NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Assam
becomes 36th State/UT to implement One Nation One Ration Card: Assam has become the 36th State to implement the One Nation One Ration
Card (ONORC) scheme. With this, the ONORC plan is successfully implemented in
all 36 states, and Union Territories, making food security portable throughout
the country. This is a one-of-its-kind citizen-centric initiative in the
country, which is swiftly implemented in a short span of time covering about 80
Crore beneficiaries, after being initiated in August 2019, the Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a statement today.
Objective
of the program: The objective of this beneficiary centric
high-impact program is to empower all NFSA beneficiaries to become AtmaNirbhar
for their food security anywhere in the country, through the portability of
their existing ration cards enabling them to seamlessly lift their entitled
subsidized foodgrains (in part or full) from any Fair Price Shop of their
choice. This also enables their family members to lift balance/required amount
of foodgrains on the same ration card at their native/ any place from the FPS
of their choice.
Note: Assam
Capital: Dispur; Assam Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma; Assam Governor:
Jagadish Mukhi.
2. PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate Vanijya Bhawan
and the NIRYAT Site: The new office complex for the Ministry of
Commerce and Industry, “Vanijya Bhawan,” and the “National Import-Export Record
for Yearly Analysis of Trade” (NIRYAT) portal, which will provide data on
India’s international trade, will both be officially inaugurated by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi. The department of commerce and the department for the
promotion of industry and internal trade will both use the facility, which will
serve as an integrated and contemporary office complex.
About
Vanijya Bhawan: Vanijya Bhawan is being built close to India Gate
on a 4.33-acre property and is envisioned as a smart building that incorporates
sustainable architecture principles with a focus on energy conservation. More
than 56% of the 214 trees on the property were either left alone or were
planted again during the building’s construction. Modern amenities including
smart access control, central air conditioning, video conferencing, and fully
networked systems are available in the 1,000-person capacity building.
3.
Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy launched “Jyotirgamaya” festival in New Delhi: Jyotirgamaya, a
festival celebrating the brilliance of underappreciated performers, was
launched in New Delhi by Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy. Sangeet Natak
Akademi organised this festival as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and on the
occasion of World Music Day to highlight the talent of rare musical instruments
from all across the country, including street performers and train
entertainers. The festival aims to raise awareness among attendees of the need
of preserving both the production and playing of rare musical instruments.
Sangeet Natak Akademi’s effort to save India’s vanishing performing arts is
unique.
4.
‘Shabash Mithu’: A biopic on former Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali
Raj: Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji has dropped the trailer
of “Shabaash Mithu”, a Taapsee Pannu-starrer biopic on former India women’s
cricket team captain Mithali Raj. The film is set to hit theatres on July 15.
The film has been written by Priyan Aven who makes her debut as a screenplay
writer with Shabaash Mithu. Amit Trivedi has provided music for the film with
lyrics by Swanand Kirkire, Kausar Munir and Raghav M. Kumar, and sound designed
by Academy Award winner Rasool Pookutty.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. White
House: The US prioritises its bilateral relations with India: The US prioritises its bilateral relationship with New Delhi and views
India as a “very crucial” strategic ally in the strategically significant
Indo-Pacific region, according to the White House, which also noted that each
country must make its own choices about Russia. Because Russia began a “special
military operation” in the neighbouring Ukraine, the US-led Western nations
have imposed punishing sanctions on it. Key Points:
a) India is a “very important strategic partner in the Indo-Pacific
region.”
b) Industry data show that as refiners buy Russian crude available at a
significant discount as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, Russia has
surpassed Saudi Arabia to become India’s second-largest oil supplier after
Iraq.
c) About 25 million barrels of Russian oil, or more than 16 percent of
their total oil imports, were purchased by Indian refiners in May.
d) India reiterated earlier this month that its needs for energy security
serve as the basis for its purchases of crude oil from Russia.
