NATIONAL NEWS
1.Govt committed to eradicate problem of child labour: Santosh Kumar Gangwar:- 
Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said that government is committed to eradicate the problem of child labour from all parts of the country. In a written reply in Lok Sabha yesterday, the Minister said, more than three lakh 20 thousand children have been rescued from various forms of child labour during last five years. He said, the government is implementing the National Child Labour Project scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labourer. Women and Child Development Ministry is also implementing Child Protection Services for care, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult circumstances.
2.Lok Sabha takes up discussion on Union Budget :-
The Lok Sabha has taken up discussion on the UnionBudget-2019-2020. Initiating the discussion, Shashi Tharoor of Congress termed the Budget as rhetoric and full of empty promises. He accused the government of not fulfilling its promise of generating two crore jobs annually, but, in fact, joblessness in the country is high.
He said, under the crop insurance scheme, actually the Insurance companies are charging more from the farmers as premium and the timely compensation was not paid to the affected farmers.Mr Tharoor also alleged that Kerala has been neglected in the Budget and there is no allocation for the rehabilitation of the flood-hit state. He said, no allocation has been made for coastal management.Participating in the debate, Jayant Sinha of BJP said, when the NDA Government came to power in 2014, the economic condition of the country was not good and it put the economy on the track.He claimed, the government will archive the target of making India a five trillion dollar economy. Mr Sinha said that the government has increased the GDP from 111 lakh crore rupees in 2014 to 188 lakh crore rupees.Mr Sinha said, by containing fiscal deficit, the government has reduced the borrowings and boost the savings. TR Baalu of DMK said that increase in the price of fuel will lead to a cascading effect and burden the common man.
Kalyan Banerjee of Trinamool Congress said, the budget has no vision and it speaks of nothing but corporate. He questioned why the fuel prices are being hiked despite the rate of crude oil has decreased in the global market.
Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab stressed on the need to implement a new public investment programme. Sukhbir Singh Badal of Shiromani Akali Dal appreciated the government for implementing Ayushman Bharat scheme to provide five lakh rupees health cover annually to the poor family.Danish Ali of Bahujan Samaj Party alleged that the budget has not taken care of the poor, farmers, middle class and it is a pro-corporate budget.Jagdambika Pal, Ramesh Bidhuri and Raksha Khadse of BJP, Shrirang Appa Barne of Shiv Sena and members of other parties participated in the discussion. The debate on the budget remained inconclusive.
3.DNA Technology (Use and Application) Registration Bill, 2019 introduced in LS :-
The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Registration Bill, 2019 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to provide for the regulation if use and application of Deoxyribinucleic Acid- DNA technology for the purposes of establishing the identity of certain categories of persons, including the victims, offenders, suspects, undertrials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons. Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan introduced the bill.Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of Congress opposed the introduction of the bill, saying that it violates the fundamental rights of individuals.
4.Parliament passes Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill :-
Parliament has passed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 with the Rajya Sabha approving it yesterday. The Lok Sabha had already passed the bill. The bill seeks to amend Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 and to further amend the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The bill also proposes giving a child an option to exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age. Replying to a debate on the bill, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government will soon bring a Data Protection Bill in Parliament. He said, a comprehensive law will be framed in this regard.Mr Prasad said that amendments to Aadhaar and other laws were necessitated after the Supreme Court’s ruling on privacy.
INTERNATION NEWS
5.US Prez Trump discusses standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme with Emmanuel Macron :-
US President Donald Trump has discussed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron the standoff over Iran’s nuclear programme. In a statement, White House said that the two leaders discussed ongoing efforts to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon and to end Iran’s destabilizing behaviour in the Middle East. Iran breached a uranium enrichment cap set by a 2015 nuclear deal that the Trump administration abandoned last year. Washington has imposed punishing sanctions on Tehran, and tensions between the two sides have risen further amid Iran’s downing of an American drone.
