Sniper Frontier Competition: 2019

NATIONAL NEWS

Sniper Frontier Competition: 2019

• A nine member Indian Army team has left for Belarus to compete in the Sniper Frontier Competition as part of the International Army Games schedule 03 Aug to 17 Aug 19.
• It is a thirteen-day intense sniper competition and encompassing flexibility of mind, physical fitness along with firing.
• The competition is likely to have over twenty-three participating countries including Russia & China.

Nepal PM KP Oli inaugurates India-Nepal Logistics Summit

• Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli has stressed upon smooth and quality logistics between India and Nepal.
• Inaugurating India-Nepal Logistics Summit in Kathmandu Mr. Oli said, smart logistics plays a crucial role in making trade and transit arrangements easy, hassle-free and cost-effective.
• He said Nepal and India have a significant volume of trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people movement for which smooth and quality logistics including easy transit facilities is very essential.
• He also said connectivity remains a topmost agenda in bilateral cooperation and many initiatives have been taken on crucial components of road, rail, inland waterways and air connectivity.
• The theme of the summit was “Transforming Logistics Landscape”.

Health Minister inaugurates new facility at NCDC

• “National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has contributed phenomenally in elimination and eradication of several diseases of public health importance such as smallpox, polio, guinea-worm and yaws.”
• This was stated by Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare at the 110th Annual Day celebrations of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), in New Delhi.
• At the function, the Union Health Minister inaugurated the laboratory complex (Lab 3) at NCDC and the new building of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).

“Digital India: Success to Excellence”22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 to be held at Shillong on 8-9th August, 2019

• The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG), in association with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India and the State Government of Meghalaya will organize the 22nd National Conference on e-Governance 2019 on 8-9th August, 2019 at Shillong, Meghalaya.
• This is the first time the event is being organized in North-Eastern region of the country.
• This Conference provides a platform to disseminate knowledge on effective methods of designing and implementing sustainable e-Governance initiatives to provide end-to-end Digital Services, exchange experiences in solving problems, mitigating risks, resolving issues and planning for success.

Indian Railways' NFR zone introduces new 'pink coaches' for women passengers

• Indian Railways'Northeast Frontier Railway zone has started a unique initiative to earmark a special portion of the SLR coach with pink colour. This is done to specially help the women passengers with better safety and security.
• This special colour will help the women passenger to easily identify the coach in the platform even during rush hours.
• Eight trains in Rangiya division of the Northeast Frontier Railway have begun operations with some pink coaches, exclusively for women

STATE NEWS

J&K: District Administration Udhampur launches helpline “Jeene Do”

• In Jammu and Kashmir, District Administration Udhampur has launched a helpline, “Jeene Do”.
• The objective is to improve sex ratio and deal with defaulters of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques or PCPNDT Act under the Centrally sponsored Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme. 
• A Mobile Number -- 9469793363 -- has been dedicated to the Public to register complaints regarding sex determination during pre-natal checkups.

FACTS

Governor of Jammu & Kashmir-Satya Pal Malik.

DEFENCE

Amphibious ship LCU L-56 commissioned into Navy

• Indian Navy Ship LCU L-56, the sixth of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class ships, was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice-Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Dockyard.
• Commissioning the ship, the Vice-Admiral congratulated the GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers) for being the first shipyard in the country to have built the 100th warship.

BANKING

RBI slaps Rs 25 lakh fine on Mobikwik, Hip Bar for violating norms

• The Reserve Bank has imposed a total penalty of around Rs 26 lakh on two online payment solutions providers One Mobikwik Systems and Hip Bar.
• One Mobikwik Systems Private Limited has been slapped a fine of Rs 15 lakh while Hip Bar Pvt Ltd faced a fine of Rs 10.85 lakh, according to an RBI release.
• These two prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers have been levied monetary penalty for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.

APPOINTMENT

Rajiv Kumar appointed Finance Secretary

• Rajiv Kumar, Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, was named the new Finance Secretary to take the place of Subhash Chandra Garg, who was shunted to the Power Ministry.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved designating Shri Rajiv Kumar, lAS 1984 Batch, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance as Finance Secretary, a statement issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.

RESIGNS

Former Manchester United and France Defender Patrice Evra Announces Retirement

• Former Manchester United and Juventus defender Patrice Evra has announced his retirement from football.
• The 38-year-old – who made 81 appearances for France – also played for Monaco, Nice and Marseille during a glittering career, which ended with West Ham in 2018.

India cricketer Venugopal Rao announces retirement from all forms cricket

• India cricketer and Andhra Pradesh skipper Venugopal Rao announced retirement from all forms of the game.
• "Y. Venugopal Rao, former captain of Andhra Ranji team and India international, who has represented India in 16 ODIs, and 65 IPL matches announced his retirement from all the forms of cricket.
• The 37-year-old from Visakhapatnam could amass only 218 runs with a lone fifty to his name in the 11 innings he played for India after making his debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on July 30, 2005.

AWARD

Vidisha Baliyan is first Indian to win Miss Deaf World 2019 crown

• The 21-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar city has become the first Indian to win the Miss Deaf World 2019 crown.
• The finals, held in Mbombela, South Africa, saw Vidisha take on 11 finalists from 16 participating countries to bag the title. A former international tennis player, Vidisha has represented India in the Deaflympics and won a silver medal.

OBITUARY

Former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Vithal Gokarn passes away

• Noted economist and former RBI Deputy Governor Subir Vithal Gokarn passed away after a brief illness.
• He was appointed by the Narendra Modi government as Executive Director on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in November 2015. He had represented India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan on the IMF’s Executive Board.
• He was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor from 2009-12 and oversaw Monetary Policy, Research, Financial Markets, Communications and Deposit Insurance. He had the distinction of being the youngest RBI Governor at the time.

SPORTS

ICC launches Test championship, the 'World Cup' of red-ball cricket

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) launched the inaugural World Test Championship, setting the stage for a long tournament in red-ball cricket to determine the World Test Champion.
• The two-year affair comprises top nine Test teams-- Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- who will compete in 71 matches in 27 series.
• Each team will play three home and three away series. The top two teams at the end will compete in the ICC World Test Championship Final in the UK in June 2021.