Current Affairs July 13 2019

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Centre to establish first National Police University
On July 10, 2019,Minister of State for Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy stated that the Government has proposed to set up the first National Police University in the country which will impart education in policing and internal security.
Key Points:
i. It will conduct undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate academic programmes in specialized subjects.
ii. The dedicated universities have been already set up in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand for conducting courses in police services and internal security.

Sex ratio at birth shows improvement at the national level: WCD
Ministry Of Women And Child Development(WCD) stated that at National level, Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has increased to 931 from 923 for the time period between FY(financial year) 2015-16 and 2018-19.
Key points:
i. Impact of BBBP:  SRB in 21 States and UTs is showing improvement whereas SRB is stable in 3 states and UTs for FY 2018-19 in comparison to FY 2017-18 on the impact of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ (BBBP) scheme on the Child Sex Ratio(CSR) of the country.
ii. Declining trend:  As per the census 2011, CSR has also declined in 21 States/UTs (Union Territory) in comparison of census 2001.
iii. Steps were taken: In 405 Districts, Multi-sectoral interventions and Media Campaign and Advocacy and Media Campaign and Advocacy in 235 Districts of BBBP have been initiated for greater coverage and reach in the country.

11^th edition of Mekong Ganga Cooperation meet 2019 held in New Delhi
On July 9, 2019, The 11^th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting (MGC SOM) 2019 was held in New Delhi to review progress in several areas of cooperation.
Key points:
i. Participants: It was attended by senior officials from all six MGC member states(India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam) was co-chaired by Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary East, and Doan Phuong Lan, Deputy Director General, Department of Economic Affairs in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnam.
ii. Analysis: Review was held on the progress made since the 9th MGC ministerial meeting 2018 in the areas of cooperation include tourism and culture, education, science and technology, traditional medicine and health, agriculture and allied sectors, water resources management, transportation and communication, and small and medium enterprises.
iii. Action Plan: Discussion held on draft MGC Plan of Action (2019-22) for adoption in the 10^th MGC ministerial meeting which will be held in Bangkok on August 1, 2019.
iv. Work done:  Under the MGC Quick Impact Project Scheme (QIPS), a total of 24 projects have been completed at a cost of $1.2 million including 15 projects in Cambodia and 9 in Vietnam. At present, one project in Cambodia and 3 projects in Lao PDR (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) are under implementation.
v.Other initiatives:  MGC Asian Traditional Textile Museum (MGC ATM) in Siem Reap, Cambodia and the Common Archival Resource Centre (CERC) at Nalanda University, Rajgir is the other initiative made by MGC.
About Mekong Ganga Cooperation:
♦    Launched in 2000 at Vientiane, Lao PDR.
♦    Both the Ganga and the Mekong are civilizational rivers, and the MGC initiative aims to facilitate closer contacts among the people inhabiting these two major river basins.

KSUM to host Women Startup Summit 2019 on August 1 in Kochi
The nodal agency of the Kerala state government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with the Indian Women Network floated by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will host a one day event ‘Women Startup Summit 2019’ at the Integrated Startup Complex, Kochi, Kerala on August 1, 2019 with the theme “Developing an Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem”.Key Points:
i. The summit aims to encourage aspiring women professionals to take up their entrepreneurial journey and develop an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem.
ii. Nearly 20 women startups are shortlisted for the summit from the “She Loves Tech 2019 Global Startup Competition” which is a global platform for women entrepreneurs as well as startups dedicated to improve the lives of women.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India to host COP-14 of UNCCD from September 2- 13, 2019
On July 9, 2019, The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in the presence of Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of UNCCD and the UN Under-Secretary-General informed that India will host the 14^th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) from September 2- 13, 2019 at India Expo Mart Limited in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh with the focus on 3 crucial issues- desertification, land degradation and drought.
Key Points:
i. Participants: 197 countries are expected to participate in the global conference.
ii. India has adopted various initiatives to address the issues of land degradation & desertification like:

• SHC: Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme, launched by the Government on 19 February 2015, has benefitted as many as 14 crore farmers. SHCs have crop-wise recommendations of nutrients and fertilisers required for the individual farms to help farmers to improve productivity through judicious use of inputs.
• Bonn Challenge: It is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of worlds degraded and deforested land under restoration by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030. In India, 3.5 years maiden phase will be implemented in the States of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, and Karnataka.

