13th July, 2023

1. US Navy has signed a 5-year master shipyard repair agreement (MSRA) with L&T for Voyage repairs.
2. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has inaugurated Product Design Centre (PDC) set up at Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata.
3. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has issued an expression of interest (EoI) for transfer of technology of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle(SSLV) to Indian Private players.
4. 3rd Sherpa’s meeting under India’s G20 Presidency to begin in Hampi in Karnataka.
5. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the Standards Coordination Portal.
6. Gujarat Government has launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme.
7. Uttar Pradesh Government has approved the construction of two ‘Obra D‘ thermal power projects of 800 MW each in the state.
8. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and Climate Policy Initiative – India (global think tank) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the mobilization of sustainable finance in India.
9. Latest findings of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index have been released by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UN Development Programme (UNDP).
10. Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation (5th edition) has been released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP).
11. IDFC FIRST Bank, Club Vistara, and Mastercard together have introduced a travel credit card.
12. Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) has the launched a new platform, CitiDirect Commercial Banking for enhanced Digital banking Services.
13. 3 multilateral banks have pledged financial support during International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023) held in Delhi, India.
14. India and Bangladesh to trade in Indian Rupee to lower the dependency on dollar.
15. The index of industrial production (IIP) in India has grown by 5.2% in May 2023 from 4.2% measured in April 2023.
16. The CPI inflation numbers for June 2023 were recorded at 4.81% which are higher than the estimates mainly on account of higher foods inflation especially prices of cereals and pulses.
17. Abhijit Chakravorty has been appointed as the MD & CEO of SBI Card for 2 years.
18. 12 July- International Malala Day (10th edition)
19. India has won 4 gold medals and topped the International Biology Olympiad medal tally for the first time at the 34th edition of the competition held in Al Ain, UAE.
20. Athletics Federation of India(AFI) has been awarded with the best member federation award by the Asian Athletics Association in Bangkok.
21. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for June 2023.
22. Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) has bagged the SKOCH Award under the theme “State of Governance India 2047” in gold category for outstanding efforts in creating marketing avenues for Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
23. Indian players have won medals in the men’s high jump T47 and T64 event at the Para Athletics World Championships 2023 being held in Paris.
24. India’s drug regulatory authority will soon issue a warning regarding cautious use of Pholcodine.
25. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has found a new variety of wheat PBW RS1 with high amylose starch content.

National News

1. US Navy has signed a 5-year master shipyard repair agreement (MSRA) with L&T for Voyage repairs.
   • The first ship under the agreement to undergo steel repairs, USNS Salvor was received at L&T’s Kattupalli Shipyard, near Chennai.
   • This is the third US ship coming to L&T Shipyard for voyage repairs.
     • Earlier, voyage repairs of Marine Sealift Command (MSC) Fleet Support Ships – USNS Charles Drew and USNS Matthew Perry were undertaken and completed on-time by L&T.
     • L&T’s Kattupalli Shipyard is equipped with a heavy ship-lift, multiple dry berths, and wet berths to concurrently enable building of new ships and undertaking repairs and refits

     Source: The Financial Express

2. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has inaugurated Product Design Centre (PDC) set up at Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Kolkata.
   • The Product Design Centre will be beneficial for startups, entrepreneurs and MSME’s of the eastern region of the country.
   • An appearance-based detection systeme., Grain-Ex through machine vision technology for pulses is also developed under ‘National programme on Electronics and ICT applications in Agriculture and Environment (AgriEnIcs)’ along with ICAR-IARI.
   • The appearance-based e-Quality detection system for 14 types of pulses (Grain-Ex), would bring about a transformative change in the e-NAM markets for quality-based pricing.
     Source: PIB

3. Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) has issued an expression of interest (EoI) for transfer of technology of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle(SSLV) to Indian Private players.
   • There is an increased global demand for the launch of small satellites into low earth orbit (LEO) over the past years.
   • SSLV is a three-stage solid launch vehicle capable of carrying a payload of upto 500kg to a 500km circular orbit.
     Source: ToI

4. 3rd Sherpa’s meeting under India’s G20 Presidency to begin in Hampi in Karnataka.
   • The 3-day meeting will be chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant.
   • The delegates will deliberate and engage in co-authoring the Leaders Declaration to be adopted by the G20 leaders in New Delhi Summit.
     Source: NewsonAir
5. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the Standards Coordination Portal.
   • The portal has been developed by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) in association with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India.
   • The portal will aim to boost India’s involvement in global standardisation activities and act as central hub for sharing information and promoting collaboration in the standardisation of telecom and related ICT domains.
   • TEC standard on “Fairness Assessment and Rating of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Systems” has also been launched.
     • This standard will outline comprehensive procedures for evaluating and rating the fairness of AI systems, ensuring ethical and responsible deployment of AI.
       Source: ET

