Current Affairs - July 1, 2019 Current Affairs

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the bill to fine people with Rs 10,000 for blocking ambulances. The rule is the part of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill. The newly approved bill will update the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.

Om Prakash Dhankar, Haryana agriculture, and farmers' welfare minister launched 'Krishi kiosk' for farmers at Panchkula, Haryana. The kiosk comes under state's ''Digital Kisan Suvidha' plan, will give farmers information about government schemes and also help them file claims under the 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana' Scheme. It has been connected with the Deputy Commissioners' offices of the state, and a telephone facility has also been made available for farmers, who in turn could give information through telephone.

As a part of the Western Fleet Overseas Deployment programme, Indian Navy Ship(INS), Tarkash reached Alexandria in Egypt for three days visit. This visit to Egypt will seek to strengthen the ties between the two countries & increase the footprint and operational reach of the Indian navy. Due to the geostrategic location, Egypt will provide the unique advantage of being at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe and, all important sea lines of communication pass through the Red Sea into the Mediterranean through Suez Canal in Egypt.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will put forward the proposal of National Mission on Natural Language Translation with an outlay Rs 450 crore for next 3 years before the Union Cabinet. It is one of the key missions identified by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

An Indian engineer, Nitesh Kumar Jangir, from Bangalore has won the Commonwealth Secretary-General's Innovation for Sustainable Development Award 2019 in the "People" category in London, UK (United Kingdom)for the creation low-cost neonatal breathing device named "Saans" for saving the lives of newborn babies. Saans: It is breath supporting device used for tackling avoidable deaths of premature babies from Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS)and It is world's first neonatal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device powered in multiple ways through direct source electricity, including rechargeable battery, vehicle's electrical supply, etc.

India's Largest cryptocurrency exchange, Koinex (Mumbai) terminating its digital asset trading services and other crypto-related operations citing regulatory uncertainty and disruption. Problem: It was facing problems with its payment services and gateways, along with non-crypto related transactions like payment of salaries, rent, and purchase of equipment.It started its digital assets exchange services in August 2017.

West Bengal Government launched a crop insurance scheme, Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) for the 2019 'Kharif' season to protect farmers from losses due to natural disasters and provide a steady income in case of unstable market prices. The scheme was launched in collaboration with Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC). The crop insurance scheme would be "free of cost for farmers" as the state government would pay the entire premium. It includes Aman and Aus paddy, jute and maize under the scheme.

Tamil Nadu Government appointed K Shanmugam as Chief Secretary (CS) of Tamil Nadu succeeding Dr. Girija Vaidyanathan. JK Tripathy was appointed as the Director General of Police (DGP) succeeding TK Rajendran. Shanmugam, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer of 1985 batch, was posted as Additional Chief Secretary of Finance Department to the government. He is a native of Salem district, Tamil Nadu.

American Space Agency, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronauts tested a prototype Lunar Evacuation System Assembly (LESA) designed by European Space Agency (ESA). It was tested as part of NASA's NEEMO 23 (Extreme Environment Mission Operations) mission to assist in astronaut rescue missions on the surface of Moon.Testing: It was tested undersea as the bottom of the ocean floor is rocky, sandy terrain and warm salty water bear much more similarity with the lunar surface.LESA: It is a pyramid-like structure designed to be used by a single astronaut in the gravitational force of the moon for the rescue purpose.

BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL), a power distribution company, launched energy-saving behavioral app 'Susthome'. It is developed by BYPL and TERI-The Energy and Resources Institute, to bring about a behavioural change in how consumers use electricity and it will track energy consumption patterns. In the first phase of a pilot project, selected cooperative housing societies in Mayur Vihar will use this app. In the second phase, the initiative will cover around two lakh residential consumers. It has the potential to save nearly 72 MUs (Million Units) and over Rs 29 crore annually. BYPL has partnered with several private bodies like TERI, Panasonic India and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) to launch three ambitious and novel initiatives like the behavioural energy saving app, green division concept and solar micro grids with battery storage.

