DAILY GK 8 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 8 AUG 2019

1. PARLIAMENT PASSED THE CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL, 2019

✔The Rajya Sabha has passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019. The bill will lead to setting up of a Central Consumer Protection Authority to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.

✔The Bill seeks to strengthen the rights of consumers and provides a mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding defects in goods and deficiency in services. The bill will replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

2. LOK SABHA PASSED THE TRANSGENDER PERSONS (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) BILL, 2019

✔Lok Sabha passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019 by a voice vote. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 19, 2019 by the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Thaawarchand Gehlot.

✔The Bill defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth and according to 2011 Census, there are more than 4.80 lakh transgenders in India.

✔The Bill prohibits any kind of discrimination against a transgender person.

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DAILY GK 6 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 6 AUG 2019

1. CENTRE TO REPEAL OF ARTICLE 370 AND 35A THAT GRANTS SPECIAL STATUS TO J&K

✔Government announced to repeal Article 370 [except the first clause 370 (1)] and Article 35A which grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

✔Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019 in Rajya Sabha which seeks to bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir into 2 Union territories – J&K a Union Territory with Legislature, and Ladakh Union Territory without Legislature.

✔President Ram Nath Kovind in “concurrence” with the “Jammu and Kashmir government” promulgated Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019 which states that provisions of the Indian Constitution are applicable in the state. It comes into force “at once”, and shall supersede the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954.

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DAILY GK 4 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 4 AUG 2019

1. PARLIAMENT PASSED AIRPORTS ECONOMIC REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (AMENDMENT) BILL 2019

✔Parliament passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which amends the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.

✔The new bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports to over 35 lakh from 15 lakh. It is increased as the number of air traffic passengers has been increased 117 million from 2008 to 345 million.

✔Tariff determination: Under the Act, AERA is responsible for determining the tariff for aeronautical services at different airports every 5 years, development fees of major airports, and the service fee of passengers. 

2. WORLD’S FIRST ULTRA-FAST HYPERLOOP PROJECT GRANTED TO MAHARASHTRA

✔The infrastructure project status worth $10billion was granted to Maharashtra by India, to establish the world’s first ultra-fast Hyperloop project.

✔This project stretching over 117.5km, will link Mumbai with the neighbouring city of Pune and travels to the destination in about 35 minutes.

✔Hyperloops freight at speeds up to 1200 km per hour using magnetic to levitate pods inside an airless tube.

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DAILY GK 5 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 5 AUG 2019

1. Lok Sabha to become paperless from next session

✔Speaker of Lok Sabha, Om Birla announced that the Lower House will become paperless from the next session. It will save crores of rupees to the exchequer/ national treasury.

2. Netherlands imposed ban on burqa and niqab in public places

✔The cabinet of Netherlands imposed a ban on Burqa or niqab in public places, including public transport, government buildings and at health and education institutions. Anyone found guilty will have to pay a fine of Rs 28,000.

✔Along with burqa, niqab or veil, it also banned motor helmets and ski masks. It does not include headscarves, as they cover only the head and not the face. A fine of 150 euros will be imposed on breaking the law.

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DAILY GK 3 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 3 AUG 2019

1. NAGAR KIRTAN(SIKH RELIGIOUS PROCESSION) FROM PAKISTAN REACHES INDIA FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE PARTITION

✔To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the Sikhism founder, a Nagar Kirtan, a Sikh religious procession was taken out for 1st time after Independence from Nankana Sahib district of Pakistan’s Punjab province entered into Attari village in Amritsar, Punjab.

✔The procession which comprising around 500 Sikh devotees will stop at Golden Temple of Amritsar before it begins its onward journey.

✔2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Government of India will celebrate the event throughout the country and across the globe for a period of one year from November 2018 to November 2019.

