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Home , Rita Bhaduri, State Bank of Mysore

DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 18.07.2018 TO 20.07.2018

ECONOMY Jana Small Finance launches commercial operations A micro-finance company-turned-Jana headquartered in Bengaluru began its operations for greater financial inclusion. One of the 10 financial institutions to get banking license from the Reserve Bank of in April 2017, Jana aims to be an inclusive digitised bank serving all customer segments and communities across the country. With its ―paise ki kadar‖ (value for money) catchphrase, the bank offers better returns than state-run and other private with 8.5 per cent interest rate on fixed deposits for 366 days. Small finance bank  SFBs was recommended by the NachiketMor committee on financial inclusion.  Individuals/professions with 10 years of experience in finance, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), micro finance companies, local area banks are eligible to set up SFBs  The minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks shall be Rs. 100 crore.  They are established as public limited companies in the private sector under the Companies Act, 1956.  They are governed by the provisions of Reserve Act, 1934, Banking Regulation Act, 1949  Have 25% branches in unbanked area.  75% of its net credits should be in priority sector lending and 50% of the loans in its portfolio must in 25 lakh range.  SFBs have to maintain Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) as per RBI norms.  At least 50 per cent of its loan portfolio should constitute loans and advances of up to Rs. 25 lakh.  At net worth of Rs 500 crore (US$77 million), listing will be mandatory within three years. Small finance banks having net worth of below Rs 500 crore (US$77 million) could also get their shares listed voluntarily. Promoter's contribution-The promoter's minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such small finance bank shall at least be 40 per cent. If the initial shareholding by promoter in the bank is in excess of 40 per cent, it should be brought down to 40 per cent within a period of five years. The promoter's minimum contribution of 40 per cent of paid-up equity capital shall be locked in for a period of five years from the date of commencement of business of the bank. Further, the promoter‘s stake should be brought down to 30 per cent of the paid-up equity capital of the bank within a period of 10 years, and to 26 per cent within 12 years from the date of commencement of business of the bank. Government to infuse Rs 11,336 crore capital in 5 public sector banks by September-end (a) Union Finance Ministry is planning to infuse additional capital close to Rs 11,336 crore in 5 more public sector banks (PSBs) by September 2018-end. These five state-owned banks are (PNB), , , and (IOB). (b) Within capital infusion plan of these five PSBs, PNB is expected to get highest amount of Rs 2,816 crore. Corporation Bank is will get Rs 2,555 crore followed by Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 2157 crore), Andhra Bank (Rs 2,019 crore) and Allahabad Bank (Rs 1,790 crore). (c) This round of capital infusion will be done through issuance of recapitalisation bonds and not directly from Budget. This additional capital will help these banks to meet minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and enable them to make interest payments on certain bonds on time. (d) The latest round capital infusion in these 5 PSBs will be part of remaining Rs 65,000 crore out of Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion announced by Union Government for two financial years. (e) In October 2017, Union Government had announced Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion programme, under which PSBs were to get Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds, and balance Rs 58,000 crore through raising of capital from market and remaining through budgetary support. (f) The government has already infused Rs 80,000 crore out of Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds in PSBs and balance will be done during this financial year (2018-19). An All-Women Branch inaugurated at Jammu and Kashmir Bank As a step towards women empowerment, the state‘s first all-women branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank has been inaugurated. First Lady Usha Vohra e-inaugurated the first ‗All-Women Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Bank‘ at a function organised at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC). NABARD award for Repco Micro Finance Repco Micro Finance Ltd, a non-banking finance company promoted by , received Nabard 2018 award for its service to self-help group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18. Since its inception, the NBFC has disbursed loans amounting to Rs 2,500 crore to over 10 lakh beneficiaries through 50,000 SHGs. SGH (1) A self-help group (SHG) is a village-based financial intermediary committee usually composed of 10–200 local women or men. (2) The Central government, as part of the existing National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), plans to facilitate women- led self-help groups (SHGs) by giving them bank loans of over Rs 1,00,000 and up to Rs 3,00,000 for undertaking various activities at easy interest rates. (3) Under the same, all women SHGs that avail off loans up to Rs 3,00,000 from banks are charged interest at the rate of 7 per cent per annum and they also get additional interest subvention of 3 per cent of timely repayment, which brings down their effective rate of interest to just 4 per cent per annum. (4) India has around 2.5 million self-help groups in rural areas. Parliament nod for merger of subsidiary banks with SBI (a) Parliament has passed State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 to merge six subsidiary banks with after it was approved by Rajya Sabha. The bill already has been passed in Lok Sabha in 2017 Monsoon session of Parliament.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 18.07.2018 TO 20.07.2018

