the city are most favourable to hone sailor’s skills in yacht handling and understanding wind shifts.
  • This event includes 190 plus sailors, 16 sailing clubs with round 21 sailors from Telangana state alone. Technical part of championship is taken care of by foreign sailing members.

Hima Das Wins Gold, Tajinderpal Singh Toor Bags Bronze at Poznan Athletics Grand Prix

  • Star Indian sprinter Hima Das won the women’s 200m gold, while national record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor bagged a bronze in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland.
  • Hima, the world junior champion and national record holder in 400m who has been struggling with a back problem for the past few months, clocked 23.65s on her way to the 200m gold.
  • This was Hima’s first competitive 200m race of the year. She has a personal best of 23.10s, which she clocked last year. Another Indian, V K Vismaya finished third with a personal best time of 23.75s in the race at Poznan on Tuesday night.
  • Asian champion Toor won the men’s shot put bronze with a best effort of 19.62m. His national record while winning Asian Games gold last year stands at 20.75m.
  • Muhammed Anas, the 400m national record holder, was third in the men’s 200m race with a timing of 20.75 seconds. K S Jeevan won the men’s 400m bronze in 47.25s.

NATIONAL NEWS

Union Cabinet approved the Code on Wages Bill on Wednesday

 

  • The Union Cabinet approved the Code on Wages Bill, draft legislation, on 3 July. The Bill seeks to mandate minimum wages fixed by the central government which will be implemented by states for all occupations. It is a first step towards reviving the labour law reform process. 
  • The Code on Wages Bill was tabled in Lok Sabha in August 2017. But the Bill lapsed after the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. The Bill proposed to empower the states to fix different minimum wages based on geography, skill and occupation, along with a national-level minimum wage which will act as a floor.

Ministry of Labour and Employment:

  • Headquarters: New Delhi
  • Minister: Santosh Gangwar (independent charge)

UIDAI has operationalised its first Aadhaar Seva Kendra (ASK) in Delhi and Vijayawada

  • The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has operationalised the first Aadhaar Seva Kendra (ASK) in Delhi and Vijayawada. UIDAI has planned to set up 114 such centres by the end of 2019. This has been implemented under ambitious plan of UIDAI to cover 53 cities across India at an estimated project cost of Rs.300-400 crore.
  • The Delhi centre is located at Akshardham metro station premises. The centre has a capacity to handle 1,000 enrolment/ updation requests a day. It comes equipped with 16 workstations. Vijayawada centre, the capacity of the centre is half that of the Delhi centre.

Aadhaar Seva Kendras (ASK):

  • ASK is owned by UIDAI. It is operated in addition to thousands of centres and in government premises that offers similar Aadhaar services. It is currently being run by banks and post offices.
  • Aadhaar Seva Kendras are similar to the concept of Passport Seva Kendras. These Aadhaar centres will facilitate enrolment, updation and other activities. 
  • The new ASK model provides an online appointment management system to allow people to book a slot as per their convenience. The centres will be operational six days a week including weekends. It will be closed on Tuesday and public holidays only.

Cabinet approved proposal to lease out 3 airports to Adani Enterprises Ltd.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Union Cabinet approved the proposal to lease out airports at Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru to Adani Enterprises Ltd. on 3 July. In February 2019, the Adani group had also won the bids to operate the Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports, owned by the AAI.
  • Adani Enterprises Ltd. will run five of the six airports, the operations of which are being privatised. It will now be India’s largest airport operator outside government control.
  • The Adani Enterprises has offered Rs.177, Rs.174, Rs.171, Rs.168 and Rs.115, respectively, for the Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru airports as revenue per passenger. It would pay the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in exchange for a 50-year concession agreement to run these airports.

