Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 07 2019
1. Kandikuppa Sreekant becomes Power Grid CMD
State-owned Power Grid Corporation Director (Finance) Kandikuppa Sreekant took charge as the company’s chairman and managing director. Kandikuppa Sreekant assumed the charge of the chairman and managing director of Power Grid Corporation of India. His tenure of Kandikuppa Sreekant will be till December 31, 2023. He was serving as the Director of Finance of Power Grid. Sreekant is a B.Com (Hons.) graduate, CMA, and PGDBM (finance),
2. Bangladesh signed an agreement with Russia for uranium supply
Bangladesh signed a nuclear fuel supply agreement with Russia for the uranium supply of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP). The deal was signed between the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and Russian Nuclear Fuel Supply Company TVEL in Dhaka.
3. 7 August: National Handloom Day
Every year National Handloom Day is celebrated across India on 7 August 2019. The year 2019 marks 5th National Handloom Day. To mark the occasion, Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, will preside over a function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. It was inaugurated on 7 August 2015 by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at centenary of Madras University in Chennai.
4. Sushma Swaraj, Former Foreign Minister and BJP Stalwart, Passes Away at 67
Sushma Swaraj, former external affairs minister and senior BJP leader, passed away. She was 67. The senior BJP leader was brought to AIIMS around 9:30pm and was straight away taken to the emergency ward. AIIMS doctors said she died of a cardiac arrest.
5. NCAER sees GDP growth at 6.2% on flat agriculture gross value added
Economic think tank NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) expects the agriculture gross value added (GVA) to remain flat in 2019-20, pulling down the country’s economic growth rate to 6.2 per cent in FY20, from 6.8 per cent in FY19. The NCAER’s projection for the economic growth rate is the lowest among the various estimates that have come so far.
6. RBI cuts repo rate by 35 bps to 5.40%, maintains accommodative stance
The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday cut repo rate by 35 basis points (bps) in its third bi-monthly policy review of the financial year. It was fourth rate cut by the central bank in a row. The short-term lending rate now stands at 5.40 per cent.
The MPC felt standard 25 bps rate cut might have been and 50 bps rate cut a bit excessive, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told reporters.
7. Cancer researcher becomes first woman to win 4,000km cycling race
A German cancer researcher has become the first woman to win one of the world’s toughest cycling races in her first ultra-distance event. Fiona Kolbinger, 24, from Dresden, said she was “so surprised to win” the Transcontinental, which traverses 2,485 miles (4,000km) from Burgas in Bulgaria to Brest in France.
She took 10 days, two hours and 48 minutes to complete the challenge, which included about 40,000 metres (131,000ft) of climbing.
8. India tops latest ICC Test rankings
India topped the latest ICC Test team rankings while New Zealand is placed 2nd and South Africa is in 3rd position. India skipper Virat Kohli retains his number one position in the latest ICC Test batsmen’s rankings.
Australian batsman Steve Smith overtook India’s Cheteshwar Pujara to grab the No.3 spot. His elevation in rankings came after consecutive hundreds in the opening Ashes Test in Edgbaston. Pujara is placed fourth in the fresh standings.
9. Mastercard launches identity check express to secure online transactions
Mastercard announced the launch of Identity Check Express, a next-generation, mobile-first authentication solution that aims to redefine the e-commerce journey for Indian consumers.
The solution, will help eliminate unnecessary friction and enhance the security of online transactions. Identity Check Express was showcased at the Global Mastercard Cybersecurity Summit, held for the first time in India.
10. India, Israel explore new areas of cooperation to boost financial ties
Israel and India are exploring to open new vistas of partnership in the world of finance, including collaboration between market regulators and allowing Israeli investment in corporate bonds, taking advantage of a favourable climate in both countries.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and its Israeli counterpart are exploring partnerships and the two sides are also focusing on cyber security collaboration to safeguard their financial markets, Israel’s ambassador to India next month.
