Current Affairs JULY 2019 (Set 02)

NATIONAL NEWS

1. UNESCO heritage tag to Jaipur 

The Walled City of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, on July 6 made its entry into the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

The announcement was made after the 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC), underway at Baku (Azerbaijan) from June 30 to July 10, examined the nomination of the Walled City of Jaipur for inclusion in the World Heritage list.

The historic walled city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, was founded in 1727 AD under the patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. It serves as the capital city of the culturally-rich state of Rajasthan.

The city was proposed to be nominated for its value of being an exemplary development in town planning and architecture that demonstrates an amalgamation and important exchange of ideas in the late medieval period.

In addition, Jaipur City is an exceptional example of a late medieval trade town in South Asia and defined new concepts for a thriving trade and commercial hub. The World Heritage Committee is composed of representatives of 21 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention who meet annually. The Committee is in charge of implementing the Convention. To date, 1,092 sites in 167 countries have been inscribed on the World Heritage List.

 

2. Illegal coal mining in Meghalaya: SC directs govt to deposit Rs 100 cr fine 

The Supreme Court directed the Meghalaya government to deposit the Rs 100 crore fine imposed on it by the NGT for failing to curb illegal coal mining with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

A bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and K M Joseph directed the state administration to hand over the illegally extracted coal to Coal India Limited (CIL) which will auction it and deposit the funds with the state government.

The bench also allowed the mining operation to go on in the state on the privately and community owned land subject to the permissions from the concerned authorities. The National Green Tribunal had fined the Meghalaya government on January 4.

During the hearing, the state government had admitted that a large number of mines were operating illegally in the northeastern state.

 

3. Haryana launches 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora' portal for farmers 

The Haryana government announced the launch of 'Meri Fasal Mera Byora' portal whereby farmers can avail benefits of several government schemes directly after uploading their crop-related details.

This simple system will enable farmers to self-report their land and crop details and help them receive benefits of several government schemes directly. The portal -- www.fasalhry.in -- has brought the departments of agriculture and farmers welfare, revenue, food civil supplies and consumer affairs and science and technology on a single platform for the betterment of the farmers.

To avail various benefits being offered by the state government, including insurance cover, compensation on account of crop damage due to natural calamities and other financial assistance under different schemes, the farmers will be required to upload information like the name of crop sown, area under cultivation, cropping month, bank account number and mobile number.

 

4. Parliament passes Aadhaar amendment bill 

Parliament passed an amendment bill which allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for users to open bank accounts and get mobile phone connections.  The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed in Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. The amendment bill, which also provides for a stiff Rs one crore penalty and a jail term for private entities for violating provisions on Aadhaar data, was earlier passed by Lok Sabha on July 4. It was introduced on June 24 to replace an ordinance issued in March 2019.

The amendments provide for use of Aadhaar number for KYC authentication on voluntary basis under the Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It also gives option to children to exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age, while stipulating stiff penalties for violation of norms set for the use of Aadhaar and violation of privacy.

 

5. Jallianwala Bagh Bill introduced in Lok Sabha 

A bill which seeks to remove the Congress president as a permanent member in a trust that runs the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial to make the body apolitical was introduced in Lok Sabha. The Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (amendment) Bill, moved by Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel states that it seeks to “delete” the mention of ‘President of the Indian National Congress’ as a trustee.

The amendment bill also paves way for the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha to be a member of the trust. As of now, only Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha is a member of the trust.

The amendment bill also confers power to the central government to terminate the term of a nominated trustee before the expiry of the term without assigning any reason.

As of now, the trust which manages the memorial, has the Prime Minister as the chairperson, President of Indian National Congress, Culture Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Punjab governor, Punjab CM as its members. A similar bill was brought by the previous government but it could not get parliamentary nod and lapsed.

Jallianwala Bagh memorial was established in 1951 by the central government to mark the massacre of unarmed people on April 13, 1919 by the British Indian Army under the command of Col Reginald Dyer.

 

6. Environment Ministry plans to use immunocontraceptives for wildlife population management

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has launched a project for undertaking ‘immunocontraceptive measures’ for population management of four species of wild animals — elephant, wild boar, monkey and blue bull (Nilgai).

The pilot project will begin in Uttarakhand and then implemented in rest of the country.

 

7. Vice President releases book titled ‘Vivekadeepini’ in ten languages 

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled “Vivekadeepini”. It has been released in 10 languages.

It is a book that contains facts and principles of spiritual leaders like Adi Shankaracharya and Swami Vivekananda.

The original book is written by Sri  Adi Shankaracharya in Prashnottara Ratnamalika (Questions and Answers).

The conversion in different 10 languages has been done by Vedanta Bharati.

 

8. Lok Sabha passes New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill 

Lok Sabha passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019 by voice vote.  The bill replaces an Ordinance which was promulgated in March this year. It seeks to provide for the establishment and incorporation of New Delhi International Arbitration Centre, NDIAC  for the purpose of creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalized arbitration. The legislation has provision to declare the NDIAC as an institution of national importance for its overall development as a major arbitration hub by promoting quick and efficient dispute resolution mechanism.

