Date-21/07/2020

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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

China Warns UK of Consequences over Hong Kong Interference

 The UK will bear the consequences if it continues to go down the wrong road on Hong Kong,
China has warned.
 The UK suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong over a new security law for the ex-
colony, which gives Beijing more power.
 In response, the Chinese ambassador in London said that the UK had blatantly interfered in
China's affairs.
 Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer three million Hong Kong
residents the chance to settle in the UK, allowing them to ultimately apply for British citizenship.
 And the government separately announced it would require the removal of Chinese technology
from the UK's fledgling 5G mobile network.
 The moves came after Beijing introduced the controversial new security law at the end of June,
creating offences that could see Hong Kong residents sent to mainland China for trial.
 Critics have claimed the law could see pro-democracy protesters in the region being served with
life sentences.

Putin Picks New Governor after Murder Allegation

 Russian President Vladimir Putin has named a new acting governor for the Khabarovsk region
after days of demonstrations.
 Governor Sergei Furgal was arrested for murder earlier this month, sparking protests in the far
eastern province.
 His supporters believe the charges against him are politically motivated.
 The protests come just weeks after Mr. Putin won backing for major constitutional reforms in a
national referendum, which allow him to stay in power for an additional two terms - prompting
fears of a crackdown on the opposition.
 President Putin formally removed Mr. Furgal from his post on Monday and named Mikhail
Degtyaryov as the acting head of the region.
 Mr. Degtyaryov is a member of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), just like
Mr. Furgal.
Egyptian MPs Approve Military Deployment in Libya
 The Parliament in Egypt voted to authorise the deployment of its military abroad to defend
national security and – in its words – fight criminals and foreign terrorists on a western front.
 It is an apparent reference to neighbouring Libya, where Egypt has been supporting the renegade
general Khalifa Haftar who has been forced back from positions around the capital, Tripoli.
 The resolution came despite a phone call between the Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and
President Trump, who's reported to have asked that nothing be done to escalate the situation in
Libya.
 Last week the pro-Haftar parliament in eastern Libya moved towards inviting the intervention of
Egyptian troops, which have not fought abroad in nearly thirty years.

ICC Finally Postpones T20 World Cup

 Ending months of suspense, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced postponement of
the upcoming men's T20 World Cup, which was scheduled to kick off on 18th October in
Australia.
 he decision gives the Indian cricket board a clear window for the 13th edition of the Indian
Premier League (IPL), which was also deferred due the Covid-19 pandemic.
 The ICC also announced windows for the next three ICC men's events, in order to bring clarity to
the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover
from the disruption caused by Covid-19.
 ICC will conduct the Men's T20 World Cup in 2021, 2022 and 2023 during the months of
October and November. While the host for 2021 and 2022 are not announced yet, the 2023 World
Cup will be held in India.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Ayala's Energy Unit Eyes 140 MW Peak Solar Farm in India

 AC Energy Inc. is making its first major investment in India by developing the $68 million Sitara
solar plant through a joint venture with UPC Renewables China Holdings Ltd.
 The 140-megawatt peak solar farm is expected to start generating by the first quarter of 2021 and
will supply the Solar Energy Corp. of India via a 25-year agreement. It won the agreement via a
competitive bid at Rs. 2.48 per kilowatt-hour. The facility will be located in Rajasthan, which
gets some of the most intense sunlight in the country.
 The energy unit of Ayala Corp., one of the Philippines' oldest conglomerates, also announced on
Thursday it would build a 210-megawatt wind farm that would be the biggest in Vietnam. The
investments will take AC Energy's total renewables capacity to more than 1,200 megawatts, in
line with its target to reach 5,000 megawatts by 2025 and fully divest from coal by 2030.

Exports from India-based Sellers Cross $2 billion: Says Amazon

  As per reports, Amazon.com Inc's total exports from small and medium sellers in India, part of a
company programme to export products to global markets, have crossed the $2 billion mark.
Amazon's "Global Selling" programme was launched in India, a key growth market for the
company, in 2015. The programme, also operational in other markets, has helped more than
60,000 Indian sellers export products to 15 Amazon websites.
 According to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, the US e-commerce company would invest $1 billion in
digitising small- and medium-businesses in India and expected to export Indian-made goods
worth $10 billion by 2025.

Indian Direct Selling Industry Records USD 2.47 bn Sales in 2019

 As per a report by World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), the Indian direct
selling industry recorded sales of USD 2.47 billion in 2019, reporting a growth of 12.1 per cent.
 This has helped the direct selling industry improve its ranking to the 15th from the earlier 19th a
year before.
 Moreover, in terms of the number of direct sellers, India has been ranked at sixth position,
proving employment to 57.50 lakh people.
 However, the global direct selling industry has reported an overall decline of 4.3 per cent in sales
to USD 180.47 billion in 2019.
 According to the report, the US is leading in the list contributing 20 per cent of the global direct
selling industry with sales of USD 35.21 billion, though it has registered a marginal de-growth of
0.4 per cent.
 It is followed by China with 13 per cent contribution, Korea and Germany with 10 per cent each
and 9 per cent by Japan.

