DAILY Current Affairs 28 MAY 2020

DAILY GK C.A 28 MAY

1. FISH PRODUCTION TARGET SET TO 220 LMT BY FY24-25

·        Union Minister for Fisheries Giriraj Singh detailed the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) during a press conference in New Delhi.

·        PMMSY was announced as a part of the Rs 20 Lakh crore Centre’s economic stimulus package in response to COVID-19. It will be implemented for a period of 5 years i.e. from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 .

·        Importantly, the scheme is providing insurance coverage for fishing vessels, which is being introduced for the first time.

·         As a part of PMMSY, there will be Swath Sagar plan, which is envisaged with modernizing of the fisheries sector.

·        Also, Government will register “Sagar Mitra” and encourage formation of Fish Farmers Producer Organizations (FFPOs) to help achieve the PMMSY goals

 

2. “VAN DHAN SCHEME: LEARNINGS FOR POST COVID-19” 

·        Government of Rajasthan in association with The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India(TRIFED), organized a webinar  under Know Your Scheme-Lecture Series on “Van Dhan Yojana : Learning For Post Covid-19” to help the tribal people.

·        TRIFED has launched a #GoTribal campaign have opened more than 120 permanent outlets across the country (including airports), ecommerce platforms, exhibitions, and organized  grand ‘Aadi Mahotsavs.

·        TRIFED in association with  the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)  initiated Van Dhan Samajik Doori Jagrookta Abhiyaan, under which tribes are being provided with crucial information regarding COVID-19.

 

Read More

DAILY GK 24-25 MAY 2020

DAILY GK 24-25 MAY 2020

1. IDB VIRTUAL CELEBRATION ON MAY 22, 2020

·        Prakash Javadekar launched the following five key initiatives towards conservation of biodiversity during the virtual celebration of “International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB)” on the theme “Our solutions are in nature”.

·        The virtual event also saw the launch of the Campaign on Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Species: ‘Not all Animals Migrate by Choice’ by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB).

·        It was conducted by World Wide Fund (WWF) India, in partnership with MoEFCC (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change), NBA, UNEP and UNDP on May 22 and 23, as part of the International Day for Biological Diversity.

2. MARUTI SUZUKI LAUNCH ‘BUY NOW PAY LATER’ OFFER

·        Maruti Suzuki India Limited, an automobile manufacturer in India, has joined hands with the Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited (CIFCL) to launch ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ financing scheme to make the purchase of its cars even more convenient.

·        Under the scheme, customers have the option to avail a 60-day surcharge on their EMI (equated monthly instalments). However, this offer is available on select Maruti Suzuki models and is applicable on loan payments due on or before 30 June 2020.

3. KHUDOL INITIATIVE OF MANIPUR

·        United Nations (UN) has listed Khudol (gift),a crowdfunded initiative of Imphal (Manipur) based NGO Ya_All, among the top 10 global initiatives for an inclusive fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

·        NGO Ya_All’s this initiate aims to provide food, health and hygiene of the LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, people living with HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus), daily-wage earners, children and adolescents.

·        Through the network of 100 volunteers, the organization has provided over 1,000 health kits, 6,500 sanitary pads and 1,500 condoms to 2,000 families and individuals.

4. WORLD’S HIGHEST PAID FEMALE ATHLETE

·        Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, 22 years old, became the highest paid female athlete in the world, topping American great Serena Williams. Osaka has been ranked No.1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

·        Osaka earned $37.4 million in the last 12 months from prize money and endorsements, $1.4 million more than Williams, setting an all-time earnings record for a female athlete in a single year.

5. WORLD BANK NEW VICE PRESIDENT

·        World Bank named Carmen Reinhart as its new Vice President (VP) and chief economist, tapping an expert on financial crises who also serves on the advisory board of the New York Federal Reserve.

·        Reinhart’s appointment is effective on June 15, 2020.

·        She served as a professor at Harvard University, United States (US), has published a book entitled “This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly,” together with economist Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University in 2009.

·        Also Abhas Jha, Indian economist was appointed to a key position on Climate change and disaster management in South Asia by the World Bank.

6. RITES SIGNED PACT TO ACQUIRE 24% STAKE IN IRSDC

·        Infrastructure consultancy and engineering company RITES (Rail India Technical and Economic Service) has signed an agreement for acquiring 24% stake in Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) for Rs 48 crore.

·        IRSDC, a joint venture of Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) and IRCON International is tasked with redeveloping railway stations across the country.