9. Cabinet clears Bill for single tribunal to hear water disputes 

The Union Cabinet has approved the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that will help adjudicate disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys. A version of this bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017 but subsequently lapsed.

The Bill seeks to amend the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes. A key feature of the bill is the constitution of a single tribunal with different Benches, and the setting of strict timelines for adjudication.

When any request under the Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the water dispute. There are about a dozen tribunals that now exist to resolve disputes among States on sharing water from rivers common to them. The standalone tribunal so envisaged will have a permanent establishment and permanent office space and infrastructure so as to obviate with the need to set up a separate Tribunal for each water dispute, a time consuming process.

The Bill also proposes a Dispute Resolution Committee set up by the Central Government for amicably resolving inter-State water disputes within 18 months. Any dispute that cannot be settled by negotiations would be referred to the tribunal for its adjudication. The dispute so referred to the tribunal shall be assigned by the chairperson of the tribunal to a Bench of the tribunal for adjudication. The Bill can also affect the composition of the members of various tribunals, and has a provision to have a technical expert as the head of the tribunal. Currently all tribunals are staffed by members of the judiciary, nominated by the Chief Justice.

 

10. India’s first elephant rehabilitation centre in  Kerala’s Kottoor

The Kerala government is working to set up the country’s first elephant rehabilitation centre in Kottoor, an ecotourism village near the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The first phase of the Rs 105 crore-project was launched last month by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The centre, expected to have an elephant museum, mahout training centre, super-specialty hospital, a retirement home and crematorium for the animals, will house orphaned, injured and older elephants. It is being planned on the lines of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka.

 

11. India's first Design Development Centre 'Fashionova' launched in Surat, Gujarat 

India's first Design Development Center 'Fashionova' was launched in the Textile city Surat to promote the city in the field of the fashion design sector. The main objective of this studio is to provide a strong platform to all those who have a flair of the apparel business. It fulfills, on a large scale, all business needs from co-working space, technicians, expert advises to cognitive workshops and exposure to the industry. Surat is renowned for its textile and the city had to be dependent on Mumbai or Delhi for unique and latest design trends. This design development center will bridge this gap.

 

12. Union Minister Shri N S Tomar launches Coffee Table Book commemorating 50 years of partnership with UNWFP towards food and nutrition security in India 

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched a Coffee Table Book along with Dr. Hameed Nuru, Representative and Country Director, UN World Food Programme in India, to commemorate five decades of partnership between the Ministry and the agency towards addressing food and nutritional security in India.

The Coffee Table Book – 50 years of Partnership for Change- showcases key milestones achieved by the Government of India in its efforts to make the nation free from hunger and malnutrition and WFP’s role in this endeavour. Some of the major turning points in India’s journey towards food and nutrition security captured in the book include the Green Revolution, the White revolution, improvements in livestock and dairy development and digitization of food safety nets.

 

13. Pro-Khalistani Group Sikhs for Justice Banned Over 'Anti-National' Activities 

The Union Cabinet announced to ban Sikh fundamentalist organisation Sikhs For Justice(SFJ) under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for its alleged anti-national activities.

Elaborating on the reasons for the ban, the gazette notification by the government said, "Whereas the Sikhs for Justice has been indulging in activities prejudicial to the internal security of India and public order and have the potential of disturbing peace and unity and integrity of the country."

The SFJ, headed by Avtar Singh Pannun and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was formed in 2007, but has come to prominence only in the last 5 years as it started advocating a separate Khalisatn state. It also started an online secessionist campaign, the ‘Sikh Referendum 2020’. The group's primary objective is to establish an 'independent and sovereign country' in Punjab.

 

14. West Bengal observed July 12 as 'Save Water Day'

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said her government will observe July 12 as 'Save Water Day' from this year.

The corrective actions were the need of the hour to combat the situation of water scarcity in various parts of the country.

 

15. Meghalaya becomes first state to have water policy 

Amid the water crisis in the country, the Meghalaya cabinet became the first state to approve a draft water policy to address water issues, conservation, and protection of water sources in the state.

The draft was passed following detailed discussions and deliberation with the ministers of the cabinet.

The policy intends to achieve sustainable development, management and use of water resources with community participation. This will improve health and livelihood and reduce vulnerability among the people. This will also assure of good governance for present and future generations through integrated water resources management and environmental sustainability.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. Ancient City of Babylon Among New UNESCO World Heritage Sites 

Babylon has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site following decades of lobbying by Iraq. Babylon is situated 85 km south of Baghdad, the property includes the ruins of the city which, between 626 and 539 BCE, was the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. It includes villages and agricultural areas surrounding the ancient city. Its remains, outer and inner-city walls, gates, palaces and temples, are a unique testimony to one of the most influential empires of the ancient world.

UNESCO has added 29 new world heritage sites to its registry for 2019.

