Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 July 2020

::NATIONAL::

Visitors to Centrally protected monuments, which will be reopened to the public from July 6, will have to wear masks, buy tickets online and not pose for any group photos, according to the Union Culture Ministry.
Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel announced on Thursday that all monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) would be opened from July 6.
Last month, the ASI had reopened 821 monuments that had places of worship after a decision by the Union Home Ministry. Now, all 3,691 monuments and sites of the ASI would reopen, subject to the rules of the Home and Health Ministries, the Minister said.
According to the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the Culture Ministry, monuments in containment zones would remain closed to the public and the decision of local administrations would apply.

Government today said that 19 lakh tap connections have been provided in villages across the country under JalJeevan Mission during lockdown period.
Jal Shakti Ministry said, this has happened because of concerted efforts of the States despite adverse working conditions due to Covid-19 pandemic. The aim of this mission is to provide 55 litres of potable water per person per day to every rural household of the country by 2024.
The Ministry said, more than eight thousand crore rupees Central fund have been made available with States during the current year for implementation of this mission. It said, when the whole country is fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, Central Government is making all efforts for provision of safe drinking water in rural areas by providing tap connections.

The Union Government has launched the Special Liquidity Scheme of 30 thousand crore rupees to improve the liquidity position for Non-Banking Finance Companies- NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies- HFCs. The scheme was launched yesterday through a Special Purpose Vehicle in the form of SLS Trust set up by SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP).
Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman had announced it on 13th of March this year. Ministry of Finance in a statement said, Reserve Bank of India will provide funds for the Scheme by subscribing to government guaranteed special securities issued by the Trust.
The total amount of such securities issued outstanding shall not exceed 30 thousand crore rupees at any point of time. The Central Government will provide an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee to the special securities issued by the Trust.
The Scheme will remain open for three months for making subions by the Trust. The period of lending by the Trust will be for a period of up to 90 days. The financing would be used by the NFBCs and HFCs only to repay existing liabilities and not to expand assets

Reserve Bank of India today said, direct investment into the country rose by 19 billion US dollar while portfolio investment declined by 13.7 billion dollar during 2019-20.
According to the data on the International Investment Position,IIP released by RBI today stated that international financial assets of Indian residents increased by 73.9 billion dollar due to the rise in reserve assets and overseas direct investment by 64.9 billion dollar and 13.0 billion dollar, respectively.
It said that though other investments declined marginally during the year.The RBI said that overall, net claims of non-residents on India declined by 57.6 billion dollar during the year.

The Arbitral Tribunal, constituted on request of Italy in respect of dispute concerning incident involving Italian tanker EnricaLexie and Indian fishing vessel St. Anthony in 2012, has upheld conduct of Indian authorities with relation to the incident.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson AnuragSrivastava said in a virtual briefing that the Tribunal held that actions of Italian military officers breached India's freedom of navigation.
It decided that India is entitled to compensation for loss of life, material damage to property and moral harm suffered by captain and crew of St. Anthony. The Tribunal also held that the parties are invited to consult with each other to reach an agreement on the amount of compensation due to India.
It rejected Italy’s claim to compensation for the detention of the Marines. The Tribunal also decided that it shall retain jurisdiction if either Party or both Parties wish to apply for a ruling from the Arbitral Tribunal in respect of the quantification of compensation due to India. Mr Srivastava has said, India has taken note of the Award and will be in touch with relevant entities on the matter.
India asks Pakistan to vacate all Indian territories under illegal occupation

Defence Acquisition Council ( DAC) in its meeting held yesterday accorded approval for Capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces. Proposals for an approximate cost of 38900 Crore rupees were approved.
The meeting chaired by Defence minister Rajnath Singh focused on indigenous design and development. These approvals include acquisitions from Indian Industry amounting to 31130 Crore rupees.
The equipments are to be manufactured in India involving Indian Defence Industry with participation of several MSMEs as prime tier vendors. The Indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80 per cent of the project cost.
A large number of these projects have been made possible due to Transfer of Technology by DRDO to the Indigenous Industry. These include Pinaka ammunitions, BMP armament upgrades and Software Defined

Legendary batsman Everton Weekes, the last of the famed 'Three Ws' of West Indies cricket, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 95.
Barbadian Weekes was part of a feared post-World War II West Indies team which also featured Frank Worrell and Clyde Walcott. Worrell passed away in 1967 and Walcott in 2006. All three had been born within a mile-and-a-half of each other over an 18-month period. Today, the national stadium in Bridgetown is named the Three Ws Oval.
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