NATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. New set of health warnings on
"Tobacco packs": The Health Ministry has notified
the new warnings on "Tobacco packs". It has been done by making
an amendment in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and
Labeling) Rules, 2008. The text messages that will be printed on the packs
are "tobacco causes painful death". A quit line number
"1800-11-2356" will also be printed on the packs. The new sets
of health warnings, including enlarged pictorial images and text messages, covering
85% of the packet area will assist the users to quit. This will help in
creating awareness among tobacco users and gives them access to counselling
services to effect behaviour change.
Note:
Union Minister of Ministry of Family & Health Welfare: Harsh Vardhan.
2. India to launch e-commerce
portal "Bharatcraft" for MSME's: Union
Government is planning to launch an e-commerce
portal named "Bharatcraft" for MSME's. The
portal is based on other e-commerce portals like 'Alibaba' and 'Amazon'. The
portal will provide a platform for MSMEs to market and sell their products and
in turn boost the sector. As per the MSME Union Minister, the Bharatcraft
portal has a huge potential to generate revenue worth ₹10 lakh crore in the
next 2-3 years.
Note:
Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Nitin Gadkari.
3. 5th UIDAI Aadhaar Seva Kendra
becomes operational in Hisar, Haryana: Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) fifth stand-alone ‘Aadhaar Seva
Kendra’ has become operational on dry run basis at Hisar in Haryana. Till now,
five Aadhaar Seva Kendras are operational and two more will be operative by
next week. Out of these five Kendras, two are in Delhi, while one is at
Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh and remaining one at Agra in Uttar Pradesh. This
is part of the UIDAI’s plan to open 114 such centres in 53 cities across the
country for providing hassle-free Aadhaar enrolment and services to the people
with prior appointment. These Aadhaar Seva Kendras have a capacity to handle up
to one thousand enrolments and requests per day and will be open for six days a
week from 9:30 A.M. to 6 P.M (closed on Tuesdays and public holidays.).
4. AWHO and Tata Realty sign MoU
for quality housing: Army Welfare Housing Organization
(AWHO) and Tata Realty & Housing have signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU). This MoU enables the personnel of Indian Army to
immediately take over dwelling units in 13 ‘Ready to Move
in’ projects of Tata Realty spread over 10 cities at a discount ranging
from 11% to 27%. Army Welfare Housing Organization (AWHO), which has always
endeavoured to provide quality housing for Army personnel who are deployed in
remote locations across the country. AWHO will now facilitate the acquisition
of homes from reputed private builders at discounted rather than building them
for the soldiers.
Note:
Chief of the Army Staff: General Bipin Rawat.
5. NDTV's interim CEO Suparna
Singh steps down: Suparna Singh, interim CEO
of NDTV has resigned with immediate effect. She becomes interim CEO
of NDTV in 2017 with approval from the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting.
6. Ajay Kumar Bhalla appointed as
new Home Secretary: The Union government has
appointed senior IAS (Indian Administrative Service officer) Ajay
Kumar Bhalla (1984 batch - Assam Meghalaya cadre) as new Home
Secretary. He succeeds Mr Rajiv Gauba who will move out
as Cabinet Secretary. Current, Mr Bhalla is serving as Officer
on Special Duty in Home Ministry.
7. Discovery, WWF tie up to
preserve Sundarbans: Discovery India and World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) India have partnered with the Forest Directorate, the
government of West Bengal and local communities to preserve Sundarbans. This
move is to protect the Sundarbans, the mangrove forest, the habitat of Bengal
tigers, to reduce the tiger-human conflict. The move is also a part of a global
movement “Project CAT -Conserving Acres for Tigers” which aimed at
building healthy habitats for Tigers.
Note:
Chief Minister of West Bengal: Mamta Banerjee; Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar.
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATES:
1. PM Narendra Modi holds talks
with French President Emmanuel Macron: Prime
Minister Narendra Modi held talks with French President Emmanuel
Macron to expand cooperation in areas of counter-terrorism and security. The two
leaders first held a one-on-one meeting which was followed by
the delegation-level talks at Chateau de Chantilly, about 50
km north of Paris. Both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of
the dynamic and multi-faceted bilateral relations during their
more than 90-minute long one-on-one meeting. Earlier, Prime
Minister Modi was accorded a red-carpet welcome on his arrival
in Paris, France. As India has been extended a special invitation for
the G7 summit, Mr. Modi will attend the summit held at Biarritz
France.
Note:
The 45th G7 summit will be held on 24–26 August 2019, in Biarritz,
France.
2. FATF Asia-Pacific Group
blacklists Pakistan: Pakistan has been placed on
the blacklist of the Financial Action Task Force’s Asia Pacific
Group. Pakistan has been blacklisted for non-compliance and
non-enforcement of safeguards against terror financing and money laundering. Pakistan
has failed in 32 of 40 ‘compliance’ parameters for its legal and financial
systems. Pakistan has also failed in 10 of 11 ‘effectiveness’ parameters for
enforcing safeguards against terror-financing and money-laundering by
UN-sanctioned entities and other non-government outfits.
Note:
Pakistan Capital: Islamabad, PM: Imran Khan, President: Arif Alvi.
3. Iran unveils new missile defence
system "Bavar-373": Iran has
unveiled new missile defence system "Bavar-373". This is also
Iran's first domestically produced long-range missile defence system which has
been inducted into the country's missile defence network. The system was
unveiled at an occasion of Iran's National Defense Industry Day.
Note:
Iran Capital: Tehran; Currency: Rial; President of Iran: Hassan
Rouhani.
