National
1. Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah has been passed by Lok Sabha. The Bill amends Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 that provides for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), State Human Rights Commissions (SHRC) and Human Rights Courts.
2. Under Operation Milap of Delhi Police, Delhi Police Crime Branch has rescued 333 missing children from the city and handed them over to their families in different parts of country. These children were missing since January 2019 from various parts of country and were found in Delhi.
3. Union Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh inaugurated 1 km long Ujh bridge in Kathua district and 617.40 m long Basantar bridge in Samba district of Jammu & Kashmir. Both of these bridges have been constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) under 69 RCC/13 BRTF of Project Sampark.
4. Infosys launched its state-of-the-art Cyber Defence Center in Bucharest, Romania. This Defence Center is an expansion of services delivered via Infosys Digital Innovation Center which opened in Bucharest in early 2019.
5. Meghalaya became 1st state in India to ensure conservation of water and have its own State Water Policy. This move comes following a nod given by State Cabinet for the purpose.
6. A unique strategy adopted by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) called ‘Plan Bee’ to keep wild elephants away from train tracks has won the ‘Best Innovation Award’ in Indian Railways for the 2018-19 fiscal. The prize is awarded by Indian Railways and comprises of a citation and a cash award of Rs.3 lakh.
7. Union Ministry of Mines organized an interactive workshop called ‘Waste to Wealth’ in New Delhi for discussing productive utilisation of bauxite residue, commonly known as Red Mud. The workshop was presided over by Dr K. Rajeswara Rao, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines and was organised in association with Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Nagpur.
8. According to the first comprehensive census of orchids of India titled ‘Orchids of India: A Pictorial Guide’, India is home to 1,256 species of orchid. The census containing photographs of 775 species is published recently by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) was unveiled in early July 2019 Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
9. Manoj Kumar Nambiar Managing Director of Arohan Financial Services has been elected as new chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN). He was elected at 6th annual general meeting of MFIN.
10. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) to improve understanding and to enable better ways diagnosis and treatment of human genetic disorders.
11. Landing Craft Utility (LCU) LCU L56 was commissioned into Indian Navy at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam. Indian Navy Ship LCU L-56 is the 6th ship of Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK IV class. Landing Craft Utility is 100th warship built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata. With this it has become 1st shipyard in the country to do so.
12. The World Youth Skills Day is observed every year on 15 July across the world. UNESCO’s theme for WYSD 2019 is- Learning to learn for life and work.
13. Nishagandhi Monsoon Ragas Music Festival is being organised by Kerala Tourism in Thiruvananthapuram. The five-day annual music festival is being held from 20 to 24 July 2019. It marks state’s successful entry into music tourism and seeks to attract more tourists to Kerala.
14. Jaya Arunachalam, Indian social worker and founder of Working Women’s Forum (WWF) died at age of 87 in Chennai. She was also a pioneer of the women’s Self Help group (SHG) movement in the country.
15. Appointments Committee of Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved appointment of Arun Kumar, Additional Secretary and Financial Advisor, to Union Ministry of Civil Aviation as the new Director General (DG) in Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
16. Wing commander Tarun Chaudhri became 1st pilot of Indian Armed Forces (IAF) to do a Wing Suit Skydive Jump. The jump was accomplished from an altitude of 8500 feet (2590.8 meters) from a Mi-17 helicopter. This is 1st IAF Wing Suit Skydive Jump by a pilot who has flown and captained same type of helicopter.
17. A rare snail species called ‘Scaly-Foot Snail’ found at only three spots on Indian Ocean floor near Madagascar has become the 1st species to be officially declared threatened due to deep-sea mining. It was added by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to its updated Red List of Endangered Species on 18 July 2019.
18. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the book titled ‘Chandra Shekhar – The Last Icon of Ideological Politics‘ at an event held at Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building. The 1st copy of book was presented to Venkaiah Naidu, Vice President of India.
19. Anshula Kant, Managing Director of State Bank of India (SBI) has been appointed as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of World Bank. She will be the 1st woman CFO of World Bank. Her appointment was announced by David Malpass, World Bank’s President.
20. State BJP President B.S. Yediyurappa (76) took oath as 31st Chief Minister of Karnataka by Governor Vajubhai Vala. His appointment comes 3 days after collapse of Congress-JD(S) government. He is set to take floor test on 31 July 2019 to prove his majority.
21. Parliament passed Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 aimed at tightening Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) compliance and ensuring stricter action for non-compliance of the company law regulations. It amends the Companies Act, 2013. It was first passed by Lok Sabha on July 26, 2019 and then by Rajya Sabha by July 30, 2019.
22. Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu releases a book titled ‘Vivekadeepini’, a concise book of aphorisms (a memorable expression of a general truth or principle) initially written by Adi Shankaracharya, one of India’s greatest spiritual and literary geniuses.
23. Indian Army has successfully conducted summer user trials of NAG, 3rd Generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM). The test was carried out at Pokhran Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan. Trials were conducted by user team from Indian Army as per user defined trial directive in presence of senior officials of the Army and DRDO.
24. Odisha has renewed its effort to revive population of gharials in their natural habitat by releasing 5 reptiles, fitted with radio transmitters, into Satkosia gorge of Mahanadi which is the southernmost limit of gharials’ home range in India.
25. An 82-member Special Rhino Protection Force which is trained to combat poachers and understand animal behaviour was recently deployed in Kaziranga National Park (KNP).
26. In a first ever movement of its kind, IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India) ship carrying Bhutanese cargo was flagged off from Dhubri in Assam to Narayanganj in Bangladesh over Brahmaputra River and the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route.
27. Pro-Khalistani group ‘The Sikhs for Justice’ (SFJ) has been banned by Central government for its alleged anti-national activities. In a recently held Union Cabinet meeting decision was taken to ban on Sikh fundamentalist organisation SFJ under Section 3 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for its alleged anti-national activities.
28. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added more than 7,000 animals, fish and plants to its endangered Red List. IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species shows that more and more species assessed are being threatened with extinction. It also warned against mankind’s destruction of nature that is driving species to brink of extinction at an unprecedented rate.
