Current Affairs Daily Digest is a collection of important current affairs facts in a short but effective way that helps you saving time while keeping you updated about the world around you.

Today’s Current Affairs and General Knowledge

Pranati Nayak wins Bronze in Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championship

  • In Mongolia, Pragati Nayak secure bronze medal at Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championship.
  • On Friday, She scores 13.384 and won bronze medal whereas China’s Linmin and Japan’s Sakaguchi won gold and silver with the score of 14.350 and 13.584 respectively.
  • 23-year-old Pragati is from West Bengal.

Saudi Arabia got FATF membership

  • Saudi Arabia becomes 1st Arab country who gets full membership of the Financial Force Action Force Task(FATF).
  • FATF is an inter-governmental body with the purpose of the development and promotion of policies at both national and international levels to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other threat.
  • FATF was established in 1989.

UK magazine tag PM Narendra Modi as Worlds Most Powerful Person

  • UK magazine, British Herald has been declared PM Narendra Modi as the winner of a reader’s poll for world’s most powerful person 2019.
  • The winner name was decided after the poll which was closed on Saturday midnight.
  • PM Modi got 30.9% of the vote whereas Vlamidir Putin, Donald Trump, and Xi Jinping with 29.9%, 21.9%, and 18.1% of the votes respectively.

Kolhapuri chappal gets GI tag

  • Kolhapuri chappal (Footwear) had got Geographical Indications (GI) by the controller general of patents, designs and trademarks (CGPDTM).
  • The Tag has granted to the district Sangli, Solapur, Satara, and Kolhapur of Maharashtra and district Belgaum, Bagalkot Dharwad, and Bijapur of Karnataka.
  • Due to this tag, no Kolhapuri chappal was produced except in these 8 districts will qualify to carry a tag of being Kolhapuris.
  • GI is a name or sign used on certain products which correspond to a specific geographical location or origin.
  • In 2004, Darjeeling tea was first GI tagged a product in India till now 321 product added in the list.
  • This GI tag is valid up to 10 years which where Further renewed.

International Olympic Day

  • 23rd June is observed as International Olympic Day.
  • This day is celebrated to promote participation in different sports throughout the world without any discrimination of the gender, age and athletic ability.
  • The first Olympic Day was observed in 1948.
  • The theme of this year is “Move, learn and discover”.

Nitesh Kumar Jangir won Innovation Award

  • Nitesh Kumar Jangir has won The 2019 Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Award.
  • He received his award in London during the event of the 70th anniversary of the Commonwealth.
  • He got the award along with 14 other innovators across the 53 member-countries of the Commonwealth.
  • He is an electronics engineer and co-founder of Bangalore-based medical device making company Coeo Labs.
  • He won the award for his device called Saans, a breathing support device to tackle avoidable deaths of babies from respiratory distress.
  • It is the world’s first neonatal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device.
  • Patricia Scotland is the present (from 2016) Secretary-General of Commonwealth.

Meghalaya proposed a third presidential retreat

  • Presidential Retreat: Apart from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President of India stays at two more places one in The Retreat Building Shimla and another in Rashtrapati Nilayam Hyderabad.
  • Recently Meghalaya has proposed the union government for a third presidential retreat at Shillong.
  • Current two Presidential Retreat in north and south symbolises the unity of our country.

Solanum plastisexum – Australia’s sex-changing tomato

  • Australian scientists have discovered a native variety of tomato which is capable of changing the reproductive function of its flower from male to female or vice versa.
  • In plant kingdom having both the reproductive functions in the same flower is not new, such plants are known as hermaphrodites. 85% of the plant species that have flowers are bisexual. But this case is entirely new.
  • Related Fact: Among animals, all-female lizard species whose eggs have all the genetic material needed to reproduce, and clownfish, which are born male and can transform into females later in life.

Southwest Monsoon reaches Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh

  • The Monsoon entered Bihar through Purnea and it also hit Odisha covering all the coastal districts yesterday.
  • The meteorological department said that both the states will experience rainfall in the next two to three days.
  • The southwest monsoon also entered Andhra Pradesh and covered some parts of Telangana with light rainfall.
  • In Andhra Pradesh monsoon spread to most parts of the state and the remaining parts will be covered in the next two day.
  • It will take another 72 hours to reach the eastern parts of the Uttar Pradesh.
  • In other parts, clouds provided a much-needed respite from the scorching heat.

PM will attend 14th G20 Summit in Osaka.

