Daily GK Updates - 29th June, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Five-year vision plan EQUIP finalised and released by HRD Ministry: The Department of Higher Education of HRD Ministry has finalized and released a five year vision plan named Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme. The Expert Groups have set the following goals for higher education sector: Double the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education and resolve the geographically and socially skewed access o higher education institutions in India. Upgrade the quality of education to global standards. Promote Research & Innovation ecosystems for positioning India in the Top-3 countries in the world in matters of knowledge creation. Double the employability of the students passing out of higher education. Harness education technology for expanding the reach and improving pedagogy. Promote India as a global study destination.

Note: Union Minister of HRD Ministry of India: Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'.

2. Govt cuts interest rate on small savings schemes: The GoI has reduced interest rates for small savings schemes by 10 basis points for the July-September quarter of the 2019-20 financial years. Some schemes that will fetch lower interest rates are Kisan Vikas Patra (7.6%), Public Provident Fund (7.9%), Sukanya Samriddhi Account (8.4%).

3. Haryana CM announces annual health assistance to 'loktantra senanis': Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced an annual financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to "loktantra senanis" or their spouse. Under this, they will be provided treatment at private or government hospitals. The term "emergency victim" on their identity cards would be replaced with "loktantra senani". "Loktantra senanis" are those people who were imprisoned during the 1975-77Emergency under preventive detention laws.

Note: Haryana Capital: Chandigarh, Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar; Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya.

4. First Resilient Kerala Program: The GoI, the Government of Kerala and the World Bank have signed the Loan Agreement of USD 250 million for the First Resilient Kerala Program. The program will focus on strengthening the state's institutional and financial capacity to protect the assets and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable groups. The New Program is part of ‘Rebuild Kerala Development Programme’ aimed at building a green and resilient Kerala.

Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor: P. Sathasivam.

5. FIEO elects Sharad Kumar Saraf as new president: Exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has elected Sharad Kumar Saraf as its new president. Sharad Kumar Saraf will replace renowned exporter Ganesh Kumar Gupta.

6. National Statistics Day: 29 June: The “Statistics Day” is being observed every year on 29th June in India to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. The theme of Statistics Day, 2019 is “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The theme has been chosen for intensive and focused discussions towards filling the data gaps and improvement of timelines/quality in SDGs. The day acknowledges the notable contribution of Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning. The main function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, chaired by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation and Ministry of Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh.

Note: Indian scientist and applied statistician ‘Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis’ (29 June 1893 – 28 June 1972) remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He was also one of the members of the first Planning Commission of India.

7. West Bengal launches free crop insurance scheme for farmers: West Bengal government has announced a crop insurance scheme ‘Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB)’ in collaboration with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) for the 2019 kharif season. The scheme ‘BSB’ is applicable for farmers in 15 districts - Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur, Malda, Hooghly, Nadia, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Purulia, Dakshin Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. The crop insurance scheme would be free of cost for the farmers since the government will pay the full premium. The crops that will come under insurance are aman paddy, aus paddy, jute and maize.

8. ISRO forms new PSU to commercially exploit technology, launch satellites: The ISRO has formed a public sector undertaking (PSU) named as the New Space India Limited (NSIL). It will commercially exploit the research and development work of the space agency, co-produce PSLV and launch satellites through SSLVs. The functions of NSIL will involve small satellite technology transfer to industry, manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV). The new company will also look after the production and marketing of space-based products and services, including launch an application, developed by ISRO Centres. Antrix Corporation Ltd is another PSU under the Department of Space that acts as a commercial arm of the ISRO.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. International Day of the Tropics: 29 June: The United Nations observe 29 June as International Day of the Tropics. The International Day of the Tropics celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities the Tropical nations face.

Note: United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA. It was founded on 24 October 1945. Mr Antonio Guterres of Portugal is the Secretary General of the United Nations.

