NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Giriraj Singh launches the 1st Edition of 'Matsya Sampada' newsletter: Union Minister for
Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Giriraj Singh has launched the 1st Edition
newsletter “Matsya Sampada” fisheries and aquaculture published by the
Department of Fisheries and the operational guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Matsya
Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). The Newsletter “MATSYA SAMPADA” is an outcome of the
endeavours of the Department of Fisheries to reach out to the stakeholders
especially fishers and fish farmers through various means of communication, and
toinform and educate them about the latest developments in the fisheries and
aquaculture sector. It would be
published on a quarterly basis starting from the first quarter of the year
2020-21.
Note: Minister of State in the Ministry of
Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries: Sanjeev Kumar Balyan.
2.
Kerala to Implement ‘Dream Kerala Project’ for expats who lost jobs due to
coronavirus: The
state government of Kerala has decided to roll out a ‘Dream Kerala Project’ to
help and tap the potential and experience of people returning from abroad and
other states after losing their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. While on one
hand, the project will help the professionals to get suitable job opportunity
and ensure a stable income for the returning expatriates, on the other hand it
will help to harness their potential for the future of the state.
Note: Chief Minister of Kerala: Pinarayi
Vijayan; Governor of Kerala: Arif Mohammad Khan; Capital of Kerala:
Thiruvananthapuram.
3.
Goa Govt Allocates 14,380 sqm land to set up India first Maritime Cluster: The Government of
Goa has allotted over 14,380 square metres of land at Verna industrial estate
to ‘Konkan Maritime Cluster’ (Goa Maritime Cluster), a consortium of 49 Goan
MSME units, to set up its Common Facility Centre. The Goa Maritime Cluster will
be the first Maritime Cluster of India, providing a world-class common facility
for manufacturing, design and other allied services for the shipbuilding
industry. The project is likely to extend direct benefits to another 180 units.
The project is supported by the Government of Goa, Ministry of Shipping GoI,
through Directorate General of Shipping, and Ministry of Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises. The Goa Government will contribute 10% of the total setup
cost.
4. K
K Venugopal & Tushar Mehta re-appointed as Attorney General and Solicitor
General of India respectively: President of India has re-appointed senior
advocate Shri K K Venugopal as the Attorney General for India for a period of
one year with effect from 01 July 2020. The present three-year term of
Venugopal, 89, ended on 30 June 2020. Venugopal took over as the Attorney General
on June 30, 2017, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi. Meanwhile, the Appointments
Committee of the Cabinet has also reappointed senior advocate Tushar Mehta as
Solicitor General of India with effect from July 1 for a period of three years
or until further orders. Suryaprakash V Raju of Gujarat High Court has been
appointed as the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) of the Supreme Court
(India). ACC has also appointed Chetan Sharma as the Additional Solicitor
General (ASG) for Delhi High Court.
5.
Shrikant Madhav Vaidya takes charge as IOC Chairman: Shrikant Madhav
Vaidya has taken over as the new chairman of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on 01
July 2020. Prior to this, Vaidya was the Director (Refineries) on the IOC
Board, since October 2019. He will also serve as the Chairman of Chennai
Petroleum Corporation. He succeeds Sanjiv Singh, who has superannuated from the
services of the Corporation on June 30, 2020.
Note: Indian Oil Corporation Headquarters:
New Delhi; Indian Oil Corporation established: 1959.
6.
Shri Ravinder Bhakar takes charge as CEO of Central Board of Films
Certification (CBFC): Shri Ravinder Bhakar, a 1999 batch officer of Indian
Railway Stores Service (IRSS), has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC). Prior to this, Mr. Bhakar
was posted as the Secretary & Chief Public Relations Officer of Western
Railways. He succeeds Anurag Srivastava. CBFC is a statutory film-certification
body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of
India.
Note: Headquarters of Central Board of
Films Certification: Mumbai, Maharashtra; Chairperson of Central Board of Films
Certification: Prasoon Josh.
7.
IIT Gandhinagar develops AI based tool to detect Covid-19: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar
(IITGN) has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based deep learning tool
for detection of Covid-19 from Chest X-ray images. This online tool indicates
the probability if a person is infected with Covid-19, which can be used for
quick preliminary diagnosis before the medical test.
Note: IIT-Gandhinagar Director: Sudhir
Jain.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Pakistan Army appoints Nigar Johar as 1st female Lt. General: Pakistan Army has
appointed Major General Nigar Johar as 1st female lieutenant general. She is
the 1st female officer to be promoted as Lieutenant General. The officer has
been appointed as 1st female Surgeon General of Pak Army. Johar graduated from
the Army Medical College, Rawalpindi, in 1985 and joined the army’s Medical
Corps. In 2017, she became the third woman officer in the Pakistan Army to
attain the rank of major general. The other two women major generals were
Shahida Badsha and Shahida Malik.
Note: Prime Minister of Pakistan: Imran
Khan; President of Pakistan: Arif Alvi; Capital of Pakistan: Islamabad.
2.
New Zealand cancels the APEC Summit 2021: New Zealand has cancelled the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit 2021, due to the COVID-19
pandemic. This summit was to be held in Auckland, New Zealand. The 2019 leaders’
meeting was cancelled by Chile due to violent anti-government protests and the
virtual APEC meeting of 2020 is being hosted by Malaysia. Deputy Prime Minister
of New Zealand, Winston Peters announced that for planning and security reasons
the 2021 APEC summit is cancelled and the summit will be hosted as a virtual
event. New Zealand has closed its borders of every nation except for the
returning citizens and residents.
Note: Executive Director of APEC: Dr
Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria; Headquarters of APEC: Singapore; Established of APEC:
1989.
3.
