FED ECGC EPFO CURENT AFFAIRS 29 JUNE 2022

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS

29th June 2022

National News

Election for Vice President of India to be held on August 6

The Election Commission of India on Wednesday announced that the election to the Office of the Vice President of India will be held on August 6. The counting of votes, if required, will be held on the same day, it stated. The post of the Vice President is currently held by M Venkaiah Naidu.

The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament and not the members of state legislative assembly by the system of proportional representation using single transferable votes and the voting is conducted by Election Commission of India via secret ballot.^[2] The vice president also acts as the chancellor of the central universities of India

91-yr-old KK Venugopal to continue as Attorney General for 3 more months

The Centre has extended Attorney General KK Venugopal's tenure by three more months. The government has requested 91-year-old Venugopal to continue as the Attorney General as his tenure was ending on June 30. He was appointed as Attorney General in July 2017, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi, and was subsequently reappointed to the post.

 

 

‘One health pilot’ initiative launched in Bengaluru 

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) will be launched the One Health pilot in Bengaluru, Karnataka.  The programme is aimed at bringing stakeholders from animal, human and environment health on a common platform to address challenges.  DAHD in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as implementation partner is implementing the One-Health Framework undertaking project in the states of Karnataka and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Police cannot handcuff accused till reason is recorded: K'taka HC

The Karnataka High Court has said that no person can be handcuffed unless a reason is recorded in a case diary and/or relevant record as to why they shall be handcuffed. Additionally, the court asked the police to consider using body cameras with microphones to record the arrests. The court also asked that the recordings be retained for one year.

Uddhav Thackeray resigns as Maharashtra Chief Minister ahead of floor test

Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday announced that he is resigning as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra amid political crisis in the state. This comes after the Supreme Court rejected Shiv Sena's plea to stay the floor test ordered by state Governor BS Koshiyari, asking the Uddhav Thackeray-led government to prove the majority in the Assembly on Thursday.

Uddhav Thackeray announces resignation from MLC post too after quitting as CM

After resigning as the CM of Maharashtra on Wednesday, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation from the Legislative Council too. "I am not going away forever, I will be here and I will once again sit in the Shiv Sena Bhawan," he said. Thackeray thanked the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress for supporting him.

 

Arjun Meghwal presented with the holy Kapilvastu relics brought back from Mongolia 

Following a 12-day exhibition at the Batsagaan Temple on the grounds of Gandan Monastery, Mongolia, in honour of Mongolian Buddha Purnima, the four Holy Relics of the Lord Buddha returned to India.  The sacred relics were presented to Union Minister Shri Arjun Meghwal in Ghaziabad. Due to high demand from the Mongolian people, the presentation of the holy relics had to be extended by a few days.

Honey Testing Lab in Nagaland inaugurated by Union Agriculture Minister 

During his visit to Nagaland, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, officially inaugurated the Dimapur Honey Testing Laboratory.  The honey testing facility will support beekeepers and producers in testing their produced honey. At the North-East Agri Expo, Chumaokedlma, Tomar was attending an event.  Among others, G. Kaito, the Nagaland Agriculture Minister, Chief Secretary J. Alam, and Central Horticulture Commissioner Prabhat Kumar attended the ceremony.

International News

Iran, Argentina applies to join China and Russia in BRICS club 

Iran has submitted an application to become a member in the group of emerging economies known as the BRICS. Iran's membership in the BRICS group, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, "would result in added values for both sides," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson.  Argentina had also applied to join the group. Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez, currently in Europe, has in recent days reiterated his desire for Argentina to join BRICS.

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NATO invites Finland, Sweden to join after Turkey agrees to back them

NATO on Wednesday invited Finland and Sweden to join the alliance as all 30 member countries agreed to the decision at their summit in Madrid. NATO additionally referred to Russia as the "most significant and direct threat to the allies' security". The move came after Turkey, which was previously opposed to the nordic countries' membership, decided to back their bids.

 

BANKING, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

Which goods & services will now become costlier due to changes in GST rates?

