16th-17th July, 2023
Chandrayaan-3, India – Indonesia Economic and Financial Dialogue, Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES), AI for India 2.0, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Indira Gandhi International Airport, NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, International Financial Services Centers Authority, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, UPI Lite, July 15- World Youth Skill Day
- Chandrayaan-3 has been launched on board an LVM3 M4 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
- India and Indonesia have launched the “India – Indonesia Economic and Financial Dialogue” (EFD Dialogue) on sidelines of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Gujarat.
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has replaced the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) with Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
- Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched ‘AI for India 2.0’, a free online training programme on Artificial Intelligence.
- India’s first PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model-based Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) in collaboration with OPPO India has been established in Kerala.
- The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), with the technical assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has developed five guidelines aimed at enhancing mountainous infrastructure in India.
- Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) today became the first airport in the country to have 4 operational runways.
- India is set to launch a project on tax & financial crime investigation.
- 15th edition of bilateral joint military exercise “NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23” is scheduled to be conducted at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17 to 31 July 2023.
- Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has signed a contract with Indian Army for procurement of Tactical Access Switch.
- India has signed two Memorandum of Understanding with United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with PIEDS BITS Pilani.
- UK has formally signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc.
- Google Pay has launched UPI Lite to boost small value transactions.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has appointed Tata AIG General Insurance Co. as the lead non-life insurer for Maharashtra.
- July 15- World Youth Skills Day
Table of Content
National News
- Chandrayaan-3 has been launched on board LVM3 M4 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center (SDSC) in Sriharikota.
- It is India’s third lunar mission and second attempt at achieving a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
- India will become the fourth country in the world to achieve this feat, joining the ranks of the United States, Russia, and China.
About Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
Features:
- The lander (Vikram) and rover payloads (Pragyan) of Chandrayaan-3 remain the same as the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
- There are 4 scientific payloads on the lander.
- To study lunar quakes, thermal properties of the lunar surface, changes in plasma near the surface, and accurately measuring the distance between Earth and the moon.
- There are two payloads on the rover.
- To study the chemical and mineral composition of the lunar surface and to determine the composition of elements such as magnesium, aluminium and iron in the lunar soil and rocks.
- The propulsion module of Chandrayaan-3 features a new experiment called Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE).
- SHAPE aims to search for smaller planets with potential habitability by analyzing reflected light.
- Chandrayaan-3’s journey is estimated to take approximately 42 days, with a landing scheduled for August 23, 2023 at the lunar dawn.
- The lander and the rover will have a mission life of one lunar day (about 14 Earth days).
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| What is India’s Other Chandrayaan Missions? • Chandrayaan-1: o India's first lunar exploration in 2008, aimed to create a 3-D atlas of the moon and conduct mineralogical mapping. Launch Vehicle: PSLV – C11 Findings- Detection of water and hydroxyl on the lunar surface • Chandrayaan-2: o Chandrayaan-2 consisted of an Orbiter, Lander, and Rover, with the goal of exploring the lunar south pole. Launch Vehicle: GSLV MkIII-M1 o Although the lander and rover crashed on the moon's surface, the Orbiter successfully collected data and found signatures of water at all latitudes. |
Source: IE
- India and Indonesia have launched the “India – Indonesia Economic and Financial Dialogue” (EFD Dialogue) on sidelines of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Gujarat.
- The EFD Dialogue aims to enhance collaboration on bilateral and international economic and financial matters by bringing together economic policymakers and financial regulators from both countries.
- Indonesia is India’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN region with the bilateral trade of worth $38 billion in FY 2022-23.
Source: PIB
- Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has replaced the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) with Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
- About SCES
- Formed in – 2019
- Members- 28 (including 10 non-official members)
- Chair – Pronab Sen (India’s first chief statistician and the former chairman of the National Statistical Commission)
- Mandate- To review the framework for economic indicators pertaining to the industrial sector, the services sector and the labour force statistics such as Periodic Labour Force Survey, the Annual Survey of Industries, the Index of Industrial Production and the Economic Census.
- About SCoS
- Members- 10 official members and four non-official members.
- Maximum members- 16
- Chair- Pronab Sen, India’s first chief statistician and the former chairman of the National Statistical Commission (NSC)
- Mandate- To review the framework and results of all surveys conducted under the aegis of the National Statistical Office (NSO)
Source: The Hindu
- Members- 10 official members and four non-official members.
- About SCES
- Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched ‘AI for India 2.0’, a free online training programme on Artificial Intelligence on World Youth Skills’ Day (July 15).
- This is a joint initiative of Skill India and GUVI.
- GUVI is an IIT Madras incubated ed-tech company that enables tech learning in vernacular languages.
- The program will be available in 9 Indian languages.
- The program has been recognized by National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET)and IIT Madras.
Source: PIB
- India’s first PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model-based Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) in collaboration with OPPO India has been established in Kerala.
- The lab has been inaugurated at St Paul’s CEHSS in Kuriachira, Thrissur.
- This collaboration between the AIM and OPPO with Learning Links Foundation as the implementation partner adapts the ‘Hub n Spoke’ strategy.
- The ATL is the nodal school which will act as a ‘Hub’ for the students from neighbouring government schools to come and conduct experiments in the lab.
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| • The Atal Tinkering Lab has been set up to empower school children in grades 6th to 12th to develop innovative solutions. • The students can harness cutting-edge technology tools such as 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, miniaturised electronics, space technology, drone technology, and technology-inspired textiles. • Till 2022, 10,000 ATLs were established across 35 States and UTs in India though government grants. |
Source: FE
- The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH), with the technical assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has developed five guidelines aimed at enhancing mountainous infrastructure in India.
- These guidelines were published by Indian Road Congress (IRC).