First Ever IICTF to be held in New Delhi from October 11-13, 2019

  • The first ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF). It is held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The event to be held in the month of October 11-13, 2019.  It is a unique initiative for taking farmers, artisans and other members of cooperatives directly to the international trade arena.
  • This main event is organized by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The main support of Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia and the Pacific NEDAC three Ministries four State Governments and several apex levels. The event is aimed to promote cooperatives to prosperity.

Cooperative Sector Exports Promotion Forum for double the farm exports by 2022 Minister Piyush Goyal

  • The union government announced that an export-promotion forum for the cooperative sector. An international trade fair will also be organized. The forum will be set up under the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) after consultations with 20 states and three Union territories.
  • Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar hope this will work as an exchange platform for the cooperatives. Both ministries planned to establish a framework to double farm exports from Rs 2.75 trillion to about Rs 7 trillion by 2024-25.
  • There are more than 800,000 cooperative institutions in India, around 94 percent of 1.5 million farmers in the country. A trade fair will be held by the agriculture ministry. They will be supported by the commerce and external affairs ministries.
  • The trade fair is organized jointly by commerce, agriculture and external affairs ministries. The support of cooperative bodies such as the NCDC institutes is with them. The government unveiled an ambitious agriculture export policy to double agriculture exports to $60 billion by 2022

 

  • India occupying a pole position in the global trade of these products. The total agriculture export basket accounts for only a little over 2 percent of world agri trade. It is estimated for $1.37 trillion.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

United States designates Baloch Liberation Army as terror group

  • The USA designated Baloch Liberation Army as a terror organization on Chinese assets amid an ongoing civil war like situation in Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest province.
  • Department of State designated the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Hezbollah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. BLA is an armed separatist group. They that targets security forces and civilians which are mainly involved in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan.
  • The designation which is done by the US Administration of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
  • BLA remains a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006.

WHO launches its first guidelines on self-care interventions for health

  • World Health Organization introduced its first guideline on self-care interventions for health named “WHO Consolidated Guideline on Self-Care Interventions for Health”.
  • The main focus which depends on sexual and reproductive health and rights.
    The definition of Self-care is the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health- care provider.
  • There will be a shortage of 18 million health workers. Currently, 130 million people are deprived of humanitarian assistance.  About 400 million people lacked access to the most essential health services. At least 100 million people face poverty due to the high costs of healthcare expenses.
  • Self-sampling for human papillomavirus (HPV) and sexually transmitted infections, self-injectable contraceptives, home-based ovulation predictor kits human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing and self-management of medical abortion.
  • These guidelines made the scientific evidence for health benefits of certain interventions that can be done outside the conventional sector not to replace high-quality health services.
  • The theme of 2019 World Health Assembly (72nd session) was “Universal Health Coverage”. The main focus depends on primary health care. It was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 20-28 May 2019. WHO announced the launch of “Self Care Month” during World Health Assembly (WSA) from June 24 to 24 July.

WHO: 

  • Establishment: 7 April 1948
  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Head: Tedros Adhanom

U.S. Senate passed the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) to advance the U.S.-India strategic partnership

  • The U.S. Senate has passed a legislative provision, the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) for the fiscal year 2020. The Bill aims to advance the U.S.-India strategic partnership.
  • This Act will bring India as America’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ally for increased defence cooperation and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation.
  • The bill would be signed into law after the approval of both the houses of U.S. congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The amendment was introduced by Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner. 
  • It facilitates the provisions for increased U.S.-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security.
  • The Bill directs the U.S. administration to explore the additional steps to implement the major defence partner designation to better facilitate interoperability, information sharing, and appropriate technology transfers and to undertake strategic initiatives to help develop the defence capabilities of India.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI fines 4 Public Sector Banks for violating KYC norms

  • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a penalty of Rs 1.75 crore on four public sector banks. The banks which includes PNB and UCO Bank for non-compliance with KYC requirement and norms. This concept is used for opening of current accounts.
  • Punjab National Bank, Allahabad Bank and UCO Bank fined Rs 50 lakh each.
  • The penalty of Rs 25 lakh imposed on Corporation Bank. Reserve Bank of India penalty imposed for non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by it on Know Your Customer norms.

