Current Affairs July 23rd 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

National Broadcasting Day- 23rd July

• Every year on July 23rd, National Broadcasting Day is commemorated to honor the radio, which has been a significant part of people’s lives in India, both as an easy medium of pleasure and as a source of news.
• On this day in 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company’s Bombay Station transmitted the first radio transmission in the country.

HISTORY:

• On July 23, 1927, the first radio broadcast was made from Bombay Station.
• The station was previously owned by the Indian Broadcasting Company, a private company.
• On April 1, 1930, the government took over broadcasting and called it the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS).
• Initially, it was on an experimental basis.
• In 1932, it was permanently taken over by the government.
• The Indian State Broadcasting Service was renamed All India Radio on June 8, 1936.
• AIR is now one of the world’s largest public broadcasting organizations.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Mr. Sanjay Agarwal to chair the committee Center established to strengthen the MSP system:

• The government set up a committee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) eight months after it made a comparable pledge in exchange for the repeal of three unpopular agricultural policies.
• The committee will be led by former agriculture secretary Sanjay Agrawal.
• Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) is entitled to three seats on the committee; however, the agricultural organization has not yet proposed any candidates for the position.
• Two representatives from the farmers’ cooperative and organization are members of the committee: IFFCO Chairman Dilip Sanghani and CNRI General Secretary Binod Anand.
• Along with the chief secretaries of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Odisha, the group also consists of senior officials from agricultural institutions, five federal government secretaries, and five state secretaries.

Key Points:

• A year-long struggle by many farmers along the Delhi borders organized by SKM led to the government rescinding the agricultural legislation.
• When he announced the removal of three farm rules in November of last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi committed to creating a committee to address the farmers’ demand for a legal guarantee on MSP.
• The Agriculture Ministry published a gazette notice announcing the creation of a committee in this regard.
• Members of the panel will include Ramesh Chand of Niti Aayog, agri-economists CSC Shekhar from the Indian Institute of Economic Development and Sukhpal Singh from IIM-Ahmedabad, and senior member Naveen P Singh of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• The committee’s farmer representatives include Bharat Bhushan Tyagi, a farmer who has received national recognition, three SKM members, and five members from other farmer organizations.
• These individuals include Sayyed Pasha Patel, Gunwant Patil, Krishnaveer Choudhary, Pramod Kumar Choudhary, and Guni Prakash.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port becomes the first 100% Landlord Major Port of India:

• With all berths being run under the PPP model, Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become the first major port in India to be 100% owned by landlords.
• Beginning with the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the PPP model of investing in Indian ports has advanced significantly over the past 25 years, leading to capacity expansion and increased productivity.
• JNP is one of the top container ports in the nation and is listed as the 26th best port in the world (as per Lloyds List Top 100 Ports 2021 Report).

About Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal:

• Under the terms of this PPP agreement, the backup area of 54.74 hectares and the two berths with a combined length of 680 meters and a 15-meter draught that make up the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT) would also be transferred.
• With the upgrade, JNPCT can accommodate boats with a capacity of 12200 TEUs instead of the current 9000 TEUs.
• Additionally, it is suggested that the port’s RMQC rail span be increased from 20 meters to 30.5 meters.
• The concessioner will invest in this project at a total cost of Rs. 872 crores.
• This terminal must be upgraded, run, maintained, and transferred by the concessioner on a PPP basis.
• This project will be carried out in two stages.

Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana completes five years:

• Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana has completed five years.
• The scheme was formally launched on this day in 2017.
• The scheme is a social security scheme for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum pension to them based on an assured return on the purchase price or subscription amount.
• The minimum investment in this scheme was revised to one lakh 56 thousand 658 rupees for a pension of twelve thousand per annum and one lakh 62 thousand 162 rupees for getting a minimum pension amount of one thousand rupees per month.
• The scheme which was under implementation till 2020, has further been extended for three years up to 31st March 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

RBI renews its statement of commitment to the FX Global Code

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed its renewed Statement of Commitment (SoC) to the Foreign Exchange (FX) Global Code.
• Currently, the Code is being implemented globally by the Global FX Committee (GFXC) in coordination with the Local FX Committee (LFXC) in each jurisdiction.
• RBI is a member of GFXC.

