Current Affairs of July 7th 2019

Current Affairs of July 7th, 2019

Information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies) and Not-for-profit public limited company, NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) has organized "World Skills India"- International Cloud Computing Challenge 2019 from July (1st - 6th ) 2019 at NASSCOM Campus,New Delhi. The initiative is aimed at recognizing the best practices from the world in the areas of cloud computing. The challenge was initiated in the presence of the minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey. Under the aegis of NASSCOM & NSDC, India along with nine other countries including New Zealand, Belgium, Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, Oman, and Ireland are participating in the competition. The finalists will be further taking part in the 45th World Skills Competition in Kazan, Russia which scheduled in August 2019. As per NASSCOM, in the Asia-Pacific region, India stands second only to China, as the largest and fastest-growing cloud services market.

B Harideesh Kumar has been appointed as director of the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for three years. He hails from Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Earlier he served as the Executive Director of Canara Bank. He succeeded Anup Sankar Bhattacharya, who has retired from his services.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India, which audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments.

The Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), Smriti Irani stated that the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girls in secondary education level has registered an increase of 80.29% in 2016-17 compared to 80.10 % in 2015-16. Between 2015-16 and 2018-19, the sex ratio at birth (SRB) witnessing an improvement from 923 to 931 at the national level. When compared to the previous financial year 2017-18, SRB is showing an improving trend in 21 states or UTs(Union territory) and stable in three states or UTs for 2018-19. It is regarded as a statistical measure for determining the number of students enrolled in undergraduate, postgraduate and research-level studies within the country and expressed as a percentage of the population. India aims to achieve 30% GER by 2020.

Amit Shah to launch BJP's membership drive in Telangana. He will also attend a state-level meeting with the BJP leaders at Shamshabad.

Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1776.

The Union Government has proposed Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to address the critical infrastructure gap in the fisheries sector. A robust fisheries management framework will be set up by the department of fisheries.

Punjab & Sind Bank has set up a centralized hub named "Centralised MSME & Retail Group" (Cen-MARG) for processing retail and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans for better efficiency of branches in business acquisition. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It will ensure qualitative improvement in credit appraisal, improved turnaround time, uniform documentation, and efficient monitoring. Cen-MARG will be linked with pan-India branches of the bank in a phased manner.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed a contract with a Russian company, Glavcosmos, a subsidiary of the state corporation Roscosmos, for selection support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts for 'Gaganyaan' mission. It was signed by Glavkosmos' first Deputy Director-General, Natalia Lokteva, and Director of the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) of ISRO, S. Unnikrishnan Nair. The work will be supported by the Federal State Budget Organisation - the U A Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Centre and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Tata Steel Kalinganagar becomes the first and the only Indian manufacturing plant that has been included in prestigious Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum, a community of manufacturers that are frontrunners in applying 4th Industrial Revolution technologies to draw a competitive advantage from either innovating their production system or by innovating their entire value chains and offering new products and services. TSK in Odisha's Jajpur district commissioned in May 2016 included as one in 10 new factories added in Global Lighthouse Network which has 16 existing lighthouses across multiple geographies and industries. The factories were selected based on their success in integrating cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analytics and 3D(three-dimensional) printing to increase efficiency and make innovation. Tata Steel's IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands is already a member of this network.

Nirmala Sitharaman announced Jal Jeevan Mission under Jal Shakti Mantralaya to achieve Har Ghar Jal aim to all rural households by 2024. She also informed that 1592 critical and over-exploited Blocks spread across 256 Districts being identified for the Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

Dr.Nalin Shinghal was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for 5 years. He succeeded D. Bandyopadhyay who was given Additional Charge of Chairman & Managing Director after the retirement of Atul Sobti. Earlier he worked as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Electronics Limited(CEL).

Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a commemoration of 4 years of Digital India initiative in an event in New Delhi. The Digital India initiative was launched on July 1, 2015. The minister also electronically launched the SAMEER Centre for Electromagnetic Environmental Effects in Visakhapatnam, Wi-Fi enabled Campus Networks at Osmania University, Hyderabad and at North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong and a special issue of Yojana on Citizen-Centric e-Services.

Union Budget 2019 proposes the provision of Rs. 70,000 crore to Public Sector Banks to boost credit. The banks have been tasked to leverage technology, offer online personal loans and doorstep banking, and enable customers of one PSB to access services across all PSBs.

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog released its "Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index" (AMFFRI) for the year 2019. It is an index launched by NITI Aayog in 2016 to rank states and union territories based on the implementation of seven provisions proposed under the model Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act. Maharashtra was ranked first for implementing most of the marketing reforms. Gujarat secured the second rank with a score of 71.5 out of 100, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

French lawmakers approve a 3% tax on online giants. The lower house of parliament approved a small, pioneering tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. The French government hopes that other countries will follow suit.