18 JULY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST)

Customers will have to pay a 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on pre-packed, labelled food items such as atta, paneer and curd, besides hospital rooms with rents above ₹5,000, starting from 18 July 2022.

About:

Hotel rooms with tariffs of up to ₹1,000 a day, maps and charts, including atlases, will attract a 12% GST, while cartons and fees charged by banks for the issue of cheques (loose or in book form) will attract 18%.
Tax rates on products such as printing, writing or drawing ink; knives with cutting blades, pencil sharpeners; LED lamps; and drawing instruments will be hiked to 18% on July 18, 2022, from 12% currently, to correct the inverted duty anomaly.
Solar water heaters will now attract a 12% GST from the 5% earlier.
The tax on services such as work contracts for roads, bridges, railways, metro facilities, effluent treatment plants and crematoriums will go up to 18% from the current 12%.
Renting of trucks and goods carriages where the cost of fuel is included will now attract a lower 12% rate as against 18%.

Source : The Hindu

2. FARM LOAN WAIVER SCHEMES

Only about half of the intended beneficiaries of farm loan waivers announced by nine States since 2014 have actually received debt write-offs, shows a study by State Bank of India researchers.

About:

As of March 2022, the poorest implementation of farm loan waiver schemes in terms of proportion of eligible farmers who had received the announced benefits was in Telangana (5%), Madhya Pradesh (12%), Jharkhand (13%), Punjab (24%), Karnataka (38%) and Uttar Pradesh (52%).
By contrast, farm loan waivers implemented by Chhattisgarh in 2018 and Maharashtra in 2020 were received by 100% and 91% of the eligible farmers, respectively.
A similar waiver announced by Maharashtra in 2017 worth ₹34,000 crore for 67 lakh farmers has been implemented for 68% of beneficiaries, SBI researchers reckoned.
The SBI study was based on the outcomes of 10 farm loan write-offs worth about ₹2.53 lakh crore announced by nine States, starting with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in 2014.
The report identified rejection of farmers’ claims by State governments, limited or low fiscal space to meet promises, and change in governments in subsequent years, as the possible reasons for the low implementation rate of these loan waivers.

Source : The Hindu

3. SINDHUDHVAJ

The Navy’s Kilo class submarine INS Sindhudhvaj was decommissioned from service at Visakhapatnam after 35 years in service. With this, the Navy now has 15 conventional submarines in service.

About:

She had many a firsts to her credit, including operationalisation of the indigenised sonar USHUS, indigenised satellite communication system Rukmani and MSS, inertial navigation system and indigenised torpedo fire control system, the Navy said.
Commissioned into the Navy in June 1987, Sindhudhvaj, was one of the 10 Kilo class submarines India acquired from Russia between 1986 and 2000. Of these, Sindhurakshak was lost in an accident in Mumbai harbour in August 2013, while Sindhuvir was transferred to Myanmar in 2020, making it the Southeast Asian nation’s first underwater platform.
The Navy’s sub-surface fleet now includes seven Russian Kilo class submarines, four German HDW submarines, four French Scorpene submarines and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarine Arihant. The last two of the Scorpene class submarines are in various stages of trials and outfitting.

Source : The Hindu

4. MURALI SREESHANKAR

Murali Sreeshankar becomes first Indian to enter men's long jump final at World Athletics Championships

About:

In the World Athletics Championships, Murali Sreeshankar has become the first Indian to enter the men's long jump final at Oregon, USA. He leapt 8 meter in the qualification round.
The 23-year-old from Kerala finished second in qualification round Group B and seventh overall.
The World Athletics Championships is a congregation of over 2000 athletes from 200 countries around the world.
The 10-day biennial event will come to conclusion on 24th of this month. The championships are being held in the United States of America for the very first time at the Hayward Field Stadium at the University of Oregon.

Source : All India Radio

5. AVIATION PASSENGER CHARTER

The British government launched an "Aviation Passenger Charter" to help passengers know their rights if they are faced with problems at airports after the widespread disruption seen this year.

