National
News
1. NITI
Aayog Launches Global Mobility Hackathon 'Move Hack'
i.
NITI Aayog has launched Move Hack, a
global mobility hackathon to crowdsource solutions aimed at the future of
mobility in India. Envisaged to be one of the largest hackathons globally, Move
Hack is focused on 10 themes and structured over three legs: online, followed
by Singapore leg, and the finals in New Delhi.
ii. The
winners will be announced during the Move Summit 2018, which is
also organized by NITI Aayog in September 2018 in New Delhi. Awards for the
hackathon include recognizing top 10 winners, with total prize of more than Rs.
2 crores.
Static/Current
Takeaways Important for SBI PO/Clerk Exam 2018-
·
NITI- National Institution for Transforming
India.
·
NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman- Rajiv
Kumar, CEO- Amitabh Kant.
2. Ballistic
Missile Interceptor AAD Successfully Flight Tested
i.
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted
the successful test of the Ballistic Missile Interceptor Advanced Area
Defence (AAD) from Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha. The endo-atmospheric
missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15
to 25 kms was launched against multiple simulated targets of 1500
km class ballistic missile.
ii. All the mission objectives were successfully
met. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, witnessed
the flight test along with other senior officials.
Static/Current
Takeaways Important for SBI PO/Clerk Exam 2018-
·
Sanjay Mitra (Present Defence Secretary) is the present
Chairman of DRDO.
·
DRDO Headquarters in New Delhi.
3. Logo and Tagline For Geographical Indications Launched
i. Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu launched
a logo and tagline for Geographical Indications (GI) to
increase awareness about intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the
country. The slogan for the GI tag is- 'Invaluable Treasures of
Incredible India'.
ii. A
GI product is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product
(handicraft and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory.
4. World's 1st Hindi-Speaking Robot 'Rashmi'
i. Ranchi-based software developer Ranjit Srivastava is
developing the world's first Hindi-speaking humanoid robot, claimed
to cost just Rs50,000 so far.
ii.
Named Rashmi, the AI-powered robot can also speak Bhojpuri,
Marathi, and English, and is equipped with facial expressions and recognition
systems. He was inspired to create Rashmi after seeing Hong Kong-made humanoid
'Sophia' in 2016.
Ranks
and Reports
5. Fortune
500 List of World's Largest Companies Released
i. Seven
Indian companies have been listed in Fortune’s 500 list 2018 of world
biggest corporations. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is the highest
ranked company from India followed by RIL which jumped 55 places. The
US-based retail company, Walmart has topped the list.
ii.
IOC ranked 137th in 2018 with a significant jump from 168th
position from 2017. RIL is the top private sector company in India. It
ranked 148th in 2018 from 203rd from 2017. ONGC ranked 197th
in 2018 which not even featured in 2017. SBI got 216th rank 1 place
higher than 217th in 2017.
iii.
The Top 3 companies on the list are:
1. Walmart
(the USA),
2. State
Grid (China),
3. Sinopec
Group (China).
6. India's GDP Growth To Rise To 7.5% This Fiscal:
Morgan Stanley
i.
India's economy is expected to clock GDP growth of 7.5% in this financial year
according to a Morgan Stanley report.
ii. In aggregate, the
report expect GDP growth to pick up to 7.5% in this financial year as
against 6.7% in 2017-18. The report forecasts Consumer Price Index
(CPI) inflation to remain slightly above the inflation target of 4% and the
current account deficit below 2.5% of GDP.
Awards
7. President
Gives Away Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards
i. President Ram Nath Kovind presented
the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the years
2013-2017, in New Delhi. The Outstanding Parliamentarian Award was presented to
the Best Parliamentarians from 2013 to 2017 for their remarkable
contributions.
ii.
Winners of the award are listed below:
1. Dr
Najma Heptullah (for year 2013),
2.
Hukum Dev Narayan (for year 2014),
3.
Ghulam Nabi Azad (for year 2015),
4.
Dinesh Trivedi (for year 2016),
5.
Bhartruhari Mahtab (for year 2017).
Banking/Business News
8. Mauritius’s
SBM Gets RBI Approval For Subsidiary
i.
Mauritius-based SBM Group has received Reserve Bank of India’s
approval to operate in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary route. It
is the first foreign lender to receive such a licence after local incorporation
was introduced in 2013.
ii. Singapore’s
DBS Bank is another lender which is awaiting final approval from the RBI to
convert its 12 branches into a wholly owned subsidiary.
Static/Current
Takeaways Important for SBI PO/Clerk Exam 2018-
·
SBM, which has been in India since 1994, currently
operates through four branches, in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and
Ramachandrapuram.
9. NABARD Sanctions Rs772 crore For Water Projects
in Haryana
Banwari Lal |
i. According
to the state Minister for Public Health Engineering Banwari
Lal, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has
sanctioned Rs 772 crore for eight water projects in the rural areas of
Haryana.
ii. Works
on these projects, which will supply water to 256 villages and 72 hamlets, are
in progress. The state government has sent three more project proposals,
costing Rs 236.85 crore, to NABARD for financial assistance.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for SBI PO/Clerk Exam
2018-
·
NABARD Chairman- Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Headquarters- Mumbai, Established
on- 12 July 1982.
10. Apple Becomes 1st US-Based Company With Market Value of $1
trillion
i. Apple Inc. became the first US-based company with
a market value of $1 trillion, four decades after it was co-founded by
Steve Jobs in a Silicon Valley garage. The consumer-technology giant briefly
touched the milestone in New York, based on share count data the company
disclosed in a recent regulatory filing.
ii.
PetroChina Co. briefly crossed that valuation in late 2007 but slumped quickly
as oil prices collapsed in the financial crisis.