Current Affairs July 27th 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Center modifies Flag Code of India 2002 to permit tricolor to be displayed constantly:

• If the national flag is flown in the open and is raised by a member of the public, it may now fly through the night.
• As the federal government launches its Har Ghar Tiranga campaign, the Ministry of Home Affairs changed the Flag Code of India 2002 to allow the flying of the national flag even at night.
• Previously, the flag could only be flown from dawn till sunset.

Key Points:

• The flag may be flown day and night when it is exhibited in the open or on a member of the public’s home, according to the ministry, which replaced clause XI of paragraph 2.2 of the Flag Code.
• The government has already changed the flag code to allow for the usage of polyester and manufactured flags.
• In a notification issued last year, the government changed Part I of the flag code’s paragraph 1.2.
• Previously, using flags made of polyester or by machines was forbidden.
• Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is being observed in India to commemorate 75 years of freedom.
• The Har Ghar Tiranga campaign requests that people raise the flag in their homes from August 13 to August 15.
• Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla also sent documents outlining the fundamental components of the flag code as well as the changes made on December 30, 2021, and July 20, 2022, in a letter to all government departments on the campaign.
• Along with the letter is a list of commonly asked concerns about the usage and display of the national flag.

Home Minister has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of several development projects worth Rs 210 crores in Gandhinagar:

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various people-centric projects worth Rs 210 crores at Bopal in his parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.
• Under Vande Gujarat Vikas Yatra, Mr. Shah dedicated various developmental projects by Amdavad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) at Bhopal which include affordable housing projects for EWS and water supply Projects worth over 77 crore Rupees.
• The water supply project will provide drinking water to more than 70 thousand people.

Key Points:

• The minister also inaugurated the sports complex in Maninagar which is built at the cost of 10 crores.
• He also participated in a tree plantation drive under the Mission Million Trees campaign at Ognaj.
• Apart from this, Mr. Amit Shah also laid the foundation stone for various infrastructure projects in Ahmedabad Gandhinagar.
• Shah who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat also inaugurated the birth centenary celebrations of Pramukh Swami Maharaj in Ahmedabad.

The Government has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% in 2030 from about 6.3%:

• The Government has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% in 2030 from about 6.3%.
• To achieve the target, various initiatives have been taken which inter alia include the following:

i)Expansion of National Gas Grid to about 33,500 Km from the current 21,715 Km.

ii)Expansion of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network

iii)Setting up of Liquefied Natural Gas Terminals.

iv)Allocation of domestic gas to Compressed Natural Gas (Transport) / Piped Natural Gas (Domestic) in no cut category.

v)Allowing marketing and pricing freedom to gas produced from high pressure/high-temperature areas, deep water & ultra-deepwater, and coal seams.

vi)Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiatives to promote Bio-CNG.

Key Points:

• Providing Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections and establishing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations are part of the development of the CGD network and the same is carried out by the entities authorized by Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
• The CNG Stations and PNG connections are being provided by authorized entities as per timelines prescribed by PNGRB from time to time.
• A total of 95.21 lakh PNG (Domestic) connections have been provided and 4531 CNG (Transport) stations have been established by the authorized entities.
• After completion of the 11A city gas distribution (CGD) round, 295 Geographical Areas (GAs) have been authorized which inter alia cover 98% of India’s population and 88% of its GAs.
• As per the Minimum Work Programme, CGD entities authorized up to the 11A round, have to provide 12.33 crore PNG connections and establish 17,700 CNG stations by 2030 including in rural and urban areas.

International Conference on Chemistry and Applications of Soft Materials:

• As part of the festivities marking the 75th anniversary of Independence, the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, will hold the International Conference on Chemistry and Applications of Soft Materials (CASM 2022).
• The conference will feature discussions on a range of topics, including self-assembly and supramolecular materials, soft material chemistry, physics, rheology, and photophysics, responsive and smart materials, gels, liquid crystals, polymers, macromolecules and framework materials, and functional nanomaterials, as well as applications of soft materials in electronics and energy.

