Current Affair of July 2021

National

1. In last two years, 194 crocodiles have been relocated from Panchmuli lake near Statue of Unity in Narmada district, Gujarat. Crocodiles were relocated for the safety of tourists do boat rides in the Panchmuli lake. This lake is situated near 182-metre-tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in Kevadia.

2. Authorities in Srinagar district have banned storage, sale, possession, use and transport of drones and similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within the territorial jurisdiction of district. Order asks the authorities to secure aerial space near vital installations and highly populated areas. Thus, it is imperative to discontinue use of drones in all social and cultural gatherings.

3. Leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Pushkar Singh Dhami, took oath as eleventh chief minister of Uttarakhand. He sworn in as Chief Minister a day after he was elected as leader of BJP's legislature party in state. He was administered oath of office by governor Baby Rani Maurya at Raj Bhavan in Dehradun.

4. According to a report released by "Coalition for Negative Emissions (CNE) & McKinsey", Projects in development will remove only some fraction of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) from air to meet the 2025 climate change goal. About 190 countries have signed Paris agreement which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

5. Union minister of education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank released Unified District Information System for Education Plus report (UDISE+) for 2019-2020. UDISE+ report highlighted some interesting facts, both positive and negative about Indian school education system.

6. International Labour Organisation (ILO) published its report on International Migrant Workers. Report was published amid COVID-19 pandemic and increased global industrialisation that have impacted world's economy by shift in workers crossing borders to look for employment.

7. Trafficking in Persons report 2021 was recently released by US State Department. As per the report, Covid-19 pandemic has increased vulnerability to human trafficking and interrupted existing anti-traffic efforts. According to the report, India did not meet minimum standards of eliminating trafficking. However, government made significant efforts, though these were inadequate especially with respect to bonded labour.

8. As per Jal Shakti Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, India is working on its rights to stop excess water flowing to Pakistan under Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 to irrigate its own lands. India and Pakistan had signed the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960 after nine years of negotiations. World Bank was also a signatory.

9. Supreme Court has issued a notice to Centre on use of Section 66A of IT Act which was scrapped in 2015. SC issued notice during the hearing of plea filed by PUCL (People's Union for Civil Liberties). The plea pointed that even after 7 years of law being struck down, about 745 cases are still pending and active before district courts in 11 states where accused persons are being prosecuted for offences in accordance with Section 66A of IT Act.

10. Government has notified a draft norm to regulate direct selling firms like Amway and Tupperware to protect the interest of consumers in India. Under the norms, these direct selling firms will not be allowed to offer pyramid and money circulation scheme.

11. Experts from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) and Forest College and Research Institute (FC&RI) has undertaken a project to identify native grasses & trees in order to improve elephant habitats and standardise mass multiplication techniques.

12. Ayurveda dataset on Clinical Trial Registry-India (CTRI) Portal will be launched on 5 July, 2021 by Ayush Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju. Launch of CTRI Portal marks a significant step towards worldwide visibility with respect to Ayurveda based clinical trials. Ayurveda Dataset of CTRI was jointly developed by ICMR and CCRAS, Ministry of Ayush.

13. Rajasthan government has planned to develop a tiger corridor connecting Ranthambore tiger reserve, Ramgarh Vishdhari tiger reserve and Mukundra tiger reserve. Centre government have its nod for creation of Ramgarh Vishdhari sanctuary, recently.

14. Data shared by Delhi Police shows that, Crime against women in Capital has increased by 63.3% in first six months of 2021 against the crime rate in 2020. As per data, rape cases have increase from 580 in June 2020 to 833 in 2021, accounting for an increase of 43%.

15. Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool Congress (TMC) government passed a resolution in state assembly on 6 July, 2021 for creation of a legislative council in state under Article 169 of Constitution. Government was able to pass the resolution with 196 votes in favour and 69 against it.

16. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government announced for creation of a new "Ministry of Cooperation" on 6 July, 2021 ahead of cabinet reshuffle. Ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework to strengthen cooperative movement in India.

17. Delhi government has formulated a policy for welfare of street children in light of covid-19 pandemic situation. Policy underlines the role of various stakeholders in promoting Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and generating awareness about the infection.

18. Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have launched a regular MTech programme in Defence Technology. Tech programme was launched to impart necessary theoretical and experimental knowledge, skill & aptitude in the areas of defence technology.

19. Two cases of highly transmissible Kappa variant of COVID-19 were detected in Uttar Pradesh, recently. Cases were reported after genome sequencing of samples at Lucknow's King George medical college. Genome sequencing is a laboratory process which is instrumental for characterising mutations and tracking covid-19 disease outbreaks.

20. Amid the surge in covid-19 cases in State, Kerala has officially confirmed its first case of Zika virus, which is a mosquito-borne viral infection. Samples of 13 persons, suspected to be positive with Zika virus, have been sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune.

21. Two species of spiders have been found in Jharbari range of western Assam's Chirang Reserve Forest. Both the species have been sharing same space. Gravelyia boro is a newly discovered burrow spider. Dexippus kleini is an oriental jumping spider. It has been recorded for the first time after it was originally described 129 years ago by Swedish arachnologist, Tord Tamerlan Teodor Thorell.

22. Uttar Pradesh government is set to release its new policy on population control for 2021-30. It will be released on 11 July, on the occasion of World Population Day. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath urged for community-centric approach to population control to provide people better facilities.

23. Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India's first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility plant at Nagpur. While inaugurating the plant, Minister emphasized on importance of alternate biofuels and diversification of agriculture towards energy & power sector.

24. India's second annual Lightning Report was recently published. According to it, lightning in India has become the biggest cause of death by forces of nature. On 11 July, 2021 lightning strikes killed about 70 people in different parts India, including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

25. Ladakh has become first Union Territory to vaccinate all residents and guest population; comprising of migrant labourers, hotel workers and Nepalese citizens earning their livelihood in the territory; with first dose of Covid-19 jab.

26. Debate on bifurcation of Tamil Nadu to carve out "Kongu Nadu Region" has emerged because of clash of terminologies after DMK government addressed Centre as 'Union government' in the spirit of constructive collaboration and state autonomy. For DMK, batting for state autonomy is a way to keep overreach by Centre in check.

27. Maharashtra government has unveiled the "Maharashtra Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, 2021". Government also revealed its plans to attract EV manufacturing companies and allied businesses in State by offering incentives to industries and consumers.

28. Delhi government has partnered with tech giant Google to launch a system to enable commuters to access real-time information about buses. Google will be providing real time information including arrival time, departure time and their routes. Deal was inked between Google & Delhi Transport Ministry to provide such information.

29. According to a study by non-government organisation (NGO), Greenpeace, Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) has been increased by 125% in Delhi during the period of last one year. Study analysed NO2 concentrations in India's eight most populous cities namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Lucknow.

30. NewsOnAir Radio Live-stream Global Rankings was released recently ranking countries where All India Radio (AIR) live-streams on NewsOnAir app are most popular. In global rankings of top AIR streams (excluding India), AIR News 24*7 has moved one position up from 7 to 6. On the other hand, AIR Tamil has slipped from spot 6 to 10.

31. As per a study published by Lancet Planetary Health Journal, about 740,000 access deaths in India annually are linked to abnormal hot and cold temperatures due to climate change. Study was conducted by an international team, led by researchers at Monash University in Australia.

32. Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021 was recently published by UN department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). It was launched at 2021 session of High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Report highlights the impacts of COVID-19 on SDG implementation. It also identifies areas which require urgent and coordinated action. Report was prepared using data and estimates in Global SDG Indicators Database comprising of global, regional and country data & metadata on official SDG indicators.

33. As per a recent STRiDE -I study, under the current scenario, risk of cardiovascular (CV) diseases is going to increase in urban and rural population in Tamil Nadu in the future. Researchers from Dr. A. Ramachandran's Diabetes Hospital studied trend of cardiovascular diseases in different sets of population.

34. One of the biggest festivals of India, Jagannath Puri Rath Yatra for Lord Jagannath was commenced on 12 July, 2021 Jagannath Puri Yatra is held at one of the Char Dhams called Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha. This festival is the most famous Vaishnavite rituals observed in India and abroad. On the occasion, devotees pray to three deities – Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Lordess Subhadra.

35. According to a study published in Lancet Planetary Health, a 3.7% degrees Celsius rise in temperatures from pre-industrial level by 2100 might lead to fatal outbreaks of malaria and dengue. Global warming has always increased spectre of deluge and drought. But now it adds diseases to it.

36. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently published its "State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report". Report provides a grim reminder of impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Food security. FAO's study was conducted in 63 low- and middle-income countries.

37. Union minister for commerce, consumer affairs and food & textiles, Piyush Goyal, is set to replace Thaawar Chand Gehlot as leader of House in Rajya Sabha. This replacement signals the induction of younger leader for a role which is usually handled by veterans.