6.Sri Lanka: Construction begins for upgradation of Palali airport near Jaffna :-
In Sri Lanka, construction work has begun for upgradation of Palali airport near Jaffna in Tamil-majority Northern Province.Speaking at a function to mark the inauguration last week, Minister of Transport and Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga said direct flights would be initially operated to Indian destinations of Bangalore, Cochin, Mumbai and Hyderabad through 75-seater aircraft.The Minister said that the total investment would be 2.25 billion rupees out of which, the Indian government will grant 300 million rupees for the project.He said the present 950-meter runway would be re-laid under the first phase and later would be extended to 1.5 km allowing larger aircraft to land.The Minister said that people now flying to Chennai and Bangalore from Colombo airport spend one hour flying time but waste almost six hours to get to Colombo.He said opening up Palali to Indian traffic will cut off these six hours and boost tourism and create business and job opportunities in the north.It may be mentioned that Palali airport was used for air travel between then Madras and Jaffna in the 1960s but got disrupted due to decades-long LTTE War.Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the development of the north is a high priority of his government, and an international airport in the Jaffna peninsula would boost the economy in the region.
7.US slaps new duties on steel from China and Mexico:-
United States has announced fresh duties on some Mexican and Chinese steel goods, saying those countries helped their manufacturers with unfair subsidies. The decision comes two months after President Donald Trump agreed to lift tariffs on steel and aluminium from Mexico and Canada after the three nations agreed on a revised North American free trade pact.The action was in response to a grievance lodged in February by US steel producers. In its preliminary findings, US Commerce Department found Mexican and Chinese exporters of fabricated structural steel benefitted from subsidies ranging from 30 percent to 177 percent. In a statement, Commerce Department said, US customs agents will begin collecting import duties based on the subsidy rates, but the funds could be returned if officials later reverse the finding. Citing purported threats to US national security, Trump last year announced global tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminium but in May agreed to lift them for Mexican and Canada.
SPORTS NEWS
8.India to take on New Zealand in first Semi final of ICC World Cup:-
In the ICC Cricket World Cup, two-time champions India after proving their dominance in the league stage will look to brush aside New Zealand and book a final berth when the two sides face-off in the 1st semi-final at the Old Trafford in Manchester today. The match will begin at 3 PM Indian time. All-round performances and some individual batting prowess saw India top the World Cup 2019 league stage.India, whose league stage match against New Zealand was washed out, have suffered just one defeat at this World Cup so far, against England, and ended on top of the 10-team group stage, making them strong favourites to beat the Black Caps.New Zealand, who only qualified for the semi-finals in fourth place on the basis of net run-rate, have lost their last three games — against Pakistan, holders Australia and England.The second semifinal will be played between England and Australia at Birmingham on Thursday and final on Sunday in London.
9.Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori enter men’s singles quarter-finals:-
In Wimbledon Tennis, the world number one Novak Djokovic, Second-seeded Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori have entered the Men’s singles quarter-finals. Djokovic breezed past French rookie Ugo Humbert in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with David Goffin in the quarter-finals. Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Joao Sousa of Portugal 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to enter the quarter finals. Roger Federer progressed to the quarter finals beating 17th-seeded Matteo Berrettini 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Japanese eighth seed Nishikori defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last eight. Nishikori will face Federer in his campaign to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.In Women’s Singles, seven-time champion Serena Williams reached the quarter-finals with a dominant display against Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro. The American 11th seed, raced to a 6-2, 6-2 victory against the world number 31. Williams will play compatriot Alison Riske after she upset world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia. Romanian Simona Halep defeated Cori Gauff of US 6-3, 6-3.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina also moved into the last eight with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Petra Martic of Croatia. Svitolina will now face the winner of Karolina Muchova and Karolina Pliskova in today’s quarter-finals.
BUSINESS NEWS
10.Sensex tanks 793 points; Nifty settles at 11,559:-
Benchmarks Domestic indices today plunged more than two per cent. The Sensex and Nifty, both, tumbled for the second session in a row amid heavy sell-off in global equities.Sensex at Bombay Stock Exchange declined 793 points or 2.01 per cent to trade close below 39,000 mark at 38,721.Nifty at National Stock Exchange also fell 253 points or 2.14 to trade under 11,600 level to settle at 11,559.
