29-30 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

29-30 June 2019 - Daily Current Affairs

1. National Statistics Day 2019 observed in India

• The “Statistics Day” is being observed every year on 29th June in India to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation.
• The theme of Statistics Day, 2019 is “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. 
• The theme has been chosen for intensive and focused discussions towards filling the data gaps and improvement of timelines/quality in SDGs.
• The day acknowledges the notable contribution of Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning.
• The main function held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, chaired by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation and Ministry of Planning, Rao Inderjit Singh.

Note:

• Indian scientist and applied statistician ‘Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis’ (29 June 1893 – 28 June 1972) remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure.
• He was also one of the members of the first Planning Commission of India.

Source: PIB

Appointment

2. Samant Goel appointed as new RAW chief

• Senior IPS Officer Samant Goel (1984 batch- Punjab Cadre) has been appointed as the new chief of Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW).
• Samant Goel will succeed Anil Dhasmana whose tenure comes to an end on June 29.
• Mr. Goel played a key role in planning the February 2019 Balakot airstrikes and the 2016 surgical strikes.
• Senior IPS Officer Arvind Kumar (1984 batch-Assam- Meghalaya Cadre) will be the new Director of Intelligence Bureau (27th).
• Arvind Kumar will succeed Rajiv Jain.
• Previously Arvind Kumar was involved in tackling the Left-Wing Extremism at IB.

The Research and Analysis Wing:

• The Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) is the foreign intelligence agency of India, established in 1968 following the intelligence failures of the Sino-Indian War.
• The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, engaging in counter-terrorism,promoting counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, and advancing India's foreign strategic interests.
• The first Director of R&AW was Rameshwar Nath Kao.

Intelligence Bureau (IB):

• The Intelligence Bureau (IB) is India's internal intelligence agency.
• It was renamed as the Central Intelligence Bureau in 1947 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The first director of the IB was T. G. Sanjeevi Pillai.

3. China’s Qu Dongyu elected new Director-General of UN food agency FAO

• China’s Qu Dongyu (56-year) has been elected as the new Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) based in Rome, Italy.
• The Qu will officially take over as new FAO chief from 1^st August 2019.
• He is the first Chinese national to be elected as FAO Director-General.

Note:

• The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
• FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate arguments and debate policy.

Banking and Finance

4. Govt cuts interest rate on small savings schemes by 0.1 pc

• The Union government has reduced interest rate on small savings schemes, including the National Savings Certificate and Public Provident Fund, by 0.1% for the July-September quarter.
• Barring interest on savings deposits, which has been retained at 4 per cent annually, rate on all other schemes has been slashed by 0.1 per cent.
• PPF and NSC will fetch an annual interest rate of 7.9 per cent from the existing rate of 8 per cent, while Kisan Vikas Patra will yield 7.6 per cent with a maturity of 113 months.
• At present, the interest rate on KVP is 7.7 per cent and maturity is 112 months.
• The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Account will fetch a lower return of 8.4 per cent from 8.5 per cent.
• The interest rate for the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme will now fetch a lower rate of interest at 8.6 per cent from 8.7 per cent.

Source: AIR News

National Affairs

5. India signs USD 400M loan agreement with World Bank to eliminate TB

• World Bank India has signed a loan agreement worth 400 million dollars with the World Bank to help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis (TB) from the country.
• The World Bank supported program will cover nine States and it will support the government's National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025.
• The Program will provide financial incentives to private sector care providers for reporting cases of TB and ensuring that their patients complete the treatment regimen.
• According to the Finance Ministry, it will provide Direct Benefit Transfers to patients for acquiring the critical nutrition needed during treatment.
• The Program will also strengthen the detection, treatment and monitoring of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and will track progress in the detection of additional drug resistance.

Source: AIR News

6. Govt sets up a working group to revise the current series of WPI

• The Union Government has constituted a Working Group for the revision of the current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI.
• Prof. Ramesh Chand (Member, Niti Aayog) will be the chairman of the 18-member committee.
• The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade will be the nodal office for the Working Group.
• The current series of Wholesale Price Index with 2011-12 as the base year was introduced in May 2017.
• Since 2011-12, significant structural changes have taken place in the economy.
• Therefore, it has become necessary to examine the index numbers of the Wholesale Price Index.

