20th July, 2023

1. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has inaugurated the New Integrated Terminal Building of Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair.
2. Festival of Libraries 2023, a two-day event organised by the Union Ministry of Culture is to be held on 5th – 6th August 2023.
3. 2nd edition of India-Tanzania Joint Defence Cooperation Committee was held in Arusha, Tanzania.
4. The G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI, and Metaverse was held in Gurugram, Haryana.
5. 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
6. Rajasthan assembly has passed the ‘Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023’.
7. Gujarat government has revamped Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) scheme.
8. J&K government has created “Department of Public Grievances” as a separate Administrative Department
9. First barge of series LSAM 7 has been delivered to Indian Navy.
10. India-made C295, a military transport aircraft to be delivered from Vadodara factory starting 2026.
11. Government to provide free-dish in border villages on Indo-China border.
12. Ministry of Culture and the Indian Navy have signed an MoU to revive the “ancient stitched shipbuilding method (Tankai method)”
13. Tata Sons to build a 40-gigawatt (GW) battery cell gigafactory in the United Kingdom (UK), with an investment of over £4 billion.
14. The 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) was held on 11-12 July 2023 in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia.
15. India needs an average annual growth of 7.6% to become developed nation by 2047: RBI bulletin
16. IIFL Home Finance has raised a $50 million loan from US International Development Finance Corp (DFC) to grow its affordable housing finance portfolio with a special focus on sustainable housing.
17. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has retained forecast for India’s economic growth at 6.4% for FY24 and 6.7% for FY25.
18. GQG Partners invests 2400 crores and acquires 5.96% stake in Patanjali Foods.
19. President Smt. Draupadi Murmu has presented ‘Bhoomi Samman- 2023’
20. A report titled “A World of Debt: A growing burden to global prosperity” has been released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
21. US Open 2023 Badminton
22. Duleep Trophy 2023 (60th edition)
23. Indian Surf Team has won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship, held at Thulisdhoo Island in Maldives.

National News

1. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has inaugurated the New Integrated Terminal Building of Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair.
   • 3 airports in Shibpur, Car Nicobar, and Campbell, as well as 4 water aerodromes in Shaheed Dweep, Swaraj Dweep, and Port Blair, will be established by the Govt. of India with the investment of 150 crores.

2. Festival of Libraries 2023, a two-day event organised by the Union Ministry of Culture is to be held on 5th – 6th August 2023.
   • The government has launched National Mission on Libraries (NML) in 2014.
   • This mission has a total budget of Rs100 crore to develop model libraries, connect district libraries with digital networks, and prioritize libraries in economically backward districts.
     Source: PIB
3. 2nd edition of India-Tanzania Joint Defence Cooperation Committee was held in Arusha, Tanzania.
   • A 5-year roadmap for defence cooperation is agreed to between the two nations.
   • It includes initiatives such as customised training & capacity building to maritime cooperation, infrastructure building and collaboration in defence equipment and technology.
     Source: PIB
4. The G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI, and Metaverse was held in Gurugram, Haryana.
   Source: NoA
5. 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
   • Focus was laid on importance of Mission IT (India and Tanzania) in the meeting.
   • In July 2016, India and Tanzania signed an agreement for a line of credit of 92 million USD for the rehabilitation and improvement of the water supply system in Zanzibar.
     Source: NoA

State News

1. Rajasthan assembly has passed the ‘Rajasthan Minimum Guaranteed Income Bill, 2023’ Features of the bill
   • All families of the state to get guaranteed employment of 125 days every year.
   • The aged, disabled, widows, and single women will get a minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month.
     • Importantly, the pension will be increased at the rate of 15% each year.
   • The Bill has 3 broad categories-
     • Right to minimum guaranteed income,
     • Right to guaranteed employment
     • Right to guaranteed social security pension.
   • The government has anticipated an additional expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore per year for this scheme.
     Source: IE

2. Gujarat government has revamped Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana-Mukhyamantri Amrutam (PMJAY-MA) scheme.
   • While the Centre’s PMJAY is popularly known as Ayushman Bharat, MA stands for the state government’s Mukhyamantri Amrutam scheme, which was merged with the central health scheme.
   • Under the revamped scheme, people can avail free medical treatment up to Rs 10 lakh instead of the previous limit of Rs 5 lakh.
     Source: ET

3. J&K government has created “Department of Public Grievances” as a separate Administrative Department
   • The department will deal with the redressal of Public Grievances and Lieutenant Governor’s Mulaqaat – Live Public Grievance Hearing.
   • It will also deal with Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS).
     Source: NoA