2. RBI GRANTED BANK OF CHINA TO OFFER REGULAR BANKING SERVICES IN INDIA

✔India’s central banking institution, RBI has allowed Bank of China to provide regular bank services in India. BoC will be included in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

✔Jan Small Finance Bank Ltd has also been included in the second schedule. Apart from this, the name ‘Royal Bank of Scotland’ has been changed to ‘NetWest Market Plc’.

✔ ‘National Bank of Australia’ has been removed from the bank list under the Banking Regulation Act,1949.

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DAILY GK 1 AUG 2019

DAILY GK 1 AUG 2019

1. Parliament passed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019

✔Parliament passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019.

✔The bill criminalizes instant triple talaq among Muslims and attracts a jail term of three years for the husband.

✔It protects the rights of married Muslim women and prevent divorce by the practice of instantaneous and irrevocable ‘talaq-e-biddat’ by their husbands. It also provides the rights of subsistence allowance, custody of minor children to victims of triple talaq i.e. talaq-e-biddat.

2. Govt sanctioned project for development of Tirthankar Circuit covering sites associated with Jainism under Swadesh Darshan scheme

✔Government has sanctioned Rs.52.39 crores for the project development of Vaishali, Arrah, Masad,  Patna, Rajgir, Pawapuri, Champapuri in Bihar under the Tirthankar Circuit theme of Swadesh Darshan Scheme in the year 2016-17.

✔The ministry has identified Tirthankar Circuit as one of 15 thematic circuits for development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme. All sites in the country related to Jainism are covered under this Circuit.

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DAILY GK 31 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 31 JULY 2019

1. INDIA SIGNS MOU WITH MYANMAR ON DEFENSE CO-OPERATION IN NEW DELHI

✔India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Myanmar on defence co-operation in New Delhi after the 2 sides held talks on issues including reviewing joint exercises and training provided to Myanmar Defence Services in India, strengthening maritime security through joint surveillance and developing new infrastructure.

✔Myanmar is a key support of India’s Act East Policy towards prioritizing relations with its East Asian neighbors.

2. SINGAPORE TOPS ASIA IN DELL GLOBAL WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR CITIES INDEX 2019, BENGALURU TOP INDIAN CITY

✔According to the latest “Women Entrepreneur Cities Index 2019”, IHS Markit, Singapore tops in Asian city ranked at 21st position, while Indian cities Bengaluru(Karnataka) and Delhi were ranked 43rd (7th in Asia) and 50th (10th in Asia) respectively.

✔San Francisco Bay Area has topped the list followed by New York and London.

✔The ranking measures a city’s ability to attract and support high potential women entrepreneurs. And it is constructed using five “pillars” include market, talent, capital (all 3 under operating Environment), culture and technology (under Enabling Environment).

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DAILY GK 30 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 30 JULY 2019

1. AVERAGE MONTHLY INCOME PER AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLD LESS THAN RS. 6500: AGRICULTURE MINISTRY

✔Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar stated that the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources is Rs. 6,426 in the country based on survey conducted by NSSO.  

✔In April 2016, The Government had constituted an inter-ministerial committee to examine the issues relating to doubling of farmers’ income and recommend strategies to achieve that goal.

✔In September 2018, the Committee has submitted its Report to the Government & it considered the estimates of agricultural household’s income obtained from NSSO 70th round unit-level data as the base level income. The Committee has kept 2015-16 as the base year.

2. “PINK COACHES” INTRODUCED FOR WOMEN BY THE NORTHEAST FRONTIER RAILWAY ZONE

✔The Northeast Frontier Railway zone has introduced pink colored SLR coach for women. These pink coaches will help women passengers to identify their coach during rush hours.

✔Railway Police Force and ticket checking staff will be deployed by the railway authorities to stabilize the new system.

✔Initially a total of 8 trains in Rangiya district have begun the operations. They are- 6 trains between New Bongaigaon and Guwahati & 2 trains between Rangiya and Murkongselek.

