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July 2020 Daily News Current Affairs

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  1. Jul 31, 2020
    1. General News / Events (Jul 21 - 31, 2020) -
      1. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated ‘World Class State of Art Honey Testing Laboratory’ established by National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Anand (Gujarat).
      2. India Report on Digital Education 2020 has been launched by HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, highlighting innovative methods adopted to ensure accessible as well as inclusive education to children at home and reducing learning gaps.
      3. 14th Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting of India and UK Held Virtually.
      4. India provided 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh as grant assistance, to boost trade and create new supply chains.
      5. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan attended Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Health Ministers’ meeting, which was held Virtually.
      6. Home Minister Amit Shah distributed 100 electric potter wheels under Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana of KVIC (Khadi and Village Industries Commission), to the artisans who were trained under Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana.
      7. 75th United Nations General Assembly is to be conducted virtually in 2020 for the first time in its history. 2020 session is to begin on September 15, 2020.
      8. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), along with IAMAI hosted Global Fintech Fest (GFF), as a first-of-its-kind international virtual fintech event, to bring together fintech and BFSI ecosystems across globe.
      9. HRD Ministry conducted first ever Indian Scholastic Assessment (Ind-SAT) Test 2020 under its Study in India programme, with over 5000 candidates from 12 Candidates Participating.
      10. Environment Minister Prekash Javedkar Represented India at 6th BRICS Environment meeting, Held Virtually.
      11. India has decided to bring almost 371 categories of items under the mandatory Indian Standards (IS) regime by March 2021. 
      12. India banned 47 more Chinese apps, in addition to the 59 earlier banned apps.
      13. First helicopter service of Pawan Hans in Uttarakhand has been Flagged off, under UDAN-RCS scheme, to enable connectivity between Dehradun, New Tehri, Srinagar and Gauchar.
        1. 274 UDAN routes have been operationalized so far connecting 45 airports and 3 heliports since the launch of first UDAN flight in April 2017.
      14. Defence Ministers’ Dialogue between India and Indonesia was held in New Delhi, attended by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Indonesian Defence Minister General Prabowo Subianto. Note that it was first High level visit by any foreign leader to India, since COVID-19 Pandemic.
      15. Supreme Court barred registration of BS-IV vehicles till it decides the issue of sale of such vehicles during lockdown period, expressing displeasure about a large number of vehicles being sold in March. 
      16. To support Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to supply mustard oil.
        1. KVIC also received large purchase order from Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) to supply 1.80 lakh face masks.
      17. Delhi Govt. Launched Rojgar Bazaar Job Portal, to help candidates struggling to find jobs due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
      18. Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced a new 5 km long bridge over river Ganga in Patna, with larger spans to facilitate movement of ships under it. It will cost about 3000 crores.
      19. Turkey’s parliament approved a law that gives authorities greater power to regulate social media despite concerns of growing censorship.
      20. Kerala government announced a new Entrepreneurship Development Programme to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by startups and small entrepreneurs, amid COVID-19 pandemic.
      21. UPSSCWB (Uttar Pradesh State Sunni Central Waqf Board) has set up Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation trust to build mosque on a five-acre land in Ayodhya (UP), allotted as part of SC Judgement on Ram Janam Bhoomi Dispute.
      22. Manhole cleaning robot ‘BANDICOOT’ has been deployed in Guwahati, to ensure minimal human involvement to clean sewers. Guwahati is first city in Northeast region to get a manhole cleaning robot, and third in country after Gurugram and Coimbatore.
      23. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched underground ballistic missiles as part of its exercise Great Prophet 14, amid nearby US deployment due to ongoing Disputes.
      24. Bombay Flying Club has become the first DGCA-approved drone training school in country.
      25. DRDO launched an innovative contest “Dare to Dream”, on death anniversary of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (Jul 27). It aims to boost emerging technologies. Award money is up to Rs 10 lakhs.
    2. International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) celebrated the start of Assembly of the ITER Tokamak at Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance, France.
      1. Indian PM Narendra Modi Attended on India's Behalf.
      2. ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment. It is an experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor that is being built in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance (France).
      3. ITER cryostat is manufactured by India (Larsen and Tourbo). Cryostat is a chamber that can maintain very low temperatures.
    3. Central Govt in collaboration with World Bank, will convert large area of ravines in Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya Pradesh into arable land.
      1. More than 3 lakh hectares of rugged land is not cultivable. Improvemt of the same will help in integrated development of Bihad area in Gwalior-Chambal region.
    4. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued guidelines for UNLOCK 3.0, opening up of more activities in areas outside Containment Zones.
      1. Restrictions on movement of individuals during night (Night curfew) have been removed.
      2. Yoga institutes and GYMs will be allowed to open.
      3. Educational institutions will remain closed till August 31, 2020.
      4. International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat mission.
      5. All activities, except the following, shall be permitted outside containment zones - Metro Rail. Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums, assembly halls and similar places.
    5. Substantial increase in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Indian firms can result in a 2.5% increase in India’s GDP in immediate term, a study by IT industry body Nasscom along with think-tank ICRIER and Google has stated.
      1. Investment of 7000 crores announced in Union Budget towards Artificial Intelligence will lead to approximately 1.3 times increase in AI intensity, translating into spillover benefits of 3.2% increase in India’s GDP.
    6. PSU GAIL and Carbon Clean Solutions (CCSL) signed MoU for exploring project development opportunities in Compressed Biogas (CBG) value chain in India, aimed at building a closer strategic partnership by jointly working on CBG projects.
    7. PSU Indian Oil Foormed equal joint venture (JV) with French energy major Total for manufacturing speciality bitumen derivatives, for rapid expansion of road infrastructure in India. JV will take over Total’s plant at Jodhpur and set up six greenfield units at an investment of Rs 226 crore in first four years.
    8. Green-Ag, a project funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF), which aims to catalyze sustainable transformation of Indian agriculture without compromising country’s food security and farmers’ income, has been launched in Mizoram.
      1. Mizoram is among five Indian states where the project will be implemented. Others are Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.
    9. Maldives launched 9 community-based development projects, which will use a $5.6 million grant from India, Under High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) scheme.
      1. India earlier began setting up 3 fish-processing plants would be set up in Maldives, in Maradhoo, Hithadhoo and Hulhudhoo.
      2. Apart from this, State Bank of India (SBI) is providing liquidity support of USD 16.2 million to Maldives, for local businesses and deferred loan repayment for over 200 retail accounts.
    10. India began reconstruction a 300-year-old temple Sree Sree Joy Kali Matar Temple in Bangladesh's northern Natore district, with Indian grant assistance of Bangladeshi Taka 97 lakhs and total cost of Bangladeshi Taka of 1.33 Crores under High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) scheme of India.
    11. Book Padi Bhavajalalu, Telugu translation of Ten Ideologies- The great asymmetry between agrarianism and industrialism, written by Union Minister Jaipal Reddy, has been released by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.
    12. UK India Business Council signed MoU with Gujarat govt's Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb), the premier agency focused on accelerating industrial development in state.
    13. Dubai-based Indian-origin author Avni Doshi is among 13 authors longlisted for prestigious 2020 Booker Prize for her debut novel Burnt Sugar.
    14. Saudi Firm SABIC will build a chemical plant in Spain, fully powered by renewable energy, as first project of its kind anywhere in world.
      1. This polycarbonate facility in Cartegena is expected to be operational by 2024, powered by a 100MW PV solar plant.
      2. Electricity utility company Iberdrola will invest almost €70 million to install 263,000 panels, making it largest industrial renewable power plant in Europe.
      3. SABIC aims to have 4 gigawatts (GW) of either wind or solar energy installed for its sites globally by 2025, rising to 12GW by 2030.
    15. BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, has selected Fiserv, Inc., to enable the digitization of their end-to-end card issuance and processing cycle.
    16. As per United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF) and non-profit Pure Earth report The Toxic Truth: Children’s exposure to lead pollution, One-third children have blood lead levels at or above 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), the level at which requires action. Nearly half of these children live in South Asia.
    17. Industrial Awards (July 2020) -
      1. Popstar Beyonce honored with BET 2020 Humanitarian Award for her longstanding philanthropic work with her BeyGOOD Foundation.
      2. Mon District (Nagaland) Administration has been conferred SKOCH Awards under three different categories at 65TH SKOCH Summit.
      3. PSU NTPC won prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2019, under Outstanding Accomplishment in Corporate Excellence Category.
        1. With installed capacity of 62110 MW, NTPC Group has 70 Power stations comprising of 24 Coal, 7 combined cycle Gas/Liquid Fuel, 1 Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 Subsidiary & JV Power Stations.
      4. Chhatisgarh Govt's Darpan website and mobile app prepared for monitoring flagship schemes, has been awarded Elites Excellence Awards-2020.
      5. Sachin Awasthi has been honoured with Top Publicist award in Global Humanitarian Awards 2020, through webinar in London.
      6. Rail Infra and Mobility Business Digital Awards (RIMBDA) awarded Ved Parkash Dudeja with coveted ‘Infra Business Leader of the Year’ award for 2020.
      7. South Central Railway’s Ongole sub-division office, Vijayawada division, bagged the ministry of Jal Shakti’s Water Heroes Award.
      8. Ministry of Tribal Affairs received SKOCH Gold Award for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes”, at 66th SKOCH awards.
    18. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates (July 2020) -
      1. India -
        1. National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow (NBRI) has established an “Advanced Virology Lab” for testing COVID-19. It is a Bio Safety Level (BSL) 3 level facility. This advanced version has a “Negative Pressure”, which means it has a suction facility that can suck any aerosol and pass it through filters.
        2. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Phase I and Phase II human clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccine ‘COVAXIN’, developed by Hyderabad based vaccine & bio-therapeutics manufacturer-Bharat Biotech.
        3. ICMR'S Regional Medical Research Centre Dibrugarh (RMRC) isolated SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus strain.
          1. There are 2 types of strains of the novel Coronavirus: L type and S type.
          2. RMRC scientists have confirmed that they have isolated the L-type strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The S type strain has slowly been disappearing from across the world.
          3. Virus strain isolated is of A2a mutation type, which is most dominant type of Novel Coronavirus.
          4. Other Indian Laboratories to Isolate Strain are National Institute of Virology (NIV) Pune and CSIR’s Hyderabad based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and Hyderabad based Private Lab Bharat Biotech.
        4. IIT Kanpur developed a classroom-to-home teaching setup that can record the lectures or instructions by the teachers while using their available smart phones, named 'Mobile Masterjee'.
        5. IIT Gandhinagar developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based deep learning tool for detection of Covid-19 from Chest X-ray images.
        6. Delhi government will set up first-of-its-kind ‘plasma bank’ in India, to treat COVID-19 patients, to be set up at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.
        7. IIT Delhi in collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has launched an app to connect Covid-19 patients in Delhi with willing plasma donors in city, Named COPAL-19.
        8. Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP) under Department of Science & Technology (DST), joined hands with Government of Uttar Pradesh to combat COVID-19 in state.
        9. 10,000 bed Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre and Hospital (SPCCCH) inaugurated in New Delhi, as World's largest COVID-19 Treatment and Care facility.
        10. A Plasma Bank for the treatment of COVID-19 positive patients has been established at oldest medical college of India- Kolkata Medical College and Hospital. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also launched a Self Scan App.
        11. Face masks and hand sanitisers are no more essential products as their supply is sufficient in the country and, therefore, are now kept out of the purview of Essential Commodities Act 1955.
        12. Unisaviour disinfection box has been developed by researchers at IIT Roorkee, which can be used to sterilize personal belongings, apparels, PPE, medical equipment among others form COVID-19.
        13. IIT Alumni Council signed agreement with CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) to jointly conduct Covid-19 research and patient data analysis.
        14. Indian Company Loyal Textile Mills launched first of its kind in the world- reusable PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) Kits. The reusable masks, garments, and PPE Kits will be available under brand ‘Supera Shield’.
        15. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved Itolizumab injection for treatment of COVID-19 patients with restricted emergency use only in case of moderate to severe patients.
        16. Pune-based Mylab Discovery Solutions launched ‘Compact XL’ a machine claimed to fully automate the manual lab operations and test multiple samples concurrently including RT-PCR tests for COVID-19.
        17. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal'Nishank' e-launched World’s most affordable RT-PCR based COVID-19 diagnostic kit developed by IIT Delhi, named Corosure. Base price of the RT-PCR assay is 399, which is much cheaper than other available kits.
        18. Indian Railways' Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala has developed a Post Covid Coach to fight Covid 19, with design improvements like handsfree amenities, copper-coated handrails & latches, plasma air purification and titanium di-oxide coating for Covid free passenger journey.
        19. IIT Kanpur has developed an Ultra Violet Sanitizing product called “Shudh”, capable to disinfect 10 ×10 square feet room in 15 minutes.
        20. Madhya Pradesh government commenced a campaign titled as “Roko-Toko”, to target people who do not wear masks during Covid-19 Pandemic.
        21. CSIR-CMERI Durgapur, unveiled COVID Protection System (COPS) for Workplace, to ensure safety at Workplaces amid Pandemic.
        22. Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET) has been accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for Testing & Certification of PPE Kit.
        23. Civil Aviation Ministry announced that India has signed bilateral air bubble agreements with France and the US that will allow airlines from these countries to operate international flights.
        24. IIT-Madras supported startup Modulus Housing developed portable hospital unit that can be dragged anywhere and can be installed within 2 hours, MediCAB.
        25. Karnataka Govt inaugurated state’s First plasma bank at HCG Hospital (Bengaluru) as a part of Mission COPE (Covid Plasma Endeavour).
        26. Government extended connectivity norms for work from home for BPO and IT companies till December 31, 2020, because of COVID-19 pandemic.
        27. Amarnathji Shrine Board canceled Amarnath Yatra 2020 because of COVID-19 pandemic.
        28. PSB Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a nationwide initiative to combat spread of COVID-19.
        29. DRDO established a COVID-19 testing facility at Leh based laboratory Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR), to enhance testing of Corona cases in Ladakh. It is capable of screening 50 samples per day.
        30. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan announced that N95 masks with valved respirators do not prevent COVID-19 from spreading out. N95 masks filter particles that are less than 300 nano metres. N95 masks with valved respirators are a one-way mask. It only protects person wearing the mask and does not filter aerosols coming out.
        31. Actor Sonu Sood launched “Pravasi Rojgar App”, to provides all necessary information to find jobs and offer specific job training programmes. He has been helping migrant workers reach their homes during lock down.
        32. Jharkhand government imposed heavy penalties and jail term for violating COVID-19 health measures, under Contagious Disease Ordinance 2020. Violations will invite jail term up to 2 years and fine of up to Rs 1 lakh.
        33. AIIMS Nagpur indigenously developed a ‘smart wristband’ for effective tracking and monitoring of Covid-19 positive and suspect patients, in collaboration with IIT Jodhpur and IIT Nagpur.
        34. PM Narendra Modi launched 3 high throughput COVID-19 testing facilities via video conferencing, at National Institutes of Indian Council of Medical Research at Kolkata, Mumbai and Noida. These facilities will boost testing capacity by almost 10,000 daily tests.
          1. These labs will not be limited to testing for COVID, but in future, will also be able to test for other diseases.
        35. Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH), an initiative by Department of Science and Technology (DST), has selected Bangalore based startup Acculi Labs to develop a COVID risk assessment profile called Lyfas COVID score.
        36. As per UN, Nitrogen dioxide levels in New Delhi had fallen by more than 70% during COVID-19 lock down. However, this is expected to be temporary, till cities re-open.
        37. National Task Force on COVID-19 decided against using Itolizumab in clinical management protocols. Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier approved for “restricted emergency use” of the drug. Itolizumab is used to treat psoriasis.
        38. IIM Kozhikode incubated startup Qual5 India developed a wearable hand band Known as the “Veli Band”, which can help in maintaining social distancing by sending out an alarm in case of proximity with another person.
        39. Amid COVID-19 pandemic, Government extended deadline for filing income tax returns for 2018-19 financial year for two months till September 30, as third such extsnsion.
        40. ICMR in collaboration with AIIMS, is creating a new rigorous database of COVID-19 patients, titled National clinical registry for COVID-19 patients.
        41. Defence Institute of Advanced Technology Pune (DIAT) developed Aashray, a Medical Bed Isolation System to combat COVID-19 by stopping/ minimizing spread of virus/ infection released by patient.
        42. CSIR Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), along with AMESYS INDIA has developed a microorganism decontamination box, named as ‘Suraksha’. UVC light and heat are used in the box.
      2. Global -
        1. New Zealand has cancelled Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
        2. As per a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, World Tourism sector could lose around 1.2 trillion USD or 1.5% of the Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because of global pandemic situation.
        3. COVID-19 vaccine developed by Russia’s Gamalei Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology successfully completed Human Clinical Trials, becoming First Vaccine to do so globally.
        4. China Issued a health advisory warning about a new deadly ‘unknown pneumonia’ with death rate much higher than that of COVID-19.
        5. WHO initiated Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR) to evaluate world’s response to COVID-19 pandemic.
        6. Singapore’s economy slumped into recession with a record plunge in GDP by almost 41.2 percent in last three months, largely due to the extended lockdown imposed to contain COVID-19 spread.
        7. Japan approved Dexamethasone as a second treatment of COVID-19 along with Remdesivir. A clinical trial of UK proved that Dexamethasone as first drug saved many lives from COVID-19.
        8. India and Israel launched operation to develop a rapid COVID-19 test, which can detect COVID-19 in 30 seconds.
        9. To implement strong legal frameworks to manage coronavirus pandemic across globe, World Health Organization (WHO) launched COVID-19 Law Lab. It will gather and shared legal documents from over 190 countries, to ensure that laws protect wellbeing of individuals and communities and that they adhere to international human rights standards.
        10. As per UNICEF, Nearly 22 million children from South Asian countries have missed out on early childhood education in their critical pre-school year due to coronavirus outbreak.
        11. Football Body FIFA approved COVID-19 relief plan regulations of USD 1.5 billion, to support all 211 FIFA member associations and six federations to alleviate the financial impact of pandemic.
        12. International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved USD 4.3 billion to South Africa in emergency funding, as largest amount is given to any country yet to fight coronavirus pandemic.
    19. Persons Resigned /Retired (July 2020) -
      1. German footballer Mario Gomez announced his retirement.
      2. 2 times Olympic badminton champion from China, Lin Dan announced his retirement.
      3. French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe resigned from his post.
      4. India's Shashank Manohar Resigned as International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman, after 2 year tenure. Imran Khawaja will take the charge until a new CEO is elected.
      5. Globally Top Ranked Egyptian Squash player Raneem El Welily announced her retirement.
      6. Cricket Body BCCI Accepted CEO Rahul Johri’s Resignation, which he had submitted in December 2019.
      7. Elyes Fakhfakh Resigned as Prime Minister of Tunisia.
      8. Sachin Pilot has been removed as Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, after a long runing Political Turmoil in state.
      9. Australian footballer Mile Jedinak announced his Retirement.
      10. German Footballer Andre Schurrle announced retirement.
      11. Sri lankan Female Cricketer Sripali Weerakkody announced her retirement from international cricket.
      12. Domestic Cricketer Rajat Bhatia announced his retirement from cricket.
    20. Obituaries (July 2020) -
      1. Geetha Nagabhushan -Noted Kannada writer.
      2. Saroj Khan - Noted Choreographer.
      3. Everton Weekes - West Indies former cricketer (From Barbados).
      4. Upa Rokamlova - Former Mizoram Assembly speaker.
      5. Carl Reiner - Noted American Actor and Comedian.
      6. Ennio Morricone - Noted Oscar-winning Italian Music composer.
      7. Earl Cameron - Noted British Actor.
      8. Jagdeep - Noted Bollywood actor and comedian.
      9. Jack Charlton - Noted Former English Footballer.
      10. Amadou Gon Coulibaly -Serving Prime Minister of Ivory Coast (West Africa).
      11. Charlie Daniels - Noted American singer-songwriter.
      12. Nagindas Sanghvi - Noted Veteran Gujarati journalist and writer.
      13. Neela Satyanarayanan - First female State Election Commissioner in Maharashtra.
      14. Wim Suurbier - Noted Dutch (Netherlands') Footballer.
      15. Brahm Vasudeva - Noted Industrialist (Hawkins Cookers Chairman).
      16. Jyotsna Jyoti Bhatt - Noted Indian ceramist and potter.
      17. Avad Bin Hassan Jami - Noted Gujarati cartoonist.
      18. Conjeevaram Srirangachari Seshadri - Noted mathematician. He was founder of Chennai Mathematical Institute, known for his work in algebraic geometry. Seshadri constant is named after him. He recieved Padma Bhushan in 2009.
      19. Rajat Mukherjee - Noted Bollywood director.
      20. C. T. Vivian - Noted American Civil Rights Leader.
      21. Ramesh Tikaram - Arjuna awardee, para-athlete and para-badminton player (passed away due to COVID-19).
      22. Lalji Tandon - Former Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. As tribute, 2 roads in Uttar Pradesh Capital Lucknow are named after him.
      23. Barry Jarman - Former Australian cricketer.
      24. Bijay Mohanty - Noted Odia Actor.
      25. John Lewis - Noted American Civil Rights pioneer.
      26. Juan Marse - Noted Spanish novelist.
      27. Amala Shankar -Noted danseuse & choreographer.
      28. Annie Ross - Noted American Jazz Singer.
      29. Nusrat Zaheer - Noted Urdu Writer and Translator.
      30. Benjamin Mkapa - Former President of Tanzania.
      31. Olivia de Havilland - Noted (Two-Time Oscar Winner) British-American actress.
      32. Sonam Tshering Lepcha - Noted folk musician, composer and lyricist, from West Bengal.
      33. Anil Murali - Noted Malayalam actor.
      34. Kumkum - Noted Former Bollywood actress.
      35. Parvez Khan - Noted Bollywood action director.
      36. P Achyuta Rao - Noted child rights activist from Telangana.
    21. Misc. Sports News (July 2020) -
      1. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is named as India’s ‘Most Valuable Test Player’ (MVP) of the 21st century by Cricket Magazine Wisden.
      2. Indian Army Officer Bharat Pannu secured 3rd position on leaderboard at first edition of Virtual Race Across America (VRAAM) 2020, becomig first-ever Indian to secure a podium position in the international ultra-cycling race.
