CURRENT AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS : 9 AUGUST 2020

/ TC / By / August 9, 2020

Current and Corporate Affairs : 9 August 2020

COVID-19

  1. Union Minister Kailash Chaudhary tests positive for Coronavirus: – Union Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Chaudhary has tested positive for Coronavirus. In a tweet today, Mr Chaudhary said, he has fever with little breathing problem and he is taking treatment under the supervision of doctors in the hospital. He said, following the test done last night after showing symptoms, the report for Corona virus has come out positive.
  2. Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh, players tested COVID-19 positive: – Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh, defenders Surender Kumar, Jaskaran Singh and drag flicker Varun Kumar have tested positive for Covid 19. All players camping in SAI Bengaluru campus are in self quarantine as their test results are awaited. The players had returned to the national hockey camp in Bengaluru following a month long break. The hockey camp is being held in the National Centre of Excellence in SAI, Bengaluru. 10 athletes who had travelled along with the other members have also undergone RTPCR test. The quarantined athletes have not interacted with other athletes in the camp thereby ensuring that the infection does not spread in the campus.
  3. Centre directs 13 districts with high COVID-19 mortality rate to focus on reducing mortality rate:- The Centre has directed State Governments to focus all efforts on reducing COVID-19 mortality. Union Health Ministry said, coordinated, graded and pro-active management of COVID-19 by the Centre, States and Union Territories has ensured the national Case Fatality Rate is on the slide. It currently stands at 2.04 percent. As part of the continuous process of review and handholding of States and UTs for collaborative management of COVID-19, two high level virtual meetings were chaired by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan to engage with the states reporting with high case load and higher Case Fatality Rate than the national average. It said, government is supporting them on efforts to prevent and reduce mortality due to COVID-19.

NATIONAL NEWS

  1. PM Modi inaugurates Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra in Delhi; Launches Week-long campaign to free India of garbage: –Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has boosted the self confidence and willpower of every countrymen and its impact is visible on the life of the poor. Speaking after inaugurating Rashtriya Swacchata Kendra in New Delhi this evening, Mr Modi said, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has brought about a permanent change in our social consciousness and behaviour. Mr Modi said, a comprehensive Quit India Campaign is going on against poverty, garbage, compulsion of open defecation, compulsion of wandering for fetching water. The Prime Minister announced a week-long campaign from today till 15th August to free India of garbage.
  2. PM Modi to launch financing facility of Rs 1 lakh cr under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund tomorrow: – Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the financing facility of 1 lakh crore rupees under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund at 11 AM tomorrow through video conferencing. He will also release the sixth instalment of funds of 17 thousand crore rupees to 8.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme. The event will be witnessed by lakhs of farmers, cooperatives, and citizens across the country. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar will also be present on the occasion.
  3. 21 Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Hospitals converted into Dedicated COVID-19 Hospitals: Santosh Gangwar: – Union Minister for Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said that 21 Employees’ State Insurance Corporation Hospitals across the country have been converted into Dedicated COVID-19 Hospitals. He said, more than 2,400 Isolation beds and 550 ICU beds with 200 ventilators have been made available in these hospitals. Mr Gangwar said this while inaugurating Plasma Bank at ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Faridabad through video conference from Haryana Bhawan in New Delhi yesterday. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also present on the occasion.

STATE NEWS

  1. Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra expresses deep concern over increasing number of Corona patients in state: – Governor of Rajasthan Kalraj Mishra has expressed deep concern over the increasing number of Corona patients in the state. Mr. Mishra said that people must take necessary precautions to protect themselves from COVID infection. He said that people should strictly follow the safety measures and no one should negligent about it.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  1. Divisional Commanders-level talks between India, China in progress: – The Divisional Commanders-level talks between India and China are in progress at Daulat Beg Oldie of Indian side, today. This is in continuation to the Military-level talks between India and China to ease the tensions at various friction points along the Line of Actual Control in the Eastern Ladakh region. Today’s meeting is happening in the background of the Fifth meeting at Chuchul BPO between the core commanders of India and China in the region. The previous meetings have discussed complete disengagement from very close points especially at friction points like Pangong Tso and Depsang Plains.
  2. India says it would like Sri Lanka to send first flight to newly upgraded Kushinagar airport: – India has said it would like Sri Lanka to send the first international flight to the newly upgraded Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh. This was conveyed by Indian High commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay during his meeting with Sri Lankan Prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today to convey his best wishes following the latter’s victory at this week parliamentary election.

