NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Goa launches ‘Goem Vinamulya Vij Yevjan’ Scheme: Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant has launched the ‘Goem Vinamulya Vij Yevjan’ in the state. ‘Goem Vinamulya Vij Yevjan’ scheme is in alignment with the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. It aims to increase solar rooftop potential and empower residential homes to generate their own electricity. The Goem Vinamulya Vij Yevjan has an initial investment of Rs 35 crore. Goa Energy Development Agency will cover the balance cost of rooftop installations up to 5kW. This support is for consumers who have used 400 or fewer units in the past year.
2. Former Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan takes charge as Chairman of UPSC: Former Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Sudan is currently a member of the Commission. She will take over from Manoj Soni who resigned a few days ago due to “personal reasons”. She will have a tenure till April 2025, when she turns 65. Soni resigned almost five years before his tenure ended in 2029. He joined the Commission as a Member in 2017, and was sworn-in as the Chairperson on May 16, 2023.
3. DAE Launches ‘One DAE One Subscription’ Initiative in Mumbai: The first ceremony for the ‘One DAE One Subscription’ (ODOS) program took place at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai. This initiative aims to improve access to scientific research for the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and its around 60 units.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Masoud Pezeshkian sworn in as president of Iran: Masoud Pezeshkian was sworn in as president of Iran news president. Pezeshkian takes office at a time of escalating Middle East tensions over Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza and cross-border fighting with Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. Pezeshkian replaces hardline Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May.
2. July 30 – World Day Against Trafficking In Persons: The World Day Against Trafficking In Persons is observed on July 30 every year. Objective – To raise awareness, take global action, and support victims of human trafficking. Theme 2024 – Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking According to the Global Report of Trafficking in Persons (GLOTIP) by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), children are twice as likely as adults to face violence during trafficking. The United Nations General Assembly established the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons back in 2013. This step was taken as a part of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which was adopted in 2010. Its objective was to fight against human trafficking in the United Nations’ broader development and security agendas.
3. 31 July – World Ranger Day: World Ranger Day is celebrated worldwide on 31 July to commemorate Rangers killed or injured in the line of duty and to celebrate the work Rangers do to protect the planet’s natural treasures and cultural heritage. Theme 2024 – 30 by 30 The history of World Ranger Day dates back to the International Ranger Federation (IRF), a group founded in 1992 with the aim of advancing and backing the efforts of park rangers across the globe. This day was initially marked in 2007 as a tribute to eight rangers who died in a tragic incident while serving in Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo. Over the years, World Ranger Day has expanded to become a globally acknowledged event to honor the work of rangers and highlight the obstacles they encounter in their roles.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. All 5 Indian Participants Bag Medals at 54th International Physics Olympiad 2024: The Indian delegation has achieved remarkable success at the 54th International Physics Olympiad 2024, held in Isfahan, Iran. All five Indian participants bagged medals, including 2 gold and 3 silver medals. Rhythm Kedia from Chhattisgarh and Ved Lahoti from Madhya Pradesh bagged gold medals. Whereas Akarsh Raj Sahay from Maharashtra, Bhavya Tiwari from Uttar Pradesh, and Jaiveer Singh from Rajasthan were honoured with silver medals. A total of 193 students from 43 countries participated in the competition. In the country-wise medal tally, India was placed in the fourth position, jointly with Vietnam. China came at the top, followed by Russia and Romania at second and third position, respectively.
2. India to host T20 Asia Cup 2025, 2027 edition in ODI format in Bangladesh: India will host the next edition of the men’s Asia Cup cricket tournament in T20 format in 2025 as a pre-cursor to the T20 World Cup scheduled in the country in 2026. Traditionally, the Asia Cup serves as a preparatory event for the global tournament and is played in the same format as the upcoming World Cup. In 2023, the Asia Cup was hosted by the Pakistan Cricket Board but was conducted in a ‘Hybrid Model’ due to India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan. As a result, India’s matches were held in Sri Lanka. The 2027 Asia Cup will be held in ODI format in Bangladesh as the 50-over World Cup is scheduled in South Africa in the same year. The T20 Asia Cup in India and 50-over continental event in Bangladesh in 2027 will comprise of 13 games each as there are 26 matches allocated in the said period.
3. Indian Team wins 4 medals at 56th International Chemistry Olympiad: In the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad, the Indian team won one Gold, two Silver and one Bronze medal. The Competition was held in Riyadh city of Saudi Arabia. Devesh Bhaiyya from the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra won gold. While Mumbai’s Avanish Bansal and Hyderabad’s Harshin Posina grabbed silver medals. Kashyap Khandelwal from Mumbai brought a bronze medal. Prof. Gulshanara Shaikh and Dr. Shraddha Tiwari were the guides of the Indian team. 327 students from 94 countries participated in the 56th International Chemistry Olympiad.
4. Shooter Manu Bhaker & Sarabjot win historic bronze at Paris Olympics: Shooter Manu Bhaker teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team shooting event. In the bronze medal match held at the National Shooting Center in Chateauroux, Paris, Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot Singh defeated the South Korean pair of Oh Ye Jin and Wonho Lee 16-10. The Serbian pair of Zorana Arunovic-Damir Mike won the gold medal, while the Turkiye pair had to settle for a silver medal. Paris is hosting the 33rd Summer Olympics from 26 July to 11 August 2024.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Amazon Pay, Adyen, BillDesk secure cross-border payment licence from RBI: Three payment companies have secured the cross-border payment aggregator licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). These are Mumbai-based merchant payment company BillDesk, Amazon Pay, and global payments major Adyen. They joined Bengaluru-based payment aggregator Cashfree in the list of licence holders. Cashfree was the first company to secure the PA-cross border licence. The PA-CB licence allows payment companies to offer payment services in the export-import space. With India being a massive market for international remittances and freelancers who work for global companies sitting out of India, there is a large opportunity to be tapped by these cross-border payment aggregators.
2. Insurtech startup Covrzy gets broking license from IRDAI: Bengaluru-based Insurtech startup Covrzy has been granted a direct broking (general) license by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This enables Covrzy to operate as a direct insurance broker in India, offering a full spectrum of business insurance solutions. In May last year, the startup had raised $400K in its pre-seed round led by Antler, with participation from Shastra VC (formerly Veda VC). Co-founded by Ankit Kamra and Veera Thota, Covrzy provides an easy, customer-friendly insurance buying journey, particularly for startups, SMEs, and MSMEs in India.
3. UGRO Capital, SIDBI ink co-lending partnership: UGRO Capital, a data-tech non-banking financial company (NBFC) has entered into a co-lending partnership with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The partnership is in accordance with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) co-lending framework, designed to leverage the strengths of banks and NBFCs to boost priority-sector lending. UGRO Capital uses data-driven co-lending to offer bespoke finance solutions to over 78,000 MSMEs in India.
4. SEBI launches SEVA Chatbot for Investors: The capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced SEBI’s Virtual Assistant (SEVA) chatbot to help investors of the securities market. The SEVA Chatbot is an artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot that will answer certain investors’ questions. The chatbot will have multiple features, such as citations, answering follow-up questions, and the ability to convert speech-to-text and text-to-speech. The SEVA chatbots will enable users to ask questions about the securities market and SEBI’s complaint redressal platform (SCORES). SCORES (SEBI Complaint Redressal System) was launched by SEBI in June 2011 as an online platform which enables an investor.
5. Shriram Capital gets RBI nod to launch ARC: Chennai based Shriram Capital has received in-principle approval for its asset reconstruction company (ARC) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The company had submitted the application to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in November 2023. The ARC will be a 100 percent subsidiary of Shriram Capital.
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