Daily GK Updates - 25th July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. GoM on sexual harassment at workplace reconstituted: GoI has reconstituted the Group of Ministers (GoM) looking after the issues of how to prevent sexual harassment at workplace and strengthen legal frameworks. The GoM will be lead by Home Minister Amit Shah. The other members of the reconstituted GoM are: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, and Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani.

Note: Union Minister of Home Affairs: Amit Shah.

2. India’s first dragon blood-oozing tree: Researchers discover Dracaena cambodiana, a dragon tree species in the Dongka Sarpo area of West Karbi Anglong district in Assam. This is for the first time that a dragon tree species has been reported from India. Dragon tree species whose sap turns bright red after coming in contact with air.

Note: Assam CM: Sarbananda Sonowal; Governor: Jagdish Mukhi; Capital of Assam: Dispur; 

3. Ajay Bhalla appointed as Home Secretary: Ajay Kumar Bhalla (1984 batch IAS officer) has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Ministry of Home Affairs with immediate effect for two-year tenure (till August 2021). He will take over as Home Secretary from incumbent Rajive Gauba. Currently, Mr. Bhalla is serving as Power Secretary. Anshu Prakash has been appointed new Secretary, Telecommunications, in place of Aruna Sundararajan, who is superannuating on 31st July.

Note: Home Secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry of Home Affairs and is the principal adviser to the Home Minister on all matters of policy and administration within the Home Ministry. As a Secretary to Government of India, the Home Secretary ranks 23rd on Indian Order of Precedence.

4. Lt Gn. Ranbir Singh releases a book on Fire and Fury Warriors: The coffee table book titled 'Fire and Fury Corps - Saga of Valour, Fortitude and Sacrifice', was released by Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh. This book showcases the courage and bravery of the Fire and Fury Warriors and portrays the rich heritage and ethos of the Indian Army.

Note: Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.

5. PM Modi releases a book on former PM Chandra Shekhar: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released a book "Chandra Shekhar-The Last Icon of Ideological Politics" in New Delhi. The book has been written by Shri Harivansh, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha; and Shri Ravi Dutt Bajpai. The book release event was held at the Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building. Prime Minister also announced a museum for all former Prime Ministers of India and invited their families to share aspects of their lives.

6. Cabinet approves the merger of National Institute of Miners' Health with ICMR-NIOH: Union Cabinet has approved the merger of National Institute of Miners' Health with ICMR - National Institute of Occupational Health. This will help both the institutes in terms of enhanced expertise in the field of occupational health besides efficient management of public money. The Cabinet also approved sale of 481.79 acres of land held by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, FACT to the Government of Kerala and utilization of the sale proceeds by FACT. The decision will help the company in reducing bank borrowings and implementing projects for enhancing fertilizers production capacity and upgrading logistics and raw materials.

Note: Union Information and Broadcasting Minister: Prakash javadekar.

7. FM Nirmala Sitharaman to chair 36th meeting of GST Council: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 36th meeting of the GST Council through video conferencing in New Delhi. This will be the first GST Council meeting after the presentation of Union Budget in Parliament on 5th of this month. Among other issues, the GST Council is expected to announce its decision on lowering tax rates for electric vehicles, solar power projects and rationalisation of GST rates on lottery.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. ADB sanctions about Rs 2000 Cr for power projects in Tripura: Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned 1,925 crore rupees project for up-gradation of power generation and distribution in Tripura. The amount was recently sanctioned to the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited after the state government had sought the ADB's assistance. The project has been sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Project to 120 MW at an estimated cost of over 699 crores and modernising Gumti Hydro Electric Project at an estimated cost of nearly 1225 crore rupees. Rokhia project is located at West Tripura district whereas the Gumti project is in Gomati district.

Note: President of ADB: Takehiko Nakao; Headquarters: Manila, Philippines.

2. Indian origin Priti Patel appointed as Britain's Home Secretary: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Indian origin Priti Patel (47-years) as the country Home Secretary. The Prime Minister named former Home Secretary Sajid Javid (former banker) to take over from Philip Hammond as the Finance Secretary or Chancellor. Mr Johnson has also named Brexit hardliner Dominic Raab as the country's Foreign Secretary.

Note: The ‘Home Secretary’ is a senior official as one of the Great Offices of State within Her Majesty's Government and head of the Home Office. The Home Secretary is responsible for the internal affairs of England and Wales, and for immigration and citizenship for the United Kingdom.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Virat Kohli maintains number one spot in ICC Test Rankings: International Cricket Council has released the latest rankings of teams and players in different categories.

1. Men's Team Rankings: India topped the Test Team Rankings; England topped the One Day International Team Rankings; Pakistan topped the T20 International Team Rankings.