 

  • The anti-money laundering standards and opening of current accounts are being carried out in the manner are being tagged here. This action is mainly based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement.

 

Reserve Bank of India

  • Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
  • Established: 1 April 1935
  • Governor: Shaktikanta Das

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Ola Electric invests $250million funding from SoftBank

  • SoftBank invested around $250 million in Ola Electric Mobility. The electric vehicle unit Ola becomes the newest unicorn from India. The likes of Flipkart, Zomato, Paytm in the parent company are with the Registrar of Companies.
  • Ola Electric issued 4,326 fully and compulsorily convertible series B preference shares of face value of Rs 10 each having the privileges and preferences. Japanese investor paid a total of Rs 1,725.04 crore (around $250 million).
  • The SoftBank funding was received on Tuesday in light of a special resolution passed by the board of Ola Electric on June 25. Tata Sons’ Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount in Ola Electric.
  • This investment is a part of company’s series-A round of funding, was in Ratan Tata’s personal capacity. Ola Electric announced raising Rs 400 crore in a funding round. This is led by Tiger Global and Matrix India.
  • Ola raised $300 million from South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motors along with its affiliate Kia Motors. As part of the deal, Hyundai plans to introduce its EVs in the cab fleet of Ola by 2021. Ola Electric is currently running several pilots to deploy electric vehicles and charging solutions.

 

  • The company claimed they would introduce a fleet of 10,000 electric vehicles over the next year. Ola Electric initially established to enable Ola’s electric mobility pilot program in Nagpur in 2017.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

N S Vishwanathan gets extension by one year as RBI deputy governor

  • The government and the RBI started looking for a replacement of Vishwanathan and a few internal candidates were identified. The portfolios got reshuffled based on the availability and seniority of deputy governors for the past 15 years.
  • Acharya’s resignation complicated the matter because two deputy governors would be leaving the central bank in a month’s interval. Acharya set to leave on July 23. The central bank refused for power sector loans. The Supreme Court turned down the RBI’s objections.

Shri Rabindra Panwar given additional charge as secretary to the Ministry of Textiles

  • Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved Rabindra Panwar as an additional charge secretary to the Ministry of Textiles to Secretary. Ministry of Women and Child Development along with the immediate effect till the appointment of a regular incumbent.

 

  • He is the 1985 Indian Administrative Service Officer (AS) of Bihar cadre. He succeeded Raghvendra Singh. Minister of Textiles is Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani.

 

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Dr. Krishna Saksena’s book ‘Whispers of Time’ launched by Smriti Irani in New Delhi

  • Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani launched new book “Whispers of Time”. It is written by Dr. Krishna Saksena (91) at the India International Centre in New Delhi.
  • The book was published by Prabhat Prakashan. It is the ninth book of Saksena. She tells about her experiences and observations in her long life of ninety years. Saksena, a professor at Delhi University, the first woman candidate from Uttar Pradesh to get a Ph.D. degree in English Literature in 1955.

Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child Development

  • Founded: 1999
  • Headquarters: Udyog Bhawan, Delhi
  • Minister Responsible: Smriti Irani

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA’s PUNCH mission selected Indian Scientist Dipankar Banerjee as its co-investigator

  • Dipankar Banerjee a solar physicist from Indian Institute of Astrophysics selected by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for its PUNCH mission. He  is also the co-Chair of India’s Science Working Group.
  • India planning to send up its own satellite Aditya-Ll, A mission to study the Sun’s corona. He will study the acceleration of the solar wind. He will focus on the polar regions of the Sun. The team will observe the Sun using joint observations from PUNCH and Indian mission Aditya.

PUNCH: 

  • PUNCH is an acronym for “Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere”, image the Sun. The main objective of the mission is to understand the transition of particles from the Sun’s outer corona to solar wind that fills interplanetary space.