State News

1. Gujarat Government has launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme.
   About the scheme –
   • Objective of the scheme- To ensure financial stability for the workers in case of any accident or death.
   • Implementing Ministries- Indian Postal Department, the Indian Post Payments Bank and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
   • Beneficiaries- All those registered under the e-Shram portal.
   • Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of ₹289 and ₹499 per year will provide to be crucial support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.
   • Financial Support- In case of the labourer’s accidental death, 10 lakhs will be given to their family and the same amount will be given to the worker in case of permanent disability. Also, in the event of the death, the deceased’s children will be eligible for education assistance of Rs. 1 lakh.
     Source: CMOGujarat
2. Uttar Pradesh Government has approved the construction of two ‘Obra D‘ thermal power projects of 800 MW each in the state.
   • The thermal power plants will be built at the cost of Rs. 18,000 crore and executed by the government with a 50:50 partnership with central government-owned power generator
   • The ‘Obra D’ thermal power plants will be the first ever ultra-super critical unit in the state.
   • The plant will boast of state-of-the-art technology and high efficiency, with low consumption of coal, bringing down the cost of power generation, which will lead to slashing of electricity rates in UP.
     Source: ET

Memorandum of Understanding

1. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and Climate Policy Initiative – India (global think tank) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support the mobilization of sustainable finance in India.

Source: Business Standard

Reports and Indices

1. Latest findings of the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index have been released by Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative and UN Development Programme (UNDP).
   • Findings-
     • Prevalence of Poverty-

• Distribution across the regions –

• Reduction in Poverty-
  • 25 countries, including India, have halved their global MPI values within 15 years.
    • These countries include Cambodia, China, Congo, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, and Vietnam.
  • India specific data-
    • In 2005-2006, about 645 million people were in multidimensional poverty in India, with the number declining to about 370 million in 2015-2016 and 230 million in 2019-2021.
    • Thus, 415 million poor people moved out of poverty from 2005-2006 to 2019/2021.
    • Incidence of poverty has fell from 55.1% to 16.4%.
    • Deprivation in all indicators declined.
    • The above findings are significant as India surpassed China (in Apr 2023) to become the world’s most populous nation with 142 crore people.

2. Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation (5th edition) has been released by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Pacific’s (UNESCAP).
   Findings-
   • India has emerged as the best-performing country amongst all the countries of the South Asia region.
     • The country has achieved a perfect score of 100% in four key areas:
       • Transparency
       • Formalities
       • Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation
       • Paperless Trade
     • India has witnessed an improvement in the score for “Women in Trade Facilitation” component from 66.7% in 2021 to 77.8% in 2023 thereby indicating commitment to gender inclusivity.
   • About the Survey
     • The survey covers WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) along with set of nearly 60 trade facilitation measures categorized into 11 sub-groups, namely:
       • Transparency; Formalities; Institutional arrangement and cooperation; Transit facilitation; Paperless trade; Cross-border paperless trade; Trade facilitation for SMEs; Agricultural trade facilitation; Women in trade facilitation; Trade finance for trade facilitation; and Trade facilitation in times of crisis.
     • The survey is fact-based rather than perception based.
     • It follows a 3-step approach to data collection and validation implemented over 6-month period every 2 years.
       Source: PIB

Banking and Economy

1. IDFC FIRST Bank, Club Vistara, and Mastercard together have introduced a travel credit card.
   • The card will combine banking services with various travel benefits such as access to airport lounges, complimentary flight tickets, accelerated reward points, and cover for cancelled flight & hotel bookings among other features.
     Source: Business Standard
2. Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) has the launched a new platform, CitiDirect Commercial Banking for enhanced Digital banking Services.
   • The platform is live in the U.S., and CCB plans to pilot it in the second half of 2023 across Hong Kong, India, Singapore and the U.K.
   • The platform will combine Citi’s global products and services into a Helvetica, offering services across Cash, loans, trade, foreign exchange, Servicing and Onboarding.
     Source: Hindu Business Line
3. 3 multilateral banks have pledged financial support during International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023) held in Delhi, India.
   Support Pledged-
   • The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged 1 billion euros to develop a large-scale hydrogen industry hub.
   • Asian Development Bank (ADB) intends to provide $20-$25 billion over five years to support India’s green growth.
   • The World Bank has approved $1.5 billion to aid India’s low-carbon transition journey.
     Source: Business Standard

   
   
4. India and Bangladesh to trade in Indian Rupee to lower the dependency on dollar.
   • Trade settlement through Indian rupee will only apply to export amount from Bangladesh while the rest of imports from India will be settled in US dollars.
     • Trade and transactions with India will be done by its Eastern Bank and Sonali Bank Ltd of Bangladesh, while from Indian side operations will be done by State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.
   • Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second largest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia.
   • Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks from 18 countries to trade in rupees including Germany, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Myanmar, Oman and others.
     • Bangladesh become 19th country to trade with India in rupees.
       Source: NewsonAir
5. The index of industrial production (IIP) in India has grown by 5.2% in May 2023 from 4.2% measured in April 2023.
   • The manufacturing sector has witnessed a growth of 5.7% in May up from 4.9% in April 2023.
   • The power generation sectorhas witnessed a marginal growth of 0.9% in May 2023 year on year.
   • Mining output has increased by 6.4% in May from 5.1% in April.
   • In May, India has witnessed a remarkable growth in its core sector output which contributes more than 40% of the IIP. The core sector witnessed a substantial jump of 18.1% compared to the same period last year.