 

2. World’s largest burn and plastic surgery institute starts journey 

The world’s largest burn and plastic surgery institute started in Dhaka, Bangladesh. About 6 lakh people suffer burn injuries in Bangladesh every year who will benefit from the institute.

Named Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, the 500-bed hospital with 50 ICU and 12 operation theatres will provide advanced treatment to burn patients in Bangladesh. The institute has been built at a cost of over 500 crore Taka.

 

3. Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with others for new alliance to battle climate change 

The Earth Alliance initiative was launched by The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF) in partnership with Laurene Powell Jobs, the wife of the late tech magnate Steve Jobs, and billionaire investor Brian Sheth.

The Alliance convenes the communicating power of the LDF with the talent and capacities of Emerson Collective and Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC) marking the next stage of LDF's growth as its staff and operations fold under Earth Alliance to power its future.

It will be led by a newly appointed, independent management team of internationally renowned scientists and conservationists who will work globally to protect ecosystems and wildlife, ensure climate justice, support renewable energy, and secure indigenous rights to the benefit of all life on earth.

The initiative will also be providing grants and educational opportunities, building capacity, engaging indigenous and local communities, and working with grassroots organisations and individuals in the places most affected by biodiversity loss and climate change.

It will fund large-scale campaigns, documentary films, third-party independent environmental reporting, and public speaking opportunities that will inspire and mobilise individuals around the world who are concerned about the future of the planet.

The Sheth Sangreal Foundation, founded by Sheth, will cover operational and administrative costs for the Alliance.

 

4. Deep-CEE AI tool helps astronomers discover unknown galaxy clusters in the Universe

Matthew Chan, a doctoral researcher at Lancaster University developed a deep learning technology called "Deep-CEE" (Deep Learning for Galaxy Cluster Extraction and Evaluation) that speeds up the hunt for galaxy clusters. It uses neural networks, which mimic the way the human brain identifies objects- using specific neurons that can visualise patterns and colours. In a pilot study of the AI's capabilities, it managed to identify and classify galaxy clusters in images that contain many other astronomical objects. This new automation of the discovery process allows scientists to quickly scan sets of images and return precise predictions with minimal human interaction. 

 

5. NASA Plans To Fly Drone To Saturn's Largest Moon Titan To Search For Life 

For its newest planetary science mission, NASA aims to land a flying robot on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan, a top target in the search for alien life.

Dragonfly will be the first endeavor of its kind. NASA's car-sized quadcopter, equipped with instruments capable of identifying large organic molecules, is slated to launch in 2026, arrive at its destination in 2034 and then fly to multiple locations hundreds of miles apart.

Titan is bigger than the planet Mercury and as geographically diverse as Earth. This large, cold moon features a thick, methane-rich atmosphere, mountains of ice and the only surface seas in the solar system beside those on Earth. But on Titan, the rivers and lakes are full of sloshing liquid hydrocarbons.

 

6. WHO declares Sri Lanka ‘measles-free’ nation 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that measles disease has been eradicated in the island nation of Sri Lanka. The country reported its last case of measles caused by an indigenous virus in May 2016. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. It remains an important cause of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. Sri Lanka is the fourth country in the WHO South-East Asia Region, after Bhutan, Maldives, and Timor-Leste, to eliminate measles and control rubella. Last year, Sri Lanka achieved rubella control, along with five other countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Timor-Leste.

According to the WHO, an independent verification committee had comprehensively studied Sri Lanka’s efforts towards eliminating the disease before declaring it as a ‘measles-free’ country.

 

7. Italy's Prosecco hills added to Unesco World Heritage list

Italy's hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, home to the world-famous sparkling wine Prosecco, have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. It is located in the northeastern Veneto region.

Prosecco has become the most popular Italian wine abroad, with its exports seen rising by a record 21% in 2019 in foreign markets.

 

8. US House passes Bill removing country cap on Green Card 

The US House of Representatives passed (365-65) the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, which increases the annual limit of family-based immigrant visas offered to citizens of each country and eliminates the country-wise caps on employment-based immigrant visas .

This will have a significant impact on nationals of countries such as India, in whose case demand for immigrant visas (which convert to green cards upon admission to the U.S.) exceeds the number of visas available each year, resulting in wait times that could run into decades.

The version of the Bill passed by the House, increases the per-country cap on family-based green cards from the current 7% of all green cards issued in any year  to 15%. The Bill altogether eliminates employment-based green card caps. As of November 2017, China, India and the Philippines, in that order, accounted for the top three countries whose nationals got approved for employment based immigrant visas.   

The House Bill also provides a transition period from fiscal year 2020 to 2022 by reserving a percentage of employment visas – in the EB-2 (exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled workers) and EB-5 (investors) categories, for individuals who are not from the two countries whose nationals claim most of these visas.

This mechanism has presumably been incorporated to help ensure that no person who is already in line for a green card is going to be made any worse off with the passage of this law.

For instance, those in line from countries that do not use up their yearly cap, will wait longer once the per country caps are adjusted or removed. This transition mechanism presumably allows those already in line from countries with lower green card demand to be cleared before caps are liberalized or eliminated. Critics of a cap-free system argue that caps keep a few countries from dominating the employment – immigration route.