About FX Global Code :

• The Code is a compilation of best market practices, formulated by Central Banks and market participants, and developed under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel, Switzerland.
• It was initially launched on May 25, 2017, was subsequently reviewed holistically and the updated Code was published by the Global FX Committee on July 15, 2021.
• The Code applies to the Wholesale FX market participants covering sell-side, buy-side, and financial intermediaries, and is voluntary.
• It does not impose any legal or regulatory obligation and is intended to be a supplement to the local laws, rules, and regulations.
• RBI, along with four major Central Banks,  Bank of Korea (BOK), Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) welcomed the publication of the Code through joint media release dated May 25, 2017, and RBI welcome the publication of the FX Global Code.

Additional Info :

• RBI continues to support the principles of good practices within the Code.
• RBI had also facilitated the formation of the India Foreign Exchange Committee (IFXC) to promote the adoption and adherence of the Code among FX market participants in India.

About RBI :

• Established: 1 April 1935
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar

European Investment Bank joins India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has joined the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to limit the destruction caused by climate change.

Key Highlights :

• EIB will work in partnership with national governments, UN agencies, multilateral development banks, and the private sector to promote the rapid development of infrastructure resilient to climate change and natural disasters in countries at all stages of development.
• EIB has been investing in sustainable infrastructure in India and the region for over 25 years.
• The EIB will offer advisory and financial support to CDRI members and ensure they can benefit from all relevant EU initiatives.
• Developing countries currently require annual investments in climate adaptation in the range of EUR60 billion by 2030 these countries will need between EUR120-250 billion per year.
• Multilateral development banks like the EIB will have a crucial role in mobilizing private and public finance for climate adaptation projects.
• In 2019, these institutions committed to doubling their collective total level of adaptation finance to EUR15 billion annually by 2025.
• In 2020, their adaptation finance totaled EUR13.6 billion, up from EUR11.9 billion in 2019 and EUR10.9 billion in 2018.
• Since the beginning of its operations in India in 1993, the EIB has supported 17 projects in transport, energy, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry as well as India’s small and medium enterprises and invested EUR4.2 billion. 

About European Investment Bank :

• Founded: 1958
• Headquarters: Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Europe
• President : Werner Hoyer
• Vice President: Andrew McDowell
• EIB is the European Union’s investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States.
• It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world.

About CDRI :

• Established: September 23, 2019
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Indian Co-chair of CDRI’s Executive Committee: Kamal Kishore
• It was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit.

Purpose :

• To Promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development.
• It helps countries to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and expand universal access to basic services.

World Bank to fund 200 Million USD for Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Reforms

• The Government of India (GoI) will provide a financing facility worth about 1600 Crore (USD 200 million) through the World Bank for the “Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Development Program.

Aim :

• To undertake holistic power sector reforms in a manner to allow for improvements in the renewable energy integration in HP.
• With the State equity, the total program cost will be approximately 2000 Crore.
• World Bank funding under this Program is expected to be available by early 2023.
• The Program duration will be of five years, starting from the year 2023 to 2028.

Key Highlights :

• Both the World Bank and the Department of MPP & Power, GoHP are working expeditiously towards the finalization of the Program preparation.
• The key result areas through which this is being targeted are improvements in utilization of the HP’s power sector resources (such as  Hydro & Solar), improvements in the reliability of the state’s grid at the transmission and distribution level, and strengthening of the institutional capacities of the various State’s power utilities/agencies.
• Through this program, efforts will be made towards the promotion of integrated resource planning to allow for comprehensive planning of the power sector, piloting demand response management, improving the technical utilization of the existing hydropower assets to facilitate increased integration with other sources of renewable energy, and the establishing of a single trading desk.
• These interventions will allow the state to maximize the revenue earned from the sale of energy through renewable balancing capacity.

About World Bank :

• Established: December 1945
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• President : David Malpass
• Membership: 189 member countries
• The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group.

New Development Bank (NDB) grants USD 875 million for water, sanitation, ecotourism, and transport departments in Brazil, China, and India

• The New Development Bank (NDB) has approved 5 new projects totaling USD 875 million for water, sanitation, ecotourism, and
• The Investments will support commitments by Brazil, China, and India toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key Highlights :

 In Brazil :

• NDB will channel USD 300 million that will contribute to connecting 592 thousand households to water supply and 727 thousand to sewage collection networks in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 
• It promotes environmental protection by augmenting wastewater treatment capacity, among other development outputs.
• The project will be implemented by the Water and Sanitation Company (SABESP).