6. The CPI inflation numbers for June 2023 were recorded at 4.81% which are higher than the estimates mainly on account of higher foods inflation especially prices of cereals and pulses.
   • The inflation numbers are within the tolerance band of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of 2% to 6%.
   • The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) has seen a significant jump to 4.4% in June 2023 from 2.9% in May.

   Source: FE

Appointments

1. Abhijit Chakravorty has been appointed as the MD & CEO of SBI Card for 2
   • SBI Cards & Payment Services (SBI Card) is the country’s largest pure-play (specifically focussing on one segment) credit card issuer.
     Source: Business Line

Important Days

1. 12 July- International Malala Day (10th edition)
   • Objective: To honor the bravery and activism of Malala Yousafzai,a Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest person to receive the Nobel Prize.
   • Malala is the youngest recipient of Nobel Peace Prize.
     Source: ET

Awards

1. India has won 4 gold medals and topped the International Biology Olympiad medal tally for the first time at the 34th edition of the competition held in Al Ain, UAE.
   • A total of 293 students from 76 countries participated in the Olympiad.
   • The winners from India are- Dhruv Advani from Bengaluru; Ishan Pednekar from Kota, Rajasthan; Megh Chhabda from Jalna, Maharashtra; and Rohit Panda from Risali, Chattisgarh.
   • Singapore is the only other country that has won 4 gold medals in the Olympiad.
     Source: IE
2. Athletics Federation of India(AFI) has been awarded with the best member federation award by the Asian Athletics Association in Bangkok.
   • AFI president Adille Sumariwalla received the award during a function hosted by Asian Athletics Association.
     Source: BS

3. International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for June 2023.
   • ICC Men’s Player of the Month- Sri Lanka’s record-breaking spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
   • ICC Women’s Player of the Month- Australia’s star all-rounder Ashleigh Gardner
     Source: ICC Cricket

4. Jammu and Kashmir Rural Livelihoods Mission (JKRLM) has bagged the SKOCH Award under the theme “State of Governance India 2047” in gold category for outstanding efforts in creating marketing avenues for Self-Help Groups (SHGs).
   About SKOCH Awards
   • Launched- 2003
   • Conferred by an independent organisation.
   • Aim- To acknowledge people, projects and institutions that go the extra mile to make India a better nation. The SKOCH Award covers the best of efforts in digital, financial and social inclusion.
     Source: NewsonAIR and SKOCH

Sports

1. Indian players have won medals in the men’s high jump T47 and T64 event at the Para Athletics World Championships 2023 being held in Paris.
   • Nishad Kumar has won a silver medal in the men’s high Jump T47 event.
   • Praveen Kumar has won a bronze medal in the men’s high jump T64 event.
   • With the win, both the players have also qualified for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
     • The top-four ranked athletes at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in each of the individual medal events qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games, also to be held in Paris.
       Source: NewsonAir and The Hindu

Miscellaneous

1. India’s drug regulatory authority will soon issue a warning regarding cautious use of Pholcodine.
   • Pholcodine is an opioid cough suppressant that helps mildly sedate a patient and suppress dry coughs. It is found in cough medications.
   • It has been found that they can trigger life threatening allergic reactions.
   • The World Health Organisation (WHO) had earlier issued a safety alert warning regulators around the world about the potential dangers of pholcodine use.
     Source: Economic Times

2. Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has found a new variety of wheat PBW RS1 with high amylose starch content.
   • Benefits-
     • RS stands for resistant starch. The high amylose and resistant starch ensure that glucose is released slowly into the bloodstream.
     • Reduce risks of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
     • Slower to digest which increases a feeling of satiety.
     • Lower glycemic index (a value used to measure how specific foods increase blood sugar levels).
   • Challenge-
     • The average grain yield from the variety at PAU’s field trials has been recorded at 43.18 quintals per hectare which is below Punjab’s average yield of 48 quintals per hectare.
   • Earlier, PAU had released two varieties – PBW Zn1 with high zinc content, and PBW1 Chapati whose flour had premium chapati quality that remained fresh for long – on nutritional lines but none had features as PBW RS1.
   • PAU has been rated the country’s top state agricultural university in 2023 as per the National Institute Ranking Framework.
     Source: IE

   
   

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