Now that the House has passed a law changing or eliminating caps, the Senate will need to pass a comparable bill before it can become law.

 

9. France is First to Introduce a new Digital 'GAFA Tax' (Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon Tax) with the EU to Follow 

Lawmakers in France’s National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament, will begin debating a draft national GAFA tax law. They've dubbed it the GAFA tax, which is an acronym of the US companies it targets: Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon. The bill proposes a 3 percent tax on digital advertising and other revenues of tech firms with worldwide revenues of more than 750 million euros ($842 million).

 

10. Sri Lanka Inaugurates First Model Village Built With Indian Assistance For War-Affected People 

Ranidugama in Gampaha is the first model village inaugurated in Sri Lanka as a part of housing project meant for civil war-affected people and estate workers with Indian assistance.

A total of 2,400 houses all across Sri Lanka are to be constricted by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Housing and Construction and Cultural Affairs and India has partnered with the ministry and is providing grant of Rs 1,200 million (USD 17.5 million).

 

ECONOMY NEWS

1. Parliament adopts resolution imposing 200% duty on Pakistani goods 

The Parliament has adopted a statutory resolution for levying 200 per cent duty on all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha approved the amendment in the first schedule of the Customs Tariff Act in this regard. India had notified the basic customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods exported from Pakistan with effect from 16th of February this year. Besides, the resolution related to increasing basic custom duty on lentils, boric acid and diagnostic and laboratory reagents. On lentils, the duty has been increased from 40 per cent to 50 per cent, on boric acid it has been increased from 17.5 per cent to 27.5 per cent and on diagnostic items from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.

 

2. Uttarakhand launches one-time settlement scheme for co-operative banks' NPA recovery 

In a bid to recover stressed loans, the Uttarakhand government launched a one-time settlement scheme for those who have taken a loan of up to Rs 60 lakh from co-operative banks. The scheme has been launched to recover co-operative banks' non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 391.50 crore which have piled up over the last 25 years. The 100 day scheme will last till October 7. NPA account holders who have taken a loan of up to Rs 60 lakh will be offered concessions under the scheme. The account holders who have died and already repaid the principal loan amount will get total interest waiver under the scheme.

 

3. RBI board finalises ‘Utkarsh 2022’ 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board, which met in New Delhi, finalised a three- year roadmap to improve regulation and supervision, among other functions of the central bank. This medium term strategy — named Utkarsh 2022 — is in line with the global central banks’ plan to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory mechanism. It is a three-year road map for medium term objective to be achieved for improving regulation, supervision of the central bank.

An internal committee was formed, which was anchored by outgoing Deputy Governor Viral Acharya, to identify issues that needed to be addressed over the next three years. While around a dozen areas were identified by the committee, some board members felt that areas could be filtered and lesser number of areas can be identified for implementation in the next three years.

The board also approved the RBI’s budget for the July 2019—June 2020 period. Other matters discussed by the board included issues relating to currency management and payment systems.

 

4. New Space India Ltd. incorporated as a new commercial arm of ISRO 

New Space India Limited (NSIL) has been incorporated as a new commercial arm of Department of Space to tap the benefits of the Research & Development carried out by ISRO.

The Company will spearhead commercialization of various space products including production of launch vehicles, transfer to technologies and marketing of space products.

 

5. Operation Sudarshan launched by BSF to fortify the anti-infiltration grid along Pakistan border

The operation, code named ‘Sudarshan’ was launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) to fortify Anti-Infiltration Grid along the Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu. The massive exercise commenced on July 1, 2019.

The exercise is named ‘Sudarshan’ drawing from the legendary and mythological cutting wheel or the ‘sudarshan chakra’ on Lord Krishna’s finger. It will cover over 1,000-kms length of the India-Pakistan International Border. Jammu shares about 485-kms of the International border with Pakistan, about 553-kms of the front is in Punjab and on India’s western flank with Rajasthan and Gujarat. The commanders of the force will prepare their watch towers and sentry posts better, replenish arms and ammunition dumps, strengthen artillery positions, check and plug border fence breaches, detect underground and cross-border tunnels and make all operational and logistical arrangements to strengthen the vigil along the sensitive and infiltration-prone border. The Union Home Ministry will go through the final report of the operation. After the scrutiny, sanctions will be made to procure gadgets, equipment and infrastructure that is required to plug gaps and strengthen border management.

 

6. DRDO carries out three successful Nag missile tests in one day in Pokhran 

Moving closer toward the induction of the Nag anti-tank guided missiles into the Army, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)  carried out three successful test firings of the missiles in the Pokhran firing ranges.

The Defence Acquisition Council has last year approved the procurement of DRDO’s designed and developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at the cost of Rs 524 crore. The system includes a third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the NAG, along with the Missile Carrier Vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night. The successful induction of the NAG missile into the Army is expected to give a quantum boost to the Army’s capability against enemy armour.

The Army and DRDO are supposed to carry out more tests of the missiles on Monday also to further validate the missile’s capabilities.

