IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF
JULY 30th, 2018
1.
(30th July) is World Day against
Trafficking in Persons.
a. This
day was established by the UN General Assembly in the
year 2013.
b. Aim of
this Day : To raise awareness of the plight of victims of human
trafficking and to protect their rights.
c. Theme
of World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2018 : ‘Responding
to the trafficking of children and young people’
2.
The International Conference on
strengthening economic ties between India and Vietnam was recently held
at New Delhi.
a. Aim of
this conference : To enhance the bilateral economic partnership in the fast
approaching Asian Century for upholding economic prosperity not only in
South-east Asia but the entire Asian region.
3.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran
Khan today announced that he will take oath as Pakistan’s Prime
Minister on August 11.
a. Note : His
political party has emerged as the single largest party in the National
Assembly (NA) after the July 25 elections, but it is still short of numbers to
form the government on its own.
4.
Delhi Metro recently
became the 1st Metro system in the World to go Completely Green.
a. Delhi
Metro has also secured the platinum rating for adherence to
green building norms for its 10 residential colonies from the Indian
Green Building Council (IGBC).
5.
The Assam government has made
it mandatory for its staff to take care of their elderly parents and
differently-abled siblings who don't have an income source.
a. Employees
found neglecting their dependent parents and siblings will face a 10%
and 15% salary cut respectively.
b. The new
law, the bill for which was passed in 2017, will be implemented from October 2.
6.
Rajasthan will
soon have its 1st ‘cow sanctuary’, a shelter for 10,000
bovines spread over an area of more than 220 hectares in Bikaner district.
a. Note : The
state already has a ministry dedicated to the welfare of cows and last year
(2017) it had announced a 10 per cent surcharge on stamp duty towards cow
protection.
7.
Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman formally handed over two types of indigenously built
high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army.
a. The
engines manufactured by the Engine Factory Avadi (EFA) - A unit of Ordance
Factory Board, Department of Defence Production - were fully indigenised for
the 1st time under the center's 'Make in India' Programme.
8.
Sri Lanka’s government signed an
agreement to sell a 70% stake in a $1.5 billion Hambantota
port to China in a bid to recover from the heavy
burden of repaying a Chinese loan obtained to build the facility.
a. According
to the agreement, the Chinese company will invest $1.12 billion in
the port, which sits close to busy east-west shipping lanes.
b. The Chinese
company will be responsible for commercial operations while the Sri Lanka Ports
Authority will handle security.
9.
Maharashtra’s women commission signed
an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for
rescue and rehabilitation of women who are victims of sex trafficking, acid
attack and domestic violence.
10.
The National Green Tribunal
(NGT) today formed a monitoring committee on the cleaning of the
Yamuna and directed it to submit an action plan on the issue.
a. The
committee should submit an action plan by September and a detailed report in
the matter by December 31.
b. Members
of the Committee :
i. B S
Sajwan
ii. Shailaja
Chandra
11.
Union Government has constituted High
Level Empowered Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary to
address issues of Stressed Thermal Power Projects.
a. The
committee has representatives from Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance,
Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal and lenders having major exposure to the
power sector.
b. It will
look into various issues with view to stressed assets or non-performing assets
in thermal power and maximise efficiency of investment including changes
required to be made in fuel allocation policy, regulatory framework, mechanisms
to facilitate sale of power, ensure timely payments, payment security
mechanism.
12.
India's largest lender State Bank of
India (SBI) today hiked its Fixed Deposit (FD)
interest rates for select tenures.
a. FDs
below ₹1 crore for 1 year to 2 years will now provide 6.70%
interest as against 6.65% earlier while senior citizens will get 7.2%.
b. For
deposits from 2 years to 3 years, the interest rate has been revised to 6.75%
from 6.65%.
13.
The Iranian rial today
plunged to a record low of 100,000 against
the US dollar on the unofficial market, as the country faces US
sanctions.
a. The
rial broke through the 50,000-mark in March.
b. The
currency lost half its value this year due to a weak economy, financial
difficulties at local banks and heavy demand for dollars among Iranians.
14.
Indian Army has
awarded Rs. 100-crore contract for 81 high mobility
10×10 vehicles to India’s leading vehicle manufacturer Ashok
Leyland.
a. This
is for first time Indian vehicle manufacturer will deliver
heavy duty, high mobility vehicles for the launchers.
b. This
move will reduce dependency on imports.
15.
India is going to procure National
Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II), an advanced air
defence system at $1 billion from United States.
a. This will
be used to defend National Capital Region (NCR) from aerial attacks.
16.
The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation (HSBC) today appointed Surendra Rosha as
the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for HSBC
India.
a. He is
currently working as HSBC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group (FIG) for
Asia-Pacific.
b. He is
going to replace Jayant Rikhye, who is taking a leave of absence
for medical reasons.
17.
The National Centre for Promotion of
Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) appointed Arman
Ali as its Executive Director (ED).
a. He will
replace Javed Abidi on 1st October 2018.
18.
Neeraj Chopra, who
became the 1st Indian to win gold in javelin throw at Commonwealth
Games in April this year, won gold at the Savo Games in
Finland today.
19.
Mercedes' British driver Lewis
Hamilton won Hungarian Grandprix 2018.