 

  • Corona is the atmosphere of the Sun connecting with the interplanetary medium. The mission is expected to be launched in 2022. The missions for Sun’s atmosphere is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA-NASA joint project, Solar Orbiter.
  • They launched in 2020.

 

SPORTS NEWS

Odisha to host the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019

  • Department of Sports and Youth Service of the Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and Odissi Tennis Association (OSTTA).
  • They decided to host the 21st Commonwealth Championship for the year 2019. from July 17-22, 2019 at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha.
  • Commissioner-cum-secretary, Sports and Youth Services Department, Odisha, Vishal K Dev signed the Mou with Senior Vice President, TTFI, S. N. Sultan and President, OSTTA .N. Gupta in the presence of Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik and Minister for Sports and Youth Services, Tusharkanti Behera.
  • They received the entries from 14 associations, consisting of India, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Australia, Cyprus, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan.
  • The previous two Commonwealth Championships were held in India in 2013 and 2015. India, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Australia, Cyprus, South Africa, Nigeria and Pakistan they will participate in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles.

Ambati Rayudu retires from all forms of cricket

  • One of the most exciting batsmen to represent India, Ambati Rayudu, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday.
  • India batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from international cricket after not being picked in the initial squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 underway in England and Wales.
  • To further dent his ambitions of playing for the national side, two Indian players picked up injuries and have had replacements announced – neither of which was Rayudu.
  • The 33-year-old communicated this in a letter addressed to the Committee of Administrators of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).

NATIONAL NEWS

Information and Broadcasting Minister reviews National Film Heritage Mission Project

  • Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar reviewed the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) Project in a meeting held at National Film Archives in Pune. The assessment part of the project is now over.
  • The Conservation and Digitisation part of the project work will start soon. The broader objectives under NFHM are to undertake film condition assessment and preventive conservation of around 150,000 film reels. 
  • The project has taken by the Modi Government and has allotted budget of Rs.600 crore rupees for the project. The Film Institute has given 3-acre land to create a new volt where films can be stored safely.

Uttar Pradesh State government has started DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome

  • Uttar Pradesh State government has started DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease on 1 July in the State.
  • DASTAK campaign will run from 1st to 31st July. This campaign is part of the State’s comprehensive Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategy. The vector-borne disease sensitive states have been marked.
  • The campaign was started with an aim to create awareness about the communicable diseases JE and AES. Under this state-wide campaign, teams will reach every village of the state to create awareness about the communicable diseases JE and AES.
  • It will also ensure the availability of clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, and ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud.

Asian Development Bank approved $350 Million Loan for Chhattisgarh Road Improvement Project

  • Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved $350 million in loans to rehabilitate and upgrade two state highways. There are around 23 major district roads totaling about 850 kilometers in Chhattisgarh.
  • They improve the connectivity and access to basic services in the state. The overall total cost of the project is $521.69 million. The state government of Chhattisgarh to provide $171.69 million. Chhattisgarh is rich in natural resources.
  • It is the largest producer of minerals like coal and iron ore. The data of 2011 census reveals the poverty levels in the state were at the 38% of the total population. The number of registered vehicles doubled from 2.1 million in 2009 to 4.8 million in 2016.

 

  • ADB extended loan amount of $180 million for 1,700 km state highways and $300 million. This was granted in 2012. It covered additional 916 km state highways. 

