Important Bullet Points for IIFT 2019

· India has become the first country in the world to issue Biometric Seafarer Identity
Document (BSID), which captures the facial biometric data of seafarers.

· Pakistan has successfully test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic

missile Ghaznavi from Sonmiani test range near Karachi located in Balochistan. The
missile was built with a capability to deliver different types of warheads including
nuclear and conventional up to a range of 290 km. It will be placed under the
medium-range ballistic missiles. During the test, Ghaznavi was tracked by the
National Development Complex (NDC) ground control station.

· A book on Barack Obama, former United States (US) President, titled "Obama: The
Call of History" has been written by Peter Baker, the Chief White House
Correspondent for The New York Times. It gives an in-depth account of Obama's
years in office.

· National Film Awards 2019

Best Feature Film: Hellaro (Gujarati Film)

Best Director: Adhitya Dhar for Uri: The Surgical Strike
Best Actor: Ayushmann Khuranna for Andhadhun and Vicky Kaushal for Uri: The
Surgical Strike
Best Actress: Keerthy Suresh for Mahanati
Best Popular Film: Badhaai Ho
Best film on Social Issues: Padman

· Global GDP Rankings by World Bank

According to World Bank, India has been pushed to the 7th place in Global GDP
Rankings in 2018 from the 6th place in 2017.
Top 3 nations are:
1. USA
2. China
3. Japan

· Café Coffee Day has appointed SV Ranganath as its interim Chairman

Café Coffee Day has appointed SV Ranganath as its interim Chairman after the death
of founder-chairman VG Siddhartha.
VG Siddhartha Hegde was an Indian billionaire and businessman from Karnataka. He
was the founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day and served as its chairman and
managing director.

· Monetary Policy Committee Report

RBI has cut Repo Rate for 4th Time and is lowered by 35 bps to a 9-year low of 5.4%.
Current rates:
 Repo Rate: 5.40%
Reverse Repo Rate: 5.15%
Marginal Standing Facility: 5.65%
Bank Rate: 5.65%
Cash Reserve Ratio: 4%
SLR: 18.75%

· SBI Shanghai Branch linked up with National Advance Payment System of China
State Bank of India’s Shanghai branch has become first Indian bank to link up with
National Advance Payment System of China.
National Advance Payment System was launched in 2008 by People’s Bank of China
provides real-time settlement services for all payments.

· RBI has decided to allow fund transfers through NEFT on a 24×7 basis

RBI has decided to allow fund transfers through NEFT on a 24×7 basis from
December.
RBI had last month removed charges it levied on NEFT and RTGS transactions.
National Electronic Funds Transfer is an electronic funds transfer system maintained
by the Reserve Bank of India.

· Top-paid Bank CEO in India for FY19

1. Aditya Puri (HDFC Bank): - Rs 89 lakh per month

2. Amitabh Chaudhry (Axis Bank): - Rs 30 lakh per month
3. Uday Kotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank): - Rs 27 lakh per month

· India’s Forex Reserves has spotted the highest ever valuation of $430.57 bn

India’s forex reserves have spotted the highest ever valuation of $430.57 bn due to
rise in foreign currency assets.
Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) is the largest component of the forex reserve.
Foreign exchange reserves is money or other assets held by a central bank or other
monetary authority so that it can pay its liabilities, if needed, such as the currency
issued by the central bank, as well as the various bank reserves deposited with the
central bank by the government and other financial institutions.

Part of India’s foreign exchange reserves

1. Foreign currency assets
2. Gold
3. Special Drawing Rights
4. Reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund

· Canara Bank introduced OTP facility for ATM withdrawal

Public sector Bank, Canara Bank has launched India’s first OTP facility for ATM
withdrawals. This additional factor of authentication protects from unauthorized
 ATM cash withdrawals for cardholders.
Now Canara Bank ATMs get safer and more secured with OTP facility on cash
withdrawals above ₹10,000 in a day.

