19th July, 2022

1. Knowledge Portal for Khadi is a platform developed by the Centre of Excellence for Khadi at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to provide design directions to the Khadi institutions.
2. Department of Consumer Affairs has set up a committee — chaired by Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary — to develop comprehensive framework on ‘Right to Repair’.
3. The holy city of Varanasi was declared as the first “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2022-23.
4. India’s first underwater metro train will develop in Kolkata, West Bengal by 2023.
5. Ministry of Defence has formed an Apex Committee on Performance and Efficiency Audit, chaired by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, to conduct a Performance and Efficiency Audit into various aspects of its activities.
6. Department of Consumer Affairs has launched “Jagriti” mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness towards their rights.
7. Central Govt has launched ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign to inspire countrymen to hoist the national flag at their homes to mark the 75th Independence Day.
8. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Chairman Uday Umesh Lalit has launched India’s first AI-powered digital Lok Adalat during the 18th All India Legal Services Authorities’ meet held in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
9. Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), (Second Amendment) Rules 2022, released by Department of Consumer Affairs, has allowed the electronic products to declare certain mandatory declarations through the QR Code for a period of one year, if not declared in the package itself.
10. Telangana govt, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), announced Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA), the latest addition to the Digital Public Goods Registry.
11. Kerala has become first and only state to have its own internet service.
12. State-owned hydro power giant NHPC Ltd has signed two agreements to develop green hydrogen technologies in Leh and Kargil.
13. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway, which passes through seven districts of Uttar Pradesh.
14. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have signed the Namsai Declaration for resolving their seven-decade old boundary dispute.
15. 22nd edition of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav will be organized by the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi.
16. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar attended the two days’ National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
17. Defence minister Rajnath Singh has launched Y-3023 Dunagiri, a Project 17A frigate, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata.
18. 52nd Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) – Border Security Force Director General level Border conference was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
19. Indian Navy’s submarine, INS Sindhudhvaj, was decommissioned from service at Visakhapatnam after 35 years in service.
20. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore govt have signed an MOU to promote greater investment in the Asia and Pacific region.
21. First edition of BRICS Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meet was organised under the chairmanship of China.
22. NASA’s SpaceX CRS-25 Cargo Resupply Mission has been sent to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Centre.
23. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Israel Yair Lapid have signed the Jerusalem Declaration, which is officially called as “US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration”.
24. G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, met in Bali on 15-16 July 2022, for the third time under the Indonesian G20 Presidency.
25. Russia’s 1st rail transit cargo to India has reached Iran through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
26. US Air Force has successfully tested its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster off the California coast.
27. USA has decided not to impose sanctions under its stringent law Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on India for purchasing S-400 missile systems from Russia.
28. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has addressed the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, Saudi Arabia.
29. Ministry of Education has released the National Institutional Ranking Framework.
30. Quantum Mutual Fund launches Quantum Nifty 50 ETF Fund of Fund (FoF), an open-ended FoF scheme, that will be investing in the units of Quantum Nifty 50 Exchange Traded Fund.
31. Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the first private bank in India to successfully integrate with the income tax e-filing portal – eportal.incometax.gov.in.
32. Yes Bank has partnered with JCF ARC LLC and JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction for selling its identified stressed loans.
33. Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane has launched ‘Repos Pay – a ‘mobile electric charging’ platform and ‘Phy-gital’ — a Fintech platform, at ‘Fuelling India 2022’ event in Mumbai.
34. Bank of India, along with pension fund regulator PFRDA, has launched a digital platform for NPS to allow customers to open NPS accounts using mobile phones.
35. Trade deficit of India in the April-June quarter increased to a record of $70.8 billion.
36. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has announced that its Indian embedded value (IEV) has been pegged at Rs 5.41 lakh crore, as of March 2022.
37. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone live on the account aggregator ecosystem as financial information user (FIU) as well as financial information provider (FIP).
38. Google has bought 1.2% stake in Bharati Airtel for $700 million.
39. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has entered a new niche by launching a unique Bikers Cafe to cater to the needs of biker expeditions to the Himalayas.
40. World Youth Skills Day; Theme – Transforming youth skills for the future
41. World Day for International Justice
42. Indian Bank has won the Best Performing Bank Award in Tamil Nadu for the 2021-22 under SHG Bank Linkage Programme category from NABARD.
43. DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) has been recognised as the ‘World’s Best SME Bank’ by the UK-based financial publication Euromoney.
44. 2022 Singapore Open (Badminton) Championship was a BWF World Tour Super 500 event.
45. Surya Sekhar Ganguly has won the Chess960 Rapid Open at 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland.
46. Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has won the Paracin Open Chess title in Serbia.
47. Pratap Pothen (South Indian actor-filmmaker) has passed away.

