Current Affairs Update – 20 July 2018

Current Affairs Update 20 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. 20 July 2018.

Cabinet approves Special Remission to Prisoners

  • The Union Cabinet has given its approval to grant Special Remission to Prisoners as part of Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
  • The prisoners will be released in three phases.
    • In Phase-l, the prisoners will be released on 2nd October this year, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
    • In Phase-ll, prisoners will be released on 10th April on anniversary of Champaran Satyagrah and
    • In Phase-Ill, prisoners will be released on 2nd October 2019 .
  • The Remission will be available to the following 5 category of prisoners:
    • Women and Transgender convicts of 55 years of age and above, who have completed  50 per cent of their actual sentence period.
    • Male convicts of 60 years of age and above, who have completed 50 per cent of their actual sentence period
    • Physically challenged/disabled convicts with 70 per cent disability and more  who have completed 50 per cent of their actual sentence period
    • terminally ill convicts
    • convicted prisoners who have completed two-thirds of their actual sentence period will also get this remission.
  • Special remission will not be given to prisoners who have been convicted for an offence for which the sentence is of death or where death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment.

Parliament passes State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017

  • The Parliament has the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017 after it was approved by the Rajya Sabha.
  • The Bill seeks to repeal the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, the State Bank of Hyderabad Act, 1956 and further to amend the State Bank of India Act, 1955.
  • Under it, the five associates banks namely State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala  and State Bank of Travancore were merged on 1st April, 2017. 

8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Durban, SA

  • The ‘8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting was held at Durban, South Africa. Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare addressed the meet from India. 
  • India is committed to eliminating TB by 2025. India is on the track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of MMR below 70 by 2030.

India to host two plus two dialogue with US on Sept 06 in New Delhi

  • Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host the 2+2 dialogue with US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis, in New Delhi on 6th September 2018 for the inaugural 22 dialogue.
  • The 22 meeting will cover a broad range of bilateral, regional and global issues of shared interest, with a view to strengthening strategic and security ties between the two countries.

NMCG Organises “Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan” in Five Ganga Basin States Intervention in Ganga

  • National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is running  “Ganga Vriksharopan Abhiyan” in five main stem Ganga basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
  • The drive was launched on  the 9thof this month, and the week upto 15th July was observed as ‘Shubharambh Saptah’.
  • The campaign, which has been initiated as part of the Forest Interventions in Ganga (FIG) component of Namami Gange programme.

e-Pragati portal launched in Andhra Pradesh

  • Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘e-Pragati core platform’. e-Pragati portal is aimed at connecting the citizen to 34 departments, 336 autonomous organisations and 745-plus services.
  • The e-Pragati project, launched at Undavalli in Guntur district aims to achieve digitalisation in the state and bring transparency in governance and it will work through cloud management.
  • Through this project, the State government intends to realise the vision of ‘Sunrise AP 2022’. The e-Pragati authority will achieve the goals of the project by supporting the seven development missions launched in the areas of e-Governance, Social Empowerment, Skill Development, Urban Development, Infrastructure, Industrial Development and the Services sector.

Myanmar Becomes 68th Member of International Solar Alliance

  • Myanmar has joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), becoming the 68th member of the grouping that is aiming at optimum utilisation of solar energy.
  • The International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement was signed by U Kyaw Tin, Minister of International Cooperation, Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in the presence of Smt. Sushma Swaraj, India’s External Affairs Minister on 19 July on the sidelines of Delhi Dialogue 10.
  • International Solar Alliance (ISA) Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana.

UK Launches Campaign to Boost Asian Organ Donation

  • The government of United Kingdom has launched a new organ donation campaign to motivate the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities that include Indians, for organ donation by raising awareness and breaking down barriers to donation.
  • According to a new report, only 7 percent of donors were from BAME backgrounds in 2017, with Indians accounting for just 1.9 percent of the state-funded National Health Service’s (NHS) Organ Donation Register (ODR).
  • Besides, 21 percent of people who died on the organ donation waiting list in the UK in 2017 were from a BAME background, compared with 15 percent a decade ago. 
  • The ODR campaign will be delivered by NHS Blood and Transplant, with support from the National BAME Transplant Alliance (NBTA).

India’s GDP to grow around 7.5%: Ficci

  • According to the industry body Ficci, India’s economic growth story remains intact and the country’s GDP is expected to grow around 7.5 percent in the current financial year (2018-19) despite short-term challenges.
  • As per the body, GST and other reform measures like IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) and RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) will help in taking the GDP growth beyond 8 percent.
  • The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
    Headquarter: New Delhi
    President: Rashesh Shah

Arman Ali appointed as Executive Director of NCPEDP

  • The National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) has announced the appointment of Arman Ali as its executive director. He would assume charge from October 1.
  • Ali is the executive director of Shishu Sarothi, the Centre for Rehabilitation and Training for Multiple Disability since 2009. 
  • Javed Abidi, who was the director of the NCPEDP, passed away on March 4 after succumbing to chest infection. He was 53.

D Anandan appointed as the Chairman of Rubber Board

  • D Anandan has taken over the charges of Chairman and Executive Director of the Rubber Board. He took charge from MK Shanmuga Sundaram .
  • The Rubber Board is a statutory body constituted by the Government of India, under the Rubber Act 1947, for the overall development of the rubber industry in the country.
  • Head Office is in Kottayam, Kerala.

Wrestling Federation’s Brij Bhushan appointed as Asian Games head

  • The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the incharge of the 18th Asian Games.
  • Brij Bhushan will be assisted by four deputy heads- Raj Kumar Sacheti, Satyavrat Sheoran, Balbir Singh Kushwaha and Dev Kumar Singh- who have been appointed to lead the Indian contingent at the event.
  • The 2018 Asian Games will be held in in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.

NABARD Award 2018 for Repco Micro Finance

  • Repco Micro Finance Ltd, a non-banking finance company promoted by Repco Bank, received NABARD 2018 award for its outstanding performance in terms of Self-Help Group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18.
  • The NBFC has disbursed loans amounting to Rs. 2,500 crore to over 10 lakh beneficiaries through 50,000 SHGs since its inception.

Sahapedia’s India Heritage Walk Fest Wins PATA Award

  • India Heritage Walk Festival, an event organised by Sahapedia in collaboration with YES Arts & Culture, has been awarded the PATA Gold Award 2018 under the ‘Heritage-Culture’ category.
  • The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Awards 2018 will be presented to the winners on September 14 during the PATA Travel Mart in Malaysia.
  • Sahapedia is an open online resource on the arts, cultures and heritage of India.
  • YES Arts & Culture is the cultural division of YES Global Institute, a practising think tank of YES BANK.
  • Sahapedia had organised the month long pan-India IHWF 2018 event in February 2018.to encourage citizens to explore the tangible and intangible heritage of their cities and towns.

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