Current Affairs : July - 2018

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in Agartala, Tripura. The meeting reveal about the positive impact of Border Hatts on the livelihoods of the people living in areas around the Haats. Chief minister: Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor- Tathagata Roy

The Union Government has constituted 13-member Committee for Sub-National Accounts to upgrade the norms for computation of economic data at states and districts level in backdrop of plans to revise the base year for National Accounts or Gross Domestic Production (GDP) calculation. It will be headed by Ravindra H Dholakia, a retired professor of IIM Ahmedabad.

A “National Workshop on Skill Development for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)” was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment was held in New Delhi.

The Centre has announced a state-of-the-art e-waste recycling unit for Bengaluru, India’s technology capital. It will be India’s first such unit in the government sector.

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its in-house developed, single-umbrella e-marketing system named Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS) in New Delhi. The system can be accessed from anywhere in the country for sale and purchase of Khadi and Village Industries products.

The think tank NITI Aayog announced that it is organizing ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi on 7th and 8th September, 2018 in association with various ministries and industry partners. It will help to drive India’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth, thus,

speeding up India’s transition to a clean energy economy. NITI Aayog Headquarter: New Delhi, CEO- Mr. Amitabh Kant, Vice Chairman-Rajiv Kumar

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said, under Sagarmala project, Centre provide 500 crore rupees to Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) to lease out cruises to promote cruise tourism. This was announced at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Annual Awards event in Mumbai.

State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) is going to set up state-of-the-art Civil Aviation Research Organization (CARO) at Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport. Foundation stone of the centre was laid by Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu. For this project, AAI has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore which will be spent over 12 years for research and development (R&D). AAI Headquarter: New Delhi, Chairman-Dr.Guruprashad Mohapatra

The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir launched the first Cyber Forensic van of Delhi Police and an online cyber crime portal where people can file complaint online regarding such crimes.

The 17th World Sanskrit Conference was held at Vancouver, Canada from 9th July to 13th July, 2018. It was inaugurated by Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar. The purpose of this conference was to promote, preserve and practice Sanskrit language all over world by the people.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) upgrading National Information Security Policy and Guidelines (NISPG) to secure government data and control access to it in order to prevent sensitive information making its way to internet.

The 67th plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) was recently held in Shillong, Meghalaya. Objective to deliberated on livelihood programmers, management of water resources, a forestation and doubling farmer’s

income, by 2022, road connectivity, Implementation of Poshan Abhiyan and Ayushman Bharat etc. Capital: Shillong, Chief ministers: Mukul Sangma, Governor- Ganga Prasad

Satyarup Siddhanta has become second Indian mountaineer after Malli Mastan Babu to climb Mt Ojos del Salado (6893 m), the highest volcano in the world on Argentina-Chile border.

Sh. Hardeep S Puri, MoS (I/C), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the launch of the Smart cities digital payment award and other initiatives under AMRUT and Smart City mission. Smart cities fellowship and internship program will provide the youth an opportunity to experience the aspects of urban

planning and governance. The Three Awards per category are:

Best digital payments adopter.

Best digital payments innovator.

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Fastest growing Smart City focusing on digital payments. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): June 2015

Purpose: To develop civic infrastructure in 500 cities and towns having population of one lakh and above.

Implementation: Implementation is linked to promotion of urban reforms such as e-governance, constitution of professional municipal cadre, credit rating of urban local bodies, energy and water audit and citizen-centric urban planning among others.

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar has granted Institution of Eminence (IoE) status to six educational institutions. It includes 3 Institutions from Public Sector and 3 from Private Sector. The list of universities selected for the IoE status-IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IISc-Bangalore, Jio Institute by Reliance

Foundation, BITS-Pilani and Manipal Academy of Higher Education. The scheme of IoE was rolled out by University Grants Commission (UGC). It aims to help 20 higher education (10

public and 10 private) institutions from country break into top 500 global rankings in 10 years, and then eventually break into top 100 over time.

The first India Tourism Mart (IMT) will be held in New Delhi from 16 September 2018 to create a global tourism mart for India on lines of major international travel marts. The objective of 1st IMT will be to create annual Global Tourism Mart for India in line with major international travel

marts being held in countries across the world. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched national campaign ‘The Eat Right Movement’ to

improve public health and combat lifestyle diseases. FSSAI also launched Eat Right tool kit and Safe and Nutritious Food at Workplace campaign on two broad pillars –“Eat Healthy and “Eat Safe”. FSSAI Founded: August 2011, Chairman-Ashish Bahuguna

Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation minister Nitin Gadkari has launched fortnightly video contest “Jal Bachao, Video Banao, Puruskar Pao”. The contest aims to engage with people of the country on the important issues of water conservation and water management.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) latest ‘Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017’ report, India with 11.4 million hectares (mh) has world’s 5th largest area cultivated under genetically modified (GM) crops in 2017.

Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) has launched Technology Challenge: Identifying solutions for cleaning of Sewerage Systems and Septic Tanks to promote suitable techniques for cleaning sewers and septic tanks it to eliminate need for human entry in them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Dharohar Bhawan’, the new Headquarters building of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at 24, Tilak Marg in New Delhi.

India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Light Bullet Proof Vehicles (LBPV) will be set up by DCM Shriram Industries Group on the campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota.

The Union Government constituted a high-level task force under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to identify various items and policy interventions to reduce dependence on imports.

Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has launched Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 (SSG 2018) in New Delhi, a rural cleanliness survey to rank all states and districts on basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.

Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone for National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) at Barang, in Bhubaneswar, to be established at a cost of Rs 160 crore.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business in New Delhi. The top rankers are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. Jharkhand and Gujarat stood fourth and fifth respectively. DIPP, Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the World Bank conducted an annual reform exercise for

all States and UTs under the Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP). India jumped to 100th place out of 190 countries in the World Bank's 2017 ease of doing business index, from 130th in

the 2016. Fertilizer major IFFCO has launched e-commerce platform IFFCO I-Mandi (a mobile application and web portal) to address

all needs of the farming community associated with it. For this initiative, IFFCO has partnered with Singapore-based technology firm I-Mandi.

The Transport Ministry has proposed to dispense with fitness certificate for new vehicles and make it mandatory to have vehicle tracking system and FASTags for electronic toll collection for all commercial vehicles in its draft amendment to the Commercial Motor Vehicles Act. FASTags-It is a device that uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly

from the prepaid account linked to it. Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is flagship programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) that aims to enrich

Rural India. The second edition (Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0) was launched in April, 2018. Currently 748 institutions are participating under the scheme.

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The scheme aims to link higher education institutions with set of at least five villages, so that they can contribute to economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has initiated process of introducing QR code (Quick Response code) in their textbooks. It is aimed at helping students understand chapters better by watching film or reading additional content on laptops and digital boards. These will be mapped with content of each textbook from class 1 to 12 and will be linked with QR code, which will be

printed in the textbooks. The QR code laden textbooks are likely to be introduced from the 2019 academic. Indian Railways inaugurated Regional Rail Training Institute (RRTI) at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh in a bid to strengthen

expertise and capabilities of the employees of North-Eastern Railways. RRTI was constructed with the cost of Rs 21 crore within stipulated time. It will provide modern training facilities to the

railway employees and would enhance their efficiency. Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath, Governor: Ram Naik

According to Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018, Kerala tops the list as best-governed state in the country followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka and Gujarat. Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar ranked the lowest, indicating higher social and economic inequalities in the states. The index was released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC). The index is released since in 2016 by Bengaluru base Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a not for profit think tank which aims

to improve governance in India. Kerala Capital: Thiruvananthapuram, Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor: Palanisamy Sathasivam

Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled state-of-the-art Air Quality and Weather Forecast System– System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting (SAFAR) at Chandni Chowk in Delhi. It is first of its kind and most advanced system in India. It will monitor all weather parameters like temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and wind direction.

Ministry of Home Affairs sponsored Student Police Cadet (SPC) Programme was launched nationally in Gurugram, Haryana. It was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the presence of Union Human Resources Minister Prakash Javadekar. The programme aims to build bridge between Police and larger community through school students by inculcating values

and ethics in them through classes in school and outside. Lok Sabha has passed Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 to provide death penalty to those convicted of raping girls

below the age of 12 years. The Bill replaces ordinance promulgated by President in April 2018 and amends Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedure Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Evidence Act.

Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has unveiled blueprint of Deep Ocean Mission (DOM). The mission proposes to explore deep-ocean by emulating success of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in designing and launching satellites. For this mission, Centre has drawn up a five-year, Rs. 8,000 crore plans to explore deep recesses of the ocean. The focus of DOM is on deep-sea mining, ocean climate change advisory services, underwater vehicles and underwater

robotics related technologies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of country’s first Mobile Open Exchange (MOX) zone in Noida,

Uttar Pradesh. MOX will be dedicated ecosystem for mobile industry, providing integrated platform to mobile manufacturers, research

and development (R&D) and allied industries. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched

National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme to control viral hepatitis C on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day (July 28). Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland, Head: Tedros Adhanom

Indian Railways had organised a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and launched Mission Satyanishtha at a day-long event held at National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

Union Food Ministry has notified decision to allow sugar mills to manufacture ethanol directly from sugarcane juice or an intermediate product called B-molasses.

