01st-2nd August, 2022

1. National Statistics Office (NSO) has released the ‘Working Paper on Compilation of Labour Indicators of Minimum Set of Gender Indicators’ to develop methodology for compiling three labour indicators.
2. Union Shipping Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and Minister of State for Shipping Shripad Naik inaugurated the Chabahar Day conference in Mumbai.
3. Indian Railways is developing its own super-fast train by increasing the speed of the locally made Vande Bharat Express in a phased way to match those running in European nations.
4. IIT-Madras has commissioned the Nilekani Centre at AI4Bharat to advance Indian language technology.
5. 1st All India District Legal Services Authority meet was held in Delhi.
6. Union Government has set up a task force, under the chairmanship of Dr V K Paul, NITI Aayog member (health), to monitor monkeypox situation in India.
7. Covid-19 vaccination platform Co-WIN will be repurposed for Universal Immunisation Program as well as blood donation.
8. Punjab government has signed an agreement for becoming a member of the Global Network called ‘Under2 Coalition’ to control global warming.
9. Chhattisgarh has launched the Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath (tour on chariot) to create awareness about the legal rights among women on the occasion of Hareli Tihaar Festival.
10. A school in Hyderabad has introduced the India’s first of its kind robot teacher named Eagle for students.
11. Sanjeevini (Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society — KSRLPS) and e-commerce firm Meesho have signed an MOU for the empowerment of 2,500 self-help groups (SHGs) in the state.
12. Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have signed an MoU for organizing the ‘Make in Odisha Conclave 2022’ in Nov-Dec 2022.
13. Assam govt has announced to give ₹18 extra to the beneficiaries of Orunodoi scheme for August to buy a National Flag or two under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign.
14. The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) have signed an MOU to further cooperation between the two organisations to promote the use of palm oil.
15. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, has launched the Minister’s dashboard for Animal Husbandry and Dairying in New Delhi.
16. Indian Air Force is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of ageing MiG-21 fighter jets in September, with the other three scheduled to be phased out over the next three years i.e., by 2025.
17. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has successfully delivered the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle-Medium (QRFV) to the Indian Army.
18. Point 5140 at Dras in Kargil has been named as ‘Gun Hill’ to commemorate the victory of Indian armed forces and pay tribute to the supreme sacrifice of the gunners in ‘Operation Vijay’ (1999 Kargil war).
19. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has received the Letter of Intent from the Services for the manufacture of 12 light utility helicopters (LUHs).
20. The 4th edition of India-Oman joint military exercise ‘AL NAJAH-IV’ will be conducted by the Armies at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan from August 1 to 13.
21. India’s Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, has met Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and other top civil and military leaders of Bhutan, for boosting strategic ties.
22. 3rd edition of bilateral army exercise VINBAX 2022 will be conducted between India and Vietnam on August 1-2 at Chandimandir Military Station, Chandigarh.
23. Andaman Nicobar Command and Airport Authority of India have signed an MOU to boost inter-island connectivity under RCS-Udan Scheme.
24. Scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed the world’s most durable hydrogen fuel cell.
25. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers created stamp-sized stickers – a wearable ultrasound medical device.
26. Google Maps has introduced the street view service in 10 cities of India namely Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nasik, Vadodara and Ahmed Nagar.
27. Kantar India’s annual Brand Footprint report has been released by London-based data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar Group.
28. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd., in association with com, has launched ‘OPD Add-on’ for customers to address their health & wellness needs.
29. Bandhan Bank has opened its first-ever currency chest in Deedargunj, Patna.
30. RBI has extended the timeline for payment aggregators to apply for license from September 30, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
31. RBI has imposed restrictions on the following cooperative banks in view of their deteriorating financial condition.
32. Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with State Bank of India (SBI) for acquiring 19.50% equity in HDFC Venture Capital (HVCL).
33. BOB Financial Solutions Limited has launched its credit card servicing mobile app, ‘bobcard’, in collaboration with US-based IBM, to give its customers a one-stop solution to manage their Bank of Baroda credit card services.
34. RBI has temporarily permitted merchants or their payment aggregators (PAs) involved in settlement of transactions where cardholders decide to enter the card details manually to save the Card-on-File (CoF) data for a maximum period of “Transaction Date + 4 days” or till the settlement date, whichever is earlier.
35. NTPC has announced to blend the hydrogen with piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic usage under its Kawas Gas blending project.
36. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a new facility for pensioners to submit their digital life certificate via a ‘face recognition facility’.
37. Ravi Kishan Takkar, former MD & CEO of UCO Bank, has been appointed as an Additional Director (Independent) on the Board of Directors of LIC Housing Finance Ltd.
38. Sanjay Arora has been appointed as the new Delhi Police Commissioner.
39. July 28 – Earth Overshoot Day
40. July 30 – World Day against Trafficking in Persons; Theme – “Use and Abuse of Technology”
41. Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, has conferred the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Awards to the banks and states for their contribution in effective implementation of the AIF scheme.
42. Jeremy Lalrinnunga has won gold in the men’s 67kg category weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the UK.
43. “Riding the De(mon)” book has been authored by Murali Raghavan.
44. “The Light We Carry” book has been authored by Michelle Obama.
45. “Journey of A Nation: 75 Years of Indian Economy” book has been authored by Sanjaya Baru.
46. Bill Russell (American basketball player) has passed away.
47. Cryptojacking is a type of cybercrime that involves the unauthorized use of people’s devices (computers, smartphones, tablets, or even servers) by cybercriminals to mine for cryptocurrency.

