National News
WorldSkills International Competition 2019
- National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under MSDE has been leading India’s delegation at the event since 2011.
- India won one silver, one bronze and nine medallions of excellence during the last edition at Abu Dhabi in 2017.
India’s First National Time Release Study (TRS)
- The Time Release Study (TRS) is advocated by the World Customs Organization, and it is an internationally recognized tool to measure the efficiency of international trade flows.
- The initiative will strengthen governance over cargo trade and has the aim to identify/address bottlenecks of border procedures and benefitting export-oriented industries and MSMEs.
UGC issued a List of recommended Institutions of Eminence
- The recommendations were made by the government as per the empowered committee under the chairmanship of N Gopalaswami.
- The HRD Ministry has announced a scheme in 2018 to select 20 IoEs - 10 public and 10 private that will enjoy complete administrative and academic autonomy.
Government abolished Article 370
- Article 35A denies property rights to a woman who got married to a person residing out of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Incorporated in the Constitution on October 17, 1949, Article 370 exempts J&K from the Indian Constitution and allows it to draft its own Constitution. All the provisions of the Constitution which are applicable to other states are not applicable to J-K.
Biggest Fall of Rupees in 6 years
- The reasons for the downfall of the rupee is said to be the souring US-China trade relations resulting in Yuan’s slide to record low as well as the Indian government’s move to end Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.
- A free fall has been seen in the global currency markets after China’s central bank agreed on the Yuan to slide to a record low against the dollar.
Consumer Protection Bill 2019
- The Bill seeks to the settlement of consumer disputes and establishes authorities for timely and effective administration.
- The Bill includes setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to make interventions to protect consumers from unfair trade practices.
Banking
SEBI examining Feasibility of Intangibles
- SEBI will also look into an exchange-traded fund (ETF is market security that tracks an index, bond, basket of assets or commodity, In this case, ETF is a commodity).
- It will increase the hedger’s participation and increase delivery based settlement.
RBI ‘Fit and Proper’ Criteria for Elected Directors of PSB
- All the banks are required to constitute a Nomination and Remuneration Committee consisting of a minimum of three non-executive directors, of which not less than one-half shall be independent directors.
- The committee should include at least one member from the risk-management committee of the board to establish ‘fit & proper’ status of applicants.
- The Government of India nominee director and the nominee director on behalf of the RBI shall not be part of the committee.
RBI slapped 11 Banks with Rs 8.50 Crore Fine
- The banks are fined for violating provisions of RBI norms on “frauds classification and reporting by commercial banks and select Financial Institutions”.
- The RBI observed that the banks didn’t report fraud in the backdrop of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) criminal proceedings resulting in non-compliance with RBI’s directions.
LIC launched ‘Jeevan Amar’
- The second one is increasing sum assured in which the death benefit first increases after 5 years than after 10 years and then 15 years or till the end of the policy term.
- The plan offers policy term from 10 years to maximum 40 years, with a maximum age of maturity at 80 years and is available for the 18-65 age group.
Reports
World Gold Council (WGC) report on Global Gold Demand
- The key drivers for the increase are sustained growth in gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and continued central bank buying.
- According to the report, the overall jewellery demand in the 2nd quarter is pushed by 12% to 168.8 tonnes due to a strong recovery in India’s jewellery market.
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| Ramon Magsaysay Award 2019 | Ravish Kumar |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 1st Aug to 7th Aug 2019 | World Breastfeeding Week | Theme: “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding”. |
| 7th August 2019 | 5th National Handloom Day | -- |
MOU's Signed
MoU signed between India and Guinea
- The MoUs have signed between the two countries Cooperation in the Field of e- Vidhyabharati - e-Aarogya Bharati e-VBAB Network Project, Traditional System of Medicine and Renewal Energy.
- Both the countries agreed to hold the first session of the Ministerial level India-Guinea Joint Commission at an early date.
Government Schemes
PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation)
- PRAGATI is an ICT based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation.
- The Prime Minister also called for use of technology to evolve a mechanism to collect feedback from Divyang-Jan under Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan.
One Nation-One Ration Card
- The government has implemented One Nation-One Ration Card on a pilot basis in four states- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana from 1st August 2019.
- The only requirement is that the Aadhaar card should be linked to the ration card to avail of this service.
Vhali Dikri Yojana’ Launched by Gujarat CM
- The scheme has been launched to mark the 63rd birthday of the Chief Minister Rupani.
- Under the scheme, the state government would pay to every girl child an amount of Rs 4000 at the time of admission to 4th Standard, Rs 6000 during admission in 9th standard.
Science and Technology
ISRO Technical Liaison Unit at Moscow Approved by Cabinet
- ISRO Technical Liaison Units (ITLU) is instituted with the prime objective to enhance coordination with the Russian Government and space agency.
- Department of Space has earlier instituted ISRO Technical Liaison Units (ITLU) at Washington, USA and Paris, France for increasing international level technical collaboration.
IIT Kharagpur Developed New Technology for Solid Waste
- The solid waste energy conversion technology-Hydro Thermal Carbonization (HTC) is developed by researchers of IIT Kharagpur to convert solid waste to soil amendment and absorbent and biofuel.
- In this process, the moisture in the waste is used for the reaction to convert it into biofuels and also helps to curb air pollution.
DBT will Scan 20,000 Indian Genomes
- It is a two-phase exercise and would scan the genome of nearly 20,000 Indians in the next 5 years.
- The first phase involves the sequencing of 10,000 Indians to capture the biological diversity of India.
MasterCard Identity Check Express
- MasterCard has launched the Identity Check Express, a mobile-first authentication solution for online payment security.
- The initiative has been taken as it was found that about 20% of mobile e-commerce transactions are abandoned mid-way, in an analysis done by MasterCard.
Defence
Indian Air Force Facilitation-cum-Publicity Pavilion
- The Pavilion was inaugurated at National Bal Bhawan and was set up by Indian Air Force to motivate students to join Indian Air Force and develop a love for the country.
- At the event, Air Chief Marshal Shri B. S. Dhanoa launched “Indian Air Force: A Cut Above” an official mobile gaming application.
Sports
Vinesh Phogat won Third Successive Gold in 53kg
- Vinesh Phogat won gold in 53 kg women’s category of the Poland Open wrestling tournament.
- She won over local wrestler Roksana in the final of the competition by 3-2 and had earlier beaten the Rio Olympics bronze medalist, Sofia Mattson of Sweden, in the quarterfinals.
Summits and Conferences
22nd National Conference on e-Governance, 2019
- The conference is to be organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), in association with MeitY.
- The theme of the NCEG is “Digital India: Success to Excellence”.
- The event will be held for the first time in the north-eastern region.