29. Justice A K Sikri, former Supreme Court judge has been appointed as an International Judge of Singapore International Commercial Court.
30. Every year 29 July is celebrated across the world as Global Tiger Day to create awareness about tiger conservation and protection of natural habitat of tigers.
31. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) carried out 3 successful test firings of Nag missiles during both day and night in Pokhran firing ranges. With this successful trial of Nag anti-tank guided missiles is in final stages of being inducted into Army.
32. Sri Lankan Government has exempted Indian tourists from Visa Fees for tourism purposes. This decision comes into effect from 1 August 2019. With this move India is now among 48 countries whose citizens have been exempted from visa fees by Sri Lankan government.
33. Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed Andhra Pradesh Employment of Local Candidates in Industries and Factories Bill, 2019. The bill mandates reserved employment of at least 75% state candidates (locals) in all private industrial units and factories, irrespective of whether companies get financial or any other help from government. With this bill Andhra Pradesh became 1st state to reserve jobs for locals in respective units.
34. Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen was appointed by European Union (EU) leaders as bloc’s next Chief Executive i.e. European Commission president. She will be replacing Jean-Claude Juncker.
35. Democratic Republic of Congo has been scaled up its fight against Ebola in country after World Health Organization (WHO), the global health body sounded an alarm over its outbreak. WHO declared disease an international health emergency after a Ebola case was confirmed in Goma, a densely populated eastern city that borders Rwanda.
36. Parliament passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill 2019 or Triple Talaq Bill after it was approved by Rajya Sabha. It replaces Ordinance promulgated on February 21, 2019. It aims to declares practice of instant triple talaq void and illegal by making it cognizable penal offence.
37. Ministerial meeting of Coordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Caracas, capital of Venezuela. Theme for 2019 Meet was- Promotion and Consolidation of Peace through Respect for International Law.
38. 5th International Dharma-Dhamma conference is being held Rajgir International Convention Centre in Rajgir, Bihar from 27-28 July 2019. The conference was inaugurated Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju who is also the Chief Guest of Conference. It is being hosted by Rajgir for 2nd time.
39. A fortnightly bulletin of the National Museum of Indian Cinema as “NMIC Bulletin“, brought out by the Films Division was launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
40. Team of researchers, from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru while attempting to study and classify snakes in Western Ghats discovered Proahaetulla antiqua, a new vine snake species. This is an ancient species which is endemic to southern Western Ghats is thought to have evolved around 26 million years ago during the mid-Oligocene.
41. International Arbitration Court has imposed over $5 billion penalty on Pakistan for unlawful denial of a mining lease to a company called Tethyan Copper Company for Reko Diq project in 2011. This penalty on cash-strapped Pakistan is one of the biggest in its history.
42. Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd (KRAS) has secured $100-million order from Israel’s Rafeal for manufacturing 1,000 Barak-8 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MR-SAM) Missile kits for Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
43. As per the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018 India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014. The Tiger census made public on occasion of Global Tiger Day (29 July) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
44. Indian Haj mission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has adopted digital technology to reach out to a large number of pilgrims as part of Digital India initiative of Government of India.
45. Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 313, the 5th Dornier Aircraft Squadron was commissioned into Indian Navy at Naval Air Enclave, Meenambakkam, Chennai. The INAS 313 has been named as ‘Sea Eagle.’ It is commanded by Cdr Vivek Koman, experienced Dornier test pilot with extensive operational experience.
46. Researchers have discovered Dracaena cambodiana, a dragon tree species in Dongka Sarpo area of West Karbi Anglong District in Assam. This is for 1st time that a dragon tree species has been reported from India. This research which added to India’s botanical wealth has been published in Journal of Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
47. Italy’s hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, which is home to world-famous sparkling wine Prosecco, were added by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to World Heritage list. The decision to add hills to list was taken at a meeting of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Baku in Azerbaijan.
48. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde has been confirmed as new head of European Central bank (ECB). Her appointment would make her 1st woman to lead powerful institution of ECB.
49. After making landfall along central Louisiana coast (in United States) as a Category 1 hurricane, the powerful storm Barry was downgraded to a tropical storm. After briefly becoming 1st hurricane of Atlantic season, the storm downsized to a tropical depression over northwestern Louisiana, but its heavy rain continues to plague communities.
50. Appointments Committee of Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reappointed Badri Narain Sharma as chairman of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) for 2 years. B N Sharma a 1985-batch IAS officer from Rajasthan was due for retirement on August 2019.
51. Centre government has set a target to achieve 100% Digitization of Waqf properties across country in its 1st 100 days. The announcement in this regard was made by Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Minister while addressing National Conference of State and Union Territories Waqf Boards in New Delhi. Minister also gave away national awards to waqf boards for excellence in management.
52. In a major boost to Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC), Department of Defence Production, Union Ministry of Defence and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Union Ministry of Science and Technology.
53. Lok Sabha has passed Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amidst strong objection from Opposition with 218 members voting in its favour and 79 against it.
54. ITBP Director General S S Deswal was given additional charge of counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG). He will take over from incumbent NSG DG Sudeep Lakhtakia who is set to retire on 31st July 2018.S S Deswal is 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Telangana cadre.
55. The 10th Jagran Film Festival was inaugurated in an event held at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Prakash Javadekar Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting.
56. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated across India on 26 July every year to remember victory of Indian Armed Forces in Operation Vijay in 1999 against infiltrating Pakistani troops. The year 2019, marks 20th anniversary of victory in Operation VIJAY popularly known as Kargil War, and is being celebrated with theme-
57. Asia’s 1st Six Sigma Institute of Mountain Medicines and High Altitude Rescue to be established at Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. This comes after Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat recently accepted and agreed to a proposal for establishling the mountain institute.
58. Australian Aboriginal site ‘Budj Bim Cultural Landscape’ in south-west Victoria has been added to UNESCOS’s World Heritage List. It was added to UNESCOS’s World Heritage List at a meeting in Baku, in Azerbaijan following a decades-long campaign by traditional owners.
59. Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh recently made it to international aviation map with national carrier Air India launching its flight service to Dubai from MP Airport. Air India Flight AI903 took wings from Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar International Airport with 150 passengers on. This was the 1st international commercial flight from Madhya Pradesh.
60. 1st batch of Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack helicopters arrived at Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The 1st batch consists of 4 out of 22 choppers ordered by India from United States.
61. Kerala Government decided to form a Non-Resident Keralites Investment company with 74% stake to be held by expatriate (or expat) to channelize investments from overseas Keralites for major infrastructure development in the state. Decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Kerela Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
62. Supreme Court of India has directed Meghalaya state government to deposit Rs.100 crore fine imposed on it by National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to curb illegal coal mining with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
63. UKEIRI Mobility Programme: Study in India, a new India-UK bilateral scheme has been launched on pilot basis to support Britain’s universities to collaborate with Indian partners to facilitate United Kingdom (UK) students to visit India during their studies. UKERI stands for ‘UK-India Education Research Initiative’.
64. Border Security Force (BSF) has launched a massive exercise, code named as Sudarshan, to fortify Anti-Infiltration Grid along Pakistan border in Punjab and Jammu. The operation was launched on 1 July and is expected to be finished within a fortnight.
65. Conclave of Himalayan States was held on at Mussoorie in Uttarakhand to discuss priorities of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) in 15th Finance Commission (XV FC). The conclave was initiated by government of Uttarakhand with Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) as its knowledge partner. The chief guest of conclave was Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
66. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to dissolve National Institute of Miners’ Health (NIMH), an autonomous Institute under Union Ministry of Mines (MoM) and merge it with ICMR-NIOH (Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Occupational Health), Ahmedabad, under Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) with all assets and liabilities.
67. The annual Joint Military Exercise ‘Hand-in-Hand’ between India and China will be held at Umroi, near Shillong, Meghalaya in December 2019. The two-week long company-level exercise will take place in 2nd half of December while the planning conference to finalise modalities for joint exercise will be held in August 2019.
68. Alan Turing, the code-breaker during World War II has been chosen by Bank of England to feature on Britain’s new £50 note. The £50 note will be the last of Bank of England collection to switch from paper to polymer and is due to enter circulation by end of 2021. It shows a photo of Alan Turing taken in 1951.
69. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee has voted to list sprawling Mesopotamian metropolis of Babylon as a World Heritage Site (WHS) after 30 years of lobbying efforts by Iraq.
70. Indian Air Force (IAF) and Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) are participating in Garuda VI, a bilateral air exercise at Mont de Marsan in France. The last edition of joint exercise between IAF-FAF was held in June 2014 at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan. This year is the 6th edition of exercise which is taking place from 1 July to 12 July 2019.
71. The International Police Expo 2019 on theme ‘Challenges to strengthen peace and security’ was organised at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The 2019 event is scheduled from 19-20 July saw participation of Manufacturers and technology players from more than 25 countries.
72. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 which provides for setting up of a National Medical Commission in place of Medical Council of India (MCI) so as to usher comprehensive reforms in the medical education sector. The Bill also seeks to repeal Indian Medical Council Act 1956.
73. International Court of Justice (ICJ) has directed Pakistan to review conviction order of Kulbhushan Jadhav and, until then, put his death sentence on hold. ICJ also asked Islamabad to allow New Delhi consular access at earliest. This is a major diplomatic and legal victory for India in Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
74. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a High-powered Committee of Chief Ministers (CMs) for ‘Transformation of Indian Agriculture’.
75. National broadcasting Day is observed every year on 23 July across India. It is on 23 July in 1927, the 1st ever radio broadcast in country went on the air from Bombay Station under a private company called the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC). Thereby since 1927 radio has been an important part in people’s life in India.
76. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh lighted Victory Flame at National War Memorial in New Delhi on 14 July 2019 to begin celebrations of 20th Anniversary of victory in Operation Vijay (Kargil War 1999) at Kargil (in Kargil district of Ladakh region), in Jammu and Kashmir.
77. Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive campaign called ‘Dastak’ to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease.
78. Butterfly species Tamil yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) has been officially declared as state butterfly of Tamil Nadu. The southern State formally notified this by an order on lines of the State Tree (Palm), Bird (Emerald Dove), Flower (Gloriosa) and Animal (Nilgiri Tahr).
79. After years of controversy around sweet, Rasagola, a popular dessert of Odisha, has received Geographical Indication (GI) tag in GI Registry from Registrar of Geographical Indication. Both Odisha and West Bengal have been contesting origin of rasagola and West Bengal had got GI for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ in 2017.
80. Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer Vivek Kumar has been appointed as private secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This new assignment for Vivek Kumar was cleared by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister and order was issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).
81. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has operationalized 1st ‘Aadhaar Seva Kendra’ (ASKs) in Delhi and Vijayawada. The new centres are functioning on a pilot basis and have set in motion UIDAI’s ambitious plan to set up 114 such centers by the end of 2019.
82. The annual festival of worship of 14 Gods, popularly known as Kharchi Puja is being celebrated in Tripura. It started at Chaturdash Devata Bari in old Agartala (Puran Agartala). The festival began on 10 July will continue till 16 July 2019.
83. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been passed by Rajya Sabha. The bill seeks to amend Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008. It is yet to be passed by Lok Sabha.
84. Chief Minister of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar has invited Nepal to be Partner Country for International Gita Jayanti Mahotsav scheduled to be held at Kurukshetra from 3-8 December 2019. He extended inviation to Ambassador of Nepal to India Nilamber Acharya.
85. India has signed Rs.1,500 crore deal to acquire R-27 air-to-air missiles from Russia for equipping Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force and for boosting its capabilities in beyond visual range warfare.
86. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved extension of term of 15th Finance Commission (XV-FC) up to 30 November 2019. This will enable FC to examine various comparable estimates for financial projections in view of reforms as well as new realities to finalise its recommendations for period 2020-2025.