38. From 12 to 14 July, 2021 the BRICS meeting on Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) was held. During the three day CGETI meeting, the BRICS members deliberated on the proposals which were circulated by India. These proposals were mainly for increasing and strengthening the intra-BRICS trade and cooperation was said by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

39. Much-awaited National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) will soon come up in Patna. Process to set up the research centre has started. Opening up of the research centre will be a big step towards conservation of endangered Gangetic River dolphin.

40. Supreme Court of India announced on 16 July, 2021, to implement a system for safe digital transmission of its bail orders to jails across India. With the implementation of 'safe digital transmission of bail order' scheme, authorities will not be required to wait for authentic orders to release prisoners.

41. Central Government has notified jurisdiction of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) & Godavari River Management Boards (GRMB), Seven years after their constitution under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. With the constitution of boards, Centre transferred operation of all projects, including generation of hydel power, in two river basins in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to them.

42. The Oxfam report which is named 'Inequality Report 2021: India's Unequal Healthcare Story' was released on Tuesday. This report talks about how India's focus on supporting private healthcare while low spending on public healthcare systems has led to inequalities in accessing healthcare, especially during the ongoing pandemic.

43. On 19 July, 2021, Labour minister Bhupender Yadav has said that Urban India witnessed an unemployment rate of 20.8% in the quarter of April-June 2020. This period witnessed stringent nationwide lockdown to arrest the spread of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

44. The latest serological survey conducted nationwide by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that up to two-thirds of the country's population who are above the age of six have already been infected with the Coronavirus. The fourth serosurvey was conducted in the months of June and July, after the second wave had began to subside.

45. A study conducted by Danone India, a French packaged foods and beverages company, along with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has gauged the standard of psychological and physical, social relationships, and environment among more than 2,700 adults in India. It came up with the report that 46.2% Indians report a poor quality of life.

46. With an order notified by Department of justice in Law Ministry on 16 July, 2021, nomenclature of 'Common High Court of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh' has been changed to 'High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh'. President Ram Nath Kovind signed "Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2021" to make this change.

47. On 18 July, 2021, successful trial of movement of train was undertaken between Jaynagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. The length of the rail section is 34.50 and this is the first section of the rail line links between the two countries which connects Kurtha in the Mahottari district of Nepal to Jaynagar in the Madhubani district of Bihar.

48. Pegasus spyware has been used to conduct surveillance on ministers, opposition leaders, journalists, government officials and scientists of India. Phone numbers of around 40 Indian journalists were found in a leaked list of potential targets for surveillance. Forensic tests done on the list has confirmed that an unidentified agency has successfully snooped some of them using the Pegasus software.

49. A conditional licensing framework for proprietary food products has been proposed by The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Those products for which no identification standards have been prescribed under any existing regulations, but are generally manufactured using permitted ingredients and additives are known as Proprietary food products.

50. The government of Tripura has taken initiatives to promote commercial cultivation of Agar trees and has set a target of achieving Rs 2,000 crore business from this sector in the coming three years. Tripura government has plans to export 1,500 kg of Agar oil and 75,000 kg of Agar chips in the year 2021-22.

51. India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has granted authorisations to seven companies for selling of auto fuels in the country. These new approvals come under the relaxed guidelines for authorization to market transportation fuels which were revised in the year 2019.

52. National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh has partnered with National Insurance Company Ltd. to insure high-altitude yak. High-altitude yaks are feeling the climate change heat in Himalayan belt. Climate change and inexplicable changes in weather pattern have been reported from yak rearing areas across India. As a result, countrywide population yak has been decreasing at an alarming rate.

53. The Indian Institute of Heritage will be set up in Noida by the government. This will be a first of kind institution in the country. The Indian Institute of Heritage will be set up and it will focus on the country's rich heritage and will look to impart education on the cultural aspects of the nation.

54. A guided missile named "Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) "which has been indigenously developed by India's Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has been successfully flight tested. A man-portable launcher that was integrated with thermal site was used to launch this missile.

55. Three monuments in the State of Andhra Pradesh have been identified under the Adarsh Smarak Scheme. These monuments will be provided with additional amenities and will be made into more tourist-friendly sites. This was announced by the Union Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy.

56. The government on 19th July, 2021 had introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha that seeks to repeal the decades old Lighthouse Act of 1927 to make way for shifting to modern aids from lighthouses for marine navigation. Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways, introduced the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, which he had termed to be very important for developing the entire navigation system of India.

57. On 19 July 19, 2021, to turn the spotlight on the logistics sector, the Government of India announced the launch of a new category of awards named the National Logistics Excellence Awards. This newly launched awards will provide with due recognition to the various players involved in the logistics supply chain in the country.

58. In the state of Madhya Pradesh, the cities of Orchha and Gwalior have been selected by UNESCO under its 'Historic Urban Landscape Project.' This project was started in the year 2011. UNESCO's Historic Urban Landscape project for the cities of Orchha and Gwalior was launched through video conferencing by Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

59. Rasmi Ranjan Das, a Joint secretary of the Finance Ministry has been appointed to the UN tax committee as a member for the term period 2021 to 2025. Rasmi Ranjan Das is Joint Secretary – (FT&TR-I), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

60. The cabinet of the state of Meghalaya has approved the Meghalaya Youth Policy 2021. This policy aims to create a field for the youths of the state in achieving their full potential and becoming skilled, engaged, responsible, creative, and empowered members of the state as well as the country.

61. The authorities of the state of Kerala have removed the upper age limit for transgender college students of the state who are seeking admission to numerous educational programs available in the State universities and its affiliated schools.

62. On 22nd July, 2021 a report named Renewables Integration in India 2021 was jointly launched by NITI Aayog and IEA. This report is based on the outcome of workshops held in three states along with the Governments of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat to understand the energy transition challenges which is faced by these renewable-rich states.

63. India plans to create power islanding systems in several cities of the country to protect the critical infrastructures from potential attacks on the electricity grid of the nation. Bengaluru and Jamnagar, which has two of India's largest oil refineries, are included in the cities which are being assessed for an islanding system.

64. Indian Space Research Organisation's merchandise programme which will be customised space-themed has taken off in partnership with multiple companies. Following the launch of this programme, all those interested will be able to purchase authorised products of ISRO such as T-shirts, scale models, space-themed educational games, mugs, science toys, etc.

65. On 23rd July, Santanu Sen, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Monsoon Session for being unruly a day after he snatched papers from newly appointed information technology minister Ashwani Vaishnaw while he was reading out a statement regarding the Pegasus snooping scandal.

66. The government has amended the rules concerning to the incorporation of companies which comes under the Companies Act, 2013. From 1st September, these changes will come into effect. Companies Act, 2013, is being implemented by the corporate affairs ministry and they have amended the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014.

67. At a two-year celebration of his government, 26th july Karnataka Chief Minister, BS Yediyurappa announced his resignation. This announcement ends the weeks of speculation floating around regarding calls for his removal by a BJP section in the state.

68. On 26th July, 2021, Yogi Adityanath the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh launched the 'MyGov-Meri Sarkar' portal. Through this portal, the people of the state can give various feedbacks to the government and the UP government can also inform them about the various schemes of the state.

69. On 27th July, 2021, Dholavira the Harappan city which is located in the Kutch district of Gujarat has been named as the 40th Indian site inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage list. Dholavira is the first Indus Valley Civilisation site in India that has been included in the list.

70. Geological Survey of India (GSI), under the government's energy security plans, has imitated seven lithium exploration projects in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir.

71. Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF) in a first of its kind project has launched Project Bold with the primary aim of developing green cover in the Indian deserts of Rajasthan.

72. Raja Mircha, also known as Naga King Chilli, was exported to London from Nagaland. This the first time Raja Mirch is being exported from the state of Nagaland that too during the the Covid-19 pandemic along with a drought-like situation in Nagaland.

73. The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) has recently announced that they will be returning 14 pieces of artworks to India. These artworks also include Chola idols and they are from the museums Asian art collection section. 13 artworks are connected to convicted art dealer Subhash Kapoor who was arrested for running a smuggling racket.

74. Mini polyhouse which is a kind of greenhouse will be built under the "Krishikarna" project, launched in Kerala, a joint initiative of the National Society for Agricultural Horticulture (SAHS), the Sustainability Foundation and Qore3 Innovations.

75. The Kerala government has announced a financial plan of more than Rs. 5,000 crore to revive the state's economy that has been unstable due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal announced a Rs. 5650 crore financial plan at the state assembly to help the state's small traders and farmers. This package is designed to help small businesses and farmers in the state negatively affected by the pandemic.