National News

1. Knowledge Portal for Khadi is a platform developed by the Centre of Excellence for Khadi at National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to provide design directions to the Khadi institutions.
2. Department of Consumer Affairs has set up a committee — chaired by Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary — to develop comprehensive framework on ‘Right to Repair’.
   • The committee will suggest measures to increase the transparency regarding spare parts of consumer goods to harmonise trade between the original equipment manufacturers and the third-party buyers and sellers.
3. The holy city of Varanasi was declared as the first “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2022-23.
   • The Beijing-headquartered Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an eight-member economic and security alliance comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.
   • Varanasi will be the first city in SCO region to be granted the rotating title of ‘Cultural & Tourism capital of SCO’ under a new mechanism during India’s SCO Presidency from September 2022 to September 2023.
4. India’s first underwater metro train will develop in Kolkata, West Bengal by 2023.
   • The tunnels, for the route, were created in 2017 by Afcons, an Indian construction company.
   • Afcons also created India’s deepest Metro station named Howrah metro station.
5. Ministry of Defence has formed an Apex Committee on Performance and Efficiency Audit, chaired by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, to conduct a Performance and Efficiency Audit into various aspects of its activities.
6. Department of Consumer Affairs has launched “Jagriti” mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness towards their rights.
   • The “Jagriti” mascot will be used to generate consumer awareness about various themes of the Department, which are –
     • Consumer Protection Act 2019, Hallmarking, National Consumer Helpline toll-free number 1915, provisions of weights and measures Act, decisions of the Central Consumer Protection Authority and testimonials by consumers on grievance redressal.

7. Central Govt has launched ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign to inspire countrymen to hoist the national flag at their homes to mark the 75th Independence Day.
   • The initiative has been taken under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, for which the Ministry of Culture is the nodal ministry.
   • The use, display, and hoisting of the Indian National Flag is guided by the Flag Code of India, 2002.
   • Karnataka has announced to be at the forefront of the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign by having as many as one crore tricolour flags flying atop houses and offices.
8. National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) Chairman Uday Umesh Lalit has launched India’s first AI-powered digital Lok Adalat during the 18th All India Legal Services Authorities’ meet held in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
9. Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), (Second Amendment) Rules 2022, released by Department of Consumer Affairs, has allowed the electronic products to declare certain mandatory declarations through the QR Code for a period of one year, if not declared in the package itself.
   • Earlier, as per the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities), Rules 2011, all the pre-packaged commodities including the electronic products are required to declare all the mandatory declarations on the package.