In India :

• NDB approved USD 79 million for the Meghalaya Ecotourism Infrastructure Development Project. 
• Investments will foster much-needed infrastructure in Meghalaya that will lead to the establishment of 5 ecotourism circuits.
• The project includes the construction of 114km of roads and bridges.
• NDB will also direct USD 70 million to the Lamphelpat Waterbody Rejuvenation Project which will contribute to the development of the waterbody, green spaces, and tourism facilities.
• A technology-driven real-time flood management system with early warning capacity will also be set up and thus improve efficiency in flood prevention, as well as timely delivery of relief and recovery efforts to the flood-affected region.

In China :

• NDB approved EUR 265 million for the expansion of the Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport and RMB 805 million for the expansion of the Xi’an Xianyang International Airport.
• The two projects combined will contribute to the construction of 5 new runways with an associated taxiway system, 2 new terminal buildings, an apron with 187 aircraft stands, cargo facilities, and supporting infrastructure, with considerations of energy conservation, and low carbon emission, and optimization of resource consumption.
• The design capacity for the annual passenger throughput of Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport will increase by over 4 times to 38 million and that of Xi’an Xianyang International Airport by about three times to 83 million.
• With these 5 new projects, NDB’s cumulative approvals have now reached nearly USD 32 billion, contributing to the infrastructure and sustainable development areas.

About NDB :

• Founded: July 2015
• Headquarters: Shanghai, China
• President : Marcos Prado Troyjo
• NDB formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa).

About Brazil :

• President : Jair Bolsonaro
• Capital : Brasília
• Currency : Real

About China :

• President: Xi Jinping
• Capital: Beijing
• Currency: Renminbi

IndusInd Bank partners with EazyDiner to launch India’s 1st co-branded dining credit card – EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card

• Private lender IndusInd Bank has partnered with India’s leading table reservation, food discovery, and restaurant payment platform EazyDiner to launch a co-branded credit card – EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card.

Aim :

• To redefine the dining experience for our customers, who have a penchant for exploring a variety of restaurants.

Key benefits of the EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card

• Complimentary 1-Year EazyDiner Prime membership that offers a guaranteed discount of up to 25% at over 2000 premium restaurants, and 2000 reward points as a welcome bonus.
• An additional instant 25% discount of up to Rs 1000, over and above the restaurant discount, every time the bill is paid on the EazyDiner app.
• Earn 10 Reward Points on every Rs 100 spent on Dining, Entertainment, and Shopping.
• Instant Reward Points redemption for settling the bill on PayEazy.
• A complimentary premium alcoholic beverage for every diner on the table at over 200 select restaurants.
• A complimentary stay voucher worth Rs 5000 at the award-winning, luxury hospitality brand “The Postcard Hotel” across India, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.
• 3X EazyPoints which can be redeemed against hotel stays, meals, exclusive restaurant openings, and events across the country.
• Two complimentary domestic lounge visits per quarter at airports across India

About IndusInd Bank :

• Founded: April 1994
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sumant Kathpalia

About EazyDiner :

• Founded: 2014
• Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana
• Founder: Kapil Chopra

IndusInd Bank approves raising Rs 20,000 crore

• The Board of Directors of IndusInd Bank has approved a proposal to raise Rs 20,000 crore in debt on a private placement basis to fund its business growth.
• As of March 31, 2022, the capital adequacy ratio of the bank stood at 18.42% with tier-I capital being at 16.80% and tier-II capital at 1.62% as a percentage of its risk-weighted assets.
• The Indusland Bank Board also approved the re-appointment of Akila Krishnakumar as ‘Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of the Bank will be from August 10, 2022, up to August 9, 2026.

About Ms. Akila Krishnakumar :

• Akila Krishnakumar is a Member of the IT Strategy Committee and Review Committee (for Non-Cooperative Borrowers and Wilful Defaulters) of the Board of Directors of the Bank.
• Currently, Krishnakumar is the Chairperson of the Compensation and Nomination & Remuneration Committee, Customer Service Committee, Vigilance Committee, and Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability Committee of the Board of Directors of the Bank.
• The bank also approved the appointment of MSKA & Associates and MP Chitale & Co as joint statutory auditors for two years.

SBI gets Board’s Approval, to Raise To Rs 11,000 Crore in Basel III bonds in FY23

• India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has received board approval to raise Rs 11,000 crore through Basel III-compliant bonds.
• Of the total earmarked fund-raise, the approval is for additional tier-1 (AT-1) capital up to Rs 7,000 crore, subject to the central government’s concurrence.
• The remaining Rs 4,000 crore will be in the form of tier-2 capital.
• The central board of SBI approved raising capital by way of issuance of Basel III-compliant debt instruments in dollar/rupee and/or any other convertible currency, during FY23.
• At the end of March 2022, SBI’s total capital adequacy ratio stood at 13.83%, with tier 2 at 2.41% and AT-1 at 1.48%.
• While Punjab National Bank raised ₹2,000 crores through AT-1 bonds at an 8.75% interest rate.
• In May 2022, SBI’s board had cleared a proposal to raise $2 billion through debt securities in the international market in FY23.

About AT-1 :

• AT-1 bonds, also called perpetual bonds, carry no maturity date but have a call option at the end of 5 years.
• These are issued by banks to augment their core equity base and thus comply with Basel III norms.

About SBI :

• Founded: 1 July 1955
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

• Chairman: Dinesh Kumar Khara

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

India Innovation Index 2021: Karnataka, Manipur, and Chandigarh topped:

• The third version of the NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index, which rates the states and the union territories on their innovation performance, placed Karnataka, Manipur, and Chandigarh at the top.
• In the presence of Dr. VK Saraswat, CEO Parameswaran Iyer, and senior advisor Neeraj Sinha from the apex public policy think tank, NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery unveiled the India Innovation Index 2021.

The innovation index is based on 7 pillars:

1. Human capital
2. Investment
3. Knowledge workers
4. Business environment
5. Safety and legal environment
6. Knowledge output
7. Knowledge diffusion

Key Points:

• In the category for “Major States,” Karnataka came top, whereas in the category for “North East and the Hill States,” Manipur took first place. In the category of “Union Territories and the City States,” Chandigarh came out on top.
• Karnataka’s impressive record in getting FDI and a sizable number of venture capital agreements may be credited for its high ranking. Delhi topped the business environment and investment pillars, while Chandigarh topped the knowledge worker pillar.

Major States:

Rank	States	III 2021
1	Karnataka	18.01
2	Telangana	17.66
3	Haryana	16.35
4	Maharashtra	16.06
5	Tamil Nadu	15.69
6	Punjab	15.35
7	Uttar Pradesh	14.22
8	Kerala	13.67
9	Andhra Pradesh	13.32
10	Jharkhand	13.10

North-East and Hill States:

Rank	States	III 2021
1	Manipur	19.37
2	Uttarakhand	17.67
3	Meghalaya	16.00
4	Arunachal Pradesh	15.46
5	Himachal Pradesh	14.62
6	Sikkim	13.85
7	Mizoram	13.41
8	Tripura	11.43
9	Assam	11. 29
10	Nagaland	11.00

UT and City-States:

Rank	UT and City States	III 2021
1	Chandigarh	27.88
2	Delhi	27.00
3	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	17.29
4	Puducherry	15.88
5	Goa	14.93
6	Jammu and Kashmir	12.83
7	Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu	12.09
8	Lakshadweep	7.86
9	Ladakh	5.91

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Hyderabad Central University signs MoU with NIAB for resources sharing in animal biotechnology:

• The University of Hyderabad (UoH) and the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration.
• As part of the MoU, the UoH and NIAB will collaborate on fundamental areas of biological sciences.
• Faculty, researchers, and scientists from both institutions will collaborate on animal biotechnology or allied areas.
• On a mutually agreeable basis, NIAB scientists would actively participate in teaching Master’s programs at UoH in specialized areas of animal biology and biotechnology and offer students the chance to undertake project work in their labs.
• Scientists from the NIAB may be appointed as adjunct professors at the University of Hyderabad, and vice versa, in compliance with the respective institutions’ regulations.
• The MoU would be in force for five years, according to a release.

India signs an agreement with Namibia to reintroduce cheetah:

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by India and Namibia intends to bring cheetahs back to the nation after nearly seven decades.
• By August 15, the first eight cheetahs are scheduled to arrive in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
• Separately, India is expected to acquire 12 cheetahs from South Africa; a partial arrangement has already been signed, and a final one is on the way, according to officials familiar with the case.
• The environment ministry stated that the main goal of CTP is to establish a robust meta-population of the animal in the country that will allow it to carry out its functional role as a top predator and create space for it to disperse within its historical range, supporting efforts to conserve it globally.

