Daily Current Affairs 30th June, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 30 June 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India first country to control locusts through drones
The Union Ministry of Agriculture said that India is the first country to control locust by using drones after finalising the protocols and getting all statutory approvals.

• Major operations are concentrated in Rajasthan where maximum resources are committed.
• All the groups of locust swarms are being tracked by teams of the state agriculture departments of Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, local administrations and officials of the Central Locust Warning Organisation, and control operations are underway.

Chhattisgarh becomes the first state of the country to procure cowdung for welfare of cattle owners
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced the launch of ‘Godhan Nyay Yojana’ in the state.

• The scheme aims to make animal husbandry commercially profitable, prevent open grazing by cattle and solve the problem of stray animals on roads and for environment conservation.
• The scheme is expected to boost the efforts made by the state government to strengthen the rural economy.

BRO rebuilds bridge on Munsyari Milam Road near Indo -China Border in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand
In Uttarakhand , a crucial bridge on the Munsyari Milam Road near the Indo -China Border in Pithoragarh which was collapsed recently, has been rebuilt by the Border Road Organisation(BRO) in a record time of five days.

• The bridge collapsed when an earthmover was being taken across the bridge.
• The 100 feet long bridge with a capacity of carrying weight of around 30 tonnes, is the only route for movement of Army and ITBP personnel to the higher Himalayan posts along the china border.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

G20 Extraordinary Virtual Education Ministers’ Meet
Union Minister of Human Resource and Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank represented India in the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Education Minister’s Meet under the presidency of Saudi Arabia.

• The virtual meet was organized to address the disruption caused in education sectors in G20 nations due to the outbreak of pandemic COVID-19.
• The G20 countries assured to take collaborative measures to improve learning process in the nations.

BANKING & FINANCE

World Bank allocates $500m for road improvement work in Bangladesh
The World Bank has allocated $500m for road improvement work along the Jashore-Jhenaidah corridor in western Bangladesh.

• The international financial institution is supporting a $1.4bn programme to convert the 110km two-lane road, Bhomra-Satkhira-Navaron and Jahore-Jhenaidah, to a four-lane highway.
• This project will unlock the region’s potential by stimulating the economy of districts, linking farms to markets, connecting Dhaka with the western region as well as with neighbouring countries, thus enhancing trade, transit and logistics along the corridor.

PhonePe partners with ICICI on UPI Multi-Bank
Flipkart-owned PhonePe said it has partnered with ICICI Bank on UPI multi-bank model, giving its users the option to create and use multiple UPI IDs with ICICI Bank’s “@ibl” handle and YES Bank’s ‘@ybl’ handle on the PhonePe app.

• This addition, in partnership with ICICI Bank, enables quick and contactless payments to over 200 million registered PhonePe users.

YES Bank launches full service digital savings account
India-based Yes Bank has launched a full service digital savings account with video KYC facility as part of its strategy to build up a transformed digital bank.

• The digital savings account includes virtual Debit Card that can be used for online transactions, fund transfers and shopping.
• This new initiative will eliminate the need for the branch visit, physical documentation or any in-person interaction while ensuring physical distancing for customers.

SBI working on setting up e-commerce portal ‘Bharat Craft’ for MSMEs
State Bank of India is working on setting up an e-commerce portal for marketing of products manufactured by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

• The portal called Bharat Craft would be jointly run by the bank and the government.

RBL Bank’s chatbot ‘RBL Cares’, now enables banking transactions
RBL Bank has now enabled additional banking transactions and added a host of new features to ‘RBL Cares’, its AI-powered conversational Chatbot that can provide real-time customer service assistance on a range of questions related to banking and credit card products and services.

• The Chatbot has been built in partnership with Senseforth.ai, a leader in the Conversational AI space.
• RBL Cares also enables them to check account balance, credit card balance & statement; block/ unblock debit & credit card, manage beneficiaries, request a cheque book, request stop payment, enable/disable international transaction on credit card, update email ID, reset PIN and find their credit score. The new feature facilitates transactions like fund transfers via NEFT or IMPS.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Sidbi sets up fund to facilitate free onboarding of MSMEs on TReDS platform
Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) said it has set up a fund to support free onboarding for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on trade receivables discounting system (TReDS).

