Daily GK Updates - 6th July, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Indian Railways commissions’ longest electrified tunnel: South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel, measuring 6.6 Kms between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations. The tunnel is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli-Venkatachalam new railway line. The tunnel has been completed in a record time of 43 months. It is situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru Railway stations in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh. New Australian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is used and the cost incurred is Rs.460 crores. The height of the tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5 meters and the minimum height of the contact wire is maintained at 5.2 meters.

2. India's first highway corridors for e-vehicles expected by March 2020: India's first highway corridors with charging stations for electric vehicles are expected to come up along the Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra highways by 2020. The combined stretch of the corridors on the Yamuna Expressway (between Delhi and Agra) and the National Highway 48 (between Delhi and Jaipur) will be 500 km. Eighteen charging stations will be set up on the two routes. Eight will be between Delhi-Agra and 10 between Delhi-Jaipur. On a full charge, an SUV-like vehicle can travel 180 km, he said, adding that a DC charger takes around 1.25 hours to fully charge such a vehicle. The e-corridors are proposed to be the first under the Ease of Doing Business Programme (EODB) of the Advance Services for Social and Administrative Reforms (ASSAR), a private entity which is supported by the central government, an official engaged in the project said.

3. CCMB and CDFD sign MoU to improve genetic disease diagnostics: An MoU has been signed between CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD).  The aim of the MoU is to enable better ways of diagnosis and treatment of genetic disorders.

4. Tripura gets Rs 358 crore from GoI for road projects: The GoI has sanctioned an additional amount of Rs 358 crore for the construction of new roads in rural areas of Tripura.

Note: Capital of Tripura: Agartala, CM: Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor: Kaptan Singh Solanki.

5. Army Chief releases Kargil Tribute Song”: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has released a Kargil Tribute Song to honour, salute and pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and war veterans. The song has been composed by eminent Hindi lyricist Sammer Anjaan and sung by Shatadru Kabir. The song was released as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas to be celebrated on 26th of July.

6. PM Modi pays tribute to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tributes to BJP icon and the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary. Dr Mukherjee was born on the 6th of July, 1901 in Kolkata. He was a prominent Indian politician, barrister and academician and served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet. He laid the foundation of Patriotism-based politics in independent India and worked untiringly for national integration. His supreme sacrifice for India’s unity has made him immortal.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Iraq's Babylon listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO: UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has listed Iraq's Babylon as a World Heritage Site. Babylon is developed as a walled city of mudbrick temples and towers, constituting the Tower of Babel, and the Ishtar Gate. The city was the centre of the ancient Babylonian empire more than 4,000 years ago.

Note: Capital of Iraq: Baghdad; Currency: Iraqi dinar; Headquarters of UNESCO: Paris, France; Director General: Audrey Azoulay.

2. Cabinet approves India-Maldives MoU for passenger, cargo services: The Union Cabinet has approved the pact signed between India and Maldives to start passenger and cargo services via sea route. The MoU will pave way for ferry services between Maldives and India. The proposed ferry service would contribute in a big way to promote people to people contact and to boost bilateral trade.

Note: Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa; President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

3. Hong Kong to provide over $9 million aid for Cyclone Fani victims: The Hong Kong government has approved over $900,000 for relief and rehabilitation work in cyclone-hit Odisha that could benefit around 45,100 victims, China's official media reported. Three grants totalling 7.032 million Hong Kong dollars (about $902,278) from Hong Kong's Disaster Relief Fund to three agencies have been approved for the cyclone victims in Odisha. A Hong Kong SAR government spokesperson said that "the cyclone had affected more than 15 million people in Odisha and the grants will be used to provide hygiene kits, kitchen kits, water kits and education kits as well as household and shelter kits, to benefit around 45,100 cyclone victims.

Note: Cyclone Fani, an extremely severe cyclonic storm, made a landfall in Odisha’s Puri in May 2019. Cyclone ‘Fani’ is pronounced as ‘Foni’. The name was suggested by Bangladesh. The Bengali word 'Foni' refers to ‘Snake’ or ‘hood of the snake’. The wind speed of normal cyclones go up to 90 km per hour, but Fani has the potential to touch a 195 kmph speed.

4. International Day of Cooperatives: 6 July: The International Day of Cooperatives observed every year on the first Saturday of July since 1923. The aim of this celebration is to increase awareness of cooperatives. 2019 theme: ‘COOPS 4 DECENT WORK’. According to a recent estimate, cooperatives around the world employ or are the main source of income for more than 279 million people—almost 10% of humanity’s total working population.

5. World Zoonoses Day: 6 July: The World Zoonoses Day is observed every year on July 6. The day is observed to create awareness on zoonotic diseases, how to prevent them and what actions to take when exposed. The day has been observed since 1885 to mark the day Louis Pasteur administered his first rabies vaccine.

