Daily Current Affairs 7th July, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 7 July 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Central government creates a new Ministry of Cooperation
Ahead of the much awaited cabinet expansion, the Union government announced the creation of a new ministry named the Ministry of Co-operation to implement the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’ or prosperity through cooperation.

• As per a government functionary aware of the developments, the ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
• The ministry will work to streamline processes for ease of doing business for co-operatives and enable development of Multi-State Co-operatives (MSCS).

India’s First FASTag-based Parking Facility Launched at Delhi’s Kashmere Gate Metro Station
As part of its multimodal integration of transport services initiative, the DMRC launched the country’s first FASTag-based cashless parking facility at the busy Kashmere Gate metro station in north Delhi.

•  The parking facility would also be the country’s first to accept payment via the UPI (unified payments interface) mode.
• This exclusively cashless parking facility, located at gate number 6 of the metro station, can accommodate 55 four-wheelers and 174 two-wheelers.

Delhi Govt Launches Financial Assistance Scheme for Families of Covid Victims
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a scheme and an online portal to provide financial assistance to families who lost their loved ones to Covid-19 and asked officials not to find faults in their claim applications.

• Under the ‘Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana’, Rs 50,000 ex gratia will be given to every family that lost a member to Covid-19 and an additional Rs 2,500 per month will be given if the deceased was the sole breadwinner.
• The government will also consider a single member of the affected family to be enrolled as a civil defence volunteer.There is no income criterion to apply for financial assistance under the scheme.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

First unit of Rampal Maitree Power project to be commissioned in Dec 2021
In Bangladesh, the first unit of the Maitree Power Project at Rampal will be commissioned in December this year, coinciding with the country’s Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Liberation. An official press release issued in Delhi said this after the virtual meeting between the Power Secretaries of India and Bangladesh.

• The second unit is expected to be commissioned matching with the implementation of the associated transmission system.

BANKING & FINANCE

Paytm launches ‘Postpaid Mini’ to provide small-ticket instant loans
Digital payments and financial services platform Paytm announced the launch of Postpaid Mini, small ticket loans that will give users flexibility to access loans ranging from Rs 250 – Rs 1,000, in partnership with Aditya Birla Finance Ltd.

• The product is an extension of its Buy Now, Pay Later service, driving affordability amongst those new to credit.
• With this service, Paytm Postpaid is offering a period of up to 30 days for repayment of loans at 0 per cent interest. There are no annual fees or activation charges, only a minimal convenience fee.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

GST Collection Dips Below Rs 1 Lakh Crore In June
GST collection dipped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June after staying above that mark for eight consecutive months.

• Centre mopped up Rs 92,849 crore GST for the month of June of which CGST is Rs 16,424 crore, SGST is Rs 20,397 crore, IGST is Rs 49,079 crore (including Rs 25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 6,949 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods).

SPORTS

Mary Kom, Manpreet Singh To Be India’s Flag-Bearers At Tokyo Olympics
Legendary boxer MC Mary Kom and men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh to be flag bearers at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics, Indian Olympic Association said.

• One of India’s biggest hopes, wrestler Bajrang Punia will be flag bearer at the closing ceremony on August 8.
• In a first, India is having two flag-bearers — one male and one female — at the upcoming Tokyo Games to ensure “gender parity”.

APPOINTMENTS

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari becomes Brand Ambassador of Khadi Prakritik Paint
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari has become Brand Ambassador of Khadi Prakritik Paint.

• Mr Gadkari said, he will promote this paint across the country to encourage young entrepreneurs to take up the manufacturing of cow dung paint.

Ministers Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Pokhriyal resign ahead of cabinet reshuffle
Union ministers Harsh Vardhan and Ramesh Pokhriyal have resigned ahead of the cabinet reshuffle. The expanded Union cabinet is set to be sworn in at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Durbar Hall with only 50 invitations issued for event amid Covid protocols.

• Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar, Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, MoS WCD Deboshree Chaudhary, and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sadanand Gowda resigned ahead of the cabinet expansion. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar have also resigned.
• Other Union Ministers to quit are: Thaawarchand Gehlot, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Babul Supriyo, Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Rattan Lal Kataria, Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Debasree Chaudhuri.

AWARDS

PM Modi on ‘press freedom predators’ list of media watchdog RSF with 36 other world leaders
Global media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontières has named Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its list of 37 heads of states who massively cracked down on press freedom. The watchdog labelled them as “press freedom predators”.

• Apart from Modi, this year’s list featured North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán were the new entrants to the list.
• Modi has been on Reporters Sans Frontières’ “press freedom predators” gallery ever since he took office in 2014.

Air Transport World Names Korean Air 2021 Airline of the Year
Korean Air was selected as the “2021 Airline of the Year” called the Oscar in the aviation industry by Air Transport World (ATW), an aviation media. The awards ceremony will be held in Boston on October 5.

• The ATW’s Airlines of the Year award has a huge honour that called the Oscar in the global aviation industry.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

J&K administration accords sanction to uploading of Geo tagged photographs through ‘PROOF’ mobile app
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory Administration accorded sanction to uploading of Geo tagged photographs through ‘PROOF’ (Photographic Record of On-site Facility) mobile application while preferring bills in the concerned Treasuries against the budget allotted through BEAMS application.

• As per an order issued by the Finance Department, necessary training and hand-holding will be immediately provided to all the DDOs enabling them to upload photographs through this application from 15th of this month.
• The order further states that no bills shall be entertained in the treasuries from 1st of August onwards unless photographs are uploaded through the aforesaid application.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh launches Online Course Mobile App Matsya Setu
Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Giriraj Singh, launched the Online Course Mobile App Matsya Setu.The app has been developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board, Hyderabad.

• The online course app aims to disseminate the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country.
• The app has species-wise or subject-wise self-learning online course modules, where renowned aquaculture experts explain the basic concepts and practical demonstrations on breeding, seed production and grow-out culture of commercially important fishes like carp, catfish, scampi, murrel, ornamental fish and pearl farming.

OBITUARIES

Legendary Actor Dilip Kumar passes away
Legendary actor Dilip Kumar, who was popularly known as the tragedy king of Bollywood, passed away. He was 98.

• In a career spanning over five decades, he worked in over 65 films. He is known for roles in films such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the social drama Daag (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the epic historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960), the social dacoit crime drama Gunga Jamuna (1961), and the comedy Ram Aur Shyam (1967).

‘Superman’ Director Richard Donner passes away
Ace filmmaker Richard Donner, best known for helming the original ‘Superman’ film, ‘Lethal Weapon’ film series and ‘The Goonies’, has passed away at the age of 91.

•  The legend got his first big directing break with the 1976 cult classic horror film ‘The Omen’, which solidified his foothold in the industry and led to his next major studio film, ‘Superman’ (also the original) that paved the path for countless other flicks, including ‘Goonies’, and all of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movie series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.

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