· Forbes’ Highest-Paid Female Athletes List

1. USA Tennis Player Serena Williams with estimated total earnings of $29.2 million
2. Japan Tennis Player Naomi Osaka with estimated total earnings of $24.3 million.

· Forbes’ Highest-Paid Male Athletes list

1. Footballer Lionel Messi with $127 million

2. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with $109 million
Cricket Virat Kohli is at 100th Position with $25 million.

· Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2019

1. Wrestler Bajrang Punia

2. Para Athlete Deepa Malik
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in
Sports and Games, is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award
is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office
from 1984 to 1989.

· Virgil van Dijk, Lucy Bronze win UEFA Award

Liverpool Football player Virgil van Dijk has won UEFA's Player of the Year award. He
was beating Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and Juventus superstar Cristiano
Ronaldo, while England footballer Lucy Bronze taking the Women's Player of the
Year award.
UEFA also handed out positional awards for male players, with Van Dijk for
Champions League Defender of the Season.

· FAME scheme

Department of Heavy Industry has sanctioned 5595 electric buses under second
phase of ‘Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles’ (FAME) scheme.

The FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles)
Scheme is an incentive scheme for the promotion of electric and hybrid vehicles in
the country.

Ultimate objective of the scheme is to promote electric mobility and the scheme
gives financial incentives for enhancing electric vehicle production and creation of
electric transportation infrastructure.
 Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on March 31st, 2019.
Phase II: started from April 1st, 2019, will be completed by March 31st, 2022.

· India’s first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata

India’s first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata under the Hooghly river in
Kolkata Metro project.
Piyush Goyal is an Indian politician and the current minister of Ministry of Railways
|Railways and Commerce in the Government of India.

· Bharatcraft Portal for MSMEs

Bharatcraft Portal will provide a platform for MSMEs to markets and sell their
products. Government has set a target to increase the contribution of MSMEs in the
manufacturing sector to 50% in the next five years

· Ocean energy gets renewable energy status

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has declared Ocean Energy as renewable
energy status. It has clarified to all stakeholders that energy produced using various
forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion and
shall be eligible for meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

· R-27 Air-to-Air Missile

India has signed a deal to acquire R-27 Air-to-Air Missiles from Russia to be equipped
on Su-30MKI combat aircraft.

· QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2019

QS Best Student Cities Ranking is compiled by Global Education Consultancy ‘QS

Quacquarelli Symonds’.
Top cities for students are: -
1. London, 2. Tokyo, 3. Melbourne

· World’s first negative interest home loan rate

Jyske Bank of Denmark has launched the world’s first negative interest home loan
rate where the interest charge is minus 0.5% a year.
Negative interest rates effectively mean that a bank pays a borrower to take money
off their hands, so they pay back less than they have been loaned.

· Order of Zayed to PM Modi

United Arab Emirates will honour Prime Minister Modi with the ‘Order of Zayed’.
The Order of Zayed is the United Arab Emirates’ highest civil decoration.
· Indonesia’s New Capital

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has formally proposed to parliament a plan to

move the country’s capital from Jakarta to Borneo.

· RuPay in Bhutan

Prime Minister Modi has launched RuPay Card in Bhutan by making a purchase at
Simtokha Dzong.

Reserve Bank of India and Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan would integrate the
financial switches of the two countries in order to simplify cross border transactions.
RuPay card scheme was conceived and launched by National Payments Corporation
of India on 26 March 2012.

It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open
and multilateral system of payments. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all
Indian banks and financial institutions.

· Amazon’s Largest-ever Campus

Amazon has opened its largest-ever campus in Hyderabad which can accommodate
15000 employees.
Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle,
Washington that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and
artificial intelligence. It is considered one of the Big Four technology companies
along with Google, Apple, and Facebook.

· Time’s list of world’s Greatest Places 2019

The Statue of Unity in Gujarat and Soho House in Mumbai were featured in Time’s
list of world’s Greatest Places 2019.
Soho House is an 11-storey building that comprises a library, a movie theatre with 34
seats and a rooftop bar and swimming pool, overlooking the Arabian Sea.