76. On 31st July, 2021 a 'Samajik Adhikarita Shivir' for the distribution of assistive devices and aids to 'Divyangjan' will be distributed in Madhya Pradesh. Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) along with District Administration Chhindwara and ALIMCO will organize this 'shivir' under the ADIP Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

77. A study conducted by the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) between 1998 and 2018 found that in 18 of 22 areas, the groundwater level dropped by more than 1 meter per year. The Punjab groundwater depletion study, written by Rajan Aggarwal, Samanpreet Kaur and Anmol Kaur Gill, was published by PAU and presented to the state government last month. The study found that groundwater available from 3 to 10 meters has dropped below 30 meters in 20 years.

78. From the next month India will be the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month and then the nation will host various events in the three major areas of fight against terrorism, maritime security and peacekeeping.

International

1. Facebook has announced to launch its new publishing tool called Bulletin with the aim of promoting independent writers. Bulletin would help and support these independent creators in United States. Bulletin will be providing support focused on content creation, monetisation and audience growth.

2. According to the report by UNCTAD and UN's World Tourism Organisation (WTO), International tourism arrivals are set to stagnate in 2021, except in some Western markets. As per report, stagnation would result into losses of $2.4 trillion. It highlights, tourism sector is not expected to rebound fully until 2023.

3. According to Tesla and SpaceX chief executive, Elon Musk, Starlink was on track to provide global internet coverage. Starlink has over 70,000 users across 12 countries, presently. He underlined; SpaceX is ready to spend about $30 billion to expand Starlink in a bid to cover 5 lakh user-mark in next 12 months.

4. Eight European Union states included Covishield in list of vaccines approved to enter into the region. Covishield was allowed in 8 EU counties after India warned of retaliation when none of its vaccines were added to 'Green Pass'. Eight countries include Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Iceland, Greece, Spain, Ireland and Switzerland. These countries will exempt those vaccinated with Covishield from all the travel curbs and mandatory quarantine.

5. World Bank recently added $8 billion to finance Covid-19 vaccines, which expands financing available for vaccines to $20 billion for developing countries. Earlier World Bank had announced $12 billion. World Bank Chief called on countries with surplus doses to donate it for use by developing countries.

6. United States military has left Afghanistan's Bagram airfield after nearly two decades. Bagram airfield was the site of several military encounters and a epicenter of US 'war on terror' in Afghanistan in the backdrop of 9/11 terror attacks.

7. India and majority members of OECD and G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion & Profit Shifting adopted a high-level statement that outlines a consensus solution in a bid to address tax challenges that are arising from digitalisation of economy.

8. Tropical Storm Elsa strengthened on 3 July, 2021 and its center approached south-central Cuba. Caribbean Island government issued hurricane warnings in provinces of Cienfuegos and Matanzas. According to U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast, Tropical Storm Elsa would strengthen more before moving over Cuba.

9. Centre undertook complete control of district mineral foundation (DMF) funds from state. It negating right of states to sanction or approve any expenditure out of the funds that have been accrued from mandatory contribution from mining lease holders.Centre undertook complete control of district mineral foundation (DMF) funds from state. It negating right of states to sanction or approve any expenditure out of the funds that have been accrued from mandatory contribution from mining lease holders.

10. According to government scientists of Philippines, second-most active volcano of Philippines, Taal Volcano, can erupt anytime soon amid "anomalously high" volcanic gas emissions in Philippines. About 3,000 residents have left their homes from high-risk villages around Taal Volcano in Batangas province since the volcano erupted.

11. American Space Agency, NASA, has received its first sample of asteroid Ryugu that returned to Earth in December 2020 by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft.

12. Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has gifted 2,600 kg of Haribhanga variety of mangoes to Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Truck carrying 260 cartons of mangoes crossed Bangladesh-India border through Benapole port in Jessore. Mangoes are a "memento of friendship" between both the countries.

13. China has banned construction of tallest skyscrapers following the safety concerns over quality of some projects. China had constructed maximum number of tallest buildings in 2019 but now it has banned to ensure safety. As per National Development and Reform Commission, this ban covers buildings taller than 500 metres.

14. Twitter India has appointed an interim chief compliance officer to comply with the new IT rules in India. Twitter India will also designate two other executives in accordance with the new IT rules, soon.

15. According to Qatar Airways and International Air Transport Association (IATA) Qatar Airways will be the first airline in Middle East to join IATA Turbulence Aware platform. IATA Turbulence Aware helps airlines to mitigate impact of turbulence which is a leading cause of passenger & crew injuries and higher fuel costs each year.

16. Supreme Court of Israel upheld a controversial law on 8 July, 2021. This law defines the country as 'nation state of Jewish people'. This law also rejects claims by opponents regarding discrimination against minorities.

17. UK-India Financial Markets Dialogue (FMD) held first virtual meeting on 8 July, 2021 in order to strengthen bilateral financial connections. Meeting was chaired by senior officials from UK Treasury and Indian Ministry of Finance. Both the countries agreed that, there is significant scope to strengthened financial services cooperation them.

18. External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar recently held productive talks with the Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Both sides reviewed the progress on broad-ranging cooperation between both the nations on nuclear, space, energy and defence sectors.

19. Chinese conservation officials have announced that, Chinese giant Panda is no longer an endangered species. Number increased due to the China's devotion in maintaining nature reserves and other conservation initiatives during recent years.

20. American Space Agency, NASA's ICESat-2 discovered Antarctic Meltwater Lakes recently. Glaciologist Helen Amanda Fricker had made an astonishing discovery in 2007 and found that, a whole hidden network of interconnected lake is found beneath thick Antarctic ice-shelves.

21. Cuba has developed world's first conjugate Covid-19 vaccine Soberana 2 (Sovereign 2). When the Soberana 2 vaccine is delivered with booster shot of Soberana Plus, it is 91% effective against symptomatic Covid-19 cases. If this vaccine is approved, Cuba will become first Latin American country to manufacture and produce vaccine against Covid-19.

22. Supreme Court of Nepal has passed an order to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as prime minister of Nepal within two days. Five-member constitutional bench of supreme court' order also reinstated the dissolved House of Representatives for second time in five months.

23. Square's hardware head, Jesse Dorogusker, announced recently that company is going to start building a hardware wallet and accompanying service for cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. This decision was taken in a bid to bring crypto coin into mainstream.

24. China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drafted a cyber-security industry plan. It is a three-year action plan to develop China's cyber-security industry. This draft plan came in the backdrop of a regulatory probe of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing for violating data privacy laws.

25. United Kingdom exported apple to India for the first time in 50 years. Export of apple was welcomes by UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss, as a sign of strengthened trade partnership between the UK and India.

26. India, during SCO meeting in Dushanbe, has called on members of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to act against terrorism and terror financing. Meeting was dominated by deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. Meeting was attended by representatives from countries having observer status with SCO and SCO members.

27. European Union's executive branch released new legislation to meet its pledge of cutting emissions of gases causing global warming by 55% this decade. EU's 'fit for 55' legislation includes a controversial plan to tax foreign companies for pollution caused by them.

28. American President Joe Biden called on Congress to extend "Child Tax Credit Programme" because this programme has potential to reduce child poverty in America. Programme will be extended beyond its December expiration date. This announcement was made on the day, Internal Revenue Service started distributing payments, which are part of American Rescue Plan

29. United States government has released an online hub for victims of ransomware attacks. Online hub will make it easier for companies and municipalities to find resources and get assistance in case they are targeted by cyber hackers.

30. As per a study published in science journal, Nature, parts of Amazon rainforest are emitting more carbon dioxide than they absorb. Study was conducted by making 600 flights over four areas of Amazon. It was led by researchers from Brazil National Institute for Space Research to collect data on amount of carbon dioxide present in atmosphere.

31. Parliament of Pakistan has passed a bill to criminalise torture and prevent custodial killings by police or other government officials on 12 July, 2021. This bill was adopted by Senate which is the upper house of bicameral parliament. It was moved by Pakistan Peoples' Party Senator Sherry Rehman and was supported by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari.

32. Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (India) and Ministry of Health (Denmark) on Cooperation in areas of Health and Medicine.

33. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Russia on cooperation in coking Coal. Coking coal is used for Steel making. MoU was signed between Ministry of Steel (India) and Ministry of Energy (Russia).

34. French director, Julia Ducournau of 'Titane', a horror drama becomes the first female director in the last 28 years to win the Palme d'or at Cannes Film Festival. On 18 July, 2021, the awards of the 74th Cannes Film Festival were handed out at the closing ceremony of the event in the Grand Theatre Lumiere.

35. On 18th July, 2021, Lewis Hamilton of United Kingdom has won the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone for a record eighth time. This was the 99th win of Hamilton's career who has also won the world championship seven times.

36. A Texas based Federal judge has created a storm in the USA by ruling that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program which was created by former president Barack Obama in the year 2012 is illegal as the congress never formerly accepted it.

37. United States of America, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, have made a principle agreement to establish a new quadrilateral diplomatic platform with the primary aim to enhance regional connectivity. This QUAD group was announced by the administration of Biden.

38. United States Navy has handed over first two MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH) to Indian Navy, further strengthening the India-US defence relationship. Indian Navy is procuring 24 of MH-60R helicopters manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

39. According to Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, Saudi Arabia, women can now register for annual Hajj pilgrimage without male guardian (marham). In registration guidelines of Hajj for domestic pilgrims, ministry highlights, women do not need require a male guardian to register, and could do registration along with other women.

40. Two Indian communities have bagged this year's UNDP Equator Prize. They have won this prestigious prize for their exceptional achievement in exhibiting innovative, local and various nature-based solutions for tackling climate change and biodiversity loss and also achieving their local development goals.

41. Amid turmoil in the country of Haiti, Ariel Henry has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of the country. The assassination of President Jovenel Moise caused turmoil in the country of Haiti. Among this turmoil the country has appointed Ariel Henry as its new Prime Minister.

42. NASA has announced that its new spacecraft, NEA Scout, has successfully undergone all the required tests and has now been safely tucked inside the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

43. India's 14 Tiger Reserves have received the Global Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS) accreditation. The 14 tiger reserves are Orang, Manas and Kaziranga in Assam, Kanha, Panna and Satpura in MP, Pench in Maharashtra, Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar, Dudhwa in UP, Sunderbans in West Bengal, Parambikulam in Kerala, Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and Annamalai and Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.

44. On 21st July, 2021 Liverpool was removed from the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites after being granted the title in 2004. The decision was taken after a secret ballot was done by the UNESCO committee. They voted in favour stripping Liverpool of this status.

45. On 21 July, 2021, The International Monetary Fund has said that it is estimating that global growth for 2021 will be about 6%, the same that was forecasted in April, but some countries are growing faster and others more slowly.

46. Using the name "Taiwan" Taiwan's government will set up its first office in Europe, in the Baltic nation of Lithuania. The Taiwan government has come up with this decision as it seeks to strengthen its diplomatic presence across the globe with the ever increasing pressure from Beijing.

47. Amsterdam, has unveiled the world's first 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge. This project has been opened on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in the city of Amsterdam. The opening ceremony of this bridge was attended by the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima.

48. With forest fires raging in the Russia and USA and severe floods devastating parts of Western Europe, on 22 and 23 July, 2021, energy and environment ministers from the Group of 20 countries are holding talks at Naples in Italy.

49. The United Kingdom, is now reporting an outbreak of norovirus. Public Health England (PHE) recently issued a warning regarding Norovirus. Since the end of the month of May, England has recorded 154 cases of norovirus in the country. Increase in norovirus cases in educational settings has been reported.

50. "Golden Rice" which is genetically modified has been given approval for commercial production by Philippines. Health experts believe that this decision will save lives and combat childhood blindness in the developing regions of the world.

51. Scientist of the Chinese government has unveiled plans for an experimental nuclear reactor that does not require water for cooling. This reactor will run on liquid thorium instead of uranium and is expected to be safer than the traditional reactors. As molten salt, when exposed to air, cools and solidifies quickly thus insulating the thorium, causing any potential leak to spill very little radiation into the environment compared to the leaks from traditional reactors.

52. Bangladesh is going to launch its own social media platform named 'Jogajog' which is an alternative to the globally popular Facebook and 'Alapon' which will be an alternative of WhatsApp.

53. China announced new rules under which profit tutoring in core school subjects has been barred to ease financial pressures on families. China's private educational firms are bracing for a hit after the announcements were made. The rule changes sent shockwaves across the country's private tutoring sector triggering a sell-off in the shares of the educational companies which includes the US-listed Gaotu Techedu and TAL Education Group.

54. The first-ever resolution on vision has been approved the United Nations general assembly. The UN called upon its 193 member countries so that they ensure access to eye care for each of their individual citizens. Following this resolution will contribute towards the global effort of helping about 1.1 billion people who are suffering from vision impairment and lack eye services by the year 2030.

55. Buen Retiro Park and Paseo del Prado of Madrid, Spain have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. With this announcement the total number of World Heritage Sites in Spain goes up to 49 which is the third-highest globally only after Italy and China.

56. World's first affordable as well as effective new drug for hepatitis C has been registered by Malaysia. This new drug offers hope for accessible treatment to the millions of people around the world who are suffering from this disease.

57. Kenya and United Kingdom are co hosting a Global Education Summit in the city of London with the objective to raise 5 billion USD for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE). GPE funds public education in up to 90 territories and countries.

58. The United States has announced 25 million USD assistance to India to support the COVID-19 vaccination efforts across the country. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that the US government will partner with Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India as well as various state governments across the country to support the vaccine supply chain logistics, to address hesitancy and misinformation and will also help in the training of healthcare workers so that they can deliver vaccines effectively and safely.

59. World Day against Trafficking in Persons is being observed on 30th July, 2021. Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) and Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) together has called upon the various stakeholders to include the point of view of all the survivors and victims in all the anti-trafficking activities.

60. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and UN Environment Programme (UNEP) recently released its report titled "A future for all – the need for human-wildlife coexistence". As per report, human-animal conflict is one of the main threats for long-term survival of world's most iconic species.

61. On its 15th Foundation Day the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) launched Earth System Science Data Portal (ESSDP). Dr Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), gave a lecture during this event. A report on 'WMO, Disasters, Climate and COP-26' was discussed along with the issues relating to climate change.

62. WHO on 23rd July launched its first Regional Status Report on Drowning Prevention in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions. This report said that nearly two-thirds of all global deaths due to drowning occur in the Asia Pacific region.

Defence

1. Following a drone attack at Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Jammu, Air force has decided to procure 10 anti-drone systems in order to stop such attacks in future across border areas. Army Force has floated Request for Information (RFI) from Indian vendors for Counter Unarmed Aircraft System (CUAS).

2. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Tabar recently participated in military exercises with frontline frigate of Italian Navy. INS Tabar joined Italian Navy and entered Port of Naples on 3 July as part of ongoing deployment in Mediterranean.

3. Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have launched a regular MTech programme in Defence Technology. Tech programme was launched to impart necessary theoretical and experimental knowledge, skill & aptitude in the areas of defence technology.

4. Indian Navy received 10th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from US-based aerospace company, Boeing. 10th P-81 aircraft is the second aircraft to be delivered under option contract for four additional aircraft that Defence ministry was awarded in 2016.

5. Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has released reorganized "Drone Rules, 2021" for public consultation. Draft rules were built on premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring. As per new rules, there will be minimal human interface on digital sky platform and most permissions will be self-generated.

6. Under Project 75-India, the Government has issued a tender of Rs. 50,000 crores to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines. These submarines will be bigger than the Scorpene-class submarines which are being built at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited, Mumbai

7. On 20th July, 2021, Russia announced that it had successfully test-fired S-500 its new air defence missile systems at a southern training range of the country and had successfully hit a high-speed ballistic target.

8. A high strength titanium alloy has been developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This alloy has been developed for applications in aerospace structural forgings. (DRDO) has said that this alloy can be used in various ways that include slat and flap tracks, landing gears and drop link in landing gear etc.

9. A guided missile named "Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) "which has been indigenously developed by India's Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has been successfully flight tested. A man-portable launcher that was integrated with thermal site was used to launch this missile.

10. In the last year, the Indian Air Force received approval from the defence ministry to procure 21 MiG-29 fighter jets besides 12 Sukhoi MK1 from Russia. In recent news, a spokesperson of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation has said that Russia will supply 21 MiG-29 fighters to India.

11. New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG), a surface-to-air Missile has been successfully flight-tested Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) on 21 July, 2021 from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off the coast of Odisha.

12. On 22nd July, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021 of the United Kingdom which is led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier has joined the Indian Navy for maritime exercises in the Bay of Bengal for three day duration. For the first time, United Kingdom's Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 2021 which is led by HMS Queen Elizabeth is having complex maritime interactions with the Indian Navy.

13. Essential Defence Services Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22nd July. Essential Defence Services Bill is introduced with the aim to prevent the staff of all the government-owned ordnance factories across the country from going on a strike.

14. On 23rd July, 2021 the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) launched technology innovation hub to find cyber security solutions for intrusion detection system, anti-drones technologies, cyber physical system and block-chain. After a rigorous application process, 25 research and development principal investigators and 13 start-ups were selected.

15. On 26th July, 2021, Kargil Vijay Diwas's 22nd Anniversary is being celebrated across the country. The Nation will be paying tributes to the Martyrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas. This day marks the victory of the Indian armed forces over the Pakistani army in Operation Vijay in the year 1999. The Pakistani army were evicted from high altitude outposts in the Kargil sector of India.

16. In the maritime Exercise Cutlass Express 2021, INS Talwar is participating. This naval exercise is being conducted from 26th July 2021 to 6th August 2021 along the Eastern Coast of Africa. This maritime exercise is held annually and it is conducted to promote regional and national maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean and East Africa.

17. The Department of Defence Production which comes under the Ministry of Defence has given its approval for a central sector scheme named 'Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)' and a Rs. 498.80 crore budgetary supports has been provided for the next 5 years starting from 2021-22 to the year 2025-26.

18. From 28th to 29th July, 2021, the 12th edition of the military exercise INDRA NAVY was held in the Baltic Sea. It is a biennial bilateral maritime exercise that is conducted between the Indian Navy and Russian Navy.

Business, Economy & Banking

1. NITI Aayog has recommended privatisation of state-owned insurer United India Insurance coverage (UIIC). This recommendation was made in the backdrop of government's goals to maneuver forward with new public sector enterprise (PSE) coverage for a Atmanirbhar Bharat.

2. A new Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) rule is coming into effect from 1 July, 2021. Under the new rules, non-filer of income tax for past two financial years will be subjected to higher taxation. TDS or TCS will be charged at double rate specified in relevant provision of Income Tax Act or 5%.

3. As per data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India has reported a current account surplus of 0.9% of GDP in the Financial Year 2021 (FY21) amid the covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, it has reported current account deficit of 0.9% in FY20.

4. Union Finance Ministry has decided to issue certificates of appreciation to over 54,000 GST payers. Certification of appreciation will be issued for timely filing of returns and cash payment of tax and to mark fourth anniversary of historic tax reform Goods and Services Tax.

5. Flipkart has launched its new app called 'Shopsy' for online business. This app was launched to app to help individuals start online businesses without any investment. It also deepens e-commerce penetration across non-metros. Once the users will register on this app, they will be able to share catalogues of 15 crore products which are offered by Flipkart sellers.

6. Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) and Microsoft have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for building an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM. The MoU seeks to explore role of cloud, AI and emerging technologies to transform and shape future of public finance management across India.

7. Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has approved 14 applicants under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for IT hardware products. PLI Scheme for IT Hardware provides an incentive of 4% to 2% on net incremental sales over base years of Financial Year 2020.

8. Minister of MSME, Nitin Gadkari, announced on 2 July, 2021 about revised guidelines for MSMEs which has included retail and wholesale trade under Micro, Small & Medium (MSME) Enterprises. Inclusion of retail & wholesale trades mean that retail & wholesale trade will be able to avail benefits like priority sector lending under RBI guidelines.

9. Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises has launched six Technology Innovation Platforms on 2 July, 2021. These platforms were launched by Union minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar, in virtual mode. These technology platforms will focus on development of technologies for globally competitive manufacturing across India.

10. Union Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of Information & Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar congratulated Invest India has been awarded world's most innovative Promotion Agency 2021 by OCO Global.

11. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified new norms for interest on the amount left unclaimed with bank after a term deposit matures. Presently, if a term deposit matures and proceeds are unpaid, amount left unclaimed with bank attracts rate of interest as it is applicable to savings deposits.

12. Government has asked National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch platform for electronic vaccine vouchers. These vouchers are like electronic prepaid instruments which can be used only for vaccination. With the help of vouchers, hospitals would get money instantly credited to its account.

13. Officials of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are conducting raids across several districts in Uttar Pradesh in connection with alleged scam in Gomti River Front Development Project. Raids were conducted at 40 locations across 13 districts including Ghaziabad, Lucknow and Agra.

14. Digital payments platform PhonePe has tied hands with Flipkart to launch a contactless 'Scan and Pay' feature for Flipkart's pay-on-delivery orders. Dynamic QR code solution of PhonePe will enable customers, to pay digitally through UPI Apps during the delivery of product, who earlier opted for cash on delivery.

15. Reserve Bank of India (RBI), while reviewing market conditions and market borrowing program of government, has decided that benchmark securities of 2-year tenor, 3-year tenor, 5-year tenor, 10-year tenor & 14-year tenor and Floating Rate Bonds (FRBs) will be issued using uniform price auction method. However, for benchmark securities of 30-year and 40-year, auction will continue to be multiple price-based auction.

16. Digital payments and financial services platform, Paytm, have launched "Postpaid Mini" service for users on 5 July, 2021. Postpaid mini service was launched in partnership with Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. It is an extension of Paytm's "Buy Now, Pay Later service".

17. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched a project on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). Project on Open Network for Digital Commerce was launched with the aim of promoting open networks developed on open-sourced methodology. Open network will be developed using open specifications & open network protocols independent of any specific platform.

18. The Reserve Bank of India cancelled the license of Madgaum Urban Cooperative Bank Co. Ltd., located in Margao, Goa, because due to the current financial situation of the bank they will not be able to pay its current depositors in full.

19. Department of Telecom (DoT) has proposed to fine Rs 10,000 for fraud messages in order to tighten noose on pesky callers. DoT will put a fine of Rs 10,000 for every call and SMS made by telemarketers after 50 violations.

20. Digital Communications Commission (DCC) has cleared a provision of using satellite connectivity in telecom networks in accordance with TRAI recommendations. Satellite connectivity will be used through VSAT terminal in order to provide services in remote areas as it is difficult to lay optical fibre network there.

21. First Commercial shipment of Mishri variety of cherries was exported to Dubai from Srinagar on 6 July, 2021 in order to boost horticultural exports. In June, a sample consignment was sent to Dubai from Sri Nagar prior to this shipment.

22. Delhi's Excise Policy 2021-22 was launched for public on 5 July. Delhi government has made new norms for bars in hotels, clubs and restaurants under the policy. As per policy document, Delhi is the 28th most visited city worldwide by foreign visitors. In India, Delhi holds first rank in the most visited city list.

23. Central government has decided to bring Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under finance ministry. DPE was earlier under Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. It has been brought under finance minister in a bid to ease coordination regarding future disinvestment plans.

24. Payments solution provider Razorpay has partnered with Mastercard to launch 'MandateHQ'. MandateHQ is a payment interface that will help card-issuing banks to enable recurring payments for customers. Razorpay aims to integrate MandateHQ with more than 50 banks in 12 months.

25. West Bengal government presented budget for Financial Year 2022. It was tabled by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in state assembly on 7 July, 2021. Budget laid emphasis on social-sector expenditure and Covid reliefs. Size of budget for next financial year has been kept at Rs. 2,78,727 crore. It has been increased by 28.5% as compared to last year's budget.

26. First shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat, giving a boost to wheat exports. GI certified wheat has high protein content and has sweet taste.

27. Union Finance Ministry has released fourth monthly instalment of revenue deficit grant of Rs. 9,871 crore to 17 states. With this release, Centre has released a total of Rs. 39,484 crore to all eligible states as revenue deficit grant in financial year 2021-2022.

28. Geographical Indications (GI) certified Madurai jasmine and other traditional flowers like lily, button rose, chamanthi, and marigold were exported to United States and United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 8 July, 2021 from Tamil Nadu. This will fulfil the need of Indian diaspora for fresh flowers for deities at home and temples.

29. Cabinet has approved modifications in the 'Agriculture Infrastructure Fund' on 8 July, 2021. This move is aimed at expanding "Rs 1-lakh-crore Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)".

30. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is creating post for Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (LIC) instead of having an Executive Chairman. These changes have been outlined in backdrop of launch a mega initial public offering (IPO).

31. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued an advisory to banks and other financial institutions to be prepared for year-end transition from London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). Global transition from Libor became necessary because banks were manipulating rate in 2007-08. Following the incident, investigation was led by Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Britain.

32. Federal Bank shareholders have approved the motion of re-appointment of Shyam Srinivasan as managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the federal bank. He has been re-appointed CEO for a period of three years, which will come into effect from 23 September, 2021 till 22 September, 2024.

33. Uttar Pradesh government has proposed a population control bill titled The Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilization and Welfare) Bill, 2021. Bill was floated by Uttar Pradesh State Law Commission (UPSLC) in a bid to control & stabilise and for the welfare of population of state.

34. Under Modified Risk Management guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Bankers working in sensitive positions such as treasury operations and currency chests, will get surprise holiday of at least 10 working days in a single spell per year.

35. Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, inaugurated India's first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility plant at Nagpur. While inaugurating the plant, Minister emphasized on importance of alternate biofuels and diversification of agriculture towards energy & power sector.

36. Khadi and Village Industry Commission (KVIC) has secured trademark registration for its brand name "Khadi" in three countries viz., Mexico, Bhutan and United Arab Emirates (UAE). KVIC obtained trademark registration in Bhutan on 9 July.

37. The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARC) has finally become a legal entity registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) Mumbai. NARC is also called as bad bank is finally here in India. It is considered as a one-stop solution for banking systems stressed assets menace.

38. Coal India Ltd (CIL) has appointed Accenture Solutions Private Ltd as consultant, for digitalisation of mine process across seven select opencast mines of CIL. This move aims to accelerate performance and enhance output.