BUSINESS AND FINANCE

  1. RBI bars banks from opening current accounts for customers having availed cash credit or overdraft facilities:- The Reserve Bank of India has barred banks from opening current accounts for customers who have availed cash credit or overdraft facilities, with a view to improve credit discipline. In a notification, the Central Bank said, rather than opening a new current account, all transactions should be routed through a Cash Credit or OverDraft account. The RBI stated that there is a need for discipline by the banks in opening current accounts. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said it is necessary to take appropriate measures for strengthening credit discipline. He said there are concerns emanating from the use of multiple accounts by borrowers which calls for the need to safeguard for opening of such accounts by borrowers, availing credit facilities from multiple banks.
  2. RBI permits banks to invest in debt instruments through mutual funds:- RBI has permitted banks to invest in debt instruments through mutual funds or exchange traded funds without allocating additional charges. As per RBI’s extant Basel III guidelines, if a bank holds a debt instrument directly, it would have to allocate lower capital as compared to holding the same debt instrument through a mutual fund- or exchange traded fund. While unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy review yesterday, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said it has been decided to harmonise the differential treatment existing currently. He said, this will result in substantial capital savings for banks and is expected to give a boost to the corporate bond market. The RBI Governor said the general market risk charge of 9 per cent will apply on both direct holdings, as well as through mutual funds or ETFs.
  3. RBI announces loan restructuring window for corporates:- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a loan restructuring window for corporates following demands from bankers and industry. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das made the announcement yesterday. Mr Das said that stressed MSME borrowers would be eligible for restructuring of debt if their accounts were classified standard. The governor also raised the Loan to value ratio against gold to 90 percent from current 75 percent to mitigate Covid 19 impact on households.
  4. ED raids multiple cities in IAF Pilatus jet money laundering case: – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today raided multiple premises in various cities in connection with a money laundering case . It was linked to an alleged corruption in the purchase of 75 Pilatus basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2009. The CBI had filed a criminal case in the 2,895 crore rupees Pilatus deal in June last year. The CBI had booked Bhandari, unidentified officials of the Indian Air Force, the Defence Ministry and Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft Limited in the case.The central probe agency had filed a money laundering case to probe the deal and is carrying out the action to collect evidence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

SPORTS

  1. India to host ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup next year; Women’s T-20 postponed till 2022: – India will host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 as planned. Cricket’s governing body has also decided to postpone the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021 in New Zealand till February – March
    2022 because of the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on cricket globally. The format of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will remain as it was for 2020 and all teams that qualified for that event will now participate in India in 2021. A new qualification process will be run for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. The format of the postponed ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will remain as it was for 2021. Five teams have already qualified for the event and that will stand for 2022.
  2. 3 male paddlers selected for TOPS from Gujarat: – 3 out of 4 male paddlers selected for the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) are from Gujarat. According to Gujarat State Table Tennis Association, three players Harmeet Desai, Manav Thakkar and Manush Shah are among four male TT players selected in the Sports Ministry’s scheme. Soumyajit Ghosh is the fourth paddler.
  3. BCCI suspends title sponsorship deal with Vivo for upcoming IPL: – The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has suspended the title sponsorship deal with Chinese mobile phone company Vivo for the upcoming edition of the IndianPremierLeague. The BCCI in a statement said that Vivo will not be associated with the IPL this year. VIVO had won the IPL title sponsorship for five years from 2018 to 2022 for a
    reported sum of 2190 crore rupees. The IPL this year has been shifted to the UAE because of the prevailing COVID-19 situation in India. The tournament will be held from September 19 to November 10 amid COVID-19 protocols laid down by the ICC and BCCI.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
APPOINTMENT

  1. G C Murmu takes oath as Comptroller and Auditor General of India:- President Ram Nath Kovind today administered the oath of office to GC Murmu as Comptroller and Auditor General of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr Murmu had stepped down as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this week. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were also present on the occasion.

IMPORTANT DAY

  1. Today is 78th anniversary of Quit India movement: Today is the 78th anniversary of Quit India movement. On this day in 1942, father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of Do or Die to all Indians to drive away Britishers from the country. The movement had begun from Gawalia Tank in Mumbai. The day is observed as August Kranti Day every year.

Compiled By : CS Surbhi Saxena

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