Daily GK Updates - 27th June, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Govt to provide broadband connectivity under BharatNet project to all gram panchayats: According to Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Government plans to provide broadband connectivity under ‘BharatNet Project’ to all gram panchayats in the country. One lakh 28 thousand 870 Gram panchayats have been connected with optical fibre till date. Under BharatNet project, the last mile connectivity is to be provided at all the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats in the country. Phase I of the project was completed in December 2017, and one lakh gram panchayats were made service ready. Phase II is under implementation, and a total of 2 lakh gram panchayats are targeted to be completed by March 2020.

Note: BharatNet is a project of national importance to establish, by 2017,a highly scalable network infrastructure accessible on a non-discriminatory basis, to provide on-demand, affordable broadband connectivity for all households in partnership with States and the private sector. The objective of the project is to facilitate the delivery of e-governance, e-health, e-education, e-banking, Internet and other services to rural India.

2. MoA signed to set up Centre for Inland & Coastal Maritime Technology at IIT Kharagpur: Ministry of Shipping and IIT Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for setting up the Centre for Inland and Coastal Maritime Technology. According to Shipping Minister Mr. Mandaviya, the MoA will further the dream of Make in India and reduce the recurring cost incurred in the import of technology. The Centre will focus on indigenisation of ship designing, building and testing. Currently, only Germany, the Netherlands, Russia and Belgium have model testing facilities for ships.

3. 'Swachhta Pakhwada’ observed by MNRE from 1-15 June: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and institutions under it observed Swachhta Pakhwada (cleanliness fortnight) from 1st June to 15th June 2019. During this period, MNRE undertook various activities such as Shramdan (cleanliness drive) by staff, lectures and seminars.

Note: Minister of State (IC) of MNRE: Raj Kumar Singh

4. Meenakshi Lekhi Writes her first Novel ‘The New Delhi Conspiracy’: BJP MP & Supreme Court lawyer Meenakshi Lekhi has written her debut novel titled ‘The New Delhi Conspiracy’. The book has been co-authored by Krishna Kumar who works with her and is published by Harper Collins India, is slated for release on 8th July. Meenakshi Lekhi is a Lok Sabha member from South Delhi and is a Supreme Court lawyer.

5. The Rahimatpur Police station in Satara tops SMART survey: The Rahimatpur police station in Satara district in Maharashtra has emerged as the State topper in a survey based on the ‘SMART’ policing concept. ‘SMART’: Strict and sensitive, modern and mobile, alert and accountable, reliable and responsive, techno-savvy and trained. The survey was executed by the Quality Council of India.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. PM Narendra Modi reaches Osaka for G20 Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the Japanese city of Osaka to attend the G20 Summit which will be held tomorrow and the day after. On the sidelines of the summit, Mr Modi will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe (today) and US President Donald Trump (tomorrow) and discuss important issues of bilateral and global importance. The Prime Minister will attend nearly 30 programmes during his 57 hours stay on this visit. The summit under the Japanese presidency is centred around the theme "Human centred future society". G-20 summit will provide an important opportunity to reiterate and reinforce India’s strong support to reformed multilateralism.

Note: The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union. The members of G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Collectively, the G20 economies account for nearly 90% of the gross world product, 80% of world trade, two-thirds of the world population, and approximately half of the world land area. The G20 Summit is formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo, Currency: Japanese yen, PM: Shinzo Abe.

2. Meeting of Expert Working Group of Paris Pact Initiative to be held in New Delhi: The Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance is hosting a Meeting of Expert Working Group on Paris Pact Initiative in New Delhi. The meeting focuses on Illicit Financial Flows deriving from the trafficking of Opiates originating in Afghanistan. The Meeting is being organised with the support of United Nations Office on Drugs & Crimes. The Meeting will be attended by the representatives of the Member Countries of Paris Pact, Regional Representatives of UNODC and Senior Officers of the Indian agencies like DRI, ED and NCB.

Note: Director Genereal of UNODC: Yury Fedotov.

3. Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises Day: 27 June: The United Nations observe 27 June as the Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises Day. Since 2017, Micro, small and Medium-sized businesses celebrate this day in recognition of their work in local and global economies. These enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons, are the backbone of most economies worldwide. International Trade Center, United Nations will launch its flagship report: "The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2019: Big money for small businesses". The Government of India (GoI) has also organized a National Conclave (Udyam Sangam) to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of the MSME ecosystem.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Lewis Hamilton Wins France Grand Prix 2019: Mercedes Driver Lewis Hamilton wins France Grand Prix 2019. This is his sixth triumph in eight races in this season.

2. IOC strips world boxing body AIBA of Olympic status: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped Olympic status from the troubled world boxing body AIBA (Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur) Now, IOC will organize qualifying and final tournaments for the 2020 Tokyo Games. IOC members had voted to endorse the executive board's recommendation last month to suspend AIBA's Olympic status. Olympic inquiry panel chairman Nenad Lalovic said that AIBA had created very serious reputational, legal and financial risks for the IOC and its American stakeholders. It is cut off from future income from Tokyo revenues, and the 2019 world championships for men and women in Russia are no longer Olympic qualifiers.

3. Narinder Batra elected as IOC member: Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra has been elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee. He secured 58 votes out of 62. Narinder Batra now has a rare distinction of becoming a member of the IOC, while heading a National Olympic Committee as well as an international federation.  He is the first Indian to have this distinction.

Note: President of IOC: Thomas Bach

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. RBI advises all banks to accept coins of all denominations: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised all banks to immediately direct all their branches to accept coins of all denominations. RBI's advisory came after it received complaints about non-acceptance of coins by branches of various banks. Reserve Bank advised all banks to accept coins of all denominations tendered at their counters for transactions or exchange and ensure strict compliance in the matter.

2. Data related to payments to be stored only in India: RBI: According to The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), all data related to payments must be stored in systems located only in India. Data processed abroad will have to be brought back to the country within 24 hours. In April 2018, The RBI had issued a directive on 'Storage of Payment System Data'. It had advised all system providers to ensure that within a period of six months, the entire data relating to payment systems operated by them is stored in a system only in India. The complete end-to-end transaction details should be part of the data. In case the processing is done abroad, the data should be from the systems abroad and brought back to India not later than the one business day or 24 hours from payment processing, whichever is earlier.

3. CBDT directs I-T dept to share info of loan defaulters with banks: The Central Board of Direct Taxes has directed the Income Tax Department to share in "public interest" the details of assets and accounts of all such loan defaulters whose details are requested by the public sector banks. The policy move is aimed to tighten the noose on such entities and extract recovery of public money.

Note: Chairman of CBDT: P.C. Mody

4. Max Bupa partners with MobiKwik for health insurance: Health insurance provider Max Bupa partners with fintech platform MobiKwik to promote bite sized group health insurance products for MobiKwik’s 107 million customers across the country. Bite-sized insurance offerings are over the counter health insurance products, primarily targeted towards working professionals and millennials.

Note: CEO of Mobikwik: Bipin Preet Singh.

OBITUARIES

1. Actor-director Vijaya Nirmala passes away: Veteran actor-filmmaker Vijaya Nirmala (75-years) passed away in Hyderabad at Continental hospital, Gachibowli due to a heart attack. Vijaya Nirmala (born in Tamil Nadu) worked as actress, producer, and director known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema. She acted in more than 200 films in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. In 2008, she received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for her contributions to Telugu cinema.

2. Eminent social activist Jharna Dhara Chowdhury passes away: Eminent Social Activist Jharna Dhara Chowdhury passed away in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She was deeply influenced by the Gandhian principles of non-violence and communal harmony. In recognition of her work, Jharna Dhara Chowdhury was honoured with Padma Shri (in 2013) and Jamnalal Bajaj award (in 1998).

She also received many other prestigious awards like Begum Rokeya Padak, Gandhi Seva Puraskar and Ekushey Padak.

Note: Jharna Dhara Chowdhury was born on 15th October 1938 at Lakshmipur. She devoted her whole life to promoting peace, communal harmony and social justice. The Gandhi Ashram Trust in Jayag, Noakhali conducts a skill-enhancing training programme for women to boost their income and provides free education to poor children.