· World’s first Floating Nuclear Reactor

Akademik Lomonosov is the world’s first floating nuclear power plant is currently
being built at the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Floating nuclear power stations are vessels designed by Rosatom.

They are self-contained, low-capacity, floating nuclear power plants. The stations are
to be mass-produced at shipbuilding facilities and then towed to the destination
ports of the cities and towns experiencing deficit of power due to industrialization.
· The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance

PM Modi was conferred ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ by the King of
Bahrain.

· Narendra Modi launches RuPay card in UAE

Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has launched the RuPay card, making
the UAE the first country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system
of electronic payment. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve
Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.
RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.
India has already launched the RuPay card in Singapore and Bhutan.

· 45th G7 Summit begins in Biarritz, France

The Group of 7 or G7 Summit has begun in Biarritz, France. It is an informal meeting

between France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan,
Italy and Canada as well as the European Union. These world powers, which
represent 50% of the global economy, also share the values of freedom and
democracy, as well as a collective ambition to deal with the world’s major issues.

India has been invited as a special guest in the summit. PM Narendra Modi will
address sessions on the environment, climate, oceans and digital transformation at
the G7 Summit.

· State-run oil refiner Indian Oil Corporation Ltd will set up a 1 Giga Watt (GW) plant
to make batteries used for running electric vehicles (EVs) in partnership with an
overseas start-up using a non-lithium ion raw material. The move fits well with the
government's strategy to facilitate the adoption of EVs in the country's energy
basket, and cut the fuel import bill. It also supports a key element of the EVs industry
batteries and their recharge.

· Anshula Kant of India has been appointed as MD and CFO of World Bank.

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides interest-free

loans and grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing
capital projects.
Headquarters: Washington DC.

· Boris Johnson appointed as Britain’s next prime minister

Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as Britain’s next Prime Minister.

Boris Johnson, who was the face of the 2016 Brexit referendum, won the votes of
92,153members of the Conservative party. Queen Elizabeth will formally appoint
Johnson before he will enter Downing Street.
· Economic Survey of India 2019

Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian presented Economic Survey

2018-19 was guided by ‘Blue Sky Thinking’, thus the sky blue over on it.
India’s GDP to grow at 7.0% in 2019-20.
Fiscal Deficit: - 3.40%
Theme: ‘To enable Shifting Gears to accelerate and sustain a real GDP growth rate of
8% and thereby achieve the vision of $5 trillion economy’.
Blue-sky thinking (uncountable) (idiomatic) Thinking that is not grounded or in touch
with the realities of the present. Open-minded thinking.

· Apple’s New Acquisition

Apple Inc. has acquired Intel’s Smartphone Modem Business for $1 billion.
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company
headquartered in Santa Clara, California, in the Silicon Valley.

· Fortune Global 500 list

1. Walmart: USA Retail Giant

2. Sinopec Group: Chinese state-owned Oil and Gas Company
3. Royal Dutch Shell: Dutch Company

Reliance Industries Ltd has become highest-ranked Indian company on Fortune

Global 500 list at 106th position.
The Fortune Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top
500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue and the list is compiled and
published annually by Fortune magazine.

· Reebok’s New Brand Ambassador

Reebok has signed Actress Katrina Kaif and Varun Dhawan as its new brand
ambassador in India.
Reebok is an English footwear and apparel company, subsidiary of German sports
giant Adidas since 2005.

· Henley Passport Index 2019

Indian Passport was ranked 86th position with a mobility score of 58.
1. Japan and Singapore
2. South Korea, Germany and Finland
3. Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg

· First Indian firm to be granted USA patent

Quick Heal Technologies has become First Indian firm to be granted USA patent for
an anti-ransomware technology.
Quick Heal Technologies Ltd is an IT security solutions provider headquartered in
 Pune, India. The company was formerly known as CAT Computer Services Ltd and
was started as a computer service center in 1995. The company was renamed as
Quick Heal Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in 2007.

