Govt notified Notable changes in Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) -
For first Rs 7 Lakh remittance under LRS, there shall be no TCS. Beyond this threshold, TCS shall be -
0.5% (if remittance for education is financed by education loan)
5% (in case of remittance for education/medical treatment)
20% for others.
Increased TCS rates to apply from 1st October 2023.
Credit card transactions will be brought under LRS, thus attracting applicable TCS.
About -
Under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), all resident individuals are allowed to freely remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year.
Jul 1 is observed by UN as International Day of Cooperatives.
On this occasion, 17th Indian Cooperative Congress held at Pragati Maidan (New Delhi), with theme Amrit Kaal : Prosperity through Cooperation for a Vibrant India.
Other Observations on July 1 -
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.
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.
July 1 is observed as Chartered Accountants Day In India.
July 1 is Observed as National Postal Worker Day in India.
July 1 is observed as Foundation Day of SBI, India's Largest Bank. On 1 July 1955, Imperial Bank of India became State Bank of India.
On this occasion, SBI inaugurated 34 Transaction Banking Hubs across country.
PM Narendra Modi Launched National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission at Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh), as announced in Union Budget 2023-24.
It aims to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047.
Mission will be implemented in 278 districts of 17 high focus states.
Merger of HDFC Bank and its Parent Entity Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) came into effect from July 01, 2023.
Merged entity has become world's fourth largest bank by market capitalisation (approx $170 Billion), behind JPMorgan Chase & Co, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Bank of America. It is also 2nd most valued firm on Indian stock exchanges, after RIL.
Notably, Boards of IDFC First Bank Ltd and IDFC Limited also approved their merger with each other.
Misc. Economy / Financial News (Jul 2023) -
RBI Canceled banking license of several regional co-operative banks -
Buldhana (Maharashtra) based Malkapur Urban Co-operative Bank.
Satara (Maharashtra) based Harihareshwar Sahakari Bank.
Tumkur (Karnataka) based Sri Sharada Mahila Co-operative Bank.
Bengaluru (Karnataka) based Shushruti Souharda Sahakara Bank.
GST revenue collected in June 2023 stood at 1,61,497 crores (CGST 31,013 crores, SGST 38,292 crores, IGST 80,292 crores & cess 11,900 crores.
Housing Finance Firm Piramal Finance (Earlier Known as Dewan Housing Finance) opened its first all-women branch named Maitreyi in Kochi (Kerala).
Govt raised interest rates on select savings schemes for July-September quarter (Q2 FY 24 (2023-24)) -
5 year recurring deposit (RD) - 6.5 % (Hike of .30 %).
1 year term deposits - 6.9 % (Hike of 0.1 %)
2 year term deposits - 7 % (Hike of 01. %)
Interest rates for term deposits with tenors of 3 & 5 years remain unchanged at 7 % and 7.5 %, respectively.
Inrerest Rates on other small savings schemes (Kept unchanged) -
Public Provident Fund (PPF) - 7.1 %
Savings deposits - 4 %
National Savings Certificate (NSC) - 7.7 %
Girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi - 8 %
Senior citizen savings scheme - 8.2 %
Kisan Vikas Patra - 7.5 %
Misc. MOUs (July 2023) -
Between Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy & Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation Ltd, for construction of gallery named Evolution of Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard at National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC), being constructed as World’s biggest maritime museum complex, at Lothal (Gujarat), with cost 4500 Crores.
International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) signed MOUs with IIM Lucknow & BITS Pilani, to support and facilitate FinTech and TechFin entities.
International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) signed MOU with Climate Policy Initiative - India (CPI), for cooperation to increase mobilisation of global sustainable capital flows into India.
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) signed MoU with European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for cooperation in Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Innovative Air Mobility.
India's National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) signed MoU with South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization (SARADO), to increase anti-doping Regional Cooperation in sports.
MoU signed between Ministry of Education (India) and Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (Zanzibar- Tanzania) for setting up of campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar (Tanzania), as first IIT campus to be set up outside India.
India & Singapore extended current MoU on Cooperation in field of Personnel Management and Public Administration, till 2028.
Misc. Appointments (Jul 2023) -
RBI named P. Vasudevan as an Executive Director (ED). RBI currently has 16 EDs.
Govt extended tenure of Brajendra Navnit as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to World Trade Organisation (WTO), for 9 months (till 31 March 2024).
SBI named Kameshwar Rao Kodavanti as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Govt named M U Nair as new National Cybersecurity Coordinator.
Aadhav Arjuna has been named president of Basketball Federation of India.
Krishan Mishra has been named CEO of Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB India).
FPSB India is a Public–Private Enterprise and a Professional Standards Setting body for Financial Planners in India.
Obituaries (Jul 2023) -
Oommen Chandy - Former Chief Minister of Kerala.
Namboothiri - Noted Indian Artist (painter and sculptor).
Nikki McCray-Penson - Noted American basketball player and twice olympic gold medalist.
Misc. Sports News / Events (Jul 2023) -
India topped medals tally at 34th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) 2023 held in Al Ain (UAE), with all 4 Indian participating students winning Gold medals.
India's Dipika Pallikal & Sandhu Harinder won Gold and Anahat Singh & Abhay Singh won Bronze medals at first Asian mixed doubles squash championships 2023 at Huangzhou (China).
Gaming platform Dream11 replaced Byju’s as main jersey sponsor for Indian cricket team, until March 2026.
Indian Female cricketer Shreyanka Patil became first Indian cricketer to be signed for Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). She is also first Indian player to be offered a contract in an overseas league before making her international debut.
Sri Lankan cricketer Lahiru Thirimanne announced his retirement from International Cricket.
Misc. Defence News / Events (Jul 2023) -
Ministry of Defence signed contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of 2 Dornier Aircraft for Indian Coast Guard (ICG), for 459 crores. Aircrafts will be indigenously manufactured at HAL Transport Aircraft Division (Kanpur).
Indian Navy held Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy, in Bay of Bengal.
Home Minister Amit shah foundation stone of Shri Motibhai R. Chaudhary Sagar Sainik School in Boriyavi village of Mehsana (Gujarat ), as first Sainik School in India to be operated by a cooperative organization.
Misc. Science News (July 2023) -
Geological Survey of India Researchers discovered India’s biggest natural arch dating back to 184 - 160 million years (lower to middle Jurassic age), During coal exploration in Kenduadihi block in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.
Misc. / Industrial Awards (Jul 2023) -
President Draupadi Murmu presented Visitor’s Awards 2021, during Visitor’s Conference 2023 held at Rashtrapati Bhavan -
Innovation - Venktesh Singh (Central University of South Bihar)
Research in Physical Sciences - Surajit Dhara (University of Hyderabad)
Research in Biological Sciences - Mohammed Latif Khan (Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya Sagar)
Technology Development - KC James Raju (University of Hyderabad).
Notably, President of India is the Visitor of 162 Central Institutions of Higher Learning.
Triveni Continental Kings won 1st edition of Global Chess League, world's first franchise-based chess league, held at Dubai (UAE).
It has been jointly organized by FIDE (International Chess Federation) and Indian IT firm Tech Mahindra.
League has 6 teams, with 6 players each.
Jul 2 is observed as -
World Sports Journalists Day.
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.
India won Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 (8th title), defeating Iran in final (hosted in Busan, South Korea).
British children’s writer Michael Rosen has been awarded PEN Pinter Prize 2023.
The Prize is conferred by English PEN in honour of late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
It is given to a writer from UK, Ireland and the Commonwealth whose work is committed to a fearless exposition of truth about contemporary life.
Olympic champion Indian Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra won his 2nd Diamond League title of the year, with a throw of 87.66 meters at Lausanne (Switzerland) edition.
Earlier, he had won in Doha Diamond league 2023, with a throw of 88.67 meters.
Notably -
This is India's 3rd diamond league medal of the year. India’s Murali Sreeshankar had also recently Won Bronze in men’s long jump event at Paris Diamond League 2023, with 8.09 meters jump.
