20th July, 2022

1. Dwarka Expressway, India’s first elevated urban expressway, will be operational in 2023.
2. Indo-UAE Economic Chamber of Commerce was launched for boosting the trade between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
3. Bonalu is a Telangana traditional Hindu festival centred on the Goddess Mahakali.
4. Central government has formed a Committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Natural Farming, under the chairmanship of former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal, after 8 months of the repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
5. Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) have organized a naval seminar named ‘Swavlamban seminar’ in New Delhi.
6. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the image of a giant gas planet orbiting a distant sun-like star.
7. Federal Bank has partnered with the Central Board of Direct Taxes to assist taxpayers in making their payments via the e-pay tax facility in the e-filing portal of the income tax.
8. Go Digit General Insurance has launched ‘Pay as you Drive’ (PAYD) add-on feature for motor insurance Own Damage (OD) policies.
9. Karnataka Bank has signed an MOU with JCB India, a manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment in India, to provide equipment finance to customers of JCB India.
10. RBI and the Bank Indonesia have signed an MoU, on the side lines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to improve mutual cooperation between the two central banks.
11. RBI conducted the 5th round of the remittances survey for 2020-21. The last round was conducted in 2016-17.
12. OneCard (mobile-first credit card firm) and 5ire (Blockchain platform) became the unicorn in India.
13. Indian renewable energy company GreenZo Energy has announced to set up green hydrogen plant of 50 MW at various locations in Nepal for API Power company of Nepal.
14. Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has fined Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, 3.3 million euros ($3.35 million) for offering services in the Netherlands without being registered in the country.
15. Hindalco Industries Ltd has signed an MOU with Phinergy and IOP (both based in Israel) for developing aluminium-air batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.
16. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd has announced to use AI-based technology for automate vehicle inspection for the renewal of vehicle insurance policies.
17. JSW Steel Ltd has partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for its decarbonization and sustainability agenda.
18. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has clarified that large packages of food items, such as pulses, cereals, rice and wheat that weigh more than 25 kg or contain more than 25 litres, will not attract the 5% GST that pre-packaged and labelled items attract.
19. Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (PW) has set up its first-ever engineering centre of the Asia Pacific in Bengaluru.
20. NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation have signed an agreement to form a joint venture firm for meeting the electricity requirements of upcoming projects of the IOC.
21. Morgan Stanley forecasted 7.2% GDP growth rate for India for 2022-23.
22. SEBI has approved the appointment of Ashish Kumar Chauhan as the next Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange.
23. La Ganesan, Governor of Manipur, has been given the additional charge of West Bengal Governor as Jagdeep Dhankhar has resigned from the post.
24. July 17 – World Day for International Justice
25. July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day; Theme – “do what you can with what you have and where you are”
26. National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) in Tiruchi has been awarded the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institution Award 2020 under the category of small institutes.
27. Former West Indies skipper Denesh Ramdin has announced his retirement from international cricket.
28. Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made history by winning her fifth World Championship in 100m race at the World Athletics Championships at Eugene, USA.
29. 4th Tennis Premier League (TPL) will be played at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune, from December 7 to 11.
30. Sujeet is the only player to win a gold medal in men’s freestyle on the final day of the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series wrestling tournament in Tunis, Tunisia.
31. World junior champion Harshada Garud and Akanksha Vyavhare won gold medals in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent (Capital of Uzbekistan).
32. Cameron Smith (from Australia) has won the 150th edition of The Open Championship (golf championship).
33. India won the 3-match ODI series against England at Old Trafford Stadium, Greater Manchester, England.
34. “The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics: Debates on Gender, Varna, and Species” book has been written by Ruth Vanita.
35. “The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed the Party” book has been authored by Ajay Singh.
36. Eminent singer and guitarist Bhupinder Singh has passed away.