 

  • Asian Development Bank : 
  • President: Takehiko Nakao
  • Founded: 19 December 1966
  • Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Manila, Philippines

 INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India to contribute USD 5 Million in 2019 to UN Palestine refugee agency

  • India pledged USD 5 million in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency. The agency’s difficult financial situation due to voluntary contributions from a limited donor base and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for its work.
  • India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu the government increased its annual financial contribution four fold to the UNRWA core budget from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2018.
  • They attended a meeting of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Palestine 

  • President: Mahmoud Abbas
  • Prime Minister: Mohammad Shtayyeh

New Zealand bans single-use plastic shopping bags

  • New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags introducing hefty fines for business. Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals who are injured or killed every year.
  • Companies that break New Zealand’s ban face heavy penalties including fines of up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars (USD 67,000). The use of single-use plastic shopping bags under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied
  • The law allows reusable carriers to continue being provided. The legislation announced in August last year. The law came into force on Monday. They will provide a little practical effectNew Zealand
  • Capital: Wellington
  • Currency: New Zealand dollar.

Japan officially resumes commercial whaling after more than 30 years

  • Japan resumed commercial whaling for the first time in more than three decades after Tokyo’s controversial decision. They decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). With this, Japan joined Iceland and Norway as the only nations to allow commercial whaling despite the IWC moratorium.
  • The last commercial hunt of Japan was in the year 1986. Japan announced the withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on whale hunting. It began in 1985 to give endangered and overhunted whale species.
    Japan joined the compact in 1988.

 

  • The gesture to curb commercial whaling in Japan. From 1985 to 2017, Japanese vessels caught and killed nearly 17,000 whales. The meat often ended up for sale in stores and restaurants.Japan:

  • Capital: Tokyo
  • Currency: Japanese Yen
  • Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe

 

BANKING & FINANCE

State Bank of India & NIIF tie-up to finance infrastructure projects

 

  • State Bank of India (SBI) and India’s sovereign wealth fund, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to provide financing solutions to the infrastructure sector. 
  • The tie-up helped in equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support, and take-out finance for operating assets. The concerns related to the availability of equity and long-term debt leads to large scale projects.
  • This initiative will address the much-needed availability of post-construction. They take-out equity and debt financing for developers and builders of infrastructure projects.
  • SBI made extended loans of about 51 crore to 47 infrastructure projects during the financial year of 2018-19. During the last financial year, SBI  through its specialised Project Finance & Structuring Business Unit
  • NIIF
  • Establishment: 2015
  • Headquarters: Mumbai
  • CEO: Sujoy Bose

 

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

IL&FS board sets up sub-committee to oversee disinvestment process

  • The Reserve Bank of India on circular on the resolution of bad loans. The debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd is constituting a sub-committee to oversee the process of divestment of its assets.
  • The decision was taken during its board meeting held on June 28. The six-member committee will comprise of 4 directors namely Vineet Nayyar, CS Rajan, Bijay Kumar, N Srinivasan, and COO N Sivaraman.

 

  • They will discuss and finalize the asset-wise framework of resolution with lenders.
    LIC is the IL&FS biggest shareholder with a more than 25% stake while Japan’s ORIX Corp with a 23.54% stake and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority with 12.56%.    IL&FS
  • Founded: 1987
  • Headquarters: Mumbai
  • Chairman – Uday Kotak

 

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

Finance Ministry to launch 11th tranche of Electoral Bonds sale to start from July 1

  • Finance Ministry of India set to launch the 11th tranche of Electoral Bonds sale to start from July 1 – 10. India’s largest Public Sector Bank (PSB) State Bank of India (Sal) authorized to issue and encases electoral bonds in the Xl phase of the sale. It is carried out through its 29 branches. This is the first issuance of electoral bonds.

Electoral bonds: 

  • Transparency in political funding, electoral bonds are alternative to cash donations made to political parties. These were introduced in 2018 through the Electoral Bond Scheme by government. An electoral bond purchased by a person is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India.
  • Registered political parties that have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last election of the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly. The electoral bonds will be valid for 15 calendar days.

 

  • The payment will be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after the expiry of the validity period. The electoral bond deposited by an eligible political party.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Karnam Sekar takes over as new MD and CEO of IOB

  • Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), a public sector bank appointed Karnam Sekar as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He replaces R Subramaniakumar. Before he was MD & CEO of Dena Bank.
  • He was on Special Duty and Whole Time Director of 10B since April 2019. He served State Bank of India as Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer. He also headed Sal as Manager-Treasury in Johannesburg, South Africa.IOB: 
  • HQ : Chennai
  • Tagline: Good people to grow with.

