Daily Current Affairs, 24th July 2018

1) NITI Aayog Signs SoI With Lupin Foundation For Collaborating In Aspirational Districts

•A Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed between NITI Aayog and Lupin Foundation to collaborate in Aspirational Districts Programme. The SoI was signed by Yaduvendra Mathur, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog and Sita Ram Gupta, Executive Director, Lupin Foundation. 

•The NITI Aayog and Lupin Foundation are collaborating to improve indicators in education, health & nutrition, financial inclusion and skill development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure in Aspirational Districts of India.

•As per the terms of the SoI, Lupin Foundation, with the NITI Aayog, will work in three states - Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan to facilitate the creation of an ideal template to develop economic strength, technological viability and moral leadership across three districts in these states. 

2) Lok Sabha Passes Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill

•The Lok Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which has the provision of allowing a court trying an offence related to cheque bouncing, to direct the drawer to pay interim compensation to the complainant. 

•According to the Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, 16 lakh cheque bouncing cases are lying in the subordinate courts and 35 thousand cases are in the higher judiciary. The interim compensation will not exceed 20% of the cheque amount and will have to be paid by the drawer within 60 days of the trial court’s order to pay such a compensation. 

3) Government Sets Up High Level Committee To Check Mob Lynching

•Considering the increasing incidents of mob lynching, the Union Government constituted a High-Level Committee chaired by the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to deliberate in the matter and make recommendations. 

•The Secretary, Department of Justice; Secretary, Department of Legal Affairs; Secretary, Legislative Department; and Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment are the members of the committee. The committee will submit its recommendations to the Government by August 2018. 

4) Government Reduced Minimum Annual Deposit Under Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme

•The Union Government has reduced the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana from Rs 1000 to Rs 250. The minimum initial deposit to open the account has also been reduced to Rs 250. 

•The move is aimed at enabling more people to take advantage of the girl child savings scheme. The government has amended the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules, 2016 for the purpose.

5) Nitin Gadkari Launches Development Projects In Madhya Pradesh

•Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched development projects worth over 5400 crore rupees in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. 

•He addressed the gathering during Vikas Parv and farmers’ convention in the district. The minister also laid the foundation stones of five national highway projects stretching 226 km at an investment of Rs 3,583 crore. 

6) Pakistan Gets Its 1st Woman Chief Justice Of High Court

•Pakistan has got its first-ever woman Chief Justice of a high court. Justice Tahira Safdar was named as the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. 

•Justice Safdar had made history in 1982 when she became the first woman civil judge in Balochistan. She is currently a member of the three-judge special court conducting the trial of former President Pervez Musharraf for committing treason by proclaiming a state of emergency in November 2007. 

7) Lewis Hamilton Wins German Grand Prix

•Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix 2018 held at Hockenheimring track in Germany. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton secured the first position.

•He was followed by Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes in the second position. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen secured the third position. 

8) Tokyo 2020 Committee Officially Launches Olympic Mascots

•The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee officially launched its Olympic mascots 'Miraitowa' and Paralympic mascot 'Someity' at a ceremony attended by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and Committee’s President Yoshiro Mori.

•The name of the blue-checked Olympic mascot ‘Miraitowa’ is derived from a combination of the Japanese words for future and eternity and seeks to "promote a future full of eternal hope in the hearts of people all over the world". The pink-checked Paralympic mascot 'Someity' owes its name to a type of cherry tree blossom and exhibits enormous mental and physical strength.