• The free onboarding of MSMEs would be available till September-end. 
• The fund, Swavalamban Crisis Responsive Fund, is an open-ended fund and the target is to onboard 10,000 MSMEs during the period.

Bengaluru included in world’s top 30 startup ecosystem list
Indian’s startup capital Bengaluru has been ranked 26th spot in the world’s top 30 startup ecosystems.

•  Topped by the Silicon Valley in California, Bengaluru is at the and the only India city to feature in the list by ‘The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2020’ by Startup Genome.
• While Delhi is in the runner-up category at the 36th spot, Mumbai ranks first in the list of top 100 emerging ecosystem ranking. The list of emerging startup hubs also includes Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

Hindustan Zinc launches “Koi Bacha Rahe Na Bhookha” campaign
Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), in association with Government’s Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), has launched “Koi Bacha Rahe Na Bhookha” campaign – aimed at improving the health and well-being of the children in the age group of 0-6 years across 3089+ Anganwadis in Rajasthan.

• Through this campaign, HZL aims to break the chain of malnutrition and provide good health for children, lactating women and families, who have been severely impacted by the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic.

SPORTS

World Athletics launches ‘Road to Tokyo’ qualification tracking tool
World Athletics has launched ‘Road to Tokyo’, an online tool to help athletes, media and fans to track the qualification process for next year’s Olympic Games.

• Searchable by discipline, country and qualification status, the tool will provide a real-time view of each event over the course of the Tokyo 2020 qualification period which ends on June 29, 2021

Bangladesh Cricket Board launches ‘COVID-19 well-being’ app for players
In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has come up with an app to help its players track symptoms related to coronavirus. 

• The ”Covid-19 Wellness” app has been launched keeping in mind players welfare and bringing them under one umbrella.
• This app will help the players maintain their fitness and for the board to keep their records and track of their fitness and health status

APPOINTMENTS

Micheal Martin becomes Ireland’s new Prime Minister
Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin has been elected as the new Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland following the formation of a historic coalition government.

•  As per reports, the 59-year-old was elected Irish PM at a special parliamentary meeting in Dublin.
• Mr. Martin replaces Leo Varadkar, a doctor who drew acclaim for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak but who had been a caretaker prime minister since a February general election delivered a loss of seats for his party but no clear winner.

AWARDS

Ex-RBI governor Rangarajan gets lifetime achievement award on Stats Day
Former Reserve Bank of India governor C Rangarajan conferred with the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to statistics on the occasion of Statistics Day.

• Besides heading RBI and the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council, Rangarajan was chairman of the National Statistical Commission, set up in 2000 to review the statistical system.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Russia plans to take first tourist on space walk in 2023
Russia’s Energia space corporation said it will take the first tourist on a space walk in 2023, under the terms of a new contract with a US partner.

• Energia has inked a contract with Space Adventures, which promises to take two space tourists to the International Space Station that year.
• The announcement comes days after NASA signed a deal with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism company to promote private missions to the station after a special training program in the US.

Battery Swapping Facility Quick Interchange Service launched in Chandigarh
V P Singh Badnore, Governor of Punjab-cum-Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, along with the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated Battery Swapping Facility Quick Interchange Service (QIS) at Chandigarh. 

• Battery swapping technology offers the best alternative to slow charging and helps the drivers to make optimum use of the operational hours.
• The battery swapping model is initially targeted at the commercial segment, i.e., electric autos, rickshaws and electric 2W also and the electric vehicle which is either factory fitted or retrofitted.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Noted poet Dr. Adyasha Das releases poetry anthology “The Yogini Poems: Love and Life “
Dr. Adyasha Das, well-known poet from Odisha has released her fourth book of poems, “The Yogini Poems: Love and Life”, based on the Chausathi Yoginis of Hirapur.

• Her first non-fiction book on the Yoginis , “The Chausathi Yoginis of Hirapur: from Tantra toTourism” went on to earn the tag of Amazon Bestseller and remained among the top ten for four consecutive months.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Statistics Day
National Statistics Day is observed on June 29. The main aim of marking this day is to make statistics popular in an individual’s daily life.

• The day is observed in India on the birth anniversary of PC Mahalanobis, remembered as the ‘Father of Statistics’ in India.
• The theme of the day this year is Sustainable Development Goals -3 (Ensure healthy lie and promote well-being for all at all ages) and Sustainable Development Goals-5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls).

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