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Important Current Affairs 10th August 2020

National

India bans import of 101 Defence items, gives big push for ‘Make in India’

• The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has announced that the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared a list of 101 defence items for which there would be restriction on the import, beyond the timeline indicated against them.

• This step has been taken to boost indigenisation of defence production in India and push the country towards becoming Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024.

• The list includes high technology weapon systems such as assault rifles, artillery guns, sonar systems, corvettes, light combat helicopters, transport aircraft, radars, and many other items.

• As per the Defence Ministry, the list also includes wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with an embargo date of December 2021, of which the Indian Army is expected to contract almost 200 AFVs at an approximate cost of over Rs. 5,000 crores.

• In addition to this, the defence ministry has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for the financial year 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes.

International

Mauritius declares a state of environmental emergency after massive oil spill

• Mauritius' Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared a state of environmental emergency on August 7, 2020 after a shipreck caused massive fuel spill.

• A Japanese-owned ship, which ran aground on July 25, has been leaking tons of oil into the Indian Ocean. The ship is reportedly carrying nearly 4000 tons of fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel on board.

• The Mauritius PM made the brief statement by tweeting that Mauritius does not have the skills and expertise to refloat stranded ships, so he has asked for help from France.

Banking and Economy

Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies by RBI in August 2020

• The Reserve Bank of India has released the Monetary Policy Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies 2020-21.The major points that are important from exam point of view is mentioned below:

• Additional standing liquidity facility (ASLF)- National Housing Bank (NHB) and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will be provided with an additional standing liquidity facility (ASLF) of Rs 5,000 crore each.

• Advances against Gold Ornaments and Jewellery– Presently, loans sanctioned by banks against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery for non-agricultural purposes should not exceed 75 per cent of the value of gold ornaments and jewellery.  RBI has increased the permissible loan to value ratio (LTV) for loans against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery for non-agricultural purposes from 75 per cent to 90 per cent. This relaxation shall be available till March 31, 2021.

• Positive Pay Mechanism for Cheques– The RBI shall soon launched a mechanism named Positive Pay for all cheques of value ₹50,000 and above to further augment customer safety in cheque payments and reduce instances of fraud occurring on account of tampering of cheque leaves

RBI introduces Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) System for Digital Payments

• The Reserve Bank of India has announced the introduction of an Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) system for resolving customer disputes and grievances pertaining to digital payments.

• This ODR shall be a system-driven and rule-based mechanism with zero or minimal manual intervention.Subsequently, the ODR arrangement would be extended to cover disputes and grievances other than those related to failed transactions.

IndusInd Bank acquires 7.82% stake in Eveready by invoking pledged shares

• Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has acquired 7.82 percent stake in battery maker Eveready Industries by invoking pledged shares following loan default.

• The bank invoked pledge on 56,83,320 shares which constituted 7.82 percent of paid-up equity share capital of Eveready Industries.

• As per the information, the equity shares of Eveready Industries India Ltd. held by Williamson Magor and Co. Ltd were pledged with the IndusInd bank for securing the outstanding dues of Seajuli Developers & Finance Limited (Seajuli), the borrower company.

RBI constitutes committee for financial parameters to be factored in Resolution Framework for C-19 related Stress

• The Reserve Bank of India has announced the constitution of an Expert Committee to make recommendations on the required financial parameters to be factored in the Resolution Framework for C-19 related Stress’.

• The committee will be headed by Shri K.V. Kamath. (President of New Development Bank.

Summits and Mou’s

Flipkart partners with the U.P. Government’s ODOP scheme

• India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart has signed an MoU with One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme of the Government of Uttar Pradesh. The MoU will bring the artisans, weavers and craftsmen under the ODOP scheme into the scope of the “Flipkart Samarth” initiative.

• This will provide artisans, weavers and craftsmen under the ODOP scheme a momentum to expand their business online as they face social and economic challenges.

Days

World Biofuel Day

• The International Biofuel Day (World Biofuel Day) is observed every year on August 10 to raise awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels and highlight the various efforts made by Government in the biofuel sector.

• The theme for 2020 World Biofuel Day is ‘Biofuels Towards Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The Day is being observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas since 2015.

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