· India’s 100 Most Valuable Brand 2019 List

Brand Finance has released India’s 100 Most Valuable Brand 2019 List.
1. Tata, 2. LIC, 3. Infosys, 4. SBI, 5. Mahindra Group, 6. HDFC

· Asian Development Bank’s GDP Prediction for India

ADB has cut India’s GDP Growth Rate from 7.2% to 7.0% for FY20.
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19
December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of
Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.

· Ebix acquires YatraOnline

USA based Ebix has acquired travel portal Yatra Online for $337.8 million.
Yatra.com is an Indian online travel agency and travel search engine. It is based in
Gurugram, Haryana. It was founded by Dhruv Shringi, Manish Amin and Sabina
Chopra in August 2006.

· ‘Internet Saathi’ Programme

‘Internet Saathi’ is an initiative of Google India and Tata Trusts which is aimed at
facilitating digital literacy among women in rural India.
It will be expanded to villages in Punjab and Odisha.
Chief of ‘Internet Saathi’ Google India: Neha Barjatya.

· Aditya Birla Payments Bank

Aditya Birla Payments Bank has announced the shutting down of its operation.
Aditya Birla Payments Bank was a joint venture between Grasim and Vodafone Idea.

· India’s Growth Forecast by IMF

According to IMF, India’s GDP growth is expected to grow by 7% in 2019-20 and 7.2%
in 2020-21.

The International Monetary Fund, also known as the Fund, is an international

organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 189 countries working
to foster global monetary cooperation.
· Google’s New Acquisition

Google has acquired Israeli-US cloud storage start up ‘Elastifile’ for around $200
million.
Startup Elastifile will join Google Cloud post-acquisition.

· IBM acquired American software company Red Hat Inc

International Business Machines Corp acquired a software company Red Hat Inc in
$34 billion for the ramp-up its cloud computing business. This is the company’s
biggest acquisition in its more than 100-year.

· GST rate on electric vehicles

GST Council has decided to reduce GST rate on Electric Vehicles to 5% from August 1.
This follows government announcing ₹1.5-lakh income tax deduction on loan
interest for purchasing Electric Vehicles.

· Microsoft acquires data privacy & governance startup BlueTalon

Microsoft has acquired data privacy, governance service firm BlueTalon. BlueTalon
helps enterprises set policies for how their employees can access their
data. BlueTalon works with leading Fortune 100 companies to eliminate data
security blind spots and gain visibility and control of data.

· Deposits in Jan Dhan Yojana accounts cross Rs 1 lakh crore

Deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme have crossed the Rs 1
lakh crore mark.
As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan
Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore as on July 3.
The PMJDY was launched on August 28, 2014, with an aim to provide universal
access to banking facilities to the people in the country.

· UJALA scheme

Over 35 crore LED bulbs will be distributed under UJALA scheme.

UJALA: - Unnat Jeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All.
RK Singh has been appointed as Minister of Power in Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s cabinet.

· Tiger Census 2018

Total number of tigers in India: 2967

Top 3 states: Madhya Pradesh (526), Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442)
 States covered: 20
Tiger reserves where no tigers were sighted: Buxa, Palamu and Dampa

· RTI Amendment Bill 2019

Important amendments to Right to Information Act, 2005

Term of the Information Commissioners: The term of the Chief Information

Commissioner and Information Commissioners at the Central and State level was 5
years as per the act. After the amendment, the Central Govt will notify the term of
the office for CIC and IC.

Salary: The salary of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information

Commissioners at the Central and State level was equivalent to the Chief Election
Commissioner and Election Commissioners. After the amendment, the Central Govt
will determine the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of
CIC and IC.

· Launch of Chandrayaan-2

Launch date and time: 22 July 2019 1443 hours

Launched from: Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
Launch vehicle: GSLV MkIII-M1

· STRIDE Scheme

University Grants Commission has approved a ‘Scheme for Trans-disciplinary

Research for India’s Developing Economy’ to boost research culture.
Chairman of Advisory Committee: - Bhushan Patwardhan.
Aim: - Identification of young talent, strengthen research culture, build capacity,
promote innovation and support trans disciplinary research.