About UNCCD:
♦ Headquarters: Bonn, Germany
♦ Founded: 1994

USISPF 2^nd annual leadership summit held in Washington
The United States India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) 2^nd annual leadership summit was held in Washington DC, US on July 11, 2019. It focussed on defence and energy security. Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, Deputy US Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish, and India’s Ambassador to the US, Harsh V Shringla were among the top speakers of the summit. On this occasion, US India Bilateral Trade Report was launched. It highlighted the following points:i. If India grows 7.5% every year, trade between India and the US could reach $238 billion by 2025 from $143 billion at present.
ii. By 2025, bilateral trade could range between $283 billion and $327 billion, at an annual average growth rate of 10 to 12.5%, as witnessed in 2017 and 2018.
iii. The areas of potential growth in US investments and commerce into India are defence trade, commercial aircraft, oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), coal, machinery and electronics.
iv. Indian industry has an opportunity to promote the automotive, pharmaceuticals, seafood, IT (information technology) and travel services to the US market.
v. The US-India trade balance has grown 3.8% on an average in favour of India, from $24.8 billion in 2012 to $5.3 billion in 2018.
vi. 2019 Global Excellence Awards: Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the US President Donald Trump, presented the 2019 Global Excellence Awards to Mastercard Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President, Ajay Banga, and Wipro Chairman, Azim Premji, in recognition of their significant contributions to strengthening economic ties between the US and India.
About USA:
♦ Capital: Washington, DC
♦ Currency: US Dollar

First Global Conference for Media Freedom held in London
The First Global Conference for Media Freedom 2019, hosted by the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, was held on July 10-11, 2019 in London, UK. It was co-hosted by Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jeremy Hunt, the UK Foreign Secretary. The conference was structured around 4 themes: protection and prosecution, including impunity, national frameworks and legislation, building trust in media and countering disinformation and media sustainability.Key Points:
i. Indian delegation was led by Prasar Bharati Chairman Surya Prakash.
ii. The UK government committed 18 million pounds to improve media freedom across the world. It announced the creation of a new Global Media Defence Fund.
iii. The new Global Media Defence Fund, administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), will support, train and provide legal support to journalists in the most dangerous parts of the world.
iv. The UK will provide 3 million pounds and Canada will provide Canadian Dollar 1 million contribution to the new fund.
v. From the UK’s Department for International Development Fund, a 15 million pounds Protecting Media Freedom programme will help to tackle the root causes of the global crisis in independent media.
About UK:
♦ Capital: London
♦ Currency: Pound sterling
About Canada:
♦ Capital: Ottawa
♦ Currency: Canadian dollar

The US House passed a Bill to remove 7% cap on issuing Green Card
On July 11, 2019, The United States (US) House of Representatives passed a Bill ‘Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act, 2019 or HR 1044’ which removes the present 7% country-cap on issuing Green Cards. A Green Card allows a person to live and work permanently in the US.Key Points:
i. According to the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the bill increases the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas from 7% of the total number of such visas available that year to 15% and eliminates the 7% cap for employment-based immigrant visas.
ii. It was passed by the 435-member House by majority of 365-65 votes.
iii. It establishes transition rules for employment-based visas from FY 2020-22 by reserving a percentage of EB-2 (workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability), EB-3 (skilled and other workers) and EB-5 (investors) visas for individuals from other than the two countries that get the largest number of such visas.
iv. Not more than 85% of the unreserved visas would be allotted to immigrants from any single country.
v. It has to be passed by the Senate, the Upper Chamber of the US Congress, before it can be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
vi. The worst sufferers of the current immigration system are the Indian IT (Information Technology) professionals, who are highly skilled and come to the US, mainly on the H-1B work visas.
About USA:
♦ Capital: Washington, DC
♦ Currency: US Dollar
♦ President: Donald Trump