      3. On occasion of completion of 100 years of participation of Indian athletes at the Olympic Games, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has adopted a new branding and visual identity. In 1920 Summer Olympics at Belgium’s Antwerp, India sent its first Olympic team consisting 3 Athletes and 2 Wrestlers.
      4. G Akash became India’s 66th Chess Grandmaster, as confirmed by International Chess Federation (FIDE).
      5. As per latest International Boxing Association (AIBA) rankings, Indian boxer Amit Panghal ranked first in world ranking of men’s elite of 52 kg weight category. Manju Rani ranked 2nd in women’s rankings in 48 kg.
      6. Asia Cup Cricket Tournement has been postponed to June 2021, to be hosted by Sri Lanka. Earlier, Pakistan was to host this tournament in September 2020.
      7. International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed Youth Olympic Games 2022, to 2026. They were to be held in Dakar (Senegal), as first IOC event to be held in Africa. IOC also reduced candidature budgets by almost 80 percent for 2026 Winter Olympics.
      8. 22-year-old England footballer Marcus Rashford became youngest recipient of an honorary degree from University of Manchester (UK).
      9. Coveted Football Award Ballon d'Or will not be awarded this year due to COVID-19 pandemic, as First ever cancelling of the same, since its inception in 1956.
      10. England’s Dom Sibley became first cricketer to violate ICC’s ‘saliva ban’, during game against West Indies. It was put in as a safety measure amid Covid-19 Pandemic.
      11. ICC officially postponed Men’s T20 World Cup, which was to be held in Australia in 2020. It has been postponed to October 2021. ICC also postponed Men's T20 World Cup 2022 (Australia) and World Cup 2023 (India).
      12. BCCI Announced schedule for Indian Premier League 2020, which is rescheduled to be held between Sep 19 - Nov 8, 2020. It has been shifted form india to UAE, due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
      13. Silver medal of Indian 4×400 mixed relay team’s 2018 Asian Games (Jakarta) has been upgraded to gold, following disqualification of Bahrain squad that had finished first.
      14. England’s Stuart Broad became 7th bowler in history of Test cricket to get 500 wickets, achieving his 500th wicket against West Indies.
      15. Indian Chess Player P Harikrishna finished second in rapid section of 53rd Biel International Chess Festival in Switzerland.
      16. English Footballer Jamie Vardy won Premier League's Golden Boot football award.
      17. Bangladeshi Cricketer Kazi Anik Islam has been handed 2-year ban by national cricket board for failing a dope test.
    22. Misc. Appointments (July 2020) -
      1. Govt. extended Sukhbir Singh Sandhu’s tenure as chairman of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for 6 month.
      2. Pakistan Army appointed Nigar Johar as its 1st ever female lieutenant general.
      3. Govt appointed Sanjay Dwivedi as Director General of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).
      4. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya took charge as new chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
      5. Odia girl Baisali Mohanty, who won prestigious High Profile Achievement Award as best graduate student at Oxford University (England), has been appointed as United Nations Policy Officer.
      6. Govt extended Teure of Rajkiran Rai G as Union Bank of India MD & CEO, for 2 years.
      7. V Suryanarayanan has been appointed New MD of Chola MS General Insurance.
      8. Bishnu Prasad Nanda Appointed as Director General in Railway Health Services (DG RHS).
      9. Sijo Kuruvilla George has been appointed to Government’s committee on Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020).
      10. Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) extended term of Bansi Lal Bhat as acting chairperson of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by 3 months.
      11. New Indian Ambassadors -
        1. Vidhu Nair - Turkmenistan.
        2. Rudrendra Tandon - Afghanistan.
        3. Vikram Doraiswami - Bangladesh.
      12. SBI card named Ashwini Kumar Tewari as its new MD & CEO.
      13. RBI Approved reappointment of Shyam Srinivasan as MD & CEO of Federal Bank.
      14. Cab Aggregation Major Uber appoined Prabhjeet Singh as President of Uber India and South Asia.
      15. Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing (SAP) appointed Kulmeet Bawa as Chief for SAP Indian Subcontinent.
      16. Sahil Seth appointed as honorary adviser of steering committee for BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), a voluntary basis post with no remuneration.
      17. Rewa Ganguly Das has been appointed as Secretary (East) in Ministry of External Affairs.
      18. Tata group Company Tata AIA Life appointed Naveen Tahilani as its MD and CEO.
      19. Sumit Deb has been appointed as CMD of PSU National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC).
      20. PC Kandpal has been appointed as MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance.
      21. Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) appointed Alok Misra as its new Chief Executive Officer.
      22. Government extended tenure of acting President of National Company Law Tribunal BSV Prakash Kumar by three months.
      23. MA Hampiholi has been appointed as Commandant of Indian Naval Academy (INA).
      24. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) appointed Govindan Rangarajan as its new director.
      25. VR Chaudhary is appointed as new chief of Western Air Command of Indian Air Force.
      26. Indian ratings agency ICRA, an arm of global ratings major Moody's, has appointed N Sivaraman as its MD & CEO.
      27. Hardik Satishchandra Shah has been appointed Private Secretary (PS) to PM Narendra Modi.
      28. Investment subsidiary of Paytm, Paytm Money appointed Varun Sridhar as its CEO.
      29. Indian-origin Person Pritam Singh designated as the Leader of Opposition in Singapore, first Indian to hold the post.
      30. Former Coal India chairman Anil Kumar Jha is named as a member of a key panel that deals with violation of environment rules, The Expert Appraisal Committee.
    23. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (July 2020) -
      1. Care Ratings forecasted Indian economy to contract by 6.4% for FY 21 (2020-21), due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
      2. Rating Agency Fitch has cut India’s GDP growth forecast to 8% from 9.5% for FY22 (2021-22). For FY 21 (2020-21), Fitch retained its projection of Indian economy contracting by 5 %.
      3. Ministry of Finance in its macroeconomic June 2020 report has stated that India’s economic growth is expected to contract 4.5% in fy 21 (2020-21).
      4. As per Economic Outlook Survey of FICCI, India’s annual median GDP growth forecast for FY2020-21 has been declined to (-) 4.5% with a minimum and maximum growth estimate of (-) 6.4% and 1.5% respectively.
      5. Domestic rating agency ICRA revised forecast for contraction in country's GDP in current fiscal FY 21 (2020-21) to 9.5 % from 5 %earlier.
      6. Japanese Financial Firm Nomura expects 6.1 % contraction in India's GDP in current fiscal FY 21 (2020-21).
      7. Singapore Based DBS Bank expected 6.1 % contraction in India's GDP in current fiscal FY 21 (2020-21).
    24. Misc. Corporate Events / News (July 2020) -
      1. Global Bharat program launched by German technology firm SAP India, designed to equip Indian MSMEs with digital technologies in order to make them globally competitive.
      2. Food Delivery App Swiggy launched its digital wallet in partnership with ICICI Bank, named ‘Swiggy Money’.
      3. ICICI bank Launched a Facility Insta Loans against Mutual Funds, in Partnership with Computer Age Management Services.
      4. YES Bank launched Loan in Seconds campaign for instant disbursement of retail loans.
      5. Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) entered bancassurcnce partnership with Star Health Insurance, to distrubute insurers products to its customers.
      6. Liberty General Insurance launched ‘Liberty Assure’ service as a part its existing Private Car Package Policy. The auto insurance customer who avail this service, will no longer need to pay the 'compulsory deductible' for every claim. No extra premium will be charged to provide this feature.
      7. Global Payments Firm Visa tied-up with Federal Bank to launch “Visa Secure” to the bank’s cardholders.
      8. National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) launched UPI Auto Pay feature for recurring payments, to be used for multiple regular financial purposes.
      9. Cab Aggregator Ola rolled out its enterprise mobility solution ‘Ola Corporate’ across global markets, for customers across Australia, New Zealand, and UK.
      10. Portal Restartindia has been launched by the Kerala-based NBFC, Muthoot Fincorp, for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector.
      11. Digital payments Platform Amazon Pay launched vehicle insurance in partnership with Acko General Insurance.
      12. Bank of Baroda launched ‘Insta Click Savings Account’, a digital self-assisted online savings account, for its customers.
      13. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) signed bancassurance tie up with Union Bank of India, to distribute LIC policies to bank's customers.
      14. India’s first Neobank for teenagers, FamPay launched India’s first numberless card FamCard, to enbale Teenagers to use it FamCard like a debit card to make payments independently.
      15. IRCTC and SBI Card launched their new Co-branded Contactless Credit Card on RuPay Platform.
      16. Bank of Maharashtra Partnered with digital security Firm Uniken, to secure its banking channels, using Uniken’s REL-ID technology for Omni-channel security.
      17. Approved acquisition of 49% equity share capital of Odisha Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGC) by Adani Power Limited (APL).
      18. Government imposed safeguard duty on solar cells for one more year till July 2021, to protect domestic manufacturers and discourage cheap imports from countries such as China.
      19. Digital wallet MobiKwik launched “mpay.me” UPI link service that allows users to send and receive money from any UPI payment app.
      20. Bharti AXA General Insurance launched a crop insurance campaign titled ‘Bohot Zaroori Hai’ for farmers in Maharashtra and Karnataka to encourage them about their yield protection and financial security.
      21. Bank of Baroda Subsisdiary BOB Financial Solutions patnered with Fiserv Inc., to enable digitization of card issuance and support cycle.
      22. Praj Industries and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) signed MoU to jointly develop application technology for advanced biofuels for usage in industry and transportation.
    25. Competition Commission of India Approvals (July 2020) -
      1. Approved proposed combination involving Eros International Plc (Eros Plc), STX Filmworks Inc (“STX”) and Marco Alliance Limited (Marco).
        1. Eros, a company incorporated in Isle of Man, is a global Indian entertainment company that acquires and distributes films.
        2. STX is a global media company specialising in production and distribution of talent-driven motion pictures, television and multimedia content.
        3. Marco is a company organised and existing under laws of British Virgin Islands and is an investment holding company, controlled by HonyCapital.
      2. Approved acquisition in Escorts Limited by Kubota Corporation (Kubota) and in Kubota Agricultural Machinery India Private Limited by Escorts.
        1. It relates to acquisition of 9.09% stake of Escorts by Kubota.
        2. Further, Escorts will acquire 40% shareholding in KAI.
      3. Approved acquisition by Aceso Company Pte. Ltd. (Aceso) in HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG). It relates to an acquisition of upto 58.92% stake in HCG by Aceso. Aceso is a part of CVC Network.
      4. Approved acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited. KPCL is engaged as a developer and operator of the deep water port at Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
  2. Jul 30, 2020
    1. NASA's Mars Lander Mission 2020 lifted off, expected to land on 18th February 2021 at Mars, After covering 300 million miles.
      1. Rover named Perseverance will travel to crater Jezero, which was once a lake in northern hemisphere of Mars. It is a promising location where vital signs of ancient Martian life could be preserved.
      2. Rover is very similar in design to NASA’s previous Mars rover, Curiosity, that landed in 2012.
      3. Rover is also carrying a helicopter Named Ingenuity, as an experiment. If it works, it will be first powered flight on another planet. Helicoper has been named as per suggestions by Indian-origin girl Vaneeza Rupani.
      4. Earlier in July 2020, UAE had Launched its Mars Orbiter Mission Hope and China had Launched its Mars lander Mission Tianwen 1.
    2. As per a study, polar bears in Arctic region will become extinct by 2100 if greenhouse gas emissions remain on their current track. Polar bears are also likely to experience reproductive failure by 2040.
      1. Their Population is declining at a rate of more than 12% each decade since 1970s, As sea ice is declining.
    3. As First Such move, Australia will force US tech giants Facebook and Google to pay Australian media publishers for news content, to protect independent journalism.
      1. Australia will become first such country which will help its native media company to gain royalty under royalty-style system.
      2. This could see Australia becoming first country to force Google and Facebook to pay for news content.
    4. Backed by IIT-Kanpur, aerial seeding technique has been employed by Haryana government to improve green cover in Aravalli area of state, to rejuvenate low vegetation density of Aravalli and Shivalik hills.
      1. Aerial Seeding is an innovative technique of plantation wherein seeds covered with a mixture of clay, compost, charcoal and other components in a definite ratio are sprayed on ground using aerial devices.
    5. US Congressional committee passed a bill Inspired by American civil rights leader and lawmaker John Lewis visit to India in 2009.
      1. Mr Lewis visited India to mark 50th anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s trip to India in 1959.
      2. Bill has to pass through House and Senate before it becomes the law.
      3. It seeks to establish a bilateral partnership between US and India by -
        1. Empoweing botHh Nations to establish an annual educational forum for students from both the countries to study work and legacies of both eminent personalities.
        2. Establishment of US-India Gandhi-King Development Foundation, and also develop a training initiative known as Gandhi-King Global Academy.
    6. Asian Developmet Bank (ADB) approved USD 3 million grant to India from its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund to further support India's response to COVID-19 pandemic, financed by Japanese government.
      1. Earlier in April 2020, ADB had approved USD 1.5 billion COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) programme to support India in its immediate pandemic response.
    7. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), in association with TransUnion CIBIL has launched a comprehensive financial education and knowledge platform for micro, small and medium enterprises, called MSMESaksham.
    8. Proposed IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) will be set up as a single-window nodal agency for enabling and regulating space activities and use of ISRO facilities by private sector.
      1. IN-SPACe was approved as a separate vertical for permitting and regulating the activities of private industry in space sector.
      2. ISRO also will allow private sector to set up their own launchpad at Sriharikota Launch Centre (SHAR).
    9. July 30 is observed as UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, proclaimed by UN General Assembly in 2013.
      1. July 30 is also birth anniversary of Muthulakshmi Reddi, India's first female  legislator and also known as a woman of many firsts. Tamil Nadu Government declared that every year hospitals will celebrate her birth anniversary as ‘Hospital Day.'
      2. Jul 30, 2020 is also named as International Day of Friendship.
    10. China’s Jin Liqun has been re-elected President of Beijing Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
    11. India's Archana Soreng has been selected as one of seven members of Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change established by Secretary-General of United Nations as a part of UN Youth Strategy.
    12. Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh topped list of aspirational districts in Overall Delta Ranking by government think-tank Niti Aayog for February-June 2020 period.  Ri-Bhoi (Meghalaya) and Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) have been placed at the second and third positions.
      1. Delta rankings assessed progress made by over 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas - Health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure.
    13. Founder of SS Motivation, Sunil ydv SS honored with “Karamveer Chakra Award” by Global Fellowship Award instituted by United Nations and International Confederation of NGO (iCONGO) at ReX ConcLIVE in IIT Delhi.
    14. India’s first solar-powered ferry, Aditya won Gustave Trouve Award for Excellence in Electric Boats and Boating, adjudged as world’s best electric boat in category of ferries designed for paid passenger service.
      1. Gustave Trouve Awards were handed out for first time in 2020, as world’s only such honour given to individuals and companies building and innovating in state-of-the-art electric boats.
      2. It was instituted this year in honour of Frenchman Gustave Trouve, who invented world’s first outboard motor in 1881.
  3. Jul 29, 2020
    1. Cabinet Approvals (July 29, 2020) -
      1. MOUs -
        1. Zimbabwe - Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy
      2. General -
        1. Approved National Education Policy 2020, as first education policy of 21st century. It replaces 34 year old National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986. Also, Cabinet approved renaming Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) as Ministry of Education. Highlights of NEP 2020 -
          1. School Education -
            1. Ensuring Universal Access at all levels of school education -
              1. Emphasizing universal access to school education at all levels. Open learning for classes3,5 and 8 through NIOS and State Open Schools, secondary education programs equivalent to Grades 10 and 12, vocational courses are some of proposed ways. About 2 crore out of school children will be brought back into main stream under NEP 2020.
            2. Early Childhood Care & Education with  new Curricular and Pedagogical Structure -
              1. 10+2 structure of school curricula is to be replaced by a 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8 (Pre-Primary), 8-11 (Later Primary), 11-14 (Upper Primary), and 14-18 (Secondary) years respectively. It will have 12 years of schooling with 3 years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.
              2. NCERT will develop a National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE) for children up to age of 8, jointly overseen by Ministries of HRD, Women and Child Development (WCD), Health and Family Welfare (HFW), and Tribal Affairs.
            3. Attaining Foundational Literacy and Numeracy -
              1. NEP 2020 calls for setting up of a  National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by MHRD. States will prepare plan for attaining universal foundational literacy and numeracy in all primary schools for all learners by grade 3 by 2025.
              2. National Book Promotion Policy is to be formulated.
            4. Reforms in school curricula and pedagogy -
              1. Students will have increased flexibility and choice of subjects. There will be no rigid separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams.
              2. Vocational education will start in schools from the 6th grade, and will include internships.
              3. Comprehensive National Curricular Framework for School Education (NCFSE 2020-21), will be developed by NCERT.
            5. Multilingualism and the power of language
              1. Policy emphasized mother tongue/local language as medium of instruction at least till Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond.
              2. Sanskrit to be offered at all levels of school and higher education as an option for students, including in 3 language formula.  Other classical languages and literatures of India also to be available as options.
              3. No language will be imposed on any student.
              4. Several foreign languages will also be offered at the secondary level. Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardized across country.
            6. Assessment Reforms
              1. Students will take school examinations in Grades 3, 5, and 8. Board exams for Grades 10 and 12 will be continued, but redesigned with holistic development as the aim. 
              2. A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development),  will be set up as a standard-setting body.
            7. Equitable and Inclusive Education -
              1. Special emphasis will be on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs) which include gender, socio-cultural, and geographical identities and disabilities.  This includes setting up of   Gender Inclusion Fund and also Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
              2. Every state/district will be encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans” as a special daytime boarding school. Free school infrastructure can be used as Samajik Chetna Kendras.
            8. Robust Teacher Recruitment and Career Path
              1. Common National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) will be developed by National Council for Teacher Education by 2022, to ensure recruitment of teachers in transparent and efficient manner.
            9. School Governance
              1. Schools can be organized into complexes or clusters which will be the basic unit of governance and ensure availability of resources.
            10. Standard-setting and Accreditation for School Education
              1. Envisages clear, separate systems for policy making, regulation, operations and academic matters. 
              2. States/UTs will set up independent State School Standards Authority (SSSA).
              3. SCERT will develop a School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework (SQAAF) through consultations with all stakeholders.
          2. Higher Education -
            1. Increase GER to 50 % by 2035 -
              1. Aims to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035. 3.5 Crore new seats will be added to Higher education institutions.
              2. Open and Distance Learning will be expanded to play a significant role in increasing GER.
              3. Policy  aims to achieve 100% youth and adult literacy.
              4. Centre and States will work to increase public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP.
            2. Holistic Multidisciplinary Education -
              1. Envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate  education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and  multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification.
              2. UG education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period. Such as,  Certificate after 1 year, Advanced Diploma after 2 years, Bachelor’s Degree after 3 years and Bachelor’s with Research after 4 years.
              3. An Academic Bank of Credit is to be established for digitally storing academic credits earned from different  HEIs so that these can be transferred and counted towards final degree earned.
              4. Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to  be set up as models  of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
              5. National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.
            3. Regulation -
              1. Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single overarching umbrella body the for entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education.
              2. HECI verticals  - National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation, General Education Council (GEC) for standard setting, Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,  and National Accreditation Council( NAC) for accreditation
            4. Rationalised Institutional Architecture -
              1. Definition of university will allow a spectrum of institutions that range from Research-intensive Universities to Teaching-intensive Universities and Autonomous degree-granting Colleges. 
              2. Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges.
              3. Over time, it is envisaged that every college would develop into either an Autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university.
            5. Teacher Education -
              1. New National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education, NCFTE 2021, will be formulated by NCTE and NCERT.
              2. By 2030, minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree.
            6. Mentoring Mission -
              1. National Mission for Mentoring will be established, with a large pool of senior faculty, who would be willing to provide short and long-term mentoring/professional support to university/college teachers.
            7. Financial support for students -
              1. National Scholarship Portal will be expanded to support, foster, and track the progress of students receiving scholarships.
            8. Online Education and Digital Education -
              1. Recommendations for promoting online education consequent to the recent rise in epidemics and pandemics in order to ensure preparedness with alternative modes of quality education.
              2. Dedicated unit for the purpose of orchestrating building of digital infrastructure, digital content and capacity building will be created in MHRD.
            9. Technology in education -
              1. An autonomous body, National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning and administration.
            10. Promotion of Indian languages
              1. Recommends setting an Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITI), National Institutes for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, strengthening of Sanskrit and all language departments in HEIs.
              2. Internationalization of education will be facilitated through collaborations and student and faculty mobility.
          3. Background -
            1. NEP 2020 has been formulated after long process of consultation that involved nearly over 2 lakh suggestions.
            2. In May 2016, ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ under Chairmanship of T.S.R. Subramanian was formed.
            3. In June 2017 a ‘Committee for the Draft National Education Policy’  was constituted under Chairmanship of eminent scientist  K. Kasturirangan, which submitted Draft National Education Policy 2019. 
            4. Draft National Education Policy 2019  was uploaded on various platforms, inviting suggestions.
    2. July 29 is observed as World Tiger Day. It was proclaimed in 2010 at Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit in Russia where signatories declared an agreement that the governments of tiger populated counties would double tiger population by 2022, termed as TX2. 2020 Theme is Their Survival is in our hands.
      1. In 2018, Nepal became first country to double tiger population. India also doubled tiger population in 2018.
      2. 4th All India Tiger Estimation 2018 was released in 2019. It stated that India has 70 percent of world’s tiger population.
      3. Number of Tiger reserves in India has reached 50, up from 9 in 1973. Earlier 3 Tiger estimation reports were released in 2006, 2010, 2014.
      4. Count of tigers in India rose to 2967 in 2018. Count grew from 1,411 in 2006 to 2,226 in 2014 and to 2,967 in 2018. Annual increase of 6 % observed in Tiger population in India, during 2006 to 2018.
      5. Top 5 States - Madhya Pradesh saw highest number at 526, followed by Karnataka (524), Uttarakhand (442), Maharashtra (312) and Tamil Nadu (264).
    3. First 5 of 36 Dassault Rafale fighter jets landed at Ambala airbase, for Induction Into air force, as first imported fighter to be inducted into Service since Sukhoi-30s from Russia in late 90s.