Government set up a High Level Empowered Committee headed by Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha to address the issues of Stressed Thermal Power Projects. The Committee would look into the various issues with a view to resolve them and maximise the efficiency of investment

including changes required to be made in changes required in the provisioning norms/Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Asset Restructuring Company (ARC) Regulations and any other measures proposed for revival of stressed assets so as to avoid such investments becoming NPA.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for AYUSH Shri Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone of the 2nd Phase of Construction of North East Institute of Ayurveda & Homeopathy (NEIAH) at NEIAH Campus in Mawdiangdiang, Shillong. Meghalaya: Shillong, Chief minister: Conrad Sangma, Governor: Ganga Prasad

Government of India has approved a new scheme to empower rural women through community participation. It is called ‘Mahila Shakti Kendra’ for 2017-18 upto 2019-20.

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The Lok Sabha has passed the Trafficking of Persons Bill, 2018 (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation). The Bill provides for the prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation of trafficked persons and seeks to establish National Anti-Trafficking Bureau to investigate trafficking cases. It also provides for the setting up of Anti-Trafficking Units (ATUs) at e district level which will deal with the investigation, prevention, rescue, and protection of victims and witnesses.

Union Government has announced that Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme will be open to all potential researchers from 2019 and not limited to candidates from IISc, IITs, NITs, IIEST and IISERs. It will be implemented for period of seven years beginning 2018-19 at total cost of Rs. 1650 crore. Maximum of 3000 Fellows would be selected in the three year period, beginning 2018-19. Selected students through the selection process laid down in PMRF Guidelines will be offered monthly fellowship of

Rs.70,000 for the first two years, Rs.75,000 for the 3rd year and Rs.80,000 in the 4th and 5th years. NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission and MyGov Portal have jointly launched ‘#InnovateIndia Platform’

(https://innovate.mygov.in/innovateindia/). It is citizen centric platform that aims to serve as common point for all innovation happening across the nation.

The high-level panel on data protection framework headed by Justice B N Srikrishna submitted its report to the government. The panel submitted its report to IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. It has suggested steps for safeguarding personal

information, defining obligations of data processors, rights of individuals, and penalties for violation. The 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated across India on 26 July 2018 to commemorate the success of

Operation Vijay and remember brave sacrifice of Indian soldiers during 1999 India-Pakistan Kargil War. Minister of State for Communications announced that all villages adopted by the Member of Parliament under ‘Sansad

Adarsh Gram Yojana’ would get free Wi-Fi services. Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Scheme was launched on the birth anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan ( 11th October, 2014), As part of scheme each MP will adopt a village every year for all-round development using the programmes of the Centre and states, aided by his constituency development funds ( MPLADS).

Each MP (From Rajya Sabha as well as Lok Sabha) is obligated to develop three villages by 2019 and a total of 8 villages each by 2024.

There is a population criterion for MPs. If you are choosing a village in plains, its population should be 3000-5000. If in hills, it can be 1000-3000.

improved basic amenities, higher productivity, enhanced human development, better livelihood opportunities, reduced disparities, access to rights and entitlements, wider social mobilization, enriched social capital.

Shivangi Pathak, who became the youngest Indian woman to reach the peak of Mount Everest, has added another feather to her cap by scaling Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in 3 days.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

The 9th Heads of Mission Conference was held in New Delhi from June 30-July 2, 2018. It was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The conference comes at the time when India is monitoring several important global developments including sanctions imposed by United States on Russia and Iran, and China’s new assertiveness in Indo-Pacific region. Theme: - ‘Unprecedented Outreach: Unparalleled Outcomes’.

At the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at Manama in Bahrain, India’s nomination of the “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai” was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. This makes Mumbai city the second city in India after Ahmadabad to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) intercessional ministerial meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan. It was first RCEP ministerial gathering to be held outside ASEAN countries. Founded: August 1967, Headquarter: Jakarta, Indonesia, Member-10 (2 observer)

India has agreed to provide tariff concessions on 3,142 products to Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) members, from July 1, 2018. Seven Participating States- Bangladesh, China, India, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka are the party to

the APTA was signed in 1975. Previously known as the Bangkok Agreement and renamed 2 November 2005.

