Current Affairs 23 July 2020

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Current Affairs 23 July 2020

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1. FamPay launches India’s first numberless payments card for teenagers
  • India’s first Neobank for teenagers, in partnership with IDFC First Bank launched India’s 1st numberless card, FamCard. FamPay with National Payments Corporation of India(NPCI) developed this card.  
  • This card is accepted across the RuPay payment network of merchants. It is similar to a debit card which enables teenagers to transact in a cashless manner. 
  • Teenagers can use the card independently without the intervention of the parents. The details of the card are saved on the FamPay app. There is no need to refer the physical card to fill in details during online transactions.
Foot Notes:
About FamPay:
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founders: Kush Taneja & Sambhav Jain

About NPCI:
Registered Office: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Non Executive Chairman: Biswamohan Mahapatra
MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe
 
2. Flipkart acquires Walmart India's wholesale biz to help transform kiranas
  • E-commerce company Flipkart has acquired 100 percent stake in Walmart India Private Limited, which operates the Best Price cash-and-carry business. Flipkart announced on July 23, 2020 that it has acquired parent company, Walmart Inc’s Best Price wholesale cash-and-carry business in India. 
  • The move will allow Flipkart to launch a digital marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale next month. This will also strengthen the e-commerce firm’s wholesale offerings, to compete better with Amazon. 
  • Walmart has been running the Best Price wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India since 2009. The American retail giant had bought a controlling stake worth USD 16 billion in Flipkart in 2018.
Foot Notes:
About Flipkart:
Founded: 05 Sep 2007
Headquarters: Bengaluru, India
CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy 

About Walmart:
Founded: 02 Jul 1962
Headquarters: Bentonville
CEO: Doug McMillon
 
3. Sahil Seth appointed as honorary adviser for BRICS CCI
  • Sahil Seth has been appointed an honorary adviser to the steering committee for the BRICS Chamber of Commerce (CCI) young leaders for the period of 2020-2023. He is a deputy Commissioner of Mumbai Customs.
  • Mr. Seth who is a 2011 batch Indian Revenue Service Officer, expressed his pleasure on being appointed as an honorary advisor which gives him a chance to represent his country. He added that BRICS CCI young leaders is a step in motivating the youth of India. The role of an honorary advisor is on a voluntary basis and there are no financials involved which makes it a no/remuneration appointment.
  • BRICS CCI aims at creating an enabling support system especially for the MSME segment and young entrepreneurs from all over the world.
Foot Notes:
About BRICS:
Founded: June 2006
Formation: 2009
Founders: China, India, Brazil, Russia
 
4. China launched "Tianwen-1" ambitious Mars rover mission
  • China launched its first ambitious Mars Rover Mission- ‘Tianwen-1’ on July 23, 2020 aboard Long March 5 rocket from Hainan Island's Wenchang Satellite Launch Center.
  • As per China’s space agency, the rocket carried the Mars probe for 36 minutes before successfully placing it on the looping path, which will take it beyond Earth's orbit and eventually into Mars’ more distant orbit around the sun.
  • Tianwen-1 includes a Mars orbiter, a lander and a rover. The mission, if successful, will mark a huge first in human history, as it includes a Mars orbiter, lander and rover all in one go. 
  • Tianwen-1 is China’s first fully homegrown Mars mission. The name of the Mars probe has been taken from a poem by Qu Yuan, who lived from the 4th -3rd B.C. and it means “Questions to Heaven.”
Foot Notes:
About China:
Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping
Currency: Renminbi

5. Turkmenistan gets observer status in World Trade Organization
  • Turkmenistan has been granted Observer status by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council. Turkmenistan has become the last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with the trade body, a WTO Spokesperson said yesterday.
  • The Central Asian country filed a request for Observer status in May and expressed willingness to trigger the talks on accession to the WTO within five years.
  • Neighbouring Central Asian countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Afghanistan have acceded to the WTO, while Uzbekistan has been in on-and-off negotiations on WTO accession since 1994.
Foot Notes:
About Turkmenistan:
Capital: Ashgabat
President: Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow
Currency: Turkmenistan manat
 
 
6. National Broadcasting Day is observed every year on 23 July
  • On this day in 1927, the first ever radio broadcast in the country went on air from Bombay. 
  • In the last 93 years, Radio broadcast in the country has achieved several milestones. 
  • Since 1927, radio has been an important part in people's life in India. 
  • On 8th of June 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio.
Foot Notes:
About AIR(All India Radio):
Motto: Bahujanahitaya Bahujanasukhaya / बहुजनहिताय बहुजनसुखाय
Founder: Government of India
Founded: 1930, India
Headquarters: New Delhi
 
7. Sonu Sood launches 'Pravasi Rojgar' app to help migrants find job opportunities
  • Actor Sonu Sood has launched a free online platform called 'Pravasi Rojgar' to help migrants find job opportunities in various sectors across the country. 
  • Mr Sood catapulted to the national spotlight for his work in helping migrants reach their homes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The app will provide all the necessary information and right linkages to find jobs.
  • The online platform has over 500 reputed companies related to construction, apparel, health care, engineering, BPOs, security, automobile, e-commerce and logistics sectors, offering job opportunities. 
  • The platform will also be offering specific job training programmes like spoken English.
8. Punjab govt. signs MoUs with IIT Ropar for skill development
  • Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday paved the way for closer cooperation between government and IIT Ropar and IIM Amritsar, particularly in the area of skill development. The Punjab government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, in the area of skill development.
  • The MoU provides for the IIT’s technical education department to become an academic mentor for the state’s engineering colleges at Gurdaspur and Ferozepur, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Skill Institute at Chamkaur Sahib, five government polytechnics and 10 government ITIs.
  • The institute will also help the state in developing a model ITI and a model polytechnic. Others would be modelled on similar lines subsequently.
  • Punjab Government helps to resolve the IIT’s land acquisition-related issues, while urging the institute to develop its campus as a green campus, with extensive landscaping and afforestation.
Foot Notes:
About Punjab:
Capital: Chandigarh
Governor: Vijayendrapal Singh Badnore

9. Riva Ganguly Das appointed Secretary (East) in External Affairs Ministry
  • India's High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Riva Ganguly Das is appointed by the Government as the Secretary East, in the Ministry of External Affairs. 
  • Das is an Indian Foreign Service officer of 1986 batch.
  • He will succeed Ms. Vijay Thakur Singh after her retirement on 30th September this year.
Foot Notes:
About External Affairs Ministry:
Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 2 September 1946
Minister: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
 
10. SBI General Insurance appoints P.C. Kandpal as MD, CEO
  • Prakash Chandra Kandpal has been appointed as the managing director and chief executive officer of the Non-life insurer SBI General Insurance. 
  • He has been serving as the deputy CEO of SBI General Insurance since June 2019. 
  • He will replace Pushan Mahapatra who has been appointed as director (strategic investments & digital initiatives).
  • Prakash Chandra Kandpal has more than 33 years of banking experience with State Bank of India (SBI) in various aspects such as retail and international banking, human resource, technology, and learning and development. 
  • He has also served as the chief operating officer of the SBI Mutual Fund.
Foot Notes:
About SBI General Insurance Company Limited:
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Tagline: ‘Suraksha aur Bharosa Dono’
 
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