CURRENT GK
1.Shri J P Nadda launches new family planning initiatives :-
Shri J P Nadda launches new family planning initiatives ‘Mission Parivar Vikas’ on World Population Day (11 July) to focus on 146 districts in 7 states with high TFR.
Shri Nadda stated that Mission Parivar Vikas is a new initiative conceived by the Ministry with a strategic focus on improving access through provision of services, promotional schemes, commodity security, capacity building, enabling environment and intensive monitoring.
2.SEBI amends guidelines for eligible foreign investors :-
Markets regulator SEBI amended the guidelines for eligible foreign investors looking to operate at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
In case of participation of an EFI, not registered with SEBI as an FPI, but desirous of operating in IFSC, a trading member of the recognised stock exchange in IFSC may carry out the due diligence on its own or it may rely upon the due diligence carried out by a bank, which is permitted by RBI to operate in IFSC, during the account opening process of an EFI.
3.CPI at 1.54%, below RBI comfort zone :-
Consumer price inflation slipped below the central bank’s lower tolerance level to 1.54% in June and industrial output growth decelerated to 1.72% in May, prompting Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian to hint at the need to reboot monetary policy assumptions including ‘systematic inflation forecast errors’ he had red-flagged earlier.
“The number of 1.54% is historically low and reflects the firm and ongoing consolidation of macro-economic stability,” Mr. Subramanian said soon after the data was released. “The last time we saw such inflation — according to a slightly different CPI series (IW) — was in 1999 and before that in August 1978.”
4.A.P., Telangana and Gujarat top in ease of doing business :-
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat are the three best-performing states in “ease of doing business” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.
One the other hand, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam fare worst in the rankings.
The World Bank, along with the Centre’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) was involved in the process of reviewing the evidence submitted by states/UTs regarding implementation of reforms for the rankings.
5.NGT bans nylon, synthetic manja :-
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed nationwide blanket ban on the use of kite strings (manja), made of nylon or any synthetic material on the grounds that it poses a threat to animals and humans.
6.RBI amends order on bankruptcy action :-
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has amended its earlier order asking banks to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against 12 companies which have outstanding loans amounting to over Rs 5,000 crore as on March 2016.
“The IAC (Internal Advisory Committee) noted that under the recommended criterion, 12 accounts totaling about 25 per cent of the current gross NPAs of the banking system would qualify for immediate reference under IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016),”.
7.Chandimal named Sri Lanka Test captain :-
Sri Lanka appointed two new captains on Wednesday to replace Angelo Mathews, who resigned after his side’s humiliating home series defeat to bottom-ranked Zimbabwe.
Dinesh Chandimal will lead the Test side while Upul Tharanga will captain in limited-overs matches, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said.
8.India’s Mithali Raj becomes first to score 6000 runs in women’s ODI cricket :-
Indian captain Mithali Raj (34) scripted history by becoming first player in the history of women’s ODI cricket to score more than 6000 career runs.
She also became all-time leading run-getter in women’s ODI. She achieved the record feat against Australia in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 match at Bristol.
She broke previous record of Charlotte Edwards (5992) in 164 innings – 16 less than Charlotte.
9.Union Cabinet approves establishment of International Rice Research Institute in Varanasi :-
The Union Cabinet has approved establishment of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) set up a regional centre International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a global rice research institute.
It will be named as IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) and will be set up at campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
10.Australia canters to an eight-wicket victory :-
India’s semifinal prospects suffered a setback after Australia cantered to an eight-wicket victory, riding on a superb batting show by its top order in the ICC Women’s World Cup here on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, opener Punam Raut’s fighting century and skipper Mithali Raj’s 69 helped India post 226 for seven.
11.5 States, 1 UT ink MoU with Centre on Government e-Marketplace :-
5 States and a Union Territory (UT) have formally adopted the Centre’s Government e-Marketplace (GeM) initiative.
They are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and Puducherry (UT). In this regard, these states/UT have signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join GeM initiative
12.Rajasthan: First State to fix minimum education qualification for cooperative body poll :-
Rajasthan has become the first State in the country to lay down the minimum educational qualifications for contesting elections to village cooperative societies and various other cooperative bodies.
In this regard, state government has amended State Cooperative Societies Rules, 2003.
The new rules would benefit about 10,000 cooperative and agricultural credit societies.
Moreover, the benefit of education will accrue to the societies as their management will go to expert hands.