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The 2nd meeting of the joint working group on tourism cooperation between India and Nepal concluded in Kathmandu. The Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Suman Billa, while Nepalese side was led by

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ghanshyam Upadhyaya. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted Resolution 2427 aimed at providing legal framework for

mainstreaming protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children throughout the conflict cycle. Recently released Global Innovation Index (GII) 2018, India was ranked 57th among 130 countries. It was 11th edition of

GII and was jointly released by Cornell University, INSEAD and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This year, India has moved up 3 places as compared to 60th rank in GII 2017 and emerged as top-ranked economy in Central and South Asia. WIPO Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland, CEO: Francis Gurry

India’s upper house of parliament Rajya Sabha and Senate of Rwanda has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue capacity building and cooperation. It was signed between Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu and visiting President of Senate of Rwanda, Bernard Makuza in New Delhi. Rwanda Capital: Kigali, Currency: Rwandan franc

According to updated World Bank figures on GDP of countries for 2017, India has become world’s 6th-biggest economy surpassing France to seventh place. India’s gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to $2.597 trillion at the end of 2017, as against $2.582 trillion for France.

India and United Kingdom has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the sphere of Law & Justice and establishing Joint Consultative Committee. The MoU was signed by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and UK’s Secretary of State for Justice David Gauke in London. UK Capital: London, Currency: Pound sterling

Union Home minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the largest Indian visa centre in the world in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) update has projected growth rate of

7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 for India as against 6.7% in 2017. This makes India, fastest growing country among major economies in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Founded: 27 December 1945, Headquarter: Washington, D.C, Membership: 189 , CEO: Christine Lagarde

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, co-chaired 8th session of India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy of Oman, Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy in Muscat.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amongst BRICS Nations on the Regional Aviation Partnership Cooperation. It would spur greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges amongst the BRICS Nations.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved Memorandum of Understanding between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), Bahrain to work together to strengthen the accounting, financial and audit knowledge base within Bahrain.

Myanmar has joined India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), making it 68th signatory to Framework Agreement of ISA. ISA was jointly launched by India and France in November 2015 at Paris on side lines of COP21 UN Climate Change

Conference. ISA Mobilize more than US $1000 billion of investments needed by 2030 for massive deployment of solar energy. Myanmar Capital: Naypyidaw, Currency: Burmese kyat

India is going to host inaugural 2+2 Dialogue with United States in September 2018 in New Delhi. In the inaugural meeting, Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis.

The fourth edition of Bay of Bengal Initiatives for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will be held in Kathmandu, capital city of from 30 to 31 August, 2018. Founded: 1997, Secretariat: Dhaka, Bangladesh

According to Asian Development Bank (ADB), India will continue to be fastest growing major economy, ahead of China, with growth rate of 7.3% in 2018-19 and 7.6% in 2019-20. The growth projections were supplement to ADB’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO). Founded: 19 December 1966,Headquarter: Mandaluyong, Philippines, President: Takehiko Nakao, Membership: 67

The 10th edition of Delhi Dialogue (DDX) was held in New Delhi and was hosted by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. The theme for this edition was “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”. This was the first major event organized after ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit, which was held in New Delhi in

January 2018. According to Bloomberg Billionaires index 2018, Jeff Bezos, The Amazon com Inc. founder, is the richest man in modern

history with a net worth of $152 billion. Following him is Mukesh Ambani (India) ranking 15th in the list with a net worth of $43.9 billion.

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India ranks 96th in the biannual United Nation’s E-Government Index 2018 among 193 countries released by UN. Earlier in 2014, India was ranked at 118 and now has jumped 22 places in 4 years and 11 places in 2 years.

United States has designated India as Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country that will allow country to buy highly advanced and cutting-edge sensitive technologies from America. This coveted status brings India in par with US’s closest allies and partners such as NATO. Headquarter: Brussels, Belgium, Member:29

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has designated India as nodal centre for developing customized model to issue advance warning of floods to Asian countries, including Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. The model will be called as Flash Flood Guidance System.

First ‘Nepal-India Think Tank’ Summit held in Kathmandu, Nepal, The summit is being jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs and Nehru Memorial Museum Library. The main objective of the summit is to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Nepal through multi-faceted

collaboration among think-tanks in both the countries. Prime Minister: K. P. Sharma Oli, Currency: Nepalese Rupee, Capital: Kathmandu.

Blood Moon 2018 or century’s (2001 AD to 2100 AD) longest total lunar eclipse of 1 hour 43 minutes occurred on July 27-28, 2018. The rare celestial event was visible from all parts of India.

