Current Affairs (01-15 July 2021)
National
Ladakh has become the first Union Territory in the country to vaccinate all residents with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Union Cabinet on July 14 gave its approval to increase the DA of Central Government employees and pensioners from 17 percent to 28 percent.
The cryptocurrency bill will be presented in the Monsoon Session of Parliament that will begin on July 19, 2021.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has banned the use of drones or any other unmanned vehicles in Srinagar.
India evacuates diplomats and security personnel from Kandahar as the Taliban captures new areas in Afghanistan.
In the much-awaited cabinet reshuffle, a total of 43 leaders took oath as ministers in the Union Cabinet. The Union Cabinet expansion meeting was held on July 7, 2021.
The Supreme Court of India has given a deadline to all states and union territories to implement the One Nation One Ration Card scheme by July 31.
The North-Eastern state of Manipur has recently been added to the map of Indian Railways.
Mairang will be the 12th district of Meghalaya.
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind lays the foundation stone of Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Center in Lucknow.
India ranks 28 in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startupblink.
On July 7, 2021, Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla chaired a high-level meeting to review the implementation of various schemes in the civil aviation, agriculture, and horticulture sectors in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
CBSE announces new rules for class 10 and 12 board exams for 2021-22. The session will be divided into two terms, 50% syllabus in each session.
Mumbai Samachar, India’s oldest running newspaper, will enter its 200th year on July 1.
Awards & Recognitions :-
Recently a painting by Amrita Shergill was sold and it became the second most expensive artwork made by an Indian.
RK Sabharwal has been awarded the Order of Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest civilian award.
India has secured the 67th rank in Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2021.
Shri Kaushik Basu was awarded the Humboldt Research Prize in the field of Economics.
Nitin Gadkari is the new brand ambassador for Khadi Prakritik Paints.
India has been ranked as the 10th best country in the world in the Global Cyber Security Index (GCI) 2020 released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Kuvempu National Award, the national award instituted in the memory of late poet laureate Kuvempu, has been conferred on renowned Odia poet Dr Rajendra Kishore Panda for the year 2020.
National Defence/ Security Current Affairs :-
After two decades of recommendation, the Kargil Review Committee, Govt. is set to appoint an NMSC (National Maritime Security Coordinator) with the objective of enhancing India’s security infrastructure and energy security. NMSC will report to NSA.
The Indian Army has recently inaugurated a war memorial near Gulmarg for Captain Gurjinder Singh Suri, who died during the 1999 Birsa Munda operation.
A Sparsh web-based integrated system for disbursement of pension has been launched by the Ministry of Defence.
Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) granted a license to manufacture and sell -2DG (2-Deoxy-D-Glucose) to Laurus Labs. Laurus Lab is located in Hyderabad.
Indian Army chief General MM Naravane inaugurates a war memorial for Indian soldiers in Italy.
INS Sahyadri has been adjudged the Best Ship of the Eastern Fleet in the Capital Ship at Fleet Award Function 2021.
Indian Navy conducts military exercises with South Korea in the East China Sea.
Air Marshal Vivek Ram Choudhary is the new vice chief of the Indian Air Force.
Indian Army names firing range in Gulmarg after Vidya Balan.
Business, Economy & Finance:-
NTPC to set up India’s largest solar park of 4750 MW capacity in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
RBI will allow retail investors to open gilt accounts with the central bank under the Retail Direct Scheme.
Amazon has launched its first digital center in Surat, Gujarat.
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has been brought under the administrative control of the Ministry of Finance to honor the government’s ambitious disinvestment program.
Maharashtra announces an incentive of up to Rs 20 lakh for electric vehicles from two-wheelers to buses.
State Bank of India celebrated its 66th Foundation Day on 1st July 2021.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering jointly launched BHIM-UPI in Bhutan
Bhutan is the first country to adopt NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India) BHIM UPI QR-based payment.
The Finance Ministry on July 8, 2021 released the fourth monthly installment after a revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states.