Note: Zoonotic diseases are caused when animals carrying dangerous pathogens come in contact with humans. Some animals are hosts of these pathogens or are infected by them. People who interact with animals on a daily basis and many also keep pets or others. When the climate is warmer, it tends to create a change in the behaviour of vectors (animals who harbour dangerous pathogens like virus and bacteria).

6. India ranked 86th in the Henley Passport Index 2019: The Henley Passport Index 2019 have ranked the Indian passport on the 86th positionwith a mobility score of 58. The score points out that Indian passport holder can acces 58 countries around the world without a prior visa. Japan and Singapore holds the top spot with a score of 189. The index includes 199 passports and 227 travel destinations including micro-states and territories. 

7. Nasscom, NSDC launch Global Cloud Computing challenge: Nasscom partners with National Skill Development Corporation to organise ‘World Skills India’s International Cloud Computing Challenge 2019’. Ten countries including India are participating in the competition, along with New Zealand, Belgium, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Oman and Ireland. “WorldSkills India” is an NSDC initiative launched in 2011.

Note: President of NASSCOM: Debjani Ghosh; Chairman of NSDC: A M Naik; MD & CEO: Manish Kumar.

OTHER UPDATES:

SPORTS

1. Pakistan's Shoaib Malik confirms ODI retirement: Pakistan batsman Shoaib Malik confirmed his retirement from one-day cricket without making a farewell appearance in his side's victory over Bangladesh on 05th July 2019. He had admitted last year that he intended to quit one-day cricket after the 2019 World Cup. He will continue to play the Twenty20 format, but he admitted it was an emotional moment to call time on his ODI career. He appeared in 287 one-day internationals and scored 7,534 runs with nine hundred. His last appearance came in the defeat against India in Manchester on June 16. As an off-spinner, he finished with 158 wickets, while he also captained Pakistan in 41 ODIs.

BANKING AND FINANCE

1. Punjab & Sind Bank sets up Cen-MARG: Punjab & Sind Bank has set up a centralised hub "Centralised MSME & Retail Group". It will process retail and MSME loans for the better efficiency of branches in business acquisition. The Cen-MARG has been envisioned to ensure qualitative improvement in credit appraisal, improved turnaround time, uniform documentation, and efficient monitoring.

MD & CEO of Punjab & Sind Bank: S. Harisankar.

2. PMMSY: A new scheme to promote processing in the fishery sector: While presenting Union Budget 2019-20, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new scheme to promote processing in the fishery sector. The new scheme, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), will be established under the Department of Fisheries for a robust fisheries management framework. She also announced the creation of a new ministry for fisheries sector Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The new ministry was formed in order to promote the allied farm sector that has huge potential to help achieve the government's target of doubling farmers' income by 2022. The budget allocated for the newly carved out Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is Rs 3,737 crore.

3. Budget 2019: Rs 3.18 lakh crore allocated to the defence budget: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention the defence outlay in the budget speech in the Lok Sabha on 05th July 2019. During an interview to Finance Minister Sitharaman said she had - an allocation of Rs 3.18 lakh crore was made in the Union Budget to the defence sector for 2019-20 as against last year's Rs 2.98 lakh crore.

4. Budget 2019: To help marginal cultivators government proposes 10,000 FPOs: The government plans to form 10,000 farmer producer organisations (FPOs) in the next five years. This is expected to help small and marginal cultivators team up to get lower rates for inputs and sell produce at higher rates. The budget proposal to set up 10,000 FPOs is a path-breaking step to ensure economies of scale for farmers. An FPO can raise capital only from farmer members or get grants from the government, which are usually meagre. Currently, 3,500 FPOs have been registered and another 3,000 are under promotion, said Pravesh Sharma, former head of the Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium.

5. IMF Chief Christine Lagarde nominated as president of European Central Bank: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde was nominated as the president of the European Central Bank. The nomination means Lagarde will step down two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF. Christine Lagarde would succeed Mario Draghi, whose term ends on October 31.

Note: European Central Bank was established on 1 June 1998. ECB headquarters is located in Ostend district, Frankfurt, Germany. It is the central bank of 19 European Union (EU) countries which have adopted Euro.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Govt ropes in IBM for a pilot study on using AI, weather tech in agriculture: The Centre inked pact with IBM India for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in one district each in three states. The pilot study will be conducted for the Kharif crop season 2019 in three districts - Bhopal, Rajkot and Nanded  in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, respectively. IBM’s Watson Decision Platform will give solution in the field of agriculture through AI and weather technology at village level/ farm level to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information on the pro bono basis to help farmers for taking decisions regarding water and crop management for better production and productivity.

2. First ever IICTF to be held in India: The first ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) to be held in New Delhi, India. It is a unique initiative for taking farmers, artisans & other members of cooperatives directly to the global trade arena which will be held from 11th till 13th October 2019 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Trade Fair is aimed at promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within India and abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.