The 3rd BRICS Film Festival was held in Durban, South Africa, along with the International Durban Film Festival (DIFF). BRICS Film Festival is aimed at celebrating world-class film productions from the BRICS nations with the objective of inspiring more collaboration from these nations.

The 10th BRICS Summit 2018 held in Johannesburg, South African on July 26-27, 2018. Theme is “BRICS in Africa”: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi set out for his three-nation Africa tour of Rwanda, Uganda and South Africa, as part of

India’s outreach to the resource-rich continent. Rwanda: Capital: Kigali, Currency: Rwandan franc, President: Paul Kagame. Uganda: Capital: Kampala, Currency: Ugandan Shilling, President: Yoweri Museveni. South Africa: Capital: Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Currency: South African rand, President: Cyril Ramaphosa.

STATES HIGHLIGHTS

Kerala Government has declared Kozhikode and Malappuram districts free from Nipah virus infection. Capital: Thiruvananthapuram, Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan, Governor- P. Sathasivam

The Delhi government launched ‘Happiness Curriculum’ which includes meditation, moral values and mental exercises for its school students. It was launched by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the presence of the Dalai Lama.

NABARD has announced that it has sanctioned Rs 735.53 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for West Bengal.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched ‘Poshan Abhiyan’–a statewide mission to eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadi centres. World Bank group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested $100 million in Mahindra & Mahindra

Financial Services Ltd. (M&M). IFC Headquarter: Washington D.C., US, Founded: 20 July 1956, Member Countries: 184

Union Cabinet gave its approval to rename the Agartala Airport in Tripura as ‘Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore Airport, Agartala.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) entered into an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) for setting up a ‘Design University for Gaming’ in Visakhapatnam. UNESCO Founded: 16 November 1945, Headquarter: Paris, France, Head: Audrey Azoulay Chief Minister: N Chandrababu Naidu, Governor: E.S.L Narasimhan.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved Lining Project of Son canal in Shahabad-Bhojpur region of Bihar. The estimated cost of this project is US $503 million (Rs 3272.49 crore) out of which US $352 million is being provided by ADB. Capital: Patna, Chief minister: Nitish Kumar, Governor: Shri Satya Pal Malik

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan inaugurated the state-run power giant NTPC’s 250 MW Solar Power Plant in Suwasra, District Mandsaur.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the country's first Drone Application Research Laboratory and Cyber Security centre in Dehradun.

President Ram Nath Kovind has Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2015 passed by State Assembly. It prescribes stringent punishment, if anybody found guilty. It imposes up to 7 years of jail and fine up to 5 lakh rupees.

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Meghalaya Milk Mission was launched in Shillong. It is Rs. 215 crores project sanctioned by Union Ministry of Agriculture and Family Welfare through National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC). The mission will facilitate in achieving the Centre’s goal of doubling farmer’s income by 2022 through the promotion of

milk business in the state. West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi inaugurated the 18th International Children's Film Festival in the state. 36 films from

17 countries would be screened in this Festival. The Gujarat government launched the ‘Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness Policy’ for better management of solid and liquid

waste in cities. President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Chhattisgarh government's 'Sanchar Kranti Yojna' at an outlay of Rs 1,467.90

crore. Under this, free smart phones will be distributed to 50 lakh people in the state. Chief Minister of Delhi Mr. Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Mukhyanmantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna, It aims to

increase the income of farmers by three to five times in the national capital. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that, ‘Bijli Mitra’ Mobile app is launched on a pilot basis from Jhalawara,

Rajasthan, to help farmers to get their defunct transformers replaced within 6 hours of registering a complaint through the app.

ECONOMY AWARENESS

The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended 15 executive directors to be elevated as managing directors (MD) at various public sector banks (PSBs). It was headed by former Department of Personnel and Training Secretary B P Sharma. BBB is advisory authority of Central Government comprising eminent professionals and officials to improve governance of

PSBs. BSE stock exchange has entered into an agreement with the Bombay Metal Exchange (BME) for the growth and systematic

development of commodity derivatives markets. NSE signs an agreement with Nasdaq for a suitable platform and technology backbone to effectively tap post–trade delivery

capabilities. NSE Headquarter: Mumbai, Founded: 1992, CEO: Vikram Limaye.

Union Cabinet has approved extension of scheme of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) for next 3 years (up to 2019-20) with an aim to strengthen their lending capacity. This will enable RRBs to maintain minimum prescribed Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 9%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that the licence of Alwar Urban Co-operative Bank in Alwar, Rajasthan has been cancelled due to its bad position to pay its depositors in full and the present financial position of the bank leaves no scope for its revival.