Key Points:

• The cheetah will re-enter a natural enclosure in India, 69 years after the last one was hunted down in Chhattisgarh in 1952.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) oversees the Union Environment Ministry’s Cheetah Translocation Project (CTP).
• The government plans to breed the animals in Kuno as part of CTP before releasing them into the wild.
• The agreement was signed by Namibia’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Netumbo Nandi Ndaitwah, as well as Bhupender Yadav, the country’s minister of the environment, forests, and climate change.
• To celebrate the country’s 75th Independence Day, SP Yadav, member secretary and auxiliary director general for Project Tiger at the NTCA, revealed that they are striving to deliver the cheetahs to the country by August 15.

About Namibia:

• Capital: Windhoek
• President: Hage Geingob
• Currencies: Namibian dollar, South African rand

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Italian Prime Minister Mr. Mario Draghi Resigns 

• Italian Prime Minister Mr. Mario Draghi has submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella after key coalition parties withdrew their support for his government.
• However, Draghi’s government will continue to function under a caretaker Prime Minister until the new government is formed following the election.

About Mr. Mario Draghi :

• Mario Draghi is an Italian economist, banker, former professor, and civil servant.
• He has served as prime minister of Italy since February 2021.
• Before PM, he served as President of the European Central Bank (ECB) between 2011 and 2019.
• He was also Chair of the Financial Stability Board between 2009 and 2011, and Governor of the Bank of Italy between 2006 and 2011.

About Italy :

• President : Sergio Mattarella
• Capital: Rome
• Currency: Euro

Mr. Narinder Batra resigns as FIH, IOA president, and IOC member

• Veteran sports administrator Narinder Batra has resigned from his positions as the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), & also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

About Mr. Narinder Batra :

• Narinder Kumar was born on October 20, 1967, in Patiala, Punjab, India
• He became the first non-European president of the FIH in 2016 & he was re-elected as the FIH president for a second term in 2021.
• The 65-year-old Batra took charge of the IOA President for the first time in 2017 and was eligible to contest for re-election.
• He served as the President of Hockey India from 2014 to 2016 and the Asian Hockey Association from 2003 to 2013.
• He became an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member in 2019 and later became a member of its Olympic Channel Commission.

FIH appoints Egypt’s Mr. Seif Ahmed as acting president

• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) appointed Egypt’s Mr. Seif Ahmed as its acting president following Indian administrator Narinder Batra’s resignation from the post.
• Seif Ahmed has been a member of the FIH Executive board since 2001.

Note :

• India will host the next FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in January 2023.

About FIH :

• Founded: 7 January 1924
• Headquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland

Ms. Droupadi Murmu becomes India’s first tribal woman president

• Droupadi Murmu, a tribal BJP leader and former Jharkhand Governor, has been elected as the 15th President of India.
• She defeated the opposition candidate, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, with 676,803 electoral votes (64.03% of the total) in 21 of the 28 states (including the union territory of Puducherry).
• She will replace president Shri Ram Nath Kovind whose’s term will end on 24 July 2022.
• She will be administered oath by the CJI, NV Ramana, and assume the office on July 25, 2022.
• She is the first-ever person belonging to a Scheduled Tribe (ST) community to be elected as the President of India.
• Murmu is the first person from Odisha and only the second woman after Pratibha Patil to occupy this post.
• She is the youngest and first individual to have been born after India’s independence in 1947, elected to this post

Note :

• The 2022 Indian Presidential Election was the 16th presidential election that was held in India on the 18th of July 2022.

About Droupadi Murmu :

• Droupadi Murmu was born on 20 June 1958 in a Santhali tribal family in Uparbeda village of Mayurbhanj district of Odisha.
• She worked as a junior assistant in the State Irrigation and Power Department from 1979 to 1983.
• As a member of the BJP, she was elected to the state assembly twice in 2000 and 2009 from the Rairangpur seat.
• In 2000, she became the Chairperson of Rairangpur Nagar Panchayat and also served as the National Vice-President of BJP Scheduled Tribes Morcha.
• She also served as Minister of State with Independent Charge for Commerce and Transport and Fisheries and Animal Resources Development.
• She also served as an MLA for four years, from 2000 to 2004.
• On May 18, 2015, Draupadi Murmu took the oath of office to become the first female governor of Jharkhand (ninth Governor of Jharkhand ) and also becoming the first female tribal leader from Odisha to be appointed as a Governor of the Indian State.
• The BJP nominated Murmu as the National Democratic Alliance’s presidential candidate for the June 2022 election.

