PM Modi arrives at BRICS conference site, Chinese President Chenfing welcomes welcome

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CURRENT GK

1.PRESS COMMUNIQUE – President of India allocates portfolios of the Council of Ministers  :-

The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed the allocation of portfolios among the following members of the Union Council of Ministers:-

Shri Narendra Modi Prime Minister and also in-charge of:

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;

Department of Atomic Energy;

Department of Space; and

All important policy issues; and

All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister.

 

CABINET MINISTERS

 

1. Shri Raj Nath Singh Minister of Home Affairs.
2. Smt. Sushma Swaraj Minister of External Affairs.
3. Shri Arun Jaitley Minister of Finance; and

Minister of Corporate Affairs.

4. Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari Minister of Road Transport and Highways;

Minister of Shipping; and

Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

5. Shri Suresh Prabhu Minister of Commerce and Industry.
6. Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
7. Sushri Uma Bharati Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
8. Shri Ramvilas Paswan Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
9. Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi Minister of Women and Child Development.
10. Shri Ananthkumar Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers; and

Minister of

Parliamentary Affairs.

11. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad Minister of Law and Justice; and

Minister of Electronics and Information Technology.

12. Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
13. Shri Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati Minister of Civil Aviation.
14. Shri Anant Geete Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
15. Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal Minister of Food Processing Industries.
16. Shri Narendra Singh Tomar Minister of Rural Development;

Minister of Panchayati Raj; and

Minister of Mines.

17. Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh Minister of Steel.
18. Shri Jual Oram Minister of Tribal Affairs.
19. Shri Radha Mohan Singh Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
20. Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
21. Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Minister of Textiles; and

Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

22. Dr. Harsh Vardhan Minister of Science and Technology;

Minister of Earth Sciences; and

Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

23. Shri Prakash Javadekar Minister of Human Resource Development.
24. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and

Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

25. Shri Piyush Goyal Minister of Railways; and

Minister of Coal.

26. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Minister of Defence.
27. Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister of Minority Affairs.

 

MINISTERS OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

 

1. Rao Inderjit Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

2. Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
3. Shri Shripad Yesso Naik Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH).
4. Dr. Jitendra Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region;

Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office;

Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions;

Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and

Minister of State in the Department of Space.

5. Dr. Mahesh Sharma Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Culture; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

6. Shri Giriraj Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
7. Shri Manoj Sinha Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Communications; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.

8. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

9. Shri Raj Kumar Singh Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; and

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

10. Shri Hardeep Singh Puri Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
11. Shri Alphons Kannanthanam Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

 

MINISTERS OF STATE

 

1. Shri Vijay Goel Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

2. Shri Radhakrishnan P. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping.

3. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia Minister of State in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
4. Shri Ramesh Chandappa Jigajinagi Minister of State in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
5. Shri Ramdas Athawale Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
6. Shri Vishnu Deo Sai Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel.
7. Shri Ram Kripal Yadav Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development.
8. Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
9. Shri Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal.

10. Shri Rajen Gohain Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways.
11. General (Retd.) V. K. Singh Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.
12. Shri Parshottam Rupala Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

13. Shri Krishan Pal Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
14. Shri Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
15. Shri Shiv Pratap Shukla Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
16. Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
17. Shri Sudarshan Bhagat Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
18. Shri Upendra Kushwaha Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
19. Shri Kiren Rijiju Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
 20. Dr. Virendra Kumar Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

21. Shri Anantkumar Hegde Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
22. Shri M. J. Akbar Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs.
23. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
24. Shri Y. S. Chowdary Minister of State in the Ministry of Science and Technology; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

25. Shri Jayant Sinha Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
26. Shri Babul Supriyo Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
27. Shri Vijay Sampla Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
28. Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources,
River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

29. Shri Ajay Tamta Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles.
30. Smt. Krishna Raj Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
31. Shri Mansukh  L. Mandaviya Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways;

Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

32. Smt. Anupriya Patel Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
33. Shri C.R. Chaudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

34. Shri P.P. Chaudhary Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

35. Dr. Subhash Ramrao Bhamre Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.
36. Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
37. Dr. Satya Pal Singh Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development; and

Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources,
River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

 

2.Water signs for the first time on earth-shaped planets :-

Space scientists say that there may be enough water on some of our planet’s planets. These are also estimated to be life-friendly environments. These planets are present in the trappist-1 constellation, 40 light years away from the planet.

A team of international astronomers, with the help of NASA’s Hubble Telescope, estimated that there could be water on seven planets revolving around the constellation Trapist-1. Trapist-1 dwarf is the star.

