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Important Current Affairs 8th July

NATIONAL:

Union Budget Highlights 2019 - 2020

•  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a union budget for the financial year 2019 - 2020. The main aim is to boost investment at a time when the economy shows signs of a slowdown.

•  It is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The key highlights of union Budget 2019 are  given below :

A 10-point Vision for the decade

1.         Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari Minimum Government Maximum Governance.

2.         To Achieve green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through a pollution-free India.

3.         Making Digital India reach every sector of the economy.

4.         Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Satellite programs.

5.         Building physical and social infrastructure.

6.         Water, water management, clean rivers.

7.         Blue Economy.

8.         Self-sufficiency and export of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables.

9.         Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, well-nourished women & children, the safety of citizens.

10.       Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and batteries, and medical devices under Make in India.

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) on Sunday carried out three successful test firings of the missiles in the Pokhran.

• Government sources said the missile is in the final stages of being inducted into the Army which will use it by mounting them on the modified armoured vehicles.

• 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.

India’s first cow sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to be privatised

• India’s first cow sanctuary, set up by the previous BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government in September 2017, will be privatised by the Congress-led government, an official said.

• Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya in Agar Malwa, 190 km north west of Bhopal, was developed by the MP Gau Samvardhan Board by spending about Rs 32 crore. Around 4,000 cows are living in the sanctuary which is spread across 472 hectares. The decision of privatisation is being taken due to financial crises. Soon, the department will issue a notification to invite interested organisations, said a higher officer of the Animal Husbandry department.

• “The issues of poor management and regular deaths of cow in the sanctuary have been raised many times. The government tried to improve the facilities but it was getting hard to manage it. Some renowned NGOs like Akshaypatra showed interest in managing the sanctuary at no profit no loss basis. But we will hand over the sanctuary according to rules,” said the official.

• According to officials in the sanctuary, in last over one year more than 600 cows died due to extreme weather condition. Akshay Patra also runs Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s Hingonia cow shelter in outskirts of the pink city.

INTERNATIONAL:

Deutsche Bank announced its exit from Global Equities and trading Business

• Deutsche Bank, the  German bank, announced that it is to pull out of global equities sales and trading, scale back investment banking. It plans to reduce adjusted costs by a quarter to 17 billion euros ($19 billion) over the next several years. The decision of the bank will cut down 18,000 jobs for a global headcount of around 74,000 employees by 2022. The move comes after the departure of the chief Garth Ritchie by mutual agreement.

Reason:

• The restructuring plan of the has been estimated with 7.4 billion euros by the end of 2022. Because of this, the German bank may report a net loss of 2.8 billion euros in the second quarter of 2019. On July 25, the bank will release its second quarter results.

• The bank plans to downsize its investment bank, revamp management and cut costs while investing in controls. Also, it expects technology could open the most promising path yet to boosting profitability after years of piecemeal changes that failed to deliver.

AGREEMENTS AND Mou’S:

Indian Army & NeGD signed MOU to develop revamped app

• Indian Army and the National eGovernance Division (NeGD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to develop a revamped application.

They are the part of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

They will maintain the centralised database for personnel, equipment and major stores to provide management-related information to Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).

• Anil Kapoor, Director General of Information Systems and M S Rao, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National E-governance Division signed the MOU in the presence of Shri TP Singh, Director, Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG). The Management Information Systems Organisation (MISO) of the Indian Army is the nodal agency.

• They are under the Directorate General of Information Systems (DGIS).

The development work started at Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-lnformatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar.

SPORTS:

Zhang Shuai first Chinese into Wimbledon last-eight since 2013

• Zhang Shuai on Monday became the first Chinese woman since Li Na in 2013 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.World number 50 Zhang defeated Ukraine teenage Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

• The 30-year-old will face either 15-year-old Coco Gauff or former world number one Simona Halep for a place in the semi-finals.

• Strycova beats Mertens

Czech veteran Barbora Strycova, who is pondering retirement, marched into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Monday beating 21st seed Belgian Elise Mertens 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

It is the second time the unseeded 33-year-old, who beat fourth-seeded Kiki Bertens in the previous round, has reached the quarter-final stage, the previous occasion in 2014.

Strycova will play either compatriot and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or Britain’s French Open semi-finalist Johanna Konta in Tuesday’s quarter-finals.

U.S. womens national soccer team won the FIFA Womens World Cup 2019

• The U.S. women’s national soccer team (USWNT) won the FIFA Women’s World Cup for a record-extending fourth time on July 7 in Lyon, France.The team defeated the Netherlands and secured 2-0 to win the women’s World Cup.

•  This win is a record-extending fourth time for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.The dignitaries which included FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron presented the winners' medal and trophy.

The Head coach of USWNT is Jill Ellis.

