Current Affairs - July 3, 2019 Current Affairs

Valuation of Reliance Reliance Retail, India's biggest retailer by revenue crossed 2.5 lakh crores in June.

The Mahatma Gandhi IT and Biotechnology Park (MGIT-BP), built with the assistance from India was inaugurated at Grand-Bassam in Cote d'Ivoire, a West African country. It was jointly inaugurated by Ambassador of India to Cote d'Ivoire, Sailas Thangal and Cote d'Ivoire's Vice President, Daniel Kablan Duccan. MGIT-BP is an important milestone for the 150th celebration of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is a dedicated Free Trade Zone (FTZ) for IT and Biotechnology. It was built through EXIM ( Export-Import) Bank's Lines of Credit (LoC) of $20 million. It included 2 parts- Architectural concept & design for the buildings of FTZ and construction of the main building to host IT enterprises which was implemented by Shapoorji Pallonji, an Indian Conglomerate company. Second part included supply and commissioning of equipment which consisted computer assembly plant, VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) with satellite earth station, networking lab, human DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) lab, data storage area network, an audio-visual lab, and a power generator which was implemented by United Telecom Limited (UTL), an Indian company.

National Doctor's Day is observed every year on July 1st, to thank physicians and doctors for their dedicated services to patients. Its acknowledgment of their services and contribution towards the medical advancement in the country.

RBI has the power to determine the lending capacity of the banks in India through CRR. They will increase CRR if they want to reduce the amount that the banks can lend and vice versa. The current CRR is 4% p.a.

Bhutan is a landlocked country located in the East Himalayan Mountains of Central Asia.

Despite exports and imports growing at the same rate of 9 per cent, India's trade deficit reached a record high of $176 billion in 2018-19.

China has tested its latest submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), JL-3.The JL-3 is expected to have a range of around 14,000 kilometers, with a capacity to carry 10 independent guided nuclear warheads.It is expected to reach targets farther away with higher accuracy and capable of carrying more warheads than China's current SLBMs.A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines.

On July 1, 2019, Union Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA)- a campaign for water conservation and water security in New Delhi.

In an attempt to avoid train accidents, Indian Railways has initiated a process to launch the Terrain Imaging for Diesel Drivers- Infrared Enhanced Optical and Radar Assisted (Tri-NETRA) system. Indian Railways is one of the world's largest railway network comprises of about 115,000 km (71,000 mi) of track over a route of around 67,312 km (41,826 mi) and 7,112 stations.

Prakash Padukone (Badminton) won the SJFI Medal (Highest Honour) in the Sports Journalists Federation of India 2019 Awards. Whereas Sportsperson of the Year Award: Pankaj Advani (Billiards and Snooker) and Bajrang Punia (Wrestling). Emerging Talent of the Year Award: Saurabh Choudhary (Shooting). Team of the Year Award: Vidarbha Cricket Team.

Japanese fishermen have set sail to hunt whales commercially for the first time in more than three decades after Tokyo's controversial decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission.

The Government of India signed a deal with Russia for acquiring the 'Strum Ataka' anti-tank missiles. The deal is worth around Rs 200 Crore. It will give an added capability to the Mi-35 attack choppers to take out enemy tanks and other armored elements. The deal has been signed under the emergency clause as a result of which the missile would be delivered within a time of 3 months of the signing of the contract. Mi-35: These are IAF's (Indian Air Force) existing attack choppers are set to be replaced with the Apache gunships being acquired from the US (United States).

India has pledged to contribute USD 5 Million in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency. The Indian Government is assisting 150 Palestinian professionals every year under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme.

After The Removal Of Article 370 & Article 35A, India Got 28 States & 9 Union Territories.

Union Territories are:

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands
2. Chandigarh
3. Dadar and Nagar Haveli
4. Daman and Diu
5. Lakshadweep
6. Delhi
7. Puducherry (Pondicherry)
8. Leh & Ladakh
9. Jammu & Kashmir.