World UFO Day: 02nd July: The World UFO Day (WUD) is held on July 2 every year
globally. It is a day dedicated to the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects
(UFO) by World UFO Day Organization (WUFODO). WUD aims to raise awareness about
the existence of UFOs and encouraging people to think about the possibility of
us not being alone in the Universe. Initially, the day was observed on June 24.
Later, WUFODO established July 2 to commemorate the day.
4.
World Sports Journalists Day: 02nd July: World Sports Journalists Day is
observed on July 2 every year to celebrate the services of sports journalists
for the promotion of sports & to encourage them to do better at their work.
The day was established in 1994 to commemorate 70th anniversary of
International Sports Press Association (ISPA). The ISPA was founded in London
on the July 2, 1924 during the Summer Olympics in Paris. This year 2020 marks
the 96th anniversary of AIPS.
Note: AIPS of Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland;
AIPS of President: Gianni Merlo.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Shashank Manohar steps down as ICC chairman after serving two terms: International
Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Shashank Manohar has formally stepped down from
the post on 1 July 2020, after heading the sport’s global governing body for
four years. Singapore’s Imran Khwaja has been appointed as interim chairman
until the finalisation of the next chairman. He has served twice as the
chairman of the International Cricket Council from November 2015 to March 2017
and on 24 March 2017; a resolution was passed to reinstate him as the chairman
until a successor was elected.
Note: Chief Executive Officer of ICC: Manu
Sahney; Headquarters of ICC: Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
2.
HRD along with Sports Minister to launch 'Fit India Talks': HRD Minister Ramesh
Pokhriyal and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju held interactive session titled Fit
India Talks. It is launched under Govt's flagship program Fit India with some
top sports persons like PV Sindhu and Sunil Chhetri to inspire the school
children. Leading sports persons will share their childhood experiences,
stories of their failures, struggles and their success from common school
students to world-class champions. Slogan: Fit Hai to Hit Hai India.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
HDFC Bank Unveils ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ app for farmers: HDFC Bank has
launched a mobile app named ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ for farmers across India as a one
stop solution to provide them access to a range of services on both banking and
agriculture. ‘e-Kisaan Dhan’ app will provide value-added services like mandi
prices, latest farming news, weather forecast, information on seed varieties,
SMS advisory, e-pashuhaat, Kisan TV, among other things. Besides this, users
can also avail multiple banking services like procuring loans, the opening of
Bank accounts, availing insurance facilities, calculate KCC loan eligibility
online, and acquiring Government social security schemes at their fingertips.
The app will also help with traditional banking services such as apply for
loans, Fixed Deposits, Recurring Deposits, and Savings Accounts. The app has
been launched by the bank under its ”Har Gaon Hamara” initiative to reach out
to customers in the rural and under-served areas.
Note: Headquarters of HDFC Bank: Mumbai,
Maharashtra; Managing Director of HDFC Bank: Aditya Puri.
2.
Banks sanction over Rs 1 lakh cr loans to 30 lakh MSMEs under ECLGS: As per the data by
the Ministry of Finance on 30 June 2020, banks from public and private sectors
have sanctioned over Rs 1 lakh crore loans under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency
Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector as of June 26, 2020.
Out of this, more than Rs 45,860 crore has already been disbursed under the 100
percent ECLGS for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This would
help more than 30 lakh units of MSMEs and other businesses restart their
businesses post the lockdown. The top lenders under the scheme are State Bank
of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank and HDFC Bank.
3.
Karnam Sekar retires as MD & CEO of Indian Overseas Bank: Karnam Sekar, the
managing director and chief executive of public sector lender Indian Overseas
Bank (IOB) has retired on June 30, 2020. Karnam had joined the bank as an OSD
(officer on special duty) and whole-time director on April 1, 2019 after merger
of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank into Bank of Baroda. He was elevated as MD and CEO
on July 1, 2019 after the retirement of Subramaniam Kumar. Prior to working
with IOB, Sekar was MD and CEO of Dena Bank since September 21, 2018.
Note: Indian Overseas Bank Headquarters:
Chennai, Tamil Nadu; Indian Overseas Bank Founded: 10 February 1937.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Fitch slashes India’s GDP Growth Projection to 8% from 9.5% for FY22: Fitch Ratings has
cut India’s growth forecast for the fiscal year 2021-22 to 8 percent from its
earlier projection of 9.5 percent, in its June update of Global Economic
Outlook released on 30 June 2020. However, the rating agency has retained its
projection for the current fiscal which is expected to contract by 5 percent in
the 2020-21. Meanwhile, Fitch projected Indian economy to grow 5.5 percent in
2022-23.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
India’s AI eabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk won 2 awards at CogX 2020: India’s Artificial
Intelligence (AI) equipped MyGov Corona Helpdesk has been awarded with CogX
2020 under the categories of Best Innovation for Covid-19-Society and People’s
Choice Covid-19 Overall Winner. CogX 2020 is a prestigious Global Leadership
Summit and Festival of AI and Emerging Technology which is held annually in
London. MyGov, JioHaptik Technologies Ltd and WhatsApp collaborated to develop
AI enabled MyGov Corona Helpdesk in the record time of 5 days.
OBITUARIES
1.
Former Mizoram Assembly speaker Upa Rokamlova passes away: Former speaker of
Mizoram legislative assembly Upa Rokamlova (79 years) passes away in Aizawl. He
was a veteran Congress leader and joined politics in early 1980s. He had played
a crucial role in signing of the historic Mizo Peace Accord in 1986. He won
Mizo state assembly elections 3 times between 1984 and 1993. He became the
speaker of Mizoram Assembly in 1990 and also served as rural development
Minister of Lal Thanhawla government.
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