      1. It is Part of €7.87 billion Deal signed Between India and France, in September 2016.
      2. Received Rafale Jets will be part of 17th Squadron, the Golden Arrows (Stationed at Ambala).
    4. High Level Group (HLEG) on Agricultural Exports set up by 15th Finance Commission (Headed by N K Singh) has submitted its report, with measures to encourage agricultural exports and to promote crops to enable high import substitution. Major Recommendations include -
      1. Focus on 22 crop value chains – demand driven approach.
      2. Solve Value Chain Clusters (VCC) holistically with focus on value   addition.
      3. Create State led export plan with participation from stakeholders.
      4. Private Sector should play an anchor role, and Centre should be an enabler.
      5. Robust institutional mechanism to fund and support implementation.
    5. Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) approved a programme for the benefit of artisans involved in manufacturing of Agarbatti (Incense Sticks) Mand to develop village industry under ‘Gramodyog Vikas Yojana’.
      1. Initially four Pilot Projects will be started, including one in North East. Each targeted cluster of artisans will be supported with about 50 Automatic Agarbatti making machines and 10 Mixing machines. KVIC will assist and train Artisans in this regard.
      2. Under Program named as Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission, KVIC will provide 25% subsidy on cost of machines and will recover remaining 75% of the cost from the artisans in easy installments.
      3. Govt had earelier placed ‘Agarbatti’ item from “Free” trade to “Restricted” trade in import policy and enhanced import duty from 10% to 25% on ‘round bamboo sticks’ used for manufacturing of Agarbatti, to boost indigenous production of ‘Agarbatti’and boost rural employment.
    6. PM Narendra Modi e-Inaugurated new Supreme Court building in Mauritius, built with Indian assistance of USD 28.12 million.
    7. To encourage holistic progress in incubator ecosystem across country, NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups. This is a first of its kind initiative for advancing innovation at scale in India. 
      1. Under this, AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster incubation enterprise economy, that will help them to significantly enhance their performance.
    8. Device called AJO-Neo is developed by S.N. Bose National Centre For Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS) Kolkata, for non-invasive screening of bilirubin level in new-borns, to reduce incidents of a type of brain damage called kernicterus that can result from high levels of bilirubin in a baby's blood. 
    9. CSIR, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-IIT Delhi and Vijnana Bharati signed a tripartite MoU, to provide access to CSIR rural technologies for UBA. It is expected to lay foundation for cooperation and joint action in area of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) for rural development.
    10. PSU Power Finance Corporation (PFC) signed MoA IIT Kanpur, for Training, Research, and Entrepreneurship Development in Smart Grid Technology. PFC will provide assistance of 2.38 Crores to IIT-K under its CSR initiative.
    11. Govt. Inaugurated Sembcorp Energy India Limited (SEIL)'s 800 MW wind power projects (SECI 1, 2 and 3), bringing its India renewable energy capacity to 1,730 MW. With this, Sembcorp became first independent power producer to fully commission its projects awarded in first three wind auctions held by Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
    12. MoES National Awards 2020 for excellence in Earth System Science -
      1. Life Time Excellence - Ashok Sahni
      2. Ocean Science & technology - V. V. S. S. Sarma (CSIR-NIO), M. Ravichandran (National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research).
      3. Atmospheric Science & technology - S. Suresh Babu (VSSC Thiruvananthapuram).
      4. Geoscience & technology - N. V. Chalapathi Rao (BHU Varanasi).
      5. Ocean Technology - M. A. Atmanand, Director (NIOT Chennai).
      6. Anna Mani award for woman scientist - Lidita D. S. Khandeparker (CSIR-NIO).
      7. Young Researcher Awards - Indra Sekhar Sen (IIT Kanpur) and Arvind Singh (PRL Ahmedabad).
  4. Jul 28, 2020
    1. July 28 is observed by World Health Organization as World Hepatitis Day. 2020 theme is Hepatitis-free future.
      1. July 28 is also observed as World Nature Conservation Day.
    2. India's Reliance Industries left past ExxonMobil Corp to become world’s largest energy company after Saudi Aramco.
      1. Reliance’s shares have jumped 43% this year compared with a 39% drop in Exxon’s shares as refiners across globe struggled with a plunge in fuel demand.
      2. Aramco with market capitalization of $1.76 trillion is the world’s biggest energy company.
    3. Mahdi Mohammed Gulaid is appointed as Acting Prime Minister of Somalia (Horn of Africa).
    4. 2020 Croatian parliamentary elections won by Incumbent Primer Minister Andrej Plenković's HDZ-led coalition, enabling Andrej Plenković to continue as PM for his 2nd term.
    5. China Launched new high-resolution mapping satellite Ziyuan III 03, onboard Long March-4B carrier rocket. Ziyuan III 03 will join its predecessor Ziyuan III 02 to form a network and capture high-definition 3D images and multispectral data.
    6. Karnataka Cabinet approved new Industrial Policy for 2020-2025, which will introduce significant fiscal, labour, and land reforms will focus on facilitating investments to the state by providing fresh incentives and easing regulatory processes. Policy has grouped districts into three zones, to incentivise investments in industrially backward districts.
    7. Indian Railways is constructing world's first electrified tunnel to run double-stack containers, Near Sohna (Haryana).
      1. 1 KM long tunnel connects Mewat and Gurugram district of Haryana and negotiates steep gradient on slopes of Aravalli range. 
      2. It is part of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, which covers 1,504 km of double line electric track from JNPT to Dadri via Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Palanpur-Phulera-Rewari. Western Corridor passes through 5 states - Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
  5. Jul 27, 2020
    1. Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) Launched a Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet), on its Foundation Day.
      1. Traditional libraries of MoES system will be upgraded into a top-notch Knowledge Resource Centres (KRC). KRCs will be connected with each other and integrated into the KRCNet portal.
      2. MoES also launched mobile App Mausam, developed jointly by India Meteorological Department (IMD), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM).
      3. July 27 is also Raising Day of CRPF, Formed on July 27, 1939.
    2. India’s 10-yearly Financial Action Task Force (FATF) review has been postponed to 2021, due to COVID-19 Pandemic.
      1. It comprises evaluation of India's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regime and legal measures taken to keep a check on financial crimes.
    3. UK and India agreed to collaborate on 5 new projects worth eight million pounds to tackle anti-microbial resistance (AMR), to look for advances in global fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes.
    4. Government will use Mandatory Testing and Certification of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE) regime in order to discourage private telecom players in India from buying Chinese Telecom gear for future operations.
    5. Govt will go ahead with disinvestment in about 23 PSUs, whose disinvestment had been cleared by cabinet earlier.
      1. For FY 21(2020-21), central government has set disinvestment target of 2.10 lakh crores. 1.20 lakh crore will come from disinvestment of PSUs and another 90,000 crores from stake sale in financial institutions.
    6. Hichem Mechichi has been appointed as new Prime Minister of Tunisia (North Africa).
    7. Book Quest for Restoring Financial Stability in India authored by former RBI deputy governor Viral V.Acharya has been released.
    8. New Book The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, written by Current External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been released.
    9. Indian-origin nurse Kala Narayanasamy in Singapore has been conferred with President’s Award for Nurses for serving on the frontline during COVID-19 pandemic.
    10. J & K Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu launched Macadamisation Program for improvement of roads across Jammu and Kashmir, including 11,000 km of fair-weather roads.
  6. Jul 26, 2020
    1. July 26 is Observed as International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem, adopted by UNESCO in 2015.
    2. July 26 marks Kargil Vijay Diwas. On this date in 1999, India took command of high outposts which were captured by Intruding Pakistanis.
    3. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended 5th Annual Meeting of Beijing-Based Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), through video conference, with theme AIIB 2030-Supporting Asia’s Development over the Next Decade.
    4. Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan launched Bureau of Indian Standard’s Mobile App ‘BIS-Care’ and three portals - the Standardization, Conformity Assessment and Training Portals of e-BIS on www.manakonline.in for consumers.
    5. Government will set up a single window system for speeding up industrial clearances and approvals.
      1. Government had initially identified 12 industrial sectors to focus upon, and the same has been expanded to 20 now.
      2. This will help scaling up investment, and leveraging competitive edge of the country.
      3. Government is also creating a land bank, enabling potential investors to locate and identify land banks from distant offices and finalise location of industries, without frequently visiting.
    6. Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda launched 4 schemes of  Department of Pharmaceuticals, two each for promotion of domestic manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices parks in country.
      1. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for promoting domestic manufacturing of KSMs, DIs and APIs and medical devices will boost domestic manufacturing of 53 bulk drugs, on which India is critically dependent on imports.
    7. As per Central Water Commission (CWC), India's 123 monitored reservoirs have 155% more water as compared to that in 2019.
      1. There is 66.372 billion cubic metres of water currently available in the reservoirs, which is 39% of total live storage capacity of reservoirs.
    8. As per UN Food and Agriculture Organization's 5 yearly Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report -
      1. India ranked third among top 10 countries where forest cover has increased in the last decade.
      2. Countries that have gained forest area between 2010 and 2020 -
        1. China
        2. Australia
        3. India
        4. Chile
        5. Vietnam
        6. Turkey
        7. United States
        8. France
        9. Italy
        10. Romania
      3. India accounts to 2% of total global forest area, with 0.38% (266000 hectares) annual gain in forest cover during the decade.
      4. Forest area managed by local, indigenous communities and tribals in India increased from zero in 1990 to 25 million hectares in 2015.
      5. Globally, 12.5 million people are employed in forestry sector , with India employing almost half (6.23 million).
    9. National Green Tribunal has set stricter conditions for the commercial use of groundwater.
      1. NGT also struck down Central Ground Water Authority’s (CGWA) 2020 guidelines, putting on hold about 20000 applications for no-objection certificates (NOCs) from industry on groundwater use. 2018 Version of Guidelines was also struck down by NGT.
      2. As per New Guidelines -
        1. Industries must expect a complete overhaul in the manner in which the permits are issued for the extraction of groundwater for commercial activities.
        2. NGT has banned general permission for withdrawal of groundwater, especially to commercial entities without an environment impact assessment.
        3. Permits must be for the specified quantity of water and must be monitored with digital flow metres and audited every year.
        4. Authorities are given 3 months to make water management plans for all overexploited, semi-critical, and critical areas.
    10. China suspended extradition treaties of Hong Kong with Canada, Britain and Australia, under its New Security Law in Hong Kong.
      1. This came after Britain, Canada and Australia announced similar decisions recently, in response to China's passing a controversial new security law for Hong Kong. Under the bill, China increased its jurisdiction in the semi-autonomous territory.
      2. Extradition is an act under which a jurisdiction delivers a person convicted or accused of committing crime in another jurisdiction.
    11. As per Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation report -
      1. Of 1686 projects being monitored (of over 150 crores), 403 reported cost overrun and 530 time escalation.
      2. Total original cost of implementation of these projects was 20,66,771 crores. Their anticipated completion cost was 24,71,947 crores. This reflects cost over run of 4,05,175 crores.
    12. As per Indian Council of Medical Research Report, India is likely to miss national target of ending AIDS by 2030, due to halted progress of several health programmes amid COVID-19.
      1. Annual decline of new HIV infections between 2010 and 2017 was 27%. Under new target, GoI intended to reduce AIDS in country by 75% by 2020. This seems Unlikely now.
      2. Highest number of people living with HIV were Maharashtra (0.33 million), Andhra Pradesh (0.27 million), Karnataka (0.24 million).
    13. With Cotton Corporation of India holding surplus stocks of cotton, it is trying to boost exports.
      1. India will sign MOU with Bangladesh to export 1.5 to 2 million bales of cotton. One bale is 170 kilo grams.
      2. CCI will also set up its own warehouse in Vietnam to boost cotton exports.
      3. India has chosen Bangladesh and Vietnam as they have duty-free access to markets of US, Europe, and China.
    14. India extended medical assistance worth about USD 1 million to North Korea in response, under ongoing WHO anti-tuberculosis programme in North Korea.
    15. US Consulate in Chengdu city of China has been closed by China, in response to closure of Chinese consulate in Houston (US).
      1. Chengdu consulate was an important outpost for the US as it covered a large swath of the country including controversial autonomous region of Tibet.
    16. Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended Indian Accounting Standards related to leasing.
      1. The Ind-AS 103, 116 and other standards have been amended.
      2. Ind-AS 103 is related to business combinations. Ind-AS 116 standard is related to principles for presentation, recognition and disclosure of leases.
      3. Due to COVID-19, many lessors have extended rent concessions to lessees. With Ind-AS 116, applying changes to lease payments in current situation will be difficult. Hence, it has been amended.
      4. Indian Accounting Standards are supervised by Accounting Standards Board, constituted in 1977.
  7. Jul 25, 2020
    1. IIT BHU will develop a biotechnology-based water treatment system for purification of sewage water flowing into the rivers Ganga and Godavari under a joint project funded by India and the European Union.
      1. The sponsored project, ‘SPRING-Strategic Planning for Water Resources and Implementation of Novel Biotechnical Treatment solutions and Good Practices (SPRING)’, is funded for 3 years.
    2. Chhattisgarh Govt launched “Godhan Nyay Yojna”, to promote cattle rearing, ensure safety of livestock and help cattle ranchers earn extra income. Under this,
      1. State government will purchase cow dung at the rate of Rs 2 per kg. Women self-help groups will then prepare vermicompost from it, which will then be sold at Rs 8 per kg to farmers, while dung will be utilized for other products.
    3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Green Climate Fund (GCF) partnered for a “green recovery” for members confronting harsh economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
      1. GCF has approved total funding of $473 million for 10 ADB projects, making ADB fourth-largest accredited entity of GCF.
      2. Under Strategy 2030, ADB will ensure that 75% of its committed projects will support climate change mitigation and adaptation by 2030. Climate finance from ADB’s own resources will reach $80 billion cumulatively from 2019 to 2030.
      3. Earlier in April, ADB had tripled its initial Covid-19 response package to $20 billion.
    4. RBI Released Report of the Committee for Analysis of QR (Quick Response) Code', headed by Deepak .B. Phatak.
      1. It was mandated to review prevalent system of QR Codes in India for facilitating digital payments and submit recommendations.
      2. Post demonetization, acceptance infrastructure for QR codes has seen tremendous growth.
      3. Report noted that there should be a clear plan to phase out proprietary, closed loop QR codes in favour of open, interoperable standards.
      4. Multiple interoperable QR codes should drive acceptance infrastructure in coming years.
      5. Government / RBI should allow a controlled interchange instead of zero MDR on QR code / UPI / RuPay Debit card transactions, as well as give tax incentives to merchants who accept payments through electronic mode.
    5. Punjab Cabinet approved a USD 285.71 million project for canal-based water supply for Amritsar and Ludhiana under World Bank financing.
      1. World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will finance USD 200 million (70 %) and Punjab Government USD 85.71 million (30 %).
    6. Ministry of Environment launched an online system for issuing transit permits for timber, bamboo and other forest produce, called National Transit Pass System (NTPS).
      1. It will make process of getting permits faster and without physically going to forest department offices, functional in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana for now. It will be will be operational in all states by Diwali 2020.
    7. India aims to have 60 % of its installed electricity generation capacity from clean and renewable sources by 2030, totalling 510 GW renewable energy by 2030.
      1. Also, India has set a target of installing of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
    8. Haryana Govt launched e-Sachivalaya portal, a digital platform, facilitating people to take online appointments for virtual meetings with Top Officials Including CM.
    9. Andhra Pradesh government signed MoU with Amul (Anand Milk Union Limited), to give a fillip for the empowerment of women self-help groups (SHGs) by encouraging milk cooperatives in government sector.
    10. International Years marked by UN -
      1. 2020 -
        1. International Year of Plant Health
        2. International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife
      2. 2021 -
        1. International Year of Peace and Trust
        2. International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development
        3. International Year of Fruits and Vegetables
        4. International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour
      3. 2022 -
        1. International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture
      4. 2024
        1. International Year of Camelids
    11. National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has constituted a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) under Chairmanship of IIM Bengaluru's R Narayanaswamy. It will aid and advise Executive Body of NFRA on issues related to the drafts of accounting standards and auditing standards.
    12. Book The Pandemic Century, has been written by Mark Honigsbaum.
    13. PSU NHPC (National Hydro Power Corporation) signed MoU with Green Energy Development Corporation of Odisha Limited (GEDCOL) to form a joint venture for developing floating solar energy projects in the state with initial capacity of 500 MW.
    14. India's Indian Super League (ISL) received global recognition with its induction into World Leagues Forum (WLF), becoming first league from South Asia and seventh in Asia to join it.
    15. India and Maldives signed contract, allowing India to construct fish processing plants at two Maldives islands - Maradhoo and Hulhudhoo.
      1. In 2019, Maldives and India signed MOU that detailed setting up of 3 fish processing plants at Maradhoo, Hithadhoo and Hulhudhoo.
  8. Jul 24, 2020
    1. July 24 is Observed by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as Income Tax Day (Aayakar Diwas). On this day in 1860, Income Tax was introduced for first time in India by James Wilson.
    2. PM Narendra Modi laid foundation Stone for Manipur Water Supply Project.
      1. Government under Jal Jeevan Mission, aims to provide safe drinking water to every rural household by 2024 with motto “Har Ghar Jal”. There are about 19 crore households in India. Currently, Only 24% have Freshwater Household Tap Connections (FHTCs).  
      2. Manipur Water Supply project was designed to provide FHTCs to remaining households in Greater Imphal Planning area, 25 Towns and for 1731 rural habitations. Project outlay is about 3055 Crores, with loan component funded by New Development Bank.
    3. NASA will launch ASTHROS Mission from Antarctica in December 2023, which will spend three weeks observing air currents above Antarctica.
      1. ASTHROS Mission will send a Helium inflated football stadium sized balloon into stratosphere, which will observe wavelengths of invisible light from earth.
      2. Mission will find answers about unsolved puzzles of giant stars and their formation in Milky Way Galaxy. It will detect and map presence of two specific types of nitrogen ions, for the first time.
      3. These ions will help to reveal places where winds from supernova explosions massive stars helped to reshape the gas clouds.
    4. China launched its first successful Mars probe named Tianwen 1, onboard China’s most powerful and biggest Long March 5 rocket.
      1. It will travel seven months to reach Mars covering 400 million kilometres. It Consists of an orbiter, lander, and rover.
      2. China Earlier tried to send an exploratory probe to Mars called Yinghuo-1 in 2011, which had failed.
    5. Space start up Digantara has developed India’s first in-orbit space debris monitoring and tracking system, which works on LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology.
      1. It will provide global real-time earth surveillance, by deploying a constellation of cost-efficient nano satellites in the Low Earth Orbit (< 1000 KM).
      2. it will help space agencies to track and map space debris, to minimize major threats of future space exploration.
    6. Karnataka cabinet cleared formation of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, to promote over 7,000 start-ups, e-commerce and other gig economy companies in State.
      1. The mission will be incorporated as a new company, with Government of Karnataka holding 49 % and balance 51 % by other stakeholders.
      2. Earlier, e-commerce, startups and other gig economic companies operating under “Technology Mission” were governed by three to four government agencies. With new cabinet approval, companies will come under one roof.
    7. United Nations Environment Programme and International Energy Agency released report on “Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis” -
      1. Report says that by 2050, world will need 14 billion cooling appliances, up from 3.6 billion appliances in use globally at present.
      2. This will significantly contribute to increase in temperature as Air Conditioners use Hydrofluorocarbons that emit green house gases.
      3. Without correct policy interventions, emissions from air conditioning is to increase by 90% as compared to 2017 levels in 2050.
      4. Kigali Agreement is amendment to Montreal Protocol, signed in 2016 in Kigali (Rwanda). It aims to gradually reduce consumption and production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
      5. Montreal Protocol was signed in 1985 to phase out hydrofluorocarbons.
    8. RBI extended 400 million USD of currency swap with Sri Lanka, under SAARC Currency Swap Framework, to remain till November 2022.
      1. India is nconsidering bilateral currency swap request of Sr Lanka for 1.1 billion USD, to address economic slowdown.
      2. A Currency Swap between two countries is an agreement to exchange currencies with predetermined agreement, to solve short term foreign exchange liquidity requirements.
      3. Current SAARC currency swap agreement was signed in December 2019, to run till 2022.
    9. HRD Ministry has set a committee under chairmanship of UGC Chairman D P Singh, to frame guidelines to ensure that more students stay in India and continue their higher studies.
    10. Government asked Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for prescribing the mandatory standards for imported goods, in line with the international norms for quality. It is expected to impact the import of non-essential Chinese goods.
    11. Flipkart acquired parent company, Walmart Inc’s wholesale business in India, to launch a digital marketplace called Flipkart Wholesale.
      1. This will also strengthen the e-commerce firm’s wholesale offerings, to compete better with Amazon. Walmart has been running the Best Price wholesale cash-and-carry stores in India since 2009.
      2. Walmart had bought a controlling stake worth USD 16 billion in Flipkart in 2018.
    12. Indian Air Force will procure HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) missiles from France to further boost its combat capabilities, under emergency financial powers given to armed forces amid India-China border standoff (Upto 300 Crores).
    13. Airtel Payments Bank and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) collaborated in order to train and skill young people in rural areas on financial services.
    14. Central American country Nicaragua became 87th country to sign India-led International Solar Alliance(ISA) Framework Agreement.
    15. World Trade Organization (WTO) granted the “Observer” status to the central Asian country Turkmenistan, making Turkmenistan last former Soviet republic to establish formal ties with WTO.
    16. Punjab government signed MoU with IIT Ropar, in area of skill development. IIT Ropar will act as academic mentor for state’s engineering colleges.
    17. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) become first Indian port to sign Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
      1. APSEZ has committed to set up science-based emissions reduction targets across its value chain. These targets would be consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
      2. SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
    18. Russia flight tested an MGTD-20 gas turbine 3D-printed aircraft engine,with production scheduled for 2022.
      1. With new technology, production time of the main engine elements has been reduced by 20 times and the cost of their production has been reduced by more than two times.
    19. RBI Released 21st Half-Yearly Financial Stability Report (July 2020 Edition) -
      1. Gross and net non-performing asset (GNPA and NNPA) ratios of all SCBs which had reached 9.3 % and 3.7 % in September 2019, have come down to 8.5 % and 3.0 % in March 2020. As a result, the provision coverage ratio (PCR) of SCBs improved to 65.4 % in March 2020 from 61.6 % in September 2019.
