CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
National Simplicity Day
- National Simplicity Day is observed annually on 12 July to honour Henry David Thoreau who was an author, philosopher, historian, tax resister, abolitionist, development critic, surveyor, and leading transcendentalist.
- Basically, he was an advocate for living a life of simplicity.
Malala Day
- United Nationshas declared July 12, which is Malala Yousafzai’s birthday, as Malala Day in honour of the young activist.
- She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. The-then 17-year-old became the youngest recipient of the award.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
NITI Aayog Atal Innovation Mission Launches App Development Module For School Students
- The Atal Innovation Mission of Centre’s think-tank, NITI Aayog, has launched a free online app development course for school students across the country.
- Named, ‘ATL App Development Module’, the online course intends to make mobile application-developers of school students under Atal Tinkering Lab initiative of AIM.
- The online course will comprise six project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions.
- The course has been jointly developed by NITI Aayog’s AIM and Indian startup,
About NITI Aayog
- Formed: 1 January 2015
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Chairperson: Narendra Modi
NTPC’s Singrauli Unit 1 emerges top-performing plant in Q1
- National Thermal Power Corporation, NTPC’s Singrauli Unit 1 has emerged as the top-performing unit in the country in the first quarter of the financial year, as per the data released by Central Electricity Authority. NTPC, Singrauli is the oldest Unit and a flagship power station of NTPC Limited. The first unit of the station started generating on 13th February, 1982 and continues to serve the country with exceptional performance.
- NTPC, Singrauli has an installed capacity of 2,000 Mega Watt with five units of 200 Mega Watt each and two units of 500 Mega Watt each. Three units of 200 Mega Watt have achieved Plant Load Factor PLF of 101.96 per cent, 101.85 per cent and 100.35 per cent in First Quarter of Financial Year 20-21 among the Coal-fired Units, in the country.
- With a total installed capacity of 62 thousand 110 Mega Watt, NTPC Group has 70 Power stations comprising of 24 Coal, seven combined cycle Gas or Liquid Fuel, one Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 Subsidiary and Joint Venture Power Stations.
NITI Aayog presents India’s second Voluntary National Review at UN, titled ‘Decade of Action: Taking SDGs From Global to Local’
- NITI Aayog presented India’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) at United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2020.
- The HLPF is the foremost international platform for follow-up and review of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, presented the VNR.
- The India VNR 2020 report titled Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local was released by Dr Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr V.K Paul, Member, NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, and Sanyukta Samaddar, Adviser (SDGs), NITI Aayog.
- At the HLPF this year, which is being hosted virtually in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, 47 Member States are set to present their VNRs between 10th-16th July 2020.
- The HLPF meets annually in July for eight days under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN. The VNRs presented by Member States at the HLPF are a critical component of the review of progress and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The reviews are voluntary and state-led and are aimed at facilitating the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned.
- The process of preparation of a country’s VNR provides a platform for partnerships, including through the participation of various relevant stakeholders. NITI Aayog prepared and presented India’s first VNR in 2017.
- India presented its VNR along with other second time presenters like Bangladesh, Georgia, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria and Uganda. The presentation also included a short film which encapsulated the processual aspects of the second VNR and captured some of India’s major progress areas on the SDGs.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
HSBC India rolls out digital payment products for retail customers
- HSBC India announced the launch of a comprehensive range of digital payment products for its retail customers.
- HSBC is now part of e-NACH (Electronic National Automated Clearing House), which will allow its customers to easily automate recurring payments with standing instructions for specific amounts, date and time of payment, without having to submit paper mandates, the lender stated.
- It has also launched real-time bill payments powered by Bharat Bill Payments system (BBPS) on its net banking and mobile application.
- The bank’s customers can now use their internet banking to pay directly at over 2 lakh merchant websites.
About HSBC India :
- CEO: Surendra Rosha
- Headquarters: Mumbai
Visa partners with Federal Bank for rolling out Visa Secure for e-commerce
- Visa, a global leader in payments technology, has entered into a partnership with Federal Bank to roll out Visa Secure to the bank’s cardholders.
- Visa Secure is a global authentication program that uses the latest standards of the EMV 3DS (3D Secure) protocol. Besides providing additional layers of authentication for issuers and merchants to combat online frauds, the upgraded technology provides a quicker and frictionless checkout experience to consumers.
- Merchants and issuers have started deployment of Visa Secure globally. Visa will continue to work with clients and partners in India to support EMV 3DS-based solutions, with a focus on delivering better payment experience, the payments technology company stated.
- Visa Secure enables smoother and more consistent user experiences across multiple payment channels, including mobile, web, in-app, and connected devices. It also allows merchants to better integrate the authentication process into the shopping experience, while providing cardholders with a fast, simple, secure and convenient authentication. The enhanced Visa Secure platform is enriched with additional transaction attributes that makes authentication seamless.