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 14th G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on 28th and 29th June.
  • More than 20 countries will be participating in the G20 Summit.
  • Food security, energy security, financial stability, terrorism-related issues, Innovation in the digital economy and artificial intelligence will be discussed in this summit.
  • The theme of this summit is “Human-centred future society”.
  • Informal meeting of the BRICS leaders and bilateral meetings with other leaders would also take place on the sidelines of the summit.
  • India will host the G20 summit in 2022 for the first time.

Food grains production 2018-19

  • The food grains production in India is estimated at 283.37 million tonnes during 2018-19.
  • Over 17.63 million tonnes are higher than the average production of the last three years.
  • The Indian Council of Agricultural Research is conducting basic and strategic research relating to crop improvement, production and protection technologies suitable to different situations.

Walmart have to pay over 282 million.

  • Walmart agreed to pay $282 mn to various bodies of US to settle charges of violating anti-corruption regulations while conducting its business in India, China, Brazil and Mexico.
  • According to the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), these violations were conducted by Walmart’s third-party intermediaries who made payments without reasonable assurances that they observed complied with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or FCPA.
  • Walmart agreed to pay more than 144 million US Dollar to settle the SEC’s charges and approximately 138 million US Dollar to resolve parallel criminal charges by the Department of Justice for a combined total of more than 282 million US Dollar.

Operation launched by Indian Navy in Gulf

  • Indian Navy has deployed INS Chennai and INS Sunayna in the Gulf of Oman to re-assure Indian flagged vessels operating and transiting through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, following the maritime security incidents in the region.
  • Indian aircraft deployed in that area for aerial surveillance.
  • Indian Ocean Region is keeping a close watch on the movement of ships in the Gulf region.
  • On Thursday, Iranian forces shot down a US military spy drone “RQ-4 Global Hawk” while it was flying over the Strait of Hormuz.

World Archery appoints Bindra to sort AAI trouble

  • The World Archery has appointed Abhinav Bindra to solve the conflict in the Archery Association of India (AAI).
  • AAI violated the constitution by unanimously electing two parallel bodies in Chandigarh and New Delhi.
  • The world body de-listed the AAI for violating the rules of World Archery.
  • Abhinav Bindra is appointed as an independent person by the World Archery.
  • He will be part of the selection panel with Rajeev Mehta The secretary general of IOA.
  • Its headquarters are located in New Delhi and the current president is Arjun Munda.
  • Archery Association of India (AAI) was founded on 8 August 1973.

Yoga Day

  • International Day of Yoga is observed on 21 June.
  • It was first suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his speech at the UNGA, 27th September 2014.
  • An international day for yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
  • On 14 October 2014, the UNGA held informal consultations on the draft resolution “International Day of Yoga”.
  • Reserve Bank of India in 2015, issued a 10 rupees commemorative coin to mark the International Day of Yoga.
  • This year PM Narendra Modi hosted a grand event at Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi.

IndusInd Bank to merge BFIL

  • On 4 July 2019 IndusInd bank will merge Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL).
  • The Business Correspondent network of BFIL will operate under IFIL.
  • Assets and liabilities of BFIL will be merged with IndusInd’s balance sheet.
  • M R Rao will be the CEO of IndusInd Financial Inclusion Ltd (IFIL), as he is currently CEO of BFIL.

India grants to support of $15mn to Niger for African Union Summit

  • India has grant support of USD 15 million assistance to Niger for organising The African Union (AU) summit.
  • The (AU) summit will be held in Niamey (capital of Niger) from July 7. It will also be the first time for Niger to host an AU summit.

New CJ of Telangana & Himachal Pradesh

  • The government has cleared the appointments of Cheif Justice of Telangana and Himachal Pradesh High Courts.
  • Justice RS Chauhan will be the new Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
  • Justice V Ramasubramanium will be the new Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
  • On June 10, Justice Ravi Shanker Jha was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court

RBI fines Rs 10 lakhs on South Indian Bank

  • On 19th June, RBI has imposed fine of Rs 10 lakh on South Indian Bank for violating norms regarding bank guarantees.
  • In the statement, The Reserve Bank said that the penalty follows references from a government department and a private party alleging non-payment of invoked bank guarantees by the lender.

The population of Indians in America increased by 38%

  • From the year 2010 to 2017 the population of the Indians in America is increased up to 38%
  • There are around 630,000 undocumented Indians.
  • The South Asian advocacy group released this report.