      2. Further, Banks’ gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio may increase from 8.5 % in March 2020 to 12.5 % (14.7 % in a very severe stress scenario) by March 2021.
      3. Public sector banks’ (PSBs) gross bad loans ratio of 11.3% at end of March 2020 may increase to 15.2% by March 2021. Private banks may see an increase from 4.2% to 7.3%.
      4. Capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of SCBs declined to 14.8% in March 2020 from 15% in September 2019. This ratio could slide to “13.3% in March 2021 under the baseline scenario and to 11.8% under very severe stress scenario.
      5.  System-level capital adequacy ratio (ratio of capital to advances) may drop from 14.6% in March 2020 to 13.3% by March 2021 under baseline scenario and to 11.8% under very severe stress scenario.
  9. Jul 23, 2020
    1. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) appointed Partha Pratim Sengupta as its new MD and CEO.
    2. As a relief for Tata Education and Development Trust, Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) ruled in favour of trust in their appeal against demand of over 220 crores was levied by tax department.
      1. Case pertains to assessment years 2011-12 and 2012-13 on money spent by Trust for creating an endowment fund at Cornell University (US), to provide scholarships to Indian students, and granting assistance to Harvard Business School for constructing a building named Tata Hall. It donated 197.79 crores in 2011-12 and 25.37 crores in 2012-13.
      2. In 2018, Public Account Committee (PAC) of Lok Sabha sought an enquiry in matter as it believed that exemption granted by direct tax body was in violation of I-T Act.
    3. Indian Railways' is integrating its Indian Railway Electronic Procurement System (IRePS) and Integrated Material Management System (iMMS) with Government e-Marketplace (GeM), to further enhance efficiency of Its procurement system.
    4. A study by Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) about elastic properties of rocks and seismicity in easternmost part of India has revealed that this area is generating moderate earthquakes at two different depths.
      1. Low magnitude earthquakes are concentrated at 1-15 km depth, and slightly higher greater than 4.0 magnitude earthquakes are mostly generated from 25-35 km depth.
      2. Growth of Himalaya is a continuous process that results from reverse faults in which rocks on lower surface of a fault plane move under relatively static rocks on upper surface, called underthrusting of Indian plate beneath its Eurasian counterpart.
      3. Tuting-Tidding Suture Zone (TTSZ) is a major part of Eastern Himalaya, where Himalaya takes a sharp southward bend and connects with Indo-Burma Range. This part of Arunachal Himalaya has gained importance in recent times due to growing need of constructing roads and hydropower projects, making need for understanding pattern of seismicity in this region critical.
      4. Crustal thickness in this area varies from 46.7 km beneath Brahmaputra Valley to about 55 km in higher elevations of Arunachal.
      5. Detailed assessment of seismicity in this region will be helpful for planning any largescale construction in this region in future.
    5. Ministry of Tribal Affairs PSU TRIFED partnered with IIT Delhi for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), a flagship national programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development, to forge ahead in its endeavour to bring the tribal people towards mainstream development.
      1. A tripartite MOU was signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi (on behalf of UBA) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA, a Swadeshi Science Movement).
    6. Govt. announced Panchkula (Haryana) as host for 4th edition of Khelo India Youth Games. These Games are currently scheduled to take place after Tokyo Olympics, which are postponed to July-Aug 2021, amid Covid-19 Pandemic.
    7. President gave Anandiben Patel (Governor of Uttar Pradesh) additional charge as Governor of Madhya Pradesh, after demise of Lal Ji Tandon (Former Serving Governor of Madhya Pradesh).
    8. Department of Posts extended all small savings schemes upto the branch post office level, to empower rural India by bringing all Post Office Savings schemes to the doorstep of people in rural areas.
      1. It has allowed Branch Post Offices to offer facilities of Public Provident Fund, Monthly Income Scheme, National Savings Certificate, Kisan Vikas Patra and Senior Citizen Savings Schemes.
      2. People will now be able to deposit their savings into these popular schemes through post office in their village itself.
    9. Indian Railways has set a target for Radio-Frequency Identification Tags (RFID) Tagging of all wagons by December 2022, for automated and efficient tracking all wagons. So far, 23000 wagons have been covered under RFID project.
    10. With aim of Housing for all by 2022, PM Narendra Modi had launched restructured rural housing scheme Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) in November 2016, replacing erstwhile Indira Awaas Yojana.
      1. It aimed at construction of 2.95 crore houses with all basic amenities by 2022. Selection of beneficiaries was done through a three stage validation (Socio Economic Caste Census 2011, Gram Sabha, and geo-tagging).
      2. So far, 1.10 crore houses have been completed, with 114 days as average completion time, down from 314 days earlier.
      3. Ministry of Rural Development had earlier completed construction of 72 lakh houses under Indira Awas Yojana, totalling construction of 182 lakh houses since 2014.
    11. Department of Science and Technology launched India-Russia Joint Technology Assessment and Accelerated Commercialization Programme in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) of Russian Federation.
      1. It will connect Indian, and Russian Science & Technology (S&T) led SMEs and Start-ups for joint R&D for technology development and for cross-country technology adaptation.
      2. The programme will run through two annual cycles with up to five projects to be funded under each cycle. Over 2 years, Department of Science and Technology will fund up to INR 15 Crores to 10 Indian SMEs/Start-ups and FASIE will provide similar funding to Russian projects.
    12. Ministry of Shipping waived waterway usage charges for 3 years, to promote inland waterways as a supplementary, eco-friendly and cheaper mode of transport.
      1. Currently, only 2% of total cargo traffic moves through waterways. Waiving waterway charges will attract the industries to use the national waterways for their logistical needs.
      2. Presently, Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) levies waterway usage charges at a rate of Rs 0.02 per gross registered tonnage (GRT) per kilometer for plying of Inland cargo vessels and Rs. 0.05 per gross registered tonnage (GRT) per kilometer for plying of Cruise vessels on national waterways.
    13. Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified draft notification seeking suggestions for amendment to Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1979, for inclusion of Hydrogen enriched CNG as an automotive fuel, as another step by Ministry for promotion of Green fuels for automobiles.
    14. Govt had Launched Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing (SWAMIH) fund, which has so far approved 81 projects with an investment of Rs 8767 crores, to enable completion of almost 60,000 homes across India.
      1. Recent initiative by Fund to reduce cost of capital to 12% has resulted in an increase in number of projects that meet funding criteria.
      2. Background -
        1. In November 2019, Cabinet approved establishment of a 'Special Window' to provide priority debt financing for completion of stalled housing projects.
        2. This Special Window was to be set up in form of one or more category-II Alternate Investments Funds (AIFs), registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and managed by a professional investment/fund manager.
        3. Government had committed infusion of up to 10,000 crores in Special Window and further investments will be brought in through institutional and private investors, to generate corpus of 25000 crores.
        4. Government is acting as Sponsor and SBICAP Ventures has been engaged as investment manager.
        5. First such fund was called Special Window for Affordable and Mid-Income Housing Fund (SWAMIH) Investment Fund I, which achieved first close at 10530 crores.
    15. Government amended General Financial Rules 2017, to enable imposition of restrictions on bidders from countries which share a land border with India, on grounds of defence of India.
      1. Any bidder from such countries sharing a land border with India will be eligible to bid in any procurement whether of goods, services or works only if bidder is registered with Competent Authority, the Registration Committee constituted by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
    16. Ministry of Defence approved grant of Permanent Commission (PC) to Women Officers in Indian Army, paving the way for empowering Women Officers to shoulder larger roles. It grants PC to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) Women Officers in all ten streams of Indian Army.
    17. Southern Naval Command commissioned a 3 MW Solar Power Plant at Indian Naval Academy (Ezhimala), as largest in Indian Navy and has an estimated life of 25 years. Govt under ‘National Solar Mission’ aims to achieve 100GW of solar power by 2022.
      1. India has set a target of installing of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
    18. Cmmerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal attended 10th BRICS Trade Ministers Meet, held virtually.
    19. July 23 is observed as National broadcasting Day in India. On this day in 1927, 1st ever radio broadcast in country went on the air from Bombay Station under a private company called Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC).
      1. July 23 is also birth anniversary of Legendary Indian Freedom Fighters Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bal Gangadhar Tilak. On this occasion, Govt. launched Tree Plantation Campaign “Vriksharopan Abhiyan” of Ministry of Coal.
    20. Noted Author Ruskin Bond’s new book, A Song of India has been released. It has been set in 1951, and traces beginning of Bond’s writing career.
  10. Jul 22, 2020
    1. 45th India Ideas summit 2020 has been held by US-India Business Council (USIBC) with theme Building a Better Future.
    2. Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy presented 9000 crore tax free budget for FY 21 (2020-21), 575 crore more than previous year’s outlay.
      1. 5257 crores (59 percent) of budget is from state’s own resources, 2023 crores (22 %) from central assistance and centrally sponsored schemes and balance 1710 crore (19 %) from open market borrowings and negotiated loans.
    3. Rajasthan cabinet approved ‘One Stop Shop’ scheme, earlier known as single window clearance system, For fast-tracking investment and capacity expansion proposals by facilitating time-bound approvals and clearances. Entrepreneurs investing above Rs 10 crore will be able to get 98 types of clearances under one roof at the ‘One Stop Shop’ (OSS).
    4. Haryana Cabinet introduced Samadhan se Vikas one-time settlement scheme for recovery of long-pending dues on account of External Development Charges (EDC). It is modeled on the central scheme ‘Vivad se Vishwas-2020’. Builders, mostly in Gurgaon and Faridabad, are yet to pay state government over Rs 10,000 crore as EDC.
    5. Rajya Sabha secretariat launched an Employees’ Welfare Scheme in the name of former Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who passed away last year.
      1. His Wife Sangeeta Jaitley, had urged Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to utilise family pension she is entitled to, for benefit of bottom rung of secretariat.
    6. Civil Aviation Ministry has set up a 10 member Investment Clearance Cell, ICC for prompt assistance and clearance of proposals.
    7. Maharashtra became 1st State to use drones to inspect power lines and transmission towers, with Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (MSETCL) deploying drones for the same.
    8. As per World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) report -
      1. Indian direct selling industry recorded USD 2.477 Billion in sales in 2019, ranking 15th globally.
      2. Top 3 - US (1), China (2), South Korea and Germany (3).
    9. As per Indian Railways' Plans for deploying 151 Private Trains -
      1. First set of 12 private trains will be introduced in 2023, 45 in 2023-2024, 50 in 2025-26 and 44 more in 2026-27.
      2. Earlier, Railways invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation for operation of passenger train services over 109 Origin Destination(OD) pairs of routes through introduction of 151 modern Trains (Rakes).
  11. Jul 21, 2020
    1. As per 7th edition of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Global Rights Index (144 Nations) -
      1. India is among 10 worst Performing nations in terms of workers' rights, along with Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
      2. Middle East and North Africa is worst region for working people for seven years running, due to insecurity and conflicts in Palestine, Syria, Yemen and Libya coupled with most regressive region for workers' representation and union rights.
    2. India and South African Customs Union held a virtual meeting to discuss Preferential Trade Agreement.
      1. South African Customs Union (SACU), which comprises of South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and Eswatini.
      2. India's trade with Whole of Africa is 66.7 billion USD. Of this, India and SACU trade stands at 10.9 billion USD.
    3. Swedish Climate Activist Greta Thunberg won Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, as First Recepient of this 1 million Euros Prize.
      1. She gained international recognition for promoting existential humanity crisis due to climate change, including Friday for Future climate strike movement launched by her.
      2. Gulbenkian Prize is a series of prizes awarded annually by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
      3. Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity has been Established in 2020.
    4. Delhi government approved ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana’, to help beneficiaries avail of the doorstep delivery of ration.
    5. Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has suggested to freeze changes in Defence Procurement Policy for 4 to 5 years, which has gone through 6 revisions between 2015 and 2017. This underlines lack of long-term stability in regulations. Other suggested measures -
      1. Increase spending on defence and R&D.
      2. Incentives to boost domestic industry should be made more attractive to foreign investors.
      3. Period of performance for offsets should be increased to 10-12 years to allow enough time to build necessary capabilities and ensure effective technology transfer.
    6. Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted flight trials of the anti-tank guided Nag Missile (HELINA), which has been named now as Dhruvastra, at Interim Test Range in Balasore (Odisha).
    7. Financial Intelligence Unit has been allowed by Income Tax Department to get PAN details of individuals to dig deeper into large suspicious accounts.
      1. FIU forwards suspicious accounts to law enforcement, intelligence agencies and investigative agencies of Govt.
      2. FIU is empowered to receive Cash Transaction Reports (CTR) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A bank has to furnish CTR to FIU every month incorporating all transactions over Rs 10 lakhs.
      3. Disclosing PAN will help FIU to get bigger picture of money laundering and tax evasion.
      4. FIU was set up by in 2004 as central national agency responsible for analyzing suspicious financial transactions.
    8. US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan legislation, urging China to peacefully de-escalate situation with India along Line of Actual Control.
      1. It came after House passed an amendment to National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), slamming China's aggression against India in Galwan Valley and its growing territorial assertiveness in and around disputed areas like South China Sea.
    9. NASA rescheduled launch of James Webb Space Telescope to October 31, 2021, from March 2021 earlier.
      1. JWST will succeed the ery successful Hubble Space Telescope as NASA's flagship astrophysics mission.
      2. It will provide improved infrared resolution and sensitivity over Hubble, and will enable a broad range of investigations across astronomy and cosmology, including formation of first galaxies.
    10. South Korea launched its first-ever military communications satellite ANASIS-II, launched by US Based SpaceX.
    11. Sahitya Akademi Award winner Baldev Singh Sadaknama's new book ‘Suraj Kade Marda Nahi’ (sun never dies) has been released, portraying many aspects of freedom fighter Udham Singh.
    12. S Hussain Zaidi 's new novel The Endgame has been released.
    13. P Praveen Siddharth has been appointed as new personal secretary to President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
    14. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) provided drones named ‘Bharat’ to Indian Army, to provide accurate surveillance along the Line of Actual Control in high altitude and mountainous terrains of Eastern Ladakh.
    15. Karur Vysya Bank appointed Ramesh Babu Boddu as its MD & CEO.
    16. The Legend of Animation award instituted by Toonz Media Group as part of Animation Masters Summit (AMS) 2020 – Digital Edition will be posthumously conferred to Noted animation director Arnab Chaudhuri.
  12. Jul 20, 2020
    1. General Events / Conferences (Jul 11-20, 2020) -
      1. India handed over outdoor fitness equipment for 61 islands across Maldives under a cash grant of 8 million USD. India and Maldives also signed agreement to establish “Emergency Medical Services” in Male, under grant assistance of 20 million USD for neighbouring countries.
      2. Govt released Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India, to help policy makers to frame effective provisions for future novel nano-based products in the agri-input and food sectors of India.
      3. 4th edition of virtual Ministerial on Climate Action held Virtually, with India represented by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar.
      4. India Global Week 2020 virtual conference organised in United Kingdom with a theme of Be The Revival: India and a Better New World.
      5. first-of-its-kind footwear training center in Delhi to train marginalized community of leather artisans has been inaugurated by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), established with technical knowhow of Central Footwear Training Institute (CFTI) Agra.
      6. Arunachal Pradesh filmmaker Kezang D Thongdok won Dada Saheb Phalke Award 2020 for a short documentary Chi Lupo, during 10th Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2020.
        1. Note that this is different from Dadasaheb Phalke Award which is India's highest award in cinema, presented annually at by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
      7. Shipping Minister (I/C) Mansukh Mandaviya flagged off first container ship from Kolkata to Agartala (Tripura) through Chattogram Port of Bangladesh, under Agreement on use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for movement of India’s transit cargo through Bangladesh.
      8. Digital Indo-Italian Business Mission on Food Processing held virtually.
      9. Shipping Ministry approved 107 Crores for augmentation of firefighting facilities on five jetties of Haldia Dock Complex (Kolkata Port), to enable Haldia Dock Complex in safe handling of movement of petro-chemical products.
      10. 5th edition of conference on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies held Virtually
      11. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) organised its first ‘Digital Choupal’ to mark its 39th foundation day (Formed on July 12, 1982).
      12. Germany's Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB), the sole authority for evaluation of foreign qualifications in Germany, has Included all of India's 5 NID (National Institute of Design) in Anabin list.
        1. Recognition of foreign university-level qualifications in Germany is often an essential prerequisite for securing a German Work Visa, Job Seekers Visa or German Blue Card.
        2. This recognition will now enable NID students to easily apply for work permits in Germany for working in the fields relevant to their education.
      13. GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) has introduced India’s first-ever fully contactless airport car parking to provide a safe airport amid COVID-19.
      14. Tamil Nadu Government signed 8 MOUs worth 10399 crores, in areas of solar cells, agrotech, iron foundry and module manufacturing. It will generate around 13500 jobs
      15. First on-line NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) programme for 1200 Key Resources Persons of Andhra Pradesh has been launched.
        1. NISHTHA aims at improving learning outcomes at elementary stage under Samagra Shiksha -a flagship programme of MHRD.
      16. India and Russia are finalising a defence logistics sharing pact that can enable seamless access to each other’s military bases and support facilities, and the formal agreement is likely to be signed at the annual summit planned in Late 2020.
    2. July 20 - International Chess Day, marks founding of International Chess Federation in 1924.
    3. July 20 is observed as Space Exploration Day, marking Anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 Mission, which was spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin formed American crew that landed Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on July 20, 1969.
      1. They spent about two and a quarter hours together outside the spacecraft, and collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material to bring back to Earth. This day marks man's first historic landing and walk on the surface of another celestial body.
    4. Arun Kumar (Railway Protection Force DG) has been nominated as Vice-Chairman of Security platform for UIC (Union Internationale Des Chemins). UIC Is a French word meaning International Union of Railways. It is headquartered in Paris.
      1. UIC Security Platform is empowered to formulate policy positions on behalf of rail sector in matters relating to security of persons, property and installations.
    5. 3rd unit of Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant (KAPP) in Gujarat is ready to generate electricity, with 700 MWe KAPP-3 reactor achieving ‘criticality. A nuclear reactor reaches ‘criticality’, when it is ready for ongoing nuclear reaction or fission that generates energy.
      1. Nuclear power in India -
        1. It is fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind.
        2. India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, with total installed capacity of 6780 MW. 9 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 6700 MW.
        3. Govt has also approved to set up nuclear power capacities totaling 25,248 MW across Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Kowada (Andhra Pradesh), Chhaya Mithi Virdi (Gujarat), Haripur (West Bengal) and Bhimpur (Madhya Pradesh).
      2. Nuclear Energy is Non-renewable. In renewable Energy, India has set a target of installing of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, which includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from wind, 10 GW from bio-power and 5 GW from small hydro-power.
    6. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched MANODARPAN initiative, to provide psychosocial support to students for their Mental Health and Well-being. A National Toll-free Helpline (8448440632) has been launched under the Initiative.
    7. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports signed Statement of Intent with YuWaah (a multi-stakeholder platform formed by UNICEF) to work in partnership to promote volunteerism among youth of India as well, to realise vision of mobilizing 1 crore youth volunteers.
    8. Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Zoram Mega Food Park at Kolasib in Mizoram, built at a cost of 75 crores and spread over 55 Acres. It will directly benefit over 25,000 farmers and will provide employment opportunities to over 5,000 people.
    9. Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a Contract with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) for procurement of 1512 Mine Plough (MP) for Tank T-90 S/SK at an approximate cost of 557 crores.
    10. Consumer Protection Act 2019 came into force from 20th July 2020, to empower consumers through its various provisions -
      1. It was passed both Houses of Parliament in August 2019. It replaces Consumer Protection Act 1986. 
      2. Six consumer rights have been defined in the Bill -
        1. To be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property
        2. To be informed of the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services
        3. To be assured of access to a variety of goods or services at competitive prices
        4. To seek redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices.
      3. Government will set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to protect and enforce rights of consumers.  CCPA will regulate matters related to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and misleading advertisements. 
      4. CCPA may impose a penalty on a manufacturer or an endorser of up to Rs 10 lakh and imprisonment for up to two years for amisleading advertisement. In subsequent offence, fine may extend to Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of up to five years.
      5. Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (CDRCs) will be set up at the district, state, and national levels. 
      6. District CDRC will entertain complaints where value of goods and services does not exceed Rs one crore.  State CDRC will entertain complaints when the value is more than Rs one crore but does not exceed Rs 10 crore.  Complaints with value of goods and services over Rs 10 crore will be entertained by the National CDRC.
    11. R.K Singh (Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy) inaugurated India’s first public Electric Vehicle charging plaza at Chelmsford Club in New Delhi, setup by EESL and NDMC.
      1. This plaza will host 5 Electric Vehicle Chargers of different specifications.
      2. He also launched Retrofit of Air-conditioning to improve Indoor Air Quality for Safety and Efficiency (RAISE) national programme, to improve Indoor air quality for Safety and Efficiency" developed for healthy and energy-efficient buildings, in partnership with USAID's MAITREE programme.
  13. Jul 19, 2020
    1. As Per India Ratings and Research , Central Govt's fiscal deficit may touch 7.6 % in 2020-21, more than double the Budget Estimate of 3.8 % (revised from 3.3 % earlier), as country spends extra to minimise impact of COVID-19 pandemic while facing a shortfall in revenues.
      1. Aggregate central and state fiscal deficit in FY21 will increase to 12.1 % of GDP (Centre - 7.6 %, states - 4.5 %)
      2. India’s GDP is expected to contract by 5.3 %.
    2. India Held Joint Passex exercise with US Navy's nuclear-powered USS Nimitz close to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
      1. USS Nimitz is world's largest warship.
      2. Indian Navy has held similar Passex exercises with Japanese and French Navies recently.
    3. Central government is aiming at gradually increasing public health expenditure to 2.5 % of the nation's GDP by 2025. Outlay for primary health expenditure will also be made nearly two third of the total public health expenditure in country.
    4. IT company L&T Infotech acquired 100 % stake in US based Orchestra Technology, which provides engineering services and solutions for telecom network management. Deal is valued at USD 25 million.
    5. UAE's Mars Mission Hope has been launched, from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center, using a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA launcher.
      1. It is expected to enter Mars orbit by February 2021.
      2. Hope probe constitutes three different instruments namely an imager and two spectrometers. It will orbit it for a whole Martian year i.e. for 687 days.