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DAILY GK 29 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 29 JULY

1. Ministry of Mines organizes workshop called ‘Waste To Wealth’ on effective utilization of ‘Red Mud’ in New Delhi

✔The Ministry of Mines in association with the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre Nagpur, has organized a workshop called ‘Waste To Wealth’ on productive utilization of ‘Red Mud’ in New Delhi.

✔The workshop discussed the present status regarding the generation of red mud and its safe disposal and utilization.

✔Deliberations were held to focus efforts for productive utilization of red mud with necessary government support, which will be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders. A road-map will also be prepared based on these Deliberations.

2. BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting 2019 held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

✔Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa Foreign Ministers Meet was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

✔India was represented by Gen. (retd) VK Singh who is the Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways.

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DAILY GK 28 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 28 JULY 2019

1. India, Saudi Arabia held discussions on bilateral hydrocarbon cooperation

✔Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel held a meeting with Mr Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of Saudi Aramco in New Delhi.

✔They discussed on improving India-Saudi Arabia hydrocarbon cooperation in order to strengthen the existing overall strategic partnership between the two countries.

✔Minister Al-Falih stressed on the need for capitalizing on the growing momentum in bilateral hydrocarbon cooperation.

✔Mr Pradhan discussed the current developments in the global oil and gas markets, raised India’s concerns on the recent increase in Asian Premium and the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus members on extending production cuts, leading to oil price volatility and highlighted the adverse impact of these developments on the Indian economy.

2. Western Railways first printing press heritage gallery opened at Mahalaxmi, Mumbai

✔Western Railways opened its first printing press heritage gallery named Western Railway Mahalaxmi General Stores Depot at Mahalaxmi in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was inaugurated by V P Pathak, Member of the Railway Board.

✔It became the first press in Indian Railways to portray a heritage gallery of the printing and allied machines used in the Western Railway Printing Press since 1948.

3. 23 self-styled and unrecognized universities announced by the University Grants Commission

✔The University Grants Commission which coordinates, determines and maintains standards of higher education, has released a list of 23 universities which are declared “self-styled” and “unrecognized“. These universities contradict the UGC Act 1956.

✔Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of unrecognized universities – 8

✔It is followed by Delhi having 7 fake Universities.

✔Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Puducherry have 1 fake university each while West Bengal and Odisha have two fake universities each

4. INS Tarkash reached Saint Petersburg, Russia to take part in the Russian Navy Day parade

✔INS Tarkash which was constructed for the Indian Navy by Russia reached Saint Petersburg, Russia to take part in the Russian Navy Day parade celebrated on 28 July.

✔The Indian delegation is led by Vice Admiral Ajith Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command and INS Tarkash.

✔More than 40 ships, 40 planes and helicopters, and a total of 4000 service men will take part in the Navy day celebration.

5. Jordan opens its first underwater military museum

✔Jordan, an Arab country in Western Asia, opened its first Underwater Military Museum Dive Site, off its Red Sea coast, Aqaba.

✔The objective of the museum is to offer a new type of museum experience combining sports, environment and exhibits for divers, snorkelers and visitors on glass-bottomed boats.

✔It has several tanks, an ambulance, a military crane, a troop carrier, an anti-aircraft battery, guns, Jordanian Armed Forces AH-1 Cobra Helicopter, 19 decommissioned pieces of military hardware, submerged at depths up to 28 metres.

6. Indian government’s NHA and NATHEALTH signs MoU under Ayushman Bharat scheme

✔The National Health Authority and the Healthcare Federation of India signed MoU to improve efficiency of Service Delivery under Ayushman Bharat scheme which is also called as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

✔Under the vision of “Health for All”, this collaboration will provide and enable interface for testing healthcare innovation ecosystem, adopting, funding, and providing mentorship in creating channels for scaling these innovations.

7. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury appointed as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee

✔Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

✔It comprises of total 22 members which include 15 members from Lok Sabha and 7 members from Rajya Sabha.

8. Apple to acquire Intel’s smartphone modem business for a transaction value of $1 billion

✔Apple and Intel signed an agreement where Apple will acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion.

✔2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases.

