Daily Current Affairs 26th June, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 26 June 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Jitendra Singh inaugurates Devika and Puneja Bridges in J&K
Union Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated two important Bridges Devika and Puneja in Udhampur and Doda districts respectively in Jammu and Kashmir through a virtual platform.

  • The 10-meter-long Devika Bridge construction resolve the traffic issues of the region and this will also help in smooth passage of army convoys and vehicles.
  • While the 50-meter-long Puneja Bridge is strategically very important from defence point of view. It will also provide a vital alternate link to the Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban districts beside Kashmir valley from Pathankot (Punjab) without entering Jammu and Udhampur via Lakhanpur.

Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan releases annual TB Report 2020
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan released the annual TB Report 2020 through a virtual event.

  • According to the report, over 24 lakh TB patients have been notified in 2019. This amounts to a 14 percent increase in TB notification as compared to 2018.
  • There has been a reduction in the number of missing cases to 2.9 lakh cases as against more than 10 lakhs in 2017.
  • Private sector notifications increased by 35 percent with 6.78 lakh TB patients notified.
  • The Minister also released a Joint Monitoring Mission report, a manual on Direct Benefit Transfer to TB patients under NIKSHAY system.

Tripura Govt. announces new scheme to fight malnutrition, maternal mortality
The Tripura government has launched a scheme  Mukhyamantri Matru Pushti Uphaar under which it would provide nutrition kits, containing ghee, jaggery among other items, to pregnant and lactating women to combat infant and maternal mortality and malnutrition.

  • The kit, which costs Rs. 500, comprises primarily of food items such as peanuts, soybeans, mixed pulses, jaggery and ghee.
  • The state government estimates to incur an expense of around Rs 8 crore for the scheme.

Centre allocates Rs 4125 cr to rejuvenate Small, Medium & Tiny Industries sector in Tamil Nadu
The Central government has allocated 4125 crore rupeesfor rejuvenating the Small, Medium and Tiny Industries sector in Tamil Nadu.

  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edapadi Palanisamy told that this forms 10 per cent of the total allocation of the scheme. He said that the scheme is being effectively implemented in the state.


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

36th ASEAN Summit held virtually, “hosted” by Vietnam
The 36th ASEAN Summit held via teleconference in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

  • Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair, is to emphasize unity in the region to respond to current challenges, and it is expected that ASEAN leaders will discuss cooperation on public health, and draft a plan for post COVID-19 rehabilitation.
  • With the theme “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN”, the summit discuss the regional comprehensive post-pandemic recovery plans, implement initiatives including establishing the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund, setting up a reserve for medical supplies to meet urgent needs during epidemics, building the ASEAN standard procedures of epidemic response in case of health emergency.


BANKING & FINANCE

Sachin Bansal’s Navi launches new instant lending app with paperless KYC
Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal’s financial services startup Navi has launched a mobile app to provide instant personal loans targeted at consumers in the middle-income segment.

  • The Navi lending app will provide instant loans of up to ₹5 lakh with repayment tenures of up to 36 months.
  • The loan process is done completely using digital and contactless process for customers.


BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s per capita income to decline by 5.4% in FY21: SBI report
Covid-19 pandemic is likely to bring down India’s per capita income (PCI) by 5.4 per cent in the financial year 2020-21 (FY21) to Rs 1.43 lakh from Rs 1.52 lakh in FY20, suggests the latest report by the economic wing of State Bank of India (SBI). This decline in PCI is higher than the nominal GDP decline of 3.8 per cent.

  • Among states, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Gujarat will be the worst hit with PCI falling 15.4 per cent, 13.9 per cent and 11.6 per cent, respectively in FY21, the report says. At the other end of the spectrum are Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, and Manipur that are likely to witness the least drop in PCI during this period.

Ministry of MSME launched funding scheme of Rs. 20000 cr. to help the distressed MSMEs
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Sub-ordinate Debt to provide Rs 20,000 crore of guarantee cover to two lakh micro, small and medium enterprises.

  • The funding scheme to help the distressed MSME sector entails a sub-debt facility to the promoters of those operational MSMEs that are distressed or non-performing assets (NPAs).
  • It is also called the ‘Distressed Assets Fund – Sub-ordinate Debt for MSMEs’.

NTPC to help Mali develop 500 MW solar park
NTPC Ltd will help Mali develop a 500 MW solar power park, a statement by the state-owned power generator.

  •  India’s largest power generation utility has been awarded the project management consultancy contract by the West African nation, making it the second country after Togo to do so.
  • This comes in the backdrop of Indian state-owned firms including Solar Energy Corporation of India’ plan to land overseas business under the aegis of International Solar Alliance (ISA), as China continues to co-opt countries into its ambitious One Belt One Road initiative.

Godfrey Phillips India again bags the coveted title of Best Companies to Work For in 2020
Godfrey Phillips Indi Godf a has once again been recognized as amongst the top 50 India’s Best Companies to Work For 2020, an annual ranking of companies with exceptional people practices and workplace cultures.

