Daily Current Affairs 5th July, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 5 July 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Bhutan PM arrives on 3-day India trip

Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit during which both the countries are expected to hold discussions on a host of issues, including economic cooperation and security ties.

CCI launches online guidance system for merger and acquisitions

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched an Online Guidance System for determining notifiability of merger & acquisitions.

• The Guidance System has been named as “Do It Yourself (DIY): A notifiability check for mergers & acquisitions under the Competition Act, 2002”.

KVIC launches in-house e-marketing system

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its first in-house single umbrella e-marketing system that can be accessed from anywhere in India for sale and purchase of its products.

• The earlier software was a third-party software, with its headquarters in Bengaluru, on which the KVIC had no control in stock and accounts.

Higher Education Financing Agency Capital Base enhanced to Rs.10,000 crores

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to Rs. 10,000 crore and tasking it to mobilise Rs. 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education or RISE by 2022.

Piyush Goyal launches CMSMS and ‘Khan Prahari’ App

Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application ‘Khan Prahari’ developed by CMPDI, Ranchi in New Delhi.

• The basic objective of CMSMS is reporting, monitoring and taking suitable action on unauthorised coal mining activities.
• Khan Prahari is a tool for reporting any activity taking place related to illegal coal mining like rat-hole mining, pilferage etc.

MP Government launches Subsidised Power Scheme ‘Sambal’

The Madhya Pradesh State Government launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power scheme called ‘Sambal’ for labourers and poor families. Under Sambal Yojana, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families would be provided electricity at a cost of Rs 200 per month.

• The main objective of the scheme is to make sure that all the households have power facility in the state. In case the bill is lower than Rs 200, the beneficiaries will have to pay the actual bill amount and if the bill amount is crossing Rs 200 then, the difference amount would be subsidised by the state government.

Major General VD Dogra becomes first serving Army officer to complete Ironman triathlon

Major General VD Dogra became the first serving Indian Army officer to complete an Ironman triathlon. General Dogra achieved this feat in Austria and is also the only General across the globe to have completed the gruelling competition in Austria. The Ironman is an international triathlon consisting of three consecutive events — 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.2 km of running.

• The competitors have to complete the event within 17 hours to earn the title. Major Dogra finished the challenge in just 14 hours and 21 minutes. More than 3000 participated in the event.

Gujarat CM launches special drive against malnutrition

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched ‘Poshan Abhiyan’--a statewide mission to eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadi centres.

• While addressing the gathering at a function he said that the nationwide Poshan Mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Rajasthan on March 8 this year.
• The chief minister also launched ‘Purna’ project to eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18, an official release said.
• ‘Purna’ stands for Prevention of Under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls.

First ‘pad abort’ test successful by ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted its first ‘pad abort’ test — crucial for proposed human spaceflight programme — at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

• The crew escape system is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with the astronauts to a safe distance, without exceeding the safe G-levels, from the launch vehicle in the event of a launch abort.

Nasscom opens centre for data science, AI in Bengaluru

Indian IT industry apex body Nasscom has opened a Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

• The centre was set up in collaboration with the Karnataka government with an aim to nurture innovation in emerging disruptive technologies such as AI and to leverage the power of data science.
• The centre is the step required to propel the data sciences and AI to make India as a destination for global product solutions.

CSIR teams up with Nvidia to set up AI innovation centre in Delhi.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has joined hands with US-based chip-designer Nvidia Corp to set up a Centre of Excellence in Delhi to offer the industry a complete design and implementation environment for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications.

• The CEERI-Nvidia Centre of Excellence (CNCoE) will be powered by a five-petaflop AI supercomputer, India’s first industrial AI supercomputer, at CEERI’s New Delhi campus.

NSG becomes 1st central force to opt for E-Ticketing instead of Railway Warrant

The National Security Guard will be the first central paramilitary force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant under an agreement signed with the IRCTC.

• This system will eliminate the need for carrying railway warrants by the NSG personnel.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

5th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting Held In Tokyo, Japan

The 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional ministerial meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan. It was first RCEP ministerial gathering to be held outside ASEAN countries.

• RCEP is a proposed proposed free trade agreement (FTA) or comprehensive regional economic integration agreement between the 10-ASEAN countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan and Korea).

