Daily Current Affairs 25th July, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 25 July 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

‘One-stop’ scheme to fast-track investments launched in Rajasthan
A “one-stop shop” scheme approved in Rajasthan is set to fast-track investments and help revive industries in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic by giving as many as 98 types of clearances under one roof to the potential investors through the Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP).

• The new scheme will expedite all the processes for investment proposals above ₹10 crore.
• The Cabinet approved amendments to the Rajasthan Enterprises Single Window Enabling and Clearance Act, 2011, and gave a go-ahead to the constitution of a Board of Investment earlier this week. All industries, including the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), will receive due facilitation.

PM Modi lays foundation stone of Manipur water supply project worth Rs 3,000 crore
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Rs 3,050-crore Manipur Water Supply Project under the Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal Scheme through a video conference.

• Apart from Greater Imphal, the project would benefit 25 small towns and 1700 villages in the state. The project has been designed keeping in mind the needs of the next two decades.

Government sanctions Rs. 8,700 cr to help complete construction of 60,000 houses
The Union Ministry of Finance has sanctioned over Rs 8,700 crore under a special scheme, ‘SWAMIH’ to ensure completion of about 60,000 houses. 

• The Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing scheme (SWAMIH) aims to complete construction of stalled, brownfield, RERA-registered residential developments that are in affordable housing/mid-income category.

BANKING & FINANCE

Bharti AXA General Insurance receives Rs. 800 crore worth crop insurance mandate from Maharashtra, Karnataka under PMFBY
Private non-life insurer Bharti AXA General Insurance said it has received Rs 800 crore worth crop insurance mandate from Maharashtra and Karnataka governments to insure farmers in both the states under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

• The company has secured authorisation for three years from both the state governments to implement the PMFBY in six districts of Maharashtra and three districts of Karnataka.
• The PMFBY offers insurance cover to farmers against losses of crops during the entire cycle, from preparation of sowing to harvesting and post-harvest, due to poor yield.

Muthoot Fincorp launches mentoring portal for MSMEs
Kerala-based NBFC, Muthoot Fincorp, has launched a portal Restartindia, a free mentoring platform to help the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector to restart businesses across the country.

• The portal is designed to address the needs of the MSME sector, particularly nano and micro enterprises, and offer solutions for problems faced by a large number of women entrepreneurs.
• The website, accessible at www.restartindia.in, also provides details of MSME-focused governmental, institutional support and resources on how to run or set up a sustainable business venture.

Amazon Pay ties up with Acko to sell auto insurance
Amazon has entered the insurance distribution business in India, tying up with general insurance startup Acko to sell motor vehicle policies on its Pay platform.

• Amazon’s entry as a corporate agent is in line with its plan to become a full-fledged financial services platform.
• Amazon Pay currently offers UPI, wallet and co-branded credit card services to users

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s GDP to shrink by 6 per cent in FY21: DBS Report
Singaporean brokerage DBS has predicted deeper distress for the country which will lead to a 6 per cent growth contraction in FY21. In its earlier forecast, the brokerage had penciled in a minus 4.8 per cent growth for the current fiscal.

• According to the report , just 7 per cent of the districts in economically key states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, accounting for 30.5 per cent of the national economic output, and in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh account for as much as 70 per cent of the caseload.
• This will prolong the recovery and the pandemic is set to take a deeper economic bite.

SPORTS

Sripali Weerakkody retires from International Cricket
Sri Lanka woman cricketer Sripali Weerakkody has decided to retire from international cricket with immediate effect. She has officially informed her intention to Sri Lanka Cricket

• The 34-year-old represented Sri Lanka in 89 ODI internationals and 58 T20 internationals. 
• She picked up 58 ODI wickets at 35.62 and 31 T20I wickets at 29.32.she ends her international career with 722 ODI runs

APPOINTMENTS

Naveen Tahilyani to take charge as Tata AIA Life Insurance MD & CEO
Tata AIA Life Insurance has appointed Naveen Tahilyani as the new Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director. This is subject to regulatory approval from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This is Tahilyani’s second stint at Tata AIA Life Insurance.

• Tahilyani will take over from current Chief Executive Officer, Rishi Srivastava, who is moving to Group Agency Distribution, AIA Group, Hong Kong as Chief Executive Officer.

Partha Pratim Sengupta appointed new MD, CEO of Indian Overseas Bank
Partha Pratim Sengupta, Deputy Managing Director and Chief Credit Officer at State Bank of India, has been appointed as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Overseas Bank.

• His appointment will be up to date of attaining the age of superannuation which is December 31, 2022 or until further orders whichever is earlier.
• The post fell vacant after the superannuation of Karnam Sekar who retired on June 30. Sengupta has also resigned from the position of Non-Executive Director of Yes Bank.