87. Union Culture and Tourism Minister of State (independent charge) Prahlad Patel announced that 10 centrally protected monuments across India will be open to public from sunrise till 9 p.m. Currently gates of most monuments are closed for visitors by 5:30-6 pm.
88. The 11th edition of DefExpo India- 2020 is scheduled to be held for 1st time in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The biennial Expo will be a 4-day event, beginning from 5 to 8 February 2020. It offers an excellent opportunity for Indian defence industry to showcase its capabilities and promote its export potential.
89. Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson officially took charge as new Prime Minister of United Kingdom (UK), he met Queen Elizabeth II, who invited him to form the new government. He defeated Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
90. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a $50 million deal with India to supply complementary Naval MRSAM systems to Indian Navy and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders. IAI is a state-owned company of Israel.
91. Indian Army has placed an order for procuring Israeli Anti-Tank Spike missiles from Israel. The procurement was made under emergency purchases to meet operational preparedness of the army.
92. Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has selected 12 beaches across the country to compete for Blue Flag Certification. Environment Ministry embarked on Blue Flag project in December 2017.
93. The Parliament of India has adopted a statutory resolution for levying 200% duty on all goods exported from or originating in Pakistan. The two statutory resolutions were moved by Anurag Thakur, Minister of State (M/S) for Finance on behalf of Union Minister of Finance Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and both were adopted by voice vote.
94. In a major rejig in Indian Army, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has been appointed as next vice-chief of armed force. He will succeed Lt Gen D Anbu who is set to retire on 31 August 2019.
95. Almost 1,000-year-old Shawala Teja Singh Temple located in Sialkot city of Pakistan, which was sealed for last 72 years, has been re-opened for devotees for the 1st time since partition. Decision to reopen temple was issued by Paksitan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
96. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has banned manufacture, sale and distribution of antibiotic, Colistin as well as its formulations for food producing animals, poultry, aqua farming and animal feed supplements. The ban is announced in a bid to preserve drug’s efficacy in humans.
97. Centre has declared entire State of Nagaland a ‘disturbed area’ for a period of 6 more months under Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) with effect from 30 June 2019. The central government opinion was notified by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
98. Coffee table book titled ‘Fire and Fury Corps– Saga of Valour, Fortitude and Sacrifice, ‘a repository of exemplary valour of Fire and Fury Corps and their utmost dedication to nation was released. The book was released in Leh, in J&K by Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh on the occasion of nation celebrating 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas.
99. A Union Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC) panel has recommended for ‘in-principle’ permission for survey and exploration of Uranium in Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana. Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under MoEFCC made recommendation at its meeting on 22 May 2019.
100. Jordan has unveiled its 1st Underwater Military Museum on the bed of Red Sea off the coast of Aqaba. As part new underwater military museum the kingdom submerged several military vehicles, including tanks, troop carriers and even a decommissioned Jordanian Armed Forces’ AH-1 Cobra helicopter into the waters of the Red Sea. Before the vehicles were submerged, all hazardous materials were removed from them.
101. Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched a unique initiative called ‘Didi Ke Bolo’ (Tell your sister) campaign to reach out to people of State. This campaign for common masses, is devised to entertain voters’ regarding various issues for which phone number (9137091370) and website www.didikaybolo.com are also launched. The move is being seen as fresh plans to mobilise people and strengthen party at booth level ahead of Assembly polls due in 2021.
102. On 24 July 2019, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and all field offices observed and celebrated 159th Income Tax Day also known as Aaykar Diwas.
103. Taking serious note of alarming extinction of two Indian birds namely Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican, the Supreme Court of India has constituted a High Powered Committee to urgently frame and implement an Emergency Response Plan for protection of these species, considering the approaching monsoon and breeding season.
104. Air India has allowed pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia after Haj to carry holy water from Zamzam within permissible baggage allowance.
105. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed IPS officer VK Johri as new Director General (DG) of, Border Security Force (BSF), country’s largest border guarding force.
106. India has signed Rs.200 crore deal with Russia for acquiring Strum Ataka anti-tank missile for its fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers of Indian Air Force (IAF). This deal comes in wake of an IAF’s attempt to keep itself battle-ready in situations like post-Balakot aerial strikes.
107. The Maharashtra government has approved an increase in financial assistance given to families of martyred and disabled soldiers hailing from state who lay down their life in the line of duty. The approved four-time increase in compensation from Rs 25 lakh to Rs.1 crore for Kin of martyred soldiers will be implemented from January 1, 2019.
108. Central Universities (Amendment) Bill 2019, for establishing a Central University and Tribal University in Andhra Pradesh has been passed by both the houses of Parliament.
109. ‘The Coffee Table Book – 50 years of Partnership for Change’ was launched by Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar along with Dr. Hameed Nuru, Representative and Country Director, United Nation World Food Programme (UNWFP) in India, to commemorate five decades (50 years) of partnership between Union Ministry and agency towards addressing food and nutritional security in India.
110. On 12 July 2019, West Bengal government observed Save Water Day across the state to spread the message of water conservation. This is the 1st time the day was observed. From now onwards it will be observed in state each year to create awareness among people to check misuse of water.
111. Newly elected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed Indian origin Priti Patel as the Home Secretary of Britain. With this she has become Britain’s first Home Secretary of Indian origin. She has her roots in Tarapur in Gujarat.
112. Delhi Police signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up Rooftop Solar Energy Systems in more than 200 of its buildings across the city.
113. In 2014 fossil of Elektorornis chenguangi, a small bird which lived nearly 99 million years ago, with a weird elongated toe were discovered in amber tree resin in Hukawng Valley of Myanmar.
114. United Nations (UN) observed World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on July 30 to raise awareness of the plight of human trafficking victims, and promote and protect their rights. The theme for this year was ‘Human Trafficking: Call Your Government To Action’.
115. President Ram Nath Kovind has confirmed appointment of Rajya Sabha member Anusuiya Uikey as Governor of Chhattisgarh and Senior Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan as Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
116. The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha, to allow NIA to probe terrorist acts against Indians and Indian interests abroad. The Bill seeks to give more teeth to National Investigation Agency (NIA).
