Current Affairs July 06th 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Zoonoses Day 2022: July 6

• Every year on June 6th, World Zoonoses Day is commemorated as the anniversary of the first-ever vaccine given for any zoonotic disease way back in 1885.
• The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of illnesses that can spread from humans to animals.

Theme

• “Let’s Break the Chain of Zoonotic Transmission” is the focus of this year’s World Zoonoses Day, which is crucial if we are to escape the COVID-19 pandemic, which has already done too much harm.

History

• In 2300 B.C., Rabies was first recorded and the Mosaic Esmuna Code of Babylon showed the first written account of rabies causing death in humans and dogs.
• on September 29, 1976, Ebola was Discovered.
• It was named after the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• In 2009, Swine Flu Outbroke. The C.D.C. estimates that the global death toll is due to H.1.N.1. influenza is more than 284,000.
• On January 30, 2020, WHO declares the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of worldwide concern.
• On this day on 6th July 1885, a French biologist named Louise Pasteur who is also very known for his theory of pasteurization successfully administered the first-ever vaccination given for a zoonotic disease to a man named Joseph Meister who was bitten by a dog with rabies.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Forum for Nature-Based Solutions: India is launched by NIUA’s C-Cube and WRI:

• World Resources Institute India (WRI India), the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and other partners launched India’s first national coalition platform for urban nature-based solutions (NbS) during the 11th World Urban Forum in Poland.
• For addressing climate change-related issues including heat waves, urban floods, pollution of the air and water, and storm surges, ecosystem-based services, and nature-based solutions are swiftly developing into realistic, inexpensive possibilities.

About the World Urban Forum:

• Representatives from the Forum’s key partner organizations, including GiZ India, India Climate Collaborative, The Nature Conservancy, WWF India, and Wetlands International, vowed to cooperate to realize the Forum’s objectives.
• The “India Forum for Nature-based Solutions” is run by the Climate Centre for Cities of the National Institute of Urban Affairs, with the World Resources Institute India (WRI India) serving as its anchor organization under the Cities4Forests initiative.
• The Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative, the UK government, and the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs support it (DEFRA).

Key Points:

• One of the numerous societal issues that NbS strives to address in addition to reducing the consequences of climate change is building resilience in the underprivileged and vulnerable urban neighborhoods that are most affected by catastrophes connected to climate change.
• To scale urban nature-based solutions, the India Forum for Nature-based Solutions aims to bring together NbS entrepreneurs, government organizations, and groups with related objectives.
• This is done by establishing a common language and communicating benefits that inform local actions, such as expanding already-existing NbS interventions.
• Promoting multi-stakeholder cooperation, improving delivery systems, and encouraging investment
• In India, project interventions, planning, and policy are being influenced to advance urban ecosystem-based services and nature-based solutions.

Utilizing the BiSAG-N app, Steel Ministry interfaces with the GatiShakti portal:

• To identify and resolve connectivity gaps in the infrastructure, the Ministry of Steel announced that it has joined the PM Gati Shakti Portal and uploaded the geo-coordinates of significant projects.
• Using the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BiSAG-N) software, the ministry registered itself on the National Master Plan site.

Key Points:

• The geolocations of each steel mill owned by the Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) have been made available on the internet.
• The steel ministry has selected 38 high-impact projects to improve multimodal connectivity and address infrastructure gaps.
• The mining sites for each of these CPSEs were being uploaded.
• The government will also list the more than 2,000 steel-producing facilities in the nation.
• More relevant information, including production capacity and product details for each unit and mine, will be provided in upcoming updates.
• The Prime Minister unveiled the Gati Shakti – National Master Plan for Infrastructure Development in October 2021 to bring together multiple ministries for coordinated planning of infrastructure connectivity projects.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Green Deal: pioneering proposals to restore Europe’s nature by 2050 and 50% pesticide use by 2030

• The European Commission adopted proposals to restore damaged ecosystems, bring nature back across Europe, from agricultural land and seas to forests and urban environments, and reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030.