The captains of the team are Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and  Megan Rapinoe. USWNT won its first World Cup in 1991 in China.

   

 Arinjeeta Dey won a silver medal for India in World Youth Cup 2019

• Karate girl, Arinjeeta Dey (Barasat, West Bengal) won a silver medal under the 12 category in the World Youth Cup 2019 .The competition was held in Umag, Croatia(from July 1 to July 5, 2019). It was organized by World Karate Federation affiliated to the International Olympic Association.

• A total of 35 countries participated in this competition. He won 3 times in national championship junior level category (2017 KAI SUB Junior National gold medalist, 2018 KAI SUB Junior National gold medalist,2019 KAI SUB Junior National Gold and Silver Medalist). She belongs from Barasat in West Bengal. She has been a student of Hanshi Premjit Sen.She is the president of Premjit Sen Martial Art Academy in West Bengal.           

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Important Current Affairs of 1st July

NATIONAL:

Aparna Kumar created history by becoming the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve the 7 Summits challenge.

• Aparna Kumar created history by becoming the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve the incredible and rare feat of completing ‘7 Summits’ challenge'.  Kumar hoisted India's tricolour on Mount Denali in Alaska, USA. Mount Denali is the highest peak of North America standing at 20,310 ft. She scaled the summit in her third attempt.

Aparna Kumar:

• Aparna Kumar is an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Dehra Dun Frontier DIG. She is also the first woman IPS officer to reach the South Pole on January 13 after walking 111 kilometres with 35 kilograms of equipment on her back.

• In 2016, she became the first officer of the All India Services to successfully scale Antarctica’s highest peak Mount Vinson Massif followed by Mount Manaslu in Nepal in 2017.

Mount Denali:

• Mount Denali is considered the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world, Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. It is also the tallest peak outside of Asia.

• Seven Summits:

• The seven listed summits in the challenge are:

• 1) Mount Everest in Nepal/China

• 2) Aconcagua in Argentina

• 3) Denali in the US

• 4) Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

• 5) Mount Elbrus in Russia

• 6) Mount Vinson in Antarctica

• 7) Puncak Jaya and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia

Other Mountaineers in Summit Challenge:

• Canadian mountaineer Patrick Morrow was the first man to climb the Seven Summits in 1986.

• Indian Army officer Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal is the first Indian to summit the seven highest peaks spread across the seven continents. He is a recipient of India's highest adventure award, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award Jamwal is also the first officer from the Indian Army to achieve this feat.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’S:

India has signed Rs.200 crore deal with Russia to acquire Strum Ataka

• India has signed Rs.200 crore deal with Russia to acquire Strum Ataka. The anti-tank missile will be added to the fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers of Indian Air Force (IAF). This deal comes in  wake of an IAF’s attempt to keep itself battle-ready in situations like post-Balakot aerial strikes. The Strum Ataka anti-tank missile would give an added capability to Mi-35 attack choppers of IAF to take out enemy tanks and other armoured elements.

• Mi-35s are set to be replaced with Apache gunships being acquired from United States (US) and slated to be delivered from August onwards.

About Emergency clause:

• After 14 February Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, emergency powers were given to Indian Defence forces and India started increasing vigil at borders with Pakistan. Under, emergency powers given to three services, they can procure equipment of their choice within 3 month at a cost of about Rs.300 crore per case.

• IAF has emerged as front runner in terms of weapon acquisition under emergency procurement, followed by Indian Army. Under emergency provisions IAF has acquired also acquired Spice-2000 stand-off weapon system along with a number of spare and air to air mission.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

NS Vishwanathan reappointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for 1 year.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the reappointment of NS Vishwanathan as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of one year from July 4, 2019. NS Vishwanathan's term as Deputy Governor was supposed to end on July 3, 2019. Earlier, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya resigned citing personal circumstances.

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Important Current Affairs 19th June

AGREEMENT'S AND MOU’s:

KSEB signed an agreement with GJ Eco Power Pvt. Ltd. to establish Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants.

• The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) signed a power purchase agreement with Kochi-based GJ Eco Power Pvt. Ltd. to establish Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants across the State. GJ Eco Power Pvt. Ltd. has been implementing the project at the Brahmapuram solid waste treatment plant.

• The proposed plant is expected to be commissioned within 18 months of the launch of its construction. The power purchase agreement was signed in the presence of Electricity Minister M.M. Mani, Electricity Department secretary B. Ashok and KSEB chairman and managing director N.S. Pillai.

• Under the agreement, the KSEB will purchase the power generated from the 9.76 MW WtE plant at a rate of Rs.6.17 per unit for a period of 20 years from the commercial operation date. Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved the tariff.

• The company had been roped in by the Kochi Corporation to implement the State’s first WtE project in the public-private partnership mode.