117. The Walled City of Jaipur, known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, made an official entry into UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site list.
118. Railway Protection Force (RPF) recently launched ‘Operation Thirst’ to stop selling of unauthorised Packaged Drinking Water (PDW). During the operation, which was carried out on 8 and 9 July 2019 fines were imposed on those found guilty and many were arrested.
International
1. Sri Lankan Government has exempted Indian tourists from Visa Fees for tourism purposes. This decision comes into effect from 1 August 2019. With this move India is now among 48 countries whose citizens have been exempted from visa fees by Sri Lankan government.
2. President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Benin at Cardinal Bernadine de Cotonou International Airport in Cotonou, the largest city in the West African country. This visit is part of first leg of his 3 nations’ tour to West African region which includes Gambia and Guinea from July 28 to August 3. This is first visit by either a head of state or head of government to three West African countries.
3. World Hindu Economic Forum (WHEF) has launched its Nepal Chapter which was inaugurated by Nepal’s Minister of State for Health and Population Dr. Surendra Kumar Yadav in Nepal’s Capital of Kathmandu. The event was attended by large number of industrialists, business persons, traders, thinkers and other eminent personalities from Nepali society.
4. India-Nepal Logistics Summit was organised in Kathmandu, Nepal on 28 July 2019. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli. Theme for Summit was: Transforming Logistics Landscape.
5. Democratic Republic of Congo has been scaled up its fight against Ebola in country after World Health Organization (WHO), the global health body sounded an alarm over its outbreak. WHO declared disease an international health emergency after a Ebola case was confirmed in Goma, a densely populated eastern city that borders Rwanda.
6. After a huge outbreak in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh dengue has spread to different districts outside capital. Number of dengue cases in Bangladesh has reached its highest level in past 18 years. The 1st case was detected in country in 2000.
7. United States military official reported Iran test-launched Shahab-3, a Medium-Range Ballistic Missile inside its borders. Missile was launched from southern coast of Iran and landed east of Tehran. It flew about 1,100 km, however did not pose threat to U.S. or other Western military or shipping bases in region.
8. Jordan has unveiled its 1st Underwater Military Museum on the bed of Red Sea off the coast of Aqaba. As part new underwater military museum the kingdom submerged several military vehicles, including tanks, troop carriers and even a decommissioned Jordanian Armed Forces’ AH-1 Cobra helicopter into the waters of the Red Sea. Before the vehicles were submerged, all hazardous materials were removed from them.
9. Ministerial meeting of Coordinating Bureau of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Caracas, capital of Venezuela. Theme for 2019 Meet was- Promotion and Consolidation of Peace through Respect for International Law. Since 2016 Venezuela has held the presidency of NAM which will now be passed on to Azerbaijan in October 2019.
10. The landmark Motihari-Amlekhgunj Petroleum Products Pipeline between India and Nepal is now completed and is ready for commercial operation. The testing transfer of the pipeline was successfully completed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC). As part of trial, diesel was released from Motihari which reached Amlekhgunj.
11. World Health Organization (WHO) has declared deadly Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’. This announcement comes after Ebola virus spread to a city of 2 million people.
12. The United States of America has slapped sanctions against Myanmar’s Military Chief Min Aung Hlaing and three other top officers for gross human rights violations, including killing of Rohingya Muslims. The announcement in this regard was made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
13. Donald Trump, President of United States of America has announced that US would not sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, a major NATO ally after Ankara purchased S-400 missile defence system from sanctions-hit Russia.
14. International Court of Justice (ICJ) has directed Pakistan to review conviction order of Kulbhushan Jadhav and, until then, put his death sentence on hold. ICJ also asked Islamabad to allow New Delhi consular access at earliest. This is a major diplomatic and legal victory for India in Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
15. Palau, an archipelago of more than 500 islands in Oceania, has become 76th signatory country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The agreement was opened for signature during COP22 (22nd Conference of the Parties) at Marrakech, Morocco on 15 November 2016.
16. Pakistan has agreed in principle to allow year-long visa-free access for Indian pilgrims to holy Gurdwara of Kartarpur Sahib. The agreement was reached at 2nd bilateral formal meeting held at Wagah for finalising the modalities for Kartarpur Sahib corridor, a gateway for pilgrims to visit Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan.
17. Foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak University (BGNU) was laid at Nankana Sahib, in Pakistan’s Punjab province. University’s foundation stone was laid by Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. This comes ahead of beginning of International Nagar Kirtan by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on July 25.
18. United States’ House of Representatives has passed a Bill titled Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, or HR 1044, by an overwhelming 365-65 votes in a 435-member House to remove 7% country-cap on green card applicants. The development could end agonising wait of tens of thousands of skilled professionals from countries like India who have sought permanent residency in USA.
19. The French parliament approved a law dubbed as Gafa Tax (an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon), the legislation will impose a 3% levy on sales generated in the country by non-tax paying online giants.
20. The 2nd India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi. It took place under chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and Mr. TimurMaksimov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russian Federation.
21. The French government is set to impose tax of up to €18 on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France. It is aimed to fund less-polluting transportation projects.
22. India handed over 250 pre-fabricated houses for use of displaced Muslim minorities, who are currently residing in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. The houses delivered to Myanmar for displaced Rohingya returnees in Rakhine State are under India’s ‘Rakhine State Development Programme’ (RSDP) for $25 Million for a period of 5 years.
23. The first model village built with Indian assistance under the Model Villages Program was inaugurated at Ranidugama in Gampaha in Sri Lanka. It is a part of housing project meant for war affected people and estate workers. The fully constructed houses were handed over to beneficiaries.
24. A batch Bangladeshi civil servant will be trained at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Mussoorie in Uttarakhand for a period between 2019-2025. NCGG is an institute under Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
25. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Maldives for establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea, which was signed on 8 June 8 2019 during the visit of Indian Prime Minister to Maldives.