Awards & Honors :

• In 2007, Draupadi Murmu, received the Nilkantha Award for the best MLA ( Member of Legislative Assembly) by Odisha Legislative Assembly.

About the Santhals tribe : 

• Santhals, are the third largest scheduled tribe community in India after the Gonds and Bhils.
• Their population is mostly distributed in Odisha, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
• According to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), Bhubaneswar, the word ‘Santhal’ is derived from two words; ‘Santha’ meaning calm and peaceful and ‘ala’ meaning man.

Mr. Rajarshi Gupta was appointed as managing director of ONGC Videsh

• Rajarshi Gupta has been appointed as Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
• He was recommended for the position by Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB).
• He replaces Alok Gupta who superannuated as ONGC Videsh’s MD in June 2022.

About Mr. Rajarshi Gupta :

• Gupta holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the prestigious NIT Rourkela and is also a Gold Medallist in MBA (International Business) from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.
• He has more than 33 years of wide-ranging experience in supervisory, managerial, and strategic planning capacities in domestic and international operations of ONGC and ONGC Videsh.
• He spent 13 years in ONGC Videsh during 2006-2019, working across the globe in diverse geographical and fiscal regimes, in business development, etc.
• Before this new appointment, he was Executive Director – Chief of Corporate Strategy & Planning in ONGC.

About ONGC :

• Founded: 1965
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PM Shri Narendra Modi unveils India’s first human passenger drone – ‘Varuna’

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled India’s first passenger drone Varuna during Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi.
• It has been developed by the Indian startup Sagar Defence Engineering along with NTDAC (Naval Technology Development acceleration cell).
• The drone can carry one person inside.

About ‘Varuna’ :

• Varuna can fly to the range of 25km while carrying a payload of 130 kilograms and has 25-33 minutes of flight time.
• There are four auto-pilot models which help the drone to continue flying even if some fans fail to function.
• This new vehicle can be used for inter-ship transfer of material and personnel.
• It is capable of carrying out autonomous take-off and landing even when the ships are moving.
• Varuna has been developed in two parts one is the technology, which helps the drone land and takes off from moving warships, and the second is the platform itself.
• The drone has been specially made for the Indian Navy & 30 Varuna drones that can land and take off from warships are delivered to the Indian Navy.
• It is the first time that the Indian Navy is inducting drones on warships.
• In June 2022, Sagar Defence Engineering had given a demonstration of the new personal air mobility vehicle to the Deputy PM of Australia who had visited INS Hansa in Goa.

About Sagar Defence Engineering :

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founder and CEO : Nikunj Parashar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Indian GM Iniyan finishes second in a chess tournament in France:

• India’s teenage Grandmaster P Iniyan finished second in the La Plagne International Open Chess Tournament 2022 in La Plagne in
• The 19-year-old GM scored seven points from nine rounds to tie for the top spot with Ukraine GM Vitaly Sivuk.
• The Ukrainian won the first prize based on a better tie-break score.
• India’s Sayantan Das, with 6.5 points, took third place.
• Iniyan remained unbeaten through the nine rounds, winning five games and drawing four.
• He started with a win and scored 4.5 after five rounds, but three straight draws in rounds six, seven, and eight pegged him back.
• The field for the tournament comprised 95 players from 19 countries, including nine GMs and 18 International Masters.

Indian Men’s team bags silver medal at ISSF World Cup:

• The Indian men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team comprising Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu, and Sameer won the silver medal on the last day of the ISSF World Cup Changwon 2022 in South Korea.
• The medal helped India retain the top spot on the medals table with five gold, six silver, and four bronze.
• South Korea managed just one bronze on the final day and finished with four golds, five silver, and three bronze medals.
• The Indian trio had made the final after coming through two rounds of qualification, finishing second with 872 points in the first and topping the second round with 578 for a shot at gold.
• India started strongly to take a 10-2 lead.
• This is the second time this year that the Indian shooters had topped the ISSF World Cup medals table.
• India finished with four gold medals at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo.

