Kerala Startup Mission to host Women Startup Summit in Kochi on August 1

NATIONAL NEWS

India’s indigenous cinema is going places

• Four films on Indian communities are showing at the ongoing International Indigenous Film Festivalof Kuching, Malaysia.
• Niranjan Kujur’s Dibi Durga is a unique short film about a day in the life of an indigenous woman. In its duration of a mere six minutes, it manages to encapsulate the sheer range and amount of work the woman (from the Santhal tribe in the Purulia district of West Bengal) manages to carry out — be it at home, in the fields, or the forests
• Dibi Durga is one of the four films on indigenous Indian communities made by native filmmakers, or in collaboration with the communities, that are showing at the ongoing International Indigenous Film Festival of Kuching, Malaysia.
• The other three are Niyamgiri-The Mountain of Law by Surya Shankar Dash (Odisha),
• Shot Awake by Anungla Zoe (Nagaland), and Strength in Diversity by Chentei (Nagaland).
• Strength in Diversity is about an indigenous variety of millet in Nagaland, a stress resistant crop that can withstand extreme drought as well as heavy rains.
• ShotAwake is on the making of a traditional drum carved out of the bark of a huge tree and used in many community rituals.
• Niyamgiri - The Mountain of Law focuses on the fight of the Dongria Kondh community to save the environment and their sacred lands from being taken over by bauxite mining companies.
• The film has previously been screened at venues such as the Bali Indigenous Film Festival, Ubud; the Kalimantan Indigenous Film Festival, Palangka Raya, Indonesia; and the Maoriland Film Festival in Otaki, New Zealand.
• All the four films were screened at the 1st International Indigenous Film Festival of Bhubaneswar in February earlier this year, which is where they were picked up by the Kuching festival.

FACTS

Capital- Kuala Lumpur

Currency-Malaysian ringgit

Prime Minister – Mahathir Mohamad

Grand finale of HRD Ministry’s Smart India Hackathon begins

• The Bhartiya Skill Development University (BSDU) on Monday hosted the Grand Finale of the hardware edition of the Smart India Hackathon 2019.
• The third edition, organised by the Human Resource Development Ministry, was inaugurated by the Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal from Delhi.
• BSDU-Jaipur is one of the 18 nodal centres hosting the national-level competition, along with IITs, NITs, and top engineering colleges across India, a statement said here.
• “This competition will help not only the students in showcasing their innovations, but also help the country benefit from these technologies. We should invent and innovate more and more to develop the country and help it reach new heights."
• About 250 teams from 178 different colleges, including IITs and NITs, are participating in the event. All teams, starting today, will work continuously till July 12, when the results will be announced. The winning projects will receive grants. Each team consists of six participants and two mentors.

FACTS

 Human Resources Department Minister -Ramesh Pokhriyal

STATE NEWS

Odisha Government implements Centre's Witness Protection Scheme,

• The Odisha government has come up with a special witness protection scheme which proposes to create a dedicated authority, cell and fund for providing security to witness facing threats during the course of a legal battle.

FACTS

Capital            - Bhubaneswar

Chief Minister- Naveen Patnaik

Governor-Ganesh Lal

Name of Wildlife Sanctuary-            Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary,Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary

Kerala Startup Mission to host Women Startup Summit in Kochi on August 1

• The meet will be open for all women professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and startup foundersSeeking to promote women entrepreneurship in a big way, the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is hosting the Women Startup Summit on August 1, in association with the Indian Women Network floated by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), at the Integrated Startup Complex, Kochi.
• The ‘Women Startup Summit 2019’ aims at encouraging aspiring women professionals to take up their entrepreneurial journey and developing an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in the State.
• Successful women leaders, startup founders, policy makers and women entrepreneurs will share their experiences, aspirations and celebrate their success stories revolving round the theme “Developing an Inclusive EntrepreneurshipEcosystem” at the one-day event.
• The meet will be open for all women professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and startup founders.
• About 20 women startups shortlisted from the “She Loves Tech” national grand challenge will be showcased in the summit. “She Loves Tech 2019 Global Start upCompetition” is a global platform for women entrepreneurs as well as startups dedicated to improve the lives of women.

FACTS

Capital-Thiruvananthapuram

Chief Minister-Pinarayi Vijayan

Governor-P. Sathasivam

Name of Wildlife Sanctuary-Begur Wildlife Sanctuary,Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Italy's Prosecco hills added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list

• Italy's Prosecco hills north-east of Venice, which have been cultivated for centuries, were on Sunday added to the World Heritage list by the UN cultural organisation.
• The Conegliano and Valdobbiadene hills, where the grapes that produce the famous Prosecco sparking wine are grown, got the green light at a meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Baku.
• "The landscape is characterised by 'hogback' hills, ciglioni -- small plots of vines on narrow grassy terraces -- forests, small villages and farmland," Unesco said in a statement announcing the decision.
• The region became Italy's 55th World Heritage site, putting it level with China as the two countries with the world's highest number of Unesco honours.
• The Prosecco sparkling white, which has the highest classification available to an Italian wine, is produced in a territory spread over nine provinces in Italy's north-east.

FACTS

Capital-Roma

Currency-Euro (EUR)

UNESCO Head quarter-Paris

BANKING

SBI removes IMPS charges on internet banking from August 1

• State Bank of India has decided to do away with the charges on IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) transactions on internet banking (INB)/ mobile banking service (MBS) with effect from August 1, 2019.
• IMPS provide a robust and real time fund transfer facility, offering an instant, 24X7, interbank electronic fund transfer service that could be accessed on multiple channels like Mobile, Internet, ATM, SMS, Branch and USSD (*99#). IMPS is an emphatic service which allows transfer of funds instantly within banks across India.
• The IMPS facility is provided by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) through its existing National Financial System (NFS) switch.

FACTS

SBI chairman-Ranjit Kumar

Headquarter- Mumbai

Ujjivan SFB inks pact with Green Shuttle for EV financing

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Green Shuttle Technology Pvt Ltd for financing electric three-wheelers.
• Established in Chakan (Pune) last year, Green Shuttle Technology is an ARAI-(Automotive Research Association of India) certified manufacturer of electric vehicles such as E-Garbage Vehicle, E-Rickshaw, E-Cart, E-Mini Flat Loader and E-Scooter.
• “This partnership is aimed at benefiting all the passenger and cargo delivery segments of Green Shuttle Electric Vehicles. The bank plans to tie up with more electric vehicle manufacturers to further strengthen the Electric Vehicle financing portfolio and to focus on the mass market,”

FACTS

Ujjivan chairman-Sunil Vinayak Patel

Head quarter-Bengaluru

Fintech player PayNearby gets insurance broking licence

• Financial technology player PayNearby has been given an insurance broking licence by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
• As a part of the launch strategy, PayNearby has acquired We Care Insurance Broking Services.The company said that its existing network of close to 6,00,000 retailers will be an engine in building a forceful new channel.
• "People who have never sold insurance are trained to sell to people who have never before bought the product. The aim is to Ensure India and makes financial protection available for all," said the company.
• Through its 'HarDukaan DigitalPradhan' campaign, the company has enabled its digital pradhans (retailers) to provide essential services like Aadhaar based banking, domestic remittances, bill payments and access to government schemes in their local communities.

Flipkart is wooing sellers with a collaboration that will help them file their taxes online

• Flipkart, India’s largest e-commerce marketplace, has partnered with ClearTax, the leading online tax and investing platform, to help its sellers connect with specialist Chartered Accountants (CAs) who will support them with various tax and accounting related services.
• This initiative is part of Flipkart’s ongoing efforts to help its seller base, most of whom are MSMEs, and reap the benefits of e-commerce by making it easier for them to do their business online.
• The partnership with ClearTax comes as the next step to empower Flipkart sellers and ease their financial filing, so that they can concentrate on growing their businesses. In June, Flipkart also revamped its seller financing program ‘Growth Capital’, which allows its 1 lakh plus sellers to avail growth credit at competitive interest rates from NBFCs and banks.