4. International Day for the
Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition: 23 August:
United Nations observes 23 August every year as “International
Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. The Day is
observed to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all
peoples. The day was designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave
trade.
Note:
Headquarters of United Nations: New York,
USA; Founded: 24 October 1945; Secretary-General of the United
Nations: Antonio Guterres.
5. Russia sends its first
humanoid robot Fedor into space: Russia launched
an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot named Fedor, (Final
Experimental Demonstration Object Research). It is a silvery
anthropomorphic robot stands 1.80 metres (5 foot 11 inches) tall and weighs 160
kilogrammes (353 pounds). Fedor will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts
on the International Space Station. It blasted off in a Soyuz MS-14
spacecraft from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Note:
President of Russia: Vladimir Putin; Capital: Moscow; Currency: Russian ruble;
PM of Russia: Dmitry Medvedev.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Constable Monali Jadhav wins 3
medals at World Police Games: Constable Monali
Jadhav from Maharashtra won three medals, including two golds, at World Police
and Fire Games International Championship held in Chengdu, China. Jadhav is
attached to the Jalamb police station in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Representing
the Indian police force, Jadhav also made a new record with a score of 716 out
of 720 points in the game. She won the gold in target and field archery while
settled for a bronze medal in the '3D Archery'. She had previously secured a
ninth position at the World Championships in Shanghai held in May.
2. Vikram Rathour appointed as Team
India's batting coach: former Indian cricketer Vikram
Rathour (50-years) will replace Sanjay Bangar as India's new batting
coach. Bharath Arun and R. Sridhar were retained as bowling and
fielding coaches. The senior national selection committee headed by MSK Prasad
recommended three names each for all the support staff positions.
Note:
Mr. Rathour has played six Tests and seven ODIs in 1996 without much
success but was a domestic heavyweight for Punjab. Till 2016, he was a senior
national selector under Sandeep Patil's chairmanship.
BANKING & FINANCE
1. Acko partners with ZestMoney
to offer credit insurance: Acko General Insurance, an
insurtech company, has partnered with ZestMoney, a consumer lending
fintech, to offer credit insurance. This insurance will help ZestMoney
customers cover their monthly EMI payments during times of crisis. Acko will
offer credit insurance to these consumers and cover them during eventualities
like hospitalization or critical illness when they’re unable to pay their
instalments. ZestMoney offers instant financing to consumers across 1000+
online portals and provides them with the option of paying through EMIs even if
the consumers don’t own a credit card.
Note:
CEO of Acko General Insurance: Varun Dua; CEO of ZestMoney: Lizzie Chapman.
2. SEBI announces a reward of Rs
1 crore to insider trading informants: The Securities
and Exchange Board of India has announced a new mechanism to reward
insider trading informants to uncover insider trading cases. The reward
would be 10 per cent of the money collected, subject to a maximum amount
of Rs 1 crore. These benefits would only be available to individuals and
corporates. This is not applicable for professionals like auditors who are
duty-bound to report any wrongdoing. The above announcement is a part of the
detailed set of rules for the new 'Informant
Mechanism' under Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations that
has been approved by the SEBI board.
Note:
SEBI Headquarter: Mumbai; Chairman: Ajay Tyagi.
3. CBDT: Small startups with
turnover up to Rs 25Cr to get promised tax holiday: According
to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), small start-ups with
turnover up to 25 crore rupees will continue to get the promised tax holiday as
specified in the section of the Income Tax Act. The Act provides a deduction
for 100 per cent of the income of an eligible start-up for 3 years out of 7
years from the year of its incorporation. According to the Finance Ministry,
the CBDT also clarified that all the start-ups recognised by Department for
Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade-DPIIT which fulfilled the conditions
specified in the DPIIT notification did not automatically become eligible for
deduction.
4. RBI changes RTGS system
opening time from 8 AM to 7 AM: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has increased the timing for Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS)
Payment System by changing the Open for Business timing for RTGS from 8:00 AM
to 7:00 AM. At present, the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) System is
available for customer transactions from 0800 hours to 1800 hours and for
inter-bank transactions from 0800 hours to 1945 hours. This timing will be
applicable from August 26, 2019. Currently, the NEFT, a retail payment system,
is available for customers from 8 am to 7 pm on all working days except second
and fourth Saturdays of a month. The NEFT system is used for fund transfers of
up to Rs 2 lakh, and RTGS for those above this threshold.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. WCD Minister Smriti Irani
distributed the Poshan Abhiyaan Awards for 2018-19:
Women and Child Development Minister distributed the Poshan Abhiyaan
Awards for 2018-19 in different categories in New Delhi. The awards were
given to the States, Districts, Blocks and Anganwadi Workers for their
contributions in scaling up the Abhiyaan and ensuring that it reaches every
household in the country. The awards are aimed at motivating the primary
stakeholders and encourage large scale citizen participation in creating
awareness to combat malnutrition.
2. Akshay Kumar takes 4th spot in
Forbes highest-paid actors list 2019: Bollywood
Actor Akshay Kumar has made it to the 4th position on the Forbes
magazine’s Worlds Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 list. Akshay has raked in
$65 million. Hollywood star Dwayne ‘Rock’ Johnson tops the Forbes
list of the 10 highest-paid actors.
Here’s
the list of the World’s Highest-Paid Actors Of 2019 listed by Forbes:
1.
Dwayne Johnson ($89.4 million)
2.
Chris Hemsworth ($76.4 million)
3.
Robert Downey Jr. ($66 million)
4.
Akshay Kumar ($65 million)
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