· Jaipur City as UNESCO World Heritage Site

Jaipur City has been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites that include 30 Cultural Sites, 7
Natural and 1 mixed site.
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural,
historical, scientific or other form of significance, and is legally protected by
international treaties.
· Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan Yojana

Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-Dhan Yojana was launched by the Union labour
and Employment ministry for retailers and small traders.
A minimum monthly pension of Rs 3000/month to small shopkeepers, retail traders,
and the self-employed people aged between 18-40 years after they attain 60 years
of age.
It is an extension of Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan.

· Kaiga Atomic Energy station

Kaiga Atomic Energy station, Karnataka set a World Record in continuous operation
of 962 days by Unit-1 of Kaiga Generating Station.
Kaiga Generating Station is a nuclear power generating station situated at Kaiga,
near the river Kali, in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India.
The plant has been in operation since March 2000 and is operated by the Nuclear
Power Corporation of India. It has four units.

· Rooftop Solar Installation

Gujarat ranked on top in installation of rooftop solar projects with an installed

capacity of 261.97 megawatts.

· India’s Targets to be achieved

To generate Renewable Energy: 175 GW by: 2022

To generate Solar Power: 100 GW by: 2022
Doubling Income of Farmers: 2022
Housing for All: 2022
Eradication of Malaria: 2030
Eradication of TB: 2025
Nal Jal Scheme: Piped water to every house: 2024

· Longest electrified railway tunnel in India

South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel in India.
It is between Cherlopalli (Andhra Pradesh) and Rapuru (Andhra Pradesh) stations is
6.6 km long

· COP-14 of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

India will be hosting 14th session of Conference of Parties of United Nations

Convention to Combat Desertification for the first time.
 The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries
Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate
the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term
strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.
COP 14: New Delhi (India), 2 to 13 September 2019.

· ‘Sonali’ Jute Poly Bags

Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a converted Bio-Degradable Cellulose

Sheets from Jute fibre named ‘Sonali’.
Eco-friendly ‘Sonali’ Jute Poly Bags can be used in garments and food packaging
work.
India is the largest jute producing country in the world, with annual production
estimated at more 1.968 million tonnes.
Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the second largest producer of jute in the world, with
annual production estimated at 1.349 million tonnes.

· Sri Lanka eliminates measles

Sri Lanka has become fifth country in the World Health Organisation (WHO)
Southeast Asia region to eliminate measles.
The other countries in the region which have achieved this feat are Bhutan,
Maldives, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste.

· FIFA Women's World Cup 2019

1. Host: France
2. Winner: United States of America
3. Runner-up: Netherlands
4. Golden Boot (Top scorer): Megan Rapinoe (USA)
5. Golden Ball (Best overall scorer): Megan Rapinoe (USA)
6. Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper): Sari van Veenendaal (Netherlands)

· Wimbledon 2019

Title Winner Runner-up

Novak Roger Federer

Gentlemen's
Djokovic (Switzerland)
Singles
(Serbia)
 Simona Halep Serena Williams
Ladies' Singles (United States)
(Romania)

· FORMULA One 2019 WINNER till now

1. Lewis Hamliton (UK)

Bahrain GP, Chinese GP, Spanish GP, Monaco GP, Canadian GP, French GP, British
GP
2. Volttari Bottas (Finland)
Azerbaijan GP, Australian GP
3. Max Verstappen (Belgium)
Austrian GP, German GP

· FIFA Ranking for Indian Football Team

The Indian Women’s Football Team has jumped six places to reach 57th spot in the
latest FIFA team rankings 2019.
The Indian Men’s Football Team is at 101th Position.

· ICC suspends Zimbabwe Cricket

International Cricket Council has suspended Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate
effect.
Zimbabwe Cricket has failed to fulfil its obligation of ensuring that there is no
government interference in its administration.
The International Cricket Council is the global governing body of cricket. It was
founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from
Australia, England and South Africa. It was renamed as the International Cricket
Conference in 1965, and took up its current name in 1989.

· New Sponsor for Team India

BCCI has announced BYJU’S as a new sponsor for the Indian team.
BYJU’S will be taking over the sponsorship from OPPO.
BYJU’S – The Learning App is the common brand name for Think and Learn Private
Ltd., a Bangalore-based educational technology and online tutoring firm founded in
2011 by Byju Ravindran at Bengaluru.

· Khelo India Youth Games 2020

Khelo India Youth Games 2020 will be held in Guwahati.

 Khelo India Youth Games, formerly Khelo India School Games, meaning Play India
Youth Games, held annually in January or February, are the national level
multidisciplinary grass root games in India held for two categories, namely under-17
school students and under-21 college students.

· Tour de France

Egan Bernal of Colombia has won Tour de France Title.

He has become the first Latin American winner of the race.
The Tour de France is an annual men’s multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in
France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other
Grand Tours, it consists of 21 day-long stages over the course of 23 days. It “is the
world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle race”.

· World Test Championship

The ICC World Test Championship will be a league competition for Test cricket run by
the International Cricket Council, starting in 2019.
It is intended to become the premier championship for Test cricket.
It is to be played over two years
It will start from 1 August 2019 with the first Test of the 2019 Ashes series and finish
with a final at Lord’s in England in June 2021.

· Anupam Kher pens his autobiography: "Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly"

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher is coming out with his autobiography, "Lessons Life
Taught Me Unknowingly".
Anupam Kher is one of the most prolific actors in the Indian film industry who has
acted in over 530 films in several languages, both in India and the West.

· Reckitt Names PepsiCo’s Laxman Narasimhan as CEO

British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser named PepsiCo executive Laxman
Narasimhan to succeed Rakesh Kapoor as chief executive officer.
Narasimhan, PepsiCo's global chief commercial officer, will join Reckitt as CEO-
designate and be appointed to the board on July 16. He will become group CEO on
September 1.

· Om Birla Elected As 17th Lok Sabha Speaker

Om Birla, a two-time Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) from
Rajasthan, was unanimously elected as the 17th Lok Sabha Speaker. Om Birla was
elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from the Kota-Bundi constituency.
· Qu Dongyu becomes first Chinese to head FAO

Qu Dongyu becomes the first Chinese national to head the UN's Food and
Agriculture Organization.
Qu Dongyu will replace Brazil's Jose Graziano da Silva. He is a biologist by training
and has 30 years of experience in developing digital technologies in agriculture and
introducing micro credit in rural areas.

· Amitabh Kant gets two-year extension as NITI Aayog CEO

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of Amitabh
Kant’s tenure as the CEO of NITI Aayog beyond June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2021.
NITI Aayog: National Institution for Transforming India.
NITI Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant, Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar.

· Ann Sarnoff becomes the first female CEO of Warner Bros

Warner Media, part of AT&T Inc, has appointed Ann Sarnoff as the chief executive
officer of Warner Bros. Ann Sarnoff has become the first female CEO of Warner Bros.
She will be replacing Kevin Tsujihara.

· ONGC topples IOC to regain most profitable public sector company

ONGC, India’s top oil and gas producer, has toppled Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to regain the
crown of being the country’s most profitable public sector company. According to
earnings statements of the listed companies, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) reported
a 34 per cent jump it’s in 2018-19 fiscal net profit to Rs. 26,716 crore.

In comparison, IOC registered a net profit of Rs 17.274 crore for the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2019. ONGC, in the previous two financial years, had lost the most profitable
PSU tag to IOC.

· Nilekani panel suggests 24x7 RTGS, NEFT, elimination of all charges

To encourage digital payments, the Nandan Nilekani committee has suggested a host of
measures, including elimination of charges, round-the-clock RTGS and NEFT facility, and
duty-free import of point-of-sales machines.

The committee, which was appointed by the RBI, had submitted its suggestions on
promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das last month.