In February this year, astronomers had announced the discovery of these seven planets. Along with this it was also known that in this constellation there are also the largest planets of the Earth.

 

3.PM Modi arrives at BRICS conference site, Chinese President Chenfing welcomes welcome :-

Chinese President Chenfing welcomed PM Narendra Modi on Monday to China to attend the 9th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Conference that started in China.

In addition to PM Modi, the host President also received formal reception of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Brazilian President Michael Taymer and South African President Jacob Zuma, who attended the conference.

 

4.Those who delay the GST return will not have to pay a penalty of 200 rupees :-

The commodity and service tax (GST) Council has waived the penalty of 200 rupees per day for those who did not file GST return within deadlines. The government has made such a decision on the recommendation of GST Council.

However, such taxpayers will have to give interest on the deuce of their late payment. This information was given by the Finance Ministry on Saturday. Significantly, the last date for filing of the first return for the month of July was fixed August 25.

Giving the information through the tweet on Saturday, the Finance Ministry said, “For all those taxpayers who have not filed GST returns through the GST-3B form and those who had to pay their fees, they have been waived.

However, interest will be applicable to all taxpayers who have not been able to file their GST returns for July 25. ”

 

5.Prabhu out, Piyush in: Railways find a new helmsman :-

The outgoing Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, who resigned taking moral responsibility for recent train derailments, on Sunday defended the safety record of the Indian Railways even as Power Minister Piyush Goyal was announced as his successor.

“You people have a tendency to make sensational ideas,” Mr. Prabhu said, when asked if the portfolio was changed because he resigned.

“Over the period of last three years, (rail) accidents have declined. There has been a thrust on safety for the first time over three years.

Also, ₹1 lakh crore has been committed towards a safety fund which never happened in the past. If you take any five year period and compare with the last three years the number of accidents has gone down,” Mr. Prabhu, who took over as Commerce and Industry Minister, told the media.

 

6.India expresses concern at Nuclear Test conducted by DPRK :-

India has deplored the nuclear test conducted by the DPRK this morning.

A Press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said “It is a matter of deep concern that DPRK has once again acted in violation of its international commitments which goes against the objective of the de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula, which has been endorsed by DPRK itself.

We call upon DPRK to refrain from such actions which adversely impact peace and stability in the region and beyond.

India also remains concerned about the proliferation of nuclear and missile technologies which has adversely impacted India’s national security.”

 

7.Five banks of BRICS nations sign pact for credit lines : Report :-

Five banks of the BRICS Bank Cooperation Mechanism have agreed to establish credit lines in the national currencies and cooperate on credit ratings.

The agreement to this effect was signed yesterday ahead of the BRICS Summit in China’s Xiamen city.

Brazilian Development Bank, Vnesheconombank, Export-Import Bank of India, China Development Bank and Development Bank of South Africa signed the agreement in Beijing yesterday.

The Chinese official said the decision was taken in order to strengthen further cooperation.

The agreement on credit ratings enables them to share information about internal credit ratings and rating assessment.

Ahead of the BRICS summit, the New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has approved 1.4 billion US dollar loans for sustainable development projects in India, Russia and China.

For India, the Bank has approved 470 million US dollars loan for Madhya Pradesh’s Multi-Village Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme Project.

 

8.Nepal signs UN development assistance plan :-

Nepal has signed a USD 635 million UN assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out the country’s development strategy for the next five years, officials said yesterday.

The package involving 26 individual UN agencies, spans interventions aimed at assisting in four broad areas: inclusive economic growth; social development; resilience, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; and governance, rule of law and human rights, according to a statement issued by the United Nations.

The National Planning Commission, apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal, and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Nepal signed the the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) yesterday.

The UNDAF lays out the development strategy for the UN Country Team for the next five years.

“We are pleased to be signing this framework with the United Nations in Nepal, it is broadly aligned without national priorities as envisioned by the Government of Nepal.

 

9.PM Modi urges secretaries to work for simplification of governance processes :-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged secretaries and joint secretaries serving in the Government to work towards simplification of governance processes.

Interacting with a group of over 90 additional secretaries and joint secretaries in New Delhi yesterday, Mr Modi said, well executed projects and schemes should serve as case studies, so that their success can be emulated.

Highlighting the current positive global environment in favour of India, the Prime Minister asked officers to work with clear objectives towards creating a New India by 2022.

During the interaction, officers shared their experiences on subjects such as governance, social welfare, tribal development, agriculture, horticulture, environment and forests, education, project implementation, urban development and transportation. This was the last of five such interactions.