Source: AIR News

7. ISRO forms new PSU to commercially exploit technology, launch satellites

• The ISRO has formed a public sector undertaking (PSU) named as the New Space India Limited (NSIL).
• It will commercially exploit the research and development work of the space agency, co-produce PSLV and launch satellites through SSLVs.
• The functions of NSIL will involve small satellite technology transfer to industry, manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
• The new company will also look after the production and marketing of space-based products and services, including launch an application, developed by ISRO Centres.
• Antrix Corporation Ltd is another PSU under the Department of Space that acts as a commercial arm of the ISRO.

8. FSSAI plans colour-coded label for packaged food products with high fat, sugar and salt

• As per the draft regulations proposed by the FSSAI, Packaged food companies will be required to label high fat, sugar and salt content levels on the front side of the package with red-colour-coding.
• The idea behind the new labelling regulations is to enable citizens to know more about the composition of food products.
• According to FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India), its new labelling and display regulations is ready for draft notification.
• It has invited suggestions and objections from stakeholders within 30 days from the publication of the draft regulations.
• According to the proposed draft, the packaged food companies will have to declare nutritional information such as calories, saturated fat and added sugar on the front of the pack.

Note:

• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
• FSSAI is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
• Chairman FSSAI: Rita Teotia.
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Pawan Kumar Agarwal.

Source: Business Today

9. West Bengal launches free crop insurance scheme for farmers

• West Bengal government has announced a crop insurance scheme ‘Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB)’ in collaboration with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC) for the 2019 kharif season.
• The scheme ‘BSB’ is applicable for farmers in 15 districts - Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur, Malda, Hooghly, Nadia, Murshidabad, Cooch Behar, Birbhum, Purulia, Dakshin Dinajpur, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas.
• The crop insurance scheme would be free of cost for the farmers since the government will pay the full premium.
• The crops that will come under insurance are aman paddy, aus paddy, jute and maize.

Source: The Economic Times

Obituaries

10. Former Bengal cricketer Shyam Sundar Mitra passes away

• Former Bengal cricketer Shyam Sundar Mitra (82-years) passes away at a private hospital in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
• Mitra, who captained Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, was an elegant right-hand batsman and a part-time medium pacer.
• He was awarded the Karthick Bose Lifetime Achievement Award by Cricket Association of Bengal.

Source: The Hindu

Sports

11. South-East Asian countries will jointly bid to host 2034 Football World Cup

• South-East Asian countries will jointly bid to host the 2034 Football World Cup.
• Prime Minister of Thailand Prayuth Chan-ocha invited the people of ASEAN to support the football associations in their countries to host the tournament.
• The FIFA World Cup has held only once in the continent when Japan and South Korea were joint hosts in 2002.
• Qatar will bring it back to Asia in 2022.
• The ASEAN countries are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.

Note:

• The 2034 FIFA World Cup (25th) will be the quadrennial international men's football championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA.
• ASEAN region is home to more than 640 million people many of whom follow football avidly.

12. Marcus Trescothick announces retirement from professional cricket

• Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick (43-years) is to retire from professional cricket.
• Trescothick represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals between 2000 to 2006.
• He scored 5,825 runs at an average of 43.79.
• He played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club.

Source: The Hindustan Times

13. Milan-Cortina (Italy) to host Winter Olympics 2026

• The city of Milan and Cortina of Italy have been selected to host the Winter Olympics 2026.
• This will be the fourth Olympic Games hosted in Italy and the first Olympic Games hosted by Milan.
• The 2026 Winter Olympics scheduled to take place from 6 to 22 February 2026 in Italy.

S. No	Olympics	City/Country
1.	2020 Summer Olympics	Tokyo, Japan
2.	2022 Winter Olympics	Beijing, China
3.	2024 Summer Olympics	Paris, France
4.	2026 Winter Olympics	Milan-Cortina, Italy