National News

1. National Statistics Office (NSO) has released the ‘Working Paper on Compilation of Labour Indicators of Minimum Set of Gender Indicators’ to develop methodology for compiling three labour indicators.
   • The proportion of employed people working part-time in 46-59 years age group at all India level was more than 10% between 2017-20 while in the age group of above 60 years, the proportion of employed persons working part-time was more than 15%.
   • Employment Rate of Employed Worker living in a household with no child under age three years, rose to 2% in FY20 from 58.37% in FY18 in the 26-49 years age group.
   • The proportion of employed persons who are employer in the above 15 age group, has been estimated at 1.91%, 2.17% and 2.02%, respectively for 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.
2. Union Shipping Minister Sarbanand Sonowal and Minister of State for Shipping Shripad Naik inaugurated the Chabahar Day conference in Mumbai.
   • Participants – Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan
   • The port will also be part of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) network connecting India.
   • INSTC is a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
   • INSTC was established in 2000 in Petersburg, by Iran, Russia and India for the purpose of promoting transportation cooperation among the Member States.

3. Indian Railways is developing its own super-fast train by increasing the speed of the locally made Vande Bharat Express in a phased way to match those running in European nations.
   • The railways plans to increase the speed of the new version of the Vande Bharat Express train to 180km per hour (kmph) this year from 160kmph.
   • The train is expected to run at speeds of 220kmph by 2025 and subsequently faster at 260kmph, on par with the speed of most European highspeed trains.
   • The above data was given by railways minister Ashwani Vaishnaw.
4. IIT-Madras has commissioned the Nilekani Centre at AI4Bharat to advance Indian language technology.
   • The centre is funded through a grant of ₹36 crore from Nilekani Philanthropies.
   • AI4Bharat was set up as an initiative of the institute to build open-source language AI for Indian languages.
5. 1st All India District Legal Services Authority meet was held in Delhi.
   • Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju and Prime Minister Modi attended the meet.
6. Union Government has set up a task force, under the chairmanship of Dr V K Paul, NITI Aayog member (health), to monitor monkeypox situation in India.
   • Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. Monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox.
   • World Health Organization has also declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency.
7. Covid-19 vaccination platform Co-WIN will be repurposed for Universal Immunisation Program as well as blood donation.
   • Besides India, Guyana has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India to use this platform for their vaccination program.
   • India and Guyana have signed an MOU for using the Co-WIN platform for vaccination purpose by the latter.

