Current Affairs

Leading digital financial services platform, MobiKwik, announced the launch of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform via its own Virtual payment address (VPA) handle @ikwik. MobiKwik's users can, by default, use their mobile number as their own VPA which will be '@ikwik'.

hey will also be able to link multiple bank accounts with just one VPA and users can change primary account as per their requirements. MobiKwik is the first in the industry to offer UPI access to a huge base of three million merchants on its app.

Source- The Moneycontrol

   

 India rose one place to 44th this year in the global competitive rankings out of 63 countries that were ranked by the IMD World Competitiveness Center. India started from the 40th position in 2013 and dropped to the 44th rank in 2014. India’s rank remained at 44 in 2015 and jumped four places to 41 in 2016, dropping to 45 in 2017, and rising to 44 in 2018. In contrast, China bagged the 13th rank in 2018 as compared to the 18th rank in 2016.

The top 5 most competitive economies in the world are:

1. The USA,

2. Hong Kong,

3. Singapore,

4. The Netherlands

5. Switzerland.

Source- The Livemint

     

 India ranks 145th among 195 countries in terms of quality and accessibility of healthcare, according to a Lancet study. In 2016, India’s healthcare access and quality scored at 41.2 (up from 24.7 in 1990). India lags behind China (48), Sri Lanka (71), Bangladesh ( 133) and Bhutan (134). 

The top 3 countries with the highest levels of healthcare access and quality in 2016:

1. Iceland (97.1 points),

2. Norway (96.6),

3. The Netherlands (96.1),

The countries with the lowest scores:

1. The Central African Republic (18.6),

2. Somalia (19.0),

3. Guinea-Bissau (23.4),

The study found that China and India had the widest disparities in healthcare access and quality with 43.5 and 30.8 point differences, respectively.

Source- The Hindu

     

Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII between India and Nepal will be conducted at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand. The exercise will comprise of nearly 300 soldiers from both Indian and Nepal Army who would be sharing their experiences gained during the conduct of various counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in the past.

Exercise SURYA KIRAN is a biannual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India.  The aim of this exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

   

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Netherlands Mark Rutte has arrived in India for a two-day official visit. Rutte is scheduled to meet a Business Delegation at Hotel Taj Diplomatic and then participate in the Clean Ganga Event. Prime Minister Narendra Nodi will meet with Mark Rutte at Hyderabad House. Rutte will also attend a CEO roundtable conference at the Hyderabad House.

Source- ANI News

   

NITI Aayog and Sushant Singh Rajput have decided to collaborate towards promoting two major initiatives of NITI Aayog, promotion of BHIM and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform. Mr Rajput had entered into an agreement with NITI Aayog. The agreement would be signed by Shri Rajput with Ms Anna Roy, Adviser, NITI Aayog in the presence of Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

Bank of Baroda has successfully located most of its operational activities at a shared service centre (SSC) at the GIFT City near Ahmedabad. The bank will now offer its services including retail loan processing, deposit account opening, forex and call center from the SSC, which will have a staff strength of 200.

The bank will thus become one of the largest employers in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region. The bank had taken 20,000 sq, ft of office space in GIFT City, making it the first Indian bank to move several key operations to the smart city.

Source- The Hindu Business Line

 

Star South African batsman AB de Villiers has announced his decision to retire from international cricket with immediate effect. In his 14-year career, he played 114 Tests, 228 One-Day Internationals (ODI) and 78 T20 Internationals.

Some of the Phenomenal Records of ABD are: The World Record for the fastest ODI 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls) and 150 (64 balls), the second highest individual Test score for South Africa (278*), the highest points (935) by a South African on the ICC Test rankings and has claimed the coveted SA Cricketer of the Year award twice (2014 and 2015).

Source- Sports24

   

   The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given the following set of approvals. The important Cabinet Approvals are given as follows- The Cabinet has approved- 1. MoU between India and Angola for promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of Electronics and Information Technology.2. MoU signed between India and France in the field of Renewable Energy.3. MoU between India and Denmark on Food Safety Cooperation.4. MoU between India and Morocco on India-Morocco cooperation in Renewable Energy.5. MoU between India and Turkey on trade in poppy seeds to ensure quick and transparent processing for import of poppy seeds from Turkey.6. MoU between India and Singapore on Cooperation in the field of Personnel Management and Public Administration.7. Provision of mobile connectivity in Left Wing Extremism Areas.8. Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme for the provision of mobile services in Meghalaya under Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for North Eastern Region.

Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)

   

   

India's Multi Commodity Exchange had launched the country's first copper options contracts. Three contracts with a lot size of 1 tonne were launched. The option contract will provide physical market participants an additional instrument to hedge their risk.

Source- The Economic Times