2. Men's Batting Rankings: Virat Kohli (India) topped the Test Batting Rankings; Virat Kohli (India) topped the ODI Batting Rankings; Babar Azam (Pakistan) topped the T20I Batting Rankings.

3. Men's Bowling Rankings: Pat Cummins (Australia) topped the Test Bowling Rankings; Jasprit Bumrah (India) topped the ODI Bowling Rankings; Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) topped the T20I Bowling Rankings.

4. Men's All-Rounder Rankings: Jason Holder (West Indies) topped the Test All-Rounder Rankings; Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) topped the ODI All-Rounder Rankings; Glenn Maxwell (Australia) topped the T20I All-Rounder Rankings.

Note: ICC Chairman: Shashank Manohar; Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The 13th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup will be held in India from February 9 to March 26, 2023.

2. Boxer Maxim Dadashev dies from head injuries sustained in the fight: Russian boxer Maxim Dadashev (28-years) passed away following injuries suffered in his IBF light-welterweight fight against Subriel Matias. Dadashev was reportedly unable to walk to the dressing room after his bout was stopped by trainer Buddy McGirt at the end of the 11th round. He was hospitalised with bleeding on the brain and underwent emergency surgery but failed to recover. Dadashev had won all of his previous 13 fights but had to absorb a barrage of punches from Puerto Rican Matias during the course of the fight in Maryland.

3. Lasith Malinga to retire from ODIs after first Bangladesh match: Sri Lanka fast bowling ace Lasith Malinga (35 years) will retire from 50-over internationals (ODI-Cricket) after the first match against Bangladesh at Kettarama stadium in Colombo (on 26th July). Malinga is the third-highest wicket-taker for the island country behind Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas. He has taken 335 wickets from 225 one-day internationals for Sri Lanka. He has also taken three ODI hat-tricks and is the only player to have achieved the milestone twice during a World Cup.

4. BCCI approves Indian Cricketers Association: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) formally recognised the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), a non-profit company limited, under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, as the official association for ex-cricketers in India. Former India cricketers Kapil Dev, Ajit Agarkar and Shantha Rangaswamy are the directors at ICA and will hold their positions until elections are held.

Note: The ICA is not affiliated to Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) and is only open to former men and women cricketers, unlike the players’ associations in most countries. The functioning of ICA will be independent of BCCI’s functioning and the association will have to generate its own funds even though the board will provide some initial grants.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. DCC approves Rs 3,050 cr penalty on Airtel, Vodafone Idea: The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) has approved the cumulative penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. The penalty was imposed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for not providing points of interconnection to Reliance Jio when it entered the market.

2. Facebook slapped with 5 billion US Dollar fine for users' privacy violation: US regulators formalized a record 5 billion US Dollar fine on Facebook for violation of users' privacy in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving 87 million users. According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the penalty was the largest ever imposed on any company for violating consumers' privacy and one of the largest penalties ever assessed by the US government for any violation. The FTC initiated the investigation after a scandal involving former British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which was accused of illegally accessing data of more than 87 million Facebook users without their prior knowledge.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. 6 firms honoured with CSR Journal Excellence Awards: 3rd Edition of the CSR Journal Excellence Awards honoured 6 firms for the best practices in Corporate Social Responsibility. The theme of the event was ‘India First’. The winners of the awards are:

Tata Power won in the category "Education & Skill Training".

ReNew Power won in the category "Women Empowerment & Child Welfare".

YES Bank Ltd. won in the category "Health & Sanitation".

Mahindra & Mahindra won in the category "Environment".

Hindustan Zinc won in the category "Agriculture & Rural Development".

Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. won in the category "Sports".

2. Nishagandhi Sangeetha Awards conferred by Kerala Tourism: Kerala Minister of Tourism presented the inaugural Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram to musicians Parassala B. Ponnammal and T V. Gopalakrishnan in the Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas Music Festival. Nishagandhi Sangeetha Puraskaram is Instituted by Kerala Tourism, the award carries ₹1.5 lakh in cash, citation and memento.

Note: Minister for Tourism of Kerala: Kadakampally Surendran; Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan; Governor: P. Sathasivam.

OBITUARIES 

1. ‘Blade Runner’ actor Rutger Hauer passes away: Dutch film actor Rutger Hauer (75-years) passed away at his home in the Netherlands. He acted in both Dutch and English-language TV series and films. Hauer's roles included a terrorist in 'Nighthawks' with Sylvester Stallone, Cardinal Roark in 'Sin City' and playing an evil corporate executive in 'Batman Begins.' Hauer founded the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, an AIDS awareness organization.