21 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. 5th International Yoga Day being celebrated today

Fifth International Yoga Day is being celebrated on 21st June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in celebrating yoga day from Ranchi in Jharkhand. The main function was held at the Prabhat Tara ground in Ranchi this morning.
Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India.
The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.
This year, the International Yoga Day's theme is "Climate Action" and it will be celebrated at the UN on 20 June as "Yoga with Gurus," followed by a panel discussion on 21 June.

Note:

The idea of the International Day of Yoga was first proposed by PM Modi during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 27, 2014.
The first International Yoga Day (IYD) was celebrated across the world on 21st June 2015.

Source: News on air

2. World Music Day celebrated on 21st June

World Music Day is observed on 21st June every year with the aim to shed light on the importance of music.
On Music Day, the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music in their neighbourhoods or in public spaces.
World Music Day has its origins in France, but soon got adopted by over 120 nations across the world, including India.
In France, it is known as ‘Fête de la Musique’ meaning “festival of music” to honour both amateur and professional musicians.
The idea was conceived in the 1970s by American musician Joel Cohen— then working for a French radio station—as he wanted bands to play on the evening of June 21 to welcome the first day of summer.
The first World Music Day took place on June 21, 1982.

Source: News 18

3. World Hydrography Day observed today

World Hydrography Day (WHD) is being observed annually on 21 June to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography.
The theme of this year is – “Hydrographic information driving marine knowledge”.
Since 2006, the day is observed annually on 21 June.
It was adopted by the International Hydrographic Organization as an annual celebration to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography.

About the International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization is an intergovernmental consultative and technical organization that was established in 1921 to support the safety of navigation and the protection of the marine environment.
The IHO headquarters is in Monaco.

Source: IHO

National Affairs

4. Namma Kolhapuri chappal gets GI boost

Maharashtra's extremely popular footwear industry, renowned for its handcrafted leather Kolhapuri chappal has been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, which is likely to further boost its sale in other parts of the country and abroad.
The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks has granted the GI tag for Kolhapuris to four districts of Maharashtra — Kolhapur, Solapur, Sangli and Satara — along with four in Karnataka — Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur.
The GI tag approvals imply that the artisans producing Kolhapuris in these districts will now be able to make and market their product in domestic and international markets.
This also means the artisans can tie up with leading e-commerce players for higher profits.
More importantly, it also prohibits the usage of the term "Kolhapuris" for similar products made in other parts of the country.

About Geographical Indication (GI) tag

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
Geographical Indication Tag provides rights and protection to holders.
For a product to get GI tag, it has to have a unique quality, reputation or characteristic which is attributable to its geographic origin.
For example – In April 2019, Kandhamal Haldi', a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag from Intellectual Property India.
'Kandhamal Haldi' has been placed under Class-30 type

Source: DNA & Business standard

5. Venkaiah Naidu suggests automatic lapsing of bills if Rajya Sabha fails to clear them within five years

Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on June 21 came up with suggestions to tackle the issue of lapsing of bills due to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and the long pendency of legislation in the Upper House, in some cases for more than 30 years.
According to Article 107 of the Constitution, bills passed in the LokSabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha get lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
As many as 22 bills passed by the 16th Lok Sabha got lapsed as they cannot be cleared in the Rajya Sabha.
“I suggest if a bill is not passed for five years in the Rajya Sabha, then such bill should be deemed as lapsed automatically,” the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Laws pending in Rajya Sabha

At end of the 248th session of the Rajya Sabha 55 bills were pending before the Upper House including the now lapsed bills.
“The Upper House now has 33 bills pending. Three are pending for more than 20 years.
Six are pending for 10 to 20 years. Fourteen are pending for five to 10 years and the rest are pending for up to 5 years,” he said.
“The oldest pending bill is the Indian Medical Association (Amendment) Bill, 1987 that is pending for more than 32 years.”

Source: The Hindu

6. DD India to be available in Bangladesh, South Korea

The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry said that India has entered into agreements with Bangladesh and South Korea to make DD (Doordarshan) India available to viewers in the two countries respectively.
Under this agreement, Bangladesh’s BTV World and South Korea’s KBS World will also be made available on DD Free Dish, which has nearly 35 million subscribers across the country.

Source: The Hindu

Banking & Economy

7. Canara Bank to offer only three free cash deposits of up to ₹50,000

Canara Bank customers can deposit cash for free only thrice a month and from the fourth transaction, there will be a charge from July 1.
Cash deposits of up to ₹50,000 are free for 3 transactions in a month, and then there will be a service charge of ₹1 per thousand, with a minimum of ₹50 and a maximum of ₹5,000-plus GST.