World Heritage meeting closes with 19 new sites added to list

The 42nd World Heritage Committee meeting closed in Bahrain’s capital Manama, with 19 new sites inscribed to the World Heritage List.

• The meeting, which opened on June 24, added 13 cultural sites, three natural sites and three mixed ones to the World Heritage List, including Germany’s Naumburg Cathedral, Kenya’s Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site, Oman’s Ancient City of Qalhat, China’s Mount Fanjingshan and France’s Chaine des Puys.
• The World Heritage List now contains 1,092 sites in 167 countries.
• The next session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

World’s 1st Digital Art Museum opens in Tokyo

The world’s first digital art museum opened its doors to the public in Tokyo, Japan allowing patrons to step all the way into the artworks.

• Attendees are able to move freely through the 9,000-square meter interactive gallery. The exhibition itself is linked in real-time to the real-world seasons, which means that no two trips to the museum will be the same.

25 Countries In Global Banks’ ‘High Risk’ List

China, UAE, Cyprus and significantly, Mauritius, along with 21 other countries have been tagged as “high-risk jurisdictions” by global banks acting as custodians for foreign funds which comprise the largest group of investors in the Indian stock market.

• Large investors and beneficial owners of these funds entering India through these high-risk jurisdictions will face close scrutiny while non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin will run into new hurdles in participating in funds set up in these countries for trading on Indian exchanges.
• SEBI – registered foreign portfolio funds invest in India through 56 countries. Of these, 25 are now considered ‘high risk’.

BANKING & FINANCE

Govt keeps small savings interest rates unchanged

The government has kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the July-September quarter. The move is aimed at matching the hardening interest rates in the banking sector. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.

• Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: 8.3%. The interest on the senior citizens’ scheme is paid quarterly.
• Interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually.
• Public Provident Fund (PPF): 7.6%
• National Savings Certificate (NSC): 7.6%
• Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP): 7.3% and will mature in 11 months.
• Sukanya Samriddhi account: 8.1%.
• Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch interest rate of 6.6-7.4 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9 per cent.

SBI Card launches ‘ELA’ – an AI Powered virtual Assistant to make life simple for Customers

SBI Card has announced the launch of ‘ELA’ (Electronic Live Assistant), a virtual assistant for customer support and services. Driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms, ELA will revolutionise the way customers interact with the company.

• ELA is designed to enhance customer experience by providing relevant and instant responses to customer queries. Customers can communicate with ELA in simple conversational language, enabling easy interface along with prompt query resolution.

BUSINESS

RIL becomes India’s largest tax payer in the private sector

Reliance has become India’s largest payer of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Excise and Customs Duty, and Income Tax in the private sector.

• Also, Reliance has become the first Indian company to record PBDIT (Profit Before Depreciation Interest and Taxes) of over $10 billion with each of our key businesses – refining, petrochemicals, retail and digital services achieving record earnings performance.

SPORTS

Sports Authority Of India renamed As Sports India

Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore announced that more than 34 years after coming into existence, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been renamed as Sports India after the sports body’s governing body meeting.

• The sports body organised its 50th GB meeting, where it was also decided that coaches will be given a say in decision making and the food expenses of athletes will also be increased.

Shot putter Inderjeet Singh gets 4-year ban for dope violation

The anti-doping disciplinary panel of NADA handed a four-year suspension to shot putter Inderjeet Singh for failing a dope test prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

• Inderjeet, who was one of the first athletes to qualify for the Rio Games, was provisionally suspended on July 26, 2016 after both his urine samples showed ‘Adverse Analytical Finding’ (AAF) for banned performance-enhancing substances — androsterone and etiocholanolone.

APPOINTMENTS

Wipro elevates digital business head Rajan Kohli as president

Wipro Ltd has promoted Rajan Kohli, the head of its digital business, to the rank of president, a move analysts said underscores the significance of new solution offerings in the revenue portfolio of the Bengaluru-based company.

OBITUARY

Tony Award Winner Liliane Montevecchi passes away

Tony Award-winning French-Italian actress, singer, dancer and cabaret star Liliane Montevecchi has passed away. She was 85 and passed away from colon cancer.

• Born in Paris in 1932, Montevecchi was best known for her performance in the musical ‘Nine,’ which won her a Tony Award.

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