1) Cabinet clears pay hike for 1 cr. govt employees, pensioners
a) Cabinet has approved the implementation of seventh pay commission for its over 1 crore employees recommending an overall hike of 23.5%.b) The new scales of pay provide for entry-level basic pay going up from Rs. 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000, while at the highest level i.e. Secretary, it would shoot up from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. For Class 1 officers, the starting salary will be Rs 56,100.
c) The 7th Pay Commission examined a total of 196 existing Allowances and, by way of rationalisation, recommended abolition of 51 Allowances and subsuming of 37 Allowances.
d) The recommendations cover 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners. This include 14 lakh serving employees and 18 lakh pensioners in defence forces.
2) Ministry of Tourism releases data on domestic and foreign tourist visits to states and UTs
a) Ministry of Tourism has recently released a data on domestic and foreign tourists visit to states and Union territories for the year 2015.
b) There were 1,432 million domestic tourists visits to the states and UTs. Tamil Nadu has topped in terms of state of highest domestic visits. Tamil Nadu had 333.5 million domestic visits. Uttar Pradesh is at the 2nd position and Andhra Pradesh stands at 3rd.
c) In 2015, the number of foreign tourists visits have risen by 4.4% compared to the visits in 2014.
d) The State that topped the list of the top ten States in terms of number of FTVs during 2015 is Tamil Nadu with 4.68 million visits. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh secured second and third place with 4.41 million visits and 3.1 million visits respectively.
3) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ to be broadcast in Bangladesh
a) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Mann Ki Baat will soon be telecasted in Bangladesh.
b) The massage given by PM will be translated into the native tongue and the answers to the questions invited from people of Bangladesh will also be incorporated.
c) Mann Ki Baat will be broadcasted in Bangladesh on All India Radio’s upcoming Bangla language service channel Akashvani Maitree, for which AIR has made arrangements to receive comments and voice messages from citizens of Bangladesh.
4) RIL, SBI sign shareholder agreement for payments bank JV
a) State Bank of India & Reliance Industries have recently signed an agreement to set up a joint venture for payments banks.
b) In ‘The Subscription & Shareholders’ agreement’ has 70% equity of RIL and 30% equity of SBI.
5) Maharashtra target of planting 2 crore trees in state crossed
a) Maharashtra state has successfully crossed it’s ambitious target of planting 2 crore trees in state. The state has crossed the mark of 2 crores and planted around 3 crores trees on 1st July, 2016.
b) In Maharashtra, the green cover is only 20% against the required 33.5%. Out of a total of 307 lakh hectares, only 61.35 lakh hectares are under green cover.
6) India jumps 19 places on World Bank Logistics Performance Index; moves to 35th rank
a) The recently released, World Bank’s global logistics performance ranking placed India 19 above that the country’s previous performance. India is at the 35th position against the 54th spot it occupied in the previous 2014 report.
b) This is due to the improvement in movement of goods inside the country thus facilitating better trade.
c) Other countries in top 10 are Belgium, Austria, United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States. Japan is ranked 11. Syria is ranked lowest.
c) The report ranks countries on a number of dimensions of supply chain performance, including infrastructure, quality of service, shipment reliability, and border clearance efficiency.
7) Radha Mohan Singh launches a web-based App CMRS
a) A web based app CERS was recently launched by The Union Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh.
b) CERS stands for Crop Manager Rice based Systems. This app is for better crop and Nutrient management released for Bihar farmers in a program organised at ICAR-RCER in Patna.
c) The app will become part of Digital India programme and it will be linked with Soil Health scheme for bringing access to new technologies to rural India.
d) CMRS provides irrigated and rainfed farmers with rice-based cropping systems in Bihar with a crop and nutrient management guideline customized to the needs of an individual farmer.
8) State Bank of India launches three new digital offerings
a) On the occasion of 61st State Bank Day on 1st July, State Bank of India has launched 3 new digital offerings.
b) With Flipkart, SBI has launched the pre-approved EMI facility on purchase. SBI will provide overdraft facility to pre-qualified set of customers for transacting on Flipkart for a minimum purchase of Rs. 5000.
c) SBI has also launched its social media banking platform called ‘SBI Mingle’ for Facebook and Twitter users. Using SBI Mingle, customers can check balance and request for mini statements on their facebook and twitter accounts.
d) State run State Bank of India has recently launched a digital village with an aim to transform the village into the cashless economy system.
b) The scheme will work towards transforming villages into safe, healthy and vibrant digital centres.
9) Rapid Rural Police Response System launched in Punjab
a) To ensure a prompt and effective police response, Punjab state government has launched a rapid rural police response system across the state.
b) State has flagged off 400 new motorcycles and 220 new Bolero jeeps under the new system. Under this system, it is mandatory for the police department to respond to any crime or law & order situation within 20 minutes of it being reported.
c) This service will insure the quick police service to the doorstep of a common man.
10) Michael Cimino, director of film The Deer Hunter, died
a) Michael Cimino, the director of the 1978 Vietnam war film The Deer Hunter has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 77.
b) Cimino has directed total 8 films out of which The Deer Hunter, Desperate Hours (1990), starring Mickey Rourke and Anthony Hopkins, and the gangster film The Sicilian (1986), adapted from a novel by Godfather author Mario Puzo are few his notable films.
c) He received the 1978 academy award for The Deer Hunter and for writing and directing Heaven’s Gate in 1980.
11) ICC relaxes Decision Review System for LBWs
a) International Cricket Council has approved changes in the decision review system to overturn the nont our LBW decisions.
b) Currently, half of the ball would need to be hitting a zone between the centre of leg and off stumps. With these changes, half of the ball must be shown to be hitting any part of the stumps. It will help to ease the LBW decision making.
c) These changes will come into effect from 1st October, 2016.
12) Lewis Hamilton wins 2016 Austrian Grand Prix
a) Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2016 Austrian Grand prix after a thrilling close competition against his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.
b) Max Verstappen of Red Bull came 2nd and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen emerged 3rd.
13) Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel dies
a) A holocaust survivor and an author who fought for peace & human rights, Elie Wiesel has recently passed away in Israel at the age of 87.
b) Wiesel won the nobel peace prize in 1986. He wrote about the his family being sent to the Nazi concentration camps in his first book, ‘Night’. It was published in France in 1958. He authored 57 books in his lifetime.
c) Wiesel was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in poland when he was 15. He was later and ultimately freed from the Buchenwald camp in 1945.
14) Kerala government decided to ban ‘electronic cigarettes’
a) Kerala state government has recently decided to ban the e-cigarettes in state.
b) The decision came in view of studies claiming that its use can cause various health issues, including cancer and heart ailments. An expert committee appointed by the Centre to study the ill effects of e-cigarette had recommended banning the device in the country in 2014 itself. Indian Medical Association has also found out the same results.
c) The state’s health department have also found out that the device is used for smoking ganja, hashish and other narcotic substances.
15) Haryana to develop new Industrial Township at an expense of $5 billion
a) Haryana state government has decided to develop a new industrial township at a cost of $5 billion. This township will be over over 1,500 acres in Sohna and Manesar in the Gurgaon district.
b) For this purpose, Haryana government has already signed a MoU with China Fortune Land Development (CFLD). A joint venture of Haryana Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and CFLD will develop infrastructural facilities, industrial units and residential and commercial projects in the township.
c) These projects would be completed within the next 10 years and would generate employment opportunities for lakhs of youth, besides making available state-of-the-art health and education facilities.