Government has decided to levy GST on pre-packed food items like curd and lassi. Unpacked items including grains will attract GST at same rate when packed. GST will be levied on fee charged by banks for issue of cheques. Government proposed 5% GST, without ITC, on hospital rooms above ₹5,000/day and 12% GST on hotel rooms priced up to ₹1,000/day.

Buy Now, Pay Later platform ZestMoney raises ₹20 crore in debt

Zest Money, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform, has raised ₹20 crore in debt. Through private placement, it has issued non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to existing investor Alteria Capital. Founded in 2015, the firm has partnered with 25 banks and non-banking entities. It works with merchants such as Amazon, Flipkart, Google Pay, among others and has over 11 million users.

Mukesh Ambani Resigns, Akash Ambani is New Jio Chairman 

Mukesh Ambani's eldest son Akash Ambani will take over as chairman of Jio Infocomm's board, the digital division of Reliance industries, in what is viewed as the 65-year-old billionaire's succession planning.  Mukesh Ambani has resigned as the company director effective from 27 June.  Mukesh Ambani will continue to serve as chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and as the chairman of Jio Platforms Ltd, the parent firm of all Jio digital services brands, including Reliance Jio Infocomm. Broadly, Reliance operates under three main business segments, petrochemicals and oil refining, retail, and digital services, which includes telecom.

 

We strongly deny the misinformation: BYJU'S on report of laying off 2,500 employees

BYJU'S denied a Moneycontrol report, which said it laid off over 2,500 employees across its group companies. "We strongly deny the misinformation...To recalibrate our business priorities and accelerate our long-term growth, we're optimising our teams...This entire exercise involves less than 500 employees," it said. The report had said employees from content and design team were most affected.

 

Zomato acquired Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore in all-stock deal 

Zomato (Online food delivery platform) has announced the acquisition of Blink Commerce (Blinkit), earlier known as Grofers India. The company’s Board of Directors approved a proposal to acquire cash-strapped quick commerce company Blinkit for Rs 4,447 crore.  Last year, Zomato extended USD 50 million loans to Grofers India Private Limited. Zomato already owned more than a 9 percent stake in Blinkit (earlier Grofers). While the earlier Blinkit deal value was around $700 million, the drop in Zomato's share price reduced it to $568 million.

Acemoney launched new wearable ATM cards and Offline UPI 

Acemoney has launched UPI 123Pay payment and wearable ATM cards. The UPI 123Pay payment allows people to carry out cashless transactions without smartphones or internet connections using feature phones.  The wearable ATM cards are gadgets designed as key chains and rings that enable people to carry out cashless transactions without ATM cards and phones.

Rupee breaches 79 per US dollar mark for the first time ever

The Indian rupee ended on Wednesday at a new record low, marking the sixth straight session of all-time weak levels. PTI reported that it fell 19 paise to close at all-time low of 79.04, provisionally, against US dollar. On Tuesday, the rupee closed at an all-time low of 78.83 against the US dollar.

 

NITI Aayog releases a report on India's Gig Economy 

A report titled "India's Booming Gig and Platform Economy" was released by NITI Aayog. Suman Bery, vice chairman of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, and Dr K Rajeswara Rao, special secretary, released the report.  The study, which is a first of its kind, offers in-depth viewpoints and suggestions on the gig-platform economy in India. CEO Amitabh Kant emphasised the industry's potential to generate jobs in light of India's growing urbanisation, and widespread access to the internet, digital technology, and cellphones.

Summits and Conferences News

Conclusion of G7 meeting in Germany 

At the G7 meeting in Germany, United States and other major nations came to an agreement at their summit's conclusion to concentrate on China's growing threats, despite the fact that the three-day G7 meeting's most pressing issue was Russia's conflict in Ukraine.  In a communique, the Group of Seven countries articulated a strategy for challenging Beijing regarding its economic policies and human rights violations.  In the statement, Beijing was encouraged to respect human rights and Hong Kong's autonomy as well as to help to put an end to Russian aggression in Ukraine.  It was also denounced for its aggressive actions in the East and South China Seas.  Regarding China's contribution to the world economy, they are still consulting on collective responses to issues posed by nonmarket policies and practises that distort the global economy, including those outside of the G-7.