      3. The Mission costed $200 million and is UAE’s first foray into interplanetary exploration.
    6. Coursera Global Skills Index 2020 -
      1. India Ranks -
        1. Data Science - 51
        2. Business Domain - 34
        3. Technology - 40
      2. Top Nations -
        1. Data Science - Russia
        2. Business Domain - Switzerland
        3. Technology - Russia
  14. Jul 18, 2020
    1. July 18 - UN Nelson Mandela International Day, proclaimed by United Nations in 2009, and first UN Mandela Day held in July 2010.
      1. Guinean doctor Morissana Kouyate and Marianna Vardinoyannis of Greece won 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize.
      2. Mandela Prize was established by UN in 2014, awarded every 5 years.
    2. Mercedes F1 Racer Lewis Hamilton (UK) won Hungarian Grand Prix.
      Round Grand Prix Winner Race date
      1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July
      2 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 12 July
      3 Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 19 July
      4 British Grand Prix   2 August
      5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix   9 August
      6 Spanish Grand Prix   16 August
      7 Belgian Grand Prix   30 August
      8 Italian Grand Prix   6 September
      9 Tuscan Grand Prix   13 September
      10 Russian Grand Prix   27 September
      11 Eifel Grand Prix   11 October
      12 Portuguese Grand Prix   25 October
      13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix   1 November
    3. Uttar Pradesh Govt launched Navin Rojgar Chhatri Yojana for all-round development of Scheduled Castes.
    4. Bollywood Actress Priyanka Chopra chosen among 50 ambassador of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2020, along with Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap.
    5. Spanish football club Real Madrid won La Liga Championship for 34th time, defeating Villarreal FC.
    6. Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI) report by US-based property consultant Cushman & Wakefield -
      1. China and US retain top two positions respectively, while India moved one place higher from previous edition, to rank third.
    7. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) announced recipients of International Press Freedom Awards 2020. Awardees -
      1. Shahidul Alam (Bangladesh) - He is the founder of the Pathshala Media Institute and Drik photo library.
      2. Mohammad Mosaed (Iran) - He was forced to resign from a reformist newspaper under government pressure.
      3. Dapo Olorunyomi (Nigeria) - Co-founder of Nigerian newspaper Premium Times.
      4. Svetlana Prokopyeva (Russia) - She is a regional correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, known as Radio Svoboda.
      5. Amal Clooney (Britain) - She specialised in public international law, international criminal law, and human rights.
    8. Roshni Nadar Malhotra has been appointed as new chairman of IT Firm HCL Technologies, replacing her father Shiv Nadar. Shiv Nadar will continue to HCL Tech’s managing director.
    9. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) integrated a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) course for class XI and XII in the current academic year, developed in collaboration with IBM.
    10. Uttarakhand government will convert waste generated in state to produce up to 5 MW electricity, under initiative titled ‘Waste to Energy’.
    11. Ossouka Raponda has been appointed as first woman prime minister of Gabon (Central Africa).
    12. Book The Tangams: An Ethnolinguistic Study Of The Critically Endangered Group of Arunachal Pradesh has been released, based on Tangams, a critically endangered speech community of Arunachal Pradesh domiciled at Kugging village (Upper Siang district).
    13. UNICEF India partnered with SAP India to offer career counselling to young people in country, and improve employability skills of young people.
    14. Telangana Police launched CybHer campaign in association with Symbiosis Law School Hyderabad, to tackle cybercrime against children and women in state.
    15. Pakistan and China signed agreement for $1.5-billion Azad Pattan hydel power project (700 MW) on Jhelum river in Sudhoti district of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
      1. It is 2nd power project under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with First being 1100 MW Kohala project, also upon Jhelum.
    16. Russia began process of legalising a ban on same-sex marriage, with lawmakers submitting a draft legislation that seeks to ban same-sex marriage.
      1. It was paret of Russian Referendum 2020, when voters supported the proposed changes to the constitution, one among which defines marriage as a union of a man and a woman only.
      2. The Same Referendum also paved way for Putin to possibly remain in power for another 16 years (till 2036).
    17. NASA stated that a 'gigantic asteroid', bigger than London Eye, is heading towards Earth. This 170 metres huge asteroid named 2020ND will flyby Earth on July 24, termed as potentially hazardous.
    18. Tara June Winch won $60000 Miles Franklin Literary Award - Australia’s most prestigious writing prize, for her novel The Yield.
  15. Jul 17, 2020
    1. PM Narendra Modi addressed High-Level Segment Meet of UN ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council).
      1. ECOSOC was established as one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. First meeting of ECOSOC was held in 1946, which was presided by India.
      2. This year meet theme is Multilateralism after COVID-19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary, as 2020 marks 75th anniversary of UN.
    2. Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman participated in 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, held Virtually under Saudi Arabian Presidency.
      1. Virtual meeting of G20 Digital Economy Ministers was also hosted, led by by Saudi Arabia. Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad represented India.
    3. During India - US Strategic Energy Partnership co-chaired by NITI Aayog and USAID, an India Energy Modeling Forum has been launched.
      1. There exist energy modelling forums in different parts of the World. The Energy Modelling Forum (EMF) in USA was established in 1976 at Stanford University to connect leading modelling experts and decision makers.
      2. In India, there was no formalized and systematic process of having a modeling forum. Even then, various think-tanks have been consistently developing scenarios and contributing through modelling studies and analysis.
      3. Also, During the meet -
        1. India-US Signed MOU to begin cooperation on Strategic Petroleum Reserves operation and maintenance, including exchange of information and best practices.
        2. Launched a public-private Hydrogen Task Force to help scale up technologies to produce hydrogen from renewable energy and fossil fuel sources and to bring down cost of deployment for enhanced energy security and resiliency.
        3. Signed MOU to collaborate on India’s first-ever Solar Decathlon India in 2021.
        4. Launched collaboration between U.S. DOE National labs and Indian National Institutes under Ministry of New & Renewable Energy as part of newly launched South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE), supported by USAID, for joint research on development and deployment of advanced clean technologies.
        5. India and US noted significant increase in bilateral hydrocarbon trade since establishment of SEP in 2018, with bilateral hydrocarbon trade touching US$ 9.2 billion during 2019-20, a 93% increase since 2017-18.
        6. Ongoing collaboration on smart grids and energy storage is being implemented by a consortium comprising 30 Indian and US entities with an investment of USD 7.5 million each.
    4. Govt launched revamped PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration and the web portal www.pmawards.gov.in.
      1. Scheme has been revamped to recognize the performance of District Collectors towards several parameters.
      2. This year, for the very first time, PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration seeks to recognize the efforts of District level officials involved in the Namami Gange Programme. Total 15 Awards would be conferred under the Scheme in 2020.
    5. 5 portals are being developed under Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), for specific sectors by different organizations - BHEL for power sector equipment, HMT for machine tools, CMFTI for manufacturing technology, ICAT and ARAI for automotive sector.
      1. The objective of these portals is to create an ecosystem which will bring solution seekers and problem solvers together.
      2. ICAT is developing technology platform for automotive industry called ASPIRE - Automotive Solutions Portal for Industry, Research and Education, to facilitate Indian Automotive Industry to become self reliant by assisting in innovation and adoption of global technology.
    6. Environment Ministry approved Zonal Master Plan prepared by Government of Uttarakhand, to speed up work on Chaardhaam Road Projct.
      1. Chaardham Project proposes to connect Yamnotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath which host Chaardham Yatra in the State of Uttarakhand. The all-weather Chaardham Road has in all 53 projects of 826 km length, involving an investment of Rs 12000 crore.
    7. As per Registrar General of India data on Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) -
      1. India has been witnessing progressive reduction in MMR from 167 in 2011-2013, 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, and to 113 in 2016-18.
      2. India aims to achieve UN SDG Goal of MMR of 70 (Deaths/1 lakh live births) by 2030 and National Health Policy (NHP) target of MMR 100, by 2020.
      3. Number of states which have achieved SDG target has risen from 3 to 5 - Kerala (43), Maharashtra (46) Tamil Nadu (60), Telangana (63) and Andhra Pradesh (65).
      4. Rajasthan shown maximum decline of 22 points.
    8. Odisha Government included transgenders under Madhu Babu Pension Yojana, which will provide them pension between 500 - 600.
      1. Women fighting in divorce cases are also to be brought under the scheme.
      2. Income of beneficiary should not exceed Rs 40,000 per year.
      3. It was launched in 2008, as merger of two pension schemes namely Revised Old Age Pension Rules 1989 and Disability Pension Rules 1985.
    9. Andhra Pradesh Government announced Renewable Energy Export Policy 2020, to be implemented by NREDCAP (New and Renewable Energy Development Corporation of AP Limited).
      1. It will help in increasing the energy capacity of the state to 120 GW.
      2. It permits generated energy to be exported to other states.
      3. State Government is to convert and use land from Agriculture use to Non-Agriculture use, with no need to obtain No Objection Certificate from State Pollution Control Board.
      4. State Govt alos recently launched a mobile application called CMAPP, Comprehensive Monitoring of Agriculture, Price and Procurement, to monitor agricultural needs of farmers.
    10. 2020 global Multidimensional Poverty Index by UN Development Programme (UNDP) -
      1. India recorded largest reduction in number of people living in poverty between period 2015-19.
      2. Around 27.3 Crore people have moved out of multidimensional poverty over 10 years.
      3. India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.
      4. As per report, 1.3 billion people Globally are 'multi-dimensionally poor', mans poor not only on the basis of income, but on other indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.
    11. As part of a 8 Nation Alliance formed in June 2020 to Counter China, UK military is to station HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier in Pacific.
    12. Jammu and Kashmir administration announced life insurance cover of Rs 25 lakhs to all elected members of urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions.
    13. KURMA application developed by Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN) helped greatly in tracking Indian Turtles. It was launched on May 23, 2020 (World Turtle Day).
    14. Researchers from Singapore discovered first Super Giant Isopod (cockroach) species, found in the eastern Indian Ocean.
      1. The newly found cockroach species has been named “Bathynomus raksasa”, which has 14 legs and uses them to crawl along bed of oceans in search of food. It measured 50 centimetres in length and is big for isopods.
    15. Jul 17 - World Day for International Justice. It marks adoption of Rome Statute in 1998. With help of this treaty International Criminal Court (ICC) was established.
  16. Jul 16, 2020
    1. US-Based Tech Firm Google will invest 33737 Crores INR for 7.7 % stake in Reliance JIO Platforms.
      1. This is 14th Stake Deal in Reliance Jio Since April 2020. Earlier Deals -
        1. American Tech Firm Qualcomm invested 730 Crores INR for .15 % stake in Reliance JIO Platforms
        2. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF invested Rs 11,367 crore for 2.32 percent of Jio Platforms.
        3. American Investor Intel Capital Invested 1,894.50 crores in Reliance JIO Platforms, for 0.39 % stake.
        4. American Investor L Catterton Invested 1,894.50 crores in Reliance JIO Platforms, for 0.39 % stake.
        5. American investment firm TPG invested 4547 croreS in Jio Platforms for a 0.93 percent stake.
        6. UAE Based Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) acquired 1.16% stake in Reliance Jio platforms, through investment of 5,683.50 crores.
        7. Abu Dhabi (UAE) Based Mubadala Invested 9093 Crores INR in Reliance Jio Platforms, for 1.85 % Stake.
        8. US Based Silver Lake Invested 5656 Crores INR in Jio Platforms, for 1.15 % Stake.
        9. US Firm KKR  invested Approx 11367 crores in Reliance Jio Platforms, for a 2.32% stake.
        10. US Investor General Atlantic invested Approx 6600 crores in Reliance Jio Platforms, for a 1.34% stake. 
        11. US Based Vista Equity Partners invested 11367 crores into Reliance Jio Platforms for a 2.32 % stake.
        12. US Based Silver Lake partners  bought 1.15% stake in Reliance Industries subsidiary Jio Platforms, for Rs 5,656 crores ($750 million).
        13. Social Network Facebook invested INR 43574 crores in Jio Platforms, for 9.99% stake. It was Largest FDI in India's Tech Industry.
      2. Under concerned 14 deals, Jio has divested total 43.16 % Stake to 14 Firms, since April 2020.
      3. Also -
        1. Google announced to invest $10 billion in India over next 5 - 7 years, to Boost Indian Digital Economy.
      4. Other Highlights from Reliance AGM 2020 -
        1. Reliance Jio in partnership with Google will develop an android-based smartphone operating system to increase access to smartphones.
        2. Reliance Jio launched a new and innovative technology- Jio Glass, a new mixed reality headset, which will enable holographic video calling.
        3. Jio 5G has been unvelied, aiming to connect every Indian, with a much fatser Internet speeds.
    2. Tata group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and Lockheed Martin Chief Jim Taiclet will receive US-India Business Council(USIBC) Global Leadership Award 2020.
      1. These Awards are presented annually since 2007, to honour top corporate executives from US and India whose companies play a major role in promoting growth in US-India commercial corridor.
    3. As per UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Wildlife Crime Report 2020 -
      1. Pangolins are most trafficked wild mammals in world, with their seizure increasing tenfold between 2014 and 2018.
      2. Pangolins were recently vilified because of reports that linked them to emergence of COVID-19 disease.
      3. China accounted for 99 % of legal trade in pangolin scales.
    4. IRDAI made it mandatory for all insurers to launch short-term standard health policies for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) - Corona Kavach and Corona Rakshak, for people baged between 18-65 years.
      1. Corona Kavach -
        1. Tenure range is 3.5 to - .5 months.
        2. Sum insured 50,000 to 5 lakh.
        3. 5% discount for healthcare workers.
      2. Corona Rakshak -
        1. It will pay out 100% of sum insured as lump-sum if policyholder is hospitalised, at least for 72 hours, after testing positive for Covid-19.
        2. Sum insured is 50000 to 2.5 lakh.
        3. Tenure range - 3.5 to 9.5 months.
    5. Haryana will get financial aid of 1,500 crore from Centre to expand its crop diversification scheme and rejuvenate ponds.
      1. 500 crore for state government's bid for water conservation through 'Mera Pani Meri Virasat' scheme.
      2. 1000 crore for rejuvenation of ponds and treating water.
    6. BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) signed MoU with IIT Alumni Council to encourage the listing of startups and develop a ‘High Investor Depth’ platform for startups.
  17. Jul 15, 2020
    1. July 15 - World Youth Skills Day. On 18 December 2014, UN General Assembly (UNGA) declared 15th July as World Youth Skills Day. 2020 Theme is Skills for a resilient youth.
      1. July 15, 2020 also marks 5th Anniversary of Skill India Mission, in which over 1 crore youth join skilling ecosystem every year.
      2. Also, on Jul 15, 117th birth Anniversary of Former CM of Tamil Nadu K Kamaraj, was observed as Educational Development Day in State.
    2. Income Tax Department facilitated a new functionality for Banks and Post offices through which they can ascertain the TDS applicability rates on cash withdrawals above 20 lakh rupees in case of a non-filer of the income-tax return and that of above one crore rupees in case of a filer.
      1. Banks and Post Office need to only enter PAN of the person who is withdrawing cash for ascertaining applicable rate of TDS.
      2. TDS Rate -
        1. For Filers - 2 % for exceeding 1 crore rupees.
        2. For on Filers - 2 % for withdrawal under 20 lakh rupees and at 5 % if it exceeds 1 crore rupees.
    3. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) launched a refinance scheme for financial institutions and banks, allocating 5000 crores.
      1. Under this, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies are to be turned into multi-service centres. It will mainly focus on watershed development projects.
      2. NABARD has also launched scheme to computerise PACS (Primary Agricultural Credit Societies). Under this, 5000 PACS are to be upgraded in initial phase, 15000 by 2022 and another 15000 by 2023.
    4. 15th India-European Union Summit held virtually. During this, India & European Union agreed to renew Agreement on Scientific cooperation for 5 years (2020-2025).
    5. Supreme Court upheld rights of the Travancore royal family in administration of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, in a long-awaited verdict that has cleared long-standing dispute over administration of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
      1. Supreme Court has now overruled 2011 verdict of Kerala High Court, in which the court had directed the state government to set up a trust to take control over administration and assets of Kerala’s Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple.
    6. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Hemang Amin as interim CEO of the board, after BCCI Accepted CEO Rahul Johri’s Resignation, which he had submitted in December 2019.
    7. NEOWISE Comet or C/2020 F3 is to become visible to naked eye for 20 minutes every day beginning July 14, 2020. It will be closest to Earth on July 22 at a distance of about 103 million kilometres when it will be crossing Earth's orbit.
    8. Anji Khad Bridge Project is Indian Railways' first cable-stayed bridge, which will soon connect Katra and Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir.
      1. It is being developed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, as part of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
      2. Anji Khad Bridge has a single pylon, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed, with total length 473 metres.
    9. Indian-origin Person Chandrikapersad ‘Chan’ Santokhi has been elected president of South American country Suriname.
    10. Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) signed MoU, to tap emerging global markets in aviation business.
    11. Assam Govt announced that Poba Reserve Forest in Dhemaji district would be upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary. Poba Reserve Forest was declared in 1924, and has an area of 10,522 hectares.
    12. UNICEF India tied-up with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI), Socio-Economic Development Foundation (SEDF) to jointly develop UNICEF’s #Reimagine Campaign, to support most vulnerable populations and children during COVID-19.
    13. Book If It Bleeds authored by Stephen King has been released.
    14. Mercedes F1 Racer Lewis Hamilton (UK) won Styrian Grand Prix.
      Round Grand Prix Winner Race date
      1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July
      2 Styrian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 12 July
      3 Hungarian Grand Prix   19 July
      4 British Grand Prix   2 August
      5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix   9 August
      6 Spanish Grand Prix   16 August
      7 Belgian Grand Prix   30 August
      8 Italian Grand Prix   6 September
      9 Tuscan Grand Prix   13 September
      10 Russian Grand Prix   27 September
      11 Eifel Grand Prix   11 October
      12 Portuguese Grand Prix   25 October
      13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix   1 November
    15. ISRO Chief Kailasavadivoo Sivan has been named for Von Karman Award 2020 by International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
      1. Udupi Ramachandra Rao was the first Indian to receive the von Karman award, presented to him in 2005 and Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan received it in 2007 as 2nd Indian.
    16. Hockey legend Gurbux Singh and former first-class cricketer Palash Nandi will receive this year’s Mohun Bagan Ratna. 
      1. Also, Noted Former Hockey Player Ashok Kumar will be conferred with This year's Lifetime Achievement Award by Mohun Bagan Athletic Club.
      2. The club has decided not to hold the customary ‘Mohun Bagan Day’ function on July 29 this year owing to the pandemic. July 29 was date of Bagan’s IFA Shield triumph in 1911 when they defeated East Yorkshire Regiment.
  18. Jul 14, 2020
    1. Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones of various Highway projects as part of a new economic corridor worth about 20000 thousand crores in Haryana.
      1. It includes 227 km 6-lane access controlled Greenfield expressway from Ismailpur to Narnaul on NH 152D, costing 8650 crores.
    2. 2nd Tranche of India’s first Corporate Bond Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF)- Bharat Bond ETF has been opened for subscription between Jul 14 - 17, 2020.
      1. 2 new ETF series with maturities April 2025 and April 2031 will be offered under the new fund offer. Base price will be Rs 3,000 crore with oversubscription up to Rs 11,000 crore in the second tranche of Bharat Bond ETF.
      2. Bharat Bond ETF is managed by Edelweiss Asset Management Company (Edelweiss AMC).
    3. Incumbent President of Poland, Andrzej Duda has been re-elected after a narrow victory in 2020 Presidential Elections.
    4. As per data from Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry -
      1. US remains top trading partner of India during FY 20 (2019-20), for 2nd consecutive Year. China is 2nd.
      2. With US, India's Trade was 87.96 billion In 2018-19 and USD 88.75 billion in 2019-20.
    5. National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) will go live by end of 2020, as a centralized database for intelligence agencies for issues such as FIRs, banking and telephone details of suspects, stolen vehicles etc.
      1. At present, data related to a suspect’s trial is shared through Unorganized mediums, which can be insecure.
      2. Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems (CCTNS) was established in 2009 for digitization of police records. Since then, all Police Stations from across the country enters the details of the FIRs in the CCTNS.
      3. Under CCTNS, sharing of data is not available, NATGRID will provide sharing of sensitive data between the security and intelligence agencies.
      4. NATGRID has signed MOU with NCRB, to access database that links around 14,000 police stations.
    6. Madhya Pradesh ranked at top in implementing Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors Atma Nirbhar Nidhi-PM Swa Nidhi scheme, which aims to help street vendors to continue their business amid COVID-19 pandemic.
      1. It was launched to provide benefit to beneficiaries of 378 urban bodies of the state. Under this, interest free working capital of 10,000 rupees will be provided for one year.
      2. Interest subsidy of 7 % on loan will be borne by Central Government while remaining amount will be borne by State Government.
      3. Maximum special subsidy of 1200 will also be given in a year on conducting digital transactions. On timely repayment, beneficiaries will be able to get working capital of maximum 20000 in next year.
      4. SIDBI was signed in as Implementation Agency of this scheme.
      5. Mobile application of PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) has also been launched.
    7. Iran denied reports of dropping India from construction of the Chabahar Port-Zahedan Railway Line Project, suspectedly due to delay in Funding.
      1. Agreement for development of Chabahar Port and for construction of a 628 Km railway line from Chabahar port to Zahedan was signed as a part of India’s Commitment in development of Trade with Iran and Afghanistan.
      2. This Railway Project, if completed, would serve India an alternative Trade Route with Afghanistan and Rest of Central Asian Countries.
    8. July 14 is observed as National Day of France, also known as Bastille Day. It is commemorated the anniversary of Storming of the Bastille during French Revolution on 14 July 1789. July 14 is also observed as Shark Awareness Day Globally.
    9. Indian Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa is appointed as vice president of Asian Development Bank for Public-Private Partnerships and Private Sector Operations.
    10. United Nations released State of Food Security and Nutrition, prepared by FAO and assisted by Many Other Agencies.
      1. Around 9 % world population went hungry in 2019, 10 million more as compared to 2018.
      2. This may increase to 83 to 132 million due to COVID-19 in 2020.
      3. Africa has the highest number of undernourished.
    11. India and Bhutan opened a new trade route between Jaigon in West Bengal and Pasakha in Bhutan, to help move industrial raw materials and goods destined for Pasakha Industrial Estate.