BANKING & FINANCE

Govt infused over Rs.3.15 lakh crore into PSBs in 11 Years between FY09 and FY19
On July 8, 2019, Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance stated that the government has infused over Rs 3.15 lakh crore into public sector banks(PSB) in the last 11 years up till 2018-19.
Key points:
i. Public sector banks source capital from internal capital generation, mobilization of capital from markets, and the government infusion. The capital infusion by the government complements PSU( Public sector Undertakings ) banks’ internal capital generation and mobilization of capital from markets.
ii. During the time period between FY09(Fiscal year)and FY19, PSU banks have mobilized Rs 2.81 lakh crore of capital through sources other than the government, and have registered a net profit of Rs 98,373 crore, of which a sizeable proportion has contributed to internal capital generation.
iii. The government infused capital of Rs 3.15 lakh crore in public sector banks during the same period.
iv. For a strong impetus to the economy, the Government also proposed to make provision for infusion of Rs 70,000 crore capital to PSBs to boost credit.
v. As on March 31, 2019, all 18 PSBs meet the minimum CRAR (capital to risk-weighted assets ratio) of 9 % requirement.
vi. State Bank of India has got the approval for raising equity capital of up to Rs 20,000 crore from the market by way of qualified institutional placement(QIP) or other modes till March 2020. It maintained the CRAR of 12.72% as on March 31, 2019, against the regulatory requirement of 11.325%.

Wilful defaults exceed $21 billion in India for the year 2018-19, SBI holds the highest
The state-owned banks in India stated that Rs.1.50 trillion ($21.76 billion) worth of loans as wilful defaults in 2018-19. the State Bank of India(SBI) holds the highest number of wilful defaults, worth around INR 461.58 billion, while Punjab National Bank(PNB) ranked second at  Rs.250.9  billion and Bank of India at Rs.98.9 billion.Key points:
i. RBI data:  The data from Reserve Bank of India(RBI) stated that, as of March 31, 2019, gross loans and advances in state-run banks came in at 638.2 billion rupees.
ii. Complaints: PSU(Public sector Undertakings) banks have filed 1,475 police complaints against wilful defaulters in the previous 3 financial years
iii. Wilful defaulters: Those are known as individuals or companies that own large businesses and intentionally skip repayments. Banks and financial institutions do not sanction any additional facilities to the wilful defaulters and are forbidden from establishing ventures for 5 years.
iv. Action taken: The central government has been taking strong measures to strengthen the norms against wilful defaulters especially after Indian aviation businessman Vijay Mallya, fugitive jeweler billionaire Nirav Modi moved out of the country after defaults in repayment.

SBI waives off charges for NEFT, RTGS to boost e-transactions
In a bid to move the country towards a less-cash economy, country’s largest bank, the State Bank of India(SBI) waived Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) charges for its app YONO(You Only Need One), internet and mobile banking customers effective from 1 July 2019.
Key points:
i. It also waived off the charges for  Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) from 1 August 2019.
ii. The directive was issued under Section 10 (2) with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007.
iii. SBI has also reduced RTGS and NEFT service charges through branch banking by 20%. It has also waived IMPS charges for fund transfer of up to ₹1,000 through branch banking.
iv. Before July 1, 2019, SBI charged ₹1- ₹5 for transactions through NEFT and ₹5 to 50 for RTGS transactions.
v. Background: On June 11, 2019, RBI directed banks to withdraw the charges levied on the NEFT and RTGS transactions as per the recommendation of Nandan Nilekani panel.
About SBI:
Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1 July 1955
Tagline: With you all the way, Pure Banking Nothing Else, The Nation’s banks on us.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

In 2025, India will overtake Japan to become the World’s 3^rd Largest Economy: IHS Markit
On July 12, 2019, IHS Markit, a global information provider, in its report mentioned that India will surpass Japan to be the world’s third largest economy in 2025 and it will overtake the United Kingdom (UK) to become the fifth biggest economy in 2019. Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is predicted to reach $5.9 trillion in 2025 surpassing Japanese GDP.Key Points:
i. The size of the Indian consumer market is forecasted to increase from $1.9 trillion in 2019 to $3.6 trillion by 2025.
ii. The critical strategy for creating value-added and skilled jobs growth is to accelerate the development of new economy startups and growing new unicorns.
iii. India’s population growth rate is projected to slow rapidly over the next two decades.
iv. GDP growth was forecasted to average around 7% per year over the 2019-2023 period.
v. India was ranked 77 out of 190 countries in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index for 2019. It is in a progressive state when compared with its ranking at 142 out of 189 countries in the Ease of Doing Business Ranking for 2015.
vi.India lags far behind with other emerging markets such as Turkey (43rd), China (46th) and Mexico (54th) on this ranking,but India is improving its ranking compared with 142nd out of 189 countries in the Ease of Doing Business ranking for 2015.
About IHS Markit:
♦ Headquarters: London, UK
♦ Founded: 2016
♦ CEO: Lance Uggla

