NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 50% concession for ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha
Bharat’ participants: Indian Railways has
decided to grant 50% concession for the youth participating in the “Ek Bharat
Shrestha Bharat” programme. The concession will be given in basic fares of
Second and Sleeper Class to youths with emoluments of not more than 5000 rupees
per month for travelling from one State to another State to take part in the
programme. The concession has been granted as a special case and it is
admissible only in the normal train services and not for booking of Special
Trains or Coaches.
Note: Railway
Minister: Piyush Goyal.
2. Chennai Corporation launches India’s first
waste exchange platform: Chennai Corporation, Tamil
Nadu launched India’s first waste exchange platform namely “Madras Waste
Exchange” (www.madraswasteexchange.com) to buy and sell municipal solid waste
online. It will run on a pilot basis for the first three months. Based on the
response from public and waste recyclers, more features will be added to the
website. The Madras Waste Exchange, which is both a web portal and an
application, has been conceptualised by the Smart City Mission, with support
from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Note: Minister
of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs:
Hardeep Singh Puri.
3. Odisha Govt. launches ‘Jalsathi’ programme: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the ‘Jalsathi’
programme to ensure supply of safe drinking water to all households in the
state. The Odisha CM also launched the ‘JalSathi’ App on the occasion. The
Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) signed a memorandum of understanding with
the women federations in Bhubaneswar for the implementation of the programme.
The JalSathi initiative aims to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to
consumers through piped water connections.
Note: Governor
of Odisha: Ganeshi Lal.
4. Dehradun hosts Conference of Presiding
Officers of Legislative Bodies: Lok Sabha
speaker Om Birla inaugurated the 79th Conference of Presiding Officers of
Legislative Bodies. The conference was held in Dehradun. The presiding officers
of all state legislatures participated in the conference. Lok Sabha speaker Om
Birla was also conferred the guard of honour during the conference.
5. Concept of 3 capitals to be considered in
Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan
Reddy indicated that the State could have three capitals following the
decentralisation concept. The Chief Minister said the existing Capital
Amaravati could become the "Legislative Capital", the Port city
Visakhapatnam the "Executive Capital" and the Kurnool the
"Judiciary Capital". Meanwhile, he also added that a final call would
be taken only after the Expert Committee constituted to look into the issue
submitted its report.
6. Devesh Srivastava appointed GIC chief: Devesh Srivastava has been raised to the position of Chairman and
Managing Director (MD) at the General Insurance Corporation India (GIC Re).
Srivastava succeeds Alice Vaidyan, who retired in July 2019, since then the GIC
Re was functioning without a full-time chief. Previously he was managing the
departments of human resource and training, ReInsurance Worldwide (RIWW),
corporate communications, CMD’s Secretariat and innovation centre, he was
transferred to GIC in 1999. GIC Re accounted for about 60% of premiums ceded by
Indian insurers to reinsurers during FY17. The corporation had gone public in
2017. The government has also appointed Malay Kumar Poddar as Chairman and MD
of Agriculture Insurance Corporation of India.
Note: General
Insurance Corporation India founded: 22 November 1972; Headquarters: Mumbai,
India.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India and US sign defence tech transfer pact
during 2+2 dialogue: India and the US have signed an agreement to
facilitate the transfer of defence technology. During a 2+2 dialogue held at
Washington DC, the top foreign affairs and defence leaders on growing strategic
relations between the world`s largest and most powerful democracies. India and
the US have a common vision of a free, seamless and peaceful Indo-Pacific
region. India has bought weapons worth more than $15 billion from the United
States over the past decade as it seeks to replace its Russian-origin military
and is in talks for helicopters, armed drones and a bigger Indian plan for
local production of combat planes together worth billions of dollars.
Note: Minister
of Defence: Raj Nath Singh; Minister of External Affairs: Subrahmanyam
Jaishankar.
2. Portuguese PM Antonio Costa arrives in New
Delhi on 2-day visit to India: Prime Minister
of Portugal Antonio Costa arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to India. He
will attend the second meeting of the Organising Committee on the celebrations
for the 150th Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The Organising Committee
meeting will be presided over by President Ram Nath Kovind. Portugal views
India as a vibrant pluralistic democracy, a major world economy and an ancient
civilisation with which it has close, historical and cultural ties.
