IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS
OF JULY 5th, 2019
IMPORTANT
CURRENT AFFAIRS OF JULY 5th, 2019
1.
The United States has complained at the World
Trade Organization (WTO) about Indian tariffs imposed
in response to US steel and aluminium tariffs last year.
a. The US stated
that India doesn't impose these duties on like products originating from any
other WTO member nation.
b. The dispute
follows similar complaints against China, European Union and others who
retaliated in the same way.
2.
California has become the 1st state in the US to ban discrimination
against people based on their natural hair.
a. The law
prohibits employers and schools from enforcing a dress code against hairstyles
such as afros, braids, twists, and locks.
b. The law
especially aims to end policies that discriminate against black people.
3.
In Sudan, military leaders have
reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share
power until elections can be held.
a. The two sides
agreed to rotate control of top tier of power, the sovereign council, for at
least three years.
b. They have
also pledged to form an independent technocratic government and to investigate
the violence of recent weeks.
4.
Lok Sabha today passed Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill,
2019 by voice vote.
a. This Bill
seeks to amend Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies,
Benefits and Services) Act 2016 and to further amend the Indian Telegraph Act
1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
b. The Bill also
proposes giving a child an option to exit from the biometric ID programme on
attaining 18 years of age.
c. This Bill
will make the use of Aadhaar for opening bank accounts and procuring mobile
phone connections voluntary.
5.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MOEF&CC) has announced that it has acquired Electric
cars for official use.
a. The
organization will be utilising in-house charging facilities and setting an
example in pollution-free commutes.
6.
The South Central Railway commissioned India's longest
electrified tunnel between Cherlopalli and Rapuru
railway stations in Andhra Pradesh.
a. The 6.6 km
tunnel has been built in a record 43 months at the cost of ₹460 crore.
b. The tunnel
reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and hinterland areas by 60 km
and the travel time from 10 hours to 5 hours.
7.
The Madras High Court today granted one month parole to Nalini
Sriharan who is serving a life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case.
a. Nalini argued
her plea in person for seeking the relief to make arrangements for her
daughter's wedding.
b. Note : Besides
Nalini, six others, including her husband Murugan, a Sri Lankan national, are
serving life imprisonment in the case related to the assassination of former
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by an LTTE suicide bomber during an election rally
at Sriperumpudur near Chennai on 21st May, 1991.
8.
The 1st Ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair
(IICTF) will be held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from 13th October
2019.
a. This fair is
a unique initiative for taking farmers, artisans & other members of
cooperatives directly to global trade arena.
b. This Trade
Fair is aimed at promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within India and
abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
a. She broke the
tradition by carrying the budget in a red cloth instead of the
usual leather briefcase.
b. Chief
Economic Adviser K Subramanian said, "It symbolises our departure from
slavery of Western thought".
c. Finance
Ministers in the past have carried the budget in a leather briefcase.
d. The tradition
was established by first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.
e. Key
Highlights in Budget
i) The
government increased petrol and diesel prices by ₹2 each per litre and enhanced
income tax surcharge on individuals with taxable income over ₹2 crore.
ii) Those without
PAN will soon be able to file I-T returns by quoting just Aadhaar number.
iii) Customs duty
on gold was increased to 12.5% and government proposed to reduce GST on
electric vehicles to 5%.
b) Key Income
tax Changes in Budget
i) The
government announced additional income tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on interest
paid on home loans taken for affordable housing.
ii) It also
announced ₹1.5
lakh income tax deduction on interest paid on loans for the purchase of
electric vehicles.
iii) Finance
Minister also proposed to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ₹1 crore a year from a
bank account.
c) These Items
became Costlier
i) Petrol and
diesel prices have been increased by ₹2/litre under the Union Budget
2019.
ii) Customs duty
on gold and other precious metals has been hiked from 10% to 12.5%.
iii) Customs duty
on CCTV cameras, split ACs, loudspeakers, cashew kernels, ceramic roofing tiles
and stainless steel products has also been hiked.
iv) Excise duty
on tobacco and cigarettes has been increased.
d) These Items
became Cheaper
i) The
government has already moved GST Council to lower the GST rate on electric
vehicles from 12% to 5%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
ii) Wool fibre
and wool tops have become cheaper.
iii) The capital
goods used for manufacturing of certain electronic items including mobile
phone's camera module, mobile phone charger and set top boxes have become
cheaper.
e) Gandhipedia
i) Finance
Minister announced that a 'Gandhipedia', which is like an encyclopedia on
Mahatma Gandhi, is being developed to sensitise the youth about positive
Gandhian values.
ii) She added it
is developed by National Council of Science Museums.
iii) Sitharaman
said India will become open defecation free by October 2, the 150th birth
anniversary of Gandhi.
f) Public Sector
Banks
i) Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that public sector banks will be
provided with ₹70,000
crore additional capital to improve the availability of credit to the
economy.
ii) Sitharaman
said that bad loans have reduced by ₹1 lakh crore in the last one year.
She added that ₹4
lakh crore of bad loans have been recovered over the last four years.
g) Members of
the Budget 2019 Team
i) The team that
helped Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in preparing 2019 Budget are :
ii) Krishnamurthy
Subramanian (Chief Economic Adviser)
iii) Subhash Chandra
Garg (Economic Affairs and Finance Secretary)
iv) Ajay Bhushan
Pandey (Revenue Secretary)
v) Rajiv
Kumar (Department of Financial Services Secretary)
vi) Atanu
Chakraborty (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management
Secretary)
10. The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) will take over as the regulator of housing finance
firms, replacing the National Housing Bank.
11. The
government has raised the foreign aid to Nepal from ₹750 crore last year
to ₹1,050
crore in the 2019-20 Budget, an increase of 40%.
a. For the
Maldives, the allocation was raised to ₹576 crore, from ₹440 crores in
2018-2019. The aid to African countries saw an increase from ₹330 crore last year to ₹450 crore this year.
12. Dubai Duty
Free has announced that Indian Rupee will now be an
accepted currency at all the retail outlets of the Dubai airport.
a. However, the
change, if any, will be given back in Dirhams and not the Indian currency.
b. Stores at the
Dubai Airport will accept notes of various denominations, including 100s, 200s,
500s and 2000s.
c. The move
makes the Indian rupee the 16th international currency to be
accepted at Dubai's airports.
13. In France,
the lower house of parliament today approved a small, pioneering
tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook.
a. The bill
foresees a 3 per cent tax on the French revenues of digital companies with
global revenue of more than 750 million Euros.
b. Note : At
present, the companies pay nearly no tax in countries where they have large
sales like France.
14. To review
regulatory guidelines and supervisory framework for Core Investment
Companies (CIC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted
a working group.
a. The 6-member
working group is chaired by Tapan Ray, non-executive
chairman, Central Bank of India and former Secretary in Union Ministry of
Corporate Affairs (MCA).
15. The US-India
Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) today announced that Mastercard
CEO and President Ajay Banga and Wipro Chairman Azim
Premji will receive the 2019 Global Excellence
Awards at its Second Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July
11.
a. Jared Kushner, senior
adviser to the President of the United States, will present awards during the
summit.
16. Pakistan have
officially been knocked out of the 2019 World Cup after
Bangladesh crossed 7 runs while chasing the target of 316.
a. Pakistan
needed to win the match by at least 308 runs to advance to the
semi-finals.
b. Note : With
this, New Zealand became the 4th team after India, Australia and England to
qualify for the semi-finals.
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