9. Iran test-launched a medium-range missile Shahab-3

✔Iran test-launched a medium-range ballistic missile inside its borders- Shahab-3.

✔It is derived from a North Korean missile called the Nodong-A and can fly 1,150 to 2,000 kilometers, or up to 1,242 miles, depending on the variant.

10. Overview of ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2019 held in Suhl, Germany

✔International Shooting Sport Federation Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2019 was held at the Shooting Center, Suhl, Germany.

✔India won 4 Gold in team event & 6 in Individual event, 4 Silver in team event & 5 in Individual event and 3 Bronze in team event & 2 in Individual event.

✔India tops the medal tally followed by China, Germany, USA and Russia.

11. Hungarian teenager Kristof Milak broke the men’s 200 meters butterfly world record

✔A 19year-old swimmer Kristof Milak of Hungary broke men’s 200 metres butterfly world record to win the gold medal at the 18th FINA World swimming championships 2019 held in Gwangju, South Korea.

✔Milak was followed by Japan’s Daiya Seto and South African Chad le Clos.

✔At the 2018 European Aquatics Championships, he won the gold medal in the men’s 200-metre butterfly event.

12. Byju’s Replaces Oppo as new sponsor of Indian team till 2022

✔An e-learning platform, Byju’s will be the official Team India sponsor for a period of three years.

✔Byju’s will now be seen on the Indian team jersey from September 15 when India starts its South Africa tour.

13. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India, released book titled ‘New-Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0’

✔The Vice President of India Shri Venkaiah Naidu released book titled ‘New-Age Technology and Industrial Revolution 4.0’ in New Delhi.

✔It is authored by Rajya Sabha Member, Dr Narendra Jadhav.

✔The launch was co-hosted by The Dialogue, a Delhi based think-tank which works on the intersection of technology, society and public-policy.

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DAILY GK 26 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 26 JULY 2019

1. POCSO (Amendment) Bill, 2019 with provision of death penalty passed by Rajya Sabha

✔Rajya Sabha passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which provides for death penalty to the culprits in the cases of sexual assault and stringent punishments for other crimes against children.

✔It provides for the levy of fines and imprisonment up to 5 years to curb child pornography. In the event of a second or subsequent conviction, the punishment would be up to seven years and fine.

2. New Vande Bharat express completes Delhi-Katra trial run

✔The trial run of India’s fastest second Vande Bharat Express (also known as Train 18) on New Delhi to Katra(Jammu and Kashmir) route was successfully conducted by Indian Railways’ Northern Railway zone.

✔The train designed and manufactured by Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, run at a speed of 160 km per hour & it reduces travel time between Delhi-Katra from 12 hours to 8 hours.

✔The Delhi-Katra express will have three stops include Ambala, Ludhiana, and Jammu.

✔The 2nd high-speed train will also help devotees who visit Vaishno Devi temple Shrine.

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DAILY GK 25 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 25 JULY 2019

1. 12TH EDITION OF THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX FOR THE YEAR 2019

✔Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal launched the 12th Edition of the Global Innovation Index for the year 2019 in New Delhi.

✔The theme of the 2019 GII is “Creating Healthy Lives – The Future of Medical Innovation”.

✔The event was co-hosted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in collaboration with the WIPO and CII.

✔India was ranked 52nd in 2019.

✔Switzerland topped the list.

2. IMF LOWERS INDIA’S GROWTH FORECAST FOR 2019-20 TO 7% FROM 7.3%

✔According to the IMF’s the latest update of WEO report 2019, India’s GDP growth expected to grow by 7% in 2019 and 7.2% in 2020.

✔It scales down its outlook for both the years due to a broad-based slowdown in consumption and investment demand in India.

✔IMF also cuts global growth projection by 10bps (Basis point) to 3.2% for 2019 and 3.5 percent in 2020 due to US tariff sanctions, Brexit related uncertainty.

✔World Bank projected India’s GDP growth rate remained at 7.5 percent for the next three financial year.

