Daily GK Updates - 10th July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Phase-II DBT in fertilizer subsidy launched: Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers launched the Phase-II of the Direct Benefit Transfer of Fertilizer Subsidy. DBT in fertilizer subsidy is a step in the direction of bringing ease of living in the lives of farmers through use of modern technology and plugging leakages, pilferages and black marketing.

Note: Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers: D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

2. Lal Bahadur Shastri Statue unveiled by PM: The Prime Minister unveiled the statue of former Prime Minister Sh. Lal Bahadur Shastri at the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi. It is built by Northern Coalfields, a subsidiary of Coal India.

Note: CM of UP: Yogi Adityanath; Governor of UP: Ram Naik.

3. Senior IAS officer Arun Kumar appointed full time DGCA chief; B S Bhullar is AERA chairman: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-headed appointments committee of the Cabinet as appointed senior IAS officer Arun Kumar as Director General of Civil Aviation. Kumar, a 1989 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, was holding additional charge as DG from June 1 when B S Bhullar retired. The government has now appointed B S Bhullar, a 1986 batch IAS officer of UP cadre, as chairman of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) for five years.

Note: HQ of DGCA: New Delhi; Established in: Jan 1978.

4. M Nageswar Rao appointed DG of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard: The Central Government has appointed M Nageswar Rao as the Director General (DG) of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard till 31st July 2020. Earlier, he held the position of Additional Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Lieutenant General Shailesh Sadashiv Tinaikar (34-years) takes Charge as Force Commander of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Juba. Tinaikar has been felicitated with the Sena Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal for Distinguished Service.

5. Madhya Pradesh to produce its own seeds soon: In Madhya Pradesh, along with distribution and marketing of certified and high-quality seeds to farmers, the Madhya Pradesh State Cooperative Seed Federation will produce seeds too. The decision has been taken in a Board of Directors’ meeting held under the chairmanship of the Minister for Cooperatives Govind Singh in Bhopal. The brand name of seeds will be ‘Sah-Beej’. A plan has been made to produce seeds from the next Rabi season.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. 2nd India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue begins: The 2nd India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue begins in New Delhi. It was held under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar and Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of Russia, Timur Maksimov. The first Dialogue was held in St. Petersburg in November 2018.

2. Connaught Place 9th most expensive office location in the world: According to property consultant CBRE, New Delhi's Connaught Place (CP) is the 9th most expensive office location in the world. Hong Kong's Central district retained the top spot as the world's most expensive market for prime office rents. Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex and Nariman Point CBD slipped to 27th and 40th position. Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CBRE tracks the cost of leasing prime office space globally. 

3. Russia launched Soyuz Carrier Rocket with 33 satellites: Russia successfully launched Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket with a hydrometeorological satellite and 32 small satellites. The satellite will provide images of clouds, the surface of the Earth, ice and snow covers in the visible, infrared and microwave ranges.

Note: President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital of Russia: Moscow; Currency of Russia: Ruble.

4. France to impose green tax on plane tickets from 2020: France will impose green tax up to €18 on plane tickets from 2020. The move aims to fund less-polluting transportation projects. A similar tax was introduced in Sweden in April 2018, which imposed an added charge of up to €40 on every ticket in a bid to lessen the impact of air travel on the climate.

Note: President of France: Emmanuel Macron; Capital: Paris; Currency:Euro, CFP Franc

5. Sri Lanka eliminates measles: Sri Lanka has become fifth country in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia region to eliminate measles. The other countries in the region which have achieved this feat are Bhutan, Maldives, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste.

Note: Capitals of Sri Lanka: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte; Currency of Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan rupee; Prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe; President: Maithripala Sirisena.

6. VNL signs pact with Vietnam to develop digital villages: Vihaan Networks Ltd (VNL) has inked a pact with Vietnam to develop digital villages. Vihaan Networks Ltd will offer solutions for advancing rural connectivity by developing digital villages in Vietnam’s underserved areas through solar-based cellular and broadband solution.

Note: Vietnam Capital: Hanoi; Currency: Vietnamese dong.

7. Sri Lanka: Annual festival at historic Kataragama temple attracts devotees: The annual festival at historic Kataragama temple attracts devotees from all faiths in Sri Lanka. The fortnight-long festival began last week and is joined by people all over Sri Lanka and abroad. The festival will end next week on full moon night with a water cutting ceremony. Thousands of devotees travel for hundreds of kilometres on foot to attend the fortnight-long festival. The place finds mention in Skanda Purana and is popular for centuries-old Hindu temple of Lord Kartika, known locally as Katargama Deviyo. Kataragama (multi-religious city) contains a mosque within the temple complex and a Buddhist temple nearby, considered to be one of the 16 main places of Buddhist pilgrimage in Sri Lanka.