National News

1. Dwarka Expressway, India’s first elevated urban expressway, will be operational in 2023.
   • Dwarka Expressway will reduce pressure on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway (part of the Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-Mumbai arm of Golden Quadrilateral).
2. Indo-UAE Economic Chamber of Commerce was launched for boosting the trade between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

State News

1. Bonalu is a Telangana traditional Hindu festival centred on the Goddess Mahakali.
   • This year, it is being celebrated from July 3-24.
   • This festival is celebrated annually in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and other parts of the state.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Central government has formed a Committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Natural Farming, under the chairmanship of former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal, after 8 months of the repeal of the three contentious farm laws.
   • The government has made a provision to include three members from Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) as part of the committee.

Defence News

1. Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) have organized a naval seminar named ‘Swavlamban seminar’ in New Delhi.
   • At the seminar, PM Modi launched the “SPRINT Challenges” initiative, which aims to increase the indigenous technologies in the Indian Navy.
   • SPRINT stands for “Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence), NIIO and TDAC (Technology Development Acceleration Cell)”.
   • The NIIO, in cooperation with the Defence Innovation Organisation (funder of iDEX), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy in sync with ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ commemorating 75 years of the country’s Independence.

   About the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) –

   • Launched in 2020 to foster innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence.
   • NIIO is a three-tiered organisation –
     • Naval Technology Acceleration Council (N-TAC)
     • Working group under N-TAC will implement the projects.
     • Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC)

International News

1. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the image of a giant gas planet orbiting a distant sun-like star.
   • The planet has “signature of water” and evidence of clouds and haze on a giant gas planet.
   • This telescope has released the photos of SMACS 0723 (aka Webb’s First Deep Field) galaxy cluster and Jupiter’s rings and moons since its launch.

Banking and Economy

1. Federal Bank has partnered with the Central Board of Direct Taxes to assist taxpayers in making their payments via the e-pay tax facility in the e-filing portal of the income tax.
2. Go Digit General Insurance has launched ‘Pay as you Drive’ (PAYD) add-on feature for motor insurance Own Damage (OD) policies.
   • This makes Digit Insurance one of India’s first insurers to introduce the add-on for its customers.
3. Karnataka Bank has signed an MOU with JCB India, a manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment in India, to provide equipment finance to customers of JCB India.
4. RBI and the Bank Indonesia have signed an MoU, on the side lines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, to improve mutual cooperation between the two central banks.
   • Areas of cooperation – central banking, including payment systems, digital innovation in payments services, and regulatory and supervisory framework for Anti Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT).
5. RBI conducted the 5th round of the remittances survey for 2020-21. The last round was conducted in 2016-17.
   • As per the survey, the share of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region countries in India’s remittances has reduced during the Covid period.
   • The share of inward remittances from the gulf region has declined from more than 50% in 2016-17 (last surveyed period) to about 30% in 2020-21.
   • On the other hand, advanced economies like the US, the UK and Singapore emerged as important sources for the country for remittances, accounting for 36% of the total payments in 2020-21.

• State-wise: Maharashtra has outpaced Kerala in terms of remittances inflows.

• Also, the small-sized remittances have increased in India due to the stress on income levels.
• Reasons for fall in the value of remittances from the Gulf Region – Slow pace of migration from India to Gulf Region, more people in the informal sector, reduced income levels
• Majority of the remittances continues to be routed through private sector banks, followed by public sector banks although foreign banks have witnessed marginal increase in remittances transactions, particularly from Singapore.
• As per the report, the global average cost of remittances remains above the SDG target at 6.3% and 5% for US$ 200 and US$ 500 respectively in Q2 2021.
  • SDG 10.c aims to reduce the cost of remittance across countries to less than 3% and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5% by 2030.
  • The costs of a remittance transaction include a fee charged by the sending agent, typically paid by the sender, and a currency-conversion fee for delivery of local currency to the beneficiary in another country.

• International Day of Family Remittances is observed on June 16.

