Current Affairs - July 21, 2019 Current Affairs

Andhra Bank launched its AI(Artificial Intelligence) interactive assistant called "ABHi" at a function in Hyderabad, Telangana. It uses new-age technologies include to understand the customer query. They fetch the relevant information from the possible knowledge base in a matter of milliseconds. ABHi is powered by AI startup Floatbot.ai (Bangalore). They are in partnership with IT(Information Technology) company Netxcell Limited(Hyderabad). Customers will be able to get the information instantaneously 24x7, anytime by using ABHi & can also connect and know details from ABHi through (www.andhrabank.in) over Mobile/Desktop browser, Facebook Messenger and over voice using Google Assistant.

According to TransUnion Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL) - Small Industries Development Bank of India's (SIDBI) Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Pulse Report, Gujarat was ranked first in terms of performance and credit growth potential for MSME Corporate Lending in India. It has maintained the top position since the past 4 years. MSME corporate entities are borrowers with aggregate credit exposure of up to Rs 50 crore. The market size of this category is Rs 17.6 lakh crore as of March 31, 2019. Gujarat was followed by Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Delhi. Maharashtra, one among the most industrialized states, was ranked 9th. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir are the other states with high potential in MSME corporate lending.

The current Capital is Wellington. And Wellington is the most southerly capital in the world. Auckland was the capital in 1841.

Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Bank is a public sector financial institution in India. It provides loans at low rates to micro-finance institutions and non-banking financial institutions which then provide credit to MSMEs. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 April 2015.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju launched the All India Football Federation's Golden Baby Leagues handbook 2019-20. The book is based on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup. The function took place in Ahmedabad. The launch marked the renaming of the 'AIFF Baby Leagues' to 'AIFF Golden Baby Leagues', with emphasis being laid for ages under 6 to under 12 both for girls and boys. The handbook is a guide to organise the Golden BabyLeague. The Leagues aim to provide access to football in localities irrespective of gender, religion, economic background.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.

The Brazilian Real is the official currency used in Brazil and is abbreviated as R$ in international money markets.

The President of the United States (US) Donald Trump informed that the US would not sell the F-35 fighter jets to Turkey after Ankara, capital of Turkey, purchased the S-400 missile defense system from Russia. F-35 is a stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. As per current US laws, any country purchasing major defence equipment from Russia could be subject to American sanctions. The US Congress has made amendments in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for a presidential waiver.

It is bordered by the continents of Africa and Europe, and the countries of Morocco, Spain, the British colony of Gibraltar, and the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.

Approval was given to the National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 which provides for the setting up of a medical commission in place of Medical Council of India (MCI) and repeal of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.The Common Final year Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) exams to be known as National Exit Test (NEXT). They will serve as licentiate exam for entrance to PG (Post graduate) medical courses and as a screening test for foreign medical graduates. NEET and NEXT shall be applicable to Institutes of National Importance (INIs) like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to have common standards in the country. The Commission will regulate fees and all other charges for 50% seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities.

Hariprasad Chaurasia (born July 1, 1938) is a renowned Indian flute player whose repertoire is in Eastern Classical music. He is an innovator and a traditionalist.

The first bank purely managed by Indians was Punjab National Bank, established in Lahore in 1895.

ICC Cricket Hall of Fame was launched on 2 January 2009 in Dubai. The Hall of fame was launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in association with the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA). The Hall of fame includes 8 women out of the 89 inductees.

This is the gritty story of badminton star Pullela Gopichand, who brought laurels to India by winning the coveted All England Championships 2001.

Mihir Sen was an Indian long distance swimmer and businessman. He was best known for being the first Indian to swim the English Channel from Dover to Calais in 1958 in the fourth fastest time and the only man to swim the oceans of the five continents in one calendar year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)" in the emergency committee meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland. This is for the 5th time WHO has invoked an emergency provision. The DRC is in grip of its worst-ever Ebola outbreak, which is the 2nd deadliest Ebola epidemic in history, behind only the 2014 West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people. This outbreak in Congo had begun in August 2018 and has mainly affected North Kivu and Ituri provinces in eastern DRC, an area wracked by conflict involving various armed groups. Efforts to control the virus in DRC are hampered by violence from insurgent groups, including attacks on treatment centres.