RITES Likely to Pick up 24% Stake in IRSDC

 Railway consultancy firm RITES is likely to pick up 24 per cent stake in the Indian Railway
Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
 IRSDC was incorporated as a Joint Venture of Ircon International Limited (IRCON) and Rail
Land Development Authority (RLDA), with the aim to develop the Railway Stations across India
with primary objective of augmenting and maintaining passenger amenities at stations in a
holistic manner.
 The Equity stake of IRCON and RLDA in IRSDC is in the ratio of 50:50. However after the stake
acquisition of RITES in IRSDC, the share of IRCON will be reduced to 26 per cent.

India Plans to Reduce Number of State-owned Banks to Just Five

 As per government and banking sources, India is looking to privatise more than half of its state-
owned banks to reduce the number of government-owned lenders to just five as part of an
overhaul of the banking industry.
 The first part of the plan would be to sell majority stakes in Bank of India, Central Bank of India,
Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab & Sind Bank, leading to an
effective privatisation of these state-owned lenders.
 At present, India has 12 state-owned banks.

SPORTS
Lionel Messi Finishes as Top Scorer in La Liga for a Record Seventh Time
 Lionel Messi finished as top scorer in La Liga for a record seventh time after netting twice as
dethroned champions Barcelona ended their disappointing campaign on a high with a resounding
5-0 win at Alaves.
 The Argentine, who also finished as top marksman for a fourth consecutive season, eclipsed the
benchmark he previously shared with the late Telmo Zarra.
 Messi said that individual prizes and objectives are secondary. It's an important achievement to
win it seven times but I would have liked it to have been accompanied by the La Liga title.

Ronaldo Becomes Only Player to Score 50 Goals in Premier League, La Liga and
Serie A
 Portuguese playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo created history after the Juventus striker became the
first player to score 50 goals in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
 Ronaldo's scored a penalty against Lazio to record his 50th goals in the Italian top-flight since
joining Juventus. He has also become the fastest player to achieve this feat since 1995.
 The successful penalty also means that Ronaldo, 35, also equalled Giuseppe Signori's 1994-95
record for penalty goals in a season, with 12 successful conversions so far in this season.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Odisha Government Includes Transgender Community under Madhu Babu
Pension Yojana
 The official notification of The Department of Social security and Empowerment of Persons with
Disabilities (SSEPD) informed that, Odisha Government has included the transgender community
under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana(MBPY), a social security scheme by amending to Rule 6 of
the Madhu Babu Pension Rules 2008.
 In addition to transgenders women, those who are fighting divorce cases in courts are also
included.
 Under this scheme, about 6,000 transgenders will receive Rs. 500, Rs. 700 and Rs. 900 per month
as a pension under various categories depending on their age.
 To avail the benefit of the scheme the transgenders should possess a certificate issued under
Section 6 of the Transgender Persons(Protection of Rights) Act 2019.
 MBPY is initiated under SSEPD. It was launched in Odisha in 2008 by merging the two pension
schemes: Revised Old Age Pension Rules, 1989 and Disability Pension Rules, 1985.

Ladakh and Gujarat Get New BJP Chiefs

 BJP president J. P. Nadda appointed party's young first-term MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering
Namgyal, the party chief in the key Union Territory and C. R. Patil the chief of the party's Gujarat
unit.
 The post of the BJP president in Ladakh was lying vacant following the resignation of Chering
Dorjay in May from the primary membership of the party. Dorjay, who was appointed the chief
of the party's Ladakh unit in March, resigned to protest the failure of the UT Administration to
evacuate Ladakhi passengers, patients, pilgrims and students stranded at various places in the
country.
  Patil, a third-term MP from Navsari, replaced Jitendrabhai Vaghani as the Gujarat party chief.
Patil used technology to push development works in his constituency and is someone considered
close to PM Modi.

DEFENCE
IAF Backs DRDO's VL-SRSAM over the American NASAMS II Air-defence
System
 According to a report filed by livefistdefence.com, Indian Air Force (IAF) has officially informed
Indian Government that it doesn't want to induct American developed NASAMS II (a multi-
layered missile defence system), which New Delhi has been negotiating with Washington $1
billion deal for NASAMS II which included Missile packages like AIM-120D and AIM-9X Air-
to-Air missiles.
 IAF rather preferred to procure local systems like VL-SRSAM (Vertically Launched -Short-range
Surface Air to Missile ) System based on Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile which is
similar to NASAMS II which DRDO has started developing.
 idrw.org has been informed that VL-SRSAM will be developed in two variants for Air Force and
Indian Navy. The air force will get high mobility Truck-mounted canister based VL-SRSAM and
Navy will get Canister based VL-SRSAM for its front-line warships which will replace aging
Israeli supplied Barak-1 Point Defence interceptor missiles which were procured after India
ended its Tri-service Trishul SRSAM program in 2006 due to technical issues.