Key Points:

• The official stated that at least 300 people from inside and outside the country are expected to attend the meeting.
• Renowned researcher T Pradeep from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, will inaugurate the event.
• The conference will provide researchers and students with the appropriate venue to exchange ideas and form new collaborations in the field of soft materials, according to Ajayaghosh, Director of CSIR-NIIST and Conference Chair.
• According to Narayanan Unni, a scientist at CSIR-NIIST and conference convener, the Department of Science and Technological (DST) will fund a session on soft materials for energy applications, and presentations displaying the technology development projects at CSIR-NIIST will also be given.
• There will be a special meeting to honor Ajayaghosh’s achievements in science.

Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurates Vaccination Centre for Children and Launches Bal Raksha Mobile App at All Institute of Ayurveda:

• Union Minister of Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Vaccination Centre for children at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA).
• He also launched the Bal Raksha mobile app, which is aimed at creating awareness of pediatric preventive healthcare through Ayurveda intervention amongst parents.
• The app will also collect feedback from parents regarding the impact of the kit on their children’s health and immunity.
• The All-India Institute of Ayurveda, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Ayush, aims at bringing synergy between the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda and modern tools and technology.
• The Institute has 12 specialty departments, 30 OPD units with state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research laboratories, and an international collaborative center for global promotion and research in Ayurveda.
• Ayurveda is the oldest system of medicine and health science dating back to more than 3,000 years.
• During Covid times, AIIA played a major role in treating patients at the Covid Healthcare Centre in sync with its mission of ‘care with compassion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India contributes $2.5 million to UNRWA for Palestine refugees

• India contributed USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
• Director of the West Asia and North Africa Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Sunil Kumar presented the cheque for USD 2.5 million to the UNRWA Director of Partnerships of the Department of External Relations, Mr. Karim Amer in a signing ceremony at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, Palestine.
• The UNRWA services for Palestinian refugees involve education, health care, relief, infrastructure, camp improvement, protection, and
• India is a dedicated donor to UNRWA, having given USD 20 million in support of core UNRWA services to Palestine refugees across the Middle East since 2018.

Additional Info :

• In January 2022, the UNRWA announced that it needs 1.6 billion US dollars from the international community 2022 to cover expenses and provide services and humanitarian development programs for Palestinian refugees.

About UNRWA :

• Founded: 8 December 1949
• Headquarters: Jerusalem, Palestine
• Commissioner General: Philippe Lazzarini
• Deputy Commissioner-General: Leni Stenseth
• The UNRWA is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
• UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict
• The agency was mandated to provide assistance and protection for about6 million Palestinian refugees registered in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.

UK govt launches “Aviation Passenger Charter” to address airport disruption issues

• The British government launched an “Aviation Passenger Charter” to help passengers know their rights if they are faced with problems at airports.
• It has been developed by the British government in partnership with the aviation sector & travel industry.

About Aviation Passenger Charter :

• The Aviation Passenger charter will help passengers know what to do if they are confronted by cancellations, delays, or missing baggage, with guidance on how to complain if they feel they have been treated unfairly.
• It provides helpful clarity to passengers on what they should do at each stage of the journey, from booking to after they have arrived.
• In June 2022, the UK government published a 22-point support plan to avoid further disruption, including telling airlines to run “realistic” summer schedules and promising to speed up security checks.

About the UK :

• Prime Minister: Boris Johnson
• Capital: London
• Currency: Pound sterling

Union Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav attends BRICS Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting 2022

• The Union Minister for Labor & Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav attended the 8th BRICS Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting held under the Chinese Presidency in Beijing, China.
• The Ministers of the member countries viz. Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) participated in the meeting.