7. WORLD TURTLE DAY- MAY 23

·        The ATR’s theme for World Turtle day 2020 is “Adopt, Don’t Shop” 

Read More

DAILY C.A 23 MAY 2020

DAILY   C.A 23 MAY 2020

1. 1 CRORE TREATMENTS PROVIDED UNDER AB-PMJAY

·        Harsh Vardhan to mark 1 crore treatments(milestone) of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana(AB-PMJAY), the flagship health assurance scheme of government since September 2018 has inaugurated the 1st edition of Arogya Dhara, a series of webinars titled “Ayushman Bharat: 1 crore treatments and beyond” which is created as an open platform for discussion on topical issues of public health and launched ‘Ask Ayushman’ a chatbot on WhatsApp & “Hospital Ranking Dashboard”.

·        Minister of State(HFW), Ashwini Kumar Choubey was present during the webinar.

·        Apart from this, he released a “Special edition of the AB-PMJAY beneficiary electronic(e)-card” exhibiting the milestone of 1 crore hospital admissions

·        Launched “Hindi version of the AB-PMJAY website” to enable effective connection with the masses and to empower them with access to right information through a user-friendly medium.

·        The treatments worth Rs 13,412 crore have been provided through a growing network of 21,565 public and private empanelled hospitals.

·        The National Health Authority(NHA) is responsible for implementing the scheme.

2. BAN GLOBAL TENDER FOR PROCUREMENT UP TO RS 200 CRORES

·        Government has notified the amendments to the General Financial Rules(GFR) 2017 to ensure that goods and services valued less than Rs 200 crores are procured from domestic firms, which states that the global tenders will be banned for government procurement upto 200 crores as announced in the AatmanirbharBharat Package.

·        This move will boost domestic suppliers, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs).

3. KHADI MASKS TO EXPORT IN FOREIGN MARKETS

·        As the Ministry of Commerce and Industries lifted the ban on export of non-medical/ non-surgical masks of all types, now Khadi and village industries commission (KVIC) is looking at exporting Khadi face masks to countries like the USA, Dubai, Mauritius, several European and Middle East countries through the Indian embassies.

·        In this regard, KVIC has already developed double layered cotton masks and triple-layered silk face masks.

·        If this came to effect then it will be a perfect example of “local the global”, a call in wake of AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan .

4. CABINET APPROVES EXTENSION OF PMVVY TILL 2023

·        Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) for further 3 years till March 31, 2023 from March 31, 2020.

·        The assured rate of return for fiscal 2020-21 has been pegged at 4% per annum. Earlier, the scheme offered an assured return of 8%.

·        PMVVY scheme, implemented through the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), gives a guaranteed payout of pension at a specified rate for 10 years to senior citizens (60 years and above) based on an assured return on the purchase price or subscription amount.

·        It also offers a death benefit in the form of return of purchase price to the nominee.

5. MONETARY POLICY STATEMENT 2020-21 RELEASED BY RBI

·        The three-day (May 20 to 22,2020) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) virtual meeting by the 6 members was headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das with the members Dr. Pami Dua, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Janak Raj, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Dr. Chetan Ghate.

·        All members of the MPC unanimously voted to reduce the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) to 4.0 % to continue with the accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19 on the economy.

Policy rate	New Rate	Previous Rate	Change in Basis points (bps)
Policy Repo Rate	4.0%	4.40 %	40
Reverse Repo Rate	3.35%	3.75%	40
Marginal Standing Facility Rate	4.25%	4.65%	40
Bank Rate	4.25%	4.65%	40
Cash reserve Ratio (CRR)	3%	3%	No change
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR)	18.00%	18.25%	25

·        India’s 2020-21 GDP growth rate expected to be negative: RBI Governor

6. IRDAI APPROVES UNION BANK 30% HOLDING IN INDIA FIRST LIFE INSURANCE 

·        Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India(IRDAI) has approved the proposal of the state owned lender Union Bank of India-UBI(which holds 25.1% stake in Star Union Dai-Chi Life) to continue with its 30% holding in IndiaFirst Life Insurance.

·        The holding is with condition that- the lender will not exercise management or any control over the insurer’s management & in appointing separate directors on the board or IndiaFirst and Star Union Dai-Chi and in case of any conflict in the decision will be taken up with the Reserve Bank of India(competent authority)

7. KKR BUYS 2.32% IN JIO PLATFORMS FOR RS 11,367 CRORES

·        Reliance Industries Limited(RIL) announced the sale of a 2.32 % stake in its digital unit, Jio Platforms to US private equity giant KKR for Rs 11,367 crores, which is the 5th deal of Jio since 22 April that will inject Rs 78,562 crores in RIL to cut debt.

Previous deals by Jio

Date	Name of the Company	Stake %	Amount in crores
April 22	Facebook	9.99%	Rs 43,574
May 4	Silver Lake	1.15%	Rs 5,665.75
May 8	Vista Equity Partners	2.32%	Rs 11,367
May 17	General Atlantic	1.34%	Rs 6,598.38

8. INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 2020-MAY 22

·        Theme for the year 2020: Our solutions are in nature.

Read More