Alok Misra becomes new CEO & Director of MFIN
Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), the industry association and Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the microfinance industry in India has appointed Dr Alok Misra, currently Professor & Chairperson of Public Policy & Governance at MDI Gurgaon, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

• The appointment will be effective from 1st August, 2020. Dr Misra takes over from the present CEO, Harsh Shrivastava, who has put down his papers after spending over 2 years at MFIN.

Riva Ganguly Das appointed next Secretary (East) in External Affairs Ministry
The Modi administration announced the appointment of Riva Ganguly Das as the next Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

• Ms. Das, a 1986-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is presently High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh. She will take over as Secretary (East) from October.
• She will replace Vijay Singh Thakur, who is due for superannuation on September 30.

Amudha appointed Joint Secretary in PMO
Amudha, a 1994 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, has been brought to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Joint Secretary in a reshuffle involving 16 officials of elite services from different categories.

• She has been brought from the Lal Bahadur Shashtri National Academy of Administration, where she is serving as a professor.
• Another official, Keshav Chandra, was appointed Director of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
• Sajjan Yadav, has been shifted from the Department of Women and Child to the Department of Expenditure in the Ministry of Finance as Joint Secretary.
• Varsha Joshi has been appointed Joint Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, for a tenure of five years.
• Sudhir Kumar, a 1999 batch IAS officer of AGMUT cadre, will be Additional Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
• Senior bureaucrat Saurav Ray will be Custodian of Enemy Property for India, New Delhi, Ministry of Home Affairs, for a tenure of five years.
• Nitishwar Kumar, has been shifted from the Ministry of Water Resources to the National Council for Teachers’ Education (NCTE) as member-secretary.
• Other officers who figure in the reshuffle list are from other services like revenue service, economic service and railway services

AWARDS SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

AIIMS Nagpur launched smart wristband to tracks Covid-19 patients
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Nagpur has indigenously designed and developed a ‘smart wristband’ for effective tracking and monitoring of Covid-19 positive and suspect patients.

• The new device, a wristband is designed in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur and IIT Nagpur looks to overcome the limitations of existing online mobile apps used for tracking and monitoring coronavirus patients.
• The new novel device can provide mobile free operation, using a geofencing technology which will provide a real-time alert on any breach in the quarantine zone.

DRDO sets up COVID-19 testing facility at Leh
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has established a COVID-19 testing facility at the Leh-based Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) to enhance the rate of testing to identify coronavirus cases in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

• The testing facility at DIHAR is capable of screening 50 samples per day. The facility can also be utilised for training manpower for COVID testing and will be of great help to address future bio-threats and carrying out R&D activities pertinent to agro-animal diseases

First indigenous nuclear reactor attains criticality at Kakrapar
Unit 3 of the Kakrapar nuclear power plant in the Surat district of the Indian state of Gujarat has attained a sustained chain reaction for the first time. The unit is India’s 23rd reactor to enter operation.

• It is the country’s first indigenously-designed 700 MWe pressurised heavy water reactor (PHWR) to reach the commissioning milestone. It was designed and built by Indian scientists and engineers.
• The components and equipment for the reactor were manufactured by Indian industry and constructed and erected by various Indian contractors.

Largest solar power plant of Indian Navy commissioned in Kerala
The Indian Navy’s largest solar power plant has been commissioned at Ezhimala, located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala.

• The 3MW solar plant has an estimated life of 25 years. All components have been indigenously developed, including 9180 highly efficient monocrystalline solar panels employing the latest technology.
• The project was executed by Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (KELTRON).

OBITUARIES

Annie Ross, Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer, passes away
Annie Ross, a popular jazz singer in the 1950s before crossing over into a successful film career, has died in her Manhattan home, New York . She was 89.

• Ross rose to fame as the lead vocalist of one of jazz’s most well-respected groups, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. The trio became known for the 1952 hit “Twisted,” a tune by saxophonist Wardell Gray and written by Ross.
• A decade later, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross went on to win a Grammy Award for the album “High Flying”

Noted dancer-choreographer Amala Shankar passes away
Renowned Indian dancer and choreographer Amala Shankar, who celebrated her 101st birthday last month, died of cardiac arrest in her sleep.

• The wife of legendary dancer-choreographer Uday Shankar and sister-in-law of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, Amala Shankar was awarded the Banga Bibhusan by the West Bengal government in 2011 for her contribution in the field of arts.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

‘The Pandemic Century: One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria and Hubris’ Book written by Mark Honigsbaum
Mark Honigsbaum is a medical historian, journalist, and author has released his new book titled ‘‘The Pandemic Century: One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria and Hubris’. 

• In The Pandemic Century, a lively account of scares both infamous and less known, Mark Honigsbaum combines reportage with the history of science and medical sociology to artfully reconstruct epidemiological mysteries and the ecology of infectious diseases.

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