Key Highlights :

• Shri Yadav highlighted various initiatives taken towards providing free ration, enhancing the number of days of assured employment under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), and collateral-free loans provided to 9 million street vendors to help them resume their businesses under PMSVANidhi Yojana during the pandemic.
• He further informed that a Sector Council for Green Jobs has been set up in India to develop strategy and implement programs for Skill development in the green sector.
• The variety of Decentralized Renewable Energy livelihood opportunities which are being developed in India, including myriad solutions like a solar dryer, biomass powered cold storage/chiller, were also enunciated.
• He stressed the measures taken to harness the potential of the Blue Economy and Agro-Forestry in India.
• Also, various steps such as the e-Shram Portal, conducting of All India Surveys of Migrant Workers and Domestic Workers took by the Government of India towards the welfare of informal sector workers were highlighted.
• He also informed about the legislative initiatives taken by India such as the Code on Social Security, 2020, which defines the new forms of workers i.e. gig and platform workers, and the steps taken to provide social security benefits to such workers were emphasized.
• The Labor & Employment Ministers adopted the BRICS Labor & Employment Ministers’ Declaration. 
• During the meeting, the discussions were held on three priority issues, namely –
• To promote green jobs for sustainable development
• To Develop skills for resilient recovery
• To Protect Workers Right in New Forms of Employment.

About BRICS :

• Headquarters: Shanghai, China
• 2022 BRICS Chair: China

PM Modi to participate in first-ever I2U2 Summit 

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the first-ever I2U2 virtual summit along with US President Mr. Joe Biden, Israeli PM Mr. Yair Lapid, and UAE President Mr. Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
• The I2U2 is a four-nation grouping, in which “I” stands for India and Israel, & “U” for the US and the UAE & was also referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’ by Ahmed Albanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India.

Aim :

• To encourage joint investments in six mutually identified areas such as water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security

About the first-ever I2U2 Summit :

• The Leaders will discuss the possible joint projects within the framework of I2U2 as well as the other common areas of mutual interest to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions.
• These projects can serve as a model for economic cooperation and offer opportunities for our businesspersons and workers.
• The I2U2 grouping was conceptualized during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries held on October 18, 2021.
• Each country also has Sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation.
• The grouping intends to mobilize private sector capital and expertise to help modernize the infrastructure, and low carbon development pathways for our industries, improve public health and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.
• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also announced an investment of USD 2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India to help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East
• The I2U2 Group also declared that it will support a “hybrid renewable energy project” in Gujarat, consisting of 300 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar capacity.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah launches e-FIR system in Gujarat

• Union home minister, Shri Amit Shah has launched an e-FIR filing system in Gandhinagar, Gujarat which will enable the citizens to file FIRs online, without visiting the police stations.

About the e-FIR system :

• Through the e-FIR online service, the citizens of Gujarat will not need to go to the police station to file a complaint and the time of the citizens will be saved and the complaints will be disposed of quickly.
• The e-FIR service has been coordinated with the Gujarat State Police CCTV Command and Control. 
• After the e-FIR will be registered, if the vehicle passes through the road, the vehicle number will be immediately flashed at the CCTV command and control, through which the crime of theft can be detected immediately.
• The Minister flagged off vehicles of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit at Police Bhawan in Gandhinagar.
• He will inaugurate various developmental works in his Lok Sabha Constituency-Gandhinagar.
• He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various developmental works in his native place Mansa in Gandhinagar & including the inauguration of the newly built Mid-Day Meal kitchen for students under the Pradhan Mantri Poshan Yojana.
• He will inaugurate several projects of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority.
• He will also launch the state-wide rollout of body-worn cameras for field policemen.

Additional Info :

• The Gujarat Government launched the Citizen First Mobile App, Citizen Portal in 2019 to enable the citizens of the state to get some police services online using the e-Gujcop database.

About Gujarat :

• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Chief minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel
• Capital: Gandhinagar
• National Park: Gir National Park, Velavadar National Park, Marine National Park, Vansda National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, Purna WS, Gaga WS, Shoolpaneshwar WS.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

ADB approves $96 mn loans for a safe drinking water project in Himachal Pradesh

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 96.3 million (Rs 770 crore) loan to fund safe drinking water and sanitation projects in Himachal Pradesh.
• The loan has been provided under the Himachal Pradesh Rural Drinking Water Improvement and Livelihood Project.

