Current Affairs Today 16th June 2020| Current Affairs News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

4oth GST Council Meeting Highlights 2020

• The Centre has announced a rate cut for small taxpayers, adding that no late fees would be charged in case of late filing of returns for the period between July 2017 to January 2020 by those without tax liabilities.
• If GST rates are increased on non-essential items, it will further bring down their demand and impede the overall economic recovery.
• The 40th meeting of the GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will be held through video conference. The 39th meeting of GST Council held in March discussed the impact of coronavirus on the economy.

About MoF

• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs- Nirmala Sitharaman
• Constituency- Karnataka

India launches maiden gas exchange

• India launched its maiden gas exchange.
• Indian Energy Exchange, the country’s largest electricity trading platform, is the parent of the gas exchange, and had been planning to set up the nation’s first natural gas exchange to tap into the increasing demand for clean fuel.
• Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of petroleum and natural gas, launched the exchange online.
• According to the International Energy Agency global gas demand is expected to fall by 4%, or 150 billion cubic metres (bcm), to 3,850 bcm this year – twice the size of the drop following the 2008 global financial crisis.
• India, along with China, is expected to be a significant driver of demand for natural gas post 2021. Being the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after the US and China, India aims to achieve emission reduction targets pledged at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) in Paris by promoting the use of natural gas and green fuel.
• This budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for expansion of the National Gas Grid to 27,000 km from the present 16,200 km to help deepen gas markets in India.
• According to analysts, a gas trading hub will help people buy and sell gas directly.
• The exchange will help bring down the price of natural gas through competitive trade, boosting usage in the country that relies heavily on cheaper coal for its energy needs.

About MoPNG

• Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Minister of Steel- Dharmendra Pradhan
• Constituency- Madhya Pradesh

CBIC launches e-Office application in CGST, customs offices across India

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) launched e-Office application in over 500 CGST and Customs offices across India.
• The e-Office application was launched remotely. Over 50,000 officers and staff will use this application making CBIC one of the largest Government departments to automate its internal office procedures
• The e-Office is a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the National e-Governance of India.
• The e-Office application is developed by the NIC and is supported by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
• E-Office aims to improve governance by automating the internal processes of handling files and taking decisions within Government.
• The e-Office application’s main module, eFile, enables on-line file related work, starting from receiving and marking dak, operating a file, preparing a draft letter, its approval/signature and dispatch of the signed letter.
• The launch of e-Office is one more measure taken by the CBIC in leveraging technology for providing a ‘Faceless, Contactless and Paperless’ indirect Tax administration

About CBIC

• Chairperson: M. Ajit Kumar
• Founded: 1 January 1964
• Headquarters: New Delhi

India becomes founding member of Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence

• India joined international and multi-stakeholder initiative Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) on artificial intelligence as its founder member.
• Delighted to announce that India has joined the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence or GPAI as a founding member. This multi-stakeholder international partnership will promote responsible and human centric development and use of AI, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Stated.
• This is also a first initiative of its type for evolving better understanding of the challenges and opportunities around AI using the experience and diversity of participating countries. In order to achieve this goal, the initiative will look to bridge the gap between theory and practice on AI by supporting cutting-edge research and applied activities on AI-related priorities, an official statement Stated.
• GPAI will bring together experts from the industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of AI and will also evolve methodologies to show how it can be leveraged to better respond to the present global crisis around Covid-19.
• By joining GPAI as a founding member, India will actively participate in the global development of Artificial Intelligence, leveraging upon its experience around use of digital technologies for inclusive growth, the statement Stated.
• This body is supported by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Paris.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

India, with 12 nations, leads initiative at UN to counter misinformation on COVID-19

• India, along with 12 other countries, has led an initiative aimed at spreading fact-based content to counter misinformation on the coronavirus, with over 130 nations endorsing the global call to fight the “infodemic” relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• On the initiative by Australia, Chile, France, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Latvia, Lebanon, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Senegal and South Africa, a total of 132 member states endorsed a cross-regional statement on “infodemic” or manipulated information.
• UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has Stated that apart from fighting the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, the world is also seeing a “dangerous outbreak” of misinformation about harmful health advice, hate speech and wild conspiracy theories and antidote to this pandemic of misinformation is fact-based news and analysis.
• India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Stated that it supported the UN Communications Response initiative ‘#VERIFIED’ and “calls for global action to fight infodemic in times of COVID-19.”
• Among other negative consequences, COVID-19 has created conditions that enable the spread of disinformation, fake news and doctored videos to foment violence and divide communities.” “It is critical that states counter misinformation as a toxic driver of secondary impacts of the pandemic that can heighten the risk of conflict, violence, human rights violations and mass atrocities,” the cross-regional statement Stated.
• Verified’, led by the UN Department for Global Communications (DGC), will provide information around three themes: science to save lives; solidarity to promote local and global cooperation; and solutions to advocate for support to impacted populations. It will also promote recovery packages that tackle the climate crisis and address the root causes of poverty, inequality and hunger.