State News

1. Telangana govt, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), announced Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA), the latest addition to the Digital Public Goods Registry.
   • Powered by Artificial Intelligence, the platform aims at strengthening the food systems and food security.
   • The DiCRA platform will help farmers by giving them data to mitigate the effects of climate change on their crops and livestock — boosting the resilience of their livelihoods and wider food security.
2. Kerala has become first and only state to have its own internet service.
   • Kerala Fiber Optic Network Ltd (KFON), internet service provider of the state govt, has received the Internet Service Provider (ISP) license from the Department of Telecommunications.
3. State-owned hydro power giant NHPC Ltd has signed two agreements to develop green hydrogen technologies in Leh and Kargil.
4. PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway, which passes through seven districts of Uttar Pradesh.
   • The expressway has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 14,850 crores.
5. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have signed the Namsai Declaration for resolving their seven-decade old boundary dispute.
6. 22nd edition of the Bharat Rang Mahotsav will be organized by the National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar attended the two days’ National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
   • Discussion was held across 9 thematic areas, which are Digital Agriculture, Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Natural Farming, FPO, e-NAM, Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, National Food Security Mission, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, New Technology by ICAR.
   • During the Conference, the Platform of Platforms (POP) dashboard on the e-NAM portal (National Agriculture Market) was launched.
   • The Platform of Platforms under e-NAM aims to provide various value chain services like trading, quality checks, warehousing, fintech, market information, transportation etc. to farmers in order to increase their access to markets of different states.
   • The platform creates a digital ecosystem for farmers who will benefit from the expertise of different platforms in different segments of the agricultural value chain.
   • The e-NAM’s PoP portal provides services like –
     • Composite Service Providers
     • Logistics Service Provider
     • Quality Assurance Service Provider
     • Cleaning, Grading, Sorting & Packaging Service Provider
     • Warehousing Facility Service Provider, Agricultural Input Service Provider
     • Technology Enabled Finance & Insurance Service Provider
     • Information Dissemination Portal (Advisory Services, crop forecasting, weather updates, capacity building for farmers etc.)
     • E-commerce, international agri-business platforms, barter, private market platforms etc.

Defence News

1. Defence minister Rajnath Singh has launched Y-3023 Dunagiri, a Project 17A frigate, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata.
   • P17A Frigates are a follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
   • Seven P17A Frigates are under various stages of construction at Mazagaon Dock Ltd (MDL) and GRSE.
2. 52nd Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) – Border Security Force Director General level Border conference was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3. Indian Navy’s submarine, INS Sindhudhvaj, was decommissioned from service at Visakhapatnam after 35 years in service.
   • With this, the Navy now has 15 conventional submarines in service.

International News

1. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore govt have signed an MOU to promote greater investment in the Asia and Pacific region.
   • The partnership will aims to recognize the importance of private sector finance as well as catalysing public sector resources for sustainable and inclusive development.
2. First edition of BRICS Anti-Corruption Ministerial Meet was organised under the chairmanship of China.
   • Theme – BRICS cooperation to combat corruption
3. NASA’s SpaceX CRS-25 Cargo Resupply Mission has been sent to the International Space Station from the Kennedy Space Centre.
4. US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of Israel Yair Lapid have signed the Jerusalem Declaration, which is officially called as “US-Israel Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration”.
   • The Declaration focuses on opposing aggression and destabilizing activities of Iran.
5. G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, met in Bali on 15-16 July 2022, for the third time under the Indonesian G20 Presidency.
   • Ukraine was also invited to the meeting, along with other countries and organizations.
6. Russia’s 1st rail transit cargo to India has reached Iran through the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
   • Russian transit train, carrying 39 containers, had left Chekhov station on July 6, traveling 3,800 km through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to enter Iran.
   • The cargo will be transported to Bandar Abbas port, Iran to be transported to Nhava Sheva Port, India.

   About the INSTC –

   • INSTC is a corridor to increase trade between India and Russia.
   • This trade route is 7200 Km long and the transport of freight is through a multi-mode network of roads, ships, and railways.
   • This route connects India and Russia through Iran and Azerbaijan.
   • The agreement was signed in 2002. There are 13 member states of the INSTC project – India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Oman, Turkey, Syria and Ukraine. Bulgaria is the Observer State.
   • The agreement was signed in 2002. There are 13 member states of the INSTC project – India, Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Tajikistan, Kyrgystan, Oman, Turkey, Syria and Ukraine. Bulgaria is the Observer State.
   • India also wants to include Chabahar port to be included in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
7. US Air Force has successfully tested its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) booster off the California coast.
8. USA has decided not to impose sanctions under its stringent law Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on India for purchasing S-400 missile systems from Russia.
9. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has addressed the Jeddah Security and Development Summit, Saudi Arabia.
   • The summit hosted by Saudi Arabia and attended by six Gulf Cooperation Council’s countries plus Egypt, Jordan and Iraq – also known as GCC+3.
   • USA has also attended the Summit.
   • Gulf Cooperation Council members – Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE, and Saudi Arabia