Govt waived off basic customs duty (BCD) on products imported for nuclear plants
In order to reduce the dependency on carbon-based fuel for electricity generation, the Government of India (GoI) has waived off Basic Customs Duty (BCD) for the products which are imported for nuclear power plants.
Key points:
i. BCD of 7.5% for all goods for use in the generation of nuclear power & 2.5% for all forms of uranium ores and concentrates for the generation of nuclear power will now have no such duty.
ii. This comes after the budgetary support towards nuclear fuel inventory increasing 37% year-on-year(y-o-y) to Rs 3,122 crore & allocation on atomic research and development have been increased by 10% to Rs 6,264 crore.
iii. India had spent about Rs 1,800 crore in 2017 in buying enriched uranium pellets and fuel pellets of natural uranium di-oxide from the companies in Kazakhstan and Canada, and a Russia.
iv. The installed nuclear power capacity is 6,780 MW(Megawatt) at present seen to reach 13,480 MW by 2025.

AGCL, OIL, GGL sign agreement for setting up of the new company for City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in Assam
On July 12,2019 Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL), Oil India Limited (OIL) and GAIL Gas Limited (GGL) signed an agreement for setting up of a new company for implementation of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in five districts namely Kamrup, Kamrup, Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj of Assam.
Key points:
i. The joint venture  is the result of the extension of the National Gas Grid Pipeline (Urja Ganga Project) which was initially planned for an extension from Jagadishpur in Western Uttar Pradesh, to Haldia in West Bengal, was consented to be extended to Guwahati in Assam by the Government of India
ii. In the 5 districts, about 4.16 lakh households will be connected with the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) and 72 CNG(Compressed natural gas) stations will be set up.
iii. Industrial sector, power generation sector, automotive CNG sector, and households sector will be benefited by the supply of natural gas grid and it will create employment opportunities throughout Assam and other parts of the northeast.
iv. The three entities formed a consortium and bid for laying and operating the City Gas Distribution Networks in two geographical areas (GA) in Assam. GA-2 consists of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts and GA-3 consists of Kamrup and Kamrup (Metro) districts.
v. In Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts, 95,000 households will be connected with the PNG and 21 CNG stations will be at a cost of approximately Rs 500 crore.
vi. In Kamrup and Kamrup (Metro) districts, about 3,21,000 households will be connected with the PNG and 51 CNG stations will be set up at a cost of approximately Rs 1,200 crore.
vii.Managing Director, AGCL., Aditya Kumar Sharma; Executive Director (Business Development), Oil India Limited, S. K. Singh; CEO, GAIL, Gas Ltd., A. K. Jana signed the Joint Venture Agreement in the presence of Industries & Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patwary, Media Adviser to Chief Minister, Hrishikesh Goswami.
About Assam:
Capital: Dispur
Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
Chief Minister: Sarbananda Sonowal

KRAS gets $100 mn order for Barak-8 missile kits for Indian Army and Air Force
Hyderabad-based Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd (KRAS), a 49:51 venture between Rafael Advanced Systems and Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd, secured a $100-million order from Rafeal of Israel to supply 1,000 Barak-8 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) kits for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.
Key Points:
i. They will be supplied to Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) for further integration.
ii. As a part of the Make-in-India initiative, Rafael’s collaboration with the Indian defence industry led to investment of over $250 million.

TVS Motor launches India’s first Ethanol based motorcycle ‘TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100’
Multinational motorcycle company headquartered at Chennai, TVS Motor company launched India’s first ethanol-based motorcycle TVS Apache RTR 200 Fi E100 to help reduce crude imports and reduce air pollution.Key points:
i. It is available in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka at a price of Rs 1.20 lakh& It was first showcased in Auto Expo 2018 in Delhi.
ii. This motorcycle equipped with a Twin-Spray-Twin-Port EFI technology has a peak power of 21 ps at 8500 rpm with a torque of 18.1 Nm at7000 rpm. The bike has an ascending top speed of 129 Kmph.
iii. The decision comes after the government plans to convert three-wheelers to EVs (Electric vehicles)by 2023 and 2-wheelers below 150cc (Cubic Centimeter)  by 2025.
iv. The motorcycle was launched by Shri. Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways of India & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri. Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, and Shri. Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company.
About TVS Motor
Headquarters: Chennai
CEO: K. N. Radhakrishnan