26. India has pledged to contribute $5 Million in 2019 to United Nation Palestine refugee agency. This move comes amid India voiced its concern over agency’s financial situation and called for ensuring sustained financial support for its work.
27. The United States Senate (Upper Chamber of US Congress) has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America’s NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies and countries like South Korea, Australia, Japan and Israel for increasing defence cooperation.
28. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ atomic watchdog has confirmed that Iran has exceeded limit on amount of enriched uranium in its stockpile set out in 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
29. New Zealand has officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags with effect from 1 July 2019. It has also introduced hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them. As per United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) more than 80 countries have already introduced similar bans.
30. Japan has resumed commercial whaling after a period of 31 years, but will stay within country’s exclusive economic waters. Since 1988 Japan had switched to so-called research whaling. Though this move is slammed by anti-whaling activists but is welcomed by Japanese whaling communities.
31. United States President Donald Trump became 1st sitting US president to set foot in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or North Korea) when he met its leader, Kim Jong Un, in Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea.
32. Abu Dhabi, capital of United Area Emirates (UAE) is hosting International Security Alliance (ISAs) first joint security exercise named ISALEX19.
Business, Economy & Banking
1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) norms for corporates, non-banking lenders by relaxing end-use restrictions with regard to working capital, general corporate purpose and repayment of rupee loans. This decision was taken after receiving feedback from stakeholders for easing liquidity in the domestic market.
2. As per Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources is less than Rs. 6,500. The data was provided by government in written reply to Lok Sabha.
3. With this notified regulation Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India amends Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Professionals) Regulations, 2016.
4. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved creation of a buffer stock of 40 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of sugar. This buffer stock would be created for one year starting from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2020. The decision of approving a buffer stock is to maintain demand-supply balance and to stabilise sugar prices.
5. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for Determination of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane payable by sugar mills for 2019-20 sugar season.
6. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) becomes highest-ranked Indian company on Fortune Global 500 list. It has jumped 42 places and was ranked 106 this year.
7. The Northern Railway zone of Indian Railway successfully conducted trial run of Vande Bharat Express, known to be India’s fastest train. The trial run was conducted from New Delhi to Katra small town in Jammu and Kashmir.
8. Inter-Ministerial Committee on Virtual Currencies headed by finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg has submitted its report to the government. The committee set up by Centre has also proposed a draft bill ‘Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019’.
9. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved expenditure on pre-investment activities and various clearances for Dibang Multipurpose Project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh for an amount of Rs.1600 crore.
10. In a first ever movement of its kind, IWAI (Inland Waterways Authority of India) ship carrying Bhutanese cargo was flagged off from Dhubri in Assam to Narayanganj in Bangladesh over Brahmaputra River and the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route.
11. An Internal Working Group of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Comprehensive Review of Market Timings has suggested calibrated extension of Currency Market (Foreign Exchange Market) hours, from 9 am to 9 pm for both Over the Counter (OTC) and Exchange Traded. At present the markets close at 5 pm.
12. Kerala Government decided to form a Non-Resident Keralites Investment company with 74% stake to be held by expatriate (or expat) to channelize investments from overseas Keralites for major infrastructure development in the state. Decision in this regard was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Kerela Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
13. The Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BRICS of Commerce and Industry for promoting trade and investments between BRICS countries and eastern part of India, in particular.
14. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board has finalised Three Year Roadmap to improve supervision and regulation, among other functions of central bank. This medium term strategy is named as Utkarsh 2022.
15. Asia’s 1st Six Sigma Institute of Mountain Medicines and High Altitude Rescue to be established at Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand. This comes after Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat recently accepted and agreed to a proposal for establishling the mountain institute.
16. Electricity and Clean Cooking facility to all willing rural families by year 2022. 2nd Phase of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G): It aims to achieve “Housing for All” by 2022. Under PMAY-G eligible beneficiaries are to be provided 1.95 crore houses with amenities such as toilets, electricity and LPG connections during its 2nd phase (2019-20 to 2021-22).
17. India’s Ease of Doing Business (EDB) ranking under ‘Paying Taxes’ category jumped from 172 in 2017 to 121 in 2019. In past 5 years, Direct tax revenue increased by over 78% to Rs. 11.37 lakh crore
18. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs recently presented Union Budget 2019-20 before Parliament.
19. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a working group to review regulatory guidelines and supervisory framework for Core Investment Companies (CIC). The 6-member working group is chaired by Tapan Ray, non-executive chairman, Central Bank of India and former Secretary in Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
20. India has ratified Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures (MLI) to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). It will pave way for amendments to double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAA) with countries signatories to convention to plug revenue leakages. The provisions enshrined in framework will come into effect from fiscal year 2020-21 for bilateral tax treaties.
Government Schemes
1. Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan launched Atal Community Innovation Centre in New Delhi. It aims to encourage spirit of innovation at community level.
2. According to NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog an Inter-Ministerial Panel has sanctioned 5645 electric buses for operations in 65 cities and for inter-city operations to 8 state transport undertakings. The announcement in this regard was made by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. The move will give huge impetus to automobile sector, clean up cities & drive Make in India intiative.
3. Government of India’s plan to develop 17 Iconic Tourist Sites could possibly see some changes. Recently, Union Culture and Tourism Minister of State (independent charge) Prahlad Singh Patel ordered setting up of a committee to review sites included in project.
4. National Health Authority (NHA) implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat, Centre’s flagship healthcare scheme has signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH) to streamline delivery of services under Ayushman Bharat.
5. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved sale of 481.79 acres of land held by Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd (FACT) to Government of Kerala. Cabinet also approved and utilization of the sale proceeds by FACT.
6. Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR’s) National Institute for Medical Statistics have launched National Data Quality Forum (NDQF) to improve quality of health and demographic data in India.
7. Government has set a target for installation of Rooftop Solar projects (RTS) of 40,000 MegaWatt (MW) by 2022 in the country including installation of RTS on rooftop of houses. New and Renewable Energy Minister RK Singh submitted reply in this regard to Rajya Sabha.