Impact of
Russia-Ukraine War:
a) In western capitals, there has been some unease regarding India’s stance
on the Ukraine situation and its choice to buy discounted Russian oil.
b) India is yet to denounce the Russian war on Ukraine but has been advocating
for an immediate halt to all hostilities and a diplomatic and diplomatic
solution to the crisis.
c) India, the third-largest importer and consumer of crude oil worldwide,
has long defended its purchases of Russian crude oil by pointing out that its
imports from Russia are negligible in comparison to those of Europe and only
make up a small portion of the country’s overall consumption.
2.
Ruchira Kamboj named as next Permanent Representative of India to the UN: Senior Diplomat Ruchira Kamboj, currently Indian ambassador to Bhutan,
has been appointed as the next Permanent Representative of India to the United
Nations at New York. She will succeed TS Tirumurti as the Indian ambassador to
the United Nation. Ministry of External Affairs said, Ruchira Kamboj is
expected to take up the assignment shortly.
3. India
comes third in Renewable Energy Installations in 2021: India ranked third globally for total renewable power capacity
additions in 2021 with 15.4 GW, behind only China (136 GW) and the US (43 GW).
According to a report, despite the Covid-19 pandemic’s promise of a global
green recovery, this historic opportunity has been lost. The world is unlikely
to be able to achieve important climate goals this decade, according to REN21’s
Renewables 2022 Global Status Report (GSR 2022). This is because the global
clean energy transition is not taking place.
Key
Points:
a) The largest energy crisis in modern history started in the second half
of 2021, and it was made worse by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine
in early 2022 and an unprecedented global commodities shock.
b) The research states that India increased its hydroelectric capacity by
843 MW in 2021, bringing the total to 45.3 GW.
c) India was the third-largest market globally and the second-largest
market in Asia for new solar PV capacity (13 GW of additions in 2021).
d) In terms of overall installations, it came in at number four (60.4 GW),
passing Germany (59.2 GW) for the first time.
e) India was in third place overall for installed wind power (40.1 GW),
trailing only China, the US, and Germany.
f)
In the energy industry, historic increases in
generation (7,793 terawatt hours) and capacity (314.5 gigawatts, up 17% from
2020) were unable to keep up with the six percent growth in global electricity
demand.
4. Huge Stingray
breaks the record for the Biggest Freshwater Fish: The enormous stingray Moul Thun snagged on the end of line by a
fisherman was larger than any fish ever seen, the hunter was aware. The
42-year-old fisherman from Kaoh Preah, an isolated island in the Mekong River,
in northern Cambodia, didn’t realise was that the ray would eventually be
designated the largest documented freshwater fish in the world. Key Points:
a) Fishermen in Cambodia initially informed Dr. Hogan and his colleagues at
the Wonders of the Mekong Project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for
International Development and seeks to preserve the aquatic variety of the
Southeast Asian river, that they had caught a stingray that was the largest
ever seen.
b) Three industrial scales were lined up by team members as they hurried to
the little river island known as Koh Preah. They lifted the stingray out of the
water and onto the scales using a sheet to determine its weight.
c) The finding was made less than a month after a 400-pound huge stingray was
also captured and released close by. This year has also seen the capture of two
other huge rays.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Rumeli Dhar retires from all forms of international cricket: Rumeli Dhar, the
India seam-bowling allrounder, has announced her retirement from international
cricket, at the age of 38. Dhar played her last international match in the
tri-nation women’s T20I series between India, Australia and England, at
Brabourne in 2018. In all, she featured in four Tests, 78 ODIs, and 18 T20Is,
scoring 1328 runs and taking 84 wickets across formats. She was also part of
the India team that had reached the 2005 World Cup final in South Africa.
Having made her international debut in 2003, against England in Lincoln, Dhar
made an unlikely comeback, to the Indian team at the age of 34, when she was
called up to India’s T20 squad for their tour of South Africa in February 2018.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Karnataka Bank launches “V-CIP” for account opening: Karnataka Bank
has launched online savings bank (SB) account opening facility through
‘Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP)’. The facility enabled in
the corporate website of the bank, empowers prospective customers to open an SB
account through online process and complete KYC (know your customer)
verification through a video call at their place of convenience.
