06th July, 2024

1. Belarus officially joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as 10th member
2. ADB, ENGIE group partner to build 400 MW solar plant in Gujarat
3. LIC launches ‘Jeevan Samarth
4. ICICI Lombard launches AI-powered health insurance plan ‘Elevate’
5. Indiabulls Housing Finance’s changed it’s name to Sammaan Capital
6. Indian online food delivery platform Swiggy has launched ‘Eatlists’, a ‘global-first’ feature in food delivery aimed at revolutionizing how users discover and share food recommendations
7. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently imposed a penalty of ₹1.31 crore on PNB
8. Highlights of mercer Report
9. India to Trial US-Made Stryker Combat Vehicles in Ladakh and Deserts
10. India’s indigenous defense production reached a remarkable milestone in 2023-24, with a record-high value of ₹1.26 lakh crore (approximately $15.1 billion).
11. Highlights of U17/U23 Asian wrestling championship 2024
12. Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic gold medalist in javelin throw (2020 Tokyo Olympics), will lead the 28-member Indian athletics squad at the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics.
13. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has partnered with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
14. Hemant Soren reappointed as 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand
15. RACHEL REEVES BECOMES UK’S FIRST WOMAN FM
16. Keir Starmer has officially become Britain’s new prime minister after his Labour Party won a decisive victory.

International News

1. Belarus officially joins Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as 10th member
• What: The Republic of Belarus officially became the 10th permanent member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• About 24th SCO-CHS:
• The Republic of Kazakhstan, the 2024 Chair of the SCO, hosted the 24th SCO-CHS Summit in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan from 3rd to 4th July, 2024.
• Theme: “Strengthening Multilateral Dialogue- Striving for Sustainable Peace and Development”.
• This marks the 4th SCO Summit hosted by Kazakhstan. Earlier, Kazakhstan hosted the summit in 2005, 2011 and 2017.
• India was represented by External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar
• China assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024- 2025. Qingdao will be appointed the SCO’s tourism and cultural capital for 2024-2025.
• India related:
• On July 2023, India hosted the 23rd SCO-CHS summit in a virtual format.
• During the summit, Iran became the 9th member of SCO.

Source: Financial Express

Banking and Economy

1. ADB, ENGIE group partner to build 400 MW solar plant in Gujarat
• What: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a long-term local currency loan agreement with France-based ENGIE Group, to construct and operate a 400 MegaWatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant in
• Tell me more:
• Venue: Surendranagar district in Gujarat
• Capacity: 805 GigaWatt-hours (GWh) solar energy per year over the next 25 years.
• This will help to avoid nearly 6.62 lakh tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2).
• Budget: Indian Rupee (INR) 14.6 billion (approximately USD 176 million)
• ADB and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide financial support of INR 7.3 billion for the project
• As per the arrangement, the solar panels will be constructed indigenously.
• Note: Also in 2020, ADB signed a long-term loan agreement with ENGIE group worth Rs 466 crore, to construct 200 MW of solar power plant at Raghanesda Solar Park, Gujarat.

Source: The Print

2. LIC launches ‘Jeevan Samarth
• What: The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched ‘Jeevan Samarth’, an agency transformation project, to future-proof its 14 lakhs (1.4 million) agents workforce to meet evolving customer needs.
• To achieve this, LIC has partnered with A. T. Kearney, a global strategy consulting firm, to undertake the transformation project by reviewing the LIC’s existing agency framework

Source: Hans India

3. ICICI Lombard launches AI-powered health insurance plan ‘Elevate’
• What: ICICI Lombard has introduced a AI health insurance product called “Elevate” which is powered by AI.
• This plan offers personalized solutions for dynamic lifestyles and medical emergencies.

Source: ICICI

4. Indiabulls Housing Finance’s changed it’s name to Sammaan Capital
• What: Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd has officially changed its name to Sammaan Capital Ltd.
• This transformation reflects a shift from being a promoter-led and promoter-driven lender to a board-run and diversely-held financial institution.
• The change was accompanied by the receipt of a new Certificate of Registration as an NBFC-ICC (Non-Banking Financial Company – Investment and Credit Company) from the RBI.

Source: Business Line

5. Swiggy unveils ‘Eatlists’ to curate favorite dishes on app
• What: Indian online food delivery platform Swiggy has launched ‘Eatlists’, a ‘global-first’ feature in food delivery aimed at revolutionizing how users discover and share food recommendations.
• The company said that similar to how people create and share music playlists, the Eatlists feature will allow food enthusiasts to compile and share their favorite dishes directly within the Swiggy app.