Aim :

• To cover at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 with nature restoration measures, and eventually extend these to all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
• These are the flagship legislative proposals to follow the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies and will help ensure the resilience and security of food supply in the EU and across the world.
• The Commission is proposing a Nature Restoration Law, the first-ever legislation at the EU level.
• The law covers wetlands, rivers, forests, grasslands, marine ecosystems, urban environments, and the species they host.
• According to the Commission, biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems continue at an alarming rate, across the broad range of ecosystem types in the EU.
• In the EU, 80% of habitats are in poor condition, with peatlands, grasslands, and dune habitats worst.

About European Commission :

• Established: 16 January 1958
• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
• President : Ursula von der Leyen
• The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

Banking Frauds Of Over Rs 1,000 Crores Witness Significant Decline In Fraud Cases In FY22

• Frauds in the banking sector involving sums of over Rs 100 crore have declined significantly, with banks reporting cases worth Rs 41,000 crore in 2021-22 compared to Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the FY21.
• According to official data, the number of fraud cases in the public and private sector banks fell from 265 in 2020-21 to 118 in the financial year 2022.
• In the case of public sector banks, the total number of fraud cases over ₹100 crore dropped from 167 in FY21 to 80, and in the case of private sector banks, it fell from 98 in FY21 to 38.
• In terms of cumulative amount, it has come down to Rs 28,000 crore in FY22 from Rs 65,900 crore in FY21 for PSBs.
• For private sector banks, the reduction is from Rs 39,900 crore in FY21 to Rs 13,000 crore in FY22.

Steps Taken To Check Frauds :

• In a bid to check frauds, the RBI has been taking several steps including improving the efficacy of the Early Warning System (EWS) framework, strengthening fraud governance and response system, augmenting data analysis for monitoring of transactions, and introducing of dedicated Market Intelligence (MI) Unit for frauds.
• During 2021-22, the Reserve Bank of India in collaboration with the Reserve Bank Information Technology Private Limited (ReBIT) carried out a study on the implementation of the EWS framework in select Scheduled Commercial Banks.
• Also, the effectiveness of EWS was assessed in select banks by using Machine Learning (ML) algorithms.

Banking Frauds Of 2022 :

• Earlier in 2022, the State Bank of India (SBI) reported one of the biggest bank frauds in the country totaling ₹22,842 crores, perpetrated by ABG Shipyard and its promoters.
• This was much higher than the case involving Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, who allegedly cheated Punjab National Bank (PNB) of around ₹14,000 crores through the issuance of fraudulent Letters of Undertaking (LoUs).
• In June 2022, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), its former Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Kapil Wadhawan, director Dheeraj Wadhawan and others in a fresh case involving ₹34,615 crores, making it the biggest bank fraud probed by the agency.
• Union Bank of India-led consortium alleged that DHFL had availed credit facility to the tune of ₹42,871 crores between 2010 and 2018 from the consortium under various arrangements.

Govt. constitutes ‘FSIB’ for Appointments in Financial Institutions

• The Center has decided to set up the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) as a single entity for making recommendations for appointments of Wholetime Directors and Non-Executive Directors in public sector banks (PSBs), public sector insurers (PSIs), and financial institutions (FIs).
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has asked the Department of Financial Services to carry out necessary modifications in the Nationalized Banks (Management and Miscellaneous Provisions) Scheme of 1970/1980 with the approval of Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman.

Chairman & Other members of FSIB :

• The ACC has approved the appointment of former Chairman of Banks Board Bureau (BBB) Bhanu Pratap Sharma as chairperson of FSIB for two years.

Other Members :

• Animesh Chauhan– He was the former Chairman and Managing Director of erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce has been appointed the ex-banker from the Public sector category
• Shailendra Bhandari– He was former MD of erstwhile ING Vysya Bank has been appointed as a Member of FSIB in the ex-banker from the Private sector category

About BBB :

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the constitution of BBB as a body of eminent officials and professionals in 2016.

Purpose :

• To make recommendations for the appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of public sector banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.
• It was also entrusted with the task of engaging with the board of directors of all PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development.
• The first Chairman of the Banks Board Bureau was Shri Vinod Rai (2016-2018).

SEBI extends the deadline for implementation of the new pledging DDPI system to Sept 1, 2022

• The Capital Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the deadline for the introduction of the Demat Debit and Pledging Instruction (DDPI) system to September 1, 2022.
• Earlier the deadline for implementation was July 1, 2022.
• With the implementation of the guidelines, the Power of Attorney (PoA) would be replaced with Demat Debit and Pledge Instruction (DDPI) documents.