Nag was one of the first five strategic missiles planned to be developed under the Integrated Missile Development Programme initiated in the 1980s.

The other missiles developed under the project include the Agni, Prithvi and Akash and all three of them have been successfully developed and inducted into the armed forces.

The Trishul project was shut down after being developed as a technology demonstrator.

 

7. Ministry of Skill Development launches Kaushal Yuva Samwad to open dialogue with youth 

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship announced the launch of 'Kaushal Yuva Samwaad' aimed at creating an open dialogue with the youth across all skill training centres to hear their ideas and recommendations to help scale up existing programmes.

Kaushal Yuva Samvaad will be the platform to discuss potential issues and solutions from the candidates' perspective and will give us the perspective to match aspirations of the youth with the offerings of Skill India

 

8. TCS launches free digital learning course to build career skills 

TCS iON, a unit of IT major Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to provide students with a digital learning course to equip them with career skills.

TCS iON has curated a free, 20 hour-career skills course that will cover topics like corporate etiquette, effective e-mail writing, impactful presentations and IT awareness that will be available to students throughout the duration of their degree course.

The course, which will be available for students of more than 10,000 AICTE approved institutions, can be accessed on TCS iON Digital Learning Hub through any device.

 

9. RPF arrests 801 for selling unauthorised water bottles in countrywide 'Operation Thirst' 

The Operation Thirst was launched across the Indian Railway (IR) following the direction of director general of Railway Protection Force, A Kumar given to all the chief security commissioners.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) registered 732 cases against 801 persons for selling unauthorised water bottle brands across 18 zones including the East Central Railway (ECR), headquarter at Hajipur in Bihar, on July 8 and 9 respectively. 

The nationwide arrests were conducted under 'Operation Thirst' launched across the Indian Railway (IR) following the direction of director general of RPF A Kumar given to all the chief security commissioners.

Of total 48,860 water bottles seized, 12,405 were found to be of unauthorised brands. That is one of the biggest seizures of bottles in recent times in railways. Operation Thirst would be followed by special drive nationwide across all the 18 zones included ECR in order to curb this menace of sale of unauthorised brands of a bottle of water during the peak season of journey and rush of passengers.

Besides the arrest of 801 people, managers of four pantry cars of different express trains were also arrested for facilitating the sale of unauthorized brands of drinking water.

 

10. Indian Army places order for Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles with precision firepower to pierce bunkers 

In a major move to bolster its arsenal and firepower against enemies, the Indian Army is buying Spike Missiles from Israel. The order was placed under emergency purchases in order to meet operational preparedness. This move came after the central government provided powers to three armed forces to make emergency purchases. The force can make purchases of Rs 300 crore under this provision. Following the daredevil Balakot Air Strike by Indian Air Force, Indian Army in April gave its nod to procure such missiles. Finally, the order was placed in the beginning of July.

Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles from Israel are multi-platform, cutting-edge precise, multi-mission, and multi-range electro-optical missiles. These missiles have capabilities of fire, observe, update, fire-and-forget as well as allowing attack of hidden targets. Israeli anti-tank Spike missiles are manufactured by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. These missiles are famous for precision targeting and have the ability to pierce bunkers.

At present, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Singapore, Portugal, South Korea, and Spain are using this Spike anti-tank guided missile.

 

11. Popshot: World’s First Interactive Smartphone Browser Launches in India 

The world’s first ever interactive browser-Popshot built for smartphones, launched in India. Popshot is a smart app that changes the way people explore, share, and save the web through a first-of-its-kind interactive screenshot feature. This promises to redefine the users’ digital capabilities in exploring, bookmarking and sharing content by making it more visual, organized and direct. Popshot is now available to Android and iOS users worldwide and aims at improving personalisation and discoverability of content for the ever-growing digital community through a host of smart & interactive features. Customized for India, Popshot promises to introduce a new benchmark to the browsing experience especially when browsers on smartphones have seen no significant innovation since its inception.

 

12. Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express to be first privately operated train 

In a first for Indian Railways, a private player will operate two new trains, including the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express. The development comes even as the Railways moves ahead with its 100-day agenda released under the newly-formed government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The proposal of the Railway Board in its 100-day plan was to offer two trains to operators who would be willing to be part of the bidding process for rights to run private passenger day/overnight train sets connecting important cities.

Although the Indian Railways announced the Tejas Express in 2016, it was introduced in the new time table recently. The train, one of the most-awaited trains on the route, is currently parked at the Anandnagar railway station in Uttar Pradesh and will be handed over to private players after an open bidding process for operationalisation. The Delhi-Lucknow route is currently served by 53 trains but does not have a Rajdhani. The Swarn Shatabdi has the highest demand on this route and takes around 6:30 hours.