(b) The bill repeals two Acts namely State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Act, 1956. These two acts had established State Bank of Bikaner, , State Bank of Mysore, and . These banks were subsidiaries of SBI. By repealing these two acts, five subsidiary banks will be merged with SBI. (c) The Union Cabinet in February 2017 had approved merger of five associate banks along with with SBI. RBI to issue new Rs 100 notes in lavender colour, existing series to still be valid. (a) The will shortly issue new Rs 100 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (new) series. (b) The new denomination will have the motif of ‗Rani ki vav‘ – a stepwell located on the banks of Saraswati river in Gujarat‘s Patan – on the reverse, depicting the country‘s cultural heritage. The base colour of the note is lavender. The note has other designs and geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme on both sides. (c) RANI KI VAV is a memorial built in Patan, Gujarat for the 11th-century king Bhima. The new notes are Lavender- coloured and have 16 silent features — back and front. (d) The new banknote will also be smaller in dimensions (66 mm × 142 mm) compared to the currently circulated notes (73mm X 157 mm). (e) All Rs 100 banknotes issued by the Reserve Bank in the earlier series will also continue to be legal tender. Flipkart’s PhonePe Acquires POS platform Zopper Retail Flipkart‘s digital payment subsidiary PhonePe has acquired Zopper Retail – a hyperlocal Point of Sale (POS) platform for small and medium businesses. The acquisition is a part of the company‘s strategy to aggressively ramp up its offline business. India fastest growing economy in Asia; on track to meet FY18 target: ADB (a) According to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB), India continues to be the fastest growing economy in Asia and is on track to meet current fiscal year‘s projected growth of 7.3 per cent. (b) It further said, Indian economy‘s growth will further accelerate to 7.6 percent in 2019, as measures taken to strengthen the banking system and tax reform boost investment. (c) Asian Development Bank-Headquarters: Manila, Philippines, President: Takehiko Nakao (d) Founded: 19 December 1966, Membership: 67 countries India’s growth story intact; GDP to grow around 7.5%: FICCI (a) According to industry body Ficci, despite short-term challenges India‘s economic growth story remains intact and the country‘s GDP is expected to grow around 7.5 per cent in the current financial year. (b) The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is an association of business organisations in India. Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by GD Birla and Purushottam Das Thakurdas, it is the largest, oldest and the apex business organisation in India.It is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation. NATIONAL Government to hand-deliver 11 crore Ayushman Cards (a) The government will print and hand-deliver about 110 million ‗family cards‘ for the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in a major public contact programme by organising ‗Ayushman Pakhwaras‘ in villages as it seeks to implement the Prime Minister‘s signature move. (b) The Central government will also set up a 24X7 call centre in the capital to attend to complaints and queries from citizens about the scheme and assist them when they are outside their home states. (c) The government plans to complete all preparations for Ayushman Bharat by August 15. Cabinet approves MoU on aviation with BRICS nations (a) The Union Cabinet approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amongst BRICS nations on Regional Aviation Partnership. (b) The government aims for the BRICS nations to benefit from the establishment of an institutional framework to corporate in the field of civil aviation. (c) BRICS(Founded: June 2006) is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. China hosted the 9th BRICS summit in Xiamen on September 2017,while South Africa will do so for the 10th BRICS summit in July 2018. Lok Sabha passes Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 Lok Sabha has passed The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017 to abolish the ‗no detention policy‘ in schools. The Bill amends the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The Act was having provision of no detention policy i.e. no child can be held back in any class until completion of elementary school (classes 1-8). All India Institute of Ayurveda inks MoU with IIT Delhi to give scientific validation to Ayurveda All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)-Delhi have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance research in the field of Ayurveda. The MoU was signed on sidelines of two-day conference on ‗Raising towards Excellence‘ held at New Delhi. Delhi based AIIA is apex institute for Ayurveda in the country under Ministry of AYUSH. Western Railway renames Elphinstone Road Station as Prabhadevi Western Railway renamed Elphinstone Road suburban railway station in , to Prabhadevi Station. The station code of Prabhadevi station will be PBHD. The station was initially named after Lord Elphinstone, who was Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860. It has now been renamed in honour of local deity Prabhadevi. Committee set up to Synergise NCC and NSS

