India jumps 5 places to 52nd rank in Global Innovation Index 2019

NATIONAL NEWS

India jumps 5 places to 52nd rank in Global Innovation Index 2019

• India improved its ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) by five places to 52nd in 2019 from 57th position.
• It is now the most innovative economy in the Central and South Asian region, according to the GII released at an event organised by the Commerce Ministry and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
• India was ranked 88 in 2015 and managed to improve its position on the back of factors like strong information and communication technology services exports, scientific publications and investment by its top three companies in research and development.

Miners health body merged with National Institute of Occupational Health

• The National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Mines (MoM), has been dissolved and merged with the ICMR-National Instituteof Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW), with all assets and liabilities, as per a Cabinet decision announced.

NPCI ties up with JCB for global RuPay card

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and JCB International, along with domestic banks, have launched RuPay JCB Global Cards.

FACTS

CEO of NPCI- Dilip Asbe

JATAN Special software for Digitization of Archaeological Museum

• Digitization of archaeologicalmuseum is being done through a special software developed with this specific purpose, union culture minister Prahlad Singh Patel informed the Lok Sabha.
• The National Portal and Digital Repository for Indian Museums is developed and hosted by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, C-DAC, Pune, as per the agreement with Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

FACTS

Director General of ASI – Usha Sharma

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The Sky Is Pink selected at the 44th Toronto International Film Festival

• The Sky Is Pink’, directed by Shonali Bose, has been selected for the 44th TorontoInternational Film Festival (TIFF). The film will have its world premiere as part of the Gala Presentation at TIFF.
• Starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar and Zaira Wasim, the film will premiere at TIFF on September 13th. TIFF is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals in theworld.
• Only 20 films get selected for the Gala Presentation from around the world each year. ‘The Sky Is Pink’ has the distinct honour of being the only film selected from all of Asia.

FTC Federal Trade Commission hits Facebook with $5 billion fine and new privacy checks

• The Federal Trade Commission formally announced its $5 billion settlement with Facebook which is the culmination of a years-long investigation into the Cambridge Analytica scandal and other privacy breaches.

• In the agreement the FTC alleges that Facebook violated the law by failing to protect data from third parties, serving ads through the use of phone numbers provided for security, and lying to users that its facial recognition software was turned off by default.
• In order to settle those charges, Facebook will pay $5 billion — the second-largest fine ever levied by the FTC — and agree to a series of new restrictions on its business.

Plastic-like Jute material developed in Bangladesh

• Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low cost bio-degradable cellulose sheets named Sonali which can be used as wrapping material and carrying bag.
• The Eco-friendly jute poly bags made up of Sonali can be used in garments and food packaging work and they are not harmful for human health.

FACTS

Capital of Bangladesh- Dhaka

Currency of Bangladesh-Bangladeshi taka

BANKING

ADB sanctions Rs 1,925 cr power project in Tripura

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned a Rs 1,925 crore project for upgradation of power generation and distribution in Tripura.
• The amount was recently sanctioned to the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Limited (TSECL) after the state government had sought the ADB's assistance.
• The project has been sanctioned for upgrading capacity of 63 MW Rokhia Projectto 120 MW at an estimated cost of Rs 699.80 crore and modernising Gumti Hydro Electric Project at an estimated cost of Rs 1225.88 crore.
• Rokhia project is located at West Tripura district whereas Gumti project is in Gomati district.
• Meanwhile, the North East Council has also approved sanction of Rs 12.7 crore for

overhaul of the 49.15 km-long Ambassa-Gandacherra power transmission line.

FACTS

ADB President-Takehiko Nakao

ADB Head quarter-Mandaluyong, Philippines

ECONOMIC AND FINANCE

RBI Appoints BP Kanungo to Run Monetary Policy after Viral Acharya Resigns

• With the exit of Viral Acharya, the Reserve Bank on Tuesday rejigged portfolios of the other three deputy governors giving the important monetary policy and forecasting department to BP Kanungo.
• The monetary policy department, including forecasting and modelling unit, was earlier looked after by Acharya, who ended his stint as the deputy governor after last month's resignation.
• Now, all the other three deputy governors -- N S Vishwanathan, BP Kanungo and MK Jain -- have been made responsible for 12 departments each.
• In addition to his earlier portfolios, Kanungo will also look after economic and policy research and statistics and information management.

APPOINTMENT

Priti Patel Appointed UK's First Indian-Origin Home Secretary

• Priti Patel, an ardent Brexiteer who was among the most vocal critics of Theresa May's Brexit strategy, took charge as Britain's first Indian-origin Home Secretary in the newly-unveiled Boris Johnson Cabinet.
• Priti Patel had been a prominent member of the "Back Boris" campaign for the Conservative Party leadership and was widely tipped for the plum post in his frontline team.

IAS Officer Ajay Kumar Bhalla Appointed Next Union Home Secretary

• Power Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla was appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Home Ministry and he will take over as the new Union Home Secretary succeeding Rajiv Gauba when he retires on August 31.
• According to an official order, Bhalla, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, will join the Ministry Home affairs with immediate effect and continue to function as OSD till Gauba retires for smooth transition of the charges.
• Bhalla will have a fixed two-year tenure as union home secretary till August 2021.

Atanu Chakraborty is new DEA secretary, replaces SC Garg who is new power secretary

• In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the Centre appointed Atanu Chakraborty, a 1985 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer, as the new economic affairs secretary, replacing Subhash Chandra Garg who will become the power secretary.
• In the first big bureaucratic shakeup after Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed back to power in the recent general elections, power secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla has been appointed as officer on special duty in the ministry of home affairs.
• Chakraborty, currently secretary in the Department of Investment and Public AssetManagement, successfully met the Rs 80,000 crore disinvestment target in FY19.
•  He steps into the department of economic affairs amid mounting concern over the economic slowdown and rising pessimism among consumers, markets and companies.

OBITUARY

Rutger Hauer, ‘Blade Runner’ Co-Star, Dies at 75

• Rutger Hauer, the versatile Dutch leading man of the ’70s who went on star in the 1982 “Blade Runner” as Roy Batty, died July 19 at his home in the Netherlands after a short illness. He was 75.

SPORTS

Special Olympics football from August 3

• The Special Olympics International football championships will be held at the Nehru Stadium from August 3 to 6. Twelve teams in men and eight in women have confirmed their participation.
• M.S. John Nagarajan, is senior sports manager of Special Olympics (Asia Pacific Region).
• That event will be one of a kind, and that it would be the next big tournament after the one at Abu Dhabi (World Summer Games in March this year).

Tour de France 2019: Matteo Trentin rides solo to victory at Stage 17

• Italian rider Matteo Trentin used a solo attack to win Stage 17 of the Tour de France after pulling clear of a group of breakaway riders.
• It was Trentin’s third career stage win at the Tour, but first since 2014.