About:

Long queues and cancelled flights caused by staff shortages have caused chaos at times, prompting airlines to cut back their schedules as the industry struggles to keep up with a surge in demand after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new charter will help passengers know what to do if they are confronted by cancellations, delays or missing baggage.

Source : All India Radio

6. COVID-19 VACCINATION

On July 17, 2022, India crossed the milestone of administering two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccine within 18 months of launching the vaccination drive in January last year.

About:

World Health Organisation (WHO) has hailed India for administering over two billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. Earlier last year, the country had administered one billion doses within nine months (October) of the start of the vaccination drive.
The Centre has announced a special drive ‘COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava’ to be launched to provide free precaution doses at all Government Covid Vaccination Centres for persons aged 18 years and above for 75 days from July 15 to September 30, 2022.

Source : The Print

7. WILDFIRES

Europe is battling intense wildfires with countries like Spain, Greece and France struggling to stamp out fires and contain the damage.

Why are wildfires worsening?

Wildfires require right climatic conditions, burnable fuel and a spark.
Rising temperatures suck moisture out of plants, creating an abundance of dry fuel.
Drought and high heat can kill plants and dry out dead grass, and other material on the forest floor that fuel the fire once it starts sweeping through a patch.
While dry vegetation is the burnable fuel that serves as kindling for fires, the spark is sometimes caused by lightning, at other times by accident or recklessness of the local population.
As for Europe, the region has been hit by an early fire season due to an unusually dry, hot spring that left the soil parched. Authorities attribute this to climate change.

Source : Indian Express

8. PIGMENTED CAROTENOIDS

Women tend to live longer than men, but typically have higher rates of illness.

About:

Now, research from University of Georgia (UGA) suggests these higher rates of illness can be improved by a better diet — one that is high in pigmented carotenoids such as yams, kale, spinach, watermelon, bell peppers, tomatoes, oranges and carrots.
These bright-coloured fruits and vegetables are particularly important in preventing visual and cognitive loss.
Women have, on average, more body fat than men. Body fat serves as a significant sink for many dietary vitamins and minerals, which creates a useful reservoir for women during pregnancy.
This availability, however, means less is available for the retina and the brain, putting women at more risk for degenerative problems.
Dietary intake of pigmented carotenoids act as antioxidants. Two specific carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, are found in specific tissues of the eye and brain and have been shown to directly improve central nervous system degeneration.

Source : Indian Express

9. KALA AZAR

Eleven districts of Bengal reported at least 65 cases of black fever or ‘Kala-Azar disease in the last couple of weeks.

About:

Kala-azar or Visceral Leishmaniasis is a protozoan parasitic disease, spread by sandfly bites. Sandflies are brown in colour and have hairs on their bodies.
The flies are infected with the parasite called ‘leishmania donovani’.
The vector sandfly is known to live in cracks and crevices of muddy houses, especially in dark and humid corners. According to the WHO, there are 3 main forms of leishmaniases of which kala-azar is the most serious form.
The disease affects some of the poorest people and is linked to malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, a weak immune system and a lack of financial resources.
Leishmaniasis is also linked to environmental changes such as deforestation, and urbanisation, according to WHO.
In 2020, more than 90 per cent of new cases reported to WHO occurred in 10 countries: Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen.
In India, the disease is endemic in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Source : Indian Express

10. WIND INSTRUMENTS

Just like coughing, sneezing, talking and singing, playing wind instruments — particularly brass ones — can spread respiratory particles that may carry the virus that causes Covid-19, according to a study from Colorado State University (CSU).

About:

Brass instruments, on average, produced 191 per cent more aerosols than woodwinds, the release said.
Being male was associated with a 70 per cent increase in emissions from instrument-playing, probably due to lung size and capacity, the researchers think.
Louder playing of brass instruments was associated with higher particle counts, but louder playing of woodwinds didn’t increase emissions.

Source : Indian Express

18 JULY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

13 JULY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

19 JULY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

Categories

Latest Affair