Awards News

Global Airwards Best Drone Organization Award wins by IG Drones 

The Delhi-based leading Drone enterprise platform company IG Drones has been felicitated with the “Best Drone Organization – Start-up Category” by Airwards.  IG Drones has been selected for the award for its approach of helping local communities and giving access to technology to various stakeholders during natural disasters and calamities.  IG Drones is developing new technology-based disaster response and mitigation to increase the efficiency and efficacy of first responders' aid in emergency response and catastrophe mapping.  Using drone and GIS technology, they've saved hundreds of thousands of lives throughout national disasters such as the Assam Floods, Amphan Cyclone, Fani Cyclone, and Jajpur Flood in Odisha, Maharashtra Flood, and Uttarakhand CloudBurst.

Odisha govt bags first prize in National MSME Award 2022 

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Department, Government of Odisha has been awarded first prize in the category “National MSME Award 2022 to States/UTs for outstanding contribution in the promotion and Development of MSME Sector” by virtue of various developmental initiatives taken up for the development of MSMEs.  Bihar and Haryana were second and third respectively.

Utama won the Transylvania Trophy at the 21st TIFF Edition 

 

The winners of the 21st edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival were applauded  at the Awards Ceremony, organised in the Unirii Square in Cluj-Napoca.  Utama, the debut film of director Alejandro Loayza Grisi, was chosen as this year's big winner and awarded the 10,000 euro Transylvania Trophy.  The Bolivian production also won over the TIFF audience, and was also awarded the Audience Award of 2,000 euro by MasterCard, as voted by the filmgoers at the Festival.
Best Director Award went to filmmaker Guomundur Arnar Guomundsson, awarded for the “credible, original and brilliant universe” he created in Beautiful Beings.  For their exceptional roles in The Night Belongs to Lovers, actors Laura Müller and Schemci Lauth, were awarded the Best Performance Award by Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim.

Sports News

India's Deepak Hooda jumps 414 spots in latest T20I rankings for batters

Team India batter Deepak Hooda, who was named Player of the Series against Ireland following India's 2-0 victory, has surged 414 spots in the latest T20I rankings for batters. The 27-year-old batter, who scored 151 runs in the two-match series, is now ranked 104th. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan remains the only Indian batter in the top 10 at seventh position.

 

 

Olympic Champion Sydney McLaughlin breaks own 400m hurdles world record 

The National Insurance Awareness Day is observed on 28 June. The main objective of the day is to make people aware about the several benefits of investing in an insurance plan or policy.  Insurance policies offer financial cover in case of unfortunate happenings such as injury, accident or losses in business, among others, if one remembers to pay their premium regularly.  Nicholas Barbon, an English economist, physician, and financial speculator set up the first fire insurance company in 1666 CE. He came up with this idea after a huge fire in London destroyed the city.

International Day of the Tropics observed on 29 June 

International Day of the Tropics is observed globally on 29 June. The International Day of the Tropics celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities nations of the Tropics face.  It provides an opportunity to take stock of progress across the tropics, to share tropical stories and expertise and to acknowledge the diversity and potential of the region.

Obituaries News

Business Tycoon Pallonji Mistry passes away 

Renowned business tycoon Pallonji Mistry has passed away at the age of 93. He was the Chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, one of the largest business firms in India.  He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution in the field of industry and trade.

A noted lyricist, Chowallor Krishnakutty passes away 

In Kerala, noted lyricist, author and journalist, Chowalloor Krishnankutty passed away at a private Medical College Hospital in Thrissur. He was 86.  A former Staff Artist with AIR, Krishnankutty penned over 3000 devotional songs and authored more than 200 books. He retired as an Assistant Editor with the Malayala Manorama daily.

 

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