Note:

“Fourth transaction onwards: ₹1 per thousand or part thereof with a minimum of ₹50 and maximum of ₹5000 per transaction plus GST,” the State-run bank said in a notice with reference to charges for deposits up to ₹ 50,000.
Cash deposits up to ₹50,000 are free for Canara Bank customers now.
For cash deposits of over ₹50,000, the charge is ₹1 per thousand or part thereof with a minimum of ₹50 and maximum ₹5,000 per transaction plus GST.

About Canara Bank

Canara Bank was established at Mangalore in 1906 by Ammembal Subba Rao Pai.
It is headquartered in Bengaluru
The bank was nationalized in 1969.
N. Manoharan is the current Chairman of Canara Bank.

Source: The Hindu

8. Apollo Munich to merge with HDFC ERGO

HDFC Ltd. has signed a definitive agreement with Apollo Munich Health Insurance to buy out the entire Apollo Hospitals Group’s stake of 50.8% for ₹1,136 crore and another 0.4% stake held by a few employees for ₹10.84 crore.
Post the acquisition of shares by HDFC, Apollo Munich would be merged with the former’s general insurance subsidiary — HDFC ERGO.
ERGO is a subsidiary of Munich Re, which has been a joint venture partner of HDFC ERGO since 2008.
Munich Re will continue to hold 49% stake in HDFC ERGO post the merger.
The acquisition would make HDFC ERGO the second-largest private sector insurer in the combined accident and health insurance vertical, with an 8.2% market share.

About HDFC ERGO

HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Ltd. is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd. and ERGO International AG, the primary insurance entity of Munich Re Group.
HDFC holds 51 per cent, and ERGO the other 49 per cent.
The headquarters is located in Mumbai.
Ritesh Kumar is the CEO of HDFC ERGO.

Source: The Hindu

9. Sundaram Fin to buy entire BNP Paribas stake in housing arm for Rs 1,000 crore

Sundaram Finance Ltd (SFL) and BNP Paribas Personal Finance have reached an agreement under which BNP Paribas Personal Finance will sell its entire 49.9 per cent equity stake in Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance Ltd (SBPHFL) to SFL for a consideration of about ₹1,000 crore.
The proposed acquisition follows BNP Paribas Group’s decision to exit the retail housing finance business.

Source: The Hindu

10. Tech Mahindra signs contract with Airbus

Software and business re-engineering services firm Tech Mahindra announced the signing of a multi-year contract with Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering.
Tech Mahindra said it is aiming to grow its cabin engineering business over the next few years.
The company is betting big on next-generation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity, robotics, automation, Blockchain and 5G, to solve real business problems of the customers by delivering innovative solutions and services.

About Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra Limited is a multinational Information Technology (IT) Software and business re-engineering services firm.
It is a subsidiary of the Mahindra Group.
Anand Mahindra is the Chairman of Tech Mahindra.
It is headquartered at Pune and has its registered office in Mumbai.

About Airbus

Airbus is an international pioneer in the aerospace industry, a leader in designing, manufacturing and delivering aerospace products, services and solutions.
Airbus's corporate headquarters is located in Leiden, Netherlands.
CEO Guillaume Faury is the CEO of Airbus.

Source: Livemint

11. SEBI sets up panel to review margins on derivatives

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to review the current framework of margins in the futures and options segment.
In this regard, SEBI has set up a working group, headed by NSE Clearing Ltd., to look into the issue and submit its recommendations to the Secondary Market Advisory Committee.

Source: The Hindu

12. Kolkata tops in warehousing leasing volume: Report

A report by a global property consultancy firm Knight Frank, among top eight cities, Kolkata has emerged as the fastest growing market in the country in warehousing leasing.
According to the India Warehousing Market 2019 report, Kolkata witnessed the highest YoY surge, with 191 per cent in warehousing leasing volume of 4.7 million sqft in 2018.
Kolkata was followed by Bengaluru and Hyderabad, growing at 147 per cent and 96 per cent in 2018 over 2017.
E-commerce and third-party logistics (3PL) providers were the biggest occupiers to have picked up warehousing space in Kolkata in 2018, the report said.

Source: The Economic Times

Sports

13. World Archery appoints Abhinav Bindra to sort AAI mess

Abhinav Bindra was appointed as an independent person by the World Archery to sort out the ongoing mess in the Archery Association of India (AAI).
The development comes a day after the world body de-listed the AAI for violating the constitution by unanimously electing two parallel bodies in Chandigarh and New Delhi.
The suspension would prevent Indian archers from participating at any world event, including the Asian Archery Championships, an Olympic qualifying event.

Source: The Times of India