Daily Current Affairs – 07 August 2019

Rajasthan Launches Higher Education Model “RACE” For Quality Education

• The Rajasthan state government has announced the launch of a new higher education model titled Resource Assistance for Colleges with Excellence (RACE) for sharing of facilities to benefit the colleges facing shortage of faculties and infrastructure.
• The model was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Higher Education Bhanwar Singh Bhati.
• RACE will help in distribution of faculties and movable assets among the government colleges at the district level to rationalise the availability of resources and ensure quality education.
• The colleges in need will submit their requirement to the nodal college in the district, which will send the teachers on deputation and also provide the facilities such as projectors, digital libraries, equipment and technicians if needed.

Andhra Pradesh govt to launch Dr. Y.S.R Navodayam scheme for MSME sector

• Andhra Pradesh will launch a scheme named ‘Dr YSR Navodayam’ to support and monitor the implementation of One-Time Restructuring (OTR) of MSME loans. This will improve the credit support for the MSME sector in the state.
• Andhra Pradesh government has given Rs 4,000 crore for the ‘Dr YSR Navodayam’ scheme.
• It will provide a lifeline to stressed MSMEs by ensuring that all the eligible units are permitted for the one-time restructuring of accounts up to March 31, 2020.

5th International Army Scout Masters Competition Begins in Jaisalmer

• The fifth edition of the “International Army Scout Masters Competition” began at Jaisalmer military station in Rajasthan, on August 5 and will continue till August 16, 2019.
• The event is part of the annual International Army Games organised by Russian military. It is for the first time that India is participating in the event.
• A total of eight countries comprising of India, China, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sudan are participating in the event that aims to foster military co-operation and trust between the participating nations.
• The last four editions of the competition were held in Russia.

RBI reduces repo rate by 35 bps to 5.40%

• The Reserve Bank of India in its Third Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Meeting, 2019-20 has reduced the Repo rate by 35 bps to 5.40%. The various rates are:
  1. Policy Repo Rate : 5.40%
  2. Reverse Repo Rate : 5.15%
  3. Marginal Standing Facility Rate : 5.65%
  4. Bank Rate : 5.65%
  5. CRR : 4%
  6. SLR : 18.75%
• RBI has decreased the projection of real GDP growth to 6.9 per cent for 2019-20. The stance was accommodative.

NCAER predicts India’s GDP growth rate for FY20 at 6.2%

• Economic think tank National Council of Applied Economic Research(NCAER) has predicted India’s GDP growth rate for FY20 at 6.2%.
• The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation is projected at 2.6 percent.

Kandikuppa Sreekant Sworn in as CMD of Power Grid

• Kandikuppa Sreekant has taken over as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of state-owned Power Grid Corporation on August 5, 2019.
• He will remain on the post till December 31, 2023, the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Prior to this, Sreekant served as Director (Finance) at Power Grid.
• He takes over from Ravi P Singh, Director (personnel), who held the CMD post as additional charge.

India’s Naaz Joshi Wins Her 3rd Consecutive Miss World Diversity Title

• Naaz Joshi, an Indian transsexual woman, created history as she won the beauty pageant Miss World Diversity for the third successive year on August 3 in Port Louis, Mauritius.
• Naaz had won the same title in 2017 and 2018 too.

Iran Unveils Three Advanced Precision-Guided Missiles “Yasin”, “Balaban” and “Ghaem”

• The Armed Forces of Iran have unveiled three advanced precision-guided missiles in a move to strengthen its defenses from foreign threats.
• These includes new line-up of air-to-air missiles known the “Yasin”, “Balaban” and a new series of the “Ghaem”.
• The missiles have been developed jointly by the Country’s Defence Ministry and Sa Iran, also known as Iran Electronics Industries. 

PV Sindhu only Indian in Forbes list of world’s highest-paid female athletes; Top- Serena Williams

• Tennis player Serena Williams has topped the Forbes Highest-Paid Female Athletes 2019 list. She has a total earning of  $29.2 million. Tennis player Naomi Osaka is on second with an earning of $24.3 million.
• Indian Badminton Player, P.V. Sindhu is the only player in the list and is ranked at 13th with an earning of $5.5 million.

Nick Kyrgios beats Daniil Medvedev to Win 2019 Washington Open Tennis Title

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios beat third seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4), to win the Washington Open 2019 title. It was his sixth ATP title.

Winners List

Men’s Single	Nick Kyrgios
Women’s Single	Jessica Pegula
Men’s Double	Raven Klaasen Michael Venus
Women’s Double	Caty McNally Cori Gauff

National Handloom Day: August 7

• In India, the National Handloom Day is observed annually on 7 August to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight the contribution of handloom industry to the socioeconomic development of the country and increase income of the weavers.
• The Union government officially declared August 7 as NHD in July 2015.
• The main event of 2019 NHD will be held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha due to its rich tradition of Handlooms.
• It was on this day in 1905, that the Swadeshi Movement was launched in the Calcutta Town hall to protest against partition of Bengal by the British Government. 

Sushma Swaraj passes away at 67

• Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has passed away at the age of 67 years. She was in a critical condition as she was rushed to AIIMS.
• Swaraj had suffered a cardiac arrest. Sushma Swaraj had been the Union Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Modi government from 2014-2019.

U.S. Nobel Literature Laureate Toni Morrison Passes Away

• Toni Morrison, renowned American writer and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, has passed away. She was 88.
• Morrison was the first African-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1993.
• She also won the notable Pulitzer Prize in 1988 for her novel Beloved.