Defence News

1. First barge of series LSAM 7 has been delivered to Indian Navy.
   • The barge is built in accordance with the classification requirements of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and has a service life of 30 years.
   • Working Group on Military Cooperation of the Indian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) has met for the 3rd time in Delhi.
     Source: newsbharti
2. India-made C295, a military transport aircraft to be delivered from Vadodara factory starting 2026.
   • Till now, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had a monopoly over manufacture of military aircraft in India.
   • In 2021, India formalised the acquisition of 56 Airbus C295 aircraft to replace the legacy Avro fleet of the IAF at a cost of Rs 21,935 crore.
     • Under the deal, first 16 aircraft will come from Airbus facility in Seville while the remaining 40 aircraft will be manufactured by the Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India.
     • A fully operational factory will be in place in Vadodara in Gujarat by November 2024 and are scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2031.
       Source: IE
3. Government to provide free-dish in border villages on Indo-China border.
   • The government will provide 1 lakh 50 thousand free Doordarshan DTH connections in far-flung areas to improve Akashvani’s reach in border villages.
     Source: NoA

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ministry of Culture and the Indian Navy have signed an MoU to revive the “ancient stitched shipbuilding method (Tankai method)”
   • It is a 2000-year-old technique of shipbuilding.
     Source: PIB

International News

1. Tata Sons to build a 40-gigawatt (GW) battery cell gigafactory in the United Kingdom (UK), with an investment of over £4 billion.
   • This unit will be used to develop electric mobility and renewable energy storage solutions for customers in UK and Europe.
     Source: BT

   
   
2. The 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) was held on 11-12 July 2023 in Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia.
   Source: asean.org

Reports and Indices

1. A report titled “A World of Debt: A growing burden to global prosperity” has been released by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Key Highlights 

• Global public debt
  • In 2022, global public debt has reached a record USD 92 trillion.
  • It includes both general government domestic and external debt.
  • Developing countries owe almost 30% of the total, of which 70% is attributable to China, India and Brazil.
    • India is bearing an obligation weight of $2.8 trillion.
    • China, owes close to $14 trillion, while the United States owes $30 trillion.
  • Developing World
    • Public debt is growing faster in the developing world.
    • Total public debt has increased from 35% of GDP in 2010 to 60% in 2021.
    • External public debt has increased from 19% of GDP in 2010 to 29% of GDP in 2021.
  • Exports
    • The share of external public debt to exports has increased from 71% in 2010 to 112% in 2021.
    • During the same period, external public debt service as a share of exports has increased from 3.9% to 7.4%.
      Source: unctad

Banking and Economy

1. India needs an average annual growth of 6% to become developed nation by 2047: RBI bulletin
   Sectoral growths-
   • Agriculture would have to grow at 4.9% per annum, in the coming 25 years with their sectoral shares in GDP at 5% in 2047-48.
   • Services activity would have to grow at 13% per annum with their sectoral shares in GDP at 60% in 2047-48.
   • The industrial sector’s share in GDP should increase from the current level of 25.6% to 35% by 2047-48.
   • To become a developed country by 2047, India’s per capita GDP needs to rise by 8.8 times from the current level.
     • In other words, the current per capita GDP of USD 2,500 needs to rise to USD 22,000.

2. IIFL Home Finance has raised a $50 million loan from US International Development Finance Corp (DFC) to grow its affordable housing finance portfolio with a special focus on sustainable housing.
   • The fund was raised at a concessional 5.72% rate.
     Source: ET
   
   
3. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has retained forecast for India’s economic growth at 6.4% for FY24 and 6.7% for FY25.
   • In an update in its Asian Development Outlook, the bank has forecasted 3.6% inflation this year for developing economies in Asia, and 3.4% in 2024.
   • The Indian economy grew at the rate of 7.2 % in the FY23.
     Source: ET
4. GQG Partners invests 2400 crores and acquires 5.96% stake in Patanjali Foods.
   Source: BS

Appointments

1. DG Rakesh Pal has been appointed as the 25th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
   Source: PIB

Awards

1. President Smt. Draupadi Murmu has presented ‘Bhoomi Samman- 2023’

“Bhoomi Samman”

• It is an award launched by the Union Ministry of Rural Developmentto recognize the achievements of states and districts in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
• The award has been presented to 9 state secretaries and 68 district collectorsalong with their teams who have excelled in achieving saturation of the core components of DILRMP.
• DILRMP (previously National Land Record Modernization Programme) was revamped and converted as a Central Sector Scheme with effect from 1st April, 2016 with 100% funding by the Centre.
  Source: PIB

Sports

1. US Open 2023 Badminton

• List of winners

2. Duleep Trophy 2023 (60th edition)
   • South Zone has won the trophy after 13 years by defeating West zone at the final, being played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
   • Vidwath Kaverappa has been named as player of the match and the player of the series.
     Source: Sportstar

   
   
3. Indian Surf Team has won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship, held at Thulisdhoo Island in Maldives.
   • The first-ever World Surfing League (WSL) event will be held in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu from August 14 to 20 this year.
     Source: NoA

Start Quiz of 20th July 2023 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 20th July 2023 on Desktop