- The guidelines provide technical specifications and best practices for road construction in mountainous regions, covering the following topics:
- Planning of hilly roads
- Slope protection and embankment with advanced technology
- Tunnel on arterial roads in hilly area
- Mountain bridge with advance technology
- Operation and maintenance of mountainous highways
- MoRTH and JICA have agreed to implement “Capacity Development Project on Highways in Mountainous Regions” from 2016 to 2021.
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| • The Indian Roads Congress (IRC) is the Apex Body of Highway Engineers in the country. • The IRC was set up in December, 1934 on the recommendations of the Indian Road Development Committee best known as Jayakar Committee set up by the Govt. of India with the objective of Road Development in India. |
Source: ET and IRC
- Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) became the first airport in the country to have 4 operational runways.
- A dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) has also been inaugurated.
- The ECT will connect the northern and southern airfields on the eastern side of the airport and reduce the taxiing distance for an aircraft by seven kilometres.
- IGIA is operated by the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), a consortium led by GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.
Source: ET
- India, in collaboration with Organisation for Economic cooperation and development (OECD), is set to launch a pilot project on tax & financial crime investigation for the South Asian Region.
- The program will be launched at the Regional Campus of National Academy of Direct Taxes in New Delhi.
Source: IE
- The program will be launched at the Regional Campus of National Academy of Direct Taxes in New Delhi.
Defence News
- 15th edition of bilateral joint military exercise “NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23” is scheduled to be conducted at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
- It is an annual training event with Mongolia which is conducted alternatively in Mongolia and India.
- Last edition – Special Forces Training School, Bakloh (Himachal Pradesh) in 2019
- Participant from India – JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment
- Aim- Build positive military relations, exchange best practices, develop inter-operability, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two armies.
- Primary theme – To focus on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.
Source- PIB
- Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has signed a contract with Indian Army for procurement of Tactical Access Switch.
- This device would strengthen the tactical communication capability of the Indian Army.
Source: ANI
- This device would strengthen the tactical communication capability of the Indian Army.
Memorandum of Understanding
- India has signed two Memorandum of Understanding with United Arab Emirates (UAE).
| 1st MOU – • With the Education and Knowledge department of Abu Dhabi, UAE for setting up Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi campus in the Gulf Country. o IIT Delhi is the second IIT to announce setting up an offshore campus after IIT Madras. o Earlier, IIT Madras signed an MoU for setting up a campus in Tanzania's Zanzibar. o In December 2022, IIT-Kharagpur announced its plans to establish its branch in Malaysia. 2nd MOU – • With Central Bank of UAE o For establishing a framework to promote the use of local currencies i.e., the Indian rupee (INR) and the UAE Dirham (AED) for cross-border transactions. A Local Currency Settlement System (LCSS) will be created to promote the use of INR and AED bilaterally. It will cover all current account transactions and permitted capital account transactions. Benefit- This will enable exporters and importers to invoice and pay in their respective domestic currencies, which in turn would enable the development of an INR-AED foreign exchange market. o For interlinking India's Fast Payment Systems (FPSs) – Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with UAE's Instant Payment Platform (IPP). |
Source: Livemint and ET
- International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BITS Pilani and PIEDS Finxcelerator, Pilani Campus in Rajasthan.
- This MoU will enable cooperation and collaboration on diverse initiatives regarding FinTech and TechFin entities.
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| • About IFSCA - The IFSCA is responsible for development and regulation of international
financial services, including that of insurance sector, in the IFSC, which is treated
as a separate international financial jurisdiction, distinct from rest of India. • About PIEDS BITS - The Pilani Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Society (PIEDS) BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus is a non-profit society, its initiatives are spread across incubation, acceleration, seed funding, and innovation. |
Source: IFSCA
International News
- UK has formally signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc.
- The UK will be the first European member and first new member since CPTPP is created.
- With the UK as a member, CPTPP will have a combined GDP of Great Britain Pound (GBP) of 12 trillion and account for 15% of global GDP.
- The agreement for the UK’s membership is expected to come into force by next year after all member nations ratify the deal.
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| • The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement (FTA) between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. • The CPTPP was signed by the 11 countries on 8 March 2018 in Santiago, Chile. • There are 11 countries that are member of CPTPP as of now: Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan. o India is not a member. |
Banking and Economy
- Google Pay has launched UPI Lite to boost small value transactions.
- Google Pay will allow users to create a UPI Lite wallet within the same app, which can be loaded up to Rs 2,000 at a time. Users can spend up to Rs 200 per transaction without requiring a pin.
- Currently, users can only load up to Rs 2,000 twice a day, limit their spending on the app to Rs 4,000 per day.
- UPI lite payment was first announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) back in September 2022 and is currently compatible with over 15 major public sector and private banks.
- Paytm, PhonePe, and BHIM were the first set of UPI payment apps to introduce UPI lite payments.
Source: IE
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has appointed Tata AIG General Insurance Co. as the lead non-life insurer for Maharashtra.
- It has identified key segments such as motor insurance, health insurance, crop insurance, support of MSMEs and employment related insurance solutions to drive overall insurance penetration in the state.
- Tata AIG will also assist in promoting the adoption of flagship government schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).
- The aim is to increase insurance penetration in the state in line with its vision “Insurance for all by 2047”.
- MD & CEO of Tata AIG General Insurance: Neelesh Garg
Source: ToI
Important Days
- July 15 – World Youth Skills Day
- Theme for 2023: Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future.
| Knowledge Nuggets - |
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| • Adopted by: United Nations General Assembly in 2014 to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship. |
Source: UNESCO
About Anuj Jindal
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Anuj Jindal, the founder, is an ex-manager from SBI, with an M.Com from Delhi School of Economics. He also has a JRF in Commerce & Management and NET in HRM, along with more than 5 years of experience in the field of Education.
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