07th-08th July, 2022

1. Ministry of Science & Technology has inaugurated “Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation” (aka TiHAN) in IIT- Hyderabad.
2. Greenko Group has signed an agreement with IIT-Hyderabad to launch the India’s first dedicated school for sustainable science and technology.
3. India and Australia have partnered for the exploration and development of critical minerals and associated supply chains.
4. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has developed a chipset named as ARYABHAT-1, which requires less power than the digital chips found in most electronic devices.
5. Hariyali Mahotsav was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change at Talkatora Stadium, in New Delhi.
6. Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam (Higher Education Summit) was organized at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
7. Russian nuclear major Rosatom State Corporation has signed an agreement to supply thermocouples for four power units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu.
8. Rajasthan govt has signed an MOU with NTPC to establish a 10 GW Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park in the state.
9. Tamil Nadu has organized the “Investors First Port of Call – Investors’ Conclave” – the largest investor conclave so far.
10. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an Operation & Management (O&M) agreement for operationalization and maintenance of five airports owned by the Uttar Pradesh govt for a period of 30 years.
11. Six States — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana — have signed an Inter-State Declaration of Intent to collaborate on combating human trafficking.
12. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (a Mini Ratna Defence PSU) has signed a contract with the Government of West Bengal for the design and construction of the next-generation electric ferry for transport sector in the state.
13. Kerala’s Forest and Wildlife Department has signed an agreement with the South Indian Bank to enable digital collection of payments at eco-tourism centres, Vanasree shops, mobile Vanasree units and eco-shops across the State.
14. Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to connect its One District One Product (ODOP) mart with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.
15. Rajasthan government will introduce Right to Health Bill — the first of its kind in India — in the State Assembly.
16. Delhi will host its first ever government-backed shopping festival from January 28 to February 26, 2023.
17. India’s first fully solar powered dairy plant will be developed at Ernakulam, Kerala.
18. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the four-day ‘Uttar Pradesh Aam (Mango) Mahotsav-2022’ at Awadh Shilp Gram, Lucknow.
19. Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE) has developed an ‘Artificial Intelligence-based Change Detection Software’ to automatically detect unauthorised constructions & encroachments on the defence land using Satellite Imagery.
20. Indian Navy has commissioned the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 324 at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.
21. India and Armenia have signed an MOU for facilitating High Impact Community Development Projects in Armenia with financial and technical assistance from India.
22. UN Ocean Conference 2022 at Lisbon (Portugal) highlights –
23. All the 30 members of NATO have signed the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, allowing them to become a part of this alliance.
24. Highlights of the G7 Summit 2022 at Germany –
25. Uganda has announced the discovery of a deposit of 31 million tonnes of gold ore, with extractable pure gold estimated to gross 320,000 tonnes worth over $12.8 trillion.
26. Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has released the first-ever “State Ranking Index for NFSA”.
27. European Intelligence Unit (EUI) has released the Global Liveability Index 2022.
28. RBI has imposed penalties of about Rs 1 crore each on Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
29. Edelweiss General Insurance has launched Switch – India’s first on-demand comprehensive motor insurance product, under the IRDAI’s Sandbox initiative.
30. SBI General Insurance has launched the Cyber VaultEdge insurance plan, a comprehensive cyber insurance cover for individuals that provides protection against financial losses arising from cyber risks and attacks.
31. RBI has released new guidelines under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007.
32. Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd (STFC) has received approval from its equity shareholders and creditors for its merger with Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF).
33. Google has announced to launch of Startup School India (SSI) as part of the Google for Startups initiative to provide learning opportunities to the startups from the smaller cities.
34. RBI has temporarily increased the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) for companies from $750 million to $1.5 billion till December 31, 2022.
35. Tejas Networks has acquired 65% stake in Saankhya Labs for Rs 276.24 crore.
36. Insecticides (India) Ltd has appointed Ajay Devgn as its brand ambassador.
37. Aviva India Life Insurance has appointed Asit Rath as its new MD and CEO of the company.
38. Garmin India has appointed Kaustubh Radkar (Indian triathlete) as the brand ambassador of Garmin’s fitness segment.
39. India’s ​Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian has been appointed as the Force Commander in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
40. July 6 – World Zoonoses Day
41. July 7 – World Kiswahili Day (1st edition in 2022); Theme – Kiswahili for peace and prosperity
42. 8^th edition of Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women has been released.
43. Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has won the 2022 Fields Medal, which is also known as the Nobel Prize in Mathematics.
44. The Polish government has honoured the maharajas of Jamnagar and Kolhapur and others who sheltered Polish refugees fleeing the Soviet Union invasion of Poland during World War II.
45. Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in public administration has been established by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.
46. Alfiya Pathan and Gitika have won gold medals at the inaugural edition of the Elorda Boxing Cup in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
47. Tarun Majumdar (Bengali film director) has passed away.
48. Freedom fighter Gopinathan Nair has passed away at the age of 100.
49. Marmolada Glacier in northern part of Italian Alps has collapsed.

