15th July, 2022

1. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line to provide connectivity and improve mobility.
2. Agnikul Cosmos (Homegrown space startup) has established India’s first private factory for building rocket engines in Chennai.
3. Birth certificates of children born after August 2015 that were issued through the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal has been integrated with DigiLocker, a government-run mobile application that acts as a document wallet.
4. J&K Agriculture Department, Sikkim Government and Sikkim University have signed a tripartite agreement for collaboration on training, technology, capacity building and extension activities for saffron and other temperate crops.
5. Kharchi festival is a Hindu festival from Tripura.
6. President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind addressed the Dhammacakka Day 2022 celebrations at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh.
7. Transport Department has signed an MOU with the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-D) to conduct research and develop technologies to enhance mobility in the Capital.
8. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development and Authority (APEDA) has signed an MOU with Assam Agriculture University to conduct various training programs on pre-harvest and post-harvest management.
9. Government has created a strategy to promote the North-Eastern Region as Agriculture Export Hub.
10. Telecommunications Consultants India Limited and Madagascar have signed an MOU for participation in the Pan African e-network project named e-VBAB or e-VidyaBharti and e-AarogyaBharti.
11. University of Hyderabad has entered into an MOU with the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) for collaboration in fundamental areas of biological sciences.
12. Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare (DA&FW) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the commencement of Phase -2 activities of IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC).
13. Ukraine has become an associate member of the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), which coordinates technological cooperation of the armies of NATO member states.
14. Croatia has become the 20th member of the eurozone to adopt ‘euro’ as the single currency, w.e.f., 1 January 2023.
15. India has achieved 162 GW (1 GW is 1,000 MW) of renewable energy capacity, which is 41% of the 402 GW of electricity installed.
16. World Economic Forum has released the Global Gender Gap Index 2022.
17. Central Govt has appointed 29 non-official members from large and small enterprises and different sectors in the Board of Trade, which is chaired by the commerce and industry minister.
18. Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has launched a new mutual fund distributor recruitment campaign “Karein Shuru?”.
19. NBFC-MFI Arohan Financial Services has launched a digital lending app named “ApnaArohan” to facilitate customers to make repayments and other transactions through the digital mode and reduce physical interaction with the loan officers of the company.
20. RBI has cancelled certificate of registration of four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).
21. RBI has fined Ola Financial Services Private Ltd over Rs 1.67 crore for non-compliance of regulations.
22. Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. and Common Services Centres (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, have partnered to provide insurance cover to rural population.
23. ReNew Power has become the first Indian renewable energy company to refinance dollar-denominated bonds.
24. RBI has announced that all eligible current account transactions including trade transactions with Sri Lanka may be settled in any permitted currency outside the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism until further notice.
25. RBI has slapped penalties on three cooperative banks for several non-compliance issues. The penalties totalled ₹5 lakh.
26. Infosys has announced to acquire Denmark-based BASE life science for about €110 million (₹875 crore) in an all-cash deal to strengthen its footprint across Europe.
27. Nomura has forecasted a 4.7% GDP rate for India in 2023.
28. New India Assurance Company Ltd (NIACL) has given an additional charge to Madhulika Bhaskar as its CMD for a period of three months.
29. Ekta Kapoor-owned film, television and web content production house Balaji Telefilms has appointed Abhishek Kumar as group chief executive officer.
30. Raymond Ltd. (textile, apparel, and real estate conglomerate) has appointed Atul Singh to lead the group.
31. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has become the title sponsor for the 11th edition of Hyderabad Marathon to be held in August.
32. Mehuli Ghosh and Shahu Tushar Mane have won a gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at Changwon in South Korea.
33. Indian men’s hockey team has lost to Netherlands in the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2022 at the Hazelaarweg Stadion in Rotterdam.
34. Indian women’s hockey team has finished at 9th position in the FIH World Cup after beating Japan in Terrassa, Spain.
35. Padma Shri awardee social activist and environmentalist from Dehradun, Avdhash Kaushal has passed away.
36. Scientists at the US Lawrence-Berkeley Lab have developed a fuel named ‘POP-FAME’ from a bacterium that packs more energy than even the rocket fuels in use.