• KSEB will be supplied with 330 tonnes per day (TPD) of municipal solid waste by the local body. It is tasked with generating 47 million units (mu) of power.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd has appointed Naveen Uppal as the Chief Risk Officer.

• Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd has appointed Naveen Uppal as the Chief Risk Officer (CRO). The appointment complied with norms of National Housing Bank (NHB), the housing finance sector regulator. His appointment will be for a period of three years with effect from June 17, 2019. He will be directly reporting to the managing director and CEO of the company.

RBI's norm:

• The appointment comes after the announcement made by RBI on 16 May which said that all non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with assets of more than тВ╣5,000 crore to appoint a chief risk officer (CRO). RBI’s move was in the wake of ongoing rating downgrades of non-banks which has raised fears of another liquidity crisis.

Mr.Uppal:

• Uppal has over 23 years of experience in operations, audit and credit risk within the finance industry. He has been associated with Indiabulls Housing Finance for 12 years and presently heads risk and compliance. He was also associated with ICICI Bank as its zonal operations head.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd:

♦ Founded on: January, 2000   

♦ Headquarters: Gurgaon, India

♦ Chairman and Founder: Sameer Gehlaut

♦ Vice Chairman and MD: Gagan Banga

♦ Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. (IBHFL) is India’s second largest housing finance company, regulated by the National Housing Bank (NHB).

♦ It was rated the 13th largest consumer finance company worldwide by Forbes Global 2000 in June 2018.

Kona Raghupati was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

• Kona Raghupati was unanimously elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on 18 June 2019. He is a two-time MLA from the ruling YSRCP who is representing Bapatla constituency.

• Mr. Raghupati was nominated by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister Botsa Satyanarayana which was backed by other members of the cabinet and senior leaders of the ruling party. Speaker Tammineni Sitaram declared the election of Kona Raghupathi as Deputy Speaker as he was the only contestant.

Mr. Raghupati:

• He is from political family. He holds a Bachelors degree. His father, Kona Prabhakara Rao, was a veteran Congress leader who even served as the Speaker for the Assembly of united Andhra Pradesh, for a brief period between 1980 and 1981. Rao also acted as Governor for three states, Pudducherry, Sikkim and Maharshatra, serving a brief period in each state between 1983 and 1986.

Om Birla has been elected as the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker.

• Om Birla has been unanimously elected as the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker with the opposition Congress coming out in support of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s candidate. Birla will replace Sumitra Mahajan.

Mr.Om Birla:

• He is a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) from Rajasthan. Birla is also a member of theStanding Committee on Energy in Parliament, member of Committee on Petitions and Consultative Committee for Ministry of social justice and empowerment. He has an 86% average attendance in the House.

Nominated by:

• Mr.Birla was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and minister for transport and highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari. He was also backed by Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

• The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which was led by the Congress has also decided to support Birla’s candidature.

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Important Current Affairs 12th June

NATIONAL:

GST council to introduce new GST return system.

• GST Council decided to introduce a new GST return system to facilitate taxpayers.

The new plan is worked out to ease the transition to the new return system.

•  A prototype of the offline tool has already been shared on the common portal to give the look and feel of the tool to the users.

The tool is the same as that of the online portal.

There are three main components to the new return

one main return (FORM GST RET-1) and two annexures (FORM GST ANX-1 and FORM GST ANX-2).

The new return system (ANX-1 & ANX-2 only) will be available for trial for taxpayers to make themselves familiar.

About GST Council

•  GST Council decided to introduce a new GST return system to facilitate taxpayers.

A plan has been worked out to ease the transition to the new return system.

A prototype of the offline tool already shared on the common portal to give the look and feel of the tool to the users.

Cabinet approved the setting up of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO).

• The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO), a new agency, which will develop sophisticated weapon systems. The approval aimed to To enhance the capabilities of the armed forces to fight wars in space.

Members of DSRO:

The agency will be headed by a Joint Secretary-level scientist. DSRO would constitute a team of scientists which would be working in close coordination with the tri-services integrated Defence staff officers.

Functions of DSRO:

DSRO will be entrusted with the task of creating space warfare weapon systems and technologies.

It would provide the research and development support to the Defence Space Agency (DSA).

About DSA:

Defence Space Agency (DSA)will constitute of members from the three services. The aim of setting up of DSA is to help the country fight wars in the space.

DSA is being set up under an Air Vice Marshal-rank officer in Bengaluru. It will be gradually taking over the space-related capabilities of the three forces.

ICAT released India’s 1st BS VI Certificate in Two Wheeler Segment.

• International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) released India’s first Type Approval Certificate (TAC) for Bharat Stage - VI (BS – VI) norms for the two-wheeler segment in New Delhi.

The certificate released and handed over by Director ICAT, Dinesh Tyagi to top officials of the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers). India’s first certification in the two-wheeler segment for the BS – VI

• They are the latest emission norms as notified by the Government of India.