About the Project :

• The project meets the objectives of the Jal Jeevan Mission, a national flagship program of GoI, which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024.
• The project will upgrade water supply infrastructure and strengthen institutional capacity to ensure safe, sustainable, and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services.
• It will improve water supply and sanitation services through, among others, the construction of 48 groundwater wells, 80 surface water intake facilities, 109 water treatment plants, 117 pumping stations, and 3,000 kilometers of water distribution pipelines.
• Greater than 90 percent of the state’s rural inhabitants have access to ingesting water, however, the water-provided infrastructure is outdated and deteriorated, leading to inefficient and poor service high quality.
• It will connect 75,800 households to the service, providing an uninterrupted water supply to about 370,000 residents across 10 districts.
• A pilot fecal sludge management and sanitation program will be implemented in the Sirmaur district, HP benefitting 250,000 residents and to determine replicability and guide the design of future projects.
• It will strengthen the capacity of the ‘Jal Shakti Vibhag’ of the Himachal Pradesh government and gram panchayat (local government) village water and sanitation committees.
• The project stakeholders and community-based organizations will be trained on water management, including livelihood skills training for women’s self-help groups.
• The project will also raise public awareness of the health benefits of improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene practices.

About ADB :

• Founded: 19 December 1966
• Headquarters:  Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines
• President : Masatsugu Asakawa
• Membership: 68 countries

About HP :

• Governor : Rajendra Arlekar
• Chief Minister : Rajendra Arlekar
• Capital: Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
• National Parks: Great Himalayan National Park, Pin Valley National Park
• Wildlife sanctuaries: Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary, Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Khokhan Wildlife Sanctuary

Nomura cuts 2023 India GDP forecast to 4.7% amid recession fears

• Nomura has lowered the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for India in 2023 to 4.7% from its earlier projection of 5.4% amid recession fears and rising rates of interest.
• Higher inflation, monetary policy tightening, dormant private capex growth, the power crunch, and the global growth slowdown pose medium-term headwinds are the reason behind lowering the forecast.
• India’s economy is racing above its pre-pandemic level, led by a sharp recovery in the services sector, and supported by the lagged effects of easy financial conditions, a public capex push, and a rise in real bank credit growth.
• Nomura expects headline inflation in India to average 6.9 percent in 2022, and 5.9 percent in 2023
• India’s retail inflation rate, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 7.01 percent versus 7.04 percent in May 2022.
• This is the sixth consecutive month that the CPI inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) comfort zone of 2-6 percent.

• The Index of Industrial Production (IIP), however, grew at a faster clip of 19.6 percent in May 2022 as compared to 6.7 percent in April 2022.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

SAP Labs India partners with NeGD to set up a Centre for Digital Government:

• SAP Labs India has partnered National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to launch SAP Centre for Digital Government (SCDG) for improving digital government capabilities in the country.
• SAP Labs India will work closely with NeGD to set up SCDG in Bengaluru.
• It will focus on capacity building, program management, and implementation of Digital India’s projects and initiatives undertaken by the ministries and/or their departments, both the central and state levels
• As part of the MoU, SCDG will cater to three broad pillars of activities innovations in technology application for government service delivery, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and thought leadership.
• It will involve policy consultations to support the realization of the following for the benefit of the Indian public service and sector across all levels of government.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Kuwaiti emir appoints Mr. Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as new Prime Minister

• Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has issued a decree appointing Mr. Ahmad Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait.
• He succeeded Sheikh Sabah Khalid AI-Hamad AI-Sabah who resigned in April 2022.

About Mr Ahmad Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah :

• Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah was born in 1956.
• He is a son of the 10th ruler of Kuwait, Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
• He is a retired Kuwaiti military officer with the rank of Lieutenant-General at the Ministry of Interior. 
• He has been the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior since March 9, 2022.
• He served as the Kuwait National Guard Deputy Commander between November 2020 and March 9, 2022.