The annual banking statistics report compelled by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), India slipped to 74th place in terms of money with Swiss banks. UK (United Kingdom) remained top in the list of the survey. India holds 6% in 2018 to 955 million Swiss francs (about Rs.6,757 crore). A second lowest level in over two decades. The top-ranked countries in the list are the 1.UK, the US (United States); 2. West Indies, France, and Hong Kong.

The Lok Sabha has passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Teachers' Cadre) Bill-2019 on July 2, 2019. The bill seeks to provide for the reservation of posts in appointments by direct recruitment of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Educationally Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections to teachers' cadre in Central Educational Institutions. The bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated in this regard.

The Central Office of the RBI was established in Calcutta (now Kolkata) but was moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1937.

The State Government of Haryana appointed Keshni Anand Arora as the state's new chief secretary. She replaces Mr. DS Dhesi, who has retired on June 30, 2019. She will be the 33rd cabinet secretary of Haryana since 1966. Her sister Meenakshi Anand Chaudhary became the State's first woman chief secretary in 2006 and her other sister Urvashi Gulati occupied the same post in 2009. She was previously served as the additional chief secretary in the Haryana government, and financial commissioner, Revenue and Disaster Management and Consolidation Departments.

Originally, the Lord's was the home to Cricket as well as its governing body International Cricket Council (ICC) till 1993. And then it was shifted to Dubai.

This story is about a Chinese thief that joins an eccentric Englishman who plans to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days to win a bet. Along the way, they encounter several obstacles and a detective determined to impede them.

In Jammu and Kashmir, the district administration of Rajouri has been launched a campaign called "Operation Khumaar" to make 312 panchayats tobacco-free. The programme is run by the district administration to make panchayats free from tobacco and tobacco-based products. Under this programme, even the headmaster of the schools have been authorised to impose a fine on the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of school limits. Block Medical Officers (BMO) have been directed to set up counselling centres at all Community Health Centres (CHCs) to help tobacco consumers to quit this habit. The district officers have been urged upon to work in a mission mode so as to make the society free from the injurious tobacco and tobacco-based products.

India has abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to find the possibility to end the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture.The First Secretary in India's Permanent Mission to the UN (United Nations) Paulomi Tripathi stated that it was unacceptable to place death penalty on par with torture.Resolution: The UNGA (193 members) adopted the resolution 'Towards torture-free trade: examining the feasibility, scope, and parameters for possible common international standards'. Result: 81 voted in favor, 20 voted against and 44 abstained from the resolution.

Central government's ambitious project of 'One Nation One Ration Card '. A beneficiary can buy subsidized food grains from any ration shop. The scheme will begin on 1 July 2020. The Central government given states and Union Territories till June 30, 2020, to use point of sale (POS) machines in the ration shops and the scheme can be implemented. Around 77% % of the ration shops across the country have POS machines. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana and Tripura are the states which provide the portability of Public Distribution System (PDS) entitlements.

'Tamil Yeoman', a kind of butterfly found in the Western Ghats declared as Tamilnadu state butterfly. It is also called as 'Tamil Maravan'. Tamil Nadu has become the fifth state in the country to announce its state butterfly. Maharashtra was the first to declare Blue Mormon as its state butterfly, followed by Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar banded peacock). Its scientific name was Cirrochroa thais. 'Tamil Yeoman' is one of 30 butterfly species which found in the Western Ghats.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad formed a committee headed by Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan to look into the revival plans for Telecom sector which is under financial stress. It will review the issues in the sector and promote Ease of Doing Business (EDB). The committee will submit the report in 2 weeks time. It will look into the previous recommendations provided by the telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and will consult Solicitor General, if it requires any clarity on issues. The committee will focus on the issues like reduction of levies and fees, such as licence fee, spectrum usage charge (SUC) and universal service levy along with review of definition of aggregated gross revenue.