 

13. India's first highway corridors for e-vehicles expected by March 2020 

India's first highway corridors with charging stations for electric vehicles are expected to come up along the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways by 2020. The combined stretch of the corridors on the Yamuna Expressway (between Delhi and Agra) and the National Highway 48 (between Delhi and Jaipur) will be 500 km, and 18 charging stations will be setup near toll plazas on the two routes. The e-corridors are proposed to be the first under the Ease of Doing Business Programme (EODB) of the Advance Services for Social and Administrative Reforms (ASSAR), a private entity which is supported by the central government. The project is about converting 500-km of expressway into electric corridors with facilities for charging electric vehicles. Test runs on these corridors are expected to begin this September and these e-corridors will be launched in March 2020. Eighteen charging stations will be setup on the two routes. Eight will be between Delhi-Agra and 10 between Delhi-Jaipur. Besides charging their vehicles, people can also change batteries.

 

14. Tata Steel Kalinganagar joins WEF's Global Lighthouse Network

TSK in Odisha's Jajpur district is the first and the only Indian manufacturing plant to be included in the WEF's Lighthouse Network. Global Lighthouse Network is a community of manufacturers showing leadership in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to drive financial and operational impact.

They serve as beacons to guide others to overcome challenges in upgrading systems and applying cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and 3D printing.

The factories were selected based on their success in integrating these technologies to increase efficiency and drive innovation. Tata Steel's IJmuiden plant at Netherlands is already a member of this network.

 

15. Kerala govt to set up Non-Resident Keralites Investment company

The Kerala Government decided to form a Non-Resident Keralites Investment company with 74 per cent stake to be held by expats.

The decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Seventyfour per cent of the capital will be raised by issuing shares to NRKs, Government will have 26 per cent stake in the NRK Investment and Holding company ltd, the main aim of which is to utilise NRI investments for implementing various projects. 

 

AWARDS

1. NFR's Plan Bee wins 'Best Innovation Award' 

A unique strategy adopted by the Northeast Frontier Railway to keep wild elephants away from train tracks has won the 'Best Innovation Award'. The prize, awarded by the Indian Railways, comprise a citation and a cash award of Rs 3 lakh.

With a large portion of rail tracks passing through forested areas in Assam, elephants would often come in the way of speeding trains, resulting in their deaths. The NFR, in a bid to tackle the problem, came up with 'Plan Bee' in 2017 and installed devices at several level crossings in the state to play the sound of buzzing honey bees to drive away the pachyderms. Studies suggest elephants are scared of swarming bees.

 

2. 'Gully Boy' wins NETPAC Award at BIFAN in South Korea 

After impressing the Indian audience, Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer 'Gully Boy' has now been recognised at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea.

The film directed by Zoya Akhtar was honoured with NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film.

'Gully Boy' is inspired by the lives of Mumbai street rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy.

 

SPORTS NEWS

1. USA women’s team won FIFA 2019 by becoming World Cup champions, beating Netherlands 2-0 

The United States Women's National team is celebrating victory as World Cup champions after beating the Netherlands 2-0 in final. This is the fourth World Cup title: 1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019

This is only the second time the 8th-ranked Netherlands team has appeared in the Women’s World Cup. In 2015, they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Japan-which was, in turn, beaten by the U.S. in the 2015 final.

 

2. Mexico beats US to lift 8th Gold Cup 

Mexico's men's soccer team won 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup by defeating United States men with 1-0 in the final.  Mexico’s Jonathan dos Santos scored only goal to win CONCACAF Gold Cup with 1-0. The loss for the US men came hours after the women's team lifted its second consecutive World Cup title.

 

3. Hima Das wins second 200m gold 

Indian sprinter Hima Das won her second international gold in women’s 200m with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland.

She clocked 23.97 seconds to clinch the gold while VK Vismaya bagged the silver in 24.06.

This was Hima’s second competitive 200m race of the year.

 

4. Dutee Chand wins 100m gold in World Universiade, creates history 

National record holder Dutee Chand became the first Indian woman track and field athlete to clinch a gold medal in the World Universiade after she won the 100m dash event in Napoli. The 23-year-old Dutee clocked 11.32 seconds to win the gold as she led the race from start to finish.

She became the first Indian to win a 100m gold in a global event.

She has now become only the second Indian sprinter to win a gold in a global event after Hima Das, who clinched the top spot in 400m in the World Junior Athletics Championships last year.

Dutee, who had a silver each in 100m and 200m in the 2018 Asian Games, is also only the second Indian track and field athlete to win a gold in the World Universiade. Inderjeet Singh had clinched the top spot in men’s shot put event in the 2015 edition.

 

5. Sunil Chhetri and Ashalata Devi bag top honours in AIFF awards 

Indian men’s footballer Sunil Chhetri and women’s footballer Ashalata Devi won the biggest prizes in their respective categories as the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced awards for the 2018-19 season. Chhetri was declared as the men’s footballer of the year whereas in the women’s category Devi bagged the award, Goal.com reported.

This is the third consecutive footballer of the year win for Chhetri and his seventh honour in men’s category. Chhetri recently surpassed Argentine striker Lionel Messi to become the second highest active goal-scorer in international football. Chhetri scored a brace against Tajikistan in Intercontinental Cup to take his goal tally to 70.