National News

1. Ministry of Science & Technology has inaugurated “Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation” (aka TiHAN) in IIT- Hyderabad.
   • It is India’s first “Autonomous Navigation” facility.
   • It is a testbed for testing the autonomous navigation technologies (both aerial and terrestrial).
2. Greenko Group has signed an agreement with IIT-Hyderabad to launch the India’s first dedicated school for sustainable science and technology.
   • The Greenko School of Sustainable Science and Technology (GSSST) will help plug the gaps in research, education and skills in the sustainable development space.
   • It will induct students for MTech and Ph.D. programmes in sustainable science and technology.
   • Greenko is working in consultation with the Ministry of Education, AICTE, NCERT, and National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET).
3. India and Australia have partnered for the exploration and development of critical minerals and associated supply chains.
   • Australia would commit A$5.8 million to the three-year India-Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
   • An MoU was signed between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd, and the Critical Minerals Facilitation Office (CMFO), Australia, to ensure reliable supplies of Critical and Strategic Minerals to India.
4. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has developed a chipset named as ARYABHAT-1, which requires less power than the digital chips found in most electronic devices.
   • This chipset is a part of the design framework developed by IISc to build next-generation analog computing chipsets that could be faster and require less power than the digital chips found in most electronic devices.
   • ARYABHAT-1 stands for Analog Reconfigurable Technology And Bias-scalable Hardware for AI Tasks.
   • It has been designed by Pratik Kumar (Ph.D. student at IISc).
5. Hariyali Mahotsav was organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change at Talkatora Stadium, in New Delhi.
6. Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam (Higher Education Summit) was organized at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
   • It is one of the biggest congregation on higher education post notification of the National Education Policy 2020.
   • “Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education” was adopted.
7. Russian nuclear major Rosatom State Corporation has signed an agreement to supply thermocouples for four power units of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu.

State News

1. Rajasthan govt has signed an MOU with NTPC to establish a 10 GW Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Power Park in the state.
   • This will help NTPC in achieving the target of 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032.
2. Tamil Nadu has organized the “Investors First Port of Call – Investors’ Conclave” – the largest investor conclave so far.
   • 60 MOUs – with an investment of Rs 1.25 lakh crore and job prospects for 75,000 people – were signed at the Conclave.
   • The state govt has also launched the TN PitchFest, a platform for startups.
3. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an Operation & Management (O&M) agreement for operationalization and maintenance of five airports owned by the Uttar Pradesh govt for a period of 30 years.
   • These five airports are Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Muirpur & Shravasti.
   • This is the first time AAI is entering into an O&M Agreement with the state government for operationalisation of state government-owned airports.
4. Six States — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana — have signed an Inter-State Declaration of Intent to collaborate on combating human trafficking.
5. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (a Mini Ratna Defence PSU) has signed a contract with the Government of West Bengal for the design and construction of the next-generation electric ferry for transport sector in the state.
6. Kerala’s Forest and Wildlife Department has signed an agreement with the South Indian Bank to enable digital collection of payments at eco-tourism centres, Vanasree shops, mobile Vanasree units and eco-shops across the State.
   • The Forest Department has set up Vanasree shops and units for selling the forest products and uplifting the living standards of the tribals working in the area.
7. Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in the country to connect its One District One Product (ODOP) mart with the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform.
   • With the onboarding of com, the ODOP products will be displayed on all e-commerce portals and apps that are associated with ONDC.
8. Rajasthan government will introduce Right to Health Bill — the first of its kind in India — in the State Assembly.
   • The bill aims to commit to quality and affordable health care services through government and private health care providers.
9. Delhi will host its first ever government-backed shopping festival from January 28 to February 26, 2023.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. India’s first fully solar powered dairy plant will be developed at Ernakulam, Kerala.
2. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the four-day ‘Uttar Pradesh Aam (Mango) Mahotsav-2022’ at Awadh Shilp Gram, Lucknow.