American Payments Firm Visa acquired Brazilian payments infrastructure firm Pismo for $1 billion.
Red Bull's Dutch-Belgian F1 Racer Max Verstappen won Austrian Grand Prix 2023.
F1 Season 2023 -
Grand Prix
Winner
Race date
Bahrain Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
5 March
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
Sergio Pérez (Mexico)
19 March
Australian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
2 April
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Sergio Pérez (Mexico)
30 April
Miami Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
7 May
Monaco Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
28 May
Spanish Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
4 June
Canadian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
18 June
Austrian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian)
2 July
British Grand Prix
9 July
Hungarian Grand Prix
23 July
Belgian Grand Prix
30 July
Dutch Grand Prix
27 August
Italian Grand Prix
3 September
Singapore Grand Prix
17 September
Japanese Grand Prix
24 September
Qatar Grand Prix
8 October
United States Grand Prix
22 October
Mexico City Grand Prix
29 October
São Paulo Grand Prix
5 November
Las Vegas Grand Prix
18 November
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
26 November
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) launched eSARAS mobile App & fulfillment centre, to strengthen marketing support for products made by women of Self-help Groups (SHGs).
eSARAS fulfillment centre will be managed by Foundation for Development of Rural Value Chains (FDRVC - a Not for Profit Company constituted jointly by Ministry of Rural Development and Tata Trust), and will be used for processing customers purchase through eSARAS Portal/App.
IT & Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced Formation of Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA), as a collaborative platform to drive innovation and collaboration in Next-Generation wireless technology.
B6GA aims to bring together Indian firms and manufacturing ecosystem to establish consortia that can drive design, development and deployment of 6G technologies in India.
B6GA will also forge coalitions with other 6G Global Alliances, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Govt re-appointed Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General of India, for 3 year term.
Solicitor General of India (SGI) is second-highest law officer of the country, and assists the Attorney General (highest law officer of the country).
Indonesia has been named as host nation for 24 nation 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, to be held in Nov-Dec 2023.
It was earlier to be hosted by Peru, withdrawn later due to infrastructure issues.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has been named Deputy chief minister of Maharashtra.
Jul 3 is observed globally as Plastic bag free day.
On this occasion, New Zealand became first country to implement a complete ban on commonly used thin plastic bags.
India hosted 23rd Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) summit 2023 in virtual format, under its 2023 SCO Presidency. Theme of summit is Towards a SECURE SCO.
Other notable meets hosted by India under its 2023 SCO presidency -
SCO Defence Ministers’ meet - New Delhi.
SCO Tourism Ministers’ Meet - Kashi (Varanasi). Kashi is also noted as first tourism & cultural capital of SCO.
First international conference of SCO on Shared Buddhist Heritage - New Delhi.
Notably -
Iran joined as new full member of SCO.
SCO Members - China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan & Iran.
Observers - Afghanistan, Belarus, Mongolia.
Kazakhstan took over SCO chairmanship fr0m India, to last until 2024 SCO Summit to be held in Astana.
July 4 marks US Independence Day, commemorating Declaration of Independence of United States on July 4, 1776.
As per Trade in services for development report by World Trade Organization (WTO) -
India doubled its share of global commercial services exports from 2005 to 2022, from 2.0 % to 4.4 %.
China also nearly doubled its share of global commercial services exports during same period, from 3.0 % to 5.4 %.
BCCI named former cricketer Ajit Agarkar as chairman of Senior Men’s Cricket Selection Committee.
British Monarch King Charles III and Queen Camilla presented Elephant Family environmental awards to Indian conservationists.
Kartiki Gonsalves, the debut director of Oscar winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers, received Tara Award.
Notably, The Elephant Whisperers had earlier won Best Documentary Short title at Oscars 2023.
The Real Elephant Collective (Group of 70 Adivasi artists) was honored with Mark Shand Award, named after late founder of Elephant Family.
Also, King Charles III was presented with Scottish Crown Jewels, as symbols of his authority in Scotland.
