NATIONAL NEWS
1.Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill 2019:-
The Lok Sabha has passed the Finance Bill, 2019 that gives effect to the proposals of the Central Government for the year 2019-2020. Explaining the proposed amendments in the taxation Acts, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out that the said amendments will promote ‘Make in India’ and Startups.On the incentives being provided for Electrical Vehicles, she said that the deduction on the loan interest is to encourage buyers, keeping in mind the state of the environment. On a question raised about digital payments made to political parties, the Finance Minister answered that digital payments always leave a trail, right from the destination to the source, making such payments more transparent.
2.MoU signed to eradicate TB by 2025:-
Union Health Ministry has signed an MoU with Ministries of Ayush, Defence and Railways to strengthen the efforts towards a TB-Free India by 2025.Around 28 lakh people contract the disease every year in the country and four lakh people die every year. Speaking on the occasion, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said, TB will be completely eradicated from the country in the same way polio was.
3.HRD Minister releases UGC guide to student induction programme:-
Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank released the UGC Guide to Student Induction Programme – Deeksharambh in New Delhi yesterday.Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said, the guide will help new students to build bonds with fellow students and faculty members in the new environment.
4.Pakistan to grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav:-
Pakistan has said, it will grant consular access to Indian national Kulbushan Jadhav as per the Pakistani laws, for which the modalities are being worked out.
The Pakistan Foreign Ministry, in a statement last night, said, pursuant to the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Jadhav has been informed of his rights as per the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
Meanwhile, India has called upon Pakistan to release and repatriate its national Kulbhushan Jadhav following the ICJ judgment. Making a statement in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar asserted that Jadhav is innocent of the charges made against him and his forced confession without legal representation and due process will not change this reality.In April 2017, Jadhav was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism following which India had moved the ICJ, seeking a stay on his death sentence and further remedies.
5.Karnataka Governor asks CM to prove majority by 1:30 pm today:-
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala has written to the Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy to prove the majority of his government on the floor of the House today on or before 1.30 P.M. He has mentioned in the letter that 15 MLAs have handed over the resignation letter to him and two independent has withdrawn support to the government.With this, the Governor said, the government has been reduced to a minority.The government, which was formed with the support of 117 MLAs, has lost its strength by the resignation of the 15 MLAs and withdrawal of support from two independents.
Addressing the media soon after the house was adjourned, Karnataka BJP President BS Yeddyurappa said that yesterday’s incidents on the floor of the house were nothing but an insult to democracy and Parliamentary system.Meanwhile, MLAs led by BS Yeddyurappa resorted to overnight dharna in Vidhana Soudha protesting against the adjournment of Assembly proceedings without taking up trust vote.The Karnataka Assembly session will resume today at 11.00 A.M.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
6.Iran urges Europe to accelerate efforts to save nuclear deal:-
Iran has asked Europe to speed up efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal. According to a statement on Iran’s official website, President Rouhani told French President Emmanuel Macron that Europe must accelerate its efforts to realize Iran’s legitimate interests and bring about a ceasefire inWashington’s economic war against Iran.He also warned that missed opportunities would force Iran to drop further commitments under the deal.
7.Motihari- Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline will be a game-changer for Nepal Indian Ambassador:-
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri has said Motihari- Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline will be a game-changer for Nepal.Addressing a programme in Kathmandu yesterday, Ambassador Puri said the petroleum pipeline has been successfully completed and there is a need to lay a gas pipeline. He said theMotihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline will help in tackling the oil storage problem in Nepal and doing away with transportation of petroleum products through tankers.The 69-kilometre long petroleum pipeline from Motihari in Bihar to Amelkhgunj in Nepal has been constructed by India. It will ensure smooth, cost-effective and environment-friendly supply of petroleum products to Nepal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli had launched the ground-breaking ceremony of the pipeline in April last year during Mr. Oli’s visit to India.Meanwhile, testing of the pipeline has been completed. As part of trial, diesel was released from Motihari on last Wednesday which is likely to reach at Amlekhgunj today.