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 18.07.2018 TO 20.07.2018

The government has decided to set up a committee under the Chairmanship of Mr Anil Swarup, former Secretary, School Education, with suitable representations from NCC, M/o Youth Affairs and Ministry of HRD to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS). The Committee will deal with issues like expansion, strengthening training infrastructure, rationalizing resources, reducing manpower deficiency affecting NCC and NSS. Railways to get first dedicated corridor for freight trains on August 15 After 165 years of its birth, Indian Railways is set to get its first publicly-owned dedicated corridor for freight trains on August 15, when the country will be celebrating its 72nd Independence Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to dedicate to the nation a 190-km railway line between Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and Phulera in Rajasthan, which fall under the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC). Rajasthan’s Udaipur ranked 3rd among world’s best cities for second successive year The city of Udaipur has once again in 2018 been ranked among the World‘s Best Cities by Travel + Leisure. Udaipur, the heritage-city built by the Maharanas of Mewar in the 16th century, is on the third place among the 15 of the world‘s best cities. The top 2 cities are both in Mexico: San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca. Centre forms panel to tackle Industrial Pollution near Taj Mahal The government has formed a committee comprising officials of the environment ministry, experts from NEERI, IITs and various other forums to look into the issue of industrial pollution around the iconic Taj Mahal. The committee will be headed by C K Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Centre reconstitutes committee to probe allegations against Manipur University The Ministry of Human Resource Development reconstituted a three-member fact-finding committee to assess the allegations against the Vice-Chancellor of Manipur University, Prof Adya Prasad Pandey. The Manipur University Students‘ Union (MUSU) has been on a strike demanding the removal of the University Vice President following allegations of administrative negligence and financial irregularities. INTERNATIONAL EU, Japan sign massive free trade deal European Union (EU) and Japan have signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It was signed at EU-Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Turkey lifts state of emergency after 2 years In Turkey, the state of emergency, which was imposed after the failed coup two years ago, came to an end on 19th July. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared emergency on 20th July 2016, five days after warplanes bombed Ankara and clashes broke out in Istanbul that claimed 249 lives. BRICS media forum to start in Cape Town The 3rd BRICS Media Forum under the theme of ―BRICS Media Cooperation – Fostering an Inclusive, Just World Order‖ will be held on July 18-19 in Cape Town, South Africa. Topics to be discussed at the forum include media‘s role and responsibility in strengthening the BRICS narrative, enhancing new media cooperation in BRICS countries, as well as media cooperation between BRICS and Africa. UK tops Global Ranking of Nations’ Soft Power, India not on list (a) The UK has topped an annual global ranking of nations‘ soft power, with France placed second on the list of 30 countries which does not feature India. (b) The 2018 ‗Soft Power 30‘ index, published last week by UK-based strategic communications consultancy firm Portland and the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy, ranked Germany as third followed by the US. (c) India does not figure on the list, but this year‘s report also features a chapter dedicated solely to Asia, listing 10 countries in the region, ranking India‘s soft power as eighth. Walmart, Microsoft team up to take on Amazon Walmart has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft on ―digital transformation‖ for the onetime retail industry leader. The move is aimed at helping Walmart compete better against Amazon, which is taking a growing share of retail sales in the United States and globally. (1) Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Founders: Bill Gates. CEO: Satya Nadella (2) Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation and grocery stores.Founder: Sam Walton. Headquarters: Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. Greg Penner (Chairman), Doug McMillon (President & CEO) (3) Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company.Founder and CEO: Jeff Bezos BILATERAL 8th India-Oman Joint Commission meeting begins in Muscat The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu co-chaired 8th session of India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy of Oman, Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy. PERSON IN NEWS Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe: Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved renewal of appointment of Prof Anil D Sahasrabudhe as the chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) till he attains the age of 65 years. Girish Chandra Chaturvedi: ICICI Bank said that RBI has approved the appointment of Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as non-executive (part time) Chairman of the bank till June 30, 2021.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS – 18.07.2018 TO 20.07.2018

