Daily GK Updates - 24th May, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Jagan Mohan Reddy to Be sworn in as CM of Andhra Pradesh : In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy will be sworn in as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on 30th of May at Vijayawada. Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy has announced this following his party achieving inching towards a landslide victory in the legislative elections for Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly held on April 11th. He will replace N Chandrababu Naidu who has resigned as Andhra Pradesh CM.

2. NHA to collaborate with cancer grid: In the first such move to bring in uniform standards of patient care to battle cancer, the National Health Authority (NHA) and National Cancer Grid (NCG) have signed an MoU under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The NHA and NCG will now jointly review existing cancer treatment packages, pricing of services, and standard treatment workflows covered under the AB-PMJAY, and plug-in necessary gaps to ensure enhanced quality of cancer care. Indu Bhushan is a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY and the National Health Authority.

3. MoU Signed between DBT and DAE on Cancer Research: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Ministry of Science and Technologyand Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), under Prime Minister of India, has signed an MoU for supporting joint collaborative research programmes in the area of Cancer. The DAE was represented by its Tata Memorial Centre, which also functions as coordinating centre on behalf of The National Cancer Grid of India.

4. Cabinet passes a resolution for dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha: Day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) recorded a landslide victory in the Lok Sabha elections, the present Cabinet and Union Council of Ministers met for the last time on Friday and passed a resolution for dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. The tenure for the present Lok Sabha ends on June 3. Prime Minister Modi would now meet President Ram Nath Kovind who is the Head of the Parliament and hand over the resolution. The process to constitute 17th Lok Sabha would begin after the Election Commissioners meet President Kovind and hand over the list of newly elected members.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. British PM Theresa May Announces Resignation: British Prime Minister Theresa May announces resignation from her post. She will resign on 7 June. Her announcement triggers the start of a contest to replace her as Conservative leader and Prime Minister. 

2. Adani Ports to set up first container terminal outside India in Myanmar: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will set up its first container terminal outside India in Myanmar at an estimated cost of USD 290 million (over Rs 2,000 crore). The company signed an agreement to develop and operate a container terminal at Yangon Port in Myanmar. Construction for phase one of the project will commence next month and will be completed by June 2021.

3. ADB to Provide USD 750 Million Loan To India For Railway Track Electrification: Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it has signed an agreement to provide USD 750 million equivalent in Indian rupee long-term financing to electrify railway tracks in India. It is the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) to fund the railways track electrification project.

Note: Takehiko Nakao is the President of the Asian Development Bank. Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.

4. India stopped importing oil from Iran after US waivers expired: India has stopped importing oil from Iran after American waivers granted to eight buyers expired early this month. This was stated by Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla at a news conference in Washington. With this India became the latest country to comply with the US sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear programme.

Note: The US re-imposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers. To reduce Iran's crude oil export to zero, the US ended on May 2 waivers that had allowed the top buyers of Iranian oil, including India, to continue their imports for six months.

5. SCO Meeting Of Council Of Foreign Ministers Held In Bishkek: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj represented India in the meeting of Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to be held in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi also attended the meeting.

Note: The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. India became a full member of the China-dominated grouping in 2017. Along with India, Pakistan was also granted the SCO membership in 2017.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. India to face New Zealand in the warm-up game of ICC World Cup: In Cricket, India will take on New Zealand in their opening warm-up game of the ICC World Cup in Londonon 25^th May. The match will begin at 3 pm (Indian Standard Time). The Men in Blue, second behind England in the ODI rankings, will start the tournament among the favourites alongside the hosts and defending champions Australia. Team India, which had won the tournament in 1983 and 2011, will begin their campaign in tournament proper against South Africa in Southampton on the 5th of next month. The opening game will be played between England and South Africa in London on the 30th of this month.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. SEBI, IRDAI Set up Regulatory Sandbox For Fintech Innovations: After the Reserve Bank of India released a draft framework for setting up a regulatory sandbox (RS) for fintech players in the counter, the market and insurance regulators  SEBI and IRDAI have also launched similar initiatives. RS is an infrastructure that helps fintech players live test their products or solutions, before getting the necessary regulatory approvals for a mass launch. It saves start-ups time and cost. 

Note: SEBI Headquarter: Mumbai, Chairperson: Ajay Tyagi. IRDAI Chairman- Subhash Chandra Khuntia, Headquarters in- Hyderabad.

2. India’s economy to grow 7.5% by 2020: OECD Report: According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Economic Outlook report, India's economic growth will regain strength and approach 7.5% by 2020 buoyed by rural consumption and subdued inflation. As per the report, Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India is projected to strengthen to close to 7.25% in FY19. The report suggested that an improved collection of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and a wider base of personal income tax will help reduce the high public debt-to-GDP ratio.

3. Bank credit to the infra sector grows 18.5% in FY19: RBI data: Bank credit to the infrastructure sector grew by 18.5 per cent to Rs 10.55 lakh crore as of 2018-19, the highest since 2012-13 fiscal, RBI data showed. Outstanding bank credit to the sector was Rs 8.91 lakh crore as at March 2018. In the fiscal year ended March 2013, loans to infrastructure sector had grown by 15.83 per cent to Rs 7.29 lakh crore. In FY18 and FY17, growth in bank credit to the sector was negative at 1.7 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively. In FY19, total bank credit rose 13.24 per cent and deposits grew by 10.03 per cent.

4. RBI Allows Modern Currency Chests to Hike Service Charges: The Reserve Bank of India has announced that it will allow large modern currency chests to increase the service charges on cash deposited by non-chest bank branches from the existing rate of Rs 5 per packet of 100 pieces to a higher rate subject to a maximum of Rs 8 per packet. For this, only a currency chest (CC) that fulfils the minimum standards will be eligible to be classified as a large modern CC

5. Axis Bank announces ED appointments: Axis Bank said its board has approved the reappointment of Rajiv Anand as Executive Director (wholesale banking) and Rajesh Dahiya as Executive Director (corporate centre) for three years each from August 4, 2019, to August 3, 2022. The board also approved the appointment of Pralay Mondal as Director and Whole-Time Director designated as Executive Director (retail banking) for a three-year period from August 1, 2019, to July 31, 2022.