8. Union Minister for Labour & Employment informed Lok Sabha that 361 Complaints of Child Labour have been resolved via PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) Portal (pencil.gov.in).
9. Civil Aviation Ministry announced addition of 8 more air routes under UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik), the regional air connectivity scheme. These air routes have become functional and started operations.
10. Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has decided to declare all lanes in all toll fee plazas on National Highways across country as dedicated ‘FASTag lanes‘ from 1 December 2019.
11. Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) has released ‘Deeksharambh’, a University Grants Commission (UGC) Guide to Student Induction Programme.
12. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) have launched a 3 day special campaign called Jan Jagrukta Abhiyaan in New Delhi. It is a campaign aimed towards sensitizing and mobilising community for prevention and control of vector borne diseases (VBDs) such as Dengue, Chikungunya and Malaria. The 3 day campaign will be held from 17 to 19 July 2019 in New Delhi.
13. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan released National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) which aims to create National Digital Health Eco-System, in public domain. Health Ministry also sought inputs from various stakeholders on its vision.
14. Union Agriculture Ministry has set up an Agri Business Incubation Centre in Chhattisgarh. The centre has been set up by Agriculture Ministry in Indira Gandhi Agriculture University of Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
15. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved 3rd phase of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to consolidate 1,25,000 km of roads in the states.
16. Government of India has fixed the price at Rs.3,443 per gram for the new series of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) opening July 8.
17. South Central Railway (SCR), one of the 18 zones of Indian Railways has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel in Indian Railways.
18. Union Minister of Railway Piyush Goyal recently informed Lok Sabha during Question Hour that Centre government has eliminated Unmanned Level Crossings (ULCs) in whole Broad-Gauge (BG) network in the country.
19. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan while addressing a query during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha announced that Government has set a target to raise health services expenditure to 2.5% of country’s GDP (Gross domestic product) by 2025. He also highlighted that public expenditure on health services has increased continuously over the years and continues to increase.
20. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Union Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) has signed to collaborate on digitization of AYUSH sector.
21. University Grants Commission (UGC) has launched STRIDE scheme to boost research culture and innovation in colleges and universities. STRIDE stands for Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy.
22. Union Jal Shakti Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat recently launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan- a campaign for water conservation and water security in 1592 stressed blocks in 256 districts.
23. Uttar Pradesh government has launched a massive campaign called ‘Dastak’ to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease.
24. Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar reviewed Ministry’s prestigious project of National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) and various activities undertaken under the project in a meeting held at National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune, Maharashtra.
25. Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) launched India’s first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) dashboard in a bid to effectively track country’s progress on Agenda 2030 adopted by UN. It was launched on occasion of National Statistics Day (on June 29) which marks birth anniversary of Prof. P C Mahalanobis.
Science & Technology
1. NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) recently discovered new dwarf star and planetary system named as TOI 270. It is located about 73 light years away from Earth, and in the constellation Pictor.
2. Infosys launched its state-of-the-art Cyber Defence Center in Bucharest, Romania. This Defence Center is an expansion of services delivered via Infosys Digital Innovation Center which opened in Bucharest in early 2019.
3. Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has issued a Draft Notification GSR 521(E) that seeks to amend Central Motor Vehicle Rules and allows motor vehicles and their parts, components, assemblies, sub-assemblies to be affixed with Microdot Patches. MoRTH has sought comments/objections on draft notification within 30 days.
4. A team from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has developed a Dye-Sensitised Solar Cell (DSSC) which is based on New Fuchsin (NF) dye with aqueous electrolyte and platinum-free counter electrodes. The research was published in Solar Energy journal.
5. To help geriatric care, students of IIT Kharagpur have developed an application called CARE4U that connect the caregiver to the elderly person. It will inform the caregiver when elderly person falls down with exact location.
6. Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost Bio-Degradable cellulose sheets dubbed as Sonali. It has been developed by the team of scientist working for state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). The commercial production of these bags is likely to start by end of 2019.
7. The Minister of State (I/c) of Culture and Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel informed Lok Sabha about JATAN: Virtual Museum software. JATAN has been developed by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, C-DAC, Pune, Maharashtra.
8. Chandrayaan-2, India’s 2nd moon mission (after Chandrayaan-1, 2008) was successfully launched by GSLV-MkIII-M1 from Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. This successful launch comes exactly a week after Missions’ liftoff was aborted due to a technical snag.
9. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, inaugurated Next Generation Sequencing (NSG) facility at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), a CSIR lab in Hyderabad, Telangana.
10. Indigenously produced lightweight bullet proof jacket Bhabha Kavach was launched at International Police Expo 2019 held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The jacket which is a major breakthrough for Paramilitary Forces and Indian armed forces got nod from Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
11. The State Government of Telangana and World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Network announced the launch of drone-delivery project called ‘Medicine from the Sky’. The Telangana government, World Economic Forum and Health Net Global signed an agreement for project to be supervised and managed by leaders in field of medicine, technology and research.
12. Google India and Tata Trusts are set to expand their ‘Internet Saathi’ digital literacy programme for rural women to villages in Punjab and Odisha. Currently, the programme has reach of 2.6 lakh villages across 18 states.
13. Russia launched a Powerful X-ray space telescope called Spektr-RG from cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in a joint project with Germany. The launch of telescope was originally scheduled for 21 June 2019 but was postponed twice because of a battery problem.
14. Japan’s Hayabusa2 probe has made a perfect touchdown on a distant asteroid named Ryugu, some 300 million kilometres from Earth. It collected samples from beneath surface in an unprecedented mission that could shed light on origins of solar system.
15. Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) with IBM India Private Limited (Indian subsidiary of IBM) for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in selected pilot districts.
Awards & Honours
1. Renowned Indian sand artist and Padma Awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik has won People’s Choice Award at a prestigious sand sculpting festival in United States (US). He was among top 15 sand artists selected from all over world to participate in 2019 Revere Beach International Sand Sculpting Festival in Boston. He wowed American public with his sculpture that highlighted message of combating plastic pollution in oceans.
