Monthly Current Affairs – July 2019
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Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 July 01-02, 2019 Jal Shakti Abhiyan for Water Conservation Launched cUnion Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, announced the commencement of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security. The campaign will run through citizen participation during the monsoon season, from 1st July, 2019 to 15th September, 2019. An additional Phase 2 will be run from 1st October, 2019 to 30th November, 2019 for States receiving the North East retreating monsoons. The focus of the campaign will be on water stressed districts and blocks. Govt moves statutory resolution to extend Prez rule in J&K for 6 months The Rajya Sabha approved a statutory resolution to extend President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir for another six months beginning July 3, 2019.. The Upper House also cleared the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (amendment) Bill, two days after it was passed by the Lok Sabha. The reservation bill and the statutory resolution now await President Ram Nath Kovind’s assent. Rajya Sabha chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said the reservation bill had been passed unanimously. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 1 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 ‘One nation one ration card’ scheme from July 1, 2020 ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme, which will allow portability of food security benefits, will be available across the country from July 1, 2020. This means poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country, so long as their ration cards are linked to Aadhaar. All the States have been given one more year to use point of sale (PoS) machines in the ration shops and implement the scheme, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan told journalists on Saturday. Already, 77% % of the ration shops across the country have PoS machines and more than 85% of people covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) have their cards linked to Aadhaar, he said. 2nd anniversary of Goods & Services Tax celebrated on 1st July 2019 1st July 2019 is being celebrated as GST (Goods & Services Tax) Day. This year marks the 2nd anniversary of implementation of historic tax reform of of Goods & Services Tax. GST was launched on the 1st July, 2017 in a majestic ceremony held in the Central Hall of Parliament on the midnight of 30th June, 2017. The Finance Ministry, Government of India introduced the new return system on a trial basis on this day, which will come into force from 1st of October,2019. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 2 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 National Doctor’s Day: 1 July 2019 National Doctor’s Day is celebrated on the 1st of July in India every year. This day honours doctors across the country for their relentless service throughout the year. Doctor’s Day is a tribute to all medical professionals who have ethically treated patients and served the society irrespective of all odds. In India, Doctor’s Day is celebrated to honour the legendary Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, who was also the second Chief Minister of West Bengal. Keeping in mind the safety and security of doctors during their working hours, the Indian Medical Association has announced ‘Zero tolerance to violence against doctors and clinical establishment’ as theme for the year 2019. India signs Rs 200 crore anti-tank missile deal with Russia India has signed a deal to acquire 'Strum Ataka' anti- tank missile from Russia for its fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers. The deal for acquiring 'Strum Ataka' anti- tank missiles was signed with Russia under the emergency clauses through which the missiles would be supplied within three months of contract signing. The deal for the missiles is worth around Rs 200 crore and would give an added capability to the Mi-35 attack choppers to take out enemy tanks and other armoured elements. The Mi-35s are the existing attack choppers of the Indian Air Force and are set to be replaced with the https://examprep.talentsprint.com 3 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 Apache gunships being acquired from the US and slated to be delivered from next month onwards. NALCO to get President’s award for excellent CSR in recognition of NALCO Ki Ladli Scheme National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, has been selected for the prestigious President’s Award for Excellent CSR. It may be mentioned that the Corporate Affairs Department, Govt of India, has selected NALCO for this award at the national level for introducing and implementing schemes like Nalco ki Ladli. The Scheme, provides adoption of poor girl students to enable them to study and settle in life. At present, NALCO has adopted 416 poor girl students from 66 villages Angul and Damanjodi sectors in 45 schools. The scheme promotes Hon’ble Prime Minister’s call for Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. ITBP DIG Aparna Kumar becomes first civil servant to summit Mount Denali in North America Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Aparna Kumar has become the first civil servant to scale Mount Denali, the highest peak in North America. This was her 7th summit in her '7 Summits' challenge. She also became the first woman IPS DIG and https://examprep.talentsprint.com 4 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officer to successfully complete the South Pole expedition. "We congratulate Aparna Kumar, DIG Northern Frontier ITBP on summitting Mount Denali, the highest peak of North America (20,310 feet) and completing her seventh Summit in her mission 'Seven Summits' Challenge. She is the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve this rare feat," ITBP tweeted from their official account. India International Cooperatives Trade Fair to be held from Oct 11 Aimed at promoting cooperative trade within India and abroad, the first ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) is going to be held from October 11 to October 13, 2019 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Steered by NCDC (National Cooperative Development Corporation), the fair is being conducted with the support of one international organization (NEDAC), three Ministries, four State Governments and several apex level Indian cooperative organizations. FSSAI plans colour-coded label for packaged food with high fat, sugar, salt The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued draft regulations aiming to mandate packaged food companies to label high fat, sugar and salt contents in front of the package itself in red colour. Alarmed by rising rates of obesity and diabetes, India has been planning rules from as early as two years ago, requiring food manufacturers to display fat, sugar and salt content on their https://examprep.talentsprint.com 5 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 labels and was also considering a nationwide "fat tax" on so-called "junk food". The food labels will also declare, per serve percentage contribution to RDA (recommended dietary allowance) on the front of the pack, the FSSAI said in a statement dated June 25. RBI relaxes leverage ratio for banks to boost their lending capacity The Reserve Bank relaxed the leverage ratio (LR) for banks to help them boost their lending activities. The leverage ratio stands reduced to 4 percent for Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) and 3.5 percent for other banks effective from the quarter commencing October 1, 2019, the central bank said in a notification. The leverage ratio, as defined under Basel-III norms, is Tier-I capital as a percentage of the bank's exposures. The framework is designed to capture leverage associated with both on- and off-balance sheet exposures. World Bank, Centre and Kerala sign $250-m loan pact The Government of India, Government of Kerala and World Bank on Friday signed a loan agreement of $250 million (Rs 1,725 crore) for the First Resilient Kerala Programme to enhance the state’s resilience against the impact of natural disasters and climate change. The programme, which represents the first ‘State Partnership’ of the World Bank in India, is the first of two Development Policy Operations aiming to mainstream disaster and climate resilience into critical infrastructure and services. https://examprep.talentsprint.com 6 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 Karnam Sekar takes over as IOB MD and CEO from R Subramaniakumar Former Dena Bank MD Karnam Sekar has taken over as the new Managing Director and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank from today. He replaces R Subramaniakumar, who was instrumental in taking measures to turn around the bank, which has been reporting loses due to high NPA. Sekar was on Special Duty and has been a whole-time director of the Bank since April 2019. His appointment will come into effect on July 1, 2019. Max Verstappen Wins Austrian Grand Prix 2019 Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix for the second consecutive year. He is the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race in 2019. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second and Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes https://examprep.talentsprint.com 7 Current Affairs: July 01-02, 2019 Amazon becomes world’s most valuable brand, beating Google and Apple With a brand value of $315.5 billion, Amazon is now more valuable than Apple and Google, according to BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brand ranking 2019. Apple comes second at $309.5 billion, and Google is third at $309 billion. BrandZ bases its annual report on companies' financial performance, using data from Kantar Worldpanel, and interviews with millions of consumers. Money parked in Swiss banks: India slips one place to 74th, UK remains on top India has moved down one place to 74th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks, while the UK has retained its top position, as per data released by the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.