Note: Portugal
is a southern European country on the Iberian Peninsula, bordering Spain.
3. French carmaker PSA and US-Italian rival Fiat
Chrysler sign merger agreement: French
carmaker “Peugeot SA” and US-Italian “Fiat Chrysler” have signed an agreement
to create the world’s fourth largest automaker. The binding combination
agreement provides a 50/50 merger of their businesses to create the 4th largest
global automotive original equipment manufacturer by volume and third largest
by revenue. The combined group will have a workforce of more than 400,000,
total revenues of close to USD 190 million and annual unit sales of some 8.7
million vehicles of the brands Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS,
Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall. The combined group would be
headquartered in the Netherlands. Fiat Chrysler’s chief John Elkann will be the
chairman and PSA’s Carlos Tavares chief executive of the new entity.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Kuldeep Yadav becomes the first Indian
cricketer to claim two ODI hat trick: India's
left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav (25-years) has become India's first bowler
to claim two international hat-tricks in the second one-day against West
Indies. Kuldeep Yadav sent back Shai Hope (78-runs), Jason Holder (11-runs) and
Alzarri Joseph (0) on the final three deliveries of his eighth over in
Visakhapatnam against West Indies. He claimed his first against Australia at
Kolkata's Eden Gardens in 2017. Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka), Wasim Akram
(Pakistan), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan) and Trent
Boult (New Zealand) to pick up more than one hat-trick in ODIs. The only bowler
to have taken three ODI hat-tricks is Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
Note: A
hat-trick in cricket is when a bowler takes three wickets on consecutive
deliveries, dismissing three different batsmen.
BANKING & FINANCE
1. GST Council fixes 28% uniform tax rate for
lottery: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council headed
by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman fixed a uniform tax rate of 28% on both
state-run and private lottery. It also decided to rationalise the GST rate on
woven and non-woven bags to 18%. It was for the first time that the GST Council
resorted to voting to decide on an issue as it fixed a uniform tax rate on both
state and private lotteries. The GST Council also decided to exempt upfront
amount payable for long term lease of industrial and financial infrastructure
plots by an entity having 20% or more ownership of Central or State Government.
Note: GST is
an Indirect Tax which has replaced many Indirect Taxes in India. The Goods and
Service Tax Act was passed in the Parliament on 29th March 2017. The Act came
into effect on 1st July 2017; Goods & Services Tax Law in India is a
comprehensive, multi-stage, destination-based tax that is levied on every value
addition.
2. HDFC Bank crosses $100 billion market capitalization: HDFC Bank has become the 3rd Indian firm to cross $100 billion mark
in market capitalisation. HDFC Bank has joined the league of Reliance
Industries Ltd, which has a market cap of $140.74 billion, and Tata Consultancy
Services (TCS) that has a market cap of $114.60 billion. With this achievement,
HDFC Bank is now ranked 110th in the list of world’s most valued companies.
Among the world’s most valued banks and financial companies which have a market
cap of over $100 billion, HDFC Bank is ranked at 26th position.
Note: Managing
Director of HDFC Bank: Aditya Puri; Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Amitabha Bagchi wins 2019 DSC Prize: The IME Nepal Literature Festival (8th edition) at Pokhara, concluded
with the announcement of the winner of DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
2019. The USD 25,000 award went to Amitabha Bagchi for his 2018 novel, Half the
Night is Gone. The DSC Prize, instituted in 2010, awards fiction from the South
Asian region, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the
Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as from the diaspora.
DEFENCE
1. Anti-hijacking exercise conducted in Kochi
port: The Indian Navy, in collaboration with Indian
Coast Guard, Cochin Port Trust and all other concerned stakeholders, conducted
a large-scale anti-hijacking exercise off the Port of Kochi. The Exercise
code-named “Apharan” saw the participation of multiple agencies, including more
than 12 ships and helicopters of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Cochin
Port Trust. Apharan was aimed at streamlining the response
mechanism/preparedness to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements to
hijack a merchant’s vessel or attempt forced entry of a rogue/commandeered
merchant vessel into the Kochi harbour.
Note: Indian
Coast Guard founded: 18 August 1978; Headquarters: New Delhi.
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