British Indian Army Veteran Rajindar Singh Dhatt has been honored with Points of Light award by UK govt, for his efforts to bring together British Indian war veterans.
AIFF Player of the year awards 2023 -
Men's Footballer of the year - Lallianzuala Chhangte
Women's Footballer of the year - Manisha Kalyan
Emerging Player of the Year -
Men - Akash Mishra
Women - Shilji Shaji
2023 SAFF Football Championship (Hosted in Bangalore, India) -
India won the title (9th), defeating Kuwait in final.
India's Sunil Chhetri remained Top scorer & was named Best player.
China's Qu Dongyu has been re-elected as Director General of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
India’s first indigenously developed 700 MW nuclear power reactor (Kakrapar 3) at Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (Gujarat) started commercial operations.
Unit is part of Kakrapar Atomic Power Project, whose Phase I began commercial operations in 1993, with two 220 MW units.
Kakrapar 4 (Unit 4) of project is expected to begin commercial operations around March 2024.
Indian Air Force will host exercise Tarang Shakti later in 2023, with participation of air forces from 12 nations.
6 air forces will take part in the exercise, while rest will attend as observers.
Home Affairs Ministry launched Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States, from allocation of Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding Window under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), for strengthening fire services in States, with outlay of 5000 crores.
Amount of 500 crores (out of total outlay) has been kept for incentivizing States on the basis of their legal and infrastructure-based reforms.
Committee formed by govt to promote inter-mandi & inter-State trade through conceptualization and implementation of Market Yard of National Importance (MNI), has submitted its report. It was headed by Manoj Rajan.
Jul 6 - Birth Anniversary of Syama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Jul 6 is also observed as World Zoonoses Day.
7th edition of Joint Indian Navy - US Navy Salvage and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) exercise SALVEX conducted at Kochi (Kerala).
As per Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2023 by UNESCAP -
India's score on global trade facilitation improved to 93.55% in 2023, Best in South Asia.
India scored perfect 100% score in four areas - Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation, and Paperless Trade. India also witnessed noticeable improvement in score for Women in Trade Facilitation component, from 66.7% in 2021 to 77.8% in 2023.
As per UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2023 -
Globally, Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 12% in 2022, to $1.3 trillion.
India received $49.35 Billion FDI in 2022, compared to $44.7 Billion received in 2021.
Netherlands won 2022–23 Men's FIH Pro League Hockey Title (their 2nd), with Great Britain as runner up and Belgium at 3rd place.
India's Harmanpreet Singh was Top scorer of tournament, with 18 goals.
Notably, Netherlands also won 2022–23 Women's FIH Pro League title, with Argentina as Runner-up & Australia at 3rd place.
International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH 2023) organized at Vigyan Bhawan (New Delhi), to bring together global scientific community to discuss emerging technologies in green hydrogen value chain.
July 7 is observed by UNESCO as World Kiswahili Day, proclaimed in 2021. Kiswahili is among most widely spoken languages in Africa and most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.
NTPC commissioned 660 MW capacity Unit-2 of Stage-I (3 x 660 MW) of Barh Super Thermal Power Project (Bihar), taking NTPC group's installed to 73024 MW.
Department of School Education & Literacy (Ministry of Education) released Performance Grading Index (PGI) for 2021-22 (called PGI 2.0), which assesses performance of school education system at State/UT level. PGI is being released since 2017-18.
PGI 2.0 classifies States/UTs into 10 grades, with highest achievable Grade being Daksh (score over 940), and lowest being Akanshi-3 (score up to 460). Their are no states in any of Top 5 grades (Daksh, Utkarsh, Atti Uttam, Uttam, Prachesta I).
Best ranked states/UTs are Chandigarh & Punjab (Prachesta-II). Lowest ranked states (Akanshi-III) are Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram.
Book Maya, Modi, Azad: Dalit Politics in the Time of Hindutva, authored by Sudha Pai and Sajjan Kumar has been released.
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.
Notable Points from PM Narendra Modi's visit to Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Rajasthan -
Uttar Pradesh -
Gorakhpur -
Attended centenary celebrations of historic Gita Press in Gorakhpur.