About United Nations:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• Founded: 24 October 1945
• Secretary general: António Guterres

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

HDFC Ergo launches country’s first drone cover

• The third largest private sector general insurer HDFC Ergo tied up with tech firm Tropogo to offer commercial drone owners and operators third-party liability cover for property damages and physical injuries from the flying machines.
• This policy will be offered on-demand to customers on a ”pay as you fly” concept.
• Drones were effectively used by the police to implement lockdowns as they have proved to be efficient and beneficial for public surveillance, crowd monitoring and in certain areas even for delivery of essentials like medicines.

About HDFC ERGO

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• CEO: Ritesh Kumar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Mother Dairy ties up with Zomato to deliver fruits, vegetables in Delhi-NCR

• Mother Dairy has tied up with food delivery company Zomato for supply of fruits and vegetables in Delhi-NCR.
• Mother Dairy, a leading milk supplier in Delhi-NCR, sells fruits and vegetables through more than 300 Safal outlets.
• Consumers can avail the facility of home delivery by ordering the products through Zomato application.
• Safal currently sells an average volume of 270 tonnes of fruits and vegetables per day.

About Zomato:

• Deepinder Goyal (Founder and CEO)
• Headquarters: Gurugram, Haryana

Wipro launches digital inspection solution to improve workplace safety

• Wipro Ltd, has launched a digital inspection solution to improve workplace safety and experience.
• The solution will be available to clients both in perpetual or subscription-based license model, with no additional cost for mobility.
• The solution will enable safety and compliance inspections for customers across industries such as retail, construction, financial services, hospitality, manufacturing and supply chain management.
• It increases inspection efficiency, reduces risk, lowers costs and increases workplace safety. The environment, health, and safety (EHS) market can leverage this solution to inspect workplace infrastructure and protect the well-being of workers.
• The solution also has an adaptable architecture that enables integration with the latest digital technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and remote collaboration.

About Wipro

• CEO: Abidali Neemuchwala
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

Exim Bank extends $215 million line of credit to Malawi

• India based finance lender Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) announced to extend $215.68 million Line of Credit (LOC) to the Malawi
• Exim Bank in its issued statement Stated, The bank has extended a line of credit (LOC) worth of $215.68 million to the Malawi government for drinking water supply schemes and other
• Projects covered under the LOCs extended to Malawi include supply of irrigation network, tobacco threshing plant, cotton processing facilities, green belt initiative, sugar processing equipment, fuel storage facility, and construction of a new water supply system from Likhubula river in Mulanje to Blantyre, the statement Stated.
• With the signing of this agreement, Exim Bank, so far, has extended five LOCs to Malawi, on behalf of the Indian government, taking the total value of LOCs extended to $395.68 million, the statement added.

About EXIM bank:

• CEO: David Rasquinha
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1 January 1982

About Malawi:

• Capital: Lilongwe
• Currency: Malawian kwacha

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Manipur CM inaugurates three projects undertaken by PHED

• In Manipur, State Chief Minister N. Biren Singh inaugurated three projects undertaken by State Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) through video conferencing.
• Out of the three projects, one is Sewage Treatment Plant Phase-I located in Imphal West district and it is the only such plant in the whole North East India. It has a capacity of 27 MLD and constructed with a project cost of 345.43 crore.
• The remaining two projects are Integrated Water Supply Projects at Imphal East and Imphal West Both the projects are constructed in an aim to provide potable water supply to various places of the districts.
• New Development Bank has sanctioned 3000 crores to provide potable water to every household of the State and all the necessary processes including issue of work order has been completed. Construction of the projects will start very soon.