Defence News

1. Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE) has developed an ‘Artificial Intelligence-based Change Detection Software’ to automatically detect unauthorised constructions & encroachments on the defence land using Satellite Imagery.
   • The AI-based software has been developed by Centre of Excellence on Satellite & Unmanned Remote Vehicle Initiative (CoE-SURVEI) established by DGDE at National Institute of Defence Estates Management, Meerut Cantonment in Uttar Pradesh.
   • Bhabha Atomic Research Centre was the knowledge partner of CoE-SURVEI in the development of this system.
   • Presently, the software uses National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) Cartosat-3 imagery.
2. Indian Navy has commissioned the Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 324 at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.
   • It is the first naval squadron to operate advanced light helicopter (ALH) MK III (MR) helicopters – also known as ‘Dhruv’ helicopters – on the Eastern Seaboard.
   • The Indian Navy has nicknamed INAS 324 after ‘Kestrels’, the birds of prey that have good sensory capabilities.
   • INAS 324 will perform integral maritime reconnaissance (MR) and search and rescue (SAR) operations.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. India and Armenia have signed an MOU for facilitating High Impact Community Development Projects in Armenia with financial and technical assistance from India.
   • The MoU was signed at the 8th India-Armenia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC) held in Yerevan (Capital of Armenia).
   • Prior to this, the 7th IGC was held in 2016.

International News

1. UN Ocean Conference 2022 at Lisbon (Portugal) highlights –
   • UNESCO launched the “State of the Ocean Report 2022: Pilot Edition”, which highlights the challenges faced by the oceans.
   • “Blue Deal” was signed to enable the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth.
   • India’s Minister of S&T and Earth Sciences, Jitender Singh, held a bilateral meeting with the Environment Minister of Norway, Mr Espen Barth Eide.
2. All the 30 members of NATO have signed the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, allowing them to become a part of this alliance.
   • The accession of these countries was discussed at NATO Summit 2022 at Madrid, Spain.
3. Highlights of the G7 Summit 2022 at Germany –
   • Launch of Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment initiative worth $600 billion. The investment will be mobilised by 2027.
   • ‘2022 Resilient Democracies Statement’ was adopted by G7, India, Argentina, Indonesia, Senegal and South Africa to protect the freedom of expression.
   • Gifts of PM Modi to leaders of G7 and partner countries –
     • US President Joe Biden: Gulabi Meenakari, a GI-tagged art form of Varanasi, cufflink set & brooch
     • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: Metal marodi-carving matka, a masterpiece from Moradabad
     • French President Emmanuel Macron: ‘ittar’ in zardozi box, from Lucknow
     • Canada PM Justin Trudeau: hand-knotted silk carpet, from Kashmir
     • UK PM Boris Johnson: BoJo tea set, a handcrafted platinum-painted tea set
     • Italy PM Mario Draghi: marble inlay table top from Agra
     • Japanese PM Fumio Kishida: black pottery pieces, from Nizamabad, UP
     • Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández: Nandi-themed Dokra Art from Chhattisgarh
     • Senegal President Macky Sall: Moonj baskets and cotton durries, from Prayagraj, Amethi, and Sultanpur
     • South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa: Dokra Art with a Ramayana theme from Chhattisgarh
     • Indonesia President Joko Widodo: lacquerware “Ram Durbar”
4. Uganda has announced the discovery of a deposit of 31 million tonnes of gold ore, with extractable pure gold estimated to gross 320,000 tonnes worth over $12.8 trillion.

Reports and Indices

1. Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has released the first-ever “State Ranking Index for NFSA”.
   • Purpose – to rank states and UTs based on their implementation of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013
   • Parameters of ranking – NFSA: Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act (45%), Delivery platform (Supply chain) (50%), Nutrition initiatives (5%)
     • Delivery platform (Supply chain) includes a separate ranking for UTs having DBT (cash transfer) mode

• Categories – General Category States & UTs and Special Category States & UTs (North Eastern states, Himalayan states, and the Island Regions)
• Rankings –

Pillar-wise ranking –

2. European Intelligence Unit (EUI) has released the Global Liveability Index 2022.
   • Total – 173 cities
   • Parameters – stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure
   • Top – Vienna
   • Indian cities –
     • Delhi (140)
     • Mumbai (141)
     • Chennai (142)
     • Ahmedabad (143)
     • Bangalore (146)
   • Bottom – Damascus

