NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Govt announces 27% reservation for OBCs, 10% quota for EWS in medical seats: The centre has
announced 27% reservation for OBCs and a 10% quota for students from the
economically weaker sections (EWS) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical
and dental courses under the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme. Under the AIQ
scheme, 15% of seats at the UG level and 50% seats at the PG level are kept
domicile free in government medical and dental colleges against which students
from other states to are offered admission while the rest of the seats are kept
only for students from within the state. This will immensely help thousands of
our youth every year get better opportunities and create a new paradigm of
social justice in our country. A statement by the government said that the
decision would benefit nearly 1500 OBC students in MBBS and 2500 OBC students
in PG while it will also impact around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1000
EWS students in PG medicine.
About the AIQ scheme: The AIQ scheme
was introduced in 1986 under the direction of the Supreme Court to provide for
domicile-free merit-based opportunities to students from any state to aspire to
study in a good medical college located in another State.
2.
Kerala police launched ‘Pink Protection’ project for women safety: The Kerala Police
launched a new initiative called the Pink Protection project for the protection
of women in public, private and digital spaces. The Pink Protection project
aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying & humiliation in
public places. It has 10 components, one of which is activating the existing
Pink Police Patrol system, named Pink Janamaithri Beat.
About the project:
(1) They will collect information from
panchayat members, neighbours and other locals and hand it over to the Station
House Officers for further action.
(2) The Pink Beat system, in which specially
trained women police officers have been deployed, will be present at Karnataka
State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private buses and in front of
schools, colleges and other public places including bus stops.
(3) Pink control rooms have been set up in
all 14 districts to coordinate the activities.
(4) The Pink Shadow Patrol team will also
be deployed to detect the presence of anti-socials in crowded areas and to take
action.
(5) A bullet patrol team of woman police
officers called “Pink Romeo” was also launched as part of the project.
Note: Kerala CM: PinarayiVijayan; Kerala
Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.
3.
IIT Hyderabad developed Covid RNA test kit called “COVIHOME”: India’s first Rapid
electronic Covid-19 RNA Test kit that allows self-testing at home called
‘COVIHOME’ has been developed by a research group at the Indian Institute of
Technology Hyderabad. The kit has been validated by the Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology and can be used to check for Covid-19 trace at the comfort of
home. About the test kit:
(1) This test kit can produce results
within 30 minutes for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.
(2) The major benefit of this testing kit
is that it does not require RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain
Reaction), an expert human resource, and a BSL 2 lab facility for the
extraction of RNA, so it has the potential for one to take the test at home
without expert supervision.
(3) The validation report confirmed the
kit’s efficiency at 94.2 per cent, Sensitivity 91.3 per cent and Specificity
98.2 per cent.
(4) While a test currently costs around Rs
400, the developers say that mass production of the testing kit will help to
reduce the cost to around Rs 300 per test.
4.
BhootJolokiachillies from Nagaland exported to London: A consignment of
‘Raja Mircha’, also referred to as King Chilli or BhootJolokia, from Nagaland,
has been exported to London for the first time. Naga king chilli is constantly
on the top five in the list of the world’s hottest chillies based on the Scoville
Heat Units. It got a GI tag in 2008. It was declared the hottest chilli pepper
in the world by Guinness World Records in 2007.
INTERNATIONALUPDATES:
1.
Maldives’ Abdulla Shahid won the Presidency of the 76th UNGA: Foreign Minister of
Maldives Abdulla Shahid won the Presidency of the 76th Session of the United
Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This is for the first time in the history of
the United Nations (UN), Maldives will hold the office of President at the UNGA.
Abdulla Shahid’s victory at the UNGA Presidential election is a “proud
accomplishment” and “a step forward in elevating the country’s stature on the
global stage”. Maldives’ decision to join the UN in 1965, immediately after its
independence, sparked a debate on how a “microstate”, could possibly contribute
to the organisation. Over the years, Maldives has cleared all the doubts by
raising its voice on issues of concern and playing a prominent role in the UN
as well as in the other multilateral organisations including the Commonwealth.
Note: President of the Maldives: Ibrahim
Mohamed Solih; Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency of the Maldives: Maldivian
Rufiyaa.
2.
Hubble Finds First Evidence of Water Vapor at Jupiter’s Moon Ganymede: For the first time,
astronomers have uncovered evidence of water vapour in the atmosphere of
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. This water vapour forms when ice from the moon’s
surface sublimates that turns from solid to gas. Scientists used new and
archival datasets from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to make the discovery,
published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
In 1998, Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging
Spectrograph took the first ultraviolet (UV) images of Ganymede, which revealed
colourful ribbons of electrified gas called auroral bands, and provided further
evidence that Ganymede has a weak magnetic field. The similarities in these UV
observations were explained by the presence of molecular oxygen (O2). But some
observed features did not match the expected emissions from a pure O2 atmosphere.
