6th JULY CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. MP govt launches outstanding power bill waiver scheme ‘Sambal’

In Madhya Pradesh, the government has launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power scheme ‘Sambal’ for labourers and poor families.

• Under the scheme, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families would be provided electricity at a cost of 200 rupees per month.
• One crore 83 lakh workers registered under Sambal Yojana in the state till now.
• Under this scheme, outstanding electricity bill worth five thousand 179 crores rupees is to be waived off. 

2. Vaccine-preventable rabies is India’s most fatal infection

Rabies is the only disease that had a 100% death rate in India in 2017, compared to 12% for Japanese encephalitis and 6% for H1N1, popularly known as swine flu, according to data from the National Health Profile 2018.

• There were 4,370 rabies deaths in India in 2016, which accounted for one in three of the world’s 13,340 rabies deaths.
• Only six persons have survived rabies infection in India since 2010.

3. Dr. Mahesh Shrama Inaugurates exhibition titled "Arth - art for earth"

Union Minister of State for Culture(I/c), Dr. Mahesh Shrama, inaugurated exhibition titled "Arth - art for earth" at IGNCA, New Delhi.

• ‘ARTH - ART FOR EARTH’ by Manav Gupta consists of "Excavations in Hymns of Clay"-a suite of environmental art installations by Manav Gupta weaving all of them with a storyline and poetry.
• It is an evolving site, specific and dynamic engagement with the space it has an interface with - whether it be the Travelling or the Permanent editions.

4. Successful flight testing of Crew Escape System - Technology Demonstrator

ISRO carried out a major technology demonstration, the first in a series of tests to qualify a Crew Escape System, which is a critical technology relevant for human spaceflight.

• The Crew Escape System is an emergency escape measure designed to quickly pull the crew module along with the astronauts to a safe distance from the launch vehicle in the event of a launch abort.
• The first test (Pad Abort Test) demonstrated the safe recovery of the crew module in case of any exigency at the launch pad.

5. ICAT releases First BS-VI engine certificate

ICAT has completed the first BS-VI certification for a heavy duty engine model for M/s Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicle Limited.

• The engine has been developed and manufactured indigenously by Volvo Eicher in India.
• The successful completion of the compliance test of the engine, much ahead of the implementation date of 1 April, 2020, gives sufficient time for product stabilization in terms of making it more robust and cost competitive for the end consumers.

6. Govt. launches GST ‘Verify App’

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has developed and launched a mobile app named ‘GST Verify’ to protect interest of consumers.

• The application is to verify if the person collecting GST from the consumer is eligible to collect it or not.
• It also provides the details of the person / company collecting GST.

7. Vishwas Patel appointed Payments Council of India Chairman

Payments Council of India (PCI), an apex body representing companies in payments and settlement system, has a new Chairman in Vishwas Patel.

• Patel, who is Director at Infibeam Avenues, has been associated with PCI since its inception in 2013 and was serving as the co-Chairman of PCI.
• He takes over from Naveen Surya, who has been elevated to the post of Chairman Emeritus.

8. Former Patna HC CJ L. Narasimha Reddy appointed As CAT Chairman

The Cabinet has approved the appointment of Former Chief Justice of Patna High Court, Justice L. Narasimha Reddy as the Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

• As per an Information Note, necessary communication in this regard has been sent to the Department of Personnel and Training.
• He served as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court from 2 January, 2015 to 31 July, 2015.
• He was the one-man judicial commission appointed by the Centre to look into the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme.