NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Union Cabinet adopts a $1.6 billion BSNL
revitalization plan: Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of
Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, said that the
Union Cabinet approved the Rs. 1.64 lakh crore revival package for Bharat
Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Package announced by the government in 2019 has contributed
to stabilising BSNL’s financial situation.
Key Points:
a) Revenue that was declining has stabilised at Rs 19,000 crore thanks to a
resuscitation package that the union cabinet authorised.
b) The proposed package includes three components: (1) Better services; (2)
A de-stressed balance sheet and (3) Fibre network development.
c) The cabinet has accepted a proposal to convert Rs 33,000 crore in
statutory dues into equity as part of the de-stressing of the balance sheet,
and an equal amount of bank loans will be repaid through the issuance of
low-interest bonds.
d) A plan to combine BSNL and Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) was
also approved by the federal cabinet.
e) Through this merger, BSNL would have access to 5.67 lakh kilometres of
extra optical fibre that have been installed throughout 1.85 lakh village
panchayats nationwide with the help of the country’s Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF).
f)
BSNL now operates an optical fibre cable network
that spans more than 6.83 lakh kilometres.
2. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched ‘Smart
E-Beat’ system for Gurugram police: Haryana Chief
Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar has launched an app-based ‘Smart E-Beat’ system
for police attendance and real-time monitoring of patrolling by personnel in Gurugram.
CM Khattar launched the system at an event at the office of the Commissioner of
Police and flagged off 119 motorcycle police riders connected with it. The
app-based system has been introduced in Gurugram under the Smart Policing
Initiative (SPI) and it will help these policemen to mark their attendance and
in the monitoring of their rides.
About the
Smart E-Beat system: The Smart E-Beat system would cover the area of
all the 33 police stations located in the urban area of Gurugram. As many as
119 motorcycle riders will be deployed, and 714 policemen will give duty on the
rider in three shifts a day, Gurugram Police has identified 2,056 sensitive
locations in the city, which mainly include ATMs, petrol pumps, residences of
senior citizens, schools, colleges, religious places, and crime-affected areas
for monitoring.
Note: Haryana
Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya; Haryana Capital: Chandigarh; Haryana Chief
Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.
3. To
Establish Center of Excellence for MSME, NSIC and LG Electronics sign an
agreement: In the presence of Shri Narayan Rane, Honorable
Cabinet Minister, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Honorable Minister of State,
Shri B. B. Swain, Secretary MSME, Shri P. Udayakumar, CMD, NSIC, and Shailesh
Kumar Singh, AS&DC, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed an
agreement with LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd. and the Electronics Sector Skills
Council of India (ESSCI).
Key
Points: The goal of this project is to train
underprivileged youth in the fields of consumer electronics and appliances. LG
Electronics and the Electronics Sector Skills Council of India (ESSCI) will
establish a “Centre of Excellence” at NSIC – Technical Services Center. This
will give young people new opportunities in the field of electronics and
produce skilled labour for jobs in this industry. 600 youths would be served
each year in the first year.
About
NSIC Role: Along with the sector skills council, the NSIC
will assist graduates in finding employment at job fairs, and LG Electronics
will give them preference for positions over graduates of the NSIC’s Technical
Services Center (Okhla) programme. The NSIC Technical Services Center, Okhla,
has taken the lead in educating young people through entrepreneurship-based
training programmes and numerous skill-based training courses. The training
programmes offered are market- and industry-focused.
4. In
Bhopal, Delhi Airport, Kandla Port, and Bengaluru Metro, TRAI testing 5G: 5G spectrum auctions are currently taking place in India. The Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has stated that it has begun pilot testing
the 5G network at selected areas around the nation in advance of the spectrum
auction. TRAI has been testing the 5G network at four different sites around
the nation. These places are Namma Metro in Bengaluru, Namma Port Kandla near
Kutch in Gujarat, Bhopal Smart City, GMR International Airport in New Delhi,
and Bhopal Smart City. Key Points:
a) These 5G readiness tests were carried out by BSNL, Vodafone Idea,
Reliance Jio, and Bharti Airtel.
b) Bhopal, pilot testing was done at eleven different places. As a result,
Bhopal is the first smart city in India to test the functionality of street
furniture such as traffic signal poles, street light poles, smart poles,
billboards, direction boards, road signage, foot over bridges, and city bus
shelters on 5G networks.
c) The Deendayal Port in Kandla near Kutch and GMR International Airport in
New Delhi have now been designated as the nation’s first port and airport,
respectively, to test 5G readiness.
d) Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has become the nation’s first metro rail system
to test 5G readiness. The MG Road Metro station in Nama Metro Bengaluru was
chosen as the primary station to focus on 5G coverage at street level, in its
concourse area, platform, and tracks on both sides.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Russia
decides to leave the International Space Station after 2024: President Vladimir Putin was informed by the newly appointed head of
Moscow’s space agency that Russia has made the decision to leave the
International Space Station after 2024. The declaration comes amid heightened
hostilities between Moscow and the West over Moscow’s military action in
Ukraine and several rounds of previously unheard-of sanctions against Russia.
The
International Space Station (ISS), which has been in orbit since 1998, has been
jointly developed by Russia and the United States. One of the few areas where
cooperation between Russia, the United States, and its allies had not been
ruined by tensions over Ukraine and other issues up until now was space
exploration. One of the Soviet space program’s major achievements and a
significant source of national pride in Russia is the launch of the first
satellite in 1957 and the sending of the first man into space in 1961.
Note: Roscosmos
Chief: Yury Borisov
2. World
Nature Conservation Day: 28th July: World Nature
Conservation Day is observed on July 28 every year. The objective is to spread
awareness regarding the preservation of nature and biodiversity for a healthy
environment which is required for stable and prospering humankind. It is also
marked as the day to create positive opinions about climate change. World
Nature Conservation Day acknowledges that a healthy environment is a foundation
for a stable and healthy society. This year World Nature Conservation Day will
be celebrated under the theme “Cut Down on Plastic.”
3. World
Hepatitis Day: 28th July: World Hepatitis Day is
observed each year on 28 July to raise awareness of viral hepatitis, which
causes inflammation of the liver that leads to severe disease and liver cancer.
This day is an opportunity to step up national and international efforts on
hepatitis, encourage actions and engagement by individuals, partners and the
public and highlight the need for a greater global response as outlined in the
WHO’s Global hepatitis report of 2017. The theme for world hepatitis day 2022
is ‘Bringing hepatitis care closer to you.’ The main theme is to focus on
raising awareness of the need to make hepatitis care more accessible.
World
Hepatitis Day History: The World Health Organisation launched a campaign
to make the world free of hepatitis. The World Hepatitis Alliance was founded
in the year 2007 and the first community-organized World Hepatitis Day was
observed in 2008. The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of
Nobel-prize-winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg. It was in the year 1967 that
Baruch Samuel Blumberg discovered the Hepatitis B virus.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. AR
Rahman unveils anthem ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ for 44th International Chess Olympiad:
Grammy and Oscar-winning music composer, AR Rahman
has come up with the ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ (Welcome Anthem) for the upcoming
International Chess Olympiad, 2022. Directed by Vignesh Shivan, the music video
features chief minister MK Stalin, grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, and music
maestro AR Rahman, who has composed and sung the theme song. The music video
also features director Shankar’s daughter as a Bharatanatyam artiste. The
terrific music video has been praised by netizens for showing the culture of
Tamil Nadu impressively.
About the
44th International Chess Olympiad:
a) This year, the Fédération Internationale des Échecs will organise the
44th International Chess Olympiad in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu.
b) The 44th International Chess Olympiad, the world’s biggest chess event,
will be held at Poonjeri Village in Mamallapuram from July 28 to August 10. The
venue is a UNESCO heritage site, located about 50 kilometres from Chennai,
Tamil Nadu.
c) The prestigious chess tournament has generated tremendous buzz on social
media. The hype around the event is growing with each update on social media.
2. India
will host ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025:
International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed that India will host the ICC
Women’s ODI World Cup 2025. BCCI will leave no stone unturned to make it a
memorable event for everyone concerned. The infrastructure is in place and will
have a very successful edition of the World Cup. The hosts were selected via a
competitive bidding process overseen by a Board sub-committee chaired by Martin
Snedden along with Clare Connor, Sourav Ganguly and Ricky Skerritt. The ICC
Board accepted the recommendations of the committee who conducted a thorough
review of each bid along with ICC management. India, Bangladesh, England and
Sri Lanka were named as the four hosts for ICC women’s white-ball events from
2024-27.
Other ICC
Women’s tournaments hosts:
a) Bangladesh will host the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup, while the 2026
edition will be held in England.
b) Sri Lanka has secured hosting rights for the Women’s T20 Champions
Trophy, slated for 2027, provided it qualifies for the event.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. HDFC
Bank to be among global top 10 banks after merger: According to Times of India report, HDFC Bank will be among the world’s
top 10 most valuable banks after its merger with the parent, mortgage lender
Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), at the current valuations and
will also be the first Indian bank to make it to the Top 10 club. The combined
market cap of HDFC Bank and HDFC would be around USD 160 billion. Key
Points:
a) HDFC Bank is worth more than DBS Group and UBS (both valued at around
$58 billion). The country’s largest lender State Bank of India ($57 billion) is
at number 32 ahead of BNP Paribas ($55 billion) in terms of valuation.
b) HDFC Bank is a systemically important bank in India along with SBI and
ICICI Bank.
c) Recently in April, RBI approved HDFC Bank’s proposed merger with parent
and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (HDFC).