Sahal Abdul Samad was declared as the emerging player of the year in the men’s category whereas Manipur’s Dangmei Grace was announced as the emerging player of the year in the women’s category.

The full list of awards are as follows:

Best grassroots development programme: Jammu and Kashmir FA

Best assistant referee: Joseph Tony (Kerala)

Best referee: R Venkatesh (Tamil Nadu)

Emerging women’s footballer of the year: Dangmei Grace (Manipur)

Emerging Men’s footballer of the year: Sahal Abdul Samad (Kerala)

Women’s footballer of the year: Ashalata Devi

Men’s footballer of the year: Sunil Chhetri

The Indian men’s team is currently playing in the Intercontinental Cup in Ahmedabad and lost their first match against Tajikistan 2-4.

 

6. Rahul Dravid appointed the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed former India captain Rahul Dravid as the head of National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

Rahul Dravid will look after all cricket related activities at the NCA and he will be involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and the support staff at the academy. He will also be closely working with the national women’s and men’s head coaches. He will also be directly involved with the Indian developmental teams which include India A, India Under-19, India Under-23 teams. Rahul Dravid will help identifying key training and development objectives.

 

7. Brazil wins COPA America 2019 

Brazil won their ninth title by defeating Peru 3–1 in the final.  The 2019 Copa América was the 46th edition of the Copa América, the international men's association football championship organized by South America's football ruling body CONMEBOL. It was held in Brazil and took place between 14 June to 7 July 2019 at 6 venues across the country.

 

RANKINGS   

1. Connaught Place is world’s 9th most expensive office location: CBRE 

New Delhi’s Connaught Place has moved one position higher to become ninth most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of $153 per sq ft, according to property consultant CBRE. Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) slipped to 26th position with an annual prime rent of $96.51 per sq ft from 16th rank. The central business district (CBD) of Nariman Point also moved down to 37th position commanding an annual prime rent of $72.80 per sq ft from 30th rank last year. BKC and Nariman Point were at 16th and 30th positions, respectively, last year. The consultant released its annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey. The cost reflects rent, plus local taxes and service charges for the highest-quality prime office properties. According to the report, Hong Kong (Central) is at the first position with an annual rent of $ 306.57 per sq ft, followed by London (West End), Beijing (Finance Street) in China, Hong Kong (Kowloon) and Beijing (CBD) in China. New York (Midtown- Manhattan) ranked sixth with an annual rent of $ 183.78 per sq ft, while New York (Midtown-South Manhattan) is at 7th position commanding rent of $ 171.56 per sq ft. In the top 10 list, Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), Japan is at the eighth position and London (City), UK, is at the 10th rank. Global prime office occupancy costs rose 2.4 per cent year-over-year. The cost in America was up 3.2 per cent, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) 2 per cent and Asia Pacific 1.7 per cent. The survey highlighted that prime office occupancy cost growth was consistent across all regions in the past 12 months. Strong demand from finance, technology and the e-commerce sectors has fuelled the growth momentum in prime occupancy costs from last year and commercial office market remains a strong growth propeller for the real estate sector.

 

2. Mutlidimensional poverty halved in 10 years in India: UN report

Incidence of multidimensional poverty almost halved between 2005-06 and 2015-16, climbing down to 27.5%, indicating that the number of poor people in India fell by more than 271 million within ten years, according to a report by the United Nations.

The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), shows that, in the 101 countries assessed– 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high income –about 1.3 billion people are “multi-dimensionally poor".

Multi-dimensional poverty defines poor not only on the basis of income, but on other indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence. Incidence of multidimensional poverty halved in India due to faster progress among the poorest in the country. Among states, Jharkhand had the greatest improvement, with Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Nagaland only slightly behind.

However, Bihar was still the poorest state in 2015- 16, with more than half of its population living in poverty. In 2015-16, the four poorest states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh – were home to 196 million multidimensional poor people – over half of all the people living in multidimensional poverty in India, the report highlighted.

According to the report, the positive trend of pro-poor poverty reduction was seen also across religions and caste groups. In both cases, the poorest groups (Muslims and Scheduled Tribes) reduced poverty the most over the ten years from 2005-06 to 2015-16.  Yet these two groups still have the highest rates of poverty. For instance, while 80% of those who identified themselves as being in a Scheduled Tribe had been poor in 2005-06, in 2015-16, 50% of people belonging Scheduled Tribes were still poor. In fact, if we look at the societal distribution of deprivations in India among the poor, vulnerable, and non-poor, we see that whereas 91% of people experienced deprivation in 2005-06, it was 82.4% in 2015-16.

The report also mapped India’s 640 districts for data on poverty. The report findings said the 2015-16 district-level data for India reveal deep pockets of poverty but also impressive progress across the country.

The poorest district is Alirajpur in Madhya Pradesh, where 76.5% of people are poor – the same as Sierra Leone in Sub-Saharan Africa. Only eight countries have higher rates of MPI.

