International News
UNICEF and SAP India to Offer Career Counselling
- The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India has partnered with SAP India which is a software company to provide career counselling to the youths of India.
- The initiative was launched on account of World Youth Skills Day.
National News
#Reimagine Campaign launched by UNICEF India and FICCI
- The campaign will provide support to the most vulnerable population and children due to current pandemic COVID-19 and its aftermath in India.
‘Digital Choupal’— NABARD
- The ‘Digital Choupal’ was conducted by video conference and was participated by various entities with whom NABARD has signed projects.
Indian Railway’s Mission ‘Green Railway’
- Indian Railways has decided to accomplish its mission of ‘Green Railway’ by 2030.
- Under this mission, Indian railways have decided to achieve net-zero carbon emission.
‘Corosure’ Test Kit for Coronavirus—IIT Delhi
- IIT Delhi has developed a low-cost testing kit for the COVID-19.
- The kit is named as ‘Corosure’ and it is considered to be the world’s most affordable corona testing kit.
‘PRAGYATA’ Guidelines for Online Digital Education
- Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has released a set of rules, guidelines to be followed for conducting online digital education.
Development Projects in Andaman & Nicobar Island—NABARD
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has decided to launch development projects in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The development projects are launched for worth Rs 44 lakhs.
CIPET Accredited to Test and Certify PPE Kits
- The CIPET comes under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers.
- After conducting an online audit of the PPE Testing kits, NABL has granted the accreditation to CIPET.
KURMA Mobile App—To Track and Conserve Indian Turtles
- Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar has lauded and appreciated a mobile application to track, report and conserve the Indian turtles.
Zoram Mega Food Park—Mizoram
- The Zoram Mega Food Park was inaugurated at Mizoram.
- It was inaugurated by Union Food Processing Minister, Harisimrat Kaur Badal.
Index and Ranking
Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2020
- Cushman & Wakefield has released Global Manufacturing