TV Channels of Bangladesh & South Korea on DD Free Dish

  • The Government has also approved the proposal of Prasar Bharati for making available the KBS World, a channel of Government of Republic of South Korea and BTV World, a channel owned by Bangladesh TV, on the DD Free Dish for the Indian viewers.
  • At the same time, people of South Korea and Bangladesh would be able to view DD India in their countries.
  • This arrangement is as a result of an MoU signed by Prasar Bharati.
  • The decision marks an important watershed in the strengthening of ties of India with the two countries.

Facebook’s new cryptocurrency Libra

  • Facebook is coming in the world of cryptocurrency with Libra.
  • Libra is a cryptocurrency that will use as payments in the social network.
  • Facebook along with Mastercard, Visa, Women’s World Banking, and 28 other founding members are in Libra Association.
  • Facebook along with Visa, Uber and Andreessen Horowitz, had invested $10 million each in Libra project’s operation.

Fitch lowers India’s growth forecast

  • Rating agency Fitch has lowered India’s GDP growth to 6.6% for the financial year 2020
  • Fitch Ratings has retained its GDP growth forecast for FY21 and FY22 at 7.1 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively
  • India’s GDP hits 5-year low growth of 6.8 per cent in 2018-19
  •  Reserve Bank of India has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.75 per cent in its June meeting – the third cut so far this year- to address growth concerns.
  • According to Fitch, RBI may go for another 25 basis point cut in interest rates this year.

Only BS-6 Vehicles from Next Year

  • Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that only BS-6 vehicle will remain available from 2020 onwards.
  • Vehicles contribute 20-22% of the total pollution in the country.
  • BS-IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, the BS-VI grade fuel only has 10 ppm sulphur. BS VI can bring PM in diesel cars down by 80 per cent.
  • Delhi implemented selling only BS-VI grade fuels from April 1, 2018, only, in view of the extremely high levels of air pollution in the Capital city.
  • Earlier in October 2018, Supreme Court order in an order barred the sale of Bharat Stage IV vehicles from April 1, 2020.

India’s population to overtake China by 2027: UN

  • In World Population Prospects 2019 recently UN explained that India is expected to show the highest population increase between now and 2050, overtaking China by around 2027.
  • India, along with eight other countries will make up over half of the estimated population growth between now and 2050.
  • World’s population is expected to increase by two billion people in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050.
  • Till 2050, Over 16 per cent of the population would be over 65 years of age i.e. 1 in 6 up from one in 11 in 2019 (9 per cent).
  • The number of people aged 80 years or over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.
  • Although overall life expectancy will increase (from 64.2 years in 1990 to 77.1 years in 2050), life expectancy in poorer countries will continue to lag behind.

Matri Shree Media Awards

  • 29 journalists from both print and electronic media were felicitated with Matri Shree Media Awards.
  • Awardees Shri Agraj Pratap Singh (UNI), Jitender Kumar (Univarta), Poonam Gaur (Navbharat Times), Kunal Kashyap (Punjab Kesari), Sandeep Ashwario (Chief Cartoonist Times of India), Namita (PTI Bhasha), Durga Prasad Mishra (PTI photojournalist) and Ravi Bhushan Dwivedi (Sandhya Times) are among others.
  • This year was the 44th edition of Matri Shree media award.
  • This time apart from media personalities, a social activist was also presented Bharat Mata shield, earlier from 2000 they included filmmakers too.
  • The awardees were presented the Matri Shree Bharat Mata shield and a pen for their contribution towards journalism.
  • Awards were presented in New Delhi by Swadesh Bhushan Jain, Working President of Punjab Kesari (Delhi) and Ashok Aggarwal, chairman of the committee.
  • Award was constituted during the Emergency era in 1975.

Compulsory GPS for trekkers in Himachal Pradesh

  • Government of Himachal Pradesh made a Global Positioning System (GPS) as a mandatory device to carry for trekkers, so it can help in an emergency.
  • The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary of HP for the monsoon preparedness to tackle any exigency during monsoon season.
  • Apart from this Kullu and Dalhousie have been identified for installation of early warning systems, Rampur and Mandi towns have been zeroed in for setting up the relief and rescue base of National Disaster Response Force.

Om Birla elected as new Lok Sabha Speaker

  • Shri Om Birla, a three-time MP from Kota, unanimously elected to become new Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi moved the motion for his election and opposition parties supported his candidature.
  • 56-year-old Shri Birla had been active in politics from his student days and was the president of the BJP’s state unit for six years.
  • In previous Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan was the speaker.