About Kuwait :

• Capital: Kuwait City
• Currency: Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)

One97 Communications appoints Mr. Nakul Jain as CEO of Paytm Payments Services

• The parent company of the unicorn fintech company Paytm, One97 Communications has appointed Nakul Jain as the CEO of Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL).
• He replaced Praveen Sharma, who is now serving as the acting CEO of PPSL.
• Praveen Sharma has been promoted to oversee the organization’s commerce vertical in addition to his other duties.

About Mr. Nakul Jain :

• Nakul Jain holds over 22 years of experience in retail banking and has worked in sub-fields including branch banking, wealth management, product and segmentation, distribution, retail assets, and acquisition.
• Earlier, he served as managing director of private banking, priority banking, deposits, and branch banking at Standard Chartered Bank.

About Paytm :

• Founded: August 2010
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
• Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

China launches the second of three space station modules – Wentian to support science experiments

• The Chinese space agency successfully launched the second of three space station modules, named Wentian needed to complete its new Tiangong space station, the latest step in Beijing’s ambitious space program.
• The uncrewed craft was propelled by a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang launch center on China’s tropical island of Hainan.

About Wentian :

• Wentian, which means the quest for the heavens.
• The Wentian lab module is 17.9 meters (59 feet) long and weighs 22 tons (48,500 pounds)
• Wentian features an airlock cabin that is to be the main exit-entry point for extravehicular activities when the station is completed.
• It will also serve as short-term living quarters for astronauts during crew rotations on the station, designed for the long-term accommodation of just three astronauts.
• The Tiangong space station will be around 20% as massive as the International Space Station (ISS), which has a mass of about 460 tons.
• China has been excluded from the International Space Station since 2011, when the United States banned NASA from engaging with the country, so China is setting up its space station.
• Until the final module arrives, the space station will have a rather unusual L-shape.
• Once all the three modules are complete, the Tiangong space station will acquire T-shape.

Note :

• The first and central module called Tiangong, which means “heavenly palace”, was launched in April 2021.
• The third and final module, named Mengtian,(“Dreaming of the Heavens”) is scheduled to be launched in October 2022.
• China’s space program has already landed a rover on Mars and sent probes to the Moon.
• In addition to a space station, Beijing is also planning to build a base on the Moon and send humans there by 2030.

About China :

• President: Xi Jinping
• Capital: Beijing

• Currency: Renminbi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Max Verstappen wins the title of 2022 French Grand Prix:

• Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the race at Paul Ricard after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out on lap 18 but walked away unhurt.
• Mercedes’ George Russell came in fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton in third.
• Tire management was crucial at Le Castellet because of the hot track.
• Verstappen pitted on lap 17, leaving Leclerc to carry the load.
• His race was ended abruptly by oversteering at Turn 11, which also made him yell angrily and signaled the deployment of the Safety Car.
• After the restart, Hamilton and Sergio Perez of Red Bull pitted and began pursuing Verstappen. Verstappen picked up the pace and gained the lead.

Key Points:

• When the race resumed on lap 22, Verstappen, who is presently in the lead in the championship, had a sizable advantage.
• He had established a four-second lead over Hamilton by lap 30 of 53 and went on to win by a margin of more than 10 seconds.
• At the start of the race, Perez fell to P3 and was unable to overtake Hamilton.
• Verstappen extended his championship lead at Paul Ricard as Mercedes won their first double podium of the year, but Leclerc and Ferrari’s difficulties in France will dominate the story.
• The 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix will wrap off this two-race series the weekend of July 29–31, with Leclerc behind Verstappen by 63 points and Ferrari attempting to reduce Red Bull’s 82-point lead.

BCCI introduced a new A+ category for umpires:

• Nitin Menon and 10 other officials have been placed in the new A+ category for umpires that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has created.
• For a first-class game, umpires in categories A+ and A receive daily pay of Rs 40,000 while those in categories B and C receive daily pay of Rs 30,000.

