1) PM Modi announces Rs2,350-crore flood relief for North-East
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a package of Rs2,350 crore for all North-East states for mitigating the impact of floods on short- and long-term basis. Modi, on a day-long visit to Guwahati, met the Chief Ministers of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland to take stock of the flood situation.
•In addition to that, the Prime Minister has announced a Rs100 crore corpus for setting up a research project to study the Brahmaputra and its role in creating devastating flood. Out of the Rs 2350 crore announced by the PM, Rs 1200 crore will be given by the Union.
2) Mukesh Ambani Becomes Asia’s Second-Richest Person
•Mukesh Ambani has elbowed past Li Ka-shing to become Asia’s second-richest man as investors rallied behind his efforts to arm India’s poor with cheap data-loaded phones. The chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has added $12.1 billion to his wealth in 2017, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
•He passed Li Ka-shing, whose empire spans telecommunications, retail, and ports. Jio took just nine months after launching with a free introductory offer to rope in 117.3 million users and become India’s fourth-largest operator, according to government data.
3) World breastfeeding week – August 1-7, 2017
•World breastfeeding week 2017 is being celebrated from 1st to 7th August 2017 with the theme “Sustaining Breastfeeding Together”.
•It was first celebrated in 1992 by World Alliance for Breastfeeding World Breastfeeding WeekAction (WABA) and is now observed in over 120 countries by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and their partners including individuals, organizations, and governments.
4) China opens its first overseas Military base in Djibouti
•China formally opened its first overseas military base with a flag raising ceremony in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the same day as the People's Liberation Army marks its 90th birthday.
•Djibouti's position on the northwestern edge of the Indian Ocean has fueled worry in India that it would become another of China's "string of pearls" military alliances and assets ringing India, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
5) Sameer Garde named Cisco president for India, SAARC region
•Tech giant Cisco has named former Philips Healthcare executive, Sameer Garde as president for its India and SAARC operations. He has succeeded Dinesh Malkani.
•Malkani will remain associated with Cisco as the strategic advisor till the end of September 2017.
6) Monetary Policy: RBI cuts policy rate by 25 basis points to 6%
•On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation at its meeting, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Urjit Patel, decided to reduce the Policy Repo Rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 6.25 per cent to 6.0 per cent with immediate effect.
•Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 5.75 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.25 per cent.