About Manipur

• Capital: Imphal
• Governor: Najma Heptulla
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh

Maharashtra govt inks MOUs worth Rs. 16,100 crore with 12 global corporations for various developmental projects

• The state government signed Memorandum of Understanding-MOUs with 12 global corporations from USA, China, South Korea and Singapore and India.
• Some of the prominent companies investing in Maharashtra include Great Wall Motors Company, API Motors, United Phosphorus and ExxonMobil.
• The Memorandum of Understanding worth 16,100 crore were signed for various developmental projects in information technology, I-T enabled services, automobile, oil and petroleum, chemicals, logistics and food processing sectors.
• The state’s industries department has informed that about 40,000-acre land has been earmarked for these projects.
• The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation will develop the physical infrastructure so that these companies can start production at the earliest.
• Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has approved a set of Standard Operating Procedures for reopening of schools.
• While all the schools will have to begin imparting online education to students for the first few months, classroom teaching can begin for secondary and higher secondary students from July in areas where not a single COVID case has been reported for atleast a period of one month.

Tata Power Renewable Energy to develop 120 MW solar project in Gujarat

• Leaders in power utility Tata Power Stated, Its subsidiary Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd (TPREL) will develop a 120 MW solar project for Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam. In a regulatory filing, Tata Power Stated, Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Power, has received a Letter of Award from Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (GUVNL), to develop a 120 MW solar project in Gujarat.
• The energy will be supplied to GUVNL under a power purchase agreement (PPA), valid for 25 years from the scheduled commercial date. The company has won this capacity in a bid announced by GUNVL under Phase VIII dated February 2020, the filing added.
• Adding to the filing, the company Stated, The project is required to be commissioned within 18 months from the date of execution of the PPA, and the plant is expected to generate about 300 MUs of energy per year and will annually offset approximately 300 Million Kg of C02.

About Tata Power:

• CEO: Praveer Sinha
• Headquarters: Mumbai

About Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam:

• Headquarters: Vadodara

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray launches Mumbai’s new flood warning system

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurated the new integrated flood warning system (IFLOWS) developed for Mumbai, calling it “boon” for the city.
• Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology, and Earth sciences, who was also present during the ceremony, Stated the system will help the people of Mumbai in a “big way” as it can predict floods.
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences has developed this system using in-house expertise and in close coordination with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). “The flood management system is a boon for the city and it will be helpful in saving Mumbai,” Thackeray Stated.
• As Maharashtra had received a warning about cyclonic storm Nisarga 2-3 days in advance, the state government could shift people to safer locations and hence there was hardly any loss of human life,he added.
• IFLOWS-Mumbai has been developed as a state-of-the-art flood warning system for Mumbai to enhance the resilience of the city by providing early warning for flooding especially during high rainfall events and cyclones, an official statement Stated.
• Using this, it will be possible to have an estimate of the flood inundation three days in advance, along with immediate weather updates, it added.

About Maharashtra:

• Capital: Mumbai
• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Imtaiyazur Rahman is appointed as the CEO of UTI Mutual Fund

• Rahman was appointed as the acting CEO two years ago.
• Two years after appointing Imtaiyazur Rahman as the acting CEO, the Board of UTI Mutual Fund has confirmed him as Chief Executive Officer of UTI Asset Management Committee.
• Rehman was the internal candidate for the position which fell vacant after Leo Puri completed his five-year term in August, 2018. He joined the UTI Group in 1998 and is with the AMC since 2003.

About UTI Mutual Fund

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 14 January 2003

Attorney General of India KK Venugopal to get 1-year extension

• Attorney General of India,KK Venugopal will get the 1-year extension of service. The tenure is coming to an end on June 30. He has accepted the government’s request to serve as the top law officer of the country beyond June 30 when his current three-year tenure expires. He is a leading lawyer of the country was appointed as Attorney General and had succeeded Mukul Rohatgi on June 30, 2017.
• Venugopal has appeared for the Centre in Aadhaar and Rafale cases, among others, in the Supreme Court. He is defending the Union government in other important cases including those related to the Citizenship (Amendment) Actand the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution.

Actor Pankaj Tripathi becomes brand ambassador of Bihar

• Bollywood actor and Gopalganj resident of Bihar Pankaj Tripathi has been made the brand ambassador of Khadi in Bihar.
• Bihar State Khadi Village Industries Board is an institution of Bihar Industries Department. It implements various schemes for the production and marketing of Khadi textiles in Bihar. Recently, the country’s largest Khadi Mall has also opened in the capital Patna.

About Bihar :

• Capital: Patna
• Governor: Phagu Chauhan
• Chief Minister: Nitish Kumar

Devendra Kumar Singh appointed as the new Director of SIDBI

• The Ministry of Finance notified the appointment of Devendra Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, as Central Government nominee Director on the Board of Directors of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
• He will be succeeding Ram Mohan Mishra, with immediate effect and until further orders. During his stint in Directorate General of Foreign Trade, he has been assigned the work related to the formulation of Foreign Trade Policy to enhance transparency, enhance e-governance, greater trade facilitation, digitization of processes from start to end of the process chain and working towards the concept of the whole of Government of India in the foreign trade governance so as to achieve a larger objective of bringing national interest in focus.
• He was also the Member Secretary of the Second Taskforce on Transaction Cost in Exports which is aimed to evolve a strategy towards reducing transaction costs in terms of specific problems for export and import.

About SIDBI:

• Headquarters : Lucknow
• Founded: 2 April 1990
• Mohammad Mustafa: Chairman and Managing Director

Santosh Jha appointed as next Ambassador of India to Belgium

• Santosh Jha, presently Ambassador of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan, appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Stated.
• The 1993-batch IFS officer will also be accredited as Ambassador of India to the European Union.
• Santosh Jha arrived in Tashkent to assume charge as the Ambassador of India to Uzbekistan on July 25, 2019.
• Jha has served in different capacities in the MEA in New Delhi and in India’s Mission abroad, including in Moscow, Vladivostok, New York, Brussels and Colombo. In Vladivostok, he was Consul General of India during 1998-2000.
• Between 2004-2007, serving in the Americas Division in the MEA, Jha was a member of the negotiating team for the India-US nuclear deal and was closely associated with the development of India-US relations in the field of space, defence and high technology.

About Belgium:

• Capital: Brussels
• Currency: Euro
• Prime minister: Sophie Wilmès

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Dadabhai Naoroji Biography By Dinyar Patel Released

• The Dinyar Patel authored biography of Dadabhai Naoroji, titled, ‘Naoroji: Pioneer of Indian Nationalism’, was released in India by Harper Collins and in the United States and UK by Harvard University Press.
• Dinyar Patel examines the extraordinary life of Naoroji foundational figure in India’s modern political history, a devastating critic of British colonialism who served in Parliament as the first-ever Indian MP, forged ties with anti-imperialists around the world, and established self-rule or swaraj as India’s objective.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, will continue to attract investments: UN

• India received 51 billion US dollar in foreign investment in 2019. UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report Stated, it was the world’s ninth largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The report Stated, India’s large market will continue to attract market-seeking investments to the country.
• In the developing Asia region, India was among the top five host economies for FDI. The report Stated, FDI to India, the largest South Asian recipient, increased 20 per cent to 51 billion US dollar, sustaining the country’s upward FDI trend. Most of the investments were in the information and communication technology and the construction industry.

About UNCTAD:

• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. UNCTAD is the part of the United Nations Secretariat dealing with trade, investment, and development issues.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Head: Mukhisa Kituyi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Minister Kishan Reddy launches GermiBAN in Hyderabad

• Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, G Kishan Reddy launched GermiBAN at AIC ALEAP We-Hub Hyderabad.
• The device launched has UV C and other B, C, D components, the patenting technology that kills surface and air microbes at 99.9 per cent, useful for isolation wards, quarantine centres, hospitals for killing viruses like corona.
• The Incubation Centre has come up with various innovative solutions made by the startups to fight Covid-19 like GermiBAN.

About ALEAP

• Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana
• Founder– Rama Devi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Uddhav Thackeray’s father-in-law Madhav Patankar passes away

• Madhav Patankar, the father-in-law of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray passed away.
• He is also the editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana‘.

Leading Mumbai diamantaire Arunkumar R Mehta passes away

• Leading diamantaire Arunkumar Ramniklal Mehta — who founded the B. Arunkumar & Co. six decades ago — passed away
• Mehta became the founding-member of the influential body Diamond Exporters Association Ltd. besides being active with the Bharat Diamond Bourse, the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, Rajkamal Rikhabchand Charitable Trust, Bombay Diamond Merchants Association Relief Fund, headed the Palanpur Samaj Kendra and was involved with other prominent organisations.