India was formally inducted as 69th shareholder of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). This represents all existing shareholders voted unanimously in favour of India’s application in March 2018. India had

applied for EBRD membership in December 2017. EBRD Set up–1991, Headquarter–London, President–Suma Chakrabarti

Karnataka Bank has launched 'Cash@PoS' facility to withdraw cash from PoS terminals. Headquarter: Mangalore, CEO: Mahabaleshwara M S, Tagline: your family bank, across india

The first all-women branch of Jammu & Kashmir Bank was inaugurated by the first lady Usha Vohra at an event at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), in Srinagar. Special service given by the bank to women customers include: Pink Gold Saving Scheme, Pink Platinum Saving Scheme,

Special Loan facility for Women Entrepreneurs, Pink Gold Debit Card and Pink Platinum Credit Card. The Finance Ministry has approved capital infusion of Rs 11,336 crore in 5 public sector banks.

The 5 banks are: Punjab National Bank (PNB), Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Allahabad Bank.

This infusion is a part of the remaining Rs.65000 crore of infusion under government’s announcement of Rs.2.11 lakh crore of credit infusion in banks in 2017.

The Union Government has reduced minimum yearly deposit required under popular girl child savings scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000 earlier. It was launched as a small savings scheme under Beti Bacho Beti Padho (BBBP) in January 2015. It aims to motivate

parents to open an account in name of girl child for her welfare and meet expense requirements of higher education and marriage.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched Centre for Climate Change in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It is first of its kind centre in South East Asia. It aims at accelerating concerted climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial and non -government sectors. It will extend professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related projects and take up collaborative studies

and action research projects in the area. NABARD Founded: 12 July 1982, Headquarter: Mumbai, Chairman: Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

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Lok Sabha has passed Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 that aims to curb practice of evading criminal prosecution by economic offenders fleeing from country to evade clutches Indian law by remaining outside jurisdiction of Indian courts. Fugitive economic offender (FEO): It has been defined as person against whom an arrest warrant has been issued for

committing an offence listed in schedule (enlisted in the this law) by any court in India, It is applicable in cases where total value involved in such economic offences is Rs.100 crore or more.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly issue new Rs. 100 denomination banknotes in lavender colour in Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The front side of new Rs. 100 note depicts Mahatma Gandhi’s face and back side features motif of “RANI KI VAV”,

highlighting the country’s cultural heritage, the dimension of new note is 66 mm × 142 mm. Jana Small Finance Bank formerly known as Janalakshmi Financial Services formally launched its operations.

CEO: Ajay Kanwal, Headquarter: Bengaluru, Karnataka, Tagline: Likho apni Kahani Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that, India’s economic growth remains intact and

India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.5 % in the current financial year. India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) is expected to go live with 650 branches in addition to 3,250 access points co-located at

post offices in August, 2018 following final clearance from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start. RBI has given approval to IPPB after testing its entire system.

Headquter:New Delhi, CEO: Suresh Sethi Indian Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that, Indian banks and financial institutions (FIs) signed an inter-creditor

agreement (ICA) to expedite the resolution of banks’ non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and enable smooth credit flow. The Inter-Creditor Agreement (ICA) was developed on recommendations by a committee headed by Punjab National Bank

Chairman Sunil Mehta under the control of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA). Oxigen (Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd) and Fincare Small Finance Bank signed an agreement to start Branchless Banking

services, using Oxigen’s flagship Point of Sale device called the Oxigen Micro ATM Super PoS.

CORPORATE AFFAIRS

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam became first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) in India to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing Legatrix. This initiative aims to induce greater transparency NRL’s operations and augment its contribution towards Digital India Mission of the Government. Legatrix is cloud-based compliance management system to serve as one stop solution for effectively managing

organizations legal and regulatory compliances through monitoring control at different levels. South Korean technology giant Samsung inaugurated the world’s largest mobile manufacturing unit in Noida, Uttar

Pradesh. It was jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Capital: Seoul, Currency: South Korean won

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has conditionally approved the merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, the largest M&A deal in the sector, which will displace Bharti Airtel from the No. 1 spot after over 15 years.

Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Oil & Gas CPSEs and its offices celebrated Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st to 15th July, 2018. Theme: - “Innovation” and “Sustainability”. Swachata Pakhwada: Launched in April 2016.

It started with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on the issues and practices of Swachhata by engaging GOI Ministries/Departments in their jurisdictions.

