EduNews- 7 July 24 ( Daily current Affeirs for Gov. Exam Preprations)

 

 

Banks to give home loans even to non-salaried on digital payments history

After a new credit assessment model for MSMEs announced in the Budget, the Finance Ministry is now developing a similar product to provide home loans based on the digital footprints of an individual, said Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi.

The move would be beneficial for individuals applying for home loans whose creditworthiness is not easy to determine.

In Budget 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that public sector banks (PSBs) will build their in-house capability to assess MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) for credit. -01, 02

 

Falsehood being spread, Agnipath meant to keep force young, ready: PM

In his strongest defence of the Agnipath scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday said its "aim is to keep the force young and to keep them ready for war at all times", but "some people" have turned it into a "matter of politics".

The scheme - under which around 45,000 to 50,000 soldiers are supposed to be recruited annually, and most will leave the service in four years - has been frequently criticised by the Opposition.

In fact, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, Opposition leaders led by Congress's Rahul Gandhi had tried to tap into what they felt was anger over the scheme. -01, 02

 

Private Bills in House: 10 Lok Sabha seats for youth to another spl package for Bihar

From reservation for the socially disadvantaged in the private sector to keeping 10 seats in Lok Sabha for those aged under 35 years, a special package for Dalits and backward communities in Bihar to a special Act to control floods in the state these were some of the Private Member's Bills introduced by MPs across party lines in the Lower House on Friday. -06

 

'Govt must look into tabling Shah panel report on Emergency'

 

Vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar, the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, said on Friday that the government should consider the possibility of tabling the report of the Shah Commission, which had investigated the excesses of the Emergency imposed in 1975, in the House.

"The report of the Shah Commission that was formed to investigate the darkest period of Indian democracy relates to atrocities committed during the Emergency imposed in 1975.

The government must examine the possibility of having its authentic report and place it on the table of the House," he said. -06

 

India, US sign cultural property pact on return of smuggled antiquities

India and the US signed a bilateral cultural property agreement Friday to facilitate the return of stolen and smuggled antiquities, many of which find their way to the US.

This agreement has a defined framework for the return of such artefacts to India and will facilitate smooth and early repatriation, officials said, and will also help prevent future trafficking.

The agreement was signed by US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti and Culture Secretary Govind Mohan, on the sidelines of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi. -09

 

At ASEAN meet, Jaishankar holds talks with Lavrov, other leaders

 

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and leaders from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Laos and others and discussed various aspects of bilateral collaboration, including education and agriculture technology.

Jaishankar is in the capital of the Laos People's Democratic Republic to participate in the meetings of ASEAN. He met Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting.

Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart from South Korea and had a wide-ranging conversation on Special Strategic Partnership. -09

 

NSA Doval calls for increased cooperation in counter-terrorism

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval met his Myanmarese counterpart Admiral Moe Aung on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC grouping's meeting.

The meeting with the top leadership of the Myanmar government assumes significance since the country has been witnessing widespread violent protests demanding restoration of democracy since the military seized power in a coup on February 1, 2021.

Several parts of Myanmar have been witnessing intense fighting between the military junta and resistance forces, who have captured several towns.

Doval is in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw to attend a meeting of security chiefs of member nations of BIMSTEC grouping, according to the Indian embassy in Yangon. -09

 

Charaideo Moidams, burial mounds of Ahom royalty, now included in list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The Charaideo Moidams of Assam, burial mounds of Ahom royalty, were on Friday included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the cultural category, the first such recognition for a site from the Northeast.

The announcement was made during the 46th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee held in Delhi. The Charaideo Moidams were the only nomination made by India in the cultural category. -09

 

Israeli PM to meet Trump in Florida, seeks to ease tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit former U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump's Florida resort on Friday, a meeting that could ease recent tensions between leaders who forged a close alliance during Trump's years in the White House.

Netanyahu's visit to Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 U.S. presidential race, comes a day after meetings in Washington with Democratic President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump.

The Israeli leader rearranged the travel schedule for his visit to go to Florida for a session with Trump. -13

A LACK OF AMBITION

 

The Union Budget has received kudos for staying the course on fiscal consolidation, but has also been panned for being short on big ideas. A case in point is the farm sector.

Despite Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman listing "productivity and resilience in agriculture" as the first of her nine priorities, there's little in the proposals that captures the imagination.

The plan to "initiate" one crore farmers into natural farming "in the next two years" is a virtual repetition of the budget promises of 2023-24 (to "facilitate" one crore farmers to adopt the same "over the next three years") and 2022-23 (to "promote" chemical-free farming in 5-km wide corridors along the river Ganga). Building a digital public infrastructure for agriculture to upload the details of farmers and their lands found mention in last year's budget too.

Developing large-scale clusters and supply chains for vegetables was discussed in the 2018-19 budget with reference to an Operation Greens scheme specific to tomato, onion and potato.-14

 

Govt to form inter-ministerial core group on employment, integration of jobs data

A core group of officials drawn from multiple government departments and ministries will work towards integrating efforts to deal with the imperative of employment generation. This would be done by way of streamlining efforts and integration data sets, which are "currently existing in silos", a statement from the Ministry of Labour and Employment said.

The inter-ministerial meeting comes close on the heels of the announcement made in Budget 2024-25 about three employment-linked incentive (ELI) schemes for two years and an internship programme in partnership with India Inc for five years.

Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya, who chaired an interministerial meeting on employment data on Friday, said there is a need to integrate multiple data sources on employment generation existing across various departments and ministries of the government "to develop a system that captures a holistic picture of employment generation. -17

 

Cheaper cancer drugs

In Her Budget 2024-25 speech on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced customs duty exemptions on three targeted cancer drugs-trastuzumab deruxtecan, osimertinib, and durvalumab. Before the Budget announcement, the customs duty on these drugs stood at around 10%.

The decision is likely to make these drugs more accessible to Indian patients, and reduce the overall cost of cancer therapies.

First, what are targeted cancer drugs?

Targeted cancer drugs are designed to attack only the cancer cells, leaving the normal cells unaffected. They target specific genetic changes in cancer cells that help them grow, divide, and spread.

These drugs have better outcomes and fewer side effects compared to traditional chemotherapy drugs that indiscriminately target all cells.

Newer targeted cancer therapies such as immunotherapy do not target the cancer it- self by using any drug. Instead, they train the patient's immune system to find and attack the cancer cells. -18

 

Resource - THE INDIAN EXPRESS