The State Government of Goa cleared amendments to Factories Act,1948 allowing women to work legally during night hours (between 7 pm to 6 am) in factories of the state. It would bring about equality at the workplace and give trouble-free space to women to excel in their careers. Section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act, 1948 prohibit women to work during night hours. The state cabinet had also given its approval for an amendment to the Act allowing factories to extend their working hours from 75 hours to 125 hours per quarter which would help them increase production.

Om Birla of the Bharatiya Janata Party is the current Speaker who presides over the 17th Lok Sabha.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a new initiative - Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India's Developing Economy (STRIDE) to boost research culture in the country. The aim of STRIDE is to identify young talent, strengthen research culture, build capacity, promote innovation and support trans-disciplinary research for India's developing economy and national development. Broadly, STRIDE will provide support to research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally significant. STRIDE shall support research capacity building as well as basic, applied and transformational action research that can contribute to national priorities with focus on inclusive human development. STRIDE shall support creation, development and integration of new ideas, concepts and practices for public good and strengthening civil society.

National Aluminium Company Limited has been selected for President's award for utilisation of Corporate Social Responsibility fund in social development. NALCO started a scheme "Aliali Jhia" in 2015 to promote the education of Girls of BPL families. NALCO is an Odisha based Navaratna Company.

The State Bank of India has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to boost availability of capital for infrastructure projects. The scope of the agreement includes equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support and take-out finance for operating assets.

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.

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has been given a one-year extension by the GoI. Presently he is heading the Department of Banking Regulation of the Reserve Bank of India.

Neiphiu Rio (born 11 November 1950) is an Indian politician who is the current Chief Minister of Nagaland. Rio has also served as Chief Minister for three separate terms (2003-08, 2008-13 and 2013-14), making him the only Nagaland Chief Minister to have served three consecutive terms.

Since Bank of Baroda has highest Global presence among all Indian Banks. The tagline depicts the same.

According to area, Rajasthan is the largest state in India, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Kolar Gold Fields in Karnatka is one of the deepest mines of the world. [Usually, gold mines are the deepest mines in the world. Mponeng Gold Mine in South Africa is the deepest mine in the world (3.9 km deep)]

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.

The GoI has appointed MTNL CMD P.K. Purwar as the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. He has been appointed for a period of three months starting July 1. He will replace Anupam Shrivastava as the CMD of BSNL.

The first-ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) will be held in New Delhi between 11th to 13th October. The initiative is a part of the Agriculture Export Policy 2018 which aims at doubling the agriculture export and integrating Indian farmers and agriculture products with global value chains. The Trade Fair is aimed at promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within the country and abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity. The fair offers a huge opportunity for the industry and business houses from India and abroad to build alliances, product sourcing and interact with the primary producers of a wide range of products and service providers.

The Parliament passed The Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which became the first legislation to be passed by the newly constituted 17th Lok Sabha. It will replace the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, which was promulgated in March 2019 and amends Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act 2005.

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.

New Zealand has officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags. Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied, but reusable carriers are allowed. Companies that break the ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to 100,000 New Zealand dollars.

Japanese company SoftBank has invested around $250 million in Ola Electric Mobility. With this investment, Ola Electric has become the newest unicorn of India, joining the list of companies like Flipkart, Zomato and Paytm.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen (Belgium) beat Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and won the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix. Mercedes Valtteri Bottas who met continuous wins finishes with third and Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel became fourth. Five-times world champion, Mercedes Lewis Hamilton finished with fifth place.

The Finance Ministry of India has launched the 11th tranche of Electoral Bonds sale from July 1-10. In this regard, India's largest Public Sector Bank (PSB), State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds in the XI phase of sale through its 29 branches. This is the first issuance of electoral bonds after the formation of the new government.

The Indian team lost to Pakistan in the final of the IBSF Snooker World Cup in Doha. India lost the summit clash by 1-3. Pankaj Advani and Laxman Rawat represented the Indian team in the world cup.