Daily Current Affairs 17 July 2019: We have collected the latest current affairs for 17 July 2019 that are important for all competitive exams like bank, ssc, ibps, sbi exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. You can also read the daily current affairs on our mobile app.
Current Affairs 17 July 2019
Important Cabinet Approvals : 17 July 2019
- Following are the important approvals given by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 17, 2019
- Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and the USA for cooperation in the field of medicine (regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific ideas/information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure).
- Amendment in the Terms of Reference of Fifteenth Finance Commission and extension of the term up to 30th November, 2019. Earlier it was 30th October 2019. (Fifteenth Finance Commission Head- N.K. Singh)
- Providing budgetary support as loan to the tune of Rs 330.35 cr. to provide support for VRS of employees of IDPL, RDPL and HAL.
- Constitution of a Committee of Ministers for taking all decisions pertaining to closure of IDPL and RDPL and strategic sale of HAL and BCPL.
Supreme Court Constitutes 3 Member Panel to Frame Emergency Plan To Prevent Extinction of Great Indian Bustard & Lesser Florican
- The Supreme Court of India has constituted a three member high powered committee to urgently frame and implement an emergency response plan for the protection of two Indian birds species namely Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican that are facing extinction at an alarming rate.
- The panel will comprise of:
- Dr Deepak Apte – Director of Bombay Natural History Society
- Dr Asad R Rahmani – former Director of Bombay Natural History Society and member of governing body of Wetlands International South Asia
- Dr Dhananjai Mohan – Chief Conservator of Forests of Uttarakhand.
- The apex court has also sought responses from the Centre and State governments, where these two species of birds are prominently found, on a plea of wildlife activists.
Ursula von der Leyen Elected First Women President of European Commission
- The European Parliament has elected German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen as the first women President of the European Commission on July 16, 2019.
- The 60-year-old Leyen will assume charge on 1 November 2019 and succeed Jean-Claude Juncker.
- The European Commission is based in Brussels, Belgium. It is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the European Union (EU).
Jeff Besoz Tops Bloomberg Billionaire Index, Mukesh Ambani 13th Wealthiest
- Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman and India’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani has been ranked as world’s 13th wealthiest person in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He has a net worth of $51.8 billion.
- The Bloomberg Billionaire index features 18 Indians.
- Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has topped the index as world’s richest person with a total net worth of USD 125 billion.
- However, Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, who has never been ranked below the second spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has come down to third spot which been taken by France’s Bernard Arnault, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, aka LVMH.
- Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world’s wealthiest 500 individuals and is subjected to change daily.
Interest rate on GPF reduced to 7.9%
- Central Government has reduced the interest rate on General Provident Fund (GPF) by 10 basis points to 7.9% for the Quarter July- Sept 2019.
- This is in line with the 10 bps reduction in interest rates of Small Savings Scheme.
- All government employees who joined service on or before December 31, 2003 contribute to GPF.
Amazon Launches ‘JEE Ready’ App to Foray into Education Sector
- Global e-commerce giant Amazon is entering into the edtech space with the launch of its first edtech app in India called JEE Ready, a preparation app for IIT JEE.
- Amazon has partnered with several coaching institutions for JEE Ready app. The app is currently in beta phase and has already been installed more than a thousand times available on Google Play Store.
- The app will let users take free All India Mock Test for free for their preparation of Indian engineering test IIT JEE and identify their strength areas and weak subjects.
Andhra Bank launched AI chatbot ABHi
- Andhra Bank has launched an Artificial Intelligence interactive assistant chatbot named “ABHi.”
- Using the chatbot that is available on the official website of Andhra Bank i.e www.andhrabank.in, its customer can get access to instant information 24×7, anytime they want.
- Customers can get information on digital banking, loans, banking services, govt. schemes, insurance, senior citizen, RuPay Offers, Aadhaar services, payment mode, deposit/EMI Calculator, lodge a customer complaint, know nearest Branch / ATM on Google map, recharge prepaid mobile etc.
UK expands its Go Global programme to India to boost startups
- The UK government has expanded its Go Global initiative to India with the aim of giving Indian Startups the most innovative and cutting-edge start-ups the skills they need to grow their business.
- This will also help the startups in India to build links with the UK’s digital sector and will pave the way for future economic partnerships.
- Go Global programme is an innovation scheme supporting start-ups to work with UK expertise to take their firms to the next level.
India’s Bhavna Tokekar Wins 4 Gold at Open Asian Powerlifting Championships in Russia
- Pune based 47-year-old Bhavna Tokekar has won 4 gold medals for India at the Open Asian Powerlifting Championships of AWPC/ WPC at Chelyabinsk, Russia.
- She took part in the Under 67.5 Masters 2 Category and won golds in full powerlifting raw and bench-only.
- The competition organised by World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) was participated by 500 players across the world including 14 India players.
- World Powerlifting Congress India (WPC INDIA/Barbell club of India) President – Daljit Singh.
Legendary Boxer Pernell Whitaker Passes Away
- The greatest lightweight boxers of all time, Pernell Whitaker, passed away after he was hit by a vehicle in Virginia Beach. He was 55.
- He was nicknamed as “Sweet Pea” by fans.
- Whitaker competed from 1984 to 2001 and subsequently worked as a boxing trainer. He won Olympic gold at the 1984 Summer Games.
World Day for International Justice: July 17
- The World Day for International Justice, also known as Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day, is celebrated throughout the world on July 17.
- The day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute on July 17, 1998, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court.