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Current Affairs Current Affairs July 2018

Government to infuse Rs 11,336 crore capital in 5 public sector banks by September-end

 Union Finance Ministry is planning to infuse additional capital close to Rs 11,336 crore in 5 more public sector banks (PSBs) by September 2018-end. These five state-owned banks are Punjab National Bank (PNB), Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank, Allahabad Bank and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB).
  • Key Facts
This round of capital infusion will be done through issuance of recapitalisation bonds and not directly from Budget. This additional capital will help these banks to meet minimum regulatory capital adequacy ratio (CAR) and enable them to make interest payments on certain bonds on time. Within capital infusion plan of these five PSBs, PNB is expected to get highest amount of Rs 2,816 crore. Corporation Bank is will get Rs 2,555 crore followed by Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 2157 crore), Andhra Bank (Rs 2,019 crore) and Allahabad Bank (Rs 1,790 crore). This capital infusion by Government will be only for purpose of meeting minimum regulatory requirement and will be not growth capital which will be provided in second half of current fiscal year. The growth capital will only be given to those banks which meet performance targets and modalities set by Finance Ministry as per agreement signed with each bank.
  • Background
The latest round capital infusion in these 5 PSBs will be part of remaining Rs 65,000 crore out of Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion announced by Union Government for two financial years. In October 2017, Union Government had announced Rs 2.11 lakh crore capital infusion programme, under which PSBs were to get Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds, and balance Rs 58,000 crore through raising of capital from market and remaining through budgetary support. The government has already infused Rs 80,000 crore out of Rs 1.35 lakh crore through recapitalisation bonds in PSBs  and balance will be done during this financial year (2018-19).
Catgeory: Economy & Banking

Nelson Mandela International Day: 18 July

  Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 is observed internationally on 18th July. This year marks 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918).  The Nelson Mandela Foundation is dedicating this year's Mandela Day to 'Action Against Poverty', honouring Nelson Mandela's leadership and devotion to fighting poverty and promoting social justice for all. November 2009 - in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom, UN General Assembly declares 18 July "Nelson Mandela International Day".
Source- The Livemint
Catgeory: Important Days

Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra Wins Gold At Sotteville Athletics Meet

 Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has clinched a gold medal at the Sotteville Athletics Meet in France. The Indian youngster secured the top spot in the podium with an 85.17m throw.  Moldova’s Andrian Mardare took the silver medal after he covered a distance of 81.48m. The bronze medal went to Lithuania’s Edis Matusevicius, whose best throw of the night was 79.31m. 
Source- DD News
Catgeory: Sports

EU, Japan Sign Massive Free Trade Deal

 European Union (EU) and Japan have signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It was signed at EU-Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is biggest ever trade deal negotiated by the EU and creates free trade zone covering nearly third of the world’s GDP. The trade deal is set to eliminate the "vast majority" of the $1.1 billion in duties that EU companies pay to Japan, according to the European Commission.  
Source- The Economic Times
Catgeory: International

Brij Bhushan Saran Singh To Be Named India's Chef De Mission At Asian Games

 Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh is set to be named the Chef de Mission of the Asian Games-bound Indian contingent. The four deputy Chefs de Mission set to be appointed are BS Kushwaha (former secretary of Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Federation), RK Sacheti (Executive Director of Boxing Federation of India, DK Singh (Uttarakhand Olympic Association) and Colonel RK Swain (Secretary of Equestrian Federation of India). 
Source- DD News
Catgeory: Appointments

Indo-US Delegation Meeting On Defence Cooperation

 As part of Indo-US Bilateral Defence Cooperation, the 7th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) meeting was held between India and the US delegation in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by, Secretary (Defence Production), Dr Ajay Kumar and Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, DoD, US Government Ms Ellen M Lord. The meetings are held twice a year, alternately in India and the USA with the aim to bring sustained leadership focus to the bilateral defence trade relationship and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of defence equipment. 
Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB)
Catgeory: Summits

Flipkart’s PhonePe Acquires POS Platform Zopper Retail

 Flipkart’s digital payment subsidiary PhonePe has acquired Zopper Retail – a hyperlocal Point of Sale (POS) platform for small and medium businesses. The acquisition is a part of the company’s strategy to aggressively ramp up its offline business. Zopper’s CEO Neeraj Jain and the engineering leadership team has joined the team of PhonePe after the acquisition. 
Source- The Hindu Business Line
Catgeory: Business

Microsoft And Walmart Team Up To Take On Amazon

 Microsoft and Walmart are teaming up for a strategic partnership that will take on rival Amazon in both technology and retail. Walmart announced at Microsoft’s Inspire partner conference, that it’s partnering with Microsoft to use the company’s cloud services. The five-year agreement will see Walmart use Azure and Microsoft 365 across the company, alongside new projects focused on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data platforms. Walmart is Amazon’s biggest retail competitor, and Microsoft is Amazon’s largest cloud services rival. 
Source- The Verge
Catgeory: Business

Western Railway renames Elphinstone Road Station as Prabhadevi

 Western Railway renamed Elphinstone Road suburban railway station in Mumbai, Maharashtra to Prabhadevi Station. The station code of Prabhadevi station will be PBHD. The station was initially named after Lord Elphinstone, who was Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860. It has now been renamed in honour of local deity Prabhadevi. Prabhadevi is name of the area in the vicinity of the station. It also derives its name from the temple of the deity which is 300 years old. In December 2017, Maharashtra legislature had approved Bill to rename Elphinstone Road station, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The central government had given its nod for renaming in May 2017.
Catgeory: National

Economic Partnership Agreement: EU, Japan sign massive free trade deal

 European Union (EU) and Japan have signed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It was signed at EU-Japan summit in Tokyo by EU Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It is biggest ever trade deal negotiated by the EU and creates free trade zone covering nearly third of the world’s GDP.
Key Parts of EPA
  • Agricultural exports: It scraps Japanese duties on many cheeses such as Gouda and Cheddar as well as on wine exports. It allows EU to increase its beef exports to Japan and duty-free trade in pork, processed meat and almost duty-free trade for fresh meat. It ensures protection in Japan of more than 200 high-quality European agricultural products, so called Geographical Indications (GIs), and protection of selection of Japanese GIs in EU.
  • Services markets: EPA opens up services markets, in particular financial services, e-commerce, telecommunications and transport.
  • Procurement markets: It guarantees EU companies access to large procurement markets of 48 large Japanese cities and removes obstacles to procurement in economically important railway sector at national level.
  • Automotive sector: It addresses specific sensitivities of EU in this sector and elimination of customs duties in transition periods of up to 7 years.
  • Trade and sustainable development: EPA includes comprehensive chapter on it. It sets very high standards of labour, safety, environmental and consumer protection. It strengthens EU and Japan’s commitments on sustainable development and climate change and fully safeguards public services.
  • Data protection: The negotiations completed by both sides on this matter will complement EPA. Both sides recognise each other’s data protection systems as equivalent, allowing data to flow safely between EU and Japan and creating world’s largest area of safe data flows.
  • Significance
EPA removes vast majority of €1 billion of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan and number of long-standing regulatory barriers, for example on cars. It opens up Japanese market of 127 million consumers to key EU agricultural exports and will increase EU export opportunities in range of other sectors. In addition, it will strengthen cooperation between Europe and Japan in range of areas, reaffirm their shared commitment to sustainable development. It also includes for the first time a specific commitment to the Paris climate agreement.
Catgeory: International

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