Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Daily Current Affairs 13 July 2018. These are important for the upcoming SBI PO & SBI Clerk and BOB Manipal 2018 Exams.
Daily Current Affairs 13 July 2018
Economy
Union Government constitutes task force to suggest ways on reducing import dependence
- The Union Government on July 12, 2018 constituted a high-level task force under the Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to identify various items and policy interventions to reduce dependence on imports.
- The task force includes secretaries from Departments of Commerce, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Skill Development, Revenue, Defence Production, Steel, Petroleum, Electronics and Telecommunications.
- It task force would suggest ways to cut import of those items which can be manufactured or explored in the country
Indian Railways launches its first consolidated Bridge Management System
- The Indian Railways on July 12, 2018 launched its first consolidated Bridge Management System (IR-BMS), a web-enabled IT application that will store data on its 1.5 lakh railway bridges.
- The system was launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. The launch comes days after a bridge in Mumbai collapsed on a railway track.
- BMS aims to enable meaningful assimilation, analysis and dissemination of information related to various activities about its bridges.
- The web-based platform will show the bridge master data, works data, information regarding inspection/monitoring and maintenance of the bridges and other essentials.
India
Telecom Commission of India approves Net Neutrality
- The Telecom Commission on July 11, 2018 approved the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) net neutrality recommendations that bar service providers from discriminating against internet content and services by blocking, throttling or granting them higher speed access.
- The decision that aims to ensure open and free Internet in the country was taken at a meeting of the Commission, the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecommunication in New Delhi.
- Speaking after the meeting, Telecom Commission Chairman Aruna Sundararajan said that some critical applications or services like remote surgery and autonomous cars will be kept out of the purview of the net neutrality framework.
TRAI’s recommendations on net neutrality
- TRAI had issued its recommendations on net neutrality in India in November 2017.
- In its recommendations, the regulatory body asserted that there should be no intrusion of equal internet access to everyone, based on just the content.
- According to TRAI, operators must be barred from blocking, degrading or slowing down internet traffic selectively or granting preferential speed or treatment to any content.
Delhi government reinstates panels of lawyers scrapped by LG
- The Delhi government has reinstated its panels of lawyers in the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, which were cancelled by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
- The information was shared by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 12, days after the apex court clipped the power of the lieutenant governor.
- The LG had cancelled Delhi government’s panels of advocates in the High Court and the Supreme Court, due to which the Delhi government’s cases in these courts were suffering.
Odisha constitutes Heritage Cabinet
- The Odisha government on July 12, 2018 issued a notification on the constitution of a ‘Heritage Cabinet,’ headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
- The ‘Heritage Cabinet’ would aim at protection of ancient monuments, temples and archaeological sites in Odisha and take steps to preserve the states culture, language and literature.
- There will be eight members including chief minister in the cabinet, stated a notification issued by the Parliamentary Affairs Department.
Lists
Mukesh Ambani dethrones Jack Ma, becomes Asia’s richest person
- Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has surpassed Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma to become Asia’s richest person.
- While Ambani was estimated to be worth $44.3 billion on Friday as RIL shares rose 1.6 percent, Ma’s wealth stood at $44 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
- The petrochemical-to-telecom has added $4 billion this year to Reliance honcho’s wealth.
- The market valuation of Reliance Industries surged past Rs 7 lakh crore mark during Friday morning trade.
- Earlier this month, Ambani announced the launch of fixed-line broadband services Jio GigaFiber.
Connaught Place: 9th most costly location
- According to the report of property consultant CBRE, New Delhi’s Connaught Place is the 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of $153 per sq ft.
- The ranking was topped by Hong Kong at the 1st position followed by London.
- The survey highlighted that prime office occupancy cost growth was consistent across all regions in the past 12 months.
Sports
Hima Das becomes first Indian woman to win gold in World Junior Athletics
- Indian sprinter Hima Das scripted history on July 12, 2018 by becoming the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold medal in the women’s 400m final race at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships, held in Tampere, Finland.
- The 18-year-old, a pre-tournament favourite, finished the race in 51.46s. However, this wasn’t her personal best, as she had clocked 51.13 last month in Guwahati at the National Inter-State Championships.
- With the win, Das has become the first Indian woman, be it junior or senior, to win a gold medal at any level in a World Championship.
- She is also the first Indian, man or woman, to have won a gold in a track event at the world level.
- In fact, Das is the first Indian track athlete to have won a medal in the history of this competition.
Olympic torch relay to start in Fukushima
- Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have revealed that the torch relay will start in Fukushima, an area hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.
- The relay will start on March 26, 2020 in Fukushima and will head southward to Okinawa before making its way north again and arriving in Tokyo on July 10.
Mohammad Kaif announces retirement from competitive cricket
- Mohammad Kaif announced his retirement from all forms of competitive cricket on July 13, almost 12 years after he last played for the Indian team.
- The 37-year-old played 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India and was known for his fine fielding and his effective middle-order batting.
- He was a part of the Indian team that reached the World Cup final in South Africa. Along with Yuvraj Singh, Kaif was among the stars to emerge from the U-19 India stable after leading the Colts to a maiden Junior World Cup triumph in 2000.
Appointments
HSBC India names Amitabh Malhotra head of investment banking
- The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited on Friday announced the appointment of Amitabh Malhotra as the head of investment banking for HSBC India.
- He will lead the Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets (ECM) business.
- Prior to HSBC, Malhotra worked at Rothschild India, where he was the co-head and managing director of the Global Investment Bank, based in Mumbai. He has also worked with KPMG, JP Morgan and BZW.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres constitutes High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation
- The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on July 12, 2018 constituted a High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation.
- The panel will be co-chaired by Melinda Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Jack Ma, Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group. The Panel has a total of 20 members, representing a cross-section of expertise from Government, private industry, civil society, academia and the technical community.
- The Panel will hold its first in-person meeting in September 2018 and is expected to submit its final report to the Secretary-General within nine months.
Obituaries
Spiritual leader Dada Vaswani passes away
- Dada Vaswani, spiritual leader and head of the Sadhu Vaswani mission, passed away at the age of 99 in Pune on July 12, 2018.
- Dada Vaswani was known for actively promoting vegetarianism and campaigning for animal rights.
- He had initiated a global peace initiative called, ‘The Moment of Calm’.
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