Source: Business Standard

6. PNB, Yes Bank faces RBI penalty for violating norms
• What: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently imposed a penalty of ₹1.31 crore.
• This penalty was imposed due to non-compliance with RBI directions related to loans and Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Source: Economic Times

Reports and Indices

1. Highlights of mercer Report
• What: Recently the Mercer has released it’s “Cost of Living City Ranking 2024” report.
• Highlights:
• Cities surveyed: 226 cities worldwide to provide information on global mobility.
• It covered over 200 expense items such as: housing, transportation, food, clothing.
• It used New York City as the base city and the currency was maintained in US dollars to maintain consistency.
• Reasons for cost rise: Inflation and exchange rate fluctuations, increased economic and geopolitical volatility and rising conflicts
• The report outlined factors like: expensive housing, high transportation costs, and expensive goods and services have mainly contributed for high living costs.
• The report further classified cities in different regions: Europe, Middle-East, North America, South America, Africa region, Pacific region, among others.
• Among the top 10 most expensive cities in the world, 50% are from Western Europe, with 4 cities such as: Zurich (3rd), Geneva (4th), Basel (5th) and Bern (6th) are from Switzerland only.
• Tell me more (Major findings)
• Top five costliest cities globally

• 1st, 2nd and 3rd spot have retained there positions for 2nd consecutive year
• Top five cheapest cities in India

• India specific
• Top five costliest cities in India

• Total 7 Indian cities featured in the Mercer’s Cost of Living City Ranking 2024.
• Mimbai is up by 11spots compared to 2023.
• Delhi has improved its ranking by 4 places.
• Chennai and Bengaluru are the only two Indian cities whose rank has dropped by 5 places and 6 places respectively.
• Hyderabad ranked at 202nd, retained its position since last year.
• Pune (205th) saw an improvement in its ranking by 8 places and Kolkata up by 4 places, ranked at 207th in the list.

Source: Mercer

Defence News

1. India to Trial US-Made Stryker Combat Vehicles in Ladakh and Deserts
• What: India is set to conduct trials for US-made Stryker armored infantry combat vehicles in Ladakh and desert terrains.
• The initiative aims to enhance India’s mechanized infantry capabilities by replacing aging BMP-2 vehicles with advanced Stryker vehicles.

Source: Financial Express

2. Annual defense production hits a record high of approx. Rs 1.27 lakh crore in FY 2023-24
• What: India’s indigenous defense production reached a remarkable milestone in 2023-24, with a record-high value of ₹1.26 lakh crore (approximately $15.1 billion).
• There is a growth of 16.7% over the defence production of the previous financial year.
• The value of defence production in FY 2022-23 was Rs 1,08,684 crore.
• Why: This growth is led by government policies and self-reliance initiatives.
• Tell me more:
• The data includes production from Defence Public Sector undertakings (DPSUs), other PSUs manufacturing defence items and private companies.
• Of the total value of production (VoP) in 2023-24, about 79.2% has been contributed by DPSUs/other PSUs and 20.8% by the private sector.
• It may be recalled that defence exports touched a record-high of Rs 21,083 crore in FY 2023-24, reflecting a growth of 32.5% over the last fiscal when the figure was Rs 15,920 crore
• In the last five years (since 2019-20), the value of defence production has been increasing steadily, and grown by over 60%.

Source: PIB 

Sports

1. Highlights of U17/U23 Asian wrestling championship 2024
• What: The Under-17 (U-17)/ Under -23 (U-23) Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 was held in June 2024 in Amman, Jordan.
• The Indian Wrestlers secured 22 medals (8 gold, 5 silver, and 9 bronze) in the Under-17 (U- 17) Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 and 23 medals (9 Gold, 10 Silver and 4 Bronze) in the Under -23 (U-23) Asian Wrestling Championships 2024 in Amman, Jordan.
• The championship was organised by the United World Wrestling (UWW), the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, both for Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle wrestling.

Source: UWW

2. Neeraj Chopra to lead Olympic Squad
• What: Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic gold medalist in javelin throw (2020 Tokyo Olympics), will lead the 28-member Indian athletics squad at the opening ceremony of Paris Olympics.
• Neeraj Chopra made history three years ago by becoming the first Indian track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal.

Source: Hindustan Times

Memorandum of understanding

1. DPIIT signs MoU with NCAER for development of framework assessment of logistics cost
• What: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has partnered with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
• Why: To develop a detailed framework for assessing logistics costs in India.
• Tell me more:
• As part of this collaboration, they will conduct a comprehensive study to assess logistics costs for the year 2023-24.
• This initiative aims to enhance data-based evaluation of logistics costs and contribute to the logistics sector’s growth in India.

Source: Economic Times

Appointments

1. Hemant Soren reappointed as 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand
• What: Hemant Soren has returned to the position of Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time.
• He will be succeding Champai Soren as CM.

Source: Live Mint

2. Rachel Reeves Becomes UK’s First Woman Finance Minister
• What: Rachel Reeves has made history by becoming the first woman to hold the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer or the Finance Minister of Britain.
• She has been appointed following her Labour Party’s landslide election victory.

Source: Outlook

• Keir Starmer became Britain’s new prime minister
• What: Keir Starmer has officially become Britain’s new prime minister after his Labour Party won a decisive victory.
• He will be succeeding Rishi Sunak as the Prime Minister.

Source: CNBC TV18

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