    12. India and US signed MOU to begin discussions on cooperation and maintenance of strategic petroleum reserves, during virtual US-India Strategic Energy Partnership Ministerial Meet.
      1. India is increasing its oil stockpiles, managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited. ISPRL maintains emergency fuel store of 5.33 million tonnes that is enough to provide 10 days of consumption.
    13. India and Israel signed agreements to expand their collaboration in dealing with cyber threats, to expand scope of exchange of information on cyber threats.
    14. Israel Weapon Industries (Formerly owned by Israel Government and privatized in 2005)'s Assault Riffle’s Arad and Carmel will now be manufactured at PLR Systems in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district.
      1. PLR Systems is a Joint Venture with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) and also First Private Sector Small Arms Manufacturing Plant to be established in India.
      2. Indian Army will also acquire remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle Raven from United States and Israel’s Spike Firefly.
      3. Indian Army also will place another order for 72,000 Sig 716 assault rifles from US as 2nd batch of rifles being ordered from US.
  19. Jul 13, 2020
    1. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) signed contracts for construction and supply of 2 Autonomous Electric Ferry for ASKO Maritime AS, Norway with an option to build 2 more identical vessels. With this, CSL has grabbed contract to build world's first fully automatic electric vessel for ASKO Maritime (Norway).
    2. PSU NTPC signed MoU with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), to explore opportunities for investments in areas like renewable energy, power distribution among other areas of mutual interest in India.
      1. NIIFL is a collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors, anchored by Government of India.
    3. Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Giriraj Singh launched Implementation Guidelines for Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) worth 15000 crores, which was approved by Cabinet in June 2020 under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan package -
      1. India is producing milk of 188 million tonnes and by 2024 the milk production is expected to rise up to 330 million tons. Only 20-25% milk is coming under processing sector and Government is trying to bring the same upto 40%.
      2. Dairy Processing Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) is being implemented for infrastructure development in cooperative sector and AHIDF is a first type of scheme for private sector.
      3. Eligible beneficiaries would be Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), MSMEs, Section 8 Companies, Private Companies and individual entrepreneur with minimum 10% margin money contribution by them. balance 90% would be the loan component to be made available by scheduled banks.
      4. Government will provide 3% interest subvention to eligible beneficiaries. There will be 2 years moratorium period for principal loan amount and 6 years repayment period thereafter.
      5. Government would also set up Credit Guarantee Fund of Rs. 750 crore to be managed by NABARD. Guarantee Coverage would be upto 25% of Credit facility of borrower.
      6. Measures approved through AHIDF would also help in direct and indirect livelihood creation for 35 lakh persons.
    4. Scientists from Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) have tracked Climate change by following Paleomonsoonal pattern of subcontinent by harnessing magnetic mineralogy, a technique that is faster and more accurate than existing methods.
      1. Clues to climate change in past are found in fossils, micro-organisms, gases trapped in ice and isotopes, but laboratory techniques are costly and time-consuming.
      2. Magnetic mineralogy is sensitive to changes in ambient chemical and physical processes that result in concentration, grain size, and mineralogy changes.
      3. Researchers conducted environmental studies by collecting sediment samples from different environments and climatic domains of India to glean out information frozen in magnetic minerals in form of magnetic parameters. Study of these changes unravels physicochemical regime operative in past, helping to gauge then prevalent climate pattern.
      4. Magnetic minerals are sensitive to environment that they are embedded in, bringing about modifications in their innate structure and transitioning them from one magnetic phase to another
      5. Mineral magnetic studies have unraveled 4 regional climatic features encompassing entire Indian subcontinent and 1 localized climatic event. Climate is changing quickly, impacted by natural and anthropogenic activity. The research will help forecast climatic changes with more accuracy and speed.
    5. Export of coir and coir products from India worth 2758 crores (988996 MT) for FY 20 (2019-20), registered an all-time high record.
    6. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) approved first fully indigenously developed Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine, developed by Serum Institute of India Pune. This is first indigenously developed vaccine in the field of pneumonia.
    7. Government allowed Invalid Pension to Armed Forces Personnel with less than 10 years of qualifying service.
      1. Invalid pension is granted to Armed Forces Personnel who is invalided out of service on account of disability which is accepted as Neither Attributable to Nor aggravated (NANA). Benefit will be for Armed Forces Personnel who were in service on or after 04-01-2019.
      2. Earlier, minimum period of qualifying service actually rendered and required for invalid pension was 10 years or more.
    8. Considering need to strengthen Armed Forces for Defence of our borders, Defence Acquisition Council delegated powers for progressing urgent Capital Acquisition Cases upto 300 crores to Armed Forces to meet their emergent operational requirements.
    9. Indian Railways aims to be transformed into Green Railways by 2030, towards mitigation of global warming and combating climate change.
      1. Railways has so far completed electrification of more than 40,000 Route km (RKM) (63% of BG routes) in which 18,605 km electrification work has been done during 2014-20. Previously, 3,835 km electrification work was completed during 2009-14.
      2. Indian Railways has fixed a target of electrification of 7000 RKM for 2020-21. All routes on BG network have been planned to be electrified by December 2023.
      3. Also, all capitals of North-Eastern states will be connected to rail network by 2023.
      4. Also, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) had undertaken a project with Indian Railways for setting up a 1.7 MWp (megawatt peak) solar energy project at Madhya Pradesh’s Bina district that will connect directly to the Overhead Traction System of the Indian Railways. It is first solar power plant in the world in which power generated from plant will be directly fed to Overhead Traction System of Railways.
    10. Scientists at International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) have developed a low-cost and sustainable supercapacitor electrode derived from industrial waste cotton which can be used as an energy harvester storage device.
      1. It may replace existing aqueous-based electrolytes for the economic fabrication of supercapacitor.
      2. Among four main components of supercapacitor electrode, electrolyte, separator, and current collector, the first two are the pivotal components, which determine electrochemical behaviour of supercapacitors.
      3. Scientists at ARCI have converted industrial waste cotton into highly porous carbon fibers by activation process and then utilised porous carbon fibers to make high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.
    11. HRD Ministry announced PRAGYATA guidelines on digital education, as guidelines for online classes operationalised by schools amid COVID pandemic.
      1. It suggests that online classes for pre-primary students should not be for more than 30 minutes a day. For Classes 1st to 8th , not more than two online sessions of upto 45 minutes each should be conducted in a day.
      2. For students from class 9th to 12th, Ministry has suggested to limit online classes to a maximum of four sessions of upto 45 minutes each.
    12. NITI Aayog presented India’s second Voluntary National Review (VNR) at United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development 2020.
      1. HLPF is foremost international platform for follow-up and review of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HLPF meets annually in July for eight days under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN.
      2. India VNR 2020 report was titled Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local.
    13. Vallarpadam Terminal of Cochin Port, envisaged as first trans-shipment port of India, is under development. It is proposed to be developed as most preferred gateway for South India and leading trans-shipment hub of South Asia.
    14. 13th July marks 206th Birth Anniversary of Bhanubhakta Acharya, the first writer to translate the Great Epic of Ancient India- Ramayana from Sanskrit to Nepali. It is celebrated across Nepal and Indian State of Sikkim.
  20. Jul 12, 2020
    1. American Tech Firm Qualcomm will invest 730 Crores INR for .15 % stake in Reliance JIO Platforms.
      1. This is 13th Stake Deal in Reliance Jio Since April 2020. Earlier Deals -
        1. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF invested Rs 11,367 crore for 2.32 percent of Jio Platforms.
        2. American Investor Intel Capital Invested 1,894.50 crores in Reliance JIO Platforms, for 0.39 % stake.
        3. American Investor L Catterton Invested 1,894.50 crores in Reliance JIO Platforms, for 0.39 % stake.
        4. American investment firm TPG invested 4547 croreS in Jio Platforms for a 0.93 percent stake.
        5. UAE Based Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) acquired 1.16% stake in Reliance Jio platforms, through investment of 5,683.50 crores.
        6. Abu Dhabi (UAE) Based Mubadala Invested 9093 Crores INR in Reliance Jio Platforms, for 1.85 % Stake.
        7. US Based Silver Lake Invested 5656 Crores INR in Jio Platforms, for 1.15 % Stake.
        8. US Firm KKR  invested Approx 11367 crores in Reliance Jio Platforms, for a 2.32% stake.
        9. US Investor General Atlantic invested Approx 6600 crores in Reliance Jio Platforms, for a 1.34% stake. 
        10. US Based Vista Equity Partners invested 11367 crores into Reliance Jio Platforms for a 2.32 % stake.
        11. US Based Silver Lake partners  bought 1.15% stake in Reliance Industries subsidiary Jio Platforms, for Rs 5,656 crores ($750 million).
        12. Social Network Facebook invested INR 43574 crores in Jio Platforms, for 9.99% stake. It was Largest FDI in India's Tech Industry.
      2. Under concerned 13 deals, Jio has divested total 35.46 % Stake to 13 Firms, since April 2020.
    2. Jharkhand government signed MOU with HDFC Bank to offer digital payment solutions to traffic violators.
    3. Researchers rediscovered ‘Ypthima watsoni’ butterfly commonly known as ‘Looped three-ring’ after 61 years, near a village called Phuldungsei in Jampui Hills under North Tripura district.
    4. Institute for Human Development (IHD), an Indian non-profit institution conferred with ‘Development Marketplace Award 2020:Innovations to Address Gender-Based Violence’ from World Bank Group and Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI).
      1. It has been honored for project alcohol, intimate partner violence and household economy: an assessment of liquor ban in Bihar.
      2. Apart from India, other 8 non profit organizations from various countries have received this award.
    5. Maharashtra government along with State Bank of India is setting up a stress fund to restart stuck slum rehabilitation projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and other urban areas of state.
      1. Government will infuse Rs 700 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in this fund aimed at providing financial support to revive such projects.
    6. SEBI reconstituted committee advising it on matters related to regulation and development of the mutual fund industry by including five new members. New 20 member committee will be chaired by Usha Thorat, former RBI deputy governor.
    7. Global payments Firm Mastercard will infuse additional 250 crores investment to help small businesses in India, amid COVID-19 pandemic.
      1. Apart from this, Mastercard had earlier announced USD 1 billion Investment in India till 2025.
    8. IRDAI announced new guidelines for standard health insurance product by relaxing norms on sum insured for Arogya Sanjeevani Policy.
      1. Earlier, insurers could offer policies for sum insured between 1 - 5 lakh. This limit has been done away with.
    9. T-Hub partnered with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Digital India, to lead Digital India’s Scale Up program for hardware and IoT startups across India.
      1. T-Hub is startup incubator headquartered in Hyderabad (Telangana), as a Public - Private Partnership between Government of Telangana and three of India’s leading academic institutes.
    10. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in its Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update for 2020-24, stated that annual global temperature is likely to be at least 1 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels (defined as 1850-1900 average) in each of coming five years and is very likely to be within the range of 0.91 – 1.59 degrees Celsius.
    11. According to Dun and Bradstreet''s Country Risk and Global Outlook Report, that covered 132 countries-
      1. Global economy is likely to contract by 5.2 % in 2020 due to coronanvirus Pandemic, unable to reach pre-pandemic levels of activity before 2022.
      2. The contraction will be much stronger than 1.7 % recorded in 2009 during global financial crisis.
    12. Researchers from Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) discovered a new species of a fan-throated lizard, Sitana dharwarensis, from the barren lands of northern Karnataka’s Bagalkot district.
      1. It is similar to a fan-throated lizard species Sitana laticeps. But Sitana dharwarensis bears a much larger throat fan or dewlap.
  21. Jul 11, 2020
    1. Amid rise in COVID-19 cases, IRDAI allowed 30 general and health insurers to launch short-term ‘Corona Kavach' health insurance policies, which will cover medical expenses occurred due to coronavirus disease.
    2. e-Commerce Firm Flipkart signed MoU with Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Government of Karnataka to promote arts, crafts and handloom sector of Karnataka.
    3. Manipur’s Gyanendro Ningombam has been named as new Officiating President of Hockey India, replacing Mohd Mushtaque Ahmad.
    4. Indian battalion (INDBATT) stationed with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), won an environment award for a project that aims to decrease waste generation, reuse plastic, build greenhouses and compost pits.
      1. The annual award was launched by UNIFIL in December 2019, to recognise environmental achievements within Mission’s area of operations.
    5. IRDAI formed a working group to make recommendations on formation of an “Indian Pandemic Risk Pool”. It will examine possibility of addressing different risks which arise out of COVID-19 pandemic, with help of a “Pandemic Risk Pool”. It will be headed by Suresh Mathur.
    6. Jul 11 - World Population Day. It was established by Governing Council of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989. It was inspired by public interest in Five Billion Day on 11 July 1987, approximate date on which world’s population reached 5 billion.
    7. Book titled His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography will be released in 2020, authored by one of Dalai Lama’s closest aides Tenzin Geyche Tethong.
    8. U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supported South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE) and India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) partnered for clean energy development.
    9. As per RBI Data -
      1. Tamil Nadu has so far raised 30,500 crores in fiscal 21 (2020-21), and has topped market borrowings among States in country.
      2. Tamil Nadu accounted for 17% of borrowings done through issue of bonds, is followed by Maharashtra 25,500 crores (14%), Andhra Pradesh (17,000) crores.
    10. IIT Hyderabad partnered with American Tech Firm NVIDIA, to establish India’s 1st ‘NVIDIA AI Technology Centre’ (NVAITC), to accelerate research on Artificial Intelligence and its commercial adoption.
    11. International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s new headquarters in Lausanne has been awarded European 2020 US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership Award.
      1. Called Olympic House, which also holds rigorous LEED Platinum certification, is one of most sustainable buildings in world.
      2. Olympic House is also first international headquarters and second building overall to obtain highest (Platinum) level of Swiss Sustainable ConstrCharlie Daniels American singer-songwriteruction Standard (SNBS).
    12. Hamed Bakayoko is appointed as new Prime Minister of Ivory Coast (West Africa), After Earlier Serving PM Amadou Gon Coulibaly had passed away.
    13. Google Currents, formerly known as Google+ for G Suite, has been developed by Google for internal enterprise communication. Google+ social Platform was recently shut down by google, after it was unable to challenge dominance of Facebook.
    14. Bejining-Based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) released $50 million loan to L&T Infrastructure Finance Ltd, as first tranche of a $100 mn loan to L&T Infrastructure Finance Ltd for funding Renewable Energy projects in India.
    15. PSU Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signed License Agreement and Transfer of Technology (ToT) with DRDO Lab - Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDO–DRDL), for Akash Missile Weapon System (Indian Army Variant).
    16. Jul 12 is observed as International Malala Day, observed by United Nations (UN) to highlight work for education of Pakistani children by Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai.
    17. Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami has been honoured with Paul Harris Fellow recognition by Rotary Foundation of Rotary International (Chicago,US).
      1. It is conferred to honour efficient service of people who provide drinking water, sanitation, prevention of diseases, environment, world peace etc.
    18. Government appointed Rajesh Verma (Earlier corporate affairs secretary) as chairman of Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA).
    19. Book Mahaveer:The Soldier Who Never Died, written by A.K. Srikumar has been named as bestseller, amidst stress with China. This novel tells tale of Indo-Chinese battle of Nuranang in 1962.
  22. Jul 10, 2020
    1. General Events / Conferences (Jul 1 -10, 2020) -
      1. Campaign Mission Vriksharopan-2020 has been launched by Uttar Pradesh government, with plantation of over 25 crore saplings.
      2. Maharashtra Govt launched Maha Jobs Portal which aims at providing job opportunities to local residents of state. It is mandatory to submit domicile certificates during registration.
      3. Fit Hai to Hit Hai India program has been launched As a part of Fit India Campaign.
      4. Govt announced to launch Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) for junior athletes, to groom them for upcoming Olympics of 2024 (Paris) and 2028 (Los Angeles).
      5. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank' virtually launched World’s first ever online B.Sc. degree in Programming and Data Science, prepared and offered by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).
      6. Karnataka government launched a portal called “Skill Connect Forum”, which seeks to connect job seekers with employers.
      7. Mumbai based Quidich Innovation Labs completed first No-Permission No-Takeoff (NPNT) compliant drone flight of India. In October 2019, this A200 micro-drone was first drone in India to be issued Unique Identification Number (UIN) by DGCA (U0000001).
      8. Indian Army banned 89 mobile applications including several American And Chinese Apps.
      9. National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) launched its mobile application ‘NADA INDIA’ for creating a bridge with athletes under which information on prohibited substances would be provided easily.
      10. Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh launched first edition of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA”.
      11. To take care of academic regularity of the school students in state, Madhya Pradesh Govt prepared a digital campaign named ‘Hamara Ghar Hamara Vidyalaya’.
      12. Ministry of Culture is reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM), with first set of 5 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under NMM Launched on occasion of Guru Purnima, also known as Dharma Chakra Day (July 4). All 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur will be published by March 2022.
      13. 15th Finance Commission (Headed by N K Singh), in a meeting with World Bank, decided to devote an entire chapter on health financing for the first time.
      14. To attract tourists in state, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board started a social media campaign called Intzaar Aap Ka.
      15. Odisha government will implement a new initiative ‘Sabuja Odisha’, aimed at increasing green cover through extensive plantations over 1,30,264 Hectares of land.
      16. First-ever Bus Service for people of Swabhiman Anchal (located in Malkangiri district of Odisha) has been flagged off. Swabhiman Anchal was generally known as a Maoist hub for decades.
      17. United Nations Observed 2nd Counter-Terrorism Week from July 6- 10, 2020.
    2. Under a breakthrough research led by Queen Mary University of London, a gene has been discovered by scientists that can naturally suppress the signs of Alzheimer’s disease in human body cells. A new rapid drug-screening system has also been developed.
      1. Major challenge in testing Alzheimer’s drugs during clinical trials is that participants need to have symptoms of the disease. But once the person develops symptoms, it gets too late for the treatment to have a significant effect as many brain cells are already dead.
    3. India agreed not to form a joint venture company with Sri Lanka for running Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, as requested by Sri Lanka PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.
      1. In 2017, Sri Lanka Government had invited international investors for operating Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, however only help that was offered to them was by India.
      2. India was to run the international airport as a majority stakeholder by forming a joint venture with Sri Lanka.
      3. Airport was opened in 2013, and was soon dubbed as ‘World’s Emptiest International Airport, due to lack of Revenue.
      4. For Constructing it, USD 209 Million was spent, out these USD 190 Million was provided as a loan by Exim Bank of China.
    4. PM Narendra e-inaugurated 750 MW Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Plant in Madhya Pradesh, as largest single-site solar power project in Central India.
      1. It is Spread over 1590 acres and Costed approx 4000 Crores. For its implementation, Joint Venture between Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikash Nigam Limited (MPUVNL) was set up, named Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL).
      2. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is an institutional customer of this Power Project, with 24 % of power generated by Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Plant will to be supplied to Delhi Metro.
      3. It will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year.
      4. India has set target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022.
    5. In 2020 General Elections of Singapore, Incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's People’s Action Party (PAP) won Majority, enabling Lee Hsien Loong to continue as Prime Minister of Singapore.
    6. As per UK Govt Data, second-largest source of FDI in United Kingdom is now from India, after US at Top. Having invested in 120 projects and creating over 5250 Jobs, India moved to second place. In 2018-19, India was in third place with 106 projects.
    7. First State Level ‘E-Lok Adalat’ of India conducted successfully by Chhattisgarh High Court. It settled 2,270 cases in a day.
    8. Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approvaled Startup Policy 2020, to promote startyup ecosystem across state.
      1. Until the Startup Policy 2020, Uttar Pradesh did not have an independent and comprehensive Policy for Startups in state. Policy for Startups was governed under Uttar Pradesh Information Technology and Startup Policy 2017.
      2. Aim will be of corporatization of more than 10,000 startups across state in 5 years. 100 incubators will be set up across 75 districts.
      3. It aims to generate 50,000 direct and 1,00,000 indirect jobs across state. It also aims to establish first dedicated Incubator for Defence Sector in country.
      4. Earlier, State Govt had launched Startup Fund, to be managed by SIDBI.
    9. China will build 6 - 8 nuclear reactors a year between 2020 and 2025 and raise total capacity to 70 gigawatts (GW), up by 43.5 % compared to May 2020. China aims for 200 GW Nuclear Power by 2035.
    10. July 10 is observed as National Fish Farmers Day, proclaimed by Government in 2001.
      1. As per UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s GLOBEFISH, India is 2nd Largest Aquaculture Producer and third-largest fish producer.
      2. It is celebrated in remembrance of scientists Dr. K. H. Alikunhi and Dr. H.L. Chaudhury who successfully demonstrated technology of induced breeding (Hypophysation) in Indian Major Carps on 10th July, 1957 at erstwhile ‘Pond Culture Division’ of CIFRI at Cuttack.
    11. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Qatar-based Education Above All (EAA) signed an agreement to carry out 100 million dollars in joint projects to put at-risk and out of school children into quality primary education. India will be among beneficiaries of this agreement.
    12. Indian American Parag Chitnis has been appointed as Acting Director of top US agriculture research firm, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
  23. Jul 09, 2020
    1. PSU Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed agreement with NOIDA Authority, to promote electric vehicles and install public EV charging stations & related infrastructure.
    2. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh e-Launched 6 major bridges completed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in Jammu & Kashmir -
      1. 2 bridges on Tarnah Nallah in Kathua District and 4 bridges located on Akhnoor-Pallanwala road in Akhnoor/Jammu district have spans ranging from 30 to 300 metres, constructed under Project Sampark of BRO.
    3. For first time, Indian Railways loaded a special Parcel train beyond country borders to Benapole in Bangladesh, with Dry Chillies from Reddipalem in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, farmers around Guntur used to transport Dry Chillies by road to Bangladesh in small quantities, costing 7000 per tonne.
    4. Scientists from Institute of Nano Science & Technology Mohali (INST) formulated nanoparticles with chitosan and loaded these nanoparticles with zinc gluconate for reducing severity of rheumatoid arthritis.
      1. Element Zinc is vital for maintaining normal bone homeostasis, and its levels are reported to get reduced in rheumatoid arthritis patients and arthritis-induced animals.
      2. Team chosen chitosan as it is biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, and mucoadhesive in nature.
    5. 4th cycle of All India Tiger Estimation 2018 entered Guinness World Record for being world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.