Indian students bag three Gold, sixteen Silver, and five Bronze medals in international Olympiads:

• Indian students bagged three Gold, sixteen Silver, and five Bronze medals in various international Olympiads in Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry.
• While the Mathematics Olympiad was held in Norway and Biology Olympiad in Armenia, the other two, hosted by Switzerland and China, were held virtually.

Key Points:

• In the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) the Indian team got one gold and five bronze medals.
• Pranjal Srivastava scored a hat trick with his 3rd consecutive Gold medal at the IMO.
• He is the first Indian to win 3 Gold medals in the IMO.
• In the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) all five students who participated in the competition won medals.
• Deevyanshu Malu won the Gold medal, Abhijeet Anand, Anilesh Bansal, Dheeraj Kurukunda, and Harsh Jakhar bagged silver medals.
• All the four Indian participants of the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) also emerged victorious as Mahit Rajesh Gadhiwala, Nivesh Aggarwal, Tanishka Rameshchandra Kabra, and Chinmay Khokar bagged a silver medal each.
• Meanwhile, all the four students who participated in the International Biology Olympiad (IBO) also won medals.
• While Mayank Pandhari bagged a Gold medal, Amritansh Nigam, Prachi Jindal, and Rohit Panda bagged silver medals.

BCCI announces Asia Cup tournament in T-20 format to be held in UAE from Aug 27:

• Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the Asia Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, would be played in the UAE.
• After the Board’s Apex Council meeting in Mumbai, Ganguly said, Asia Cup will be in UAE, as it is the only place where there will not be rain.
• Earlier, Sri Lanka Cricket informed the Asian Cricket Council that the board will not be in a position to host the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup.
• Asia Cup is slated to be held from the 27th of August to the 11th of September and will be played in the T-20 format.

About UAE:

• Capital: Abu Dhabi
• Currency: Dirham
• President: Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Prime minister: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Daily CA on July 23:

• Every year on July 23rd, National Broadcasting Day is commemorated to honor the radio, which has been a significant part of people’s lives in India, both as an easy medium of pleasure and as a source of news.
• The government set up a committee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) eight months after it made a comparable pledge in exchange for the repeal of three unpopular agricultural policies.
• With all berths being run under the PPP model, Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become the first major port in India to be 100% owned by landlords.
• Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana has completed five years.
• The third version of the NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index, which rates the states and the union territories on their innovation performance, placed Karnataka, Manipur, and Chandigarh at the top.
• The University of Hyderabad (UoH) and the National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by India and Namibia intends to bring cheetahs back to the nation after nearly seven decades.
• India’s teenage Grandmaster P Iniyan finished second in the La Plagne International Open Chess Tournament 2022 in La Plagne in
• The Indian men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team comprising Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu, and Sameer won the silver medal on the last day of the ISSF World Cup Changwon 2022 in South Korea.
• Indian students bagged three Gold, sixteen Silver, and five Bronze medals in various international Olympiads in Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry.
• Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that the Asia Cup, which was scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka, would be played in the UAE.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed its renewed Statement of Commitment (SoC) to the Foreign Exchange (FX) Global Code.
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has joined the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to limit the destruction caused by climate change.
• The Government of India (GoI) will provide a financing facility worth about 1600 Crore (USD 200 million) through the World Bank for the “Himachal Pradesh Power Sector Development Program.
• The New Development Bank (NDB) has approved 5 new projects totaling USD 875 million for water, sanitation, ecotourism, and
• Private lender IndusInd Bank has partnered with India’s leading table reservation, food discovery, and restaurant payment platform EazyDiner to launch a co-branded credit card – EazyDiner IndusInd Bank Credit Card.
• The Board of Directors of IndusInd Bank has approved a proposal to raise Rs 20,000 crore in debt on a private placement basis to fund its business growth.
• India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has received board approval to raise Rs 11,000 crore through Basel III-compliant bonds.
• Italian Prime Minister Mr. Mario Draghi has submitted his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella after key coalition parties withdrew their support for his government.
• Veteran sports administrator Narinder Batra has resigned from his positions as the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), & also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) appointed Egypt’s Mr. Seif Ahmed as its acting president following Indian administrator Narinder Batra’s resignation from the post.
• Droupadi Murmu, a tribal BJP leader and former Jharkhand Governor, has been elected as the 15th President of India.
• Rajarshi Gupta has been appointed as Managing Director of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), the overseas investment arm of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi unveiled India’s first passenger drone Varuna during Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi.