Top Current Affairs 02 July 2020

Top Current Affairs 03 July 2020

Top Current Affairs 02 July 2020: We have collected the latest current affairs for 02 July 2020 that are important for all competitive exams like Bank, SSC, IBPS, SBI exams. The GK current affairs will help you score more in these competitive exams. Improve your general knowledge with our daily online current affairs. 

National News

Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Asia’s first-ever Continuous Galvanized Rebar manufacturing facility launched in Punjab

• The Union Minister of Steel Dharmendra Pradhan virtually inaugurated Continuous Galvanized Rebar Production Facility at Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab on 29 June 2020.
• The new plant is a first-of-its-kind facility in Asia to apply CGR technology that will increase life span of these rebars thereby reducing the overall maintenance cost.
• The facility has been developed by International Zinc Association (IZA), in collaboration with Madhav KRG Group. The project will be supported by Hindustan Zinc Limited.
• The Continuously Galvanized Rebar (CGR), are value added rebars for higher life and low maintenance of infrastructure to provide significant cost savings compared to other corrosion-resistant rebar systems.
• It is estimated that the plant will produce an annual capacity of over 30,000 tonne of ZnCoat TempCore TMT bars, under the brand name ‘Jyoti’.

Goa Govt Allocates 14,380 sqm land to set up India first Maritime Cluster

• The Government of Goa has allotted over 14,380 square metres of land at Verna industrial estate to ‘Konkan Maritime Cluster’ (Goa Maritime Cluster), a consortium of 49 Goan MSME units, to set up its Common Facility Centre.
• The Goa Maritime Cluster will be the first Maritime Cluster of India, providing a world-class common facility for manufacturing, design and other allied services for the shipbuilding industry.
• The project is likely to extend direct benefits to another 180 units.
• The project is supported by the Government of Goa, Ministry of Shipping GoI, through Directorate General of Shipping, and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The Goa Government will contribute 10% of the total setup cost.

Karnataka Government launches portal ‘Skill Connect Forum’ to connect job seekers and employers

• Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa launched a web portal called `Skill Connect Forum`on 29 June 2020, which will bring together both private entrepreneurs and job seekers on the same platform.
• The portal will provide information on jobs available and those who need jobs. An unemployed person will be imparted a skill and then made ready to get a job.
• Registration: Jobseekers can register on the portal by uploading their educational, skill qualifications and other details on https://skillconnect.kaushalkar .com.

Banking & Economy

Banks sanction over Rs 1 lakh cr loans to 30 lakh MSMEs under ECLGS

• As per the data by the Ministry of Finance on 30 June 2020, banks from public and private sectors have sanctioned over Rs 1 lakh crore loans under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector as of June 26, 2020.
• Out of this, more than Rs 45,860 crore has already been disbursed under the 100 percent ECLGS for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• This would help more than 30 lakh units of MSMEs and other businesses restart their businesses post the lockdown.
• The top lenders under the scheme are State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank and HDFC Bank.

Fitch slashes India’s GDP Growth Projection to 8% from 9.5% for FY22

• Fitch Ratings has cut India’s growth forecast for the fiscal year 2021-22 to 8 percent from its earlier projection of 9.5 percent, in its June update of Global Economic Outlook released on 30 June 2020.
• However, the rating agency has retained its projection for the current fiscal which is expected to contract by 5 percent in the 2020-21.
• Meanwhile, Fitch projected Indian economy to grow 5.5 percent in 2022-23.

World Bank approves $750 mn emergency response fund for India’s COVID-hit MSME sector

• The World Bank has approved loan worth $750 million to address the immediate liquidity and credit needs of India’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.
• The World Bank’s MSME Emergency Response program will provide financial support to some 1.5 million viable MSMEs.
• With this, the World Bank’s total commitment has reached to $2.75 billion to support India’s emergency Covid-19 response.

India and World Bank inks $250 million loan agreements for access to Affordable Housing for Urban Poor in Tamil Nadu

• The World Bank has signed an agreement worth USD 250 million on 29 June 2020 with the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu to strengthen the state’s housing sector policies, institutions, and regulations.
• Of the total $250 million, $200 million will go to First Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Program and another $50 million will be for the Tamil Nadu Housing and Habitat Development Project.
• These projects will help low-income groups in the state of Tamil Nadu to get access to affordable housing.
• The funds will be provided through the World Bank”s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Swiggy ties up with ICICI Bank to launch payment platform, Swiggy Money

• The online food delivery platform Swiggy launched its own digital wallet ‘Swiggy Money’ in partnership with ICICI Bank to provide its customers with a single-click checkout experience.
• Swiggy Money will enable its customers to store money virtually that can be used for any food orders made through the Swiggy app.
• The Bengaluru-based company is leveraging ICICI Bank’s ‘Insta wallet service’ which is built on a cloud platform with API integration, which enabled the startup to create a wallet for customers instantly.

Appointments

K K Venugopal & Tushar Mehta re-appointed as Attorney General and Solicitor General of India respectively

• President of India has re-appointed senior advocate Shri K K Venugopal as the Attorney General for India for a period of one year with effect from 01 July 2020.
• The present three-year term of Venugopal, 89, ended on 30 June 2020.
• Venugopal took over as the Attorney General on June 30, 2017, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi.
• Meanwhile, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also reappointed senior advocate Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General of India with effect from July 1 for a period of three years or until further orders.

Shri Ravinder Bhakar takes charge as CEO of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC)

• Shri Ravinder Bhakar, a 1999 batch officer of Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS), has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC) on 30 June 2020.
• Prior to this, Mr. Bhakar was posted as the Secretary & Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railways.
• He succeeds Anurag Srivastava.
• Chairperson of CBFC – Shri Prasoon Joshi

Important Days

Chartered Accountants Day: 01 July

• The Chartered Accountants’ Day is held on July 1st every year in India. It is also known as ICAI Foundation Day.
• The day is marked to commemorate the foundation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on July 1, 1949.
• ICAI is among the oldest professional institutions in the country and also the second-largest professional accounting and finance body in the world in terms of members.
• 2020 marks the 72nd Chartered Accountants’ Day.

National Postal Worker Day: 01 July

• The National Postal Worker Day is marked every year on July 1 globally in recognition of the contribution made by postal workers in our society.
• The day is a unique opportunity to say ‘thank you’ not only to postmen but also to all delivery personnel, as online shopping has become a lifeline for many of us.
• The day was initiated by a popular postal service provider from Seattle, United States of America in 1997  to felicitate and honour the co-postal workers for their dedication.