5 DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 21.07.2019 TO 23.07.2019

.12.2018 NATIONAL MNRE issued norms to implement.2018 issues guidelines for PM-KUSUM Scheme  Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued guidelines for the roll-out of PM- KUSUM (KisanUrjaSurakshaevamUtthaanMahabhiyan).11.2018 Scheme.  The outlay of the scheme is Rs 34,422-crore.The scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022.  The scheme has 3 components, A, B and C, out of which Component B and C aims tis for farmers support and would encourage farmers to generate solar power in their farms and use the clean energy to replace their diesel water pumps.  As of now a pilot run of the scheme will be done based on the new guidelines and then the full scheme will be launched. HRD Minister Launched UGC Scheme of ‘Paramarsh’ to Promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education  The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” launched the University Grants Commission‟s (UGC) scheme named „Paramarsh‟ in New Delhi.  The Paramarsh scheme has been launched for mentoring National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) Accreditation Aspirant Institutions to promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education.  The scheme will target 1000 Higher Education Institutions for mentoring with a specific focus on quality as enumerated in the UGC “Quality Mandate”. Centre Approved Rs 206.8 crore for FY20 towards Implementation of Agriculture Export Policy Scheme  The Central Government has approved an outlay of Rs 206.8 crore for a central sector scheme titled „Implementation of Agriculture Export Policy‟ for the financial year 2019-20.  The „Agriculture Export Policy, 2018‟ is aimed at doubling farmers‟ income by 2022.  The government seeks to double farm exports to $60 billion by 2022 from $30 billion in 2018. India’s first space tech park to come up in Kerala  Kerala Government will set up India‟s first space tech park at Thiruvananthapuram‟s Knowledge City.  The present Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre and Space Museum will then become a part of this park.  The entire investment will be made by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), the research centre of ISRO. Total Operational Routes under UDAN Scheme Reached 194  The Ministry of Civil Aviation had launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – UDAN (UdeDeshkaAamNagrik) on October 21, 2016 to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable for general public.  Under the UDAN scheme 8 more new routes have recently become fully functional out of the total 706 sanctioned Routes.  With this, the total UDAN routes Operational as on date has increased to 194 routes.  The new routes are: Mysore – Hyderabad,Hyderabad – Mysore,Mysore – Goa,Goa – Mysore,Mysore – Cochin,Cochin – Mysore,Kolkata – Shillong and Shillong – Kolkata. All Toll Plaza Lanes on National Highways to be declared ‘FASTag Lanes’ from December 1  The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to declare all lanes in all Toll Fee Plazas on National Highways in India as dedicated „FASTag Lanes‟ with effect from 1 December 2019 to ensure seamless traffic and prevent congestion at toll plazas.  However, one hybrid lane will also be available at every toll plaza where FASTag and other modes of payment will be accepted and this lane will be converted into FASTag lane in a time bound manner.  FASTag is a prepaid tag that enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets the vehicle pass through the toll plaza without stopping for the cash transaction.

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E-postal ballot registered .12.201860.14% turnout in 2019 LokSabha elections  Using the Electronically.2018 Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS), out of the 18,02, 646 service electors, 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout in LokSabha elections 2019. Only 4% was.11.2018 registered in 2014.  Persons working in paramilitary forces, the military and government officials deployed in diplomatic missions outside India are classified as Service Voters. LokSabha passed protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2019  According to the bill, besides a Chief justice of India, a former Supreme Court judge can also be made the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).  The bill also proposes to enable any person to be the chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) who has been a judge of a high court.  The bill amends the protection of Human Rights Act 1993 to provide that a person who has been Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the NHRC. INTERNATIONAL G7 finance ministers agreed on a plan for taxing Gigantic digital companies  In the event of G7 finance ministers meeting in France, all fully supported two-pillar taxation for large tech companies to be adopted by 2020.  Digital Taxes: They agreed on a plan for taxing digital companies such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon in the countries in which they make money, even without any physical presence in the country.  The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 5th International Police Expo 2019  The 5th edition of International Police Expo 2019 is inaugurated at PragatiMaidan in New Delhi.  The objective is to focus on everything about police forces even their welfare and fitness as well as all other necessities of Police and other armed forces for their day to day life and other operations.  At the Expo, more than 5 countries are showcasing combat/armoured vehicles, advanced firearms and a plethora of disruptive technologies in cyber security etc. ECONOMY India will achieve economic growth of 8% plus from FY 2020-21 onwards: NITI Aayog VC  NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar has announced that India will achieve economic growth of 8 per cent plus from the fiscal year 2020-21 onwards. Standard Chartered become first foreign bank to operate from GIFT City  Standard Chartered will become first foreign bank to launch operations at International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) located at the Gujarat International Finance Tech City (GIFT City). World Bank decided not to fund for Andhra’s ambitious Amaravati capital city project  After the central government dropped support, The World Bank had withdrawn $300 million of fund for Amaravati Capital City project in Andhra Pradesh, the ambitious project of former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.  However The World Bank (WB) reaffirmed the support to the state of Andhra Pradesh with over $1 billion programs. It covers the health, agriculture, energy and disaster management sectors. ABIPBL to shut down within 18 months of launch  Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank (ABIPBL) which had started its operation on February 22, 2018, will shut down its operations within 18 months of launch due to “unanticipated developments in the business landscape that have made the economic model unviable”.  The bank has made full and complete arrangements for the return of deposits to the customers. It will restrict further credit to the accounts from July 26, 2019.  It will be the first payments bank to close down after this set of niche banks were started by former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan in 2015.

