Daily Current Affairs 8th July, 2023

Daily Current Affairs 8 July 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Odisha launches ‘Mo Jungle Jami Yojana’ for forest dwellers 
The Odisha government has announced the launch of the “Mo Jungle Jami Yojana” (MJJY) scheme, aimed at effectively implementing the provisions of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006.

• If successfully implemented, Odisha will become the first state to be fully compliant with the Forest Rights Act, covering.
• The scheme will provide land ownership and access to forest resources, improving livelihoods and food security for the Scheduled Tribe and forest-dwelling population. It includes the digitization of records, conversion of unsurveyed and zero area villages into revenue villages, and the establishment of Forest Rights Cells for monitoring and review.

Tamil Nadu police introduces new scheme called ‘Pengal Pathukaaptu Thittam’
The Tamil Nadu Police launched a new initiative ‘Pengal Pathukappu Thittam’, giving top priority to the matter of women safety in the state.

• Under this, women travelling alone in remote locations can seek police assistance anytime if they feel unsafe.
• The police have also launched a helpline for women travelling alone at night between 10 pm and 6 am. The helpline numbers are 1091, 112, 044-23452365 and 044-28447701.

Viruses hit yield in Maharashtra and Karnataka, says report
Tomato prices have soared up to Rs 100 to Rs 150 in just one week leaving consumers baffled across the country. The reason behind the price hike was reportedly crop losses due to pest attacks and spoiled crops in the months of March and April.

• Two types of viruses, cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), and tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), were found to have attacked tomato crops in Maharashtra and Karnataka which has impacted the yield.

Mudra loans disbursal up 23% at ₹81,597 crore in Q1
The disbursal of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) loans increased 23 per cent to ₹81,597 crore in the first quarter of FY24, compared to ₹62,650 crore in the same quarter last year.

• This is the highest-ever increase in disbursals in the first quarter since the launch of the scheme, driven by increased demand for the Tarun category of loans.
• In the last financial year, the disbursements of small business loans under PMMY reached an all-time high of ₹4.50-lakh crore, marking a 34.7% growth over the previous year.

Gujarat government doubles Insurance Cover
In Gujarat, the state government has doubled the insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana from the 11th of July. Now, the beneficiaries of PMAY will get an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakhs instead of the earlier 5 lakhs.

• The State Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said the decision will benefit nearly 1.78 crore Ayushman Bharat card holders in the state. He added that the beneficiaries will get a free of cost medical treatment over two thousand government hospitals and 795 private hospitals in the state under PMAY.
• The state ranks fifth in the country in terms of number of claims and has secured second position in terms of amount of claims cleared under PMAY so far. The claims worth over 2800 crore have been cleared in the state so far.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India joins champions group of Global Crisis Response Group: MEA
India has joined the Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) at the invitation of the UN Secretary-General. The GCRG was established in March 2022 to address urgent global issues in food security, energy, and finance, and to coordinate a global response.

• The MEA said the decision to join the group reflects India’s increasing global leadership and commitment addressing contemporary challenges.

Dutch Government Collapses Amid Row Over Migrants’ Entry Curbs
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government collapsed over “insurmountable” differences on how to tackle migration, with elections expected in November.

• Rutte, 56, the Netherlands’ longest-serving leader and one of Europe’s most experienced politicians, said days of crisis talks between the four parties failed to produce a deal.

BANKING & FINANCE

Airtel Payments Bank, Park+ partner for FASTag-based smart parking solution at Varanasi airport
Airtel Payments Bank, a FASTag issuer, has collaborated with Park+ to enable FASTag-based smart parking solution at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport. 

• The FASTag-based smart parking solution enables automatic cashless payments at airport parking, making vehicle movement in the parking zone frictionless and time efficient.
• The parking fee payment is deducted through the valid FASTag associated with the vehicle, a process that reduces time required to make the payment.

RBI issues draft circular for credit card network portability
From 1 October,  all credit card, debit card and prepaid card customers in India will be able to port their networks. Just as you can port  your mobile networks between Vodafone, Jio and Airtel, now card users would be able to port from Visa to MasterCard to RuPay or any other network or vice-versa of their choice.

• The Reserve Bank of India  has issued a new circular that empowers debit, credit, and prepaid card users to select their preferred card network, which challenges the existing practice where card network options are predetermined by agreements between issuers and networks
• Currently, when you apply for a debit or credit card, you usually don’t get to choose the network provider as it is decided by the card issuer.

RBI cancels licenses of two co-operative banks
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it has cancelled the banking licenses of two co-operative banks in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

• The licenses of Malkapur Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd, Buldhana and Shushruti Souharda Sahakara Bank Niyamita, Bengaluru have been cancelled.
• The two co-operative banks ceased to carry on banking business with effect from the close of business, RBI said in two separate statements.

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