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DAILY GK 24 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 24 JULY 2019

1. UNDER PMKSNY, MORE THAN 7 CRORE 32 LAKH FARMER FAMILIES RECEIVED FIRST TWO INSTALMENTS OF RS 2000 EACH

✔Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, more than 7 crore 32 lakh farmer families across India received the first and second instalments of Rs 2000 each amounting to 14 thousand 646 crore rupees.

✔The list was topped by Uttar Pradesh followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

2. MAHARASHTRA TOPS IN ATM FRAUDS: RBI

✔According to the data of the RBI Maharashtra registered the highest number of ATM frauds in India for the FY 2018-19. It was followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

✔There was an increase in ATM fraud cases up from 911 cases in 2017-18 to 980 in 2018-19.

✔The amount involved was decreased from Rs 65.3 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 21.4 crore in 2018-19.

✔Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura were the only three states which did not report a single incident.

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DAILY GK 23 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 23 JULY 2019

1. LOK SABHA PASSED PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (AMENDMENT) BILL 2019

✔According to the bill, besides a Chief justice of India, a former Supreme Court judge can also be made the chairperson of National Human Rights Commission.

✔The bill also proposes to enable any person to be the chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission who has been a judge of a high court

✔The bill amends the protection of Human Rights Act 1993 to provide that a person who has been Chief Justice of India or a judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the NHRC.

✔The protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2019 provides two persons having knowledge of human right to be appointed as the members of the NHRC.

2. LUCKNOW TO HOST ASIA’S BIGGEST ARM SHOW ‘DEFEXPO’ IN FEBRUARY 2020

✔Lucknow will host the 11th biennial edition of DefExpo from February 5 to 8, 2020.

✔The focus of the Expo will be on “Digital transformation of defence”.

✔The main theme of DefExpo India-2020 will be “India: the emerging defence manufacturing hub”.

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DAILY GK 22 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 22 JULY 2019

1. E-POSTAL BALLOT REGISTERED 60.14% TURNOUT IN 2019 LOK SABHA ELECTIONS

✔Using the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System, out of the 18,02,646 service electors, 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout in Lok Sabha elections 2019.

✔Persons working in paramilitary forces, the military and government officials deployed in diplomatic missions outside India are classified as Service Voters.

✔It was introduced by the Election Commission of India for Lok Sabha elections 2019 with the motto “no voter to be left behind”.

2. AMITA PRASAD TAKES CHARGE AS ‘INLAND WATERWAYS’ AUTHORITY CHIEF AND AK JHA TO LEAD NPC

✔Amita Prasad has been appointed as chairperson of Inland Waterways Authority of India Ministry of Shipping, in the rank and pay of secretary.

✔She replaces Shri Jalaj Shrivastava.

✔Prasad is currently serving as Director-General, National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

✔She also served as additional secretary in Ministry of statistics and programming.

✔Arun Kumar Jha, 1985 batch Indian Economic Service officer, has been appointed as National Productivity Council, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, as its Director-General.

✔He replaces Amita Prasad.

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DAILY GK 21 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 21 JULY 2019

1. HRD MINISTRY LAUNCHES NEW UGC SCHEME “PARAMARSH” FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

✔Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Human Resource Development launched a Scheme called “Paramarsh” of University Grants Commission in New Delhi.

✔This scheme aims at mentoring National Accreditation and Assessment Council accreditation aspirant institutions to develop quality assurance in Higher Education.

✔Under the scheme, the prime Mentoring institutions will provide regular mentoring to colleges to help achieve high-quality standards. For mentoring they will get the financial assistance & also the option of appointing an expert, who can be paid a fellowship amount of Rs 31,000 per month.

2. 8TH EDITION OF HAND-IN-HAND MILITARY EXERCISE 2019

✔The 8th edition of Hand-in-Hand Military exercise 2019 between India, China will be held on December 2019 at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya.

✔The exercise will focus on transnational counter-terror operations, the establishment of a joint command post, joint combat, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions.