Laid foundation stone of Gorakhpur Railway Station redevelopment, at approx 500 crores cost.
Varanasi -
Launched Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Junction - Son Nagar line of Dedicated Freight Corridor, Built at cost 6760 crores, to facilitate faster movement of goods.
Telangana -
Laid foundation of Railway Manufacturing Unit (Kazipet) which will have enhanced Rolling Stock manufacturing capacity, and advanced tech facilities.
Rajasthan -
Launched greenfield expressway section of Amritsar - Jamnagar Economic Corridor, Spanning over 500 km in Rajasthan, built at cost 11125 crores.
Launched phase-I of Inter-State Transmission Line for Green Energy Corridor, worth 10950 Crores, which will integrate 6 GW of renewable power and strengthen transmission capacity between Northern and Western Region.
Laid foundation for redevelopment of Bikaner Railway station, at cost 450 Crores.
Book Colours of devotion : The Legendary Paintings and Textiles of the Vallabha Sampradaya 1500-1900, authored by Anita Bharat Shah has been released.
Gujarat govt announced doubling insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) for its citizens, from 5 lakh to 10 lakh.
Taiwan announced setting up a new representative office in Mumbai, as 3rd such office in India.
India and Taiwan do not maintain formal diplomatic ties, but the two sides opened representative offices in 1995, as Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in New Delhi and India Taipei Association in Taipei. 2nd office was set up by Taiwan in Chennai in 2012.
2023 Canada Open Badminton -
Men's singles - Lakshya Sen (India). He defeated Li Shifeng (China) in final.
Women's singles - Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)
Men's doubles - Denmark's Kim Astrup & Anders Skaarup Rasmussen
Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched its virtual branch named PNB Metaverse, which will enable customers to access bank's services virtually.
Notably, Union Bank of India was first to launch a banking metaverse in India, named Uni-verse.
India International Bank of Malaysia (IIBM) operationalised mechanism to settle India-Malaysia trade in Indian rupees, by opening a special Rupee Vostro account through its corresponding bank in India, which is Union Bank of India. Vostro accounts are used to make payments in domestic currency.
This is under RBI's guidelins issued in July 2022, to allow settlement of international trade in Indian currency.
July 10 is observed as National Fish Farmers Day, proclaimed by Government in 2001.
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.
Bilateral Japan-India Maritime Exercise 2023 (JIMEX 23) hosted by Indian Navy at Visakhapatnam coast.
General News / Events (Jul 1-10, 2023) -
PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated Sai Hira Global Convention Centre in Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh).
Greater Chennai City Police launched India's first Police Drone Unit, for aerial surveillance over vast areas and quick detection of criminal activities.
Home Minister Amit Shah launched Made in India Akshar River Cruise on Sabarmati Riverfront (Gujarat), to boost tourism.
Ports & Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation of Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal to be developed at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh (Assam), by bank of River Brahmaputra.
Also launched campaign to transform iconic 75 Lighthouses across India into Tourism Spots.
Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched 2nd edition of Social Trailblazer Program, organized jointly by LIC HFL & IRMA Ahmedabad, aimed at boosting social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Purvodaya Conclave held at Guwahati (Assam), showcasing work done by govt in Northeast during last 9 years.
Guinness World Record has been set for largest display of Lambani items (total 1755) during 3rd G20 Culture Working Group Meet in Hampi (Karnataka).
Annual Shravani Mela began at Baba Baidyanathdham temple in Deoghar (Jharkhand), held in holy Shravan month.
World Hindu Foundation will hold 3rd World Hindu Congress (WHC) in Bangkok (Thailand) in Nov 2023.
Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned from his post, amid inability to handle migration issues.
He will continue to serve as caretaker PM till a regular appointment is done.
Govt named K Rajaraman (telecom secretary) as new chairperson of GIFT City (Gujarat) based International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
India joined Champions Group of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG), which was set up by UN in March 2022, to address critical global issues pertaining to interlinked crises in food security, energy, and finance and to coordinate a global response.