The end-to-end paperless digital process
leverages the bank’s API (Application Programming Interface) that auto fills
the account opening form, validates PAN/Aadhaar number instantly and completes
the KYC process through a video call. Online SB Account opening facility
through V-CIP will take the customers experience to a new high as it reduces
the turnaround time of account opening by eliminating the need of customer’s
physical presence at the branch to complete Know Your Customer (KYC) process.”
Note: Karnataka Bank Headquarters:
Mangaluru; Karnataka Bank CEO: Mahabaleshwara M. S; Karnataka Bank Founded: 18
February 1924.
2.
South Indian Bank launches “SIB TF Online” EXIM trade portal: South Indian Bank
has launched a new portal called ‘SIB TF Online’ for its corporate EXIM
customers. The portal facilitates a platform for trade-related payments to
foreign entities remotely. The customer can initiate the payment request over
SIB TF Online after uploading the relevant supporting documents for the
transaction. About the “SIB TF Online”:
a)
SIB
TF Online is yet another accomplishment by the bank to make its operations more
tech-driven. It comes close on the heels of launching the internet banking
facility targeting retail savings and NRE SB customers to initiate foreign
remittances without visiting the branch.
b)
The
bank plans to launch SIB TF Online in phases, with the initial version allowing
three types of import remittances such as advance remittance for Imports,
remittance against import bill received from overseas bank for collection
(Bank-to-Bank Foreign Inward Collection Bill) and payment against Import
documents received by the importer directly from overseas suppliers.
Note: South Indian Bank Headquarters:
Thrissur, Kerala; South Indian Bank CEO: Murali Ramakrishnan; South Indian Bank
Founded: 29 January 1929.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Indian’s funds in Swiss banks jumps over Rs 30 lakh crore in 2021: Funds parked by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks, including
through India-based branches and other financial institutions, jumped to a
14-year-high of 3.83 billion Swiss francs (over Rs 30,500 crore) in 2021,
according to annual data from Switzerland’s central bank. The rise in aggregate
funds of Indian clients with Swiss banks, from 2.55 billion Swiss francs (Rs
20,700 crore) at the end of 2020, marks the second consecutive year of
increase. Key Points:
a) In terms of assets (or funds due from customers), Indian clients
accounted for CHF 4.68 billion at the end of 2021, up nearly 10 per cent. This
included dues from Indian customer’s worth about CHF 323 million after a rise
of 25 per cent during the year.
b) The UK has topped the charts for foreign clients’ money in Swiss banks
at CHF 379 billion, followed by the US (CHF 168 billion) at the second place –
the only two countries with 100-billion-plus client funds.
c) Others in the top 10 were West Indies, Germany, France, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Luxembourg, Bahamas, the Netherlands, Cayman Islands and Cyprus
respectively.
d) India was placed at 44th place, ahead of countries like Poland, South
Korea, Sweden, Bahrain, Oman, New Zealand, Norway, Mauritius, Bangladesh,
Pakistan, Hungary and Finland.
e) In BRICS nations, India stood below Russia (15th place) and China
(24th), but above South Africa and Brazil.
Note: Swiss
National Bank Chairman of the Governing Board: Thomas J. Jordan; Swiss National
Bank Head Offices: Berne, Zurich; Swiss National Bank Founded: 1854.
2.
PhonePe and Kotak General Insurance come Together to Provide Motor Insurance: Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company Limited (Kotak General
Insurance) announced that it has partnered with PhonePe Insurance Broking
Services Pvt. Ltd (PhonePe), a digital payments platform, to offer motor
insurance to PhonePe’s 380 million users, placing a significant bet on the
digital distribution and direct-to-customer space. Key Points:
a) Kotak General Insurance will provide its clients quick and easy vehicle
and two-wheeler insurance policies via PhonePe.
b) Through this partnership, PhonePe users will be able to quickly and
easily purchase automobile and two-wheeler insurance online from the
convenience of their smartphones.
c) The relationship with PhonePe will enable to connect and engage with
customers who are digital natives and seeking convenience.
d) Kotak General Insurance, made it a mission to serve customers with straightforward and simple-to-understand solutions.
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