• Norms of the ICAT - India’s 1st BS – VI Certificate in Two Wheeler Segment

The ICAT drive through many steps in providing assistance and support to the automotive industry for the development, optimization and calibration of engines and vehicles for complying with these upcoming emission norms.Bharat Stage norms are the automotive emission norms which the automotive manufacturers have to comply to sell their vehicles in India.

The norms are applicable to all two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers.

The Government of India decided to leapfrog from the exiting BS – IV norms to the BS- VI, thereby skipping the BS – V norms.

They are to be effective from 1st April 2020.

The vehicles will be sold and registered in India from 1st April 2020 onwards which comply to these norms. The norms are stringent and at par with global standards.I issued the approval for BS –VI norms to M/s Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles for the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment. It is the first in its segment in India.

About ICAT

It is the testing agency authorized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for providing testing and certification services to vehicle and the components vehicles in India.

It has the latest equipment, facilities, and capabilities to develop, validate, test and certify the engines and vehicles for the latest norms in the field of emission and many other facilities like crash lab, NVH lab, EMC lab and test tracks.

INTERNATIONAL:

Amazon clinches top spot in the world's most valuable brand ranking.

• Amazon clinched the world’s most valuable brand in cloud computing, consumer tech and movie production.

It is founded by the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos.

According to the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings, Amazon online retailer set its brand value quintuple in the past five years to reach $315.5billion.

It is undertaken annually by advertising holding company WPP.

The detailed study of Brand Z reveals firms financial data and draws on an extensive consumer survey to reach its conclusions.

Amazon expanded into grocery, healthcare, food delivery and, with its Alexa devices, even voice recognition. Amazon jumped from third to first place to eclipse Google.The brand of Amazon from 52 percent to $315 billion.

The company jumped from third place to first place and got the third position to topmost by replacing Google.

About Financial Market

• There are two online shopping namely Alibaba and JD.com Chinese website which are down its Chinese e-commerce operation. Huawei company got a sudden break down of telecom network equipment and smartphone maker poses security and spying risks. Huawei added 8 percent to its brand value in the past year to reach $26.9bn.Netflix was third among the global market and they obtained 65% to obtain its brand value of 34.3 billion.

About Amazon

Founder: Jeff Bezos

Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Services: Amazon.com, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Appstore, Amazon MusicAmazon PrimeAmazon Video

Revenue: US$232.887 billion - 2018

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

NDMA conducts training programme for CBRN emergencies at Kandla Port.

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducting a basic training programme at the Deendayal  Port Trust in Kandla, Gujarat. The five-day training programme, aimed at increasing the awareness and enhancing the preparedness of Seaport Emergency Handlers (SEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the seaports, started on June 10, 2019.

• This is the fourth in a series of such programmes that will be conducted at various seaports across the country to enable SEHs to respond suitably till the arrival of specialised response teams. Earlier this year, three batches of SEHs were trained at Mangalore, Kochi and Navi Mumbai.

• CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) threats emanate at seaports due to arrival, storage and transportation of a large amount of chemical, petrochemical and other CBRN agents.

• The training programme is being conducted in collaboration with the Indian Ports Association (IPA), Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). This training programme will improve the CBRN safety at our seaports by enabling the SEHs to handle any CBRN emergency.

• The programme consists of lectures as well as field training, including live demonstrations of detection and decontamination including use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and mock exercises. Besides equipping the SEHs to handle CBRN emergencies, the training programme will also enable them to provide medical first aid and initial psycho-social support.

• Experts from stakeholder departments such as Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will train the participants.

• Around 50 participants representing various agencies responsible for operation and maintenance of the seaport are being trained on various aspects of CBRN emergencies. Another 200 working level staff will be sensitized on the subject in a half-day programme.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

RBI to infuse Rs.15,000 crore into financial system through the purchase of government bonds.

• The Reserve Bank of India is to infuse Rs.15,000 crore into the financial system through bond purchases on June 13.

Why the infusion:

RBI made the decision after assessing of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs that are going forward.

RBI uses Open Market Operations (OMO) for injecting liquidity into the system through the purchase of government bonds (G-sec). Therefore, RBI is to conduct the purchase of  six G-sec under OMOs through multi-security auction using multiple price method.

What is G-Sec?

A government security (G-Sec) is a debt obligation of the Indian government to fund their fiscal deficit. The securities are tradable. G-sec is  issued either by the central or the state government. They are offered for short term as well as long term.

Multiple price-auction

In a multiple price-auction each successful bidder should pay the price stated bu the player himself. But, in case of uniform price auctions, all successful bidders should pay the cut-off price, that is, the same price at which the market clears the issue.