National News

1. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line to provide connectivity and improve mobility.
2. Agnikul Cosmos (Homegrown space startup) has established India’s first private factory for building rocket engines in
   • The new facility will use additive manufacturing technology to build 3D printed rocket engines, and will develop engines for its in-house rockets.
3. Birth certificates of children born after August 2015 that were issued through the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal has been integrated with DigiLocker, a government-run mobile application that acts as a document wallet.
   • CRS is an online system for registration of births and deaths under the operational control of the Centre.
   • The Registrar General of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs operates the system.

State News

1. J&K Agriculture Department, Sikkim Government and Sikkim University have signed a tripartite agreement for collaboration on training, technology, capacity building and extension activities for saffron and other temperate crops.
   • This partnership was established under the “Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat”.
2. Kharchi festival is a Hindu festival from Tripura.
3. President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind addressed the Dhammacakka Day 2022 celebrations at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh.
   • Ministry of Culture, in association with the International Buddhist Confederation, is celebrating the Āshaḍha Pūrṇima Divas, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
4. Transport Department has signed an MOU with the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi (IIIT-D) to conduct research and develop technologies to enhance mobility in the Capital.
   • The Centre for Sustainable Mobility was also inaugurated at the campus of IIIT-D for identifying problem areas and define a technology roadmap toward solving problems of urban mobility in Delhi.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development and Authority (APEDA) has signed an MOU with Assam Agriculture University to conduct various training programs on pre-harvest and post-harvest management.
2. Government has created a strategy to promote the North-Eastern Region as Agriculture Export Hub.
   • The North-Eastern region witnessed an 85.34% growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22.
   • The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.
   • APEDA also organised a conference on the Export Potential of Natural, Organic and Geographical Indications (GI) Agro Products in Guwahati in June to tap the abundant export potential of organic agricultural products from Assam and neighbouring states of NER.

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Telecommunications Consultants India Limited and Madagascar have signed an MOU for participation in the Pan African e-network project named e-VBAB or e-VidyaBharti and e-AarogyaBharti.
2. University of Hyderabad has entered into an MOU with the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) for collaboration in fundamental areas of biological sciences.
3. Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare (DA&FW) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the commencement of Phase -2 activities of IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC).
   • Purpose – to scale up the existing partnership for food and nutrition security in the South Asian region

International News

1. Ukraine has become an associate member of the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), which coordinates technological cooperation of the armies of NATO member states.
   • The MIP is a program of technological cooperation between the Armed Forces of NATO member states, which was established at the level of national developers of combat control information systems and aims to achieve interoperability of national C2IS systems.
2. Croatia has become the 20th member of the eurozone to adopt ‘euro’ as the single currency, w.e.f., 1 January 2023.
3. India has achieved 162 GW (1 GW is 1,000 MW) of renewable energy capacity, which is 41% of the 402 GW of electricity installed.
   • The information was given at the Sydney Energy Forum by the PM.

Reports and Indices

1. World Economic Forum has released the Global Gender Gap Index 2022.
   • Total – 146 countries
   • Top – Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden
   • India’s rank – 135 (score 0.629)
   • Bottom – Afghanistan
   • Parameters –
     • Economic Participation and Opportunity
     • Educational Attainment
     • Health and Survival
     • Political Empowerment
   • Global Average Scores –
     • Global Gender Gap index: 0.681
       • Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex: 0.603
       • Educational Attainment subindex: 0.944
       • Health and Survival subindex: 0.958
       • Political Empowerment subindex: 0.220