2. India signs USD 400M loan agreement with World Bank to eliminate TB: World Bank India has signed a loan agreement worth 400 million dollars with the World Bank to help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) from the country. The World Bank supported program will cover nine States and it will support the government's National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025. The Program will provide financial incentives to private sector care providers for reporting cases of TB and ensuring that their patients complete the treatment regimen. According to the Finance Ministry, it will provide Direct Benefit Transfers to patients for acquiring the critical nutrition needed during treatment. The Program will also strengthen the detection, treatment and monitoring of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and will track progress in the detection of additional drug resistance.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. South-East Asian countries will jointly bid to host 2034 Football World Cup: South-East Asian countries will jointly bid to host the 2034 Football World Cup. Prime Minister of Thailand Prayuth Chan-ocha invited the people of ASEAN to support the football associations in their countries to host the tournament. The FIFA World Cup has held only once in the continent when Japan and South Korea were joint hosts in 2002. Qatar will bring it back to Asia in 2022.

Note: The 2034 FIFA World Cup (25th) will be the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. ASEAN region is home to more than 640 million people many of whom follow football avidly; The ASEAN countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.

2. Marcus Trescothick announces retirement from professional cricket: Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick (43-years) is to retire from professional cricket. Trescothick represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals between 2000 to 2006. He scored 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79. He played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club.

3. Milan-Cortina (Italy) to host Winter Olympics 2026: The city of Milan and Cortina of Italy have been selected to host the Winter Olympics 2026. This will be the fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy and the first Olympic Games hosted by Milan. The 2026 Winter Olympics scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in Italy.

S. No	Olympics	City/Country
1.	2020 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan
2.	2022 Winter Olympics	Beijing, China
3.	2024 Summer Olympics	Paris, France
4.	2026 Winter Olympics	Milan-Cortina, Italy

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Govt cuts interest rate on small savings schemes by 0.1 pc: The Union government has reduced interest rate on small savings schemes, including the National Savings Certificate and Public Provident Fund, by 0.1% for the July-September quarter. Barring interest on savings deposits, which has been retained at 4 per cent annually, rate on all other schemes has been slashed by 0.1 per cent. PPF and NSC will fetch an annual interest rate of 7.9 per cent from the existing rate of 8 per cent, while Kisan Vikas Patra will yield 7.6 per cent with a maturity of 113 months. At present, the interest rate on KVP is 7.7 per cent and maturity is 112 months. The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Account will fetch a lower return of 8.4 per cent from 8.5 per cent. The interest rate for the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme will now fetch a lower rate of interest at 8.6 per cent from 8.7 per cent.

2. RBI allows ARCs to buy financial assets from peers: The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to buy financial assets from other ARCs. The transactions must be settled in cash between the 2 enitities. In view of amendment to the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act, 2002, it has been decided to permit ARCs to acquire financial assets from other ARCs.

3. RBI relaxes leverage ratio for banks: The Reserve Bank relaxed the leverage ratio (LR) to 4% for Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) and 3.5% for other banks. This has been done to help them boost their lending activities. The reduced leverage ratio will be effective from the quarter commencing October 1, 2019. The leverage ratio, as defined under Basel-III norms, is Tier-I capital as a percentage of the bank's exposures.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. IIT Kanpur honours Gopichand with honorary doctorate: IIT Kanpur honours India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand with honorary doctorate on the occasion of their 52nd convocation. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are past recipients of the honour.

OBITUARIES

1. Malayalam director Babu Narayanan passes away: Malayalam director Babu Narayanan passes away. He directed several Malayalam hits such as ‘Kudumba Vishesham’ and ‘Welcome to Kodaikanal’. Babu Narayanan was also part of the Anil-Babu duo that made several box office hits like Sthreedhanam, Pattabhishekam.

2. Writer Abburi Chaya Devi passes away: Telugu story writer and the Sahitya Akademi award winner Abburi Chaya Devi passes away. Some of her popular stories are Bonsai Bathuku, Prayanam Sukhantam, Akhariki Aidu Nakshatralu, and Wood Rose.