6. OneCard (mobile-first credit card firm) and 5ire (Blockchain platform) became the unicorn in India.
   • Now, India has 105 unicorns.
7. Indian renewable energy company GreenZo Energy has announced to set up green hydrogen plant of 50 MW at various locations in Nepal for API Power company of Nepal.
8. Dutch Central Bank (DNB) has fined Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, 3.3 million euros ($3.35 million) for offering services in the Netherlands without being registered in the country.
   • Headquartered in Cayman Islands, Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.
9. Hindalco Industries Ltd has signed an MOU with Phinergy and IOP (both based in Israel) for developing aluminium-air batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage.
   • IOC Phinergy Private Limited (IOP) is a joint venture between Phinergy and Indian Oil Corporation.
10. Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Ltd has announced to use AI-based technology for automate vehicle inspection for the renewal of vehicle insurance policies.
11. JSW Steel Ltd has partnered with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for its decarbonization and sustainability agenda.
    • The BCG will offer its proprietary CO2 AI platform and digital and analytics capabilities.
12. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has clarified that large packages of food items, such as pulses, cereals, rice and wheat that weigh more than 25 kg or contain more than 25 litres, will not attract the 5% GST that pre-packaged and labelled items attract.
13. Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (PW) has set up its first-ever engineering centre of the Asia Pacific in
    • It is the fifth global centre of PW. It has centres in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Poland.
14. NTPC and Indian Oil Corporation have signed an agreement to form a joint venture firm for meeting the electricity requirements of upcoming projects of the IOC.
    • NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC, will form the JV company for supply of renewable power to Indian Oil.

GDP Forecasts

1. Morgan Stanley forecasted 7.2% GDP growth rate for India for 2022-23.
   • GDP forecast for 2023-24 for India – 6.4%

Appointments

1. SEBI has approved the appointment of Ashish Kumar Chauhan as the next Managing Director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange.
2. La Ganesan, Governor of Manipur, has been given the additional charge of West Bengal Governor as Jagdeep Dhankhar has resigned from the post.

Important Days

1. July 17 – World Day for International Justice
2. July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day; Theme – “do what you can with what you have and where you are”

Awards

1. National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) in Tiruchi has been awarded the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institution Award 2020 under the category of small institutes.
   • The institute had been maintaining Asia’s largest field gene bank with 374 indigenous and 124 exotic varieties along with invitro and cryo-gene banks.
   • Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI-Kochi) has won two national-level awards instituted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
     • 1st award – best annual report award (2020) in the category of ICAR large institutes,
     • 2nd award – Anusree M., a PhD scholar at CMFRI, bagged the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for PG Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences for 2021
   • ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) has won the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institute Award 2021 (in the Large Institute Category) for its overall performance.
   • Ravindra Metkar (farmer from Amravati, Maharashtra) won the Babu Jagjivan Ram Abhinav Kisan award for innovative experiments in farming.
   • National Pomegranate Research Institute at Solapur has been awarded the Vasantrao Naik prize for year 2021.
   • ICAR celebrated its 94th Foundation Day on July 16 (established in 1929) at A P Shinde Symposium Hall, National Agricultural Science Complex, PUSA, New Delhi.

Sports

1. Former West Indies skipper Denesh Ramdin has announced his retirement from international cricket.
2. Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce made history by winning her fifth World Championship in 100m race at the World Athletics Championships at Eugene, USA.
   • National record holder Sreeshankar finished 7th in the men’s long jump final.
3. 4th Tennis Premier League (TPL) will be played at the Balewadi Stadium, Pune, from December 7 to 11.
   • Reigning Wimbledon doubles champion Matthew Ebden of Australia will also participate in the league.
4. Sujeet is the only player to win a gold medal in men’s freestyle on the final day of the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series wrestling tournament in Tunis, Tunisia.
5. World junior champion Harshada Garud and Akanksha Vyavhare won gold medals in the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent (Capital of Uzbekistan).
6. Cameron Smith (from Australia) has won the 150th edition of The Open Championship (golf championship).
7. India won the 3-match ODI series against England at Old Trafford Stadium, Greater Manchester, England.

Miscellaneous

1. “The Dharma of Justice in the Sanskrit Epics: Debates on Gender, Varna, and Species” book has been written by Ruth Vanita.
2. “The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed the Party” book has been authored by Ajay Singh.
3. Eminent singer and guitarist Bhupinder Singh has passed away.

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