Open Market Operations:

Open market operations (OMO) refers to the buying and selling of government securities by the central bank, RBI in case of India, in the open market in order to contract or expand the amount of money in the banking system. The purchase of the securities will inject money into the banking system and stimulate growth, while sales of securities do the opposite and contract the economy.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

IV Subba Rao continues as secretary to Vice President.

• IV Subba Rao continues as secretary to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu as per an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the continuation of Rao

He is a retired IAS officer

He serves as secretary to the vice president on a contract basis

More about IV Subba Rao

He is a 1979 batch IAS officer

He belongs to Andhra Pradesh, Rao

He is retired from service in August 2015.

Tokayev sworn in as the President of Kazakhstan.

• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sworn in as the President of Kazakhstan. He was the interim president and hand-picked successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev. He won the election, which was held on 9 June, with 70.96% of the vote which was contested against six government-approved candidates.

Tokayev presidency aims to continue Nazarbayev’s policies aimed at improving the well-being of the people. He succeeded Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation in March after 30 years in power.

This is the first time Kazakhstan gets its new president since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

BJP MP Virendra Kumar to be pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha.

• Virendra Kumar, a seven-time MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh chosen as the pro tem speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.

• He was MoS in the ministry of women and child development He was also in the minority affairs ministry in the previous government.

• He is likely to be administered the oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 17, the day where newly elected Lok Sabha commences its first session.

• On the first two days, the new MPs will take the oath.

• The election for the speaker will be on June 19.

• He was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996.

• He became a member of the Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare.

• He served as a member and chairman of various committees.

• He studied a Ph.D. started his political career in 1977

• He became the convener of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh.

• He served a prison sentence of 16 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in protest against the imposition of Emergency when he was associated with RSS.

• He was a minister of state in the previous Modi government.

 Definition of Pro Term Speaker:

• After the general election and formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

• He who selects a pro tem speaker.

• The appointment should be approved by the President.

Mekathoti Sucharitha appointed as the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

• Sucharitha, A Dalit Women was inducted into the Congress by the late Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy (YSR) spotted her during his historic ‘padayatra’ in 2003.

• Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy appointed Mekathoti Sucharita as the state home minister

• She is one among five ministers to be selected from SC community

• Her native is Poondla village near Bapatla and completed her studies at Phirangipuram, where her father was practising as a doctor.

• She vowed to maintain the highest standards of integrity and honesty in public life and thanked Chief Minister for reposing faith in her and promised that she would live up to the expectations.

About Y S Gagan Mohan Reddy

• Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy, is an Indian politician

• He is serving as the 17th and current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

• Party: YSR Congress Party

About Andhra Pradesh

• Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy (YSR Congress Party)

• Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan

DAYS:

International Day Against Child Labour observed on June 12.

• International Labour Organization (ILO) started to celebrate World Day Against Child Labour in 2002

Aim: To focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it.

The 2019 theme is Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!

The day brings government employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 to include a renewed global commitment to ending child labour.

Sustainable Development Goals and effective measures are take-ups in order to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour includes use of child labours by the year 2025 and to end child labour in all its forms.

ILO celebrates 100 years of advancing social justice.

The protection of children embedded in the ILO’s Constitution (Preamble). One of the first Conventions adopted by the ILO was on Minimum Age in Industry (No. 5, 1919).

8.7 target set by the international community calling for an end to child labour in all its forms by 2025.

About World Day Against Child Labour

Observances: UN, International Labour Organization

Frequency: annual

Called as: WDACL

Observed by: UN Members

SPORTS:

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) re-branded as World Athletics.

• The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the international governing body for the sport of athletics, changed it name from IAAF to World Athletics. The members of IAAF council have approved the rebranding at an IAAF Council meeting held in Monaco on 8th June. The process to rebrand IAAF began on January 2018.

Purpose:

The new name and logo has been designed to represent the modern and positive face for athletics. Also, it aims to attract theyounger audience.

It will see the organisation take on its new name and a re-designed logo after the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha in October.

From the Origin:

IAAF was formed in 17 July 1912. When it was founded the name it had was International Amateur Athletic Federation. It was then changed to International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001.

The headquarters of IAAF is located in Monaco. IAAF has 215 member federations. The Current President of IAAF is Sebastian Coe. The CEO of IAAF is Jon Ridgeon.

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Important Current Affairs of 10th June

NATIONAL:

India partners with Portugal to set up a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal.

• India has partnered with Portugal to set up a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in Gujarat.The Indian Navy will be the stakeholder in the project and the Portuguese Navy will assist as they have experience in it by administering the maritime museum in Lisbon, Portugal. India is to follow a similar model of the maritime museum.

Implementation of the project:

• In March 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project and the Government of India has allocated a grant for building the maritime museum.

• The project will be implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through its Sagarmala programme. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) along with the State government and other stakeholders is also involved in setting up the museum.