· Indian Oil, BPCL And HPCL Ink JV For Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline Project

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd
 (HPCL) had signed a joint venture in New Delhi for Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline
Project. They will be laying the world’s longest LPG pipeline from Kandla (Gujarat) to
Gorakhpur (UP).
The Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline is estimated to cost about Rs 10,000 crore. It would
be implemented by a Joint Venture Company of Indian Oil with 50% shareholding. BPCL
and HPCL will have 25% share each.

· World Bank Retains Growth Forecast for Indian Economy At 7.5%

The World Bank retained its forecast of India's growth rate at 7.5% for the current
financial Year 2019/20.
In its Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank also mentioned that growth
rate is expected to remain the same for the next two fiscals.

· Azim Premji To Retire as Executive Chairman of Wipro in July

IT Industry icon Azim Premji will retire as Executive Chairman of Wipro with effect from
30th July 2019. He led the company for 53 years. He will continue to serve on the board
as Non-Executive Director and founder Chairman. His son Rishad Premji, Chief Strategy
Officer and a board member will take over as the Executive Chairman of the company.

· Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) acquires Jaypore

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), which retails brands such as Louis Philippe,
Peter England and Van Heusen, has acquired ethnic apparel and lifestyle retailer
‘Jaypore E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd‘ which sells ethnic fashion merchandise under its own
brand ‘Jaypore’ for Rs 110 crore.

· RBI constitutes six-member panel to review ATM interchange fee structure

The Reserve Bank of India constituted a six-member committee to review the ATM
interchange fee structure with a "view to increase the ATM deployment in the unbanked
areas".
The committee will be led by V G Kannan, Chief Executive, Indian Banks Association.

· Dell has emerged as the most trusted brand in India in 2019: TRA
According to a report released by brand analytics firm TRA Research, “Dell” has emerged
as the most trusted brand in India in 2019. With 31% Brand Trust Index (BTI) difference
from Dell, auto brand Jeep makes a dramatic entry in the second spot. LIC and Amazon
are ranked on the third and fourth spots and Apple iPhone emerged as India’s fifth most
trusted brand.

· Facebook backs Meesho in first startup investment in India

Social networking giant Facebook has picked up a minority stake in social-commerce

company Meesho in its first startup investment in the country.
 Bengaluru-based startup connects re-sellers to manufacturers to sell goods via social
media platforms.

· Facebook launches cryptocurrency "Libra"

Facebook has announced a digital currency called Libra that will allow its billions of
users to make financial transactions across the globe.
Libra is being touted as a means to connect people who do not have access to traditional
banking platforms. Technology to make transactions with Libra will be available as a
standalone app as well as on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger platforms as early
as 2020.

· Fitch cuts India growth forecast to 6.6% for 2019-20 fiscal

In its latest Global Economic Outlook, the global rating agency Fitch lowers India's
growth forecast from 6.8% to 6.6% for the current fiscal, as manufacturing and
agriculture sectors showed signs of slowing down over the past year.
Fitch also retained its GDP growth forecast for the next fiscal (2020-21) at 7.1% and 7.0%
for 2021-22.

· "Amazon India" best place to work in the country

Randstad rates Amazon India as country’s most attractive employer brand. Microsoft
India emerged as the runner-up.
As per the study, salary and employee benefits continue to be the top driver, while
choosing an employer for the Indian workforce, followed by work-life balance and job
security.

· French Open 2019

Title Winner Runner-up

Men's Rafael Nadal Dominic Thiem
Singles (Spain) (Austria)
Ashleigh Marketa
Women's
Barty Vondrousova
Singles
(Australia) (Czech Republic)
Note: Rafael Nadal has won 12 French Open titles which is the highest for any player.

· Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur to win Champions League trophy

In Football, Liverpool breezed past Tottenham at Madrid to win the Champions League
for the sixth time. In the all-English showpiece, the Reds got the better of Spurs with a 2-
nil win. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front after just two minutes when he converted
a penalty following a handball by Moussa Sissoko. Last season, Liverpool had lost to Real
Madrid, 1-3, at Kiev.