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Kaushik Ganguly’s Bengali film Nagarkirtan bags 4 awards including ‘Best Feature Film’ at SAARC film festival 2019
The 9th edition of the SAARC( South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) festival 2019 in Colombo, Srilanka. Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly’s film ‘Nagarkirtan’ has won four awards (Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Original Score’) including ‘Best Feature Film’ at the festival.Key points:
i. Best Actor award was conferred to Riddhi Sen.
ii. Two other Indian films have also won awards at the fest. ‘Na Bole Wo Haram’ bagged the ‘Best Short Film’ award directed by Nitish Patankar, while ‘Walking With the Wind’ received the Special Jury award directed by Praveen Morchhale.
About SAARC:
i. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and geopolitical organization of eight countries that are primarily located in South Asia, established on 8 December 1985.
ii. Its member states include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Secretariat of the SAARC is in Kathmandu, Nepal and it was established on 16 January 1987.
iii. Objectives: To promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia& to contribute to developing mutual trust, understanding, and appreciation of one another’s a problem.

Buddhist teacher and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh awarded Gandhi Mandela Peace Medal 2019 
Believe Foundation(India) and Dr. Raman Bhai Patel Foundation (RBF, South Africa) hosted the first edition of Gandhi-Mandela Peace Initiative.Its celebrated victory of ‘Love over Hatred’, 150 years of Gandhi and 100 years of Mandela’s inspirational lives. The 1^st edition has three events took place in New Delhi, (11th July), Mumbai, (12th July) and Ahmedabad, (13th July).
Key points:
i. Panel Discussion: The event witnessed discussions on topics ranging from Youth, Women, Environment, Education, Health, Gender Sensitivity, Arts and Cinema.
ii. The event conferred the Gandhi Mandela Peace Initiative Awards to Global Leaders. The Annual Gandhi Mandela Peace Medal 2019 has been awarded to Thich Nhat Hanh(93), a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist.
iii. The Gandhi Mandela Award 2019 for Social Impact has been conferred on Dr. Achyuta Samanta, founder of KIIT and Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS).
iv. Gandhi Mandela Award 2019 for Environment conferred to Mahendra Modi, DGP, IPS, Uttar Pradesh & for Young Social Change conferred to Shabana Khan, Sneha, and Suman.
v. The jury of the Gandhi Mandela Peace Initiative Awards 2019 was led by Arif Mohammed Khan (public intellectual) with the participation of Savita Hiremath (filmmaker), Tarina Pate (actor), Dr. Annurag Batra (publisher), Bhuvan Lall (author) and Manoharan Moses (journalist).

 APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

SBI’s Anshula Kant appointed as MD and CFO of World Bank
On July 13, 2019, Anshula Kant, the managing director(MD) of the State Bank Of India(SBI) has been appointed as managing director (MD)and chief financial officer(CFO) of the World Bank(WB). Since September 2018 she has been a Managing Director and member of the World Bank Board.Key points:
i. Kant is from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. In her role as CFO in SBI, she managed $38 billion worth revenue and total assets of $500 billion.
ii. Kant has more than 35 years of expertise in finance, banking will be responsible for financial and risk management of the World Bank Group. She will also have to work closely with the World Bank CEO on the mobilization of the International Development Association (IDA) of WB and other financial resources.
iii. Kant joined SBI in 1983 as a probationary officer and also served as the Deputy MD of Operations for National Banking Group. She has been a Managing Director and member of the Board since September 2018.
iv. She is a graduate in Economic Honours from Lady Shri Ram College for Women and a Post-Graduate in Economics from Delhi School of Economics.
About World Bank:
Headquarters: Washington, D.C, U.S.
President: David Malpass
Chief Executive Officer: Kristalina Georgieva

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SPORTS

FIFA U-17 World Cup 2019 to be hosted by Brazil
On July 11, 2019, Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 World Cup draw was held in the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland. The 18^th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup for the year 2019 will be hosted by Brazil between 26 October and 17 November 2019.Key Points:
i. Emblem: FIFA and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) unveiled the Official Emblem of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019. It is inspired by the history and landscapes of Brazil. The base evokes the lush green of Brazil’s natural scenery. Sweeping vegetation leads the viewer’s eye past the intense reds of the Brazilian soil and yellowy orange of the country’s world-famous gemstones towards a celebratory figure. The design of the ball is inspired by the iconic curved columns of Brasilia cathedral, a masterpiece by renowned Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
ii. Venues: The opening match will be held at the Estádio Bezerrão in Brasília (Gama). The other venues are Goiânia’s Estádio Olímpico, Estádio da Serrinha and the Estádio Kléber Andrade in Vitória (Cariacica).
iii. Opening Match: Brazil and Canada will contest in the opening match on October 26, 2019.
About FIFA:
♦ Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland
♦ Motto: For the Game. For the World
♦ President: Gianni Infantino