DEFENCE

Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant to be delivered to Navy by February 2021

• The country’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), Vikrant, is in advanced stage of construction and will be delivered to the Navy in 2021 for advanced trials, according to Vice Admiral A.K. Saxena- Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition in the Navy.
• Starting of gas turbines will take place in the third quarter of this year. Basic trials will be conducted in February-March next and contractor sea trials after that. It will be delivered to the Navy in 2021,”
• IAC Vikrant, weighing 40,000 tons, is being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited.
• The long-delayed warship was scheduled to be ready by the end of 2018, but due to delay in procuring multiple equipment from Russia, the delivery date has been extended.Presently, Indian Navy is operating with a single aircraft carrier—INS Vikramaditya, the 45,000-tonne carrier bought from Russia.

MERGER

IOC, GAIL pact to take stake in Adani's Dhamra LNG project expires, no investment made

• State-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and gas utility GAIL India Ltd's initial agreement to buy a 50 per cent stake in Adani Group's Rs 5,000-crore Dhamra LNG project in Odisha has expired, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Monday.
• IOC and GAIL had on September 21, 2016, signed a "non-binding MoU" with Adani Petroleum Terminal Pvt Ltd to take 39 per cent and 11 per cent stake respectively in the planned 5 million tonnes a year liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at Dhamra, he said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha here.

APPOINTMENT

Dravid NCA appointment formalised

• Rahul Dravid was formally appointed as the National Cricket Academy’s Head of Cricket by the BCCI.
• “Dravid will oversee all cricket related activities at NCA and will be involved in mentoring, coaching, training and motivating players, coaches and support staff at the NCA,” a BCCI release stated.
• “Dravid will also work closely with the National Men’s and Women’s Head Coaches and cricket coaches for India Developmental teams — including India A, India U-19, U-23 teams — in the identification of key training and development objectives.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis sworn in as Greece's new prime minister

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been sworn in as Greece's new prime minister, a day after his centre-right New Democracy party won a landslide over leftist Syriza, which had been in power since 2015.
• Official results showed New Democracy gaining 39.85 percent of the vote in Sunday's snap election, compared with 31.53 for Syriza, led by outgoing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

FACTS

Capital: Athens

Currency: Euro

LinkedIn names Ashutosh Gupta as country manager for India

• Microsoft-owned social networking site for professionals, LinkedIn, has appointed Ashutosh Gupta as the new country manager for India operations.
• A sales veteran with two decades of experience in IT & Software Services, according to LinkedIn, Gupta will take charge, in his new role, from 2 September. He has worked with Google, Cognizant, and Infosys and joined LinkedIn’s Marketing Solutions (LMS) in 2013.
• Gupta will replace Mahesh Narayanan, who was the country manager for India for brief period from January-June 2019.

OBITUARY

German film producer, Holocaust survivor Artur Brauner, dies at age 100

• After fleeing and surviving the Holocaust, Brauner returned to Germany to produce some of the most famous anti-fascist films. He is credited on over 300 films.
• His work includes Die Weisse Rose (The White Rose), the 1982 film that brought the story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose anti-fascist resistance group to a wider audience, as well as The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, which won an Academy Award for best foreign film in 1972.

FACTS

Capital- Berlin Trending

Currency- Euro

SPORTS

Mexico beats US to lift 8th Gold Cup

• Mexico's men's soccer team have won their record eighth Gold Cup by defeating the United States in the final. The loss for the US men came hours after the women's team lifted its second consecutive World Cup title.
• A lone goal from Jonathan Dos Santos was all Mexico needed as they defeated the United States 1-0 at Chicago's Soldier Field, to lift a record-extending eighth CONCACAF Gold Cup.

US women’s soccer team wins its fourth World Cup

• The United States beat the Netherlands in the 2019 Women’s World Cup on Sunday 2-0, following a month-long tournament that attracted more attention to the sport — and to social issues surrounding the women’s league — than ever before.
• The eighth Women’s World Cup, which kicked off on June 7, culminated  at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in France, and resulted in a hard-fought fourth world championship for the US team.
• From the outset of the tournament, the US team was favoured to win. In their first match against Thailand, they won 13-0, scoring, as some have pointed out, more goals in one game than the men’s team has scored in every World Cup since 2006 combined.