Key Points:

• The other international umpires in the A+ category are K N Ananthapadmabhanan, Virender Kumar Sharma, Madangopal Jayaraman, and Anil Chaudhary.
• The A+ category also includes Rohan Pandit, Nikhil Patwardhan, Sadashiv Iyer, Ulhas Gandhe, and Navdeep Singh Sidhu.
• Twenty umpires, including C Shamshuddin, make up the A group, followed by 11 in Group D, which includes 60-65-year-olds, 60 in Group B, 46 in Group C, and 60 in Group D.

About BCCI

• President: Sourav Ganguly
• Secretary: Jay Shah
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: December 1928.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

A book titled “Dilip Kumar: In the Shadow of a Legend” by Faisal Farooqui:

• Author Faisal Farooqui just published a new book about Yusuf Khan, also known as Dilip Kumar, a great actor in Indian film.
• The title of the book is “In the Shadow of a Legend: Dilip Kumar.”
• More than Dilip Kumar the actor, Dilip Kumar the man is honored in this book.
• One of India’s top review and rating websites, com, was founded by Farooqui and he serves as its CEO.

About the Book:

• The author of Dilip Kumar: In the Shadow of a Legend creates a close-up portrayal of the actor in the book by shedding light on some little-known tales from his long career.
• The book shows us, Dilip Kumar, as he is, away from the big screen where his admirers first fell in love with him.
• Dilip Kumar was much more than just the actor we have long admired.
• The book honors Dilip Kumar’s extraordinary acting range. Dilip Kumar held the audience riveted with his portrayals of the drunken Devdas, the lover who always seems to lose his woman, the Salim who challenges Akbar, the endearing figure from Ram Aur Shyam, and the dacoit from Ganga Jamuna.
• He was one of the few actors who could carry a whole movie by himself.
• He was a natural actor who excelled in every character he portrayed.
• He genuinely performed the part.

Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur releases three books by DPD:

• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur released three books published by the Directorate of Publications Division.
• Upon release, the Minister presented the first copy of the books to President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind in presence of Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, President-elect Smt. Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

The three books are:

1. Moods, Moments and Memories – Former Presidents of India (1950-2017) A Visual History
2. First Citizen – Pictorial Record of President Ram Nath Kovind’s Term
3. Interpreting Geometries – Flooring of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

About the Books:

• The first book is a pictorial history that chronicles all the Presidents of India from Dr. Rajendra Prasad to Shri Pranab Mukherjee and contains rare photographs sourced from Rashtrapati Bhavan archives.
• These photographs highlight some unique aspects of our Presidents’ lives in the historic building, both personal & public.
• The second book is dedicated to President Shri Ram Nath Kovind’s tenure and contains rare photographs from Shri Kovind’s village and his school days.
• It traces his journey from his village to Rashtrapati Bhavan and will educate the readers on how a boy from humble beginnings went on to occupy the highest office in India.
• The third book is a pictorial volume put together by the Chandigarh College of Architecture and contains the historic & one-of-a-kind flooring of Rashtrapati Bhavan shown with its unique, repetitive motifs and designs & use of rare stones.
• These 3 volumes published by the Publications Division of the Ministry take the total count of books about The Presidents of India & the historic residence in which the President of India resides to 17 books.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Renowned Marathi writer Anant Yashwant Khare passes away

• Renowned Marathi writer and novelist Anant Yashwant Khare passed away in Pune at the age of 76.