India win ten medals at Qasanov Memorial Meet 2019 in Kazakhstan
Indian track and field athletes won six medals(3Gold,2 Silver,1Bronze) on the 1^st day of the Qasanov Memorial Meet 2019 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On the second day meet India won 2 gold, 2 silver. India’s final tally of the two-day meet was at 10 with 5 gold, 4 silver, and 1 bronze.
Here’ the look at the winners and their medals:
First day meet winners:

Second-day meet winners:

Former England Striker Peter Crouch announced retirement from Football
On July 12, 2019, Former England, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs striker Peter Crouch, aged 38, announced his retirement from football. He made his debut for Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) in 2000.Key Points:
i. He represented England (debut against Colombia in May 2005) in 2 World Cups in 2006 and 2010.
ii. He played in the Premier Leagues (108 goals) for Liverpool and Tottenham. He also represented Aston Villa, Norwich City, and Southampton. In 2019, he had joined Burnley Football Club.
iii. He scored 22 goals for England in 42 matches and the player also got his hands on the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup). He represented England between 2005-2010.

OBITUARY

Former Argentine President Fernando de La Rua passed away at a Buenos Aires
On July 9, 2019, Former Argentine President Fernando de La Rua, aged 81, passed away at a Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He suffered from severe cardiac and kidney complications. He had served the country from 1999 to December 2001.Key Points:
i. He was born on September 15, 1937 at Córdoba, Argentina.
ii. He was elected as the first mayor of Buenos Aires in 1996.

Emmy winning actor Rip Torn passed away at Lakeville, Connecticut, US
On July 9, 2019, Emmy winner actor Rip Torn, aged 88, passed away at his residence in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. He was known for his acting and comedy.Key Points:
i. Born on February 6, 1931 in Temple, Texas, US as Elmore Rual Torn, the ‘Summer Rental’ actor, had a seven-decade-long career which included his acclaimed performances in ‘Cross Creek,’ ‘Sweet Bird of Youth ‘and other dramas.
ii. He debuted in Hollywood with Tennessee Williams’ ‘Baby Doll’ in the year 1956.
iii. He performed in ‘Critics Choice’, ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ and ‘Defending Your Life’.
iv. He earned the name ‘Emmy’ for ‘The Larry Sanders Show,’ which was created and starred by Garry Shandling. He also played the real-life figures like Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Walt Whitman.

STATE NEWS

The maiden Budget of Jaganmohan Reddy’s Government in AP focused on Housing, Agriculture
On July 12, 2019, YSR (Yuvajana Sramika Rythu) Congress Government of Andra Pradesh presented the maiden Budget under the Chief Minister Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy. State Finance Minister B. Rajendranath Reddy presented the Budget 2019-20 with an outlay of Rs 227,975 crore, with its emphasis on “Nava ratnalu” – the nine promises made by the YSR Congress Party in its election manifesto.
Allocations:

About Andhra Pradesh:
♦ Capital: Amaravati
♦ Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan
♦ National Parks: Sri Venkateswara National Park, Rajiv Gandhi National Park, Papikonda National Park
♦ Wildlife Sanctuaries: Coringa WLS, Gundla Brahmeswaram WLS, Kambalakonda WLS, Kolleru WLS, Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam WLS, Rollapadu WLS etc

‘Save Water Day’ observed by West Bengal government on July 12, 2019
West Bengal government celebrated it first ‘Save Water Day’ on July 12, 2019 to spread the message of water conservation. Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee and other eminent persons from various fields participated in the Padayatra from Jorashanko Thakurbari to the base of Gandhi Statue, Kolkata.
About West Bengal:
♦ Capital: Kolkata
♦ Governor: Keshari Nath Tripathi
♦ National Parks: Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, Singalila National Park, Sunderban National Park, Jaldapara National Park
♦ Wildlife Sanctuaries: Ballavpur WLS, Bethuadahari WLS, Bibhuti Bhusan WLS, Buxa WLS, Chapramari WLS etc

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