2. Veteran actor Meryl Streep will be honoured with Tribute Actor award at 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). She will receive award in person on 9 September 2019 during TIFF’s Tribute Gala, a festival fundraiser. She will be 1st-ever recipient of TIFF Tribute Actor Award.
3. Indian bodybuilder Ravinder Kumar Malik won Mr. South Asia title 2019. He was crowned overall champion at 12th South Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship held in Kathmandu in Nepal.
4. Noted Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya won the 2019 Sangita Kalanidhi award of Music Academy. She will preside over 93rd annual conference of Academy to be held between 12 December 2019 and 1 January 2020. She along with other awardees will be conferred with the awards during the Sadas of Madras Music Academy on 1 January 2020.
5. Union Tourism Ministry’s Incredible India ‘Find the Incredible You’ campaign has won PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Gold Award 2019. It won the award in ‘Marketing – Primary Government Destination’ category. The 2019 edition of award attracted 198 entries from 78 organisations and individuals worldwide.
6. Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, has announced 2018 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars for artistes artistes below 40 years of age.
7. Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, has elected 4 eminent personalities in field of Performing Arts namely tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, dancer Sonal Mansingh, dancer and choreographer Jatin Goswami and Bharatnatyam exponent K. Kalyanasundaram Pillai for the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellows or Akademi Ratna Awards for 2018. The fellowship, referred to as Akademi Ratna, is a coveted honour conferred on artists.
8. Director Kaushik Ganguly’s Bengali outing Nagarkirtan, has won big at prestigious 2019’s SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) film festival, bagging 4 awards in total, including Best Feature Film.
9. Indian movie ‘Gully Boy’ was honoured with NETPAC (The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award for Best Asian Film at 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea.
10. US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) has selected MasterCard CEO and President Ajay Banga and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji for its 2019 Global Excellence Awards.
Sports
1. Six times World Champion MC Mary Kom (36) claimed gold medal at 23rd President’s Cup held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. She defeated April Franks of Australia with 5-0 without breaking a sweat. With this win the Olympic bronze medallist Boxer has asserted her supremacy in a lop-sided 51kg bout final.
2. Union Minister of Sports Kiren Rijiju announced that 3rd edition of Khelo India Youth Games will be held in Guwahati, Assam between 18-30 January 2020. Khelo India programme’s inaugural edition was held in New Delhi in 2018, while Pune hosted 2nd edition in 2019.
3. High-Level Committee has been constituted under chairmanship Union Minister of Sports Kiren Rijiju to coordinate and strategise preparation for 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Main focus of HLC would be to ensure maximum participation and medals from Indian athletes in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
4. Host India made most of home’ advantage and grabbed all 7 gold medals in 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships 2019 which concluded at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha.
5. Two-time Olympic gold medal winning Hockey Player Keshav Dutt and former India Football Captain Prasun Banerjee are selected for Mohun Bagan Ratna Award 2019. Awards will be given away on annual celebration of Mohun Bagan Day (29 July).
6. Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship 2019 began at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, Odisha. The tournament will be held from Wednesday 17th to Monday 22nd July 2019. 12 Nations are participating in 21st edition of CTTC. The event was inaugurated by Governor of Odisha Prof. Ganeshi Lal.
7. India finished on top of medals tally at Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship held in Apia, Samoa. Indian 37-member weightlifting contingent topped the medal tally in both junior and senior age groups.
8. India’s Mohammad Anas won gold in men’s 400m with an effort of 45.21 seconds and Hima Das won gold in women’s 200m event at Kladno Memorial Athletics Meet at Kladno in Czech Republic. This is Hima Das 3rd international triumph in 11 days.
9. Simona Halep of Romania beats Serena Williams of United States with 6-2, 6-2 in final to win Women’s Singles Wimbledon Title 2019. She dispatched 7-time Wimbledon Champion Serena Williams in just 56 minutes to clinch her 1st Wimbledon and 2nd Major title.
10. The Indian pair of G. Sathiyan and Anthony Amalraj won bronze in Men’s Doubles at World Tour Platinum Australian Open Table Tennis 2019 held in Geelong near Melbourne in Australia.
11. Viswanathan Anand, India’s first Grandmaster and five-time World chess champion has become mentor for Indian edition of chesskid.com, a US-based chess platform.
12. Indian men’s football team captain Sunil Chhetri and women’s footballer Ashalata Devi have bagged top honours at All India Football Federation (AIFF) 2018-19 awards. Chhetri was named as Men’s footballer of the year, while Ashalata Devi won the Women’s footballer of the year title.
13. Dutee Chand, the Indian sprinter won gold medal in women’s 100m in World Universiade, 30th Summer University Games held in Naples, Italy. With this win she became 1st Indian woman to do so.
14. Indian sprinter Hima Das clinched gold in Women’s 200m race with a top finish at Kutno Athletics Meet held in Poland. India’s VK Vismaya bagged silver in 24.06 seconds.
15. Mexico’s men’s soccer team won 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup by defeating United States men with 1-0 in the final. This is Mexico’s record 8th Gold Cup title.
16. Brazil have defeated Peru with 3-1 to win this year’s Copa America football trophy. This is Brazil’s 9th Copa America title after a gap of 12 years since 2007.
17. At the Grand Prix of Spain Women’s Wrestling India’s top wrestler Vinesh Phogat won her 1st gold medal after shifting to 53kg category and Divya Kakran claimed top honours in 68kg category in Madrid, Spain.
18. The United States of America (USA) won FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 title after beating Netherlands in final at Lyon, France. US won with 2-0 goals scored by from Megan Rapinoe penalty and Rose Lavelle.
19. The 34th edition of Hyderabad Sailing Week National Ranking Multi-Class Championship 2019 was inaugurated by Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, ESL Narasimhan in Hyderabad, Telangana.
20. Indian pro boxer Vaibhav Yadav became World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia silver Welterweight Champion after winning the title bout held in Pattaya, Thailand.
References:
gktoday.in
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