Facebook is working on a new satellite project, named Athena, that will provide broadband internet connections to rural and underserved areas. The company aims to launch a satellite in early 2019. Facebook Headquarter: Menlo Park, Californi, CEO: Mark Zuckerberg

DEFENCE & SECURITY

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has launched Saathi, a mobile help centre to reach out to people undertaking annual pilgrimage to 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath.

The Indian naval ship INS Sumitra has become the first-ever warship to enter port of Sabang in Indonesia. Capital: Jakarta, Currency: Indonesian rupiah DRDO has successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile under extreme weather conditions, as part of the service

life extension programme for Indian Army. The missile was fired from a mobile autonomous launcher from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore, Odisha.

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BrahMos is supersonic cruise missile developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint-venture between Russia’s Mashinostroyenia and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It has been named after two rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (river in western Russia).

DRDO Headquarter: New Delhi. Defence acquisitions council (DAC), chaired by India’s Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, approved the acquisition of

the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) worth around $1 billion. In addition,Nirmala Sitharaman approval proposal for acquisition of 8 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for Indian Coast

Guard at an approximate cost of Rs 800 crore.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Income Tax Department has launched instant Aadhaar-based e-PAN allotment service for individuals seeking PAN (Permanent Account Number) service for the first time.

Indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas of No 45 Squadron (The Flying Daggers) of Indian Air Force (IAF) has formally commenced operations from Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu.

The Election Commission of India has launched C vigil mobile application for citizens to report any violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections.

Headquarter: New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner: Om Prakash Rawat

Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application ‘Khan Prahari’ on Swami Vivekananda’s death anniversary in New Delhi to pay tribute to integrity.

State-run telecom firm BSNL through its mobile app ‘Wings’ launched India’s first internet telephony service. Through this app, BSNL customers will be able to make calls to any phone number, domestic or international.

ISRO has successfully conducted ground test of its high thrust version of Vikas Engine at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu for duration of 195 seconds. Vikas belongs to family of liquid fuelled rocket engines conceptualized and designed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems

Centre in the 1970s. The recently tested high thrust version of Vikas engine will improve payload capability of PSLV, GSLV and GSLV Mk-III

launch vehicles. The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) launched a remotely operable microscope worth Rs. 40 crore, claimed

to be the world’s first remotely operable LEAP microscope, which will allow precise view of atoms of a material. The ministry of Defence announced that Indo-US Bilateral Defence Cooperation, the 7th Defence Technology and Trade

Initiative (DTTI) meeting was held between India and the US delegation in New Delhi. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched ‘Remote Sensing Toolkit’ to promote

commercial use of satellite data. That aims to make it easier for users to find, analyze and utilize relevant satellite data for their research, business projects

or conservation efforts.

SPORTS

Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and Australian Ricky Ponting have been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame for their achievements in international cricket, at an event in Dublin, Ireland.

Bajrang Punia emerged champion at the Tbilisi Grand Prix in the 65kg category after outplaying Iranian wrestler Mehran Nasiri in the final in Georgia. Georgia Capitals: Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Currency: Georgian lari.

Indian Gymnast Dipa Karmakar bagged gold medal in FIG Atistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup at Mersin, Turkey. France has won 2018 FIFA World Cup Football by defeating Croatia by 4-2 goals in the final match held at the Luzhniki

Stadium in Moscow, Russia. 2018 FIFA World Cup Awards

Top 4 team rankings: France (1st, Winner), Croatia (2nd, Croatia), Belgium (3rd) and England (4th).

Golden Ball award: Luka Modric (Croatia).

Golden Boot award: Harry Kane (England captain) for scoring six goals across six games.

Golden Glove award: Thibaut Courtois (Belgium).

FIFA Young Player award: 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe (France).

FIFA Fair Play Award: Spain for superb disciplinary record. Next World Cup: Qatar will be hosting next FIFA World Cup in 2022. It will be the first Arab country to host World Cup

and it will also for first time it will be held in Middle East region.

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The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Ministry approved a monthly allowance of Rs 50,000 for each of the 18 members of the men’s hockey team under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

The Wimbledon Championships 2018 was a tennis tournament held from 2 July to 15 July 2018. It was the 132nd edition of the championships and 51st edition in the Open Era. The tournament was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. Men’s Singles: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. Women’s Singles: Angelique Kerber (Germany). Men’s Doubles: It was won by Mike Bryan and Jack Sock pair from United States. Women’s Doubles: It was won by Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková pair from Czech Republic. Mixed Doubles: It was won by Alexander Peya (Austria) and Nicole Melichar (United States) pair.

Wrestler Vinesh Phogat has won gold at the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid, conceding just one point in five bouts en route to the title victory in the women’s 50kg freestyle category.

