Current Affairs - July 6, 2019 Current Affairs

Indian multinational corporation Wipro's Chairman, Azim Premji and Global Financial services company Mastercard's CEO and President, Ajaypal Singh Banga have been chosen for 2019 Global Excellence Award of the US-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.The United States President's Senior Adviser, Jared Kushner will present the awards to Premji and Banga at the summit.

The Hong Kong government has approved over $9 million for relief and rehabilitation work in cyclone-hit Odisha. The grants will benefit around 45,100 victims of "Fani cyclone" and will be used to provide hygiene kits, kitchen kits, water, education, household items and shelter kits.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has listed Iraq's Babylon as a World Heritage Site. Babylon is developed as a walled city of mudbrick temples and towers, constituting the Tower of Babel, and the Ishtar Gate. The city was the centre of the ancient Babylonian empire more than 4,000 years ago.

NASA has launched an incredible new atomic clock into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. It was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The mission aims to revolutionise how mankind explores the cosmos. The new Deep Space Atomic Clock will be used to navigate distant planets like Mars. A huge improvement would be made in the spacecraft navigation. It is a space-ready upgrade to the atomic clocks which is used on Earth and to the clocks that already fly on satellites like those that provide GPS. The Deep Space Atomic Clock to allow spacecraft travelling in deep space to navigate more autonomously, with less reliance on communication with Earth.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog released its "Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index" (AMFFRI) for the year 2019. It is an index launched by NITI Aayog in 2016 to rank states and union territories based on the implementation of seven provisions proposed under the model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act.

Reliance Jio ties up with Facebook for digital literacy initiative 'Digital Udaan'. The initiative will have audio-visual training in 10 regional languages. The initiative is announced for the first-time Internet users in the country. The programme is being launched in nearly 200 different locations across 13 states.

The Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar reviewed the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) during a visit to the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune, Maharashtra. The Government has completed an assessment of 1.32 lac film reels out of 1.5 lac reels of cinematic heritage as part of its NFHM. Jaykar Bungalow which is adjoining to NFAI building is now restored completely. The Film Institute has given 3-acre land to create a new volt where films can be stored safely.

India now stands at 4th in wind power, 5th in solar power and 5th in renewable power installed capacity. The cumulative renewable power installed capacity (excluding hydro above 25 MW) was more than doubled from 35 GW on 31st March, 2014 to 78 GW on 31st March, 2019. The target is to achieve an installed capacity of renewable based power of 175 GW by the year 2022.

Located on the western shore of the Rio de la Plata's estuary, Buenos Aires is the capital city of Argentina. The capital of Argentina is Buenos Aires, which is located along the southeastern shore of South America, along the Rio de la Plata.

The GoI has sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 358 crore for the construction of new roads in rural areas of Tripura.

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a commemoration of 4 years of Digital India initiative in an event at New Delhi. The Digital India initiative was launched on July 1, 2015. The minister also electronically launched the SAMEER Centre for Electromagnetic Environmental Effects in Visakhapatnam, Wi-Fi enabled Campus Networks at Osmania University, Hyderabad and at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong and a special issue of Yojana on Citizen Centric e-Services.

Switzerland has knocked Singapore off its perch as the world's top-ranked destination for expatriates.

The State Government of Uttarakhand implemented a one-time settlement' scheme for debt trapped state cooperative banks which had the NPA (Non Performing Assets) of Rs 391.50 crore which have piled up over the last 25 years. In this scheme, some relief will be given to the account holders, who have taken loans up to Rs. 60 lakhs from cooperative banks. The account holders who have died and already repaid the capital amount will get total interest waiver. Those who have already paid interest equal to the principal loan amount will be required to repay only the principal amount.

Union Agriculture Ministry signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with IT major IBM (International Business Machines) to provide Farmers with the weather forecast and soil moisture information. It was signed in the presence of Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and junior minister Kailash Choudhary, and other senior officials. Under the project, a pilot study will be undertaken for the Kharif crop season 2019 in three districts of Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot(Gujarat )and Nanded (Maharashtra ). IBM's Watson Decision Platform, a platform comprising next-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things, and cloud solutions will give solution in the field of agriculture at village level or farm level to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information.

Krishnamurthy Subramanian is an Indian economist and the current Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India (CEA), officially being appointed to the position on 7 December 2018.

The creation of the first state on linguistic basis for Telugu speaking people called Andhra State on October 1, 1953. It was later renamed Andhra Pradesh.

The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949 and came into force on 26th January, 1950.

India's first Design Development Center 'Fashionova' was launched in the Textile city Surat. The centre will promote the city in the field of the fashion design sector. It will also fulfill the business needs from co-working space, technicians, expert advises to cognitive workshops and exposure to the industry.

The Union Cabinet has approved the pact signed between India and Maldives to start passenger and cargo services via sea route. The MoU will pave way for ferry services between Maldives and India. The proposed ferry service would contribute in a big way to promote people to people contact and to boost bilateral trade.

As per the Economic Survey 2019, the pathways for drop opened up in the last five years; and benefits of growth and macroeconomic stability reached to the bottom. Sustained real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 8% is needed for a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. Virtuous Cycle of savings, investment and exports supported by a favorable demographic phase is required for sustainable growth.

Indian sprint runner Hima Das, nicknamed 'Dhing Express' won the gold medal in women's 200m with a timing of 23.65 seconds in Poznan Athletics Grand Prix 2019 held in Golecin Stadium, Poland.

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

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully conducted the test of a launch-abort system for the Orion capsule designed to take United States (US) astronauts to the Moon. It took place at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US. It was launched by a mini-rocket, a repurposed first stage of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Indian Air Force (IAF) and Armee de l'Air (French Air Force) are participating in the Garuda VI bilateral exercise at Mont de Marsan in France. The exercise has been started on July 1 and will conclude on July 12. The objective of this exercise is to validate the latest defence strategies by enhancing the interoperability level of the French and Indian crews in air defence and ground attack missions. It comprised of 120 air-warriors and four Sukhoi 30 MKI along with an IL-78 flight refuelling aircraft. Also, IAF's C-17 Globemaster strategic lift aircraft will provide logistics support to contingent during induction and de-induction phases.

India is the world's biggest milk producer and consumer, accountiing for 20% of the global output.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed American economist David Lipton as its interim leader. He replaces Christine Lagarde who was nominated to head the European Central Bank. Lipton was Special Assistant to the President and served as Senior Director for International Economic Affairs at the National Economic Council and National Security Council at the White House. He also worked as a Managing Director and Head of Global Country Risk Management at Citigroup. He also served as a secretary in the Treasury Department from 1993 to 1998 under the Clinton administration.