Note: HDFC Bank
Ltd MD & CEO: Sashidhar Jagdishan; HDFC Bank Ltd Establishment: 1994; HDFC
Bank Ltd Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra; HDFC Bank Ltd Tagline: We
Understand Your World.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. IMF
cuts Indian economic growth forecast by 80 bps to 7.4%: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has slashed India’s growth
forecast for 2022-23 (FY23) by 80 basis points to 7.4 per cent from 8.2%,
citing less favourable external conditions and rapid policy tightening by the
central bank. However, despite the growth downgrade, India will remain one of
the fastest growing major economies in the world in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Only
Saudi Arabia, estimated to grow 7.6% in 2022, is expected to outpace India.
However, growth in the Kingdom is expected to slow to 3.7% in the following
year. The Global prospect:
a) In comparison, China’s growth is estimated to slow to 3.3% in 2022 from
4.4% estimated earlier by IMF.
b) Other emerging markets and developing economies, including Russia, South
Africa, and Brazil, saw an upward revision in their economic forecasts on
improved outlook. The IMF also cut the global growth outlook and warned that
the world may soon be on the brink of a recession.
c) Global economic expansion will likely slow to 3.2% this year, slower
than the 3.6% forecast by the fund in April.
Note: IMF
Formation: 27 December 1945; IMF Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States;
IMF Member Countries: 190; IMF MD: Kristalina Georgieva.
2. Nokia
awards Wipro a five-year contract for digital transformation: Wipro Ltd., a company with its headquarters in Bengaluru, announced the
signing of a new, five-year contract for digital transformation with Nokia of
Finland. The new contract expands on a connection that was first formed more
than 20 years ago. Wipro will provide business services in support of Nokia‘s
updated operating model, putting a special emphasis on process optimization,
touchless processing, and improved user and customer experience across order
management, supply chain, finance, and accounting operations.
Note: Wipro
Founder: H. Hasham Premji; Wipro CEO: Thierry Delaporte; Wipro Chairman: Azim
Premji
Nokia Founder:
Fredrik Idestam, Eduard Polón and Leo Mechelin; Nokia Chairman: Sari Baldauf;
Nokia Headquarter: Espoo, Finland
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Professor Kaushik Rajashekara won Global Energy Prize 2022: Indian-origin professor of engineering at the University of Houston,
Kaushik Rajashekara has won the prestigious Global Energy Prize. Rajashekara
was given the award in the New Ways of Energy Applications category for his
contributions to transportation electrification and energy efficiency
technologies while reducing power generation emissions. The awarding ceremony will
be held during Russian Energy Week in Moscow on October 12-14.
Only three
people in the world were selected this year for the honour, bestowed by the
Global Energy Association, out of a record 119 nominations from 43 countries.
Rajashekara is joined as a 2022 laureate by Viktor Orlov, chief specialist of
the Centre for Innovative Technologies (Rosatom in Russia) and pioneer in
thermonuclear physics; and Mercouri Kanatzidis, professor of chemistry and
materials science at Northwestern University and senior researcher at the
Argonne National Laboratory.
DEFENCE
1. Indian
Army received locally developed QRFV from Tata Advanced Systems: Tata Advanced Systems successfully delivered the locally developed
Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle to the Indian Army. The contract to provide
QRFV-Med vehicles to the Indian Army was successfully completed. These armoured
vehicles will increase the nation’s protector’s ability to fight in all weather
and terrain situations and will offer protection while moving. Key Points:
a) These vehicles will improve the Indian Army’s operational capability
during future battles.
b) In the last four years, from 2018–19 to 2021–22, the expenditure on
defence procurement from foreign sources decreased from 46% of the total
expenditure to 36% as a result of the steps implemented by the Centre to
promote the manufacture of indigenous defence equipment.
c) The initial group of QRFV was inducted by former Chief of Army Staff
General MM Naravane.
d) The QRFV, Infantry Protected Mobility Vehicle (IPMV), Ultra Long Range
Observation System, Monocoque Hull Multi-Role Mine-Protected Armoured Vehicle,
and Ultra Long Range Observation System were all introduced by the Army Chief.
Note: Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Pande; Defence Minister of India: Rajnath Singh
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