• Region-wise ranking –

Banking and Economy

1. Central Govt has appointed 29 non-official members from large and small enterprises and different sectors in the Board of Trade, which is chaired by the commerce and industry minister.
   • The Board of Trade is the advisory body for the foreign trade policy.
   • In 2019, the government had merged the Council of Trade Development and Promotion with the Board of Trade for promoting exports and imports.
   • These non-official members will help in developing a platform for encouraging states to create their own trade policies, in line with the National Foreign Trade Policy, to promote District Export Hub.
2. Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has launched a new mutual fund distributor recruitment campaign “Karein Shuru?”.
   • Purpose of the campaign – to make the mutual fund distributor’s job an attractive career opportunities for the jobseekers
   • The mutual fund industry has the potential to cross Rs 100 trillion in AUM before 2030 in India.
3. NBFC-MFI Arohan Financial Services has launched a digital lending app named “ApnaArohan” to facilitate customers to make repayments and other transactions through the digital mode and reduce physical interaction with the loan officers of the company.
4. RBI has cancelled certificate of registration of four non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).
   • The NBFCs are Kanva Shree Credit Private Limited, Williamson Magor & Co Ltd, Galaxy Capital Finance Limited and SRS Finance Limited.
   • Reason – growing harassment complaints from borrowers who have used instant loan apps for quick cash.
   • Further, three more NBFCs – PKC Credit Pvt Ltd, Gajanand Lefin Pvt Ltd and Harita Malini Private Limited — surrendered their certificate of registration to the RBI without citing the reason.
5. RBI has fined Ola Financial Services Private Ltd over Rs 1.67 crore for non-compliance of regulations.
6. Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. and Common Services Centres (CSC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, have partnered to provide insurance cover to rural population.
   • Over 5 lakh CSCs have got an access to a select range of Star Health insurance products.
   • These products have been designed to meet the needs of rural customers across the tier-II, tier-III cities, and rural markets pan India.
7. ReNew Power has become the first Indian renewable energy company to refinance dollar-denominated bonds.
   • ReNew issued bonds worth $525 million in 2019, which were set to mature in 2024.
8. RBI has announced that all eligible current account transactions including trade transactions with Sri Lanka may be settled in any permitted currency outside the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) mechanism until further notice.
   • The new system will come into force with immediate effect.

   About Asian Clearing Union (ACU) –

   • Established – 1974
   • Headquarter – Tehran, Iran
   • Purpose – to facilitate payments among member countries for eligible transactions on a multilateral basis, economising the use of foreign exchange reserves and transfer costs, as well as promoting trade among the participating countries
   • Members – Central Banks of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
   • Common Currency – Asian Monetary Unit (AMU) is the common unit of account of ACU and is denominated as ‘ACU dollar’, ‘ACU euro’ and ‘ACU yen’, which is equivalent in value to one US dollar, one euro and one Japanese yen respectively.
     • All instruments of payments under ACU have to be denominated in AMUs.
9. RBI has slapped penalties on three cooperative banks for several non-compliance issues. The penalties totalled ₹5 lakh.
10. Infosys has announced to acquire Denmark-based BASE life science for about €110 million (₹875 crore) in an all-cash deal to strengthen its footprint across Europe.

GDP Forecasts

1. Nomura has forecasted a 4.7% GDP rate for India in 2023.

Appointments

1. New India Assurance Company Ltd (NIACL) has given an additional charge to Madhulika Bhaskar as its CMD for a period of three months.
   • Madhulika Bhaskar is the General Manager at NIACL.
2. Ekta Kapoor-owned film, television and web content production house Balaji Telefilms has appointed Abhishek Kumar as group chief executive officer.
3. Raymond Ltd. (textile, apparel, and real estate conglomerate) has appointed Atul Singh to lead the group.

Sports

1. National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) has become the title sponsor for the 11th edition of Hyderabad Marathon to be held in August.
   • CMD of NMDC – Sumit Deb
2. Mehuli Ghosh and Shahu Tushar Mane have won a gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at Changwon in South Korea.
   • Silver medal – Prithviraj Tondaiman, Vivaan Kapoor and Bhowneesh Mendiratta
3. Indian men’s hockey team has lost to Netherlands in the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2022 at the Hazelaarweg Stadion in Rotterdam.
   • Indian women’s hockey team is at the 3rd
4. Indian women’s hockey team has finished at 9th position in the FIH World Cup after beating Japan in Terrassa, Spain.

Miscellaneous

1. Padma Shri awardee social activist and environmentalist from Dehradun, Avdhash Kaushal has passed away.
2. Scientists at the US Lawrence-Berkeley Lab have developed a fuel named ‘POP-FAME’ from a bacterium that packs more energy than even the rocket fuels in use.

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