Aim :

• To curb possible misuse of PoA given by clients to stock brokers
• This circular is issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and Section 19 of the Depositories Act, 1996,  to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of and to regulate the securities markets.

Key Highlights :

• The use of DDPI will be limited only to two purposes.
• One is for the transfer of securities held in the beneficial owner account of the client towards stock exchange-related deliveries or settlement obligations arising out of trades executed by such a client.
• The second purpose will be for pledging or re-pledging securities in favor of the trading member or clearing member to meet the margin requirements of the client. Once the guidelines come into force, PoA will no longer be executed for the two purposes.
• A client can use the DDPI or opt to complete the settlement by issuing a physical Delivery Instruction Slip (DIS) or electronic Delivery Instruction Slip (EDIS)
• The existing PoAs will continue to remain valid till the time the client revokes the same.
• Thus, the stockbroker and depository participant will not directly or indirectly compel the clients to execute the DDPI or deny services to the client if the client refuses to execute the DDPI

About SEBI :

• Established: April 12, 1988, & given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman : Madhabi Puri Buch
• SEBI is the regulatory body for securities and commodity markets in India under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, GoI.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Shri Rahul Narwekar becomes the youngest Speaker in the country

• Mumbai lawyer & the first-time MLA, Shri Rahul Narwekar, was elected as the 16th Speaker (since 1960) of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly after defeating Rajan Salvi (Shiv Sena candidate).
• He has been elected as the youngest Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and also becomes the youngest ever in India.
• The post of the Speaker was vacant after Congress’ Nana Patole resigned from the office in February 2021.
• Narwekar received a total of 164 votes in support and 107 went to the Shiv Sena candidate’s account.
• During the Speaker elections, 12 members were absent and 3 legislators abstained from the voting.
• With this Maharashtra became the only state in India where the presiding officers of the Legislature are in-laws.

About Rahul Narwekar :

• Rahul Narwekar is an Indian politician and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• He was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council in June 2016 as a Governor’s Nominated member before becoming MLA in 2019.
• Narwekar’s father-in-law Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) member is the Chairman of the state Legislative Council.

About Maharashtra :

• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Chief minister: Eknath Shinde
• Deputy CM: Devendra Fadnavis
• Capital: Mumbai

Ms. Ketanji Brown Jackson Sworn in as 1st Black Woman On US Supreme Court

• Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as the new associate Supreme Court justice, becoming the first black woman and the first former federal public defender to serve on the nation’s highest court.
• The appointment of 51-years old Ketanji Jackson by Democratic President Mr. Joe Biden.
• Jackson succeeded Justice Stephen Breyer upon his retirement from the court.
• Jackson, a federal judge since 2013, is joining three other women, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Amy Coney Barrett & for the first time, four women will serve together on the nine-member court.
• She stated that it took 233 years and 115 prior appointments for a Black woman to be selected to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.

About Ketanji Brown Jackson :

• Ketanji Brown Jackson was born on September 14, 1970, in Washington, D.C, US.
• She began her legal career with 3 clerkships, including one with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.
• She served as a district judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia from 2013 to 2021.
• She was also vice-chair of the United States Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014.
• Since 2016, she has been a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.
• She was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Mr. Joe Biden on February 25, 2022.
• She was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2021 to 2022.

About the Supreme Court of the United States :

• Established: March 4, 1789
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C, US
• SCOTUS is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

Virgin Orbit Rocket Launches 7 US Defense Satellites

• A Virgin Orbit rocket carrying seven U.S. Defense Department satellites was launched from a special Boeing 747 flying off the Southern California coast and streaked toward space.
• The modified jumbo jet took off from Mojave Air and Space Port in the Mojave Desert and released the rocket over the Pacific Ocean, northwest of Los Angeles.
• The launch was procured by the U.S. Space Force for a Defense Department test program & the 7 payloads will conduct various experiments.
• Virgin Orbit named the mission “Straight Up” after the hit on Paula Abdul’s debut studio album “Forever Your Girl,” which was released through Virgin Records in 1988.
• In late 2022, Virgin Orbit will launch 2 satellites on a mission flying out of Newquay Airport in Cornwall, England.
• The satellites will conduct radio signal monitoring tests in a joint project of the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.