India has improved one spot and has reached the 5th position in the men’s hockey world rankings released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

India bagged 9 medals – 4 Silver and 5 Bronze in the 7th World Junior Wushu championships held in Brasilia, Brazil from July 10-16, 2018.

Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri was named the 2017 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year. This was announced by AIFF after its Executive Committee meeting in Mumbai.

Rafael Nadal remains in the top position of the ATP tennis world rankings as per standings on 23rd July 2018. The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the latest ODI rankings and India captain Virat Kohli has topped with a

score of 911 points a career high for him. 28th Meeting of Shooting Hopes junior International Championship was held July 1–15, 2018 in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Savo Games in Lapinlahti, Finland. Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the Hungarian Grand Prix for the 6th time, at the Hungaroring circuit, in Hungary. World Junior Squash Championships 2018 was held in Chennai, India.

EVENT WINNER RUNNER-UP

Men’s Mostafa Asal (Egypt) Marwan Tarek (Egypt)

Women’s Individual Rowan Elaraby (Egypt) Hania El Hammamy(Egypt)

Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest Indian golfer to achieve the feat at the 147th Open Championships at Carnoustie, Scotland.

Ace Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma lifted the Russian Open Badminton trophy at Vladivostok. In the title clash, he defeated Japan’s Koki Watanabe and won his first title of the season. Sourabh had won the Chinese Taipei Masters in 2016, and finished runners-up at Bitburger Open the same year. In Mixed Doubles, the pair of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg, lost in the Final against the Russian-Korean team of

Vladimir Ivanov and Min Kyung Kim to settle for a runners-up finish.

AWARDS &HONOURS

Artist Anjolie Ela Menon received the National Kalidas Samman in Delhi for visual arts from the Madhya Pradesh government.

Renowned Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam has been selected for 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of Music Academy for her contribution to Carnatic music. Other awards

Sangita Kala Acharya award: It will be awarded to Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss and vocalist K. Oman Kutty.

Nritiya Kalanidhi award: It will be awarded to veteran danseuse Shanta Dhananjayan. Repco Micro Finance Ltd was awarded the NABARD 2018 award for its service to self-help group (SHG) linkage in Tamil

Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18. HDFC has received the best performing primary lending institution in Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) for the

Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Low Income Group (LIG) category. The award was given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Eminent Poet Ramakanta Rath was conferred with Odisha’s highest literary award Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman for 2018.

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been selected for the Champion of Earth Prize-2018. Bollywood actress Sharmila Tagore was conferred with the D Litt (Honoris Causa) by West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath

Tripathi at a special convocation of Kazi Nazrul University. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was awarded the INFRA Icon Award in the ‘Global Energy’ category at the mid-

day INFRA Icons Awards 2018, in Mumbai. The award was given away by Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Pravin Darare.

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The theme of the event was: ‘Smart cities envisages to take infrastructure development to a next level’. Mohun Bagan ‘Ratna’, the highest honour of Mohun Bagan club was awarded to former India international Pradip

Chowdhury at its foundation day programme. Pradip Chowdhury is a former Mohun Bagan captain.

PERSON APPOINTED /RESIGNED

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Major General José Eladio Alcain of Uruguayan Army as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Justice AK Goel as new Chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

Former careered diplomat Dr. TCA Raghavan was appointed as the Director General (DG) of Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). He was selected by Governing Body and Governing Council of ICWA headed by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu.

OBITUARY

The Veteran journalist, J N Sadhu passed away in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Former Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob has passed away. Filmmaker and former director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), John Sankaramangalam, passed away. Veteran sports journalist Swapan Sarkar passed away.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Ramachandra Guha has written a book named “Gandhi: The years that changed the world (1914-1948)”. This book will be released in September 2018.

The book “When Coal Turned Gold: The Making of a Maharatna Company” has been written by Coal India Ltd (CIL)’s former chairman Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya.

Days|Week|Year

1st July 2018:- The Goods and Services Tax day. 7th July 2018:-International Day of Cooperatives.

Theme: - ‘Sustainable societies through cooperation’. 11th July 2018:-World Population Day.

Theme: - “Family Planning is a Human right”. 12th July 2018:-International Malala Day. 18th July 2018:-Nelson Mandela International Day. 28th July 2018:-World Hepatitis Day.

Theme :- Test. Treat. Hepatitis. 30th July 2018:-World Day against Trafficking in Persons.

Theme: ‘Responding to the trafficking of children and young people’. 29th July 2018:- International tiger day or Global Tiger day.