Richa Chadha becomes face of Save the Elephants campaign: Actress Richa Chadha has become the face and voice of the Save the Elephants campaign by animal rights organisation People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). An international organisation, PETA, with the help of Richa, has sent a letter to the Odisha Chief Minister to seek its support for the campaign. Rita Bhaduri: Veteran actress Rita Bhaduri has passed away at the age of 62. She was reportedly suffering from a serious kidney ailment. Satvashila Devi Bhosle: Noted activist from Konkan region in Maharashtra, Rajmata Satvashila Devi Bhosle of Sawantwadi Sansthan has passed away due to prolonged illness. AWARD Indian Experts get Oxford Awards for Arsenic Poisoning Research A team comprising experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the University of Oxford has been selected for an award for exceptional research-led innovation to mitigate arsenic poisoning in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta in the north and northeast India. The innovation awards instituted by the university‘s vice-chancellor include one for prominent Oxford-based linguist Aditi Lahiri, who was selected for the ―inspiring leadership‖ award for developing a flexible approach to speech recognition. SPORTS Thailand Open 2018: Nozomi Okuhara Beats PV Sindhu Win Maiden Title India‘s star shuttler PV Sindhu (seeded second) suffered a defeat to fourth seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in straight games inside 50 minutes to settle for runners-up spot in the Thailand Open at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok. Vinesh Phogat Wins Gold At Spanish Grand Prix Vinesh Phogat added another gold medal to her rich haul after claiming the top position at the Spain Grand Prix in Madrid. Vinesh won the gold medal in the women‘s freestyle 50kg category in dominating fashion which saw her give up only one point during her five bouts. Marc Marquez Wins German Grand Prix Honda‘s Marc Marquez (of Spain) cruised to his ninth consecutive German Grand Prix victory to extend his MotoGP lead. He has now won in the top category at Sachsenring for the past six years and three times in the smaller classes before that. Hima Das to be Assam sports ambassador Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that Indian Athlete Hima Das will be named as the first sports ambassador of the state. The announcement came after Hima Das recently became the first Indian woman to win gold at IAAF World U-20 Athletics Championships. MISCELLANEOUS Diljit Dosanjh to get wax statue at Delhi’s Madame Tussauds Bollywood singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh is all set to get his own wax statue at the Madame Tussauds museum in the national capital. Dosanjh‘s statue will be the latest addition at the Madame Tussauds in the national capital, as he is set to share the dais with a handful of sports icons. BIMARU states top in non/partially-immunized children: UN agencies (a) The 'BIMARU' Indian states - Bihar, , Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh - have the highest numbers of partially immunized and non-immunized children, according to UN bodies WHO and Unicef. (b) According to data shared by the UN bodies, the national average for full immunization is 62 per cent, for diphtheria- tetanus-pertussis vaccine (DTP3) coverage is 78.4 per cent and for measles first dose 81.1 per cent. (c) According to them, a record 123 million children were immunized globally in 2017. Indian Air Force to join ‘Pitch Black’ warfare exercise in Australia (a) For the first time, the Indian Air Force will participate with fighter aircraft in Exercise Pitch Black 2018 (PB-18), which is scheduled from July 24, 2018 to August 18, 2018 in Australia. (b) Ex Pitch Black is a biennial multi-national large force employment warfare exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). (c) The IAF contingent consists of 145 air-warriors including the Garud team along with its four frontline Su-30 MKI Fighters, One C-130 and one heavy lift C-17 aircraft. NSDC, Facebook partner to train youth on digital skills Facebook and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have entered into strategic partnership to train youth and entrepreneurs in the country on digital skills. The partnership will enable Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to incorporate Facebook‘s training on digital marketing skills in its courses, besides providing trainees with access to local, domestic and international markets. ONE LINER  Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone of India‘s first National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.  In partnership with global consultancy firm EY, also known as Ernst & Young, the Andhra Pradesh government launched the ePragati Core Platform, a new initiative to accelerate the digital transformation journey in the state.  The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) has organized, ―India‘s Largest Apparel Trade Show – The 67th National Garment Fair‖ from 16th July to 19th July 2018 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, NSE Complex, Goregaon (East), Mumbai, Maharashtra.  Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh launched an online portal and mobile app called 'Aabhaar-Aapki seva ka' by the online pension management system for the pensioners of the state.  The formal launch of 'Train Captain Seva' took place from KSR Bengaluru railway station by installing a 'Train Captain' on the KSR Bengaluru-New Delhi Express

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