Partnership and plans:

• The initial discussion about the partnership was held during the visit of Portuguese Defence Minister João Gomes Cravinho to India in April 2019. A Defence Ministry-led delegation will visit Portugal to study the existing museum.

Maritime museum:

• A maritime museum is a museum that specializes in display the objects relating to ships and travel on large bodies of water. A subcategory of maritime museums are naval museums, which focus on navies and the military use of the sea.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

The G20 Summit ended with the issual of joint statement on trade and the digital economy.

• In the G20 Summit, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from the Group of 20 economies issued a joint statement on trade and the digital economy. The meeting was held inTsukuba, Japan on 8 and 9 June 2019.

Aim:

• The G20 Summit was focused on the ways to promote trade and cooperation among the G20 countries in order to harness the potential of the digital economy.

New tax rules:

• The Finance Ministers discussed new tax rules on global IT giants as well as the impact of aging populations on the economy as the corporate sector make huge profits through cross-border data transfers.

• Global growth is being stable and is expected to pick up moderately by late 2019 and into 2020. However, growth remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside as trade and geopolitical tensions have been intensified.

Agreements:

• The Ministers confirmed their commitment to refraining from competitive currency devaluations in order to gain an unfair trade advantage.

• They also agreed on guiding principles for using artificial intelligence which is created on the 36-member OECD and an additional six countries. They also planned to highlight divisions over trade issues such as reform of the World Trade Organization.

SEBI signed MoU with MCA to facilitate the sharing of data and information for regulatory purposes.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

Aim:

• The MoU will ensure that both the MCA and the SEBI have seamless linkage for regulatory purposes and in addition to regular exchange of data. It also aims to facilitate the continous sharing of data and information for carrying out scrutiny, inspection, investigation, and prosecution.

Benefits:

• The MoU will facilitate the sharing of data and information between SEBI and the MCA on an automatic and regular basis. It will also enable sharing of specific information such as details of suspended companies, delisted firms, shareholding pattern from the SEBI and financial statements filed with the Registrar by corporates, returns of allotment of shares and audit reports relating to corporates.

• The MCA has the database of all registered firms whereas the SEBI only regulates listed entities that may have unlisted subsidiaries. The MCA alone has access to all the data of such unlisted entities.

• The data exchange status will be reviewed and analyzed by a Data Exchange Steering Group which will meet and review periodically.

Significance:

• The move comes after the view to increase the need for surveillance in the context of corporate frauds which affects important sectors of the economy. It is a known fact that the private sector plays an increasingly vital role in economic growth, the need for a robust corporate governance mechanism becomes the need of the hour.

• Already there exists a protocol of sharing of data between SEBI and MCA, in many cases, the regulator has also sent its orders against various entities to the MCA for further action.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):

Formed: April 12, 1988

Acquired Statutory Status on: January 30, 1992

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Chairman: Ajay Tyagi

Executive Director: Anand Rajeshwar Baiwar

SEBI is the regulator for the securities market in India

India signs six key agreements with the Maldives.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maldives on 8 June. PM's visit to the Maldives reflects the importance India attaches to its Neighbourhood First policy. 

Highlights:

• During his visit, PM Narendra Modi and the President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih signed six key agreements and substantive bilateral level talks.

• MoU includes maritime and defence ties which are a top priority and the radar system are expected to boost maritime security.

• The leaders jointly inaugurated a coastal surveillance radar system and a composite training centre for the Maldives defence forces.

• Launch of RuPay Card in the Maldives was welcomed by PM Modi as it will give a boost to tourism in the island nation.

The six agreements include:

• cooperation in the field of hydrography

• cooperation in the field of health

• customs capacity building between the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Customs of India and the Maldives Customs Service

• the establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea

• training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian civil servants Maldives Civil Service Commission signed with India's National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) with the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances

• sharing white shipping information between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force

Previous agreements:

In March 2019, India and Maldives signed an $800-million Line of Credit Agreement with an aim to assist the Maldives in achieving sustainable social and economic development.

Maldives:

President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

Vice President: Faisal Naseem

Capital: Malé

Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR)

Official languages: English, Dhivehi

SPORTS:

Japan defeat Mexico and won FIH Hockey Series.

• International Hockey Federation (IHF) conducted Men's Hockey Series.

• The Final match is played at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar

• Japan defeated Mexico by a goal 3 - 1.

About International Hockey Federation (FIH)

• Founded: 7 January 1924

• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

• Membership: 137 national associations

• Motto: FairPlay Friendship Forever

• President: Narinder Batra

• CEO: Thierry Weil

About Japan

• Capital: Tokyo

• Currency: Japanese yen

• Prime minister: Shinz┼Н Abe Trending

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Important Current Affairs 13th April 2019

NATIONAL:

Indian Railways unrolls new quota for foreigners and NRIs to book tickets.