Appointments And Resignations:-
Shri Kiren Rijiju has been appointed as the Union Minister of Law and Justice of India.
Pushkar Singh Dhami is the new chief minister of Uttarakhand.
Mansukh Mandaviya has been given the charge of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, which has recently clubbed with the Ministry of Health.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan is the new Education and Skill Development Minister of India. The Ministry of Education and Ministry of Skill Development have been clubbed together
Shri Ashwini Vaishnav was appointed as the new Railway Minister of India.
Shri Satyadev Narayan Arya has been appointed as the new governor of Tripura.
Bandara Duttatraya has been appointed as the new governor of Haryana.
Vinay Prakash will be India’s new Grievance Officer by Twitter.
Shyam Srinivasan has been appointed as the Managing Director and CEO of Federal Bank by RBI.
Anurag Thakur takes charge as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Ramesh Bais has been appointed as the new governor of Jharkhand.
Vinay Kumar Saxena is the chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant by one year till June 30, 2022.
Shri PS Sreedharan has been appointed as the Governor of Goa.
Shri Satish Agnihotri has been appointed as the Managing Director of National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited.
Shri N Venudhar takes over as Director-General of All India Radio.
Nath Srivastava has been appointed as the President of the Indian Association of the United Nations.
National Health Authority CEO Ram Sevak Sharma and Infosys non-executive chairman Nandan Nilekani were appointed as members of an advisory council to create an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
Shri Amit Shah has been given additional charge of the newly formed Cooperation Ministry.
Government Initiative And Schemes:-
According to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC), a total of 186 elephants died after being hit by trains across India between 2009-10 and 2020-21.
India’s first Maritime Arbitration Center is being set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The Government of India has set up India’s first movable freshwater tunnel aquarium the Aquatic Kingdom in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Education Ministry has recently launched the Nipun Bharat program.
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath unveils new population policy 2021-30.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved the conversion of Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary into a Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh has launched a free online course mobile app “Matsya Setu” for Indian aqua farmers.
Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the country’s first private Liquefied Natural Gas LNG plant in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory that has abolished the 149-year-old Darbar move tradition.
NABARD has sanctioned Rs 388 crore under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund for the Poor (RIDF) for drinking water and 20 rural road projects in Odisha.
The government has launched the “Aatmanirbhar Krishi” mobile application to provide actionable agricultural insights and early weather alerts to farmers.
Hausla – “Inspire Her Growth”, a comprehensive program to catalyze women entrepreneurs in J&K.
Dr. VK Paul, a member, NITI Aayog, has released NITI Aayog’s study on not for profit hospital model on the Indian web providing insight into their operating model.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Secretary, Arun Kumar Mehta inaugurated ‘Sukoon’, a 24×7 mental health helpline of 1st Battalion of SDRF at its headquarters. This initiative, launched by SDRF 1st Battalion Kashmir in collaboration with Mission Youth J&K and the Department of Tourism, will guide the caller to avail the services of Clinical Psychologists, Physicians, Counselors, and Psychiatrists.
Assam Government to set up a “Department of Indigenous Faith and Culture”.
Agreements And MoU’s:-
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ICCR (Indian Council for Cultural Relations) and Delhi University (DU) to establish the Bangabandhu Chair at DU as a tribute to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first President of Bangladesh.
The Delhi government has partnered with Google to launch a system to enable commuters to access real-time information about buses.
APEDA (Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) signed an MoU with NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited) to strengthen export linkages between farmer cooperatives and FPOs (Farmer Producer Organization).
Nepal signs MoU with SJVN (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam) of the Government of India for the 679 MW Lower Arun Electric Hydel Project.
World Gold Council (WGC) and Gems and Jewelry Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) signed an agreement to promote gold jewelry in India.
Ministry of Tourism signs MoU with travel and tourism portal Yatra.com to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry.
Science & Technology:-
Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates the Center of Excellence for Research and Analysis of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances at the National University of Forensic Sciences in Ahmedabad.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully conducted the third long-duration hottest of the liquid fuel-powered Vikas engine.
Scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) discovered two species of FEB in superfluid helium.
Researchers have discovered a black-bellied coral snake in the Bhadraraj block of the Benog Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttarakhand.
Two new species of spider have been discovered in the Jharbari range in the western Assam Chirang reserve forest in India.
Film Industry/ Entertainment:-
Bollywood film actress Kareena Kapoor Khan has announced her new book, the Pregnancy Bible.
Goa to host 50th International Film Festival to be held in November 2021.
Filmmaker Deepti Pillay Sivan’s most talked-about documentary about the life and career of renowned musician Shankar Mahadevan, “Decoding Shankar”, recently won the Best Film in Documentary Segment (Best Biography) award at the Toronto International Women’s Film Festival, 2021 Won.
Sports:-
Mumbai and Pune are the two Indian cities that are set to host the Women’s Asian Cup 2022.
Shri Sudhanshu Mittal has been re-elected as the President of the Kho-Kho Federation of India.
World’s third-largest cricket stadium to be built in Jaipur.
Shefali Verma became the youngest Indian cricketer to make her debut in all formats after being selected for the first ODI against England women’s cricket.
Abhimanyu Mishra becomes the world’s youngest Chess Grandmaster.
Deepika Kumari becomes the world’s number one female archer.
Former cricketer Yashpal Sharma, a member of the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, passed away at the age of 66.
Men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh and boxer Mary Kom will be the flag bearers of the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Authors:-
Venu Madhav Govinda is the author of the book – “The Fourth Lion: Essays for Gopal Krishna Gandhi”.
Kavita Rao is the author of the book “Lady Doctors: The Untold Story of India’s First Women in Medicine”.
Journalist Dhaval Kulkarni is the author of the book “Nathuram Godse: A True Story of Gandhiji’s Assassin”.
International Affairs :-
Indonesia has overtaken India as Asia’s new hotspot for COVID-19, with daily COVID-19 cases exceeding 40,000 for two straight days.
PM Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party wins the parliamentary election in Ethiopia.
Italy won the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship by defeating England 3-2 in a penalty shoot-out in the final at Wembley Stadium in London.
Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer withdrew from the upcoming Tokyo Olympics on July 13, 2021 after suffering a knee injury.
Russian Envoy Nikolay Kudashev informed on July 14, 2021 that the single-dose Sputnik Lite COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be launched in India soon.
The World Health Organization issues new recommendations on human genome editing for the advancement of public health.
Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles Wimbledon title in 2021.
Ashleigh Barty won the women’s singles Wimbledon title in 2021.
Italy won the 2020 UEFA Football Championship.
Geoff Allardyce has been appointed as the new interim CEO of the ICC.
Eric Garcetti was named by Joe Biden as US ambassador to India.
Stefan Löfven has been re-elected as Prime Minister of Sweden.
Andy Jassi has been appointed as the new CEO of Amazon.
Max Verstappen has won the Austrian Grand-Place 2021.
The 7th edition of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium was hosted by France.
China has been declared a malaria-free country by the World Health Organization.
Pakistan’s Jacobabad city in the Sindh province has recorded the world’s highest temperature of 52 degrees Celsius in the summer season.
Nine countries in Europe have confirmed that they will allow travel to individuals who have been vaccinated with the Serum Institute of India’s Covidshield Vaccine.
Shri. Sher Bahadur Deuba was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Nepal.
UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore resigns.
Google has been fined $593 million by the French antitrust agency over a news content issue.
Cuba has successfully developed the world’s first conjugated coronavirus vaccine named Soberana-2
Jeff Bezos has stepped down as the chief executive officer of Amazon.
The world’s tallest sandcastle has been built in Denmark and has been included in Guinness World Records.
CII is organizing the Indo Pacific Business Summit virtual on 6-8 July with the theme: ‘Developing a Road Map for Shared Prosperity.
Israel’s parliament fails to extend controversial law preventing Palestinians from granting citizenship rights if they marry Israeli citizens.