Rajiv Mehrishi is the current Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) and Vice-Chairman of United Nations Panel of External Auditors. He is a retired IAS officer of 1978 batch belonging to Rajasthan cadre. Recently, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the capital markets regulator, has opposed the Centre's proposal to transfer surplus money to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). SEBI cited that agreeing the proposal would make it to compromise its autonomy and its ability to function effectively towards the progress and development of the Indian securities market.

Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian Cricketer, was inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame. He became the sixth Indian cricketer to join the list of international players. The former South African cricketer Allan Donald was also in the list.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's association football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is scheduled to take place in Qatar in 2022.

Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019 began at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. The tournament will be held from 17th of July to 22nd of July.

Lenskart was founded by Peyush Bansal and Amit Chaudhary in 2010. Venture capital firm IDG Ventures bet early and invested $4 million in Valyoo Technologies, which owned Lenskart, in November 2011.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the capital markets regulator, has opposed the Centre's proposal to transfer surplus money to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). The government has also proposed an amendment to the SEBI Act, 1992. The amendment proposed that the surplus of the general fund, after factoring in all the SEBI expenses and the transfer to the reserve fund, needs to be transferred to the CFI as per amendments proposed in the Finance Bill, 2019.

According to the London-based consultancy Brand Finance annual report , "Brand Finance India 100 2019", "Tata" has become India's most valuable brand for the second straight year in 2019 with the brand value of $19.6 billion followed by LIC(Life Insurance Corporation) (2nd )with $7.3 billion and Infosys (3rd )$6.5 billion. The brand value of Tata increased to 37% with $19.6 billion, the highest in the top 25 compared to $14.23 billion in 2018. TATA group's brand present across autos, IT services, steel, and chemicals. Brand Finance, calculates the value of brands based on the 'royalty relief approach', which estimates likely future sales that are attributable to a brand based on the royalty rate.It also ranks brands based on its strength & performance with its competitors.

Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy informed that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a scheme 'Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)' for the period 2018-2020. It is aimed to combat cyber crime in India in a coordinated and effective manner. I4C has 7 components. It was launched to enable the citizens to report online content pertaining to Child Pornography (CP)/ Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR).

Surf Excel is a Unilever brand that is currently marketed as the counterpart brand of OMO detergent in the India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka markets.

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D(Three-Dimensional) bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure. Benefits of MoU:The agreement opens door to all qualified scientists and technologists for joint research projects, training programs, conferences, seminars, etc that will be supported on the basis of scientific merit and excellence.Both sides will anticipate the general academic exchange regarded under the Agreement will lead to the development of specific projects, each of which may have academic, clinical and commercial implications.

As per the Indian Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing industry, NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies), the demand for digitally skilled talent projected to grow significantly at 35% Compounded Annual Growth Rate(CAGR) till 2023. In 2023, the demand for digitally skilled professionals will rise to 2.3-2.7 million. Currently, the digital talent in IT-ITeS(Information Technology Enabled Services) industry in the country increased at over 20% and has a base of 2,60,000 in cloud computing, 185,000 in AI(Artificial Intelligence) & big data analytics, 185,000 in social media and mobile platforms and 170,000 in IoT(Internet of Things).

Tesla, Inc. is an American automotive and energy company based in Palo Alto, California.

R K Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy has reviewed the first-ever Draft Distribution Perspective Plan for the power sector in India. The plan has been prepared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) under the guidance of the Ministry of Power. The plan is aimed at sustaining the goal of 24X7 uninterrupted power for all with the increasing demand of electricity by consumers. The plan lays emphasis on 100% metering of all consumers and providing an electricity connection on demand & it also envisages frontier technology initiatives with an objective of providing reliable quality power supply to consumers.