Lyricist, painter Padmaja Radhakrishnan passes away

• Lyricist and painter Padmaja Radhakrishnan (68), wife of the late music director MG Radhakrishnan passed away.
• Besides penning lyrics for a 2013 Malayalam movie ‘Mr Bean’, she had also written a number of songs which were composed by her husband.

DAILY CA 14th  and 15th  JUNE 

• World Blood Donor Day- 14th june
• World Wind Day- 15th june
• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day- 15th june
• MoS Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates 18th Bench of CAT for UTs of J&K, Ladakh
• Govt launches AarogyaPath portal for healthcare supply chain
• IBBI reconstitutes advisory panel on corporate insolvency resolution process
• American DFC to invest $350 million in India firms
• ADB Convenes High-Level Advisory Panel to Support COVID-19 Recovery in Southeast Asia
• RBI bars People’s Co-operative Bank from granting fresh loans, accepting deposits for 6 months
• PNB extends credit line of Rs 750 cr for Gorakhpur Link Expressway
• ICICI Bank launches digital overdraft facility
• Airtel Payments Bank launches new salary account for MSMEs
• Facebook Joins Google, Microsoft to fight child exploitation online
• Two US companies buy stake in Jio Platforms for a total of Rs 6,440 crore
• ePaisa joins hand with First Alliance Bank to promote POS solutions in Africa
• 3rd phase of SAUNI scheme to be completed by 2021 to fill Saurashtra dams
• Ghar Ghar Nigrani app launched in Punjab for COVID-19 house-to-house surveillance
• Tata Power signs MoU with MG Motor for EV chargers
• RBI approves re-appointment of Kaizad Bharucha as ED of HDFC Bank
• Monika Kapil Mohta appointed India’s next Ambassador to Switzerland
• India’s first solar ferry sails into global contest
• China’s unmanned submersible sets new record! Dives to world’s deepest ocean point
• Central Railways launches robotic ‘Captain Arjun’ for screening of passengers for COVID-19 and surveillance in Pune
• Scientists discover ‘mirror image’ of the Earth and the Sun 3,000 light-years away
• India’s gets its first infectious disease diagnostic lab
• Central Railway sets up Body Screening Facility ‘FebriEye’ In Mumbai’s CSMT, LTT Stations
• Former world champion boxer Gvozdyk retires
• Manchester United legend Tony Dunne passes away
• Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput passes away
• Former New Zealand cricketer Matt Poore passes away
• Former Lok Sabha MP, Banker Madhavrao Patil passes away
• Former Bangladesh Minister Mohammad Nasim passes away at 72
• Noted Uttarakhand folk singer Heera Singh Rana passes away
• Former Head of Publications Division, Surinder Kaur passes away

DAILY CA 16th  JUNE 

• 4oth GST Council Meeting Highlights 2020
• India launches maiden gas exchange
• CBIC launches e-Office application in CGST, customs offices across India
• India becomes founding member of Global Partnership for Artificial Intelligence
• India, with 12 nations, leads initiative at UN to counter misinformation on COVID-19
• HDFC Ergo launches country’s first drone cover
• Mother Dairy ties up with Zomato to deliver fruits, vegetables in Delhi-NCR
• Wipro launches digital inspection solution to improve workplace safety
• Exim Bank extends $215 million line of credit to Malawi
• Manipur CM inaugurates three projects undertaken by PHED
• Maharashtra govt inks MOUs worth Rs. 16,100 crore with 12 global corporations for various developmental projects
• Tata Power Renewable Energy to develop 120 MW solar project in Gujarat
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray launches Mumbai’s new flood warning system
• Imtaiyazur Rahman is appointed as the CEO of UTI Mutual Fund
• Attorney General of India KK Venugopal to get 1-year extension
• Actor Pankaj Tripathi becomes brand ambassador of Bihar
• Devendra Kumar Singh appointed as the new Director of SIDBI
• Santosh Jha appointed as next Ambassador of India to Belgium
• Dadabhai Naoroji Biography By Dinyar Patel Released
• India 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019, will continue to attract investments: UN
• Minister Kishan Reddy launches GermiBAN in Hyderabad
• Uddhav Thackeray’s father-in-law Madhav Patankar passes away
• Leading Mumbai diamantaire Arunkumar R Mehta passes away
• Lyricist, painter Padmaja Radhakrishnan passes away