      1. India now has estimated 2967 tigers as per the latest census, which is 75 percent of global tiger population.
      2. Camera traps were placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective area of 1 lakh 21 thousand 337 square kilometres.
    6. NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched ‘ATL App Development Module’ for school children across country, in collaboration with Indian homegrown startup Plezmo.
      1. It aims to hone skills of school students and transforming them from App users to App makers under AIM’s Atal Tinkering Labs initiative.
    7. Shipping Ministry issued draft of Aids to Navigation Bill 2020' for receiving suggestions. It aims to replace Lighthouse Act 1927, to incorporate best global practices in field of Aids to Marine Navigation.
    8. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Aatamanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM) digital platform has been launched by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, to bridge demand-supply gap of skilled workforce across sectors and to improve information flow.
    9. Odisha Govt Launched ‘BLUIS’- Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligence System, To monitor all Government lands in state capital Bhubaneswar. This makes Odisha first state in country to use satellite technology and artificial intelligence for this purpose.
    10. World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Sri Lanka and the Maldives have eliminated Rubella Virus, becaming first two countries from South East Asia Region to have successfully eliminated both Measles and Rubella Virus.
    11. Nepal issued broadcasting ban on all Indian News Channels, Except Indian State-owned Doordarshan’s news channel DD News, claiming that Indian news channels were broadcasting defamatory shows against Nepali PM Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli.
    12. First earth observation satellite to be entirely developed by Brazil will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), named Amazonia-1.
      1. Operations of Amazonia-1 will be joint with China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS). Under CBERS program, 6 satellites have been launched to date (since 1999).
    13. Asian Development Bank (ADB has renewed its 3-year MoU signed in 2017 with Paris based International Energy Agency (IEA), for promoting advance clean energy development in the developing member countries under ADB.
    14. China launched communication satellite ‘APSTAR-6D’, developed by China Academy of Space Technology, weighing 5550 Kg.
      1. Also, Solid-Fuelled Carrier Rocket of China- Kuaizhou-11 suffered a failure during its maiden flight. Kuaizhou-11 was a low-cost solid-fuelled carrier rocket designed to launch satellites in Low Earth and Sun-Synchronous Orbit.
  24. Jul 8, 2020
    1. Cabinet Approvals (Jul 08, 2020)
      1. General Approvals -
        1. Approved proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for extension of 3 months, for availing benefits of “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana" for Ujjwala beneficiaries. Under PMGKY-Ujjwala, it was decided to provide free of cost refills for PMUY consumers for a period of 3 months w.e.f. 01-04-2020.
        2. Approved extending the contribution both 12% employees' share and 12% employers' share under Employees Provident Fund, totaling 24% for another 3 months from June to August, 2020, as part of package under PMGKY / Aatmanirbhar Bharat amid COVID-19.
          1. For wage months of June - August, 2020, scheme will cover all the establishments having upto 100 employees and 90% of such employees earning less than Rs. 15,000 monthly wage. About 72.22 lakh workers working in 3.67 lakh establishments will be benefited.
          2. Government will provide Budgetary Support of 4800 crore for 2020-21 for this purpose.
        3. Approved developing Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs) for urban migrants / poor as a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by -
          1. Existing vacant government funded housing complexes will be converted in ARHCs through Concession Agreements for 25 years. Complexes will revert to ULB after 25 years to restart next cycle like earlier or run on their own.
          2. Special incentives will be offered to entities to develop ARHCs on their own available vacant land for 25 years.
        4. Esxpenditure of 600 Crore is estimated in form of Technology Innovation Grant which will be released for projects using identified innovative technologies for construction. Approx 3 Lakh beneficiaries will be covered initially under ARHCs.
        5. Approved capital infusion of 12,450 crores (including 2,500 crore infused in FY 2019-20) in Public Sector General Insurance Companies - Oriental Insurance Company, National Insurance Company and United India Insurance Company. 3,475 crores will be released immediately.
          1. Cabinet also approved increase in authorised share capital of NICL to 7500 crores and that of UIICL and OlCL to 5000 crores respectively to enable capital infusion.
          2. Further, process of proposed merger has been ceased so far in view of current scenario and instead, the focus shall be on their profitable growth.
        6. Approved further extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) as part of Economic Response to COVID-19 for additional allocation of food-grains from Central Pool for another Five months from July to November 2020.
          1. In March 2020, Government had announced PMGKP to ameliorate hardships faced by poor due to economic disruptions caused by Covid-19.
          2. Free-of-cost foodgrains (Rice/Wheat) at scale of 5 Kg per person per month are being provided to about 81 Crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA).
          3. Earlier, under PMGKAY, govt had allocated a total of about 120 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) foodgrains to States/UTs to be distributed Between April-June 2020.
          4. Department of Food and Public Distribution estimated that food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses worth Rs 1,48,938 crore will be distributed under Scheme, in period between 8 months from April to November 2020.
        7. Approved new pan India Central Sector Scheme-Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, which shall provide a medium - long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support.
          1. Under this, 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks / financial institutions as loans to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations (FPOs) and related agri. entities. 
          2. Loans will be disbursed in four years, as 10000 crore in each year.
          3. Loans under this facility will have interest subvention of 3% per annum up to 2 crores. This subvention will be available for a maximum period of 7 years.
          4. Credit guarantee coverage will be available for eligible borrowers under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for loan up to 2 crores. Fee for coverage will be paid by Government.
          5. Total outflow as budgetary support from Government will be 10,736 crores.
          6. Moratorium for repayment under this facility may vary subject to 6 months to 2 years.
    2. Hardeep Singh Puri (Civil Aviation Minister) launched 'Swachh Survekshan 2021' - the sixth edition of the annual cleanliness survey, with focus on wastewater treatment and other parameters.
      1. State ranking will also be announced under the survey, to be measured based on their fund utilisation and support to respective local bodies. Survey will categorise cities on the basis of six indicators.
      2. Minister also announced new category of awards Prerak Daaur Samman as part of Swachh Survekshan 2021. It has 5 additional sub - categories - Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring), with top 3 cities recognised in each.
      3. Swachh Survekshan Survey 2021 will be conducted from 4th January to 31st January 2021.
    3. Railways signed MoU with PSU RailTel for installation of an IP-based video surveillance system at 6,049 railway stations across country.
    4. Rajeeva Swarup has been appointed as New Chief Secretary of Rajasthan.
    5. Administration of UT of Ladakh launched Ladakh Food Security Scheme (LFSS), and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed Food Entitlement Scheme (MMSFES) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been discontinued.
      1. Introduction of LFSS will benefit around 6101 families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana in addition to the 43,916 beneficiary families covered under MMSFES.
      2. Under this, beneficiaries of AAY will be provided 5 kg of food grains per member over and above the National Food Security Act (NFSA) entitled scale of 35 Kgs per family, providing a maximum of 50 Kgs (NFSA+LFSS) per family.
    6. DRDO will establish a Research Cell at IIT Hyderabad, to undertake basic and applied research programmes in identified technology areas.
    7. National Human Rights Commission has constituted a committee to study impact of Covid-19 on human rights and future response of government, be headed by K S Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India.
    8. Sustainable Development Report 2020 by Cambridge University Press -
      1. Top 5 - Sweden (1), Denmark (2), Finland (3), France (4), Germany (5).
      2. Bottom 3 - Tuvalu (193), Tonga (192), Timor-Leste (191)
      3. India ranked 117th.
      4. Neighbors - China (48), Sri Lanka (94), Pakistan (134), Bangladesh (109)
    9. Payments Firm Paytm will acquire general insurance company Raheja QBE in a deal worth around $76 million.
      1. Paytm Owned QorQI Technology (51 % stake) will acquire 100% stake in insurer from parent companies – Prism Johnson and QBE Australia.
    10. Ladakh LG RK Mathur e-launched Mission Organic Development Initiative (M.O.D.I) and a Greenhouse Project to steer UT on a sustainable path.
      1. 500 crore rupees Mission Organic Development Initiative will be implemented in 3 phases in Ladakh region. In final phase, by 2025, all villages will be declared as organic.
      2. Ladakh Greenhouse Project aims to improve vegetable availability in Ladakh throughout deep winters, with allotment of 76.44 crores and targeting installation of 1676 greenhouses over 2 years in Leh and Kargil districts.
    11. Germany Based Deutsche Bank and Google will form strategic global, multi-year partnership to drive a fundamental transformation of banking. The partnership will deliver cutting edge cloud services to Deutsche Bank, but also enable co-innovation between two companies.
    12. As per INFORM Report 2020: Shared evidence for managing crises and disasters by United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) on behalf of all INFORM Partners -
      1. Top 3 - Somalia (1), Central African Republic (2), South Sudan AND Yemen (3).
      2. Bottom 2 - Singapore (191), Finland (190)
      3. India Ranked 31st.
      4. Neighbors - Pakistan (17), Sri Lanka (96), Bangladesh (22).
      5. Its a Risk Index, signifying that the higher the rank, the better.
    13. 8th July is Observed as Rythu Dinotsavam meaning Farmer’s Day in Andhra Pradesh. It marks birth anniversary of 14th CM of Andhra Pradesh, Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy, being celebrated since 2019.
  25. Jul 07, 2020
    1. Cricket South Africa awards 2020 -
      1. Men’s cricketer of the year - Quinton de Kock.
      2. Women’s cricketer of the year - Laura Wolvaardt.
      3. Test Cricketer of the Year - Quinton de Kock
      4. Women’s ODI Cricketer of year - Laura Wolvaardt
      5. Men’s ODI and T20 Player of the Year - Lungi Ngidi
      6. Women’s T20 Player - Shabnim Ismail
    2. Delhi Government launched e-learning portal named Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi (LEAD), with 10,000 instructional materials and course content for students of Classes I to XII.
    3. Jean Castex has been appointed as new Prime Minister of France.
    4. Former RBI governor, Urjit Patel wrote book titled Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver, focusing on non-performing assets (NPAs) issue.
    5. Chairman of Maruti Suzuki, RC Bhargava authored book Getting Competitive: A Practitioner’s Guide for India.
    6. Mercedes F1 Racer Valtteri Bottas (Finland) won Austrian Grand Prix, as First race of 2020 F1 Season.
      Round Grand Prix Winner Race date
      1 Austrian Grand Prix Valtteri Bottas (Finland) 5 July
      2 Styrian Grand Prix   12 July
      3 Hungarian Grand Prix   19 July
      4 British Grand Prix   2 August
      5 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 9 August
      6 Spanish Grand Prix   16 August
      7 Belgian Grand Prix   30 August
      8 Italian Grand Prix   6 September
      9 Tuscan Grand Prix   13 September
      10 Russian Grand Prix   27 September
      11 Eifel Grand Prix   11 October
      12 Portuguese Grand Prix   25 October
      13 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix   1 November
    7. Bhavishya savings account has been launched by Fino Payments Bank, for minors aged between 10-18 years.
    8. SBM Bank (India) Ltd partnered with Mastercard to boost domestic and cross-border payments and remittances services, enabling SBM Bank India customers to make real-time domestic business-to-consumer transfers using ‘Mastercard Send’.
    9. Microsoft partnered with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer digital skills to India’s youth in next 1 year amid COVID-19 crisis.
    10. UK India Business Council (UKIBC) appointed Jayant Krishna as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of group.
    11. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and Bakamla RI (Indonesian Coast Guard) signed MoU on ‘Maritime Safety and Security’ to boost maritime relations.
    12. Jul 7 is observed as World Chocolate Day.
    13. MoU signed between UKIBC- UK India Business Council and MIDC-Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, to strengthen collaboration of Maharashtra Government with businesses in United Kingdom (UK).
    14. World’s 3rd largest cricket stadium, with seating capacity of 75,000 and costing a 350 crores will be built near Jaipur (Rajasthan). It will be third largest stadium after Motera stadium in Ahmedabad and Melbourne cricket stadium (Australia).
    15. As per a United Nations report, India is 3rd largest contributor to e-waste in world in 2019.
      1. World dumped 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2019. Of this, just 17.4 percent was recycled.
      2. China was biggest contributor to e-waste in (10.1 million tonnes), US 2nd (6.9 million tonnes) and India 3rd (3.2 million tonnes).
  26. Jul 06, 2020
    1. Jul 6 - Birth Anniversary of Syama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
      1. On this occasion, New administrative and academic building of IARI Jharkhand has been named after Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
    2. Ministry of Railways invited Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for private participation for operation of passenger train services over 109 Origin Destination(OD) pairs of routes through introduction of 151 modern Trains (Rakes).
      1. 151 Trains are to be run by Private operators, over and above already existing train, on routes where demand for trains is higher than capacity.
    3. A study at Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), has provided a robust observational evidence for first time that Li production is common among low mass Sun-like stars during their He-core burning phase. 
      1. Light inflammable, metal lithium (Li) has brought about transformation in modern communication devices and transportation.
      2. The origin of much of Li can be traced to a single event, the Big-Bang that happened about 13.7 Billion years ago.
      3. Over time, Li content in physical Universe has increased by about four times, which is less compared to rest of elements like carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, nickel etc which grew about a million times over lifetime of Universe.
      4. Stars are primary contributors to this significant enhancement of heavier elements through mass ejections and stellar explosions. Li, however, understood to be an exemption!
      5. Composition of all elements in Sun and Earth is similar. But, content of Li in Sun is a factor of 100 lower than that of Earth, though both are known to have formed together.
      6. This challenges long-held idea that stars only destroy lithium during their lifetime implying Sun itself will manufacture lithium in future, which is not predicted by models, indicating that there is some physical process missing in stellar theory.
      7.  The study also suggests new limits (A(Li) > -0.9~dex)  for classifying stars as Li-rich, which is  250 times below the threshold   (A(Li) > 1.5~dex) used till now. 
    4. Govt released Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India, to help policy makers and regulators to frame effective provisions for future novel nano-based products in agri-input and food sectors.
      1. Compared to bulk form of chemical inputs in crops, use of nano-nutrients can reduce nutrient run-off into ground and surface water and thus can reduce environmental pollution.
    5. Krishna Holdings, a subsidiary of UltraTech Nathdwara Cement, will sell its entire 92.5 % stake in China's Shandong Binani Rongan Cement for around $129 million.
    6. Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) partnered with social network Facebook,  to provide online certificate programmes for students.
    7. 5 MoUs signed Between India and Afghanistan under High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) programme, to develop educational infrastructure.
      1. HICDP programme was signed in 2005 under which India has committed to providing financial support up to 200 Million USD to more than 550 HICDP across Afghanistan.
    8. Odisha Government launched a scheme named Balaram Yojana, under which loans will be provided to around 7 lakh landless farmers or sharecroppers in state.
      1. As a sequel to the Kalia Scheme of the Odisha Government, the Balaram Yojana was announced in 2019.
      2. Loans will be available on basis of social collateral. Loan of 1.6 lakh will be provided to each of farmer’s group (consisting 5 farmers).
    9. All households in Himachal Pradesh now access to LPG Gas Connection, making Himachal Pradesh first state in country to achieve Ujjwala Yojana goal of providing a cooking gas connection to every household.
      1. State Government's Grihini Suvidha Yojana also played an important role in achieving the same, which was launched in May 2018 for providing LPG gas connection to households that were left out under Ujjwala Yojana of Central Government.
    10. Karnataka Govt launched a scheme for weaver’s community in state, named Nekar Samman Yojane. For becoming a beneficiary, silk, cotton, woolen and other handloom weavers in the state of Karnataka have to register themselves at the Seva Sindhu portal. State government will transfer 2000 as financial support to all registered weavers.
    11. Sanskrit Vidhyalaya built by India in Eastern Nepal has been inaugurated, named Shree Saptmai Gurukul Sanskrit Vidhyalaya.
    12. Assam Government decided to upgrade status of Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary to National Park.
      1. Protest campaign led by environmentalists was conducted during April 2020, against controversial decision by National Board for Wild Life’s (NBWL) to allow coal mining by Coal India Limited’s subsidiary North Eastern Coalfield (NEC) inside 98.57 hectare of land Saleki Proposed Reserved Forest.
      2. After controversy, coal mining operations were suspended at site. Forest Department of Assam imposed penalty of Rs 43.24 crore on Coal India Limited for the same.
    13. Israel successfully launched its intelligence satellite ‘Ofek-16’ into Low Earth Orbit (LEO), as 12th Satellite under Ofek family of satellites. Ofek-16 is an optoelectronic reconnaissance (intelligence) satellite, to be used by Ministry of Defence of Israel.
    14. To address growing unemployment in state, Haryana Cabinet approved a proposal for drafting an Ordinance under which 75 percent of the jobs with a salary of less than Rs 50,000 per month will be reserved for locals of Haryana. Ordinance is named ‘Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Ordinance 2020’.
    15. Govt Appointed Injeti Srinivas as 1st Chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA).
      1. During winter session of Parliament in 2019, bill to set up a unified authority that will be regulating the financial activities across all the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in country was passed. IFSCA was established in April 2020.
    16. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scheme, had undertaken a project with Indian Railways for setting up a 1.7 MWp (megawatt peak) solar energy project at Madhya Pradesh’s Bina district that will connect directly to the Overhead Traction System of the Indian Railways.
      1. It is first solar power plant in the world in which power generated from plant will be directly fed to Overhead Traction System of Railways.
      2. High Capacity Inverters with single-phase output were installed for converting Solar Panels' DC Power into Railways Usable AC power.
      3. Indian Railways has announced to transform into a ‘net zero’ carbon emission transportation network by 2030.
    17. As per a study, Golden Birdwing is named largest butterfly in India, with a wingspan of 194 mm.
      1. Earlier, Southern Birdwing butterfly was considered largest butterfly in India for last 88 years. In 1932, British Indian Army's William Harry Evans had recorded this 190 mm butterfly.
    18. India’s & Asia’s Largest and World’s Second Largest Uptime Tier IV Designed Data Centre inaugurated inside 600-Acre Hiranandani Fortune City at Navi Mumbai’s Panvel region, named Yotta NM1 or NM1. It has been developed by Yotta Infrastructure Solutions LLP (a subsidiary of Hiranandani Group).
    19. Biennial Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) by US Based Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (JLL) -
      1. India ranked 34th in 2020, compared to 39th in 2014. For this improvement, GRETI citied several economical and Real Estate improvements and reforms.
      2. Top 3 - UK (1), US (2) and and Australia (3).
      3. Neighbors - China (32), Pakistan (73), Sri Lanka (65)
    20. Over Next 6 years (2020-21 to 2025-26), 23,848 crores for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Odisha has been recommended by 5th State Finance Commission of Odisha.
    21. US formally notified United Nations of its decision to withdraw from World Health Organization. US had halted funding to WHO in April 2020, amid WHO's suspected mishandling of COVID-19 Pandemic Information Dissemination.
    22. Jul 6 is observed as World Zoonoses Day.
  27. Jul 05, 2020
    1. India’s first social media super application named Elyments, has been launched by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. The app was created by more than 1,000 IT professionals who came together for Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living.
    2. As per RBI Data, India’s external debt rose to $558.5 billion at end of March 2020, up by 2.8 % compared to last Fiscal FY 19 (2018-19), while its current account surplus has gone up by $0.6 billion.
      1. Commercial borrowings remained largest component of external debt, with a share of 39.4 %, followed by non-resident deposits at 23.4 % and short-term trade credit at 18.2 %.
    3. 13-year-old Delhi Girl Freya Thakral is among recipients of this year's Diana Award, an honour given in the memory of Princess Diana to youngsters for humanitarian efforts.
    4. Kritika Pandey from India won Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020 for her short story The Great Indian Tee and Snakes.
      1. Prize is open to anyone from commonwealth nations who have written a story in English, Bengali, Chinese, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil and Turkish.
      2. There is a winner chosen from each region and one overall winner. This year overall winner is from India.
    5. A rocky planet 39 times as massive as Earth has been spotted orbiting a distant star, with astronomers concluding it may be the surviving core of a planet once perhaps larger than Jupiter that was stripped of its gaseous atmosphere.
      1. Researchers said it is largest rocky planet ever discovered and would be first planetary core ever found, offering a unique opportunity to better understand the interiors of gas giants like Jupiter.
      2. The planet, called TOI-849b, orbits a star a bit smaller and cooler than the sun, located 730 light years from Earth.
    6. Marathi writer and playwright Ratnakar Matkari will be posthumously honoured with Natvarya Prabhakar Panshikar award for lifetime contribution to theatre, by Maharashtra government.
    7. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will undertake performance assessment and ranking of highways in country, to improve quality of roads. The criteria for the assessment have been broadly categorised in three main heads: Highway Efficiency (45%), Highway Safety (35%) and User Services (20%).
    8. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) under Ministry of AYUSH and ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) signed MoU, to conserve Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources (MAPGRs) at designated space of ICAR-NBPGR.
    9. MoU signed between Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for data exchange between two organizations, on an automatic and regular basis.
    10. Indian Navy's Operation Samudra Setu, which was launched on 05 May 2020, to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas during COVID-19 pandemic, has been Completed successfully. It Bought approx 4000 Indian citizens back to their homeland by sea. Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa, and Airavat, Shardul and Magar participated in this operation.
  28. Jul 04, 2020
    1. All India Radio (AIR) FM news channel Started broadcasting its first-ever news programme in Sanksrit language for 20 minutes duration on saturday, named Sanskrit Saptahiki’.
    2. July 4, 2020 is Observed as UN International Day of Cooperatives. 2020 Theme is Cooperatives for Climate Action. It is observed on First Saturday of July.
    3. Dharma Chakra Day Observed on 4th July, by International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), under aegis of Ministry of Culture.
      1. It commemorates Buddha’s First Sermon to his first five ascetic disciples at Deer Park, Rsipatana in present day Sarnath near Varanasi.
      2. July 4 is also Punyatithi (Death Anniversary) of Legendary Indian Philosopher Swami Vivekananda.
    4. Former RBI Governor Chakravarthi Rangarajan has been conferred with first Prof. P C Mahalanobis Award in Official Statistics for lifetime achievements for his contribution in providing solutions in issues related to estimation of national income. The award has been instituted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
    5. Germany finalized country's long-awaited phase-out of coal as an energy source, making Germany First Major Economy to Phase Out Coal and Nuclear as Energy Source, and generate all of the country's considerable energy needs from renewable sources.
      1. Approved Bills envision shutting down the last coal-fired power plant by 2038 and spending some 40 billion euros to help affected regions cope with transition.