✔The 7th edition was held at Chengdu, China in December 2018.

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DAILY GK 20 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 20 JULY 2019

1. INDIA TO BE FREE OF TUBERCULOSIS BY 2025

✔Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the parliamentarians take up a social cause or an issue of human sensitivity as a mission.

✔India has fixed a deadline of 2025 for eradicating tuberculosis against the global deadline of 2030. He stressed on the need to eradicate them.

✔Union Health Ministry signed a MoU with the Ministries of Defence, Railways and Ayurveda, AYUSH to eliminate TB from India by 2025 in the presence of Minister of State for Health Ashwini K Choubey and Minister of AYUSH Shripad Nayak.

2. ADB LOWERS INDIA’S FY2020 GDP GROWTH FORECAST TO 7%

✔According to ‘Asian Development Outlook 2019, India’s GDP growth expected to grow by 7% in 2019 (FY-Fiscal Year 2020).

✔Growth is expected to increase again to 7.2% in FY21, helped by recent reforms to improve the business climate, strengthen banks and relieve agrarian distress.

✔Due to the manufacturing and agriculture sectors witnessed slowing down over the past year, Fitch also decreases India’s GDP growth forecast for FY20, to 6.6% from 6.8 %.

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DAILY GK 19 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 19 JULY 2019

1. GOVT TO INCREASE COAL PRODUCTION TO ONE BILLION TONE BY 2022-23

✔GoI plan to increase the total production of coal in the country to 1 billion tone by 2022-23. Coal minister said that the gap between demand and supply of coal cannot be bridged completely as there is insufficient domestic availability of coking coal.

2. “FIND THE INCREDIBLE YOU” CAMPAIGN OF THE TOURISM MINISTRY WINS PATA GOLD AWARD 2019

✔The Ministry of Tourism’s campaign, “Find the Incredible you” has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Award 2019 under the “Marketing – Primary Government Destination” category.

✔It was launched as part of ‘Incredible India 2.0’ Campaign. Series of transformative experiences of foreign through unique storytelling in the format of autobiographies with the tagline “Find the Incredible You were launched under the campaign, which had shifted strategy focus from external experience of tourist destinations to internal experience of travelers themselves.

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DAILY GK 18 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 18 JULY 2019

1. RBI SLAPS A PENALTY ON SBI &UNION BANK FOR VIOLATING VARIOUS NORMS

✔RBI has penalized State Bank of India with Rs.7 crore and Union Bank of India with Rs.10-lakh for violating certain regulatory guidelines.

✔The penalty imposed on SBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2017 reported  non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits, and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds.

✔The RBI imposed the Rs 10 lakh fine on Union Bank of India for lapses in cybersecurity framework.

2. GPF RATES REDUCED BY 10 BPS TO 7.9% FROM 8%

✔Ministry of Finance informed that the rates of the General Provident Fund were reduced by 10 basis points to 7.9% from 8% with effect from July 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019.

✔All government employees who joined service on or before December 31, 2003 contribute to GPF. An officer/employee contributes 6% of his/her basic salary with an equal contribution from the Government.

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DAILY GK 17 JULY 2019

DAILY GK 17 JULY 2019

1. MORE THAN 820 MILLION PEOPLE SUFFER FROM HUNGER: STATE OF FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION IN THE WORLD 2019 REPORT

✔The report named State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 produced by the United Nations FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO was released and It stated that in the year 2018, more than 820 million people suffered from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide.

✔It is the for the third year in a row the number has risen.

✔At present, globally 1 in every 9 people suffer from hunger.

2. FOUNDATION STONE OF BABA GURU NANAK INTERNATIONAL VARSITY LAID IN PAK

✔The foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak International University has been laid in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

✔The construction of the varsity is part of Pakistan Prime Minister’s vision to facilitate students in Nankana Sahib and other adjoining districts & will help promote religious tourism in Pakistan and also portray country’s good image at international level.

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