About Anant Yashwant Khare :

• Anant Yashwant Khare was born in 1946 in Nagpur, British India.
• He was popularly known by his pen name, Nanda Khare.
• He was a member of the Marathi Science Council.
• For 34 years, he was Partner/Managing Director of ‘Khare and Tarkunde’.
• He had also worked on the editorial board of ‘Aajcha Sudharak’ newspaper for close to 11 years
• He wrote 19 books on various topics like science, sociology, and geography with some of his most noted works being ‘Antajichi Bakhar’, ‘Bakhar Antakalachi’, and ‘Udya’.
• Between 1981 and 1992, he was an active member of the Marathi Vidnyan Parishad and conducted programs in schools to spread awareness about Science.
• From 1998 to 2017, he served on the Editorial Board of the publication ‘Aajcha Sudharak’ of which he was Editor-in-Chief from 2000 to 2011.
• Some of the best-known and acclaimed works of Nanda Khare include ‘Antajichi Bakhar’, ‘Kahani Manavpranyachi’, ‘Jeevotpatti, Aani Nantar’, ‘Bakhar Antakalachi’, ‘Waarulpuraan’, ‘2050’, ‘Samprati’ etc.
• His autobiography ‘Evaji’ came in 2018 and was received with great enthusiasm in literary circles.
• He had written the novel ‘Udya’ in 2012 but it was published in 2014.

Awards & Honors :

• He received numerous awards from foundations like Granthali, Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, Lokmangal, and Shabd: The Book Gallery.  
• In 2010, he received the state government’s Bhai Madhavrao Bagal Award for his book ‘Kahani Manav Pranyachi’.
• He was offered the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel ‘Udya’ in 2020  but he politely refused as by then he had decided not to accept any awards.

Daily CA on July 27:

• If the national flag is flown in the open and is raised by a member of the public, it may now fly through the night.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various people-centric projects worth Rs 210 crores at Bopal in his parliamentary constituency Gandhinagar.
• The Government has set a target to raise the share of natural gas in the energy mix to 15% in 2030 from about 6.3%.
• As part of the festivities marking the 75th anniversary of Independence, the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, will hold the International Conference on Chemistry and Applications of Soft Materials (CASM 2022).
• Union Minister of Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Vaccination Centre for children at the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA).
• SAP Labs India has partnered National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to launch SAP Centre for Digital Government (SCDG) for improving digital government capabilities in the country.
• Max Verstappen of Red Bull won the race at Paul Ricard after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out on lap 18 but walked away unhurt.
• Nitin Menon and 10 other officials have been placed in the new A+ category for umpires that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has created.
• Author Faisal Farooqui just published a new book about Yusuf Khan, also known as Dilip Kumar, a great actor in Indian film.
• Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur released three books published by the Directorate of Publications Division.
• India contributed USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
• The British government launched an “Aviation Passenger Charter” to help passengers know their rights if they are faced with problems at airports.
• The Union Minister for Labor & Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav attended the 8th BRICS Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting held under the Chinese Presidency in Beijing, China.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi attended the first-ever I2U2 virtual summit along with US President Mr. Joe Biden, Israeli PM Mr. Yair Lapid, and UAE President Mr. Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
• Union home minister, Shri Amit Shah has launched an e-FIR filing system in Gandhinagar, Gujarat which will enable the citizens to file FIRs online, without visiting the police stations.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 96.3 million (Rs 770 crore) loan to fund safe drinking water and sanitation projects in Himachal Pradesh & the loan have been provided under the Himachal Pradesh Rural Drinking Water Improvement and Livelihood Project.
• Nomura has lowered the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for India in 2023 to 7% from its earlier projection of 5.4% amid recession fears and rising rates of interest.
• Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has issued a decree appointing Mr. Ahmad Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah as the new Prime Minister of Kuwait & he succeeded Mr. Sheikh Sabah Khalid AI-Hamad AI-Sabah who resigned in April 2022.
• The parent company of the unicorn fintech company Paytm, One97 Communications has appointed Nakul Jain as the CEO of Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL) & he replaced Mr. Praveen Sharma, who is now serving as the acting CEO of PPSL.
• The Chinese space agency successfully launched the second of three space station modules, named Wentian needed to complete its new Tiangong space station, the latest step in Beijing’s ambitious space program.
• Renowned Marathi writer and novelist Anant Yashwant Khare passed away in Pune at the age of 76.