• Indian Railways is one of the leading railway systems in the world. With new enthusiasm, Indian Railways introducing new schemes for the betterment of services and exciting plans.

• Indian Railways lifted restrictions so that now Foreigners and NRIs can book tickets in all classes. The foreign tourists who travel in Indian trains are allowed to book tickets in the first AC, second AC and executive classes through IRCTC website up to 365 days in advance.

• Under the FTQ category, the Railways has allocated four berths per coach in a sleeper and 3rd AC classes while seats have been parked per coach in chair car classes.

Nizamabad Lok Sabha Seat May Enter Guinness Book With Record EVMs.

• Nizamabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana, which went to elections, may well get into the Guiness Book of World Record for the use of largest number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). 

• With a high number of 185 candidates, including 178 farmers, in the contest, the Election Commission (EC) used 12 EVMs in each booth in the constituency. In any constituency, usually one or maximum four EVMs are used with one control unit in each booth, but in Nizamabad, 12 EVMs were linked to one control unit and the constituency has 1,778 polling centres.

• The EC used M3 type EVMs which can support up to 24 BUs (ballot Units). Each BU will have 24 names. Besides, large number of BUs, the EC used 2,200 Control Units and about 2,600 VVPATs for Nizamabad Constituency.

• This new version of EVMs was developed by the Electronics Corp of India Ltd (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

INTERNATIONAL:

SpaceX launched its first commercial mission.

• SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket in the world, launched its first commercial mission from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s Space Company in the race to grasp lucrative military launch contracts.

• The 23-story-tall Heavy, which previously launched Musk’s cherry red Tesla roadster to space in a 2018 debut test flight, blasted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center carrying its first customer payload.

AGREEMENTS AND MOUS:

Google partners with MMTC-PAMP India.

• Google has partnered with bullion refiner MMTC-PAMP India to allow Google Pay users to buy and sell gold through the app.

• Through this partnership with India’s only LBMA-accredited gold refinery, Google Pay users will be able to buy 99.99% 24-karat gold. This type of service is already offered by the likes of Paytm, Mobikwik, and PhonePe.

AITA signs MoU with STF to train Indian junior players.

• The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Serbian Tennis Federation (STF) to train Indian junior players under world-renowned Serbian coaches at the R.K. Khanna Stadium, New Delhi.

• The MoU was signed on 10th April by AITA Secretary-General Hironmoy Chatterjee and STF CEO Dusan Orlandic. Trainers and coaches from Serbia will come to India for a week/ two-week camp in the under-12, 14, 16 and 18 categories.

Tata Trust and Microsoft signed MoU to support handloom weaving community.

• Tata Trusts and Microsoft India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly rejuvenate the handloom clusters in the eastern and north-eastern parts of the country.

• Project ReWeave: Microsoft’s Project ReWeave will help preserve traditional weaving forms by upskilling workers, designing and marketing merchandise, and creating sustainable livelihood options.

• Microsoft will also enable digital training through Project Sangam, a Microsoft Azure-based Learning Management System, which provides necessary training and tools to weaving communities to help them realise their full potential. Antaran initiative: Tata Trusts’ initiative, Antaran, aims at rejuvenating ailing handloom clusters through an end-to-end programme.

•  Intensive work has been initiated in Odisha, Assam and Nagaland. The programme will benefit 3,000 artisans directly involved in pre-loom, on-loom and post loom processes, impacting the livelihood of weavers in six weaving clusters in these three States. Craft sector is the country’s largest source of employment after agriculture.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Hong Kong’s stock market overtakes Japan to become worlds 3rd largest.

• According to Bloomberg,  Hong Kong has overtaken Japan as the world’s third largest stock market – after the U.S. and mainland China.

• Hong Kong’s market cap was $5.78 trillion as of April 2nd week, compared with $5.76 trillion for Japan.

•  Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has been the main driver with a 22 percent gain. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 17 per cent this year through Tuesday, when it closed at its highest since June 15. Japan’s Topix Index advanced 8.3 percent in that period.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Nitin Chugh likely to be appointed as MD & CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.

• Nitin Chugh, digital banking head of private sector lender HDFC Bank, is likely to succeed Samit Ghosh, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. Mr.Ghosh, who is also the founder of Ujjivan SFB, will retire in November 2019.

• The Bengaluru-based small finance bank has already applied to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval to appoint Mr.Chugh as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Mr.Chugh has over 23 years of experience.

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Important Current Affairs 8th February 2019

AGREEMENTS AND MOUS


MoU approved between India and Namibia
•    The Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Electoral Tribunal of Panama and Electoral Commission of Namibia on 6th Feb 2019.
•    It would promote bilateral cooperation, aimed at building technical assistance/ capacity support for the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) and with Electoral Tribunal of Panama (ETP).
•    The Cabinet was chaired by PM Narendra Modi.