State News

1. Punjab government has signed an agreement for becoming a member of the Global Network called ‘Under2 Coalition’ to control global warming.
   • ‘Under2 Coalition’ was launched during the UNFCCC-COP 21, in line with the Paris Agreement, in 2015 to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions.
   • Now, Punjab has become a member of the largest network of 221 states of 43 countries.
2. Chhattisgarh has launched the Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath (tour on chariot) to create awareness about the legal rights among women on the occasion of Hareli Tihaar Festival.
3. A school in Hyderabad has introduced the India’s first of its kind robot teacher named Eagle for students.
   • The robot is capable of teaching students of grades 5 to 11, in the classroom along with the human teacher and also in a stand-alone mode.
   • It was introduced by the Indus Trust, which runs a network of Indus International Schools in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune, and Belagavi.
4. Sanjeevini (Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society — KSRLPS) and e-commerce firm Meesho have signed an MOU for the empowerment of 2,500 self-help groups (SHGs) in the state.
   • Punyakoti Dattu Yojana (cow adoption scheme) was launched in Belagavi for taking care of non-milch cattle and sick animals and other animals condemned by farmers, with the cooperation of the public.
   • The ‘Raitha Vidya Nidhi’ scholarship scheme was launched for the first time in the country. The scheme has benefited about 8.50 lakh students from farmers’ families last year and it would reach 9.80 lakh students this year.
   • Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai commemorated the completion of one year of his government.
5. Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha (IPICOL) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have signed an MoU for organizing the ‘Make in Odisha Conclave 2022’ in Nov-Dec 2022.
6. Assam govt has announced to give ₹18 extra to the beneficiaries of Orunodoi scheme for August to buy a National Flag or two under the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign.
   • Under the Orunodoi scheme, the Assam government has been transferring ₹1,000 as monetary benefit to the bank accounts of economically weak women on the 10th of every month.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) have signed an MOU to further cooperation between the two organisations to promote the use of palm oil.
2. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, has launched the Minister’s dashboard for Animal Husbandry and Dairying in New Delhi.
   • This dashboard will provide information about the
     • Livestock Health and Disease Control Program (LHDCP)
     • National Livestock Mission (NLM)
     • Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)
     • National Program for Dairy Development Fund (NPDD)
     • Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM)
     • Supporting Dairy Co-operatives and Farmer Producer Organizations (SDCFPO)
     • Dairy processing & Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)

Defence News

1. Indian Air Force is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of ageing MiG-21 fighter jets in September, with the other three scheduled to be phased out over the next three years i.e., by 2025.
   • The squadron being retired in two months is the Srinagar-based No. 51 squadron, which is also known as “Sword Arms”.
   • The IAF will induct different variants of Tejas light combat aircraft to replace the MiG-21s.
2. Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has successfully delivered the indigenously developed Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle-Medium (QRFV) to the Indian Army.
   • Purpose – to boost border surveillance
   • TASL has become India’s first private sector company to produce and deliver wheeled armoured combat-ready vehicles for the Indian armed forces in April this year.
3. Point 5140 at Dras in Kargil has been named as ‘Gun Hill’ to commemorate the victory of Indian armed forces and pay tribute to the supreme sacrifice of the gunners in ‘Operation Vijay’ (1999 Kargil war).
4. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has received the Letter of Intent from the Services for the manufacture of 12 light utility helicopters (LUHs).
5. The 4th edition of India-Oman joint military exercise ‘AL NAJAH-IV’ will be conducted by the Armies at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan from August 1 to 13.
6. India’s Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande, has met Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and other top civil and military leaders of Bhutan, for boosting strategic ties.
7. 3rd edition of bilateral army exercise VINBAX 2022 will be conducted between India and Vietnam on August 1-2 at Chandimandir Military Station, Chandigarh.
   • Theme of the exercise – employment and deployment of an Engineer Company and a Medical Team under United Nations Contingent for Peacekeeping Operations

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Andaman Nicobar Command and Airport Authority of India have signed an MOU to boost inter-island connectivity under RCS-Udan Scheme.
   • Under the MOU, naval airfields at Shibpur (in Diglipur) in North Andaman and in Campbell Bay will be utilized for civil operations to connect Port Blair directly to Diglipur and Campbell Bay.

International News

1. Scientists at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed the world’s most durable hydrogen fuel cell.
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers created stamp-sized stickers – a wearable ultrasound medical device.
   • The stamp-sized sticker can provide live, high-resolution internal ultrasound imaging for 48 hours.

Banking and Economy

1. Google Maps has introduced the street view service in 10 cities of India namely Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Nasik, Vadodara and Ahmed Nagar.
   • The service has been launched in association with two Hyderabad-based companies – Genesys International and Tech Mahindra.
2. Kantar India’s annual Brand Footprint report has been released by London-based data analytics and brand consulting company Kantar Group.
   • Top FMCG brand in India – Parle, followed by Amul, Britannia, Clinic Plus, and Tata Consumer products
   • Parle has been ranked at the first position for a 10th year in a row.
   • 7 of the top 10 brands are owned by homegrown companies.
3. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd., in association with com, has launched ‘OPD Add-on’ for customers to address their health & wellness needs.
   • This product can be added to the existing indemnity plans to provide unlimited medical consultation at an affordable price.
   • The OPD Add-on covers aims at solving customer problems by providing hassle-free physical and virtual consultation.
4. Bandhan Bank has opened its first-ever currency chest in Deedargunj, Patna.
   • RBI’s Committee on Currency Movement (CCM), chaired by Shri D.K. Mohanty, has submitted its recommendations for ensuring the security of treasure in transit.
5. RBI has extended the timeline for payment aggregators to apply for license from September 30, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
   • The minimum net worth criterion for payment aggregators should be of ₹15 crores by March 31, 2021.
   • The timeline of March 31, 2023 for achieving the net worth of ₹25 crores shall, however, remain.
6. RBI has imposed restrictions on the following cooperative banks in view of their deteriorating financial condition.
   • Lucknow Urban Co-operative Bank
   • Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Sitapur
   • Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank, Basmatnagar
   • Durga Co-operative Urban Bank, Vijayawada
   • The Karmala Urban Co-operative Bank, Solapur
7. Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with State Bank of India (SBI) for acquiring 19.50% equity in HDFC Venture Capital (HVCL).
   • HDFC holds 80.50% of the paid-up equity share capital of HVCL, a subsidiary of the corporation.
8. BOB Financial Solutions Limited has launched its credit card servicing mobile app, ‘bobcard’, in collaboration with US-based IBM, to give its customers a one-stop solution to manage their Bank of Baroda credit card services.
9. RBI has temporarily permitted merchants or their payment aggregators (PAs) involved in settlement of transactions where cardholders decide to enter the card details manually to save the Card-on-File (CoF) data for a maximum period of “Transaction Date + 4 days” or till the settlement date, whichever is earlier.
   • For handling other post-transaction activities, acquiring banks can continue to store CoF data (customer card credentials) until January 31, 2023.
   • However, the Restriction on Storage of Actual Card Data (CoF) – all entities, except card issuers and card networks, shall remove the CoF data before October 1, 2022.
10. NTPC has announced to blend the hydrogen with piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic usage under its Kawas Gas blending project.
    • This is first kind of project in the country which would blend hydrogen with PNG.
    • Initially, 5% hydrogen of the total gas supply will be blended which will be gradually increased to 20%.
    • This will help NTPC in mitigating 200 kg of carbon generation every year.
    • This blended fuel will be supplied at houses in Kawas, Hazira, Gujarat.
11. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has introduced a new facility for pensioners to submit their digital life certificate via a ‘face recognition facility’.

Appointments

1. Ravi Kishan Takkar, former MD & CEO of UCO Bank, has been appointed as an Additional Director (Independent) on the Board of Directors of LIC Housing Finance Ltd.
   • Chair of LIC – MR Kumar
   • MD & CEO of LIC Housing Finance Ltd. – Shri Y Viswanatha Gowd
2. Sanjay Arora has been appointed as the new Delhi Police Commissioner.

Important Days

1. July 28 – Earth Overshoot Day
   • Formula to calculate the Earth Overshoot Day = Earth’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365
2. July 30 – World Day against Trafficking in Persons; Theme – “Use and Abuse of Technology”

Awards

1. Minister of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, has conferred the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Awards to the banks and states for their contribution in effective implementation of the AIF scheme.
   • AIF scheme was launched in 2020 to develop post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.
   • Under the scheme, a loan of up to Rs 2 crores is given at an interest subvention of 3%.
   • To effectively disburse loans under the AIF scheme, NOBOL (Nationwide One Branch One Loan) Campaign was organized from 15th July to 14th Aug 2022. The campaign aims to disburse Rs 4000 crores during its tenure.

• NABARD Consultancy Services, the Knowledge Partner for this Scheme, was honoured for the laudable contribution in carrying forward the Scheme.
• 13,700 projects, costing investment of around Rs.17,500 crore with a sanction of Rs 10,131 crore loans, have been sanctioned as of July 30, 2022.
• On an average 30 agriculture infrastructure projects per day are being sanctioned under the scheme all over the country.

Sports

1. Jeremy Lalrinnunga has won gold in the men’s 67kg category weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the UK.

Miscellaneous

1. “Riding the De(mon)” book has been authored by Murali Raghavan.
2. “The Light We Carry” book has been authored by Michelle Obama.
3. “Journey of A Nation: 75 Years of Indian Economy” book has been authored by Sanjaya Baru.
4. Bill Russell (American basketball player) has passed away.
5. Cryptojacking is a type of cybercrime that involves the unauthorized use of people’s devices (computers, smartphones, tablets, or even servers) by cybercriminals to mine for cryptocurrency.

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