  • Godfrey Phillips India participated for the second year and received a ranking of 29th, improving over the 37th position last year.
  • Max Life Insurance Company Ltd has been ranked 24th amongst India’s Top 100 Great Places to Work, making it the only life insurer to be recognised amongst India’s ‘Top 100 Great Places to Work For’ by Great Place to Work Institute (“GPTW”) in its 2020 study


SPORTS

New Zealand’s Rachel Priest retires from international cricket
New Zealand wicketkeeper-batswoman Rachel Priest has announced her retirement from international cricket, thus bringing an end to a 13-year-old career with the White Ferns.

  • The 35-year-old, who has now signed up a contract with Cricket Tasmania to play in Australia Women’s National Cricket League, played 87 ODIs and 75 T20Is for New Zealand.

Sports ministry to establish 1,000 district-level Khelo India centres 
The Sports Ministry is set to establish 1000 Khelo India Centres (KIC) at the district level across the country with the help of sporting champions, who will be remunerated for providing their expertise.

  • The centres will either be run by a past champion or have them as a coach.
  • The move is to tap into the expertise of past sporting champions for grassroot-level training of athletes and also to ensure a sustained source of income for them in the sports ecosystem.


APPOINTMENTS

 



AWARDS

Himachal Pradesh bags e-Panchayat Puraskar 2020
HP Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur congratulated the state panchayati raj department for securing first prize under e-Panchayat Puraskar-2020, given by the Union ministry of panchayati raj.

  • The state has been selected for the award for effective implementation of the e-application developed by the central government and other applications developed by the state government

THE Young University Ranking 2020: IIT-Ropar best in country, two Indian institutes in global top 100
Times Higher Education (THE) has released the world’s young university ranking for the relatively newer generation of universities, which are 50 years old or younger. The 2020 ranking includes 414 universities, up from 351 in 2019. As many as two Indian universities made it into the top 100, while none could enter the ’50 under 50′ category.

  • The best among the youngest institutes in the country is IIT-Ropar at 62nd rank. This is despite the institute having scored 0 per cent in the international students’ category. The second in India is IIT Indore at 64th rank.
  • The best among the global varsities in the world is The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Check global top 3 are The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Paris Sciences et Lettres – PSL Research University, Paris


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Bengaluru airport becomes India’s first airport to install AWMS technology on runway
In a boost to the Make in India campaign, an indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS) has been installed at the new runway of Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru.

  • The installation has made Bengaluru the first airport in the country to install indigenous AWMS technology, developed by the city-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), at both ends of the new runway.
  • The airport has also installed four Drishti Transmissometers also developed by NAL, in association with the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) to measure the Runway Visibility Range (RVR).

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launches ‘eBloodServices’ mobile App
Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan launched the ‘eBloodServices’ mobile App developed by the Indian Red Cross Society through a video conference.

  • This application is developed by the E-Raktkosh team of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing under the Digital India scheme.
  • Through this App, four units of blood can be requisitioned at a time and the blood bank will wait for as long as 12 hours for the person to collect it. This app makes it easy for those in need to request for Blood units.

MSDE Ministry, IBM unveil Free Digital Learning Platform to reach job seekers
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in partnership with IBM has unveiled Free Digital Learning Platform ‘Skills Build Reignite’ to reach more job seekers and provide new resources to business owners in India.

  • Directorate General of Training, DGT, under the aegis of MSDE has also announced a 10-week duration Skills Build Innovation Camp for students, providing hands on project experience, enhanced learning and increased employability.

NIT Jalandhar develops apparatus to kill coronavirus 
An apparatus for ultraviolet sterilization of surfaces has been developed by Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology in Jalandhar to kill coronavirus. 

  • Fitted with ultraviolet radiation source, it can kill micro organisms of the likes of coronavirus and other bacteria.
  • This can be used to disinfect trains, railway stations, airports, shopping malls, offices, isolation wards of hospitals, etc.
  • The device is jointly invented by NIT Director Lalit Kumar Awasthi and his colleague Kuldeep Singh Nagla, Associate Professor, Department of Instrumentation and Control Engineering


OBITUARIES

‘Batman’ director Joel Schumacher passes away 
Director Joel Schumacher, who is known for the film St Elmo’s Fire, two Batman movies, and Falling Down, passed away in New York. He was 80.

  • Schumacher started off as a costume designer for 1970s films. Schumacher then turned writer in the late ‘70s on Sparkle, Car Wash and film adaptation of Broadway musical The Wiz, and made his directorial debut in 1981 with sci-fi comedy The Incredible Shrinking Woman, featuring Lily Tomlin in the lead.
  • He is also credited for nurturing rising talent at the time like Matthew McConaughey (A Time To Kill), Colin Farrell (Phone Booth), Demi Moore and Rob Lowe (St Elmo’s Fire), Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera), among others

Trinamool MLA Tamonash Ghosh passes away
Trinamool Congress MLA Tamonash Ghosh, who had tested positive for Covid-19 last month, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Wednesday. He was 60

  • The three-time MLA from the Falta Assembly constituency of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal.


IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
International Day Against Drug Abuse And Illicit Trafficking is celebrated on June 26 every year.

  • The theme for this year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is “Better Knowledge for Better Care”. 
  • The theme emphasizes the need to improve the understanding of the world drug problem and how in turn, better knowledge will foster greater international cooperation for countering its impact on health, governance and security


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