8.Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to visit China next week:-
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed AlNahyan will be on a state visit to China next week.During the visit, Sheikh Mohamed and Chinese President Xi Jinping will review the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two countries across various sectors in addition to regional and international issues of common concern.Sheikh Mohamed will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising a number of Sheikhs, ministers and senior officials.China is the UAE’s second-largest trading partner, with almost 60 billion US Dollars bilateral trade in 2017, which is expected to go up to 70 billion US Dollars by 2020.The UAE provides Chinese businesses with a platform to access vast emerging markets, with a total population of over 2 billion expats living in the country. Over 4,000 Chinese companies are operating in the UAE.The UAE accounted for 30 per cent of Chinese exports to Arab countries, and 22 per cent of the Sino-Arab trade in 2017.Among Arab countries, the UAE, with a total investment of over 2.1 billion USD, has the largest number of investment projects in China as of 2017.
SPORTS NEWS
9.India squad selection meeting for West Indies tour postponed:-
The national selection panel’s meeting to pick squads for the West Indies Cricket tour has been postponed to Sunday amid intense focus on skipper Virat Kohli’s availability and veteran Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s future.The meeting was earlier scheduled for today but was postponed following the Committee of Administrators’ directive that the Chairman of the panel, instead of the BCCI Secretary, will convene it.
T20 Internationals are scheduled from the 3rd to the 6th of next month, while the ODIs will take place from 8th to 14th.The two-Test matches will be played from 22nd August to 3rd September.
10.Sarabjot Singh wins India’s ninth gold in ISSF Junior World Cup:-
In Shooting, extending India’s domination at the ISSF Junior World Cup, Sarabjot Singh shot a 239.6 to bag the men’s 10 metres air pistol gold.
This is India’s ninth yellow metal at the event in Suhl, Germany.Sarabjit’s effort meant that India swept both the men’s and women’s 10 metres air pistol crowns with 14-year-old Esha Singh winning the women’s event yesterday. After six days of top-class shooting and with one more day to go, India remain on top of the medal standings with nine gold, nine silver and four bronze for a total of 22 medals
BUSINESS NEWS
11.Now the toy got into Reliance business, bought the world’s oldest company, Hamalaje:-
Reliance has now made its move in the toy market too. Reliance Brands has completed the acquisition of the toys business of the company, Hamlets. Reliance Brands has acquired this acquisition of 6.79 million pounds (about Rs 620 crore). Here, the Haimelage Company started in 1760 and is the world’s oldest toy business company.Reliance Brands is an subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Significantly, Reliance Brands signed an agreement to buy a 100 percent stake in Haimalage Global Holdings from Hong Kong’s C Banner International in May. According to the news agency PTI, Reliance Brands has said in the information given to the stock market that it has bought a 100 per cent stake in Hamilge by establishing a special company (SPV) in Britain.
The toy company Hamelze has sold many times. In 2015, China’s B Banner International acquired Hamelge in 10 million yen. In October last year, Sky News had said that Listed Sea Banner International at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has started a strategic review for the ongoing losses and wants to sell it. Let’s say Hamelage has 167 stores in 18 countries.
12.Digital transmission speeds up 51 percent in the year 2018-19:-
The country has witnessed a huge boost in the case of digital transactions. In the year 2018-19, digital transactions in India have increased by 51 percent over the previous year. With this increase, total digital transactions exceeded 3,133.58 crores. In the Parliament on Thursday, the government said that in the case of digital payments, the government is not seeing any kind of difficulty.In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that in the first month of the current financial year (30th April, 2019), digital transaction of 313 crores was made. On whether the Government is aware of the problem of struggle in digital payments, Minister RaviShankar Prasad said, “No … there is no such struggle or difficulty in digital payment and the transaction is increasing year after year. ” Prasad said that the government is constantly taking steps to promote digital payments. He said that in the year 2018-19, compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 51% in digital transactions, which resulted in total digital transactions reaching 3,133.58 crores. However, the percentage increase is less than the previous year’s growth. Total Digital Transactions in Year 2017-18 was Rs 2,070.39 crores.In response to another question, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that Digital Transaction from Bhima Apache was 31.9 lakh in April 2017, which has increased to 154.9 lakh in June, 2019. Bhim or Bharat Interface for Money is a mobile payment app prepared by the National Payments Corporation of India based on the UPI.
