16 July 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. Kalraj Mishra appointed Himachal Pradesh Governor

President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra (78-years) as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
He replaced Acharya Devvrat (60-years) who has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Gujarat.
Mr. Acharya Devvrat will replace OP Kohli (Governor of Gujarat), who completed his five-year term on 15^th July 2019.
In 2017, Kalraj Mishra had resigned from the Narendra Modi-led government as Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises after he crossed the age of 75.
According to the press issued by Rashtrapati Bhawan, appointments of Mr. Mishra and Mr. Devvrat will come into effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices.
The governors and lieutenant-governors are appointed by the president for a term of five years.

Note:

The governors (exist in the states) and lieutenant-governors/administrators (union territories and in the NCT of Delhi) of the states and union territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level.
The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states and his/her councils of ministers.

Source: The Hindu

2. SBI Managing Director Anshula Kant appointed MD and CFO of World Bank

Anshula Kant (MD of the State Bank Of India) has been appointed as managing director (MD) and chief financial officer (CFO) of the World Bank.
As Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Kant will be responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group.
Anshula brings more than 35 years of expertise in finance, banking, and innovative use of technology through her work as CFO of the State Bank of India (SBI- Probationary Officer-1983).
Anshula Kant is a graduate in Economic Honours from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and a Post-Graduate in Economics from Delhi School of Economics.

Note:

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides interest-free loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.
As of November 2018, the largest recipients of world bank loans were India (USD 859 million in 2018) and China (USD 370 million in 2018), through loans from IBRD.

It comprises two institutions:

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
The International Development Association (IDA).

Chief financial officer:

A chief financial officer (CFO) is the senior executive responsible for managing the financial actions of a company.
The CFO's duties include tracking cash flow and financial planning as well as analysing the company's financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing corrective actions.

National Affairs

3. ‘LaQshya’ to improve quality of care in the labour room, maternity Ots

The Union Government has launched “LaQshya” (Labour room Quality improvement Initiative) to improve the quality of care in the labour room and maternity operation theatres.
It’s a multipronged approach focused on Intrapartum and the immediate postpartum period.
The initiative primarily focuses on reducing preventable maternal and new-born mortality and morbidity due to haemorrhage retained placenta, preterm, preeclampsia and eclampsia, obstructed labour, puerperal sepsis, newborn asphyxia, and newborn sepsis.

Source: Business Standard

4. Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30 made tax-free in Bihar

Vikas Bahl's ‘Super 30’ has been made tax-free in Bihar by the state government.
The state's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi announced no entertainment tax will be levied from the film in Bihar.
‘Super 30’ is based on the life of Patna-based mathematician and teacher Anand Kumar.
The teacher runs a coaching programme called Super 30 for underprivileged students to prepare them for IIT entrance exams.
The film was released on 12th July 2019.

Note:

If a movie is declared tax free it means the state has waived off the entertainment tax (similar to VAT or service tax) levied by the state governments.
The movie halls/producers collect the tax from moviegoers and pay it government.

Source: Economics Times

Banking & Finance

5. RBI fines Union Bank and SBI for flouting norms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised State Bank of India (SBI) and Union Bank of India for violating certain regulatory guidelines.
SBI was fined Rs. 7 crores for non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC), and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds.
The central bank also imposed a Rs 10 lakh fine on Union Bank of India for non-compliance with the directions on the cybersecurity framework in banks.
According to RBI, the statutory inspection of the bank with reference to its financial position as on 31th, March 2017 revealed that the lender had violated those norms.

Source: The Hindu

Obituaries

6. Boxing legend ‘Sweet Pea’ Whitaker passes away

Former Olympic boxing gold medallist and four-weight World Champion ‘Pernell Whitaker’ (55-years) passed away after he was hit by a vehicle in Virginia.
Pernell Whitaker won world titles at lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight and light middleweight.
He enjoyed a successful professional career after winning gold as a lightweight at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Whitaker retired from fighting in 2001 and worked as a trainer.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.

