Daily Current Affairs, 02nd July 2020

1) Giriraj Singh launches the 1st Edition of “Matsya Sampada”

•Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh has launched the 1st Edition newsletter “Matsya Sampada” fisheries and aquaculture published by the Department of Fisheries and the operational guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). This newsletter will be published on a quarterly basis.

2) Kerala announces ‘Dream Kerala Project’ aimed at aiding returning expats

•The Kerala government has announced “Dream Kerala Project” to tap the potential and experience of those returning from abroad and other states after losing their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project aims at the rehabilitation of returning expatriates and the state’s overall development.

•Among the returnees, there are a large number of professionals from overseas and other parts of the country. The project also aims to harness their potential for the future of the state. The project, to be jointly implemented by various departments of the state government, will provide the public with an opportunity to give suggestions and ideas on the future of Kerala.

3) Pak Army appoints Nigar Johar as 1st female Lt. General

•Pakistan Army has appointed Major General Nigar Johar as 1st female lieutenant general. She is the 1st female officer to be promoted as Lieutenant General. The officer has been appointed as 1st female Surgeon General of Pak Army.

•Johar graduated from the Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, in 1985 and joined the army’s Medical Corps. In 2017, she became the third woman officer in the Pakistan Army to attain the rank of major general. The other two women major generals were Shahida Badsha and Shahida Malik.

4) Fitch cuts India’s GDP growth forecast to 8% from 9.5% for FY22

•Fitch cuts India’s GDP growth forecast to 8% from 9.5% for FY22, in its June update of Global Economic Outlook report. Fitch retained its projection of Indian economy contracting by 5 per cent in the current fiscal. Meanwhile, Fitch projected the Indian economy to grow 5.5 per cent in 2022-23.

5) Shrikant Madhav Vaidya becomes new chairman of IOC

•Shrikant Madhav Vaidya took charge as the new chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Prior to this, he was the Director (Refineries) on the IOC Board, since October 2019. He will replace Sanjiv Singh, who retired on June 30.

•Vaidya will also be the chairman of Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd, a stand-alone refining subsidiary of IOC, and Indian Oiltanking Ltd, a joint venture providing terminalling services. He will also take over as the head of Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd and also be a director on the board of Petronet LNG Ltd. He has had a decade-long association with India’s largest cracker plant—the Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex.

6) Ravinder Bhakar becomes new CEO of CBFC

•Ravinder Bhakar took charge as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC). He is a 1999 batch officer of Indian Railway Stores Service (IRSS). He will replace Anurag Srivastava.

•Prior to this, Bhakar was posted as the Secretary & Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railways. He also served as an Indian Engineering Services officer. He has received many awards including the National award from Minister of Railways for outstanding service & General Manager Award both in Western Railways & Central Railways (CR) for exemplary service.

7) Shashank Manohar quits as ICC Chairman

•International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman, Shashank Manohar has stepped down as the head of the cricket body after two-year tenures. ICC Board has decided that Deputy Chairman Imran Khawaja will take the charge until Manohar’s successor is elected. The process for the Chairperson election is likely to be approved by the ICC Board within the next week.

•As per the ICC rules, Manohar could have stayed for another two-year-term as a maximum of three terms is allowed. But, he decided not to continue ahead of the all-important ICC meeting. As per reports, England’s Colin Graves is the frontrunner to succeed Manohar but recently, former Cricket West Indies chief Dave Cameron has also joined the race recently.

8) India appoints Indra Mani Pandey as new envoy to UN bodies

•Government of India has appointed, Indra Mani Pandey as the next Indian envoy to United Nations bodies and other international organisations in Geneva. He will represent India in more than 25 important organisation of the UN in Geneva including World Health Organisation (WHO) and therefore the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). India was appointed as the chair of the executive committed of the WHO in 2020 at the World health assembly. The previous envoy to these UN bodies in Geneva was Rajiv K Chander who has completed his three-year-team.

•Pandey will also represent India at International Labour Organisation, Universal Postal Union, one among the oldest arm of UN that even predates UN, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International organization for Standardization (ISO), World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), World property Organisation, International Parliamentary Union, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

9) HDFC Bank launches ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ app for farmers

•HDFC Bank has launched the ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ app for farmers all over India. Through their mobile phones, the farmers will be able to access the services, both banking and agriculture.

10) Ravindra Jadeja named India’s ‘most valuable player’ by Wisden

•India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was named as the country’s ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) of the 21st century by Wisden. He made his debut in 2009 and represented India in 49 test matches, 165 ODIs and 49 T20Is as of 2020.

•Jadeja’s MVP rating is around 97.3 which is second only to Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka making him the second most Valuable Test Player of the 21st Century. Wisden used CricViz, a detailed analysis tool in cricket to analyse his performance.