39. Bhutan has become first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards of India for its quick response (QR) code. Bhutan after Singapore has become the second country to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations. Bhutan will also become the only country to issue & accept RuPay cards and accept BHIM-UPI.

40. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced "RBI Retail Direct facility" scheme on 12 July, 2021. RBI's Retail Direct Scheme is a one-stop solution to facilitate investment in Government Securities (G-Sec) by individual investors.

41. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to virtually inaugurate a newly-built five-star hotel on the top of redeveloped Gandhinagar railway station on 16 July, 2021. This project on redevelopment of Gandhinagar railway station and construction of five-star hotel started by Indian Railway Stations Redevelopment Corporation (IRSDC) in January 2017.

42. State-run NTPC Ltd is to set up India's largest solar park at Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. This solar park will have the capacity of 4.75 gigawatt (GW). It will be set up in Rann of Kutch in Gujarat from where NTPC will also generate green hydrogen on commercial scale.

43. Maharashtra government has unveiled the "Maharashtra Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, 2021". Government also revealed its plans to attract EV manufacturing companies and allied businesses in State by offering incentives to industries and consumers.

44. Adani Group led by Gautam Adani has completed the takeover of 'Mumbai International Airport' from GVK group. With this takeover, Adani group has become the top company in terms of airport infrastructure companies in India. India is going to become world's third largest aviation market by 2024.

45. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have published "OECD-FAO Outlook report 2021-2030" recently making interesting reading insofar as major crops are concerned. The latest report covers pulses and a few other non-major crops under 'other products' category.

46. Union Cabinet has approved a scheme to provide Rs 1,624 crore as subsidy to Indian shipping companies. Under this scheme, registration will be done online within 72 hours like world's best ships registries. Registration will make it easy and attractive to register ships across India and aid in boosting Indian tonnage.

47. Cultivation of 'monk fruit' from China has started in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. The fruit was introduced for field trials in Himachal Pradesh by Palampur-based Council of Scientific Research and Industrial Technology-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT).

48. Centre undertook complete control of district mineral foundation (DMF) funds from state. It negating right of states to sanction or approve any expenditure out of the funds that have been accrued from mandatory contribution from mining lease holders.

49. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved implementation of special livestock sector package comprising of several activities by revising & realigning several components of schemes by government of India.

50. Gift-City regulator, IFSCA (International Financial Services Centres Authority) has set up an expert committee to suggests on approach towards development of Longevity Finance Hub in Gift-City of Gujarat.

51. Central government has agreed to demand from Maharashtra government to extend cut-off date to enrol farmers from 15 July to 23 July for Kharif season 2021 under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). Maharashtra government had requested to extend deadline of Crop Insurance scheme, PMFBY till 23 July.

52. Power Minister, R.K. Singh, released 9th Integrated Ratings for State Power Distribution Utilities in New Delhi on the occasion of on the occasion of 36th Foundation Day of Power Finance Corporation (PFC).

53. Security Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced a new framework for "expected loss-based rating scale". Under the new framework, credit rating agencies are required to provide expected loss-based ratings for projects and instruments which are associated with infrastructure sector.

54. As of 25th June, 2021, India has surpassed Japan, China, Russia and Switzerland to become the world's fifth-largest foreign exchange reserve holder with $608.99 billion. This was mentioned in the Lok Sabha on 20th July, 2021 by Pankaj Choudhary, MoS Finance.

55. On 19th July, 2021, the parliament of India was informed that over 1.32 lakh declarations generating Rs. 99,765 crore of disputed tax have been filed under the 'Vivad se Vishwas' scheme. The declarations received under the 'Vivad se Vishwas' scheme cover around 28.73% of the total pending direct tax disputes in the country.

56. The Asian Development Bank has downgraded India's economic growth forecast for the current financial year to 10 % from 11% that it had previously projected in the month of April. This downgrade was done taking into account the adverse impact of the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.

57. On 20th July, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India, sought the nod of the Indian Parliament so as to spend an additional Rs 23,675 crore in the current financial year including Rs 17,000 crore for the Health Ministry.

58. On 21 July, 2021, The International Monetary Fund has said that it is estimating that global growth for 2021 will be about 6%, the same that was forecasted in April, but some countries are growing faster and others more slowly. Kristalina Georgieva, IMF's Managing Director, said that economic recovery will be truncated unless the vaccination pace for COVID-19 picks up.

59. Rasmi Ranjan Das, a Joint secretary of the Finance Ministry has been appointed to the UN tax committee as a member for the term period 2021 to 2025. Rasmi Ranjan Das is Joint Secretary – (FT&TR-I), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

60. The Central Government has begun a review of the goods and services tax (GST) law so as to provide clarity on the various issues that have cropped up regularly since it implemented in the year 2017. This review is being undertaken to clear the air on various issues such as whether the services provided by back offices of the multinational companies functioning in the country qualify as exports, which don't have to pay tax.

61. In United Nation's Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific's (UNESCAP) latest Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation India has scored 90.32%. Having evaluated 143 economies globally, this year's Survey has highlighted India's significant score improvement on all 5 key indicators.

62. The government has decided that it might not sell 10% stake in Life Insurance Corp. of India through an initial public offering but instead choosing instead to sell 5 or 6% which will be followed by a second public offering. LIC is yet to be concluded but it is estimated that the value will be around Rs 12-15 trillion.

63. In the week ended 16th July, India's foreign exchange reserves rose by $835 million to touch a record high margin of $612.73 billion. In the week ended 9th July the reserves had surged to $611.895 billion from $1.883 billion.

64. On 27 July the International Monetary Fund has cut India's GDP growth forecast to 9.5% for the fiscal year 2021-22. Previously, IMF has forecasted 12.5% GDP growth. GDP forecast has been cut citing the hit on economic activity due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

65. On 28th July, 2021, the Union Cabinet cleared changes to the deposit insurance laws of the country. According to these changes up to Rs 5 lakh of funds will be provided to an account holder within 90 days in the event of a bank being put under moratorium by the RBI.

66. On 28th July, 2021, Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill 2021. This Bill replaces the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 which was implemented on 4th April, 2021. Insolvency is a situation where a company or an individual are unable to pay their debt.

67. On 28th July, 2021 finance ministry invited entries from the citizens of the country for tagline, name and logo for the new Development Financial Institution (DFI). The finance minister, in the budget of 2021-22, announced about the setting up of a DFI.

Science & Technology

1. Intel has collaborated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Ministry of Education to announce the launch of the 'AI For All' initiative. This initiative has been launched with the aim of creating a basic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) for everyone in the country

2. NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) has got extension for two more years. NEOWISE will continue its hunt for asteroids, comets and objects that could pose hazard to Earth for additional two years. NASA's prolific near-Earth object (NEO) hunting space telescope will continue operations till June 2023.

3. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has given its approval to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education in order to provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms across India in a bid to bridge learning gap that arose due to COVID-induced lockdown.

4. Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Giriraj Singh launched Online Course Mobile App "Matsya Setu" for fishermen. Matsya Setu app was developed by ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar.

5. Kerala government has proposed to have its own over-the-top (OTT) platform. Government has planned to launch it by 1 November. Launch of OTT platform is a sudden attack and a cultural intervention into online content streaming space. It is not something prompted by market or revenues.

6. Department of Biotechnology (DBT) & National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) has created a first of its king database of genomic variation in oral cancer. NIBMG made this database accessible to public. Database is being called as dbGENVOC.

7. Indian researchers have spotted an extremely bright, hydrogen deficient, fast-evolving supernova (SN). The rare spotted supernova shines with energy borrowed from exotic type of neutron star having ultra-powerful magnetic field. Study on such ancient spatial objects can help in solving the mysteries of early universe.

8. British billionaire, Richard Branson, soared for 50 miles above New Mexico desert on his Virgin Galactic rocket plane. He also made safe return in vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to space. This Virgin Galactic Space Flight is a symbolic milestone for venture started by Richard Branson 17 years ago.

9. Scientists have detected gravitational waves produced by collision of neutron star and black hole for the first time. This finding shows that there are neutron star-black hole systems. This system will help in answering several questions regarding cosmos ranging from star formation to expansion rate of universe.

10. Japanese astronomers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) technique which will help in removing noise in astronomical data because of random variations in galaxy shapes. Technique was developed after extensive training and testing on large mock data that was created by supercomputer simulations.

11. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru has developed a heat-tolerant COVID-19 vaccine formulation. While studying on animals, it was found to be effective against all current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. Research was published in ACS Infectious Diseases journal.

12. Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad have developed India's First Rapid Electronic and Artificial Intelligence-powered COVID-19 test called COVIHOME. This test can be performed at an affordable cost at home. Test kit can produce results within 30 minutes for symptomatic as well as asymptomatic patients.

13. NBDriver (neighbourhood driver) is an AI tool which can be used in analyzing the cancer-causing mutations in cells. This AI tool has been developed by researchers working at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M). This AI algorithm will spot changes in cell that can cause cancer.

14. IOC, India's largest oil firm will build the country's first 'green hydrogen' plant at its refinery in Mathura. This decision has been undertaken with the view of preparing for a future to cater to the growing demands cleaner forms of energy. This project will be the India's first ever green hydrogen unit.

15. "AMLEX" an oxygen rationing device, the first of its kind in India, have been developed by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar. This device can reduce oxygen wastage by regulating the oxygen flow from the cylinder by a patient.

16. On 20th July, 2021 China rolled out a 600km per hr high-speed maglev train in Qingdao located in the Shandong Province of East China. Currently, maglev train is the fastest available ground vehicle. Shenzhen to Shanghai trip which took 10 hours will now be shortened to only 2.5 hours.

17. NASA has announced that its new spacecraft, NEA Scout, has successfully undergone all the required tests and has now been safely tucked inside the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The spacecraft is equipped with high-grade scientific special cameras that can take pictures from ranges of 10 cm/pixels to 50 cm/pixels.

18. 42 virology research and diagnostic laboratories will be set up by the Central government. This will be set up under a central scheme during the period of 2021-22 to 2025-26. This project will cost Rs. 324 crore. The scheme falls under the Department of Health Research (DHR) of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

19. India plans to create power islanding systems in several cities of the country to protect the critical infrastructures from potential attacks on the electricity grid of the nation. Bengaluru and Jamnagar, which has two of India's largest oil refineries, are included in the cities which are being assessed for an islanding system.

20. John Abraham, a veterinary-doctor-turned-inventor, has received the patents for inventing biodiesel from the waste of slaughtered chicken. This biodiesel offers mileage of around 38 km a litre. This biodiesel costs around 40% of the current diesel price and cuts down on pollution by half.

21. Researchers who are working at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata in association with IIT Kharagpur have developed self-repairing piezoelectric molecular crystals. These crystals are called bipyrazole organic crystals.

22. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced of the launch of a new company that will be solely focused on software developing for robots. The company has been named Intrinsic. Intrinsic, the new robotic firm has been announced after years of work within "X", the subsidiary of Alphabet which mainly functions as an incubator for all entrepreneurial and innovative ideas by putting together talents from the tech industry.

23. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh has said that the Government is taking various steps to undertake the large scale production of COVID BEEP. COVID BEEP is the country's first cost effective indigenously made wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for the patients who are suffering from COVID-19.

24. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to launch a satellite that will be used for monitoring natural disasters. This satellite will be a geo-imaging satellite, EOS-3, which will be capable of near-real time monitoring of various natural disasters like cyclones, floods etc.

25. All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has announced that it is creating a database of resources so that colleges can offer more programmes in the regional languages of the country. AICTE has also developed a tool to translate the engineering content into 11 languages of the country.

Government Schemes

1. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have partnered to introduce a financial literacy curriculum for students of Class VI. It was launched as part of new elective 'financial literacy' subject which will enable students to understand basic financial concepts at preliminary stage of their education.

2. Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, has launched the Crop Insurance Awareness Campaign for Fasal Bima Yojana. It was launched during Crop Insurance Week. Fasal Bima Yojana was launched with the aim of providing security cover to each farmer.

3. 6th anniversary of Digital India Abhiyan was observed on 1 July. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with beneficiaries of various schemes. Beneficiaries shared their experiences about how adopting digital methods have made their lives easier.

4. Delhi government has informed that a cloud-based Health Care Information Management System (HISM) is likely to be rolled out by March 2022. This announcement was made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while reviewing the progress of health project in Delhi.

5. Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has approved 14 applicants under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for IT hardware products. PLI Scheme for IT Hardware provides an incentive of 4% to 2% on net incremental sales over base years of Financial Year 2020.

6. Union Government has extended superannuation age of IPO-bound LIC Chairman to up to 62 years. Superannuation age was extended by amending Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960. Changes made in rules will be called as "Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Amendment Rules, 2021.

7. Union government is set to launch a new scheme called "NIPUN Bharat Initiative" on 5 July , 2021. It will be launched to improve numeracy, foundational reading, and understanding for early-stage students. NIPUN stands for "National Initiative for Proficiency in reading with Understanding and Numeracy".

8. Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, launched a scheme to provide monetary support to covid-19 affected families on 6 July, 2021. Chief Minister also launched an online portal which will help in providing financial assistance to families. He also asked officials not to find faults in their claim applications.

9. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) launched India's first FASTag or Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based parking facility on 6 July, 2021. This facility was launched to reduce time for entry and payment. Under the Multi-Model Integration (MMI) initiative, dedicated Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) lanes were also inaugurated for autos, taxis and r-Rickshaws at the station.

10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to virtually inaugurate a newly-built five-star hotel on the top of redeveloped Gandhinagar railway station on 16 July, 2021. This project on redevelopment of Gandhinagar railway station and construction of five-star hotel started by Indian Railway Stations Redevelopment Corporation (IRSDC) in January 2017.

11. Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved continuation of National AYUSH Mission (NAM). This scheme is addressing the gaps in health services by supporting efforts of State or UT Governments to provide AYUSH health services or education across India. Under the scheme, special focus is given on specific needs of far-flung areas in order to allocate higher resources in their Annual Plans.

12. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on 15 July, 2021 on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 2021 and 6th anniversary of Skill India Mission. In his address, Prime Minister highlighted "Skill development of youth of new generation is a national need and a huge foundation for self-reliant India". According to PM, under Skill India Mission, 1.25 crore youth have been trained till date.

13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate and dedicate to the nation several key projects of Railways in Gujarat on 16 July, 2021. Prime Minister will also flag off two new trains namely, Gandhinagar Capital – Varanasi Superfast Express and MEMU service trains between Gandhinagar Capital & Varetha.

14. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda jointly launched 'School Innovation Ambassador Training Program' on 16 July, 2021. School Innovation Ambassador Training Programme was designed by innovation cell of education ministry and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for school teachers for first time.

15. Tribal Affairs Minister, Arjun Munda, launched "COVID Teeka Sank Surakshit Van, Dhan aur Uddyam" campaign. This campaign will help in beating "infodemic" against coronavirus vaccine and myths, rumours, disinformation & misinformation that are adding to infodemic.

16. The government on 19th July, 2021 had introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha that seeks to repeal the decades old Lighthouse Act of 1927 to make way for shifting to modern aids from lighthouses for marine navigation. Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ports Shipping and Waterways, introduced the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, which he had termed to be very important for developing the entire navigation system of India.

17. Government of India's Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD), under its Investment Facilitation Cell, has setup Dairy Investment Accelerator. This has been set up with a view of providing dedicated focus towards the promotion and facilitation of investments in dairy sector of the country.

18. On 22 July, 2021 the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha amid the hullabaloo in the house due to the Pegasus snooping scandal. This bill will bring uniformity in the application of the law which are related to navigation and inland waterways within India.

19. An Rs. 6,322 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel has been approved by the Union Cabinet. This move is aimed at boosting the domestic exports and manufacturing from this sector. Incentives worth Rs. 6,322 crore will be provided for over five years and this scheme will create over 5,25,000 jobs.

20. The Union Cabinet has given its approval of the formation of a Central University in Ladakh. This project cost for the formation of this university will be Rs 750 crore. In four years the first phase of the university will be completed. To facilitate the formation of Central University in Ladakh the bill for amending Central Universities Act, 2009 will be introduced.

21. In the Lok Sabha, on Friday, one member from JD (U) three members from BJP will move Private Members' Bills on population control in the house. Out of the four, Ravi Kishan BJP MP from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh is also in the national news as this state is also in the process of drafting a population control Bill for the state.

22. Essential Defence Services Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22nd July. Essential Defence Services Bill is introduced with the aim to prevent the staff of all the government-owned ordnance factories across the country from going on a strike.

23. The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Amendment Bill has been passed. This bill seeks to increase the role of additional district magistrates and district magistrates regarding the matters which concern adoption and child care.

24. On 25th July, 2021 the Green Sohra Afforestation Campaign at Sohra (Cherrapunji) was launched by Home Minister Amit Shah. "Evergreen Northeast", was the slogan given for this campaign highlighting the importance of tree plantation and afforestation. This campaign will be run by the Assam Rifles and the Meghalaya.

25. On 26th July, 2021, Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Education announced that the government of India is planning to set up a National Research Foundation (NRF) with the primary aim to strengthen the country's research ecosystem. A budget of Rs 50,000 crore has been announced as total proposed outlay for the NRF over a 5 year period.

26. On 26th July, 2021 the Lok Sabha passed the Factoring Amendment Bill to amend the Factoring Regulation Act 2011. This bill will broaden the scope of the entities which can participate in the factoring business and also will ensure that strong oversight and regulatory mechanisms are put in place. Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India, stated that the changes are being made to help the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.

27. On 26th July, 2021 the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lok Sabha. This bill was moved by Pashupati Kumar Paras who is the Food Processing and Industries Minister. This bill lays down various provisions for institutes of food technology, management and entrepreneurship.

28. Government of India has announced they it will set up a Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics. This decision has been taken to create a globally acclaimed talent pool in the country so as to cater to the Indian as well as the global industry.

29. On 27th July, 2021, Smriti Irani, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) launched the National Commission for Women's (NCW) 24/7 helpline number 7827170170. The helpline has been launched with primary aim of providing online support 24/7 to women who are affected by violence. They will be linked with the appropriate authorities like hospitals, doctors, police, psychological services, District Legal Service Authority etc.

30. The Government of India has announced plans to set up a National Farmers Database. This database will consist of the country's digitized land records and will aid in online single sign-on facilities for universal access and will also provide services to the farmers like weather advisories, direct benefit transfer, information on neighbouring logistic facilities and insurance facilities etc.

31. The Government of India announced that it has approved 780 new air traffic routes under the UDAN regional air connectivity scheme. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed the Lok Sabha that after the launch of the scheme, 359 routes has been opened in the country. 59 new airports have been established under the UDAN scheme.

32. The government has launched the Secured Logistics Document Exchange. A Calculator for Green House Gas Emissions has also been launched. The initiative has been launched to reduce logistics cost, improve logistics efficiency and sustainability and promote multi-modality in a big way.

Awards & Honours

1. Odia poet, Dr Rajendra Kishore Panda, has been awarded Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar 2020. Name of Dr Panda was finalized by a three-member committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Hampa Nagarajaiah. Other members of the committee include Bengali author Shyamal Bhattacharya, Kannada poet Dr. H.S. Shivaprakash & Agrahara Krishnamurthy, former secretary of Central Sahitya Academy.

2. Mansukh Mandaviya, Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat, has been appointed as new Health Minister of India in a major cabinet reshuffle. Mandaviya has replaced Dr Harsh Vardhan who was in charge of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences since 2019.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited people to send nominations for Padma Awards 2022. Padma Awards are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day. Padma awards are the highest civilian honors in India. As of 2020, 3123 people have received them.

4. Rudreswara Temple which is located at Palampet, Mulugu district, in the state of Telangana has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list. On 25th July, 2021 this decision was taken at the 44th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee. Ramappa temple was proposed by the government of India as its sole nomination for UNESCO World Heritage site tag, 2019.

5. On 26 July, 2021 Kandla SEZ (KASEZ) became the first green SEZ to achieve the IGBC Green Cities Platinum Rating for Existing Cities after it was awarded the IGBC Platinum Rating. The plaque was presented to the KASEZ team which consists of Chandan Singh, Appraiser and Satyadeep Mahapatra, Joint Development Commissioner in the presence of the senior officials from the Commerce Department and DGFT.

6. On 27th July, 2021 IPS officer Rakesh Asthana has been appointed as the Commissioner of Delhi Police. Rakesh Asthana was due to retire on as Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF) on 31st. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended his service for a one year period beyond the date of Asthana's superannuation.

7. BJP leader Basavaraj S Bommai has been selected as the 23rd chief minister of Karnataka and will take his oath on 28th July, 2021. BJP has planned on having three deputy chief ministers in Karnataka's new government. Govind Karjol, R. Ashoka and Sriramalu are the ones who will most likely be appointed.

8. Three enterprises based in India are among the winners of 'Best Small Businesses' global competition as announced by the United Nations. These businesses are providing diverse, inspiring and impactful solutions in improving access to sustainable and healthy food.

9. 11 cities across the country have been awarded by Government of India with the prestigious title of being Top 11 Cycling Pioneers of India. This India Cycles4Change Challenge first season saw 107 cities around the country come together to scale-up learn and test various cycling-friendly initiatives which will kick-start the cycling revolution in India.

Sports

1. Sports Ministry has decided to recognise WAKO India Kickboxing Federation as a National Sports Federation (NSF) to promote and develop sport in India. WAKO India Kickboxing Federation is affiliated to World Association of Kickboxing Organizations (WAKO) which is a world body for kickboxing.

2. Maana Patel has become the first female and only the third swimmer from India to qualify Tokyo Olympics 2021 ticket. Maana Patel joins Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash to have qualified for the Olympics.

3. Boxer M. C. Mary Kom and men's hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh have been named for flag bearers at Tokyo Olympics from India. Both of them will be flag bearers for India at opening ceremony of Tokyo Olympics which is scheduled to get underway on 23 July, 2021.

4. Indian golfer, Udayan Mane, has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which is scheduled to be organised in July & August 2021. Udayan Mane is 30-year-old and has become 2nd Indian golfer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics. He joined Anirban Lahiri in 60-player field in men's golf event.

5. Novak Djokovic has won his 6th Grand Slam Wimbledon Tennis Championship Title 2021. Wimbledon Championship 2021 was 134th edition, 53rd Open Era, and the third Grand Slam Tournament of 2021. Championship tournament in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic for the first time since World War II.

6. Italy has won second European Championship trophy after defeating England by 3-2 in penalty shoot-out in final of Euros 2020 trophy at Wembley Stadium in London. This is the first major international trophy won by Italy since their 2006 FIFA World Cup win.

7. India is all set to sending a 228-strong contingent to Tokyo Olympics, including 119 athletes. Of 119 athletes, 67 are male and 52 female participants. 119 athletes from 22 states will represent 130 crore Indians in 18 sport disciplines. India is fighting for 85 medal events.

8. On 18th July, 2021, Lewis Hamilton of United Kingdom has won the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone for a record eighth time. This was the 99th win of Hamilton's career who has also won the world championship seven times.

9. Annually, on 20th July International Chess Day is celebrated. This day also marks the date of establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in the year 1924. In the fifth century Chess was invented in India and was named "Chaturanga". Chess is one of the oldest games and it is a very popular game which is played globally. Chess helps is developing skills such as strategy, tactics as well as visual memory.

10. On 20th July, 2021, "Faster, Higher, Stronger," the Olympic motto was updated to "Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together". This updating was done to show solidarity around the globe at the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. At its session ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee has approved the change.

11. Australia's Brisbane will be the host of the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics after receiving approval from the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Brisbane becomes the third Australian city to host the Games after Sydney in 2000 and Melbourne in 1956.

12. On 22nd July, 2021, young wrestlers from India Priya and Tannu became the latest world champions at the Cadet World Championship. Tannu en route to the 43kg title did not concede even a single point. She won three out of her four bouts by fall. This includes the final match against Valeryia Mikitsich of Belarus.

13. With the players across the globe taking the knee the Olympic rule has always banned such demonstrations at the Games and this has been a hot topic debated for decades. The Olympics have always portrayed themselves as a non-political entity that brings together countries on the basis of sports and unity. Hence propaganda at the Games is banned.

14. On 24th July, 2021 Mirabai Chanu of India clinched a silver medal in weightlifting in the 49kg category in Tokyo 2020 Olympics. This ends a 21 year drought of winning a medal in this category. The gold was won by China's Hou Zhihui who lifted a total of 210kg, while Indonesia's Aisah Windy Cantika won the bronze medal with a total of 194kg.

15. Sumit Nagal became only the third Indian tennis player to win a singles men's match at the Olympic Games. He became the first to win for India in 25 years. He edged past Denis Istomin in this match. Nagal went past Istomin with the score 6-4 6-7(6) 6-4. This match took two hours and 34 minutes and was held at the Ariake Tennis Centre.

16. Four new sports have been introduced in the Tokyo Olympics. They are karate, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing.

17. 13 years old Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She became one of the youngest gold medalists ever at the Olympic Games. Nishiya won the gold on 26th July, 2021 in the women's street competition which debuted for the first time in Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

18. Priya Malik of India has won the gold medal in wrestling at the World Cadet Wrestling Championships which was being held in Hungary. She won the medal in the women's 73 kg weight category. Priya Malik defeated Kseniya Patapovich of Hungary to clinch the gold medal in the final of the women's 73kg category.

19. Delhi youngster Vantika Agarwal has won the National women online chess title. From 11 rounds she scored 9.5 points. With 9 points Arpita Mukherjee of West Bengal took the second spot. Tamil Nadu's Sreeja Seshadri with 8.5 points took the third spot in this competition.

References:
jagranjosh.com
gktoday.in
business-standard.com

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Comments ( 2 )

  1. kashinath hadapad
    3 years ago
    Where is download option 🧐🧐
  2. Sanjeev Pujar
    3 years ago
    Sir please provide pdf format...