Current Affairs - July 17, 2019 Current Affairs

China has gifted warship 'P625' to Sri Lanka. As a new member of the Lankan Navy, the 'P625' frigate will be mainly used for offshore patrol, environment monitoring and anti-piracy combats. The Type 053 frigate was commissioned into China's People's Liberation Army Navy in 1994 as the Tongling.

HDFC Bank and Common Services Centres (CSCs) launched a co-branded 'Small Business Money-Back Credit Card'. For small traders and village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs). The credit card is designed for VLEs and VLE-sourced customers. The users give easy access to credit for their day-to-day business expenses, according to a statement. The card launched by HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri and CSC Chief Dinesh Kumar Tyagi. Around ₹70,000 crore worth of business is transacted through the network of CSCs which apart from providing a platform for essential government and public utility services.

India and Italy have decided to set up a fast track mechanism to facilitate investors and companies. The meeting was attended by Ambassador of Italy to India, Lorenzo Angeloni and Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ramesh Abhishek. The fast-track system in Italy aims to identify and solve problems faced by Indian companies and investors.

It is responsible for driving and overseeing Kotak Mahindra Group's growth charter. Uday Kotak, Founder and Managing Director & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, has led the group in a broad range of financial services for over 30 years.

Union AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) Minister Shripad Yesso Naik informed that there are plans to set up 4,200 Ayush wellness centres in the country in FY 2019-20 across several states. The government also provided financial assistance to set up integrated Ayush hospitals in 85 districts across various states, and has plans to add more. The government is trying to modernise Ayush hospitals across the country and is increasing the number of doctors. It is also modernising postgraduate AYUSH medical colleges. The government provided around Rs 53,000 crore for Ministry of Health and Rs 1,686 crore for Ministry of Ayush for the last fiscal. Standing Committee asked to increase the budget for the Ministry of Ayush. Yadav asked the government to introduce NET like all-India entrance exam for tradition medical education.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed fine on State Bank of India (SBI) and Union Bank of India for violating certain regulatory guidelines. RBI fined Rs.7 crore as SBI did not comply with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds. RBI also fined Rs.10 lakh on Union Bank for non-compliance with the directions on the cybersecurity framework in banks issued by the RBI. The RBI accused Union Bank of India that it failed to carry out the cybersecurity framework in 2016. RBI's examination revealed reports of generation of seven fraudulent messages worth $171 million through the SWIFT system of the bank.

Prominent American computer scientist, credited with inventing the computer password, Fernando J. Corbato passed away at Newburyport in Massachusetts, U.S as a result of complications caused by diabetes. He was 93. He was a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and he credited for devising the concept of password-protected user accounts to secure access to files on a large computer system. In 1990, he received the A. M. Turing Award, widely considered the computing field's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. He is also a pioneer in the development of time-sharing operating systems known as MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System.

Kerala long jumper, M.Sreeshankar (20) has won the long jump gold in Men's triple jump with 7.97m at the XXII Tatyana Kolpakova international athletics meet 2019 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He has the national record with 8.20m in 2018. He also won the Federation Cup with 7.99 metres.

NASA and ISS are commemorating the 50th launch anniversary of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar mission that landed Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

A team of physicists from the University of Glasgow has taken a photo of a strong form of quantum entanglement called Bell entanglement. It has captured visual evidence of an elusive phenomenon which a baffled Albert Einstein once called "spooky action at a distance". The photo points out two photons interacting and sharing physical states for a brief instant - an event that occurs regardless of the actual distance between the particles. This information was published in the paper titled 'Imaging Bell-type nonlocal behavior' in the journal Science Advances. The lead author of the paper is Dr. Paul-Antoine Moreau from the University of Glasgow's School of Physics and Astronomy.

Delhi government has announced that Maithili language will be introduced in curriculum as an alternative subject from class 8th to 12th. Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia said that just like Urdu and Punjabi Maithili will be introduced in Delhi Government schools.

World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) was observed on July 15, 2019. It is celebrated to create awareness on the importance of investing in youth skills development. The theme for the year is "Learning to learn for life and work". The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had declared July 15 as WYSD in November 2014. On the occasion of WYSD, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) partnered with Canada-based BetterU to provide opportunities for India's youth to gain access to learning at affordable prices. Aim is to integrate NSDC's current solutions and technologies and collaborate with its partners to strengthen current systems. The fourth anniversary of the Skill India Mission was also observed with the main function held in New Delhi.

Eoin Joseph Gerard Morgan is an Irish-born cricketer who captains the England cricket team in limited overs cricket.

India will be hosting next year's International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Combined World Cup from March 15-26. The Combined World Cup involves events in rifle, pistol and shotgun. ISSF Executive Committee approved the dates of the 2020 ISSF World Cup stages.

The Bank of England has chosen Alan Turing to feature him on new £50 note of Britain. Turing is regarded as the code-breaker during World War II and is also known as Father of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Around 30 lakh persons enrolled under PM Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme. The union government notified the eligibility criteria for its mega pension scheme - Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan. They announced in the budget 2019 for unorganized sector workers. People who are at 40 years or already covered under a pension with part contribution by the government are not eligible for the scheme. Only one spouse will be eligible for family pension in case of demise of the pensioner. The Government via notification dated February 7, 2019 notified the rules and other criteria for the mega pension scheme announced by the Finance Minister.

Run by Rio Tinto Group in Western Australia, the world's biggest Argyle Diamond Mine is being shut after four decades

Founded in 2014, Swiggy started small, delivering food to a few neighborhoods in Bengaluru, India. As the company grew, the team wanted a mapping technology that could help expand the service throughout India.

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Anusuiya Uikey as Governor of Chhattisgarh.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will launch a Jan Jagrukta Abhiyaan in Delhi to accelerate measures for prevention and control of Vector Borne Diseases like Malaria, Dengue and Chikungunya. It will start from 17th to 19th July, 2019 in Delhi through active involvement of people's representatives, officers from Government of India, Government of NCT Delhi, all three Delhi Municipal Corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council, Railways and Cantonment board and other stakeholders to combat malaria, dengue and chikungunya.

Odisha Governor, Ganeshi Lal inaugurated the 21st edition of Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. The event will witness the top players from India, Australia, England, Malaysia, Scotland and Singapore among other nations competing for coveted titles.

Former Supreme Court judge, Justice AK Sikri, has been appointed as an international judge of the Singapore International Commercial court (SICC). The President of the Republic of Singapore has made the appointment of Justice Sikri. It currently has 16 international judges as part of its panel. The SICC is a division of the Singapore high court and part of the Supreme Court of that country, designed to deal with transnational commercial disputes.

Israel Aerospace signs $50 million follow-up deal with Indian navy. Under the deal, Israel Aerospace Industries will provide complementary missile systems to the Indian navy and India's MDL Shipyard. The agreement also involves a range of maintenance and other services for sub-systems of Israel Aerospace's naval medium range surface-to-air missile.

Bandaru Dattatreya(often called Dattanna, born 26 February 1947) is an Indian politician and the Governor of the State of Himachal Pradesh. He was the Member of Lok Sabha for Secunderabad since 2014. He is the 29th Governor of Himachal Pradesh since 11 September 2019.

NIVEA is a German personal care brand that specializes in body-care. It is owned by the Hamburg-based company Beiersdorf Global AG.

The government of Meghalaya has approved the draft of water conservation policy making it the first Indian state to come up with such policy.

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Biswa Bhusan Harichandan as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.