About Virgin Orbit :

• Founded: March 2, 2017
• Headquarters: Long Beach, California, United States
• Founder: Richard Branson
• President & CEO: Dan Hart

Indian Army Organizes Suraksha Manthan-2022

• The Desert Corps of the Indian Army organized the “Suraksha Manthan 2022”, on aspects of Border & Coastal Security at Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• The manthan was jointly presided over by Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh, IPS, Director General Border Security Force (BSF), Director General VS Pathania, Indian Coast Guard, and Lieutenant General Rakesh Kapoor, General Officer Commanding Desert Corps, and attended by serving officers of the Army, BSF, and Coast Guard.
• During the discussions, aspects of interoperability, operational cohesion, and logistics were ironed out to enhance overall security along the International Boundary (IB) and coastal sectors.
• A joint training calendar was also formulated to achieve a higher degree of interoperability and jointness amongst the security forces.
• Current security threats and challenges, along with joint mitigation response, were deliberated upon and such scenarios would now form part of the forthcoming exercises.
• It was further decided to create an enabling security environment and develop a tangible capability development road map.

About Ministry of Defence :

• Defence Minister: Rajnath Singh
• Minister of State: Ajay Bhatt
• Defence Secretary: Ajay Kumar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Iran launches Zuljanah a solid-fueled rocket into space

• Iran launched a solid-fuelled rocket named “Zuljanah” into space.

About Zuljanah :

• Zuljanah is an Iranian Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) made by the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (Iran).
• It is the first indigenously designed and indigenously manufactured hybrid fuel satellite launch vehicle.
• It is capable of carrying a payload or satellite of 220 kilograms, an orbit of 500 kilometers above the Earth.
• The satellite will gather data in low-earth orbit as well as promote Iran’s space industry.
• Zuljanah is named for the horse of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
• It is the third civilian Satellite Launch Vehicle made in Iran, after the Safir and Simorgh.

Features of Zuljanah :

• Zuljanah measures 25.5 meters (84ft) in length and has a mass of 52 tons (115,000lbs).
• The first and second stages utilize an identical 1.5m diameter solid-fuel engine with 74 tons of thrust and the third stage is a Safir type 1.25m diameter liquid-fuel engine with a thrust of 3.5 tons.

About Iran :

• President: Ebrahim Raisi
• Capital: Tehran
• Currency: Iranian rial

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

For June 2022, gross GST revenue was Rs. 1,44,616 crores:

• The gross GST collection in June 2022 surpasses 1.40 lakh crore for the fifth time since the introduction of GST and the fourth consecutive month since March 2022, making it the second-highest collection after the collection in April 2022.
• Following the GST collection of Rs 1,67,540 crore in April 2022, the gross GST collection in June 2022 is the second-highest collection.

Key Points:

• In June 2022, the entire amount of GST income received would be Rs 1,44,616 crore, of which the CGST would be Rs 25,306 crore, the SGST is Rs 32,406 crore, the IGST is Rs 75887 crore (together with Rs 40102 crore collected on the import of goods), and the cess was Rs 11,018 crore (along with Rs 1197 crore collected on import of goods).
• The government has settled IGST for Rs 29,588 crore to CGST and Rs 24,235 crore to SGST.
• Additionally, the center started an ad hoc settlement for Rs 27,000 crore for IGST in the same month, split 50:50 between the center and states/UTs.
• Following regular and ad hoc settlement, the center and the states’ combined income in June 2022 would be Rs. 68,394 crores for the CGST and Rs. 70,141 crores for the SGST.

CRISIL cuts FY23 GDP growth estimate to 7.3% from 7.8% on high inflation:

• Domestic rating agency Crisil has lowered its real GDP growth forecast for India to 7.3 percent in FY23 from 7.8 percent estimated earlier.
• It attributed the downward revision to higher oil prices, slowing of export demand, and high inflation.
• This is in line with the RBI’s estimate of 7.2 real GDP growth for this fiscal year.
• There is a slew of negatives like high commodity prices, elevated freight prices, drag on exports as global growth projections get lowered, and the largest demand-side driver of private consumption remains weak.
• Inflation, which has been pegged to average at 6.8 percent in FY23 as against 5.5 percent in FY22, reduces purchasing power and would weigh on the revival of consumption the largest component of GDP which has been backsliding for a while
• Factors contributing to the broad-based rise in inflation will include the impact of this year’s heatwave on domestic food production, coupled with persisting high international commodity prices and input costs

About CRISIL:

• CRISIL is an Indian analytical company providing ratings, research, and risk and policy advisory services and is a subsidiary of American company S&P Global
• CEO: Amish Mehta
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1987

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Karnataka’s Sini Shetty crowned Femina Miss India 2022:

• The Femina Miss India 2022 title has been won by Sini Shetty.
• She will now compete in the 71st Miss World pageant as India’s representative.
• At the JIO World Convention Center in Mumbai, Shetty was named Femina Miss India World 2022 by Manasa Varanasi, Miss India 2020.
• Rubal Shekhawat of Rajasthan is the first runner-up in Femina Miss India 2022, while Shinata Chauhan of Uttar Pradesh is the second.

Femina Miss India 2022’s jury:

• Actors Neha Dhupia, Dino Morea, Malaika Arora, and famous cricketer Mithali Raj made up the jury for Femina Miss India 2022.
• Shiamak Davar, Rohit Gandhi, and Rahul Khanna were also on the panel.

About Sini Shetty:

• Shetty, a native of Karnataka, was born in Mumbai in 2001.
• The 21-year-old is presently enrolled in a Chartered Financial Analyst program.
• He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance (CFA).

UK Parliament honors Tanuja Nesari with the Ayurveda Ratna award:

• The UK Parliament presented Tanuja Nesari, Director of the All-India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), with the Ayurveda Ratna Award.
• She received the award from the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences (ITSappg), which recognizes her work to promote the spread of Ayurveda both domestically and internationally.
• An ITSappg committee led by dignitaries Bob Blackman, MP, UK Parliament and Chair, Virendra Sharma, MP, UK Parliament, and Chair, and Ambassador for Ayurveda and Yoga in Great Britain, Amarjeet S. Bhamra, honored Dr. Nesari for her exceptional service of the highest calibre for the promotion of Ayurveda.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences:

• To promote understanding of Ayurveda, Yoga, Jyotish, Vastu, Unani, and Sangeetam in the UK and internationally, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences was established in 2014.

HCL Technologies bags Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards 2022:

• HCL Technologies received recognition at the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards for its creativity and use of Microsoft technologies in client solutions.
• HCL Tech won the 2022 UK Microsoft Partner of the Year Award as well as the Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Healthcare and Life Sciences (global winner) (country winner).
• The IT business was also selected as a finalist for the Internet of Things category of the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award (domain finalist).

Key Points:

• The Awards honor Microsoft partners who over the previous year created and provided exceptional Microsoft-based products, services, and devices.
• For the yearly Awards, more than 3,900 nominations came from more than 100 different nationalities.
• Before the company’s annual global partner conference, Microsoft Inspire, which will be held on July 19–20 this year, the Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards are presented.
• With a focus on maximizing business value through sector-leading innovation and transformation on the Microsoft cloud, the HCL Microsoft Ecosystem Unit helps clients evolve into more agile and adaptable enterprises.

About HCL Technologies

• CEO: C Vijayakumar
• Founded: 12 November 1991
• Headquarters: Noida.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES

Mr. Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurates Fifth Global Film Tourism Conclave:

• Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, formally opened the fifth Global Film Tourism Conclave (GFTC) at the Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach in Mumbai
• The D. Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized the fifth GFTC with the theme “Unleashing the Power of Cinematic Tourism” in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Key Points:

• The GFTC provides a unique platform for Film Commissions, Tourism Boards, and Production Houses to advertise their locations, rewards, and services to the expanding Indian film industry.
• Film tourism is when a viewer is convinced to visit a certain location after seeing it in a movie.
• Naqvi claims that both Indian and foreign movies have made a big contribution to disseminating a timely message about the perils of terrorism, violence, and extremism.
• These films are necessary right now since they could not only be enjoyable but also have a big societal influence.
• The importance of the film sector and its contribution to the local, national, and global economies were also emphasized by the minister.
• At foreign box offices, the Indian film industry makes roughly Rs. 48 thousand crores.
• Shri Naqvi also commended the nation’s producers, writers, actors, technicians, and directors for their efforts in introducing Indian films to international audiences.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

BESCOM develops ‘EV Mitra’ mobile app:

• The EV Mitra smartphone app was created by the Bengaluru Electricity Company BESCOM to give details about EV charging stations in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The app also includes details on the charges at each station where electric vehicles may recharge.
• Users of electric vehicles can reserve a spot in the station in advance using the user-friendly app.
• The EV Jagruthi Web portal was previously introduced by BESCOM as a collaborative project of NITI Ayog and the UK.
• The website provides information particular to each state about the availability of electric vehicles, incentives, support systems, and state government efforts related to electric mobility.

Key Points:

• In Bengaluru, BESCOM has launched 136 charging stations, and 152 more will do the same shortly.
• For the establishment of 1000 charging stations around the state, bids have been requested under the Public-Private Partnership model.
• The EV Abhiyan will last for a week, from July 1 to July 6, while the EV Expo will run from July 1 to July 3.
• To encourage EV use in Bengaluru, a rally will be held on July 2nd from Vidhana Soudha to Palace Grounds.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ENVIRONMENT

India TO add 315 taxa and 540 species to its inventory of animal species: ZSI

• The number of animal species in India’s faunal database increased by 540 in 2021, bringing the total to 1,03,258.
• The Indian flora now has 315 more taxa, increasing the total number of floral taxa in the country to 55,048 as of 2021.
• Of the 540 species of fauna, 406 are discoveries, while 134 are new records for India.
• Thirteen new genera were discovered in 2021 as well.
• Among the newly discovered species are 19 species of fish, 35 species of reptiles, and one species of mammal.

Key Points:

• The newly discovered mammal species is a white-toothed shrew from the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands called Crocidura narcondamica.
• Whitaker’s cat snake, commonly known as Boiga whitakeri, was one of the extraordinary reptiles discovered in 2021.
• It was discovered in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu.
• The Hymenoptera order of insects, which includes ants, bees, sawflies, and wasps, was the source of the newest species discoveries, accounting for 80 species and one new genus.
• 68 percent of new animal species discoveries were produced in 2021 by scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), which marked its 107th foundation anniversary on July 1.
• While the COVID-19 epidemic severely hampered expeditions, she emphasized that they have since fully recovered.
• With 1.03 lakh species, India accounts for 6.1% of the world’s total faunal diversity.
• The 315 new flora taxa include 298 new species and 17 intraspecific taxa that are unique to Indian flora.
• Among these, 204 taxa are brand-new to science and 125 taxa have unique distributional data from India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Visionary British theater director Peter Brook passes away

• A British theater and cinema director Peter Brook passed away at the age of 97.

About Peter Brook :

• Brook, was born in London in 1925, in Chiswick, England.
• He worked in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theater, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
• He was often referred to as “our greatest living theater director”.
• He established the International Center for Theater Research after relocating to Paris in the 1970s.
• He brought a stunning nine-hour adaptation of the Sanskrit epic “The Mahabharata” from France to New York in 1987.

Awards & Honors :

• He received two Tony Awards for best Directions in 1966 for his staging of Peter Weiss’ Marat/Sade and in 1970 for the staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare.
• He won multiple Emmy Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, the Japanese Praemium Imperiale, and the Prix Italia.
• In 2021, he was awarded India’s Padma Shri.

Veteran film director Tarun Majumdar passes away

• Veteran filmmaker Tarun Majumdar passed away in Kolkata at the age of 91.

About Tarun Majumdar :

• Tarun Majumdar is Born on 8 January 1931 in Bogra (now in Bangladesh).
• He was known for his sensitive portrayal of middle-class life and the human condition.
• Majumdar directed his first film Chawa Pawa (1959), starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen when he was only 27 years old.
• Some of Notable his works are ‘Kancher Swarga’ (1962), ‘Palatka’ (1963), ‘Kuheli’ (1971), Shriman Prithviraj (1972), ‘Balika Badhu’ (1976), ‘Thani’ (1974), ‘Ganadevata’ (1978), Dadar Kirti (1980), ‘Bhalobasa Bhalobasa’ (1986) and Apan Amar Apan (1990).

Awards & Honors :

• He is the recipient of 4 National Awards, 7 BFJA(Bengal Flim Journalist Association Awards), 5 Filmfare Awards, and an Anandalok Award.
• He received his first National Award for the 1962 Bengali film Kancher Swarga.
• He received a National Award, a BFJA Award, and a Filmfare Award for Nimantran (1971). Ganadevata (1979) won him a National Award and a Filmfare Award.
• In 1990, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award.

Former India footballer EN Sudhir passes away

• Former India goalkeeper E N Sudhir who played as a goalkeeper for India in the 1970s Passed away in Mapusa, Goa at the age of 76.

About EN Sudhir :

• Sudhir was born in Kozhikode in Kerala.
• Sudhir made his international debut against Indonesia in Rangoon (currently Yangon) in the Olympic qualifiers in 1972, representing India in nine matches.
• He was also part of the national team in the 1973 Merdeka Cup and the Asian Games squad in 1974.
• At the domestic level, he played for three different states in the Santosh Trophy- Kerala (1969 and 1970), Goa (1971, 1972, 1973), and Maharashtra in 1975.
• Sudhir also played for Young Challengers (Kerala), Vasco Sports Club (Goa), and Mahindra & Mahindra at the club level.

Daily CA on July 06 :

• Every year on June 6th, World Zoonoses Day is commemorated as the anniversary of the first-ever vaccine given for any zoonotic disease way back in 1885.
• World Resources Institute India (WRI India), the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), and other partners launched India’s first national coalition platform for urban nature-based solutions (NbS) during the 11th World Urban Forum in Poland.
• To identify and resolve connectivity gaps in the infrastructure, the Ministry of Steel announced that it has joined the PM Gati Shakti Portal and uploaded the geo-coordinates of significant projects.

• The European Commission adopted proposals to restore damaged ecosystems, bring nature back across Europe, from agricultural land and seas to forests and urban environments, and reduce the use of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030.
• Frauds in the banking sector involving sums of over Rs 100 crore have declined significantly, with banks reporting cases worth Rs 41,000 crore in 2021-22 compared to Rs 1.05 lakh crore in the FY21.
• The Center has decided to set up the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) as a single entity for making recommendations for appointments of Wholetime Directors and Non-Executive Directors in public sector banks (PSBs), public sector insurers (PSIs), and financial institutions (FIs).
• The Capital Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the deadline for the introduction of the Demat Debit and Pledging Instruction (DDPI) system to September 1, 2022.
• Mumbai lawyer & the first-time MLA, Shri Rahul Narwekar, was elected as the 16th Speaker  (since 1960) of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly after defeating Rajan Salvi (Shiv Sena candidate).
• Ms. Ketanji Brown Jackson has been sworn in as the new associate Supreme Court justice, becoming the first black woman and the first former federal public defender to serve on the nation’s highest court.
• A Virgin Orbit rocket carrying seven U.S. Defense Department satellites was launched from a special Boeing 747 flying off the Southern California coast and streaked toward space.
• The Desert Corps of the Indian Army organized the “Suraksha Manthan 2022”, on aspects of Border & Coastal Security at Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 
• Iran launched a solid-fuelled rocket named “Zuljanah” into space.

• The gross GST collection in June 2022 surpasses 1.40 lakh crore for the fifth time since the introduction of GST and the fourth consecutive month since March 2022, making it the second-highest collection after the collection in April 2022.
• Domestic rating agency Crisil has lowered its real GDP growth forecast for India to 7.3 percent in FY23 from 7.8 percent estimated earlier.
• The Femina Miss India 2022 title has been won by Sini Shetty.
• The UK Parliament presented Tanuja Nesari, Director of the All-India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), with the Ayurveda Ratna Award.
• HCL Technologies received recognition at the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards for its creativity and use of Microsoft technologies in client solutions.
• Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, formally opened the fifth Global Film Tourism Conclave (GFTC) at the Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach in Mumbai
• The EV Mitra smartphone app was created by the Bengaluru Electricity Company BESCOM to give details about EV charging stations in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The number of animal species in India’s faunal database increased by 540 in 2021, bringing the total to 1,03,258.

• A British theater and cinema director Peter Brook passed away at the age of 97.
• Veteran filmmaker Tarun Majumdar passed away in Kolkata at the age of 91.
• Former India goalkeeper E N Sudhir who played as a goalkeeper for India in the 1970s Passed away in Mapusa, Goa at the age of 76.ccu