Cabinet Approvals: February 2019
•    MoU between India and Malaysia for Mutual Cooperation in the field of Company Secretary Ship.
•    MoU between India and Norway on India-Norway Ocean Dialogue
•    MoU between India and Brazil on cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy.
•    MoU between India and Maldives for Establishing Mutual Cooperation to Improve the Ecosystems for Agribusiness.
•    MoU between India and the UAE on Development cooperation in Africa
•    Signing of Agreement between India and Ukraine for cooperation in Agriculture and Food Industry
•    The revised Office Memorandum pertaining to the Cabinet Note on “Amendment of Constitution to provide for reservation for Economically Weaker Sections”
•    MoU between India and Finland in the field of Biotechnology
•    MoU between India and Uzbekistan for promoting bilateral cooperation in the area of e-Governance.
•    Proposal for higher allocation of power to Home State from Under Construction Projects of NTPC Ltd.
•    Introduction of National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2019 in the Parliament.
•    Establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India through International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019.
•    Establishment of Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri.
•    Establishment of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog for Conservation protection and development of cows and their progeny.

Indian Coast Guard signed MoU with AAI.
•    Indian Coast Guard and the Airport Authority of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Coast Guard Regional Headquarters in Port Blair.
•    It is signed for coordination in the aeronautical, maritime search and rescue operations
•    The MoU with AAI is aimed at strengthening mutual interactions, interoperability, and validating procedures during the conduct of search and rescue operations.
 

NATIONAL


Amitabh Bachchan stars in national campaign
•    The Swachh Bharat Mission launched the 'Darwaza BandPart 2' campaign on 6th Feb 2019 in Mumbai.
•    The campaign was produced by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation was launched in the presence of iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan.
•    The campaign focuses on sustaining the open defecation free status of village across the country.

Textile Minister launched project India Size
•    Smt. Smriti Irani, the Union Minister of Textiles launched the India Size project in Mumbai on 6th February 2019.
•    It aims to arrive at a standard Indian size for the ready-to-wear clothing industry.
•    A size chart will be developed which will be specific to Indian consumer’s measurements.
•    The project is undertaken by the Ministry of Textiles.


Swine flu claimed 226 lives across the country
•    Swine flu has claimed 226 lives across the country, with the worst hit in Rajasthan claiming 85 deaths.
•    2,263 patients have been found positive with influenza as per the NCDC report.
•    A meeting was held on 6th February 2019 by the Ministry of Health headed by Preeti Sudan to take action to deal with it.
•    Swine flu is caused by H1N1 virus and has symptoms similar to the regular flu.

PM to flag off Vande Bharat Express.
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag-off Vande Bharata Express on 15th February, 2019 from the New Delhi Railway Station.
•    It is India's first engineless train.
•    The train has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai and has become India's fastest train.
•    It hit the speed of over 180 kmph during a trial run at the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route.
•    Earlier, it was named Train 18.

CCEA approves 12,000 MW power projects.
•    The CCEA chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the proposal for setting up 12,000 MW Solar PV Power Projects
•    The proposal was by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy for the implementation of the CPSU scheme Phase-II for setting up these projects.
•    The power projects will be set up in 4 years at a cost of Rs. 48,000 crores.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY


Sixth Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2017-18 by Dr.Urjit Patel.
•    Reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.5% to 6.25% with immediate effect.
•    The reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.5%.
•    The first advance estimates (FAE) has placed the growth of real gross value added (GVA) at 7.0% in 2018-19 as compared with 6.9% in 2017-18.

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA )approves creation of Agri-Market Fund
•    The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the creation of Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund (AMIF) on 6th Feb 2019.
•    It is being created for the up-gradation and development of agricultural marketing infrastructure in Regulated Wholesale Markets and Gramin Agricultural Markets.
•    A corpus of Rs. 2000 crore has been approved for the creation of the fund.
 

SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES


Dr Jitendra Singh delivers keynote.
•    Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of the DoNER (The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region), delivered a keynote address at the 'Parmanu Tech 2019' conference on 6th February 2019 at New Delhi .
•    It was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Atomic Energy.
•    The conference also discussed issues related to Radiation Technologies and Nuclear Energy.
 

INTERNATIONAL


India-Germany join hands for cooperation.
•    The 3rd Indo-German Working Group for water and waste management concluded on 6th February 2019 in New Delhi.
•    Delegates from both the sides met and discussed potential cooperation in the field of water and waste management.
•    The Indian delegation was headed by Shri Anil Kumar Jain.
•    Third Indo-German Environment Forum will meet in New Delhi on February 13, 2019.

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