      2. Germany closed its last black coal mine in 2018, but it continues to import fuel and extract its own reserves of lignite, a brownish coal that is abundant in country.
    6. Uganda became first African country to submit REDD+ results to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), paving way to potential results-based payments. In its recent submission of REDD+ Technical Annex to the biennial update report (BUR), Uganda submitted Emission Reductions of 8 million tCO2 for 2016-2017.
    7. Indian Navy conducted PASSEX (Passage exercise) with Japan Navy.
    8. New report on clean energy transition in India Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-Covid-19 Opportunities for India’s Energy and Mobility Sectors, released by NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) -
      1. As per report, India’s transport sector can save 1.7 gigatonnes (GT) of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and avoid about 600 million tonnes of oil equivalent in fuel demand by 2030 through shared, electric, and connected passenger mobility and cost-effective, clean, and optimised freight transport.
    9. Government will release commemorative stamp to honour former PM PV Narasimha Rao. It was announced on occasion of his 100th Birth Anniversary on Jun 28, 2020.
    10. India become a founding member of an Alliance for Poverty Eradication at the UN, launched by President of General Assembly (Tijjani Muhammad-Bande), aimed at focussing on efforts to boost global economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.
      1. It will serve as a forum for Member States to raise awareness about danger that poverty poses to world peace, human rights and sustainable development.
    11. World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreed to request from European Union for establishment of a dispute settlement panel to rule on India’s import tariffs on certain information and communication technology (ICT) goods.
      1. First requests for panels on India’s ICT tariffs from Japan and Chinese Taipei were, however, blocked by India.
      2. EU complained to WTO that India had taken commitment (as part of IT Agreement signed in December 1996) not to apply import duties on ICT products but that for several years India had been regularly increasing import duties up to 20 %.
      3. EU’s annual exports of ICT products affected by import duties amounted to around €400 million.
    12. Direct investment into India rose by $19 billion while portfolio investment declined by $13.7 billion during 2019-20, As per data on International Investment Position (IIP) released by RBI. International financial assets of Indian residents increased by $73.9 billion.
    13. Hindi Writer Priyamvad’s New Book Bharatiya Loktanktra Ka Koras: Kuch Bisari Bikhari Dhwaniyan will Release in 2021.
    14. Assam government announced an ordinance to allow conversion of land for MSMEs to set up industries on basis of a self-declaration - without requirement of any permission for 3 years.
      1. It is aimed at easing process of setting up industries by doing away with need to apply for clearances at various departments.
    15. India's AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk bagged two awards under categories Best Innovation for Covid-19 – Society and People’s Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner, at CogX 2020, the prestigious Global Leadership Summit and Festival of AI & Emerging Technology held annually in London.
      1. In fight against Covid-19, MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Limited and WhatsApp collaborated to develop AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk in record time of 5 days including weekend.
    16. 2 eminent Indian-Origin agricultural experts have been named members of an international scientific group, aimed to offer foremost scientific evidence for sustainable food systems, established by UN chief Antonio Guterres.
      1. Scientists are Rattan Lal of Ohio State University (US) and Uma Lele of International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
      2. Rattan lal was named as 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing a soil-centric approach to increasing food production.
    17. Insurance Regulator IRDAI has Set Up a Panel headed by G Srinivasan, to study suitability of Surety Bond issuance by Indian insurers.
    18. US-based Carlyle Group invested $235 million, for 25 % stake in Nxtra Data, an arm of Bharti Airtel engaged in data centre business. Airtel will continue to hold remaining stake of approximately 75%.
    19. Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) will help ISRO in exploring Venus, during India's first Venus Mission - Shukrayaan-1.
      1. On board the Indian Venus mission Shukrayaan-1, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) will explore Venus for second time.
      2. IRF's satellite instrument Venusian Neutrals Analyzer (VNA) will study how charged particles from Sun interact with atmosphere and exosphere of Venus.
      3. Between 2006-2014, IRF instrument ASPERA-4 (Analyzes of Space Plasma and EneRgetic Atoms) studied Venus on board the European spacecraft Venus Express. ASPERA-4 proved that water on Venus is escaping to space with energy obtained from solar wind.
    20. Telangana Governor promulgated Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2020, accepting recent decision of Central government to expand borrowing limit of States under FRBM Act from present 3 to 5 %, allowing States to borrow more to face present financial crisis arisen due to COVID-19 pandemic.
  29. July 03, 2020
    1. US based investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) will buy 54 % stake in Mumbai based JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, for 3109 crores.
      1. Earlier in May, KKR invested 11367 crores for a 2.32 percent stake in Jio Platforms.
    2. India's Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM) captured image of Phobos (largest Moon of Mars).
      1. Image was captured from a distance of 4200 kilometres, with spatial resolution of 210 metres.
      2. Phobos and Deimos are two natural satellites of Mars, discovered by Asaph Hall in 1877. Phobos is seven times larger than Deimos.
    3. PSU NLC India signed agreement with Coal India Limited to form a Joint Venture Company (JVC) for developing Solar and Thermal power assets, with equal (50:50) equity. Solar and Thermal power assets of 5000 megawatts (5 GW) will be developed by JV.
    4. MoU signed between UKIBC (UK India Business Council) and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), to help strengthen collaboration of Maharashtra Government with businesses in United Kingdom (UK).
    5. Government declared entire Nagaland as a "disturbed area" for six more months till December-end, exercising powers conferred by Section 3 of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958.
    6. Fisheries Minister Giriraj Singh released operational guidelines of Rs 20,050 crore Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMSSY), with aim to help states in speedy implementation of the scheme.
      1. In May, Centre had launched new flagship PMSSY scheme for sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector at an investment of Rs 20,050 crore.
      2. It aims to enhance fish production to 220 lakh metric tons by 2024-25 from 137.58 lakh metric tons in 2018-19 at an average annual growth rate of about 9%.
      3. It will result in doubling export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crore and generate about 55 lakhs direct and indirect employment opportunities in fisheries sector over 5 years.
    7. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) extended lockdown in containment zones till July 31st and has released a new set of guidelines for Unlock 2.0.
      1. Unlock 2.0 Guidelines pave the way for opening of more activities in India outside COVID-19 Containment Zones.
      2. Not Allowed activities Include Educatonal Establishments, International Flights, Metro Services, Cinema halls, Gyms, Swimming Pools, Theatres, Bars, Assembly halls, Large Gatherings, Movement of people between 10 pm to 5 am.
    8. Tamil Nadu government announced monthly stipend of 3000 for lawyers for time period of two years, to help them overcome financial difficulties.
    9. As per International Monetary Fund Data, India’s foreign exchange reserves currently stand at more than USD 530 billion, which is 5th largest in world after China, Japan, Switzerland and Russia.
      1. Forex Reserves are Proportional to Amount of exports. More the Exports, Larger the Forex Reserve Base.
      2. World's largest importer is United States, with a 13.4% share of global imports equal to $2.6 trillion of goods. It is thus ranked low in terms of Forex Reserves (20th), with Approx 130 Billion USD Forex Reserves.
      3. Pakistan, who is on the brink of Bankruptcy, is ranked 75th in terms of Forex Reserves, with just 12 Billion USD Reserves.
    10. Australia launched 270 billion Australian dollar worth 10-year defence plan, amid tensions rising across Indo-Pacific over territorial claims.
      1. Australia also announced a 1.35 billion Australian dollar investment in cyber security over the next 10 years.
    11. RBI announced fresh Open Market Operations (OMO) for sale and purchase of Government Securities, of Rs 10,000 crore each, considering current liquidity and market situation.
      1. OMO (Open Market Operations), are conducted by RBI in form of sale / purchase of Government Securities (G-Secs) to adjust liquidity in market. If there is excess liquidity, then RBI undertakes sale of G-Secs and if there is liquidity crunch, then RBI conducts purchase of G-Secs.
    12. Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening Financial System (NGFS), as an observer.
      1. NGFS is a group of central banks and supervisors who are inclined to share best practices and contribute to development of environment and climate risk management in financial sector.
    13. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released book titled Future of Higher Education – Nine Mega Trends, authored by CA V Pattabhi Ram.
    14. Ravinder Bhakar took charge as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC).
    15. HDFC Bank launched e-Kisaan Dhan app for farmers across India, to enable them to access banking and agricultural services.
      1. HDFC bank also launched ZipDrive instant auto loans to customers across India.
    16. Gudni Th. Johannesson has been re-elected as President of Iceland, for his second four-year term.
  30. July 02, 2020
    1. China passed Controversial National Security Law for Hong Kong.
      1. Back in 1997, on 1st July, the Hong Kong City was handed over to China as a Special Administrative Region from British rule. A few weeks Earlier, establishment of a National Security Bureau in Hong Kong was confirmed by China.
    2. Uttarakhand forest department developed India’s first lichen park in Kumaon’s Munsiyari, Pithoragarh district. Lichens are found in the Himalayas up to 5000 metres are important species as they are the best bioindicators of the pollution levels.
    3. 36th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit held via video conference on theme Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN. Summit was chaired by Vietnam.
    4. As per first ever report on illegal wildlife trade (IWT) titled  Money Laundering and the Illegal Wildlife Trade, by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) -
      1. Illegal wildlife trade is a global threat which generates estimated revenues between $7 to $23 billion a year.  This crime could lead to more zoonotic diseases in the future.
    5. India signed World Bank Loan agreement to enhance support for the Namami Gange programme that seeks to rejuvenate the Ganga river. The $400 million operation comprises a loan of $381 million and a proposed Guarantee of up to $19 million.
    6. India is named among top-three countries getting detailed information from Switzerland about bank accounts and beneficiary ownership of entities established by their residents in Switzerland, according to latest study by OECD's Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
    7. As per 2020-21 World Bank’s Country Classification based on Income level, Nepal’s economy moved to a higher category to become a Lower-middle Income economy while Sri Lanka’s economy moved to a lower category to become a Lower-middle Income economy.
      1. World Bank classifies countries into four income groups- Low, Lower-Middle, Upper-Middle, High Income. World Bank is using Atlas Method since 1993 to estimate the size of an economy.
      2. India remains a Lower-Middle Income country.
      3. For becoming a Lower Middle-Income country, World Bank has set the GNI per capita to be between USD 1036 to USD 4045. Nepal marginally crossed the line as its GNI in 2019 was USD 1090.
      4. Sri Lanka with GNI Per Capita of 4020, graded to Lower-Middle Income category, but at a much higher level than Nepal.
    8. Agreement signed between Dubai based IOC Middle East FZE-subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Bangladesh’s Beximo LPG Limited’s UAE based holding company RR Holdings Ltd.
      1. As per agreement, for LPG business in Bangladesh, a 50:50 Joint Venture Company (JVC) would be formed.
    9. USD 750 Million loan approved for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India by World Bank, to help India's MSME sector battered by COVID-19 pandemic.
    10. Indra Mani Pandey has been appointed as India's next Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organisations in Geneva (India's Permanent Mission in Geneva).
      1. Note that This post is different from Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, which is head of the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations in New York City. The current Permanent Representative of India to UN is T. S. Tirumurti.
    11. As per Constitutional Referendum held after proposal by President of Russia Vladimir Putin, 77.95 % Russian citizens voted in support of Amendments to 1993 Constitution of Russia. This means that Vladimir Putin can now lead Russia until 2036.
      1. Putin’s current term (his 2nd consecutive) as President of Russia ends in 2024. In State Duma (Russian Parliament), Putin had submitted 14 draft amendments that will be changed under 1993 Constitution.
      2. As per an amendment, term of current (Vladimir Putin) and former (Dmitry Medvedev from 2008-2012) President of Russia will be reset from 0 from 2024, so that either of them can be elected as President again in 2024.
      3. At present, a person can serve as President of Russia for maximum of 2 consecutive terms of 6 years.
    12. 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner Siddhartha Mukherjee and Harvard University Economics Professor Raj Chetty are listed among 38 immigrants to be honoured as ‘2020 Great Immigrants’ by the Carnegie Corporation.
      1. Every year since 2006, ahead of Independence Day of US on 4th July, Carnegie Corporations of New York honors legacy of its founder Andrew Carnegie - who being an immigrant from Scotland to US rose from poverty to become a leading industrialist.
    13. New free trade agreement between US, Mexico, and Canada came into effect, replacng 26 years old free trade agreement named North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
      1. All three signatories of referred it by different names. US called it USMCA (United States Mexico Canada Agreement), while Canada referred to as CUSMA, in Mexico by T-MEC.
      2. NAFTA 2.0 is not a wholly new agreement, it is a renegotiated version of the earlier NAFTA agreement with certain changes, hence it has been referred to as NAFTA 2.0.
    14. Kerala Government rolled out a project for rehabilitation of Non-Resident Indian’s (NRI’s) returning to the state following the loss of employment due to COVID-19 outbreak, named Dream Kerala Project.
    15. For ensuring corruption-free job placements, Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S Jaganmohan Reddy launched activities of state-owned placement agency-Andhra Pradesh Corporation for Outsourced Services (APCOS). APCOS is incorporated as a Not-For-Profit Company under Companies Act 2013.
    16. India's trade deficit with China fell to USD 48.66 billion in 2019-20 on account of decline in imports from China.
      1. Exports to China in FY 20 (2019-20) stood at USD 16.6 billion, while imports were USD 65.26 billion.
      2. Trade deficit between the countries was at USD 53.56 billion in 2018-19 and USD 63 billion in 2017-18.
    17. July 2 is observed as World Sports Journalists Day.
      1. July 2 is also observed as World UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) day, observed since 2001. On some places, it is observed on June 24, the date on which 9 unusual objects were saw flying over Washington (USA) in 1947.
  31. July 01, 2020
    1. July 1 is observed as Doctors Day in India. This day honours legendary physician and second Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
      1. July 1 is also observed as Chartered Accountants Day In India.
      2. July 1 is also Observed as National Postal Worker Day in India.
    2. MeitY in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission – Niti Aayog launched Digital India AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge for Indian tech entrepreneurs and Startups.
      1. This shall run in 2 tracks - Promotion of Existing Apps and Development of New Apps, to identify the best Indian Apps that are already being used by citizens and have potential to scale and become world class Apps.
      2. Government will also launch Track 2 of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge that will seek to identify Indian start ups / entrepreneurs /companies and encourage them with ideation, incubation, prototyping and roll out of applications.
    3. Researchers at Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST Mohali) found that stevioside, a natural plant-based glycoside found in leaves of Honey yerba, when coated on nanoparticles can increase efficiency of Magnetic hyperthermia-mediated cancer therapy (MHCT).
      1. MHCT method is based on heating tumor tissues using magnetic nanoparticles, in comparison to routinely used surfactant moieties.
      2. Coating nanoparticles with stevioside improved cellular uptake of nano-magnets in glioma C6 cancer cells and enhanced its retention time.
    4. Researchers at Cellular and Molecular Biology Hyderabad (CCMB) and University of Exeter in UK have found that a genetic risk score is effective in diagnosing type-1 diabetes in Indians.
      1. This Genetic risk score takes into account detailed genetic information that are known to increase the chance of developing type-1 diabetes. It may be used at the time of diabetes diagnosis to help decide if someone has type-1 diabetes.
      2. Contrary to General Belief, recent findings have shown that type-1 diabetes can occur later in life, while type-2 diabetes is on the rise among younger and thinner Indians. Distinguishing the two types of diabetes, has therefore, become more complex.
    5. Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL) is upcoming gas based urea unit of 12.7 Lakh MT per annum capacity at Ramagundam (Telengana), as Joint Venture Company (JVC) promoted by National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), Engineers India Limited (EIL) and Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited (FCIL).
      1. RFCL project will along with other revival projects at Gorakhpur, Barauni, Sindri and Talcher will reduce the need for urea import by 63.5 LMT per annum.
      2. Government had announced New Investment Policy (NIP), 2012 to facilitate fresh investment in urea sector and to make India self-sufficient in urea sector. Under NIP 2012, Govt is reviving 5 closed fertilizer plants - Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL), Talcher Fertilizers Limited (TFL), Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (Gorakhpur, Barauni and Sindri).
    6. To improve liquidity position of NBFCs and HFCs, Govt has launched a Special Liquidity Scheme of 30,000 crores.
      1. RBI will provide funds for Scheme by subscribing to government guaranteed special securities issued by the Trust. The total amount of such securities issued outstanding shall not exceed Rs. 30,000 crores.
      2. Government will provide an unconditional and irrevocable guarantee to special securities issued by Trust.
      3. Scheme is being launched through a Special Purpose Vehiclein form of SLS Trust set up by SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP).
      4. Eligibility for NBFC / HFC -
        1. Net NPA is less than 6% as on 31.03.2019.
        2. CRAR/CAR should not be below the regulatory minimum of 15 and 12 % respectively.
        3. Net profit in at least one of the two preceding financial years.
        4. Rated as investment grade by a rating agency
        5. Is not reported under SMA-1 or SMA-2 category by any bank for their borrowing during period one year prior to 01.08.2018.
      5. Scheme will remain open for 3 months for making subscriptions by Trust. Financing would be used by the NFBCs/HFCs only to repay existing liabilities and not to expand assets.
    7. GST revenue collected in June 2020 came to be 90,917 crores (CGST - 18980 crores, SGST - 23970 crores, IGST - 40302 crores, and Cess 7665 crores). GST Collection of Earlier Months which were affected by Covid-19 Pandemic.
      1. Mar 2020 - 97597 Crores
      2. April 2020 - 43000 Crores
      3. May 2020 - 70000 Crores
    8. Government launched Drug Discovery Hackathon, as a and First such initiative of MHRD’s Innovation Cell (MIC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
      1. This Hackathon is first of its kind National initiative for supporting drug discovery process and will see participation from professionals, faculty, researchers and students from varied fields like Computer Science, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Medical Sciences, Basic Sciences and Biotechnology.
    9. To facilitate investment in highway sector, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is setting up an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT). A new company is being set up to act as the Investment Manager to proposed InvIT.
      1. NHAI InvIT shall be the first InvIT to be sponsored by any government or semi government entity.
    10. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved Capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment required by Indian Armed Forces worth approx 38900 Crore rupees.
      1. These approvals include acquisitions from Indian Industry amounting to 31130 Crore rupees. Indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80 % of project cost.
      2. These include Pinaka ammunitions, BMP armament upgrades and Software Defined Radios for Army, Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile Systems and Astra Missiles for Navy and Air Force.
      3. DAC also approved proposal for procurement of 21 MIG-29 . It also approved upgradation of existing 59 Mig-29 aircraft and procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft.
    11. Science and Engineering Research Board has launched scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ to provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs and workshops. It aims to encourage high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower.
    12. Researchers from Raman Research Institute (RRI) have come up with a unique simulation toolkit for end-to-end QKD simulation named as ‘qkdSim’, which is based on modular principles that allow it to be grown to different classes of protocols using various underpinning technologies.
      1. The research is a part of the Quantum Experiments using Satellite Technology (QuEST) project, India’s first satellite-based secure quantum communication effort, supported by ISRO.
      2. Increasing need for measures to ensure security in virtual world has been felt continuously. Ensuring security of key transfer process lies in using laws of quantum physics, wherein any eavesdropping activity will leave tell-tale signs and hence will be easily detected. This is achieved by using Quantum Key Distribution or QKD.
      3. As QKD use is growing rapidly, this new simulation toolkit, accompanied by an instructive application to uniquely designed B92 experiment, will be extremely influential. B92 is a QKD protocol, which uses single photons and associated laws of Physics like Uncertainty Principle and No-Cloning theorem to assure perfect security.
    13. MoU signed between Indian Oil, NTPC Ltd and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), on Waste to Energy plant at Okhla (Delhi),
      1. Under the MoU, Entities shall come together to develop a demonstration Waste-to-energy Plant at Okhla landfill site in Delhi, using Gasification technology.
    14. Amendments in Indian Stamp Act 1899 brought through Finance Act 2019 came into effect.
      1. To facilitate ease of doing business and bring uniformity of stamp duty on securities across States and thereby build a pan-India securities market, Government has created mechanism to enable states to collect stamp duty on securities market instruments at one place by one agency (through Stock Exchange or Clearing Corporation) on one Instrument.
      2. A mechanism for appropriately sharing the stamp duty with relevant State Governments has also been developed which is based on the state of domicile of the buyer
      3. Present system of collection of stamp duty on securities market transactions led to multiple rates for same instrument, resulting in jurisdictional disputes and multiple incidences of duty, thereby raising transaction costs and hurting capital formation.
    15. Govt approved further extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) as part of Economic Response to COVID-19 for additional allocation of food-grains from Central Pool for another Five months from July to November 2020.
      1. In March 2020, Government had announced PMGKP to ameliorate hardships faced by poor due to economic disruptions caused by Covid-19.
      2. Free-of-cost foodgrains (Rice/Wheat) at scale of 5 Kg per person per month are being provided to about 81 Crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA).
      3. Earlier, under PMGKAY, govt had allocated a total of about 120 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) foodgrains to States/UTs to be distributed Between April-June 2020.
      4. Department of Food and Public Distribution estimated that food grains (Rice and Wheat) and pulses worth Rs 1,48,938 crore will be distributed under Scheme, in period between 8 months from April to November 2020.
    16. A new virus has been discovered in China that is quite similar to 2009 Swine Flu that caused a global pandemic. Named G4 EA H1N1 (commonly called G4 virus), it has human pandemic potential.
    17. As per US based news agency Associated Press (AP), China is running a number of in-human campaigns to slash the birth rates among minority Muslim population, most belonging to Uyghur ethnic groups.
      1. Chinese Government claim that camps at Xinjiang Autonomous Region are for offering voluntary education and training. However, authorities running these camps have been instructed by Government to run these camps as high-security prisons with punishments, no escapes, strict disciplines, etc.
      2. Millions of ethnic minorities are often locked in these camps for having too many children.
    18. June 30 - International Asteroid Day, Proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in December 2016. The day marks anniversary of Tunguska impact over Siberia (Russia), on 30 June 1908.
    19. June 30 - International Day of Parliamentarism, proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in May 2018. On this day in 1889, on which Inter-Parliamentary Union, global organization of parliaments was established.
    20. June 29 is observed as UN International Day of the Tropics.
    21. July 1 is Observed as GST (Goods & Services Tax) Day. GST regime came into Force on July 1 2017, unifying indirect taxes in India into One.

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