 

PEOPLE IN NEWS

1. Kyriakos Mitsotakis becomes Greece's new PM 

Greece's new conservative prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in after a sweeping election victory put him in charge of the EU's most indebted member with promises to end a decade of economic crisis. He succeeded Alexis Tsipras.

 

2. RBI appoints AK Misra as additional director on J&K Bank board 

The Reserve Bank of India has appointed its former executive director AK Misra as Additional Director on the Board of troubled lender Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

 

3. Arun Kumar appointed as Directorate General of Civil Aviation chief 

Arun Kumar, additional secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, was appointed the Director General of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

 

4. iPhone designer Jony Ive is leaving Apple 

Chief Design Officer Jony Ive is departing after more than two decades at Apple to start his own design firm-LoveFrom. But he’s not completely severing ties with the company he has worked at for nearly 30 years. Apple said it will be one of Mr. Ive’s clients at his new firm.

 

5. Harideesh Kumar is Director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection 

B Harideesh Kumar has been appointed as director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for a period of three years. Earlier, he was Executive Director of Canara Bank and brings with him a lot of domain related experience in the banking sector.

 

6. Nalin Singhal, takes Charge as CMD, BHEL 

Dr Nalin Singhal, outgoing CMD, Central Electronics Limited is going to take charge as Chairman and Managing Director, Maharatna PSU, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL)
Dr. Singhal is 1988 batch officer of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS), he has served as Director Marketing in IRCTC previously, Dr. Singhal is known for his outstanding working qualities and dedication.

 

7. SBI MD Anshula Kant appointed World Bank CFO and MD 

Anshula Kant, managing director of the State Bank of India, has been appointed as managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank.

As Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Kant will be responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group, reporting to the President.

 

DAYS & DATES

1. International Day of Cooperatives-6 July

The International Day of Cooperatives is an annual celebration of the cooperative movement that takes place on the first Saturday of July since 1923. Since 1995, the United Nations and the International Cooperative Alliance have been setting the theme for the celebration of #CoopsDay through the Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives (COPAC), a multi-stakeholder partnership of global public and private institutions that champions and supports people-centred and self-sustaining cooperative enterprises as leaders in sustainable development. The International Cooperative Alliance is a founding member. The aim of this celebration is to increase awareness of cooperatives. The event underscores the contributions of the cooperative movement to resolving the major problems addressed by the United Nations and to strengthening and extending the partnerships between the international cooperative movement and other actors.

 

2019 theme: COOPS 4 DECENT WORK

2. World Population Day 2019 – 11 July 

World Population Day is observed on July 11 every year. The day is aimed to shift the focus towards the urgency and the significance of issues related to population. It may be noted that World Population Day was established by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989. World Population Day, which is being celebrated for over three decades, is meant to raise awareness about solutions related to the issues of growing population.

 

MOUs & AGREEMENTS

1. Delhi Police goes green, signs pact to implement rooftop solar energy systems 

The Delhi police will set up rooftop solar energy systems in over 200 of its buildings across the city. A pact in this regard was signed between Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and the Delhi police.

Under this, SECI - a PSU under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the government's nodal agency for implementation of the National Solar Mission, will support the implementation of grid-connected rooftop solar photovoltaic systems on the establishments of Delhi police.

 

2. CCMB and CDFD sign MoU to maximize potential in genetic disease diagnostics 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) with an aim to enable better ways of diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders.

The objectives of the MoU also include the provision of quality DNA based diagnostic services to the public at lower costs, to develop newer diagnostic methods and to engage in scientific research to improve understanding of human genetic disorders.

 

3. EFLU, IIM-V sign MoU for 'capacity-building, skill development'

English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Visakhapatnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual capacity-building and skill development.

The objective of the MoU was to attain standards of global excellence in common areas of research and teaching that interest both the parties.

 

4. Army, NeGD ink pact for developing revamped app 

The Army and the National eGovernance Division inked a pact for developing a revamped application to maintain the centralised database for personnel, equipment and major stores to provide management-related information to the force. The National eGovernance Division is a part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The Management Information Systems Organisation (MISO) of the Indian Army is the nodal agency under the Directorate General of Information Systems (DGIS) which is mandated to maintain the centralised database for personnel, equipment and major stores to provide management-related information to Integrated HQ of MoD (Army) and other agencies.

To meet the organisational requirements and enhanced user aspirations, rather than employing the conventional developmental framework, the DGIS experimented with a new collaborative approach with the MeitY for developing the new MISO application.

Development work, under MeitY's aegis, started at Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar which is a CMMI-5 level institute under Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat.

This signing of the agreement is first of its kind inter-ministerial initiative between the MoD and the MeitY and is sure to lead to similar joint frameworks for finding innovative solutions in collaborative manner for the Indian Army.

 

5. BCC signs MoU with BRICS chamber to promote trade

The Bharat Chamber of Commerce, (BCC) and the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, signed an MoU for promoting trade and investments between the BRICS countries and the eastern part of India, in particular. Members of the BRICS are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The MoU will enable both the BCC and the BRICS chamber to share trade related information and exchange trade delegations among the five countries of the group.