7. Former Bangladesh military dictator Ershad passes away

Bangladesh’s former military dictator Hussain Muhammad Ershad (91-years) passed away due to complications from old age at a hospital in Dhaka.
Ershad (Former army chief) took over the state power in a bloodless coup in 1982 and subsequently ran the country for eight years until he was forced to quit in a pro-democracy mass upsurge in 1990.
Ershad emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders in the 1990s after his Jatiya Party became the country’s third-biggest political outfit.
His rule was marked by a controversial move to make Islam the state religion of the officially secular Bangladesh.

Source: Business Line

Honour & Awards

8. Kaushik Ganguly's 'Nagarkirtan' wins at SAARC film fest

Director Kaushik Ganguly's Bengali outing 'Nagarkirtan' was honoured with 'Best Feature Film', 'Best Director', 'Best Actor' and 'Best Original Score' awards at the 9th edition of the SAARC fest in Colombo.
Nagarkirtan is a love story of a transwoman and a flautist.
'Na Bole Wo Haram' (20-minute film by debutant director Nitish Patankar) bagged the 'Best Short Film' award, while 'Walking with the Wind' by Praveen Morchhale received the Special Jury award for direction and story.

Source: Deccan herald

International Affairs

9. Russia launches X-Ray Space Telescope ‘Spektr-RG’

The Russian space agency ‘Roscosmos’ has successfully launched into space an all-sky-survey satellite, Spektrum-Rontgen-Gamma “Spektr-RG” on a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
It is a joint project of Roscosmos with German space agency (DLR) for mapping X-rays across the sky to trace the large-scale structure of the universe and mark a new stage in X-ray astronomy.
The Russian space agency showed a Proton-M rocket carrying the Spektr-RG taking off from the launch pad.
This new space telescope with advanced features will replace the Spektr-R, known as the “Russian Hubble”, which Roskosmos lost control of in January 2019

Sports

10. Boxer Vijender Singh wins 11th consecutive pro bout

India’s Boxer Vijender Singh (33-years) clinched a Technical Knockout over Mike Snider on his debut in the US professional circuit at Newark in the US.
Vijender Singh prevailed in four rounds for his 11th consecutive victory in the circuit.
This was Vijender's eighth knockout win in all.
Vijender would be aiming to compete in two more fights this year after signing up with Hall of Famer Bob Arum's Top Rank Promotions.

Source: The Times of India

11. Amir Khan wins WBC international welterweight title

Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan clinched the WBC international welterweight title.
He knocked out Australian Billy Dib in the fourth round of his bout in the inaugural Super Boxing League held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
He is a British professional boxer who was also Britain’s youngest boxer to win a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 2004 Olympics at the age of 17.

Source: Business Standard

12. Sharath Kamal voted IOC Sportsperson of the Year

Sharath Kamal was voted the Sportsperson of the Year in the annual Indian Oil Sports Conclave at an impressive function in New Delhi.
The other nominees were cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, Grandmaster B Adhiban, hockey player Simranjeet Singh and table tennis player Manika Batra.
Sharath Kamal is a professional table tennis player from Tamil Nadu, India.
Recently he received the fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri.

Note:

Sharath Kamal is the first Indian table tennis player ever to become nine times Senior National Champion hence breaking the record of Kamlesh Mehta (eight times National Champion).

Source: The Hindu

13. Kiran More appointed interim USA Cricket Coach

Former India wicketkeeper-batsman ‘Kiran More’ (56-years) has been appointed the interim coach of the senior USA cricket team.
He will replace the head coach Pubudu Dassanayake (resigned in July 2019).
The USA Cricket has also appointed Sunil Joshi (former India spinner) as spin bowling advisor, and Pravin Amre and Kieran Powell as advisors for the batting department.
Earlier, Kiran More (played for India in 49 Tests and 94 ODIs) had served as the chairman of the Indian selection committee and the wicketkeeping-consultant of Mumbai Indians in the IPL.