8. Parliament adopts resolution levying 200% duty on Pakistani goods: Parliament (The Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha) has adopted a statutory resolution for levying 200% duty on all goods originating in or exported from Pakistan. Parliament approved the amendment in the first schedule of the Customs Tariff Act in this regard. India had notified the basic customs duty to 200% on all goods exported from Pakistan with effect from 16th of February 2019.

Note: Basic Customs Duty is the duty imposed on the value of the goods at a specific rate. This duty has been imposed from 1962 and was amended from time to time and regulated by the Customs Tariff Act of 1975. The Central Government has the power to reduce or exempt any good from these duties.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Dutee Chand wins gold in Summer University Games: Dutee Chand from Odisha has won the gold medal in the women's 100 metre sprint at the 30th Summer University Games in Naples, Italy. This is the first time an Indian has won a 100-metre gold at this global event.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Deposits in Jan Dhan Yojana accounts crosses Rs 1 lakh crore: Deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme have crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore as on July 3. The PMJDY was launched on August 28, 2014, with an aim to provide universal access to banking facilities to the people in the country.

2. SBI slashes lending rates by 5 bps: State Bank of India has reduced its benchmark lending rate by 5 bpsacross all loan tenures. The lender’s one-year marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) will be 8.4% compared with 8.45%.

Note: Chairperson of SBI: Rajnish Kumar; Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 July 1955.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Walmart Labs acqui-hires startups FloCare and BigTrade: Walmart Labs has acqui-hired health tech startup FloCare and B2B wholesale trading platform BigTrade. The aim of acqui-hiring is to strengthen its customer service.  As per the process, some founders and team members of the two companies will join Walmart Labs in the customer and supply chain technology teams. Acqui-hires are typically made for the skills of the team, rather than for the product.

2. Milkbasket acquires Bengaluru’s e-grocery store PSR Supply Chain: Online grocery delivery platform Milkbasket has acquired Bengaluru-based e-grocery distributor PSR Supply Chain. Founded in early 2015, Milkbasket has built a new-age technology platform to enable a smooth grocery buying experience online.

Note: CEO of Milkbasket: Anant Goel.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. 'Best Innovation Award' won by NEFR: Northeast Frontier Railway has won the'Best Innovation Award' for unique strategy adopted to keep wild elephants away from train tracks. The cash prize awarded of Rs 3 lakh. The NEFR, in a bid to tackle the problem, came up with 'Plan Bee' in 2017.

Note: Railway Minister: Piyush Goyal.

2. India Football Federation’s AIFF Awards announced:  The full list of AIFF awards: Best Grassroots Development Programme: Jammu & Kashmir Football Association; Best Referee: R. Venkatesh (Tamil Nadu); Best Assistant Referee: Joseph Tony (Karnataka); Emerging Women’s Footballer 2018-19: Dangmei Grace (Manipur); Emerging Men’s Footballer of the Year: Abdul Sahal (Kerala); Women’s Footballer of the Year: Ashalata Devi; Indian captain Sunil Chhetri (34-years) has won the AIFF Men’s footballer of the year 2018-19 award. Sunil Chhetri has already won Player of the Year award in 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2017.

Note: The AIFF Player of the Year is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in India over the previous year (2018-19 season). It has been awarded by All India Football Federation since 1992.

OBITUARIES

1. Former India goalkeeper Celestine passes away: Former India football goalkeeper from Tamil Nadu A. U. Celestine passed away.  He played for the Tamil Nadu men’s team in the senior Nationals as a keeper in the 1965 and 69 National championships. He represented India in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia in 1969. 

2. Former Goa minister Wilfred Mesquita passes away: Former Goa minister Wilfred Mesquita (70-years) passed away at a hospital in Mumbai after a brief illness. Mr Mesquita was the founder vice president of the then ruling Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (youth wing) in 1974. He served as the cabinet minister in late 1990s in the then Congress-led state government. Mr Mesquita held various portfolios like revenue, environment, sports and youth affairs, power, law and judiciary and legislative affairs. He was the leader of the Goa BJP since 2007 and served as the party’s vice president and spokesman.