Reports and Indices

1. Ministry of Education has released the National Institutional Ranking Framework.

Banking and Economy

1. Quantum Mutual Fund launches Quantum Nifty 50 ETF Fund of Fund (FoF), an open-ended FoF scheme, that will be investing in the units of Quantum Nifty 50 Exchange Traded Fund.
   • This is India’s first Nifty 50 FoF.
2. Kotak Mahindra Bank has become the first private bank in India to successfully integrate with the income tax e-filing portal – eportal.incometax.gov.in.
   • This integration will allow both individuals and corporates to conveniently pay their direct taxes online through the e-pay tax tab.
3. Yes Bank has partnered with JCF ARC LLC and JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction for selling its identified stressed loans.
4. Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane has launched ‘Repos Pay – a ‘mobile electric charging’ platform and ‘Phy-gital’ — a Fintech platform, at ‘Fuelling India 2022’ event in Mumbai.
   • Repos Pay allow an individual to book a mobile vehicle charging kiosk on app and charge their EVs.
   • The ‘Phy-gital’ platform facilitates purchase of bulk fuel on credit.
5. Bank of India, along with pension fund regulator PFRDA, has launched a digital platform for NPS to allow customers to open NPS accounts using mobile phones.
   • The platform has launched the digital platform for NPS enrolment in association with K-fintech.
   • K-fintech provides SaaS (Software as a Service) based end-to-end transaction management, channel management, and compliance solutions.
6. Trade deficit of India in the April-June quarter increased to a record of $70.8 billion.
7. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has announced that its Indian embedded value (IEV) has been pegged at Rs 5.41 lakh crore, as of March 2022.
8. Punjab National Bank (PNB) has gone live on the account aggregator ecosystem as financial information user (FIU) as well as financial information provider (FIP).
   • Other than PNB, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank and Indian Bank are the three other PSU lenders who have connected to the account aggregator system.
   • State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda and UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, and Central Bank of India are in the various stages of implementation.
   • Most of the major private sector banks such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank have also connected with the account aggregator system.

   About Account Aggregator –

   • Under the account aggregator system, a lender who requests the data is called financial information user (FIU) and the one that provides the data is called financial information provider (FIP).
   • The data cannot be shared without taking consumer’s permission. The entities which facilitate the data exchange are account aggregators.
   • Google has bought 1.2% stake in Bharati Airtel for $700 million.
   • Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has entered a new niche by launching a unique Bikers Cafe to cater to the needs of biker expeditions to the Himalayas.

Important Days

1. July 15 –
   • World Youth Skills Day; Theme – Transforming youth skills for the future
   • World Plastic Surgery Day
2. July 17 – World Day for International Justice

Awards

1. Indian Bank has won the Best Performing Bank Award in Tamil Nadu for the 2021-22 under SHG Bank Linkage Programme category from NABARD.
2. DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) has been recognised as the ‘World’s Best SME Bank’ by the UK-based financial publication Euromoney.
   • The DBS has been honoured with the ‘World’s Best SME Bank’ title for the second time since 2018.
   • Euromoney also awarded the World’s Best ‘Financial Innovation of the year’ to DBS’ Fixed Income Execution (FIX) Marketplace, Asia’s first automated digital bond issuance platform where issuers can directly connect with investors on the platform at their sole discretion.

Sports

1. 2022 Singapore Open (Badminton) Championship was a BWF World Tour Super 500 event.
   • Men’s singles – Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (Indonesia)
   • Women’s singles – P. V. Sindhu (her 1st Super 500 win)
2. Surya Sekhar Ganguly has won the Chess960 Rapid Open at 55th Biel Chess Festival in
3. Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has won the Paracin Open Chess title in Serbia.

Miscellaneous

1. Pratap Pothen (South Indian actor-filmmaker) has passed away.

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