Rear Admiral Iqbal New Bangladesh Navy Chief

 Rear Admiral Mohammad Shaheen Iqbal, who did his specialisation in anti-submarine warfare
from India, was appointed as the next Chief of Bangladesh Navy.
 Iqbal, who is currently serving as the assistant navy chief, will succeed Vice Admiral Aurangzeb
Chowdhury, who is retiring later this month.
 Iqbal will serve as the Chief of Navy Staff for three years till July 2023.

PERSONS IN NEWS
Ashwini Kumar Tewari New MD & CEO of SBI Cards and Payment Services
 SBI (State Bank of India) cards and payment services appointed, Mr. Ashwin Kumar Tewari as
its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive officer (CEO) who is intended to be in
charge from August 1, 2020.
 Tewari replaces Mr. Hardayal Prasad, the MD and CEO who will quit the directorship of the
company on July 31, 2020 due to voluntary retirement.
 Prasad, had taken over from Mr. Vijay Jasuja who retired in January 2018.

Lalji Tandon Passes Away

 Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, passed away at a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow.
He was 85.
 Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel had been given the additional charge of Madhya
Pradesh after Tandon's illness.
 Born on April 12, 1935, Tandon was one of the veteran leaders of the BJP and was a protege of
former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
  Tandon served as a member of Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council) for two
terms, 1978–84 and remained the Leader of House, of the Council, 1990–96. He also remained a
member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for three terms, 1996–2009, and remained the Leader of
Opposition in the Assembly, 2003–07. He had also served as Urban Development minister in the
Uttar Pradesh cabinet under Mayawati when BSP-BJP alliance was in power and also in CM
Kalyan Singh's cabinet.
 Tandon also served as Governor of Bihar and was lauded for streamlining academic activities of
the state universities. He was appointed as the 22nd Governor of Madhya Pradesh in July 2019.

ART AND CULTURE

Indian Performing Rights Society Signs Music Licensing Deal with Facebook
 The Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRS) has reached an agreement with social media
giant Facebook to license its music repertoire for video and other social experiences across
Facebook and Instagram. People will now be able to choose music from the IPRS repertoire of
several songs, to add to their own videos that they share on Facebook and Instagram, as well as
other social features like music stickers on stories.
 The IPRS is a representative body of authors and owners, which include composers, lyricists, and
owner publishers of music. It is authorized under the Copyright Act, 1957 to carry on the business
and granting of licenses in respect of literary works and musical works assigned to it by its
members as well as collect and distribute authors' statutory royalties, for the exploitation of these
works either by way of live performances and/or sound recordings through any medium except
when exhibited as a part of a cinematograph film shown in a cinema hall.
 The deal with Facebook will cover licensing and royalties whenever music represented by the
IPRS is used on Facebook and Instagram. The association will help artistes and members of IPRS
get their music compositions out to people across the country, given the large and thriving
communities on Facebook and Instagram in India.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

'Suraj Kade Marda Nahi' Book by Baldev Singh Sadaknama
 Shakthiya Akademi Awardee Baldev Singh Sadaknama has authored a book 'Suraj Kade Marda
Nahi' (Sun Never Dies). The book portrays many aspects of freedom fighter Udham Singh. The
book is published by Unistarbooks.
 The book has been released and will be formally launched on July 31, 2020 through a webinar,
which will be attended by some writers and historians from London.
 The book portrays some facts pertaining to Colonel Reginal Dyer, also known as butcher of
Jallianwala bagh.
 It also covers how Udham Singh killed Michael O' Dwyer, former lieutenant governor of Punjab
on March 13, 1940, at Caxton Hall, London for which he was hanged on July 31, 1940.
 His novel 'Suraj Di Aakh', which was about the life of Maharaja Ranjit Singh won Dhahan Prize,
which carries a cash award of 25,000 Canadian dollars (over Rs 13 lakh
 He received the Sahitya Akademi Award 2011 for his novel Dhaahwan Dilli De Kingre.
Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu Releases the Book Tangams: An
Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal
Pradesh
 The book titled 'The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study of the Critically Endangered Group of
Arunachal Pradesh' was released by Prema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
The book is published by Centre for Endangered Languages(CFEL), Rajiv Gandhi University and
Himalayan Publishers, New Delhi.
 The Tangams community lives in the Kugging Village, Upper Siang district of Arunachal
Pradesh.
 They are ethnolinguistic groups within the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh.
 The co-authors of the book are Kaling Dabi, Kombong Darang, Rejhoney Borang, Chera Devi,
Rumi Deuri and jointly edited by Lisa Lomdak and Rejhoney Borang.

TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS

Cafe Coffee Day Shuts 280 more Outlets in April-June Quarter
 Homegrown coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) closed down around 280 outlets in the first
quarter of the current fiscal year, citing profitability issues and likely future increase in expenses.
With these closures, the total count of its outlets stood at 1,480 as on June 30, 2020.
 Cafe Coffee Day is a brand owned by Coffee Day Global, a step-down company of Coffee Day
Enterprises Ltd.

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