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India will be the first recipient.12.2018 of AIIB local currency funding  India will be the .2018 first recipient of local currency financing by the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB). The objective of local currency financing is to provide more options to borrowers. .11.2018 PERSON IN NEWS New Governors appointed for six states  President has appointed Governors for six states.  Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandi Ben Patel will now be the new Governor of Uttar Pradesh.  LalJiTandon, who is the Governor of Bihar, has been shifted to Madhya Pradesh.  Phagu Chauhan will be the Governor of Bihar replacing LalJiTandon.  JagdeepDhankhar has been appointed as the new Governor of West Bengal while Ramesh Bais is the Tripura Governor.  R.N.Ravi will be the new Governor of Nagaland. Sanjeev Kumar Singla and Upender Singh Rawat appointed as Indian Ambassador to Israel and Panama  Senior diplomat Sanjeev Kumar Singla has been appointed as the next Indian Ambassador to Israel.  Upender Singh Rawat has been named as the Indian Ambassador to the Republic of Panama. VivekKohli elected chairman of Commonwealth TT Federation  India‟s VivekKohli and M P Singh have been elected as chairman and secretary general respectively of the Commonwealth Table Federation (CTTF). Benjamin Netanyahu made history as longest-serving Israeli PM  Benjamin Netanyahu(69), who has spent 4,876 days (more than 13 years) in office has become Israel„s longest-serving prime minister, surpassing the record of David Ben-Gurion, country‟s founding father, and first leader. Ursula von der Leyen was elected as the first female President of European Commission  European Parliament elected Ursula von der Leyen as the President of the next European Commission. She will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker. SPORTS AND GAME India’s track and field legend PT Usha nominated for IAAF’s ‘Veteran Pin’  The International Association of Athletics Federation‟s (IAAF) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jon Ridgeon informed that India‟s track and field legend PT Usha, aged 55, has been nominated for the IAAF‟s „Veteran Pin‟ for her outstanding service to the sport. USA grabbed the top spot in FIFA women’s rankings  The US has consolidated its top spot in the latest women‟s rankings, after winning their second consecutive FIFA Women‟s World Cup.  The US is followed by Germany and the Netherlands in the second and third places respectively. Na, and inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame Chinese tennis great Li Na, France‟s Mary Pierce and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia were inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame. They all are two-time singles champions. Prithu Gupta of Delhi is India’s 64th Grandmaster  Prithu Gupta of Delhi, aged 15 years, became India‟s 64th Grandmaster (GM). He achieved the rating stipulation of 2500 points by beating Germany‟s Lev Yankelevich. Sports Minister KirenRijiju unveiled AIFF Golden Baby Leagues Handbook 2019-20  Sports Minister KirenRijiju unveiled All India Football Federation‟s (AIFF) Golden Baby Leagues Handbook 2019-20 on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.  2nd Edition of Hero Intercontinental Cup football tournament for the year 2019 won by North Korea  In the finals of the Second edition of Hero Intercontinental Cup football tournament held at The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, North Korea won the title by defeating Tajikistan.

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CAP became the Full Member.12.2018 of BCCI  The Cricket Association.2018 of Puducherry (CAP) became the newest associate member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). .11.2018AWARDS AND HONOURS Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank to receive Leopard Club Award at 2019 Locarno International Film Festival  Hilary Swank, a two-time Oscar winner, will be conferred with the Leopard Club Award at the 2019 Locarno International Film Festival which will be held from August 7- 17, 2019. It will be the 72nd edition of the film festival in Locarno, Switzerland. Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya selected for SangitaKalanidhi Award 2019  The Music Academy‟s Executive Committee unanimously selected Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya for SangitaKalanidhi Award 2019. World Reputation Rankings 2019: Top 3 Best Institutes in India are IISc Bengaluru, IIT Madras and MAHE  In the World Reputation Rankings 2019 released by the Times Higher Education, among the Indian Institutes, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal were awarded the top 3 positions. MISCELLANEOUS India Successfully Launched Chandrayaan-2 from Sriharikota  India successfully launched its second lunar mission “Chandrayaan-2” onboard its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, GSLV-MkIII-M1, from the SatishDhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.  A team of three students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras have developed a drone name as “Smart Agricopter” to eliminate manual spraying of pesticides in agricultural fields as well as identify crop health by using an imaging camera.  Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has unveiled the country‟s first prototype of a body protector for women personnel.  India and will carry out a military exercise called „Hand-in-Hand‟ in Meghalaya in December 2019.  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a $50 million follow-up agreement with India to provide complementary Naval MRSAM (medium-range surface-to-air missile) systems to the Indian Navy. OBITUARY  Noted social activist and educationist, NirmalaPurandare passed away at the age of 86 years.  Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit has passed away at the age of 81. She was fighting with a prolonged illness.  Argentine architect & creator of Petronas Twin Towers passed away ONELINER  Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the architectural illumination of the historic Safdarjung Tomb in New Delhi.  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 1000 meter long Ujh Bridge in Kathua district and 617.40-meter Basantar Bridge in samba district.  The Eleventh biennial edition of DefExpo India - 2020 is scheduled to be held for the first time in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow in February 2020.  Insurance giant LIC has agreed to offer Rs 1.25 trillion lines of credit by 2024, to fund highway projects.  Indian Army successfully carries out summer user trials of third Generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile- NAG.

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