Banking and Economy

1. RBI has imposed penalties of about Rs 1 crore each on Kotak Mahindra Bank and IndusInd Bank for deficiencies in regulatory compliance.
   • Besides, the RBI has also imposed penalties on four co-operative banks – Nav Jeevan Co-operative Bank (Maharashtra), Balangir District Central Cooperative Bank Limited (Odisha), Dhakuria Cooperative Bank Ltd (Kolkata), and The Palani Co-operative Urban Bank Limited (Tamil Nadu).
     • The penalty ranges between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.
   • Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) will pay the eligible depositors of Shankarrao Pujari Nutan Sahakari Bank (Maharashtra), and Harihareshwar Sahakari Bank (Maharashtra).
     • The deposit insurance limit is Rs 5 lakh per deposit per bank.
2. Edelweiss General Insurance has launched Switch – India’s first on-demand comprehensive motor insurance product, under the IRDAI’s Sandbox initiative.
   • Switch is a fully digital, mobile-based motor policy that detects motion and automatically activates insurance when the vehicle is driven, making it convenient and hassle-free for customers.
3. SBI General Insurance has launched the Cyber VaultEdge insurance plan, a comprehensive cyber insurance cover for individuals that provides protection against financial losses arising from cyber risks and attacks.
4. RBI has released new guidelines under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act of 2007.
   • Now, the non-bank payment system operators (fintech or NBFCs) will require prior approval of the RBI before any takeover or acquisition.
   • They would also require prior approval of the RBI for sale or transfer of payment activity to an entity not authorised for undertaking such any payment activity.
   • The non-bank PSOs shall inform the RBI within 15 calendar days in the following cases: change in management or directors and sale or transfer of payment activity to an entity authorised for undertaking similar activity.
5. Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd (STFC) has received approval from its equity shareholders and creditors for its merger with Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF).
6. Google has announced to launch of Startup School India (SSI) as part of the Google for Startups initiative to provide learning opportunities to the startups from the smaller cities.
   • Google aims to reach out to at least 10,000 startups with this programme.
7. RBI has temporarily increased the External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) for companies from $750 million to $1.5 billion till December 31, 2022.
   • Purpose – to increase the forex inflow
8. Tejas Networks has acquired 62.65% stake in Saankhya Labs for Rs 276.24 crore.
   • Saankhya is now a subsidiary of Tejas Networks.

Appointments

1. Insecticides (India) Ltd has appointed Ajay Devgn as its brand ambassador.
2. Aviva India Life Insurance has appointed Asit Rath as its new MD and CEO of the company.
3. Garmin India has appointed Kaustubh Radkar (Indian triathlete) as the brand ambassador of Garmin’s fitness segment.
4. India’s ​Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian has been appointed as the Force Commander in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
   • The appointment was made by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Important Days

1. July 6 – World Zoonoses Day
2. July 7 – World Kiswahili Day (1st edition in 2022); Theme – Kiswahili for peace and prosperity
   • Kiswahili is the only African language that is an official language of the African Union. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.

Awards

1. 8th edition of Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women has been released.
   • Top – Diane Hendricks (net worth: $12.2 billions)
   • Indian-American – Jayshree Ullal (CEO of Arista Networks) at 15th rank
     • Total 5 Indian-American women are on the list.
     • Neerja Sethi (co-founder of IT consulting and outsourcing firm Syntel), Neha Narkhede (cofounder of cloud company Confluent), Indra Nooyi (former chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo), Reshma Shetty (cofounder of Gingko Bioworks) are the other women.
2. Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska has won the 2022 Fields Medal, which is also known as the Nobel Prize in Mathematics.
   • Viazovska is the chair of Number Theory at EPFL in Switzerland.
   • She is the second female Fields Medallist, after the Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014.
   • Total 4 people have won this award in 2022.
     • Other winners – French mathematician Hugo Duminil-Copin; Korean-American June Huh; and Britisher James Maynard
   • The winners were announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Helsinki, Finland.
   About the Award –
   • Given by International Mathematical Union (IMU), the Fields Medal is awarded every four years to one or more mathematicians under the age of 40.
   • So far, 60 people have been given this award. Out of them, only Akshay Venkatesh (of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton) and Manjul Bhargava (of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University) are of Indian-origin.
3. The Polish government has honoured the maharajas of Jamnagar and Kolhapur and others who sheltered Polish refugees fleeing the Soviet Union invasion of Poland during World War II.
   • Indian Council for Cultural Relations president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, who led the Indian delegation to Warsaw (capital of Poland).
4. Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in public administration has been established by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.
   • The announcement was made by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh.
   • Dr Jitendra Singh is also the chairman of IIPA.

Sports

1. Alfiya Pathan and Gitika have won gold medals at the inaugural edition of the Elorda Boxing Cup in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
   • Two other female boxers – Kalaivani Srinivasan and Jamuna Boro – won silver medals.
   • India has won a total of 14 medals (2 gold, 2 silver and 10 bronze).

Miscellaneous

1. Tarun Majumdar (Bengali film director) has passed away.
2. Freedom fighter Gopinathan Nair has passed away at the age of 100.
3. Marmolada Glacier in northern part of Italian Alps has collapsed.
   • The Glacier is situated on the Marmolada Mountain.

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