Current Affairs Update 06 July 2018
Current Affairs is an important part for many exams. Be prepared for this section with ByScoop which brings all the important Current Affairs in one place. 06 July 2018.
NITI proposes ‘National Health Stack’ to facilitate healthcare schemes
- The NITI Aayog on July 06, 2018 launched an approach paper to build a future-ready digital health system for implementation of National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS), on the lines of the UPI and GSTN.
- Named, ‘National Health Stack (NHS)’, the system is usable by the Centre and the states across public and private sectors and will be able to host digital health records for all citizens by 2022.
- The scheme will be rolled out from August 15, the scheme will provide 10 crore families a free healthcare policy of Rs 5 lakh per annum.
Centre to give Rs 500 cr to SCI under Sagarmala to promote cruise tourism
The Union Government has decided to give Rs 500 crore to the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) under the Sagarmala programme for the purpose of purchasing ships in the international market and then lease it out domestically to promote tourism in the country.
- The government aims to take advantage of the international market where the vessels are available for cheap at present.
- The state-run SCI can lease out the assets to private parties who may have difficulties arranging the capital but can deploy the assets locally for productive uses.
- The ships can be used either for cruise tourism, roll on roll off services which entail ferrying cars through the sea route and also ro-pax where a car carrying passengers is ferried in a boat.
India to Gain Control of SriLanka’s Mattala Airport
The Indian Government has expressed the willingness to operate Sri Lanka’s loss-making Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in Hambantota.
- The airport would operate as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture that would see India gain a major stake of the airport.
- The USD 210 million facility, 241km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the “world’s emptiest airport” due to a lack of flights.
- The only international flight operating from there was halted in May due to recurrent losses and flight safety issues.
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel appointed as chairman of National Green Tribunal
- Supreme Court judge Adarsh Kumar Goel, has been appointed as the chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT).
- The post of the chairperson of NGT was vacant since December 19, 2017 as Justice Swatanter Kumar retired then. After Justice Kumar’s retirement, Justice Umesh Dattatraya Salvi was made the acting chairperson of the NGT. He retired on February 13. Following this, Justice Jawad Rahim was appointed the acting chairperson.
- NGT disposes cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.
25 countries in global banks’ ‘high risk’ list
- 25 countries including China, UAE, Cyprus and significantly, Mauritius have been tagged as “high-risk jurisdictions” by global banks acting as custodians for foreign funds which comprise the largest group of investors in the Indian stock market.
- Sebi-registered foreign portfolio funds invest in India through 56 countries. Of these, 25 are now considered ‘high risk’.
- the norms for beneficial ownership (BO) will also be stricter for these high-risk jurisdictions especially for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and persons of Indian Origin (PIO). No NRI or PIO can own more than 25 per cent in an FPI. However, for these high-risk jurisdictions, the threshold is as low as 10 per cent.
2nd Meeting of India-Nepal Joint Working Group on Tourism Concludes
The second meeting of the joint working group on tourism cooperation between India and Nepal concluded in Kathmandu on July 6.
- Both sides agreed to jointly promote Buddhist and Ramayana circuits and Adventure tourism.
- The meeting also decided to set up industry led India Nepal Tourism Forum.
- The Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Suman Billa, while Nepalese side was led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ghanshyam Upadhyaya.
- The group was formed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Nepal in 2014 to enhance cooperation in tourism between the two countries.
UN Member States Approve USD 6.69 billion for 13 Peacekeeping Operations in 2018-19
The UN Member States have approved USD 6.69 billion dollar budget for 13 Peacekeeping Mission for the year 2018-19.
- The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) of the General Assembly has recommended authorisation of USD 6.69 billion to finance 13 peacekeeping missions from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.
- It is the second year in a row in which the committee has made significant cuts to the overall peacekeeping budget.
- The Committee also approved significant management reforms including creation of two new departments focused on political and peace building affairs and four stand-alone divisions for Africa.
SSS’ Interest Rates Unchanged For July-September Quarter
The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the second quarter of financial year 2018-19 staring July, 2018 and ending on 30th September, 2018.
| S.No | Scheme | Interest Rate |
| 1 | Savings Deposit | 4% |
| 2 | Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) | 8.3% |
| 3 | Public Provident Fund Account (PPF) | 7.6% |
| 4 | National Savings Certificates (NSC) | 7.6% |
| 5 | Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) | 7.3% |
| 6 | Sukanya Samriddhi Accounts | 8.1% |
Sebi revamps panel on alternative investment
- Markets regulator Sebi has reorganized the committee that advises it on matters pertaining to further development of the alternative investment and startup ecosystem in the country.
- The Alternative Investment Policy Advisory Committee is chaired by Infosys Founder N R Narayana Murthy. Besides Murthy, the expert panel consists of 22 members.
- So far, the panel has submitted three reports to Sebi. It had submitted its first, second and third set of recommendations in January 2016, November 2016 and January 2018, respectively.
HDFC Bank most valuable bank in the emerging market outside China
- HDFC Bank has gone past Russia’s Sberbank to become the most valuable bank in the emerging market outside China. HDFC Bank’s current market capitalisation is $78.4 billion against Sberbank’s $74.4 billion.
- In terms of market capitalisation, the top four banks are:
| S.No | Name of Institution | M-Cap |
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase (America) | $353 billion |
| 2 | Bank of America | $282 billion |
| 3 | Industrial & Commercial Bank of China | $273.4 billion |
| 4 | China Construction Bank | $225.1 billion |
- In all, there are now 11 Indian companies among the world’s 500 biggest firms in terms of market cap. Tata Consultancy Services tops the chart with a market cap of $103 billion, followed by Reliance Industries.
- There are four lenders from India that now rank among the world’s 500 most valuable companies. HDFC Bank is followed by its housing finance cousin Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India.
Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India
The Law Commission has recommended to legalize gambling and betting on sports like cricket.
- According to the report of the Law Commission titled ‘Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India’, gambling and betting on sports must be allowed as regulated activities, which are taxable.
- The recommendation calls for such activities to be allowed and made taxable under the direct and indirect tax regimes along with using the process as a source for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
- The commission has further recommended that the Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) of any individual indulging in betting or gambling must be linked with his transactions and making the transaction cashless to regulate illegal activities like money laundering.
July 06: World Zoonoses Day
- Every year on July 6 the World Zoonoses Day is celebrated. This is a day which is designed to create awareness among the people for zoonotic diseases, ie to disseminate and prevent them and to highlight the actions and to celebrate this day.