P.K. Purwar appointed as the CMD of BSNL

  • Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad assured that the government was working towards BSNL and MTNL survival through competition and get involved both the organizations namely BSNL and MTNL which are operationally efficient.
  • The government has appointed MTNL Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) P.K. Purwar as the CMD of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for a period of three months starting July 1, subject to the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), for ensuring continuity at the struggling PSU.

 

  • The period of additional charge of Purwar will not be entitled to any additional remuneration. He is selected through the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) in January.

 

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

NALCO to get Presidents award for excellent CSR

  • National Aluminium Company Limited selected for President’s award for utilization of Corporate Social Responsibility fund in social development. The company started a scheme “Aliali Jhia” in 2015.
  • The main aim is to promote the education of Girls of BPL families. Ministry of Corporate Affairs explained about the CMD of NALCO, Tapan Chand who initiated the scheme. Their main aim is to adapt and promote the poor and talented girls for education.
  • NALCO 
  • Headquarters: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
  • Chairman and managing director: Dr.T.K.Chand

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

IIT-Madras unveiled Data Platform to improve the efficiency of Government Infrastructure Development

  • IIT Madras launched a platform recently named as Integrated Database for the Infrastructure development in order to develop the efficiency of Government Infrastructure Development.
  • They help in effective decision-making among different stakeholders involved in the infrastructure sector. The development partner for the project is Akara Research and Technologies.
  • It was launched on May 29, 2019 at the 15th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR). It is held at IIT Bombay in a special session on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in Indian Transport Sector.
  • This session is held by Prof G Raghuram, Director of Indian Institute of Management (11M) Bangalore. The project is done in the presence of Prof Thillai Rajan A, IIT Madras, Prof Swapnil Garg, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Management Indore and Co- ordinator of PPPINDI.
  • Initially, ‘DIP’s focus on the road sector due to its highest allocation of funds among other projects and highest private investment through PPP. IDIP will collect data from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) projects and other sources to cover projects undertaken by State and National governments along with their PPP.

NASA’s TESS space telescope discovers a new planet named L 98-59b

  • The United States (US) space agency, NASA’s(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovered a new planet called L 98-59b. It is roughly around 80 percent the size of Earth.
  • It orbits L 98-59 star. It is about one-third the mass of Sun and lies about 35 light-years away. The two other exoplanets discovered orbiting the L 98-59 known as L 98-59c and L 98-59d. The discovery was published in the Astronomical Journal.

TESS:

  • It is a space telescope cost $200 million. It is launched as part of NASA’s Explorers program. It is aimed at searching for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times.

SPORTS NEWS

Indian Pro Boxer Vaibhav Yadav Wins WBC Asia Title

  • Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav became the WBC Asia silver welterweight champion after defeating Thailand’s Fahpetch Singmanassak in the title bout held in Pattaya, Thailand.
  • Yadav, a cousin of Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Vikas Krishan who has also turned pro now, clinched a third-round knockout over Singmanassak. The fight, which took place on Sunday night, was conducted by the Asian Boxing Council and approved by the World Boxing Council (WBC).

OBITUARIES

Motorbike racer Carlin Dunne killed in Pikes Peak Hillclimb crash

  • Professional motorcycle racer, Carlin Dunne, also known as “The King of the Mountain” has unfortunately suffered a fatal crash while on his attempt at this year’s Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

 

  • Dunne gained that title after his sub-10 minute run on a modified Ducati from his attempt back in 2012, a time that was never achieved on a motorcycle till then. In 2018, Dunne did the same hill climb in a Multistrada and won the event with the fastest time, which led to Ducati introducing a limited edition “Pikes Peak” version of the ADV which was also launched in India.

 

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