1. Monetary
Policy: RBI cuts policy rate by 25 basis points to 6%
i. Monetary
Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Urjit Patel, decided to
reduce the Policy Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25
basis points from 6.25 per cent to 6.0 per cent with immediate effect.
ii. Consequently,
the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the
marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.25 per cent.
2. Airtel
Payment Bank ties up with HPCL for ATM services
i. Airtel
Payments Bank, India’s first payments bank has announced a strategic partnership
with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) to
give further boost to digital payments in the country and to add to customer
convenience.
ii. All 14,000
HPCL fuel stations will act as banking points for Airtel Payments Bank. All
Airtel Payments Bank customers would be able to access a range of convenient
banking services at these fuel stations like opening new accounts, make cash
deposits and withdrawals facility, and transfer money.
3. World
breastfeeding week – August 1-7, 2017
i. World
breastfeeding week 2017 is being celebrated from 1st to 7th
August 2017 with the theme “Sustaining Breastfeeding
Together”.
ii. It
was first celebrated in 1992 by World Alliance for Breastfeeding World
Breastfeeding WeekAction (WABA) and is now observed in over 120 countries by
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and
their partners including individuals, organizations, and governments.
4. China
opens its first overseas Military base in Djibouti
i. China formally
opened its first overseas military base with a flag raising
ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the same day as
the People's Liberation Army marks its 90th birthday.
ii. Djibouti's
position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worry in India
that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" military
alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri
Lanka.
5. PM
Modi announces Rs2,350-crore flood relief for North-East
i. Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced a package of Rs2,350 crore for all
North-East states for mitigating the impact of floods on short- and
long-term basis.
ii. In
addition to that, the Prime Minister has announced a Rs100 crore corpus for
setting up a research project to study the Brahmaputra and its role in creating
devastating flood. Out of the Rs 2350 crore announced by the PM, Rs 1200 crore
will be given by the Union.
6. Supreme
Court bans use of Five Metals in Firecrackers
i. The
Supreme Court of India imposed a ban on the use of five harmful metals
viz lithium, mercury, arsenic, antimony, and lead in
firecrackers. The bench was headed by Justice Madan B Lokur.
ii. The
Supreme Court maintained that it is the responsibility of the Petroleum and
Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure compliance of ban particularly
in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu where there are a large number of
firecracker manufacturers.
iii. The
court asked CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and PESO to make
collaborative efforts for setting up standards with regards to air pollution
caused by the bursting of fire crackers.
7. SBI
debit cards now on Samsung Pay app
i. Smartphone-maker
Samsung, which recently launched its digital wallet app Samsung Pay in
India, has tied up with State Bank of India to store higher
variants of SBI debit cards on the app.
ii. This
collaboration turns the Samsung smartphones into electronic card-holders and
users can pay at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals with just a tap on the cards
stored in Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay works on 2.5 million PoS card machines
across the country through its magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology.
8. Dhrupad
maestro Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar passes away
i. Ustad
Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar, a classical vocalist and one of the leading
exponents of Dhrupad tradition, passed away following a brief illness in Pune.
He was 78.
ii. Dhrupad
is a Sanskrit blend of Dhruva (immovable) and Pad (verse). It has its roots in
ancient times, it was first mentioned in 3rd Century B.C. in the Natyashastra.
Also Read:
- Daily GK Update 1st August 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 30th & 31st July 2017, Important
Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 29th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 28th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 26th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
- Daily GK Update 27th July 2017, Important Current Affairs
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