Government formed a 18-member working group headed by Ramesh Chand, member of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, to revise current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with base year 2011-12 and come up with a new Producer Price Index (PPI). The nodal office for the group is the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). The revision of the base year 2011-12 will help to describe a more realistic picture of the price situation and its impact on people. It will draft a roadmap to switch over from WPI to PPI.

The World Bank, Government of India and State Government of Andra Pradesh signed a loan agreement worth of $328 million with the World Bank (WB) for improving health services of Andhra Pradesh.The Loan Agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Shanker Lal, Acting Country Director, World Bank on behalf of the World Bank.

"Go Tribal Campaign" by Tribes India was launched by Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Smt. Renuka Singh in the presence of Shri R.C. Meena, Chairman, Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), Shri Deepak Khandekar, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Shri Pravir Krishna, Managing Director, TRIFED in New Delhi.During the event, Tribes India and Amazon Global Marketing (AGM) have launched TRIBES India products globally through Amazon platform. With this collaboration, tribal products will be available in the US and will help establish an export market with tribal products. The collection of Madua, Jowaer, Bazra, Red Rice, Honey, Lac products, Spices, Coffee, Tea and Handmade Soaps produced by Tribals in various parts of the country will also be showcased.

According to a report, "Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2018" by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), India leads in producing solar power at lowest cost globally and is far ahead of other nations in low average production costs. Even India beats China(cheapest manufacturer of everything,) it also left behind the countries of the UK, Canada, and France among others. India's report: India has the lowest total installed cost for new utility-scale solar PV projects that were commissioned in 2018 at $793/Kw(kilowatt), which is 27% lower than in 2017. High cost: Canada($2,427/kW) Russian($2,302/kW) Japan($2,101/kW) South Africa($1,617/kW) and Australia($1,554/kW) are charging high for setting up solar projects. Low cost: China, Italy , France($1,074/kW) and Germany($1,113/kW) have the lowest installation cost.

The Lok Sabha has approved the resolution seeking an extension of President rule in Jammu and Kashmir for a further period of six months with effect from 3rd July 2019. The lower house also gave its approval to the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Bill 2019. On seeking Lok Sabha's nod to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir, the government has spent Rs.2,307 crore to security apparatus. The reservation bill will amend Sections 5 and 9 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. Once it becomes an Act, it will provide reservation to Gujjars and Baker wals living in the area adjoining the international border leads to extension.

Former Navy Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar authored a book named as "A Prime Minister to Remember- Memories of a Military Chief" released. The book is published by Konark Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.

Electronics and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad stated that all gram panchayats(GPs) in the country will be connected with the high-speed broadband under BharatNet project by March 2020.Aim: To provide hassle-free high-speed broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across India.Present status: Under the project, 128870-gram panchayats have been connected with optical fiber to date.

International Asteroid Day was observed on June 30, 2019. It is aimed to create awareness about the asteroid impact hazard. It also informs people about the crisis communication actions to be taken in case of a possible near-Earth object threat. The day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) through resolution A/RES/71/90 in December 2016 on the proposal of Association of Space Explorers. The day marks the anniversary of the Tunguska impact over Siberia, Russian Federation, on 30 June 1908.

Government of India, Canara Bank General Manager (GM)Sarada Kumar Hota assumed charge as the National Housing Bank (NHB) Managing Director. It lasted for a period of three years. He succeeds Sriram Kalyanaraman. He served as the managing director of Can Fin Homes. A subsidiary of Canara Bank. NHB wholly owned by the Government.

As per the draft regulation issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority(FSSAI) (Labelling and Display regulation) of India Packaged food companies will be required to label high fat, sugar and salt content levels on the front side of the package with "red-color-coding". This will replace the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. Nutritional Information on calories (energy), saturated fats, trans-fats, added sugar and sodium per serve should be mentioned on the Front of the Pack (FoP)labels. It is Mandatory red colour coding for products which are high in Fat, Sugar, and Salt. This would be implemented in phases over a period of three years.