At the same time, scientists concluded this discrepancy was likely related to
higher concentrations of atomic oxygen (O).
3.
World Ranger Day: 31st July: World Ranger Day is observed every year on
31 July to commemorate the Rangers killed or injured while on duty and to
celebrate the work that Rangers do to protect the world’s natural and cultural
heritage. World Ranger Day offers a chance to support their vital work, which
ranges from environmental campaigning to education. The day is also an opportunity
to pay tribute to rangers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. A
Ranger is a person tasked with preserving and protecting parklands and natural
protected areas. A Ranger typically refers to a forest ranger or a park ranger.
It was on this day in 1992 that International Ranger Federation (IRF) was
founded. World Ranger Day was created by the International Ranger Federation
and was first held in 2007.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Vantika Agarwal bags national women online chess title: Vantika Agarwal has
won the National Women Online Chess title. She scored 9.5 points from 11
rounds. Arpita Mukherjee of West Bengal took the second spot and Tamil Nadu’s
SreejaSeshadri secured the third spot in the competition. In the absence of
over-the-board events due to the ongoing pandemic, the All India Chess
Federation has decided to consider the performance of this online event for the
selection of players for the Asian individual championship and other events.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Madgaum Urban Co-op Bank licence cancelled by RBI: The Reserve Bank of
India has cancelled the licence of Madgaum Urban Co-operative Bank Limited,
Margao, Goa, as the bank with its current financial position would be unable to
pay its present depositors in full. According to the RBI, as per the data
submitted by the bank, about 99 per cent of the depositors will receive full
amounts of their deposits from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee
Corporation (DICGC). The bank ceases to carry on banking business with effect
from the close of business on July 29, 2021.
2.
Paytm Payments Bank crosses 1 crore FASTags mark: Paytm Payments Bank
has become the first bank in the country to achieve the milestone of issuing 1
crore FASTags. According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI),
over 3.47 crore FASTags were issued by all banks together till the end of June
2021. Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) now has close to 28 per cent share as FASTag
issuer bank. In the last 6 months alone, PPBL has equipped over 40 lakh
commercial & private vehicles with FASTags.
Besides this, Paytm Payments Bank is also
India’s largest acquirer of toll plazas for the National Electronic Toll
Collection (NETC) program offering an interoperable nationwide toll payment
solution. According to PPBL, 280 out of the total 851 toll plazas across the
national and state highways are now using its payment gateway to collect toll
charges digitally.
Note: Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh; Paytm
Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma; Paytm Founded: 2009.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Property consultant Colliers appoints Ramesh Nair as CEO for India: Property consultant
Colliers has appointed Ramesh Nair as the chief executive officer (CEO) for
India and managing director, market development, for Asia. Nair’s experience
and leadership skills will be particularly relevant to its clients in the
region and around the world as they seek opportunities in the post-COVID
economy. Nair joined Colliers from JLL India, where he held the position of CEO
& country head, leading over 12,000 people. Based in Mumbai, Ramesh will
partner with Sankey Prasad, chairman & managing director of Colliers in
India, to lead the business.
Note: The Asia Pacific CEO of Colliers is
John Kenny; Colliers CEO: Jay S. Hennick; Colliers Headquarters: Toronto,
Canada; Colliers Founded: 1976, Australia.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
VaidehiDongre from Michigan crowned as Miss India USA: VaidehiDongre, a
25-year-old girl from Michigan, has been crowned Miss India USA 2021 at the
beauty pageant. ArshiLalani from Georgia was declared the first runner up and
North Carolina’s Mira Kasari was declared the second runner up. Dongre, who has
majored in international studies, won the ‘Miss Talented’ title in the pageant
for giving a flawless performance of Indian classical dance from Kathak.
Former Miss World Diana Hayden was the
chief guest and chief judge for the pageant. There were 61 contestants from 30
states participating in three different pageants – Miss India USA, Mrs India
USA and Miss Teen India USA. The winners of all three categories get
complimentary tickets to travel to Mumbai, India to take part in worldwide
pageants.
OBITUARIES
1. Former England bowler Mike Hendrick passes away: Former England and Derbyshire bowler, Mike Hendrick has passed away. He played a major role in two of England’s Ashes-series victories and took 87 wickets in 30 Tests for his country between 1974 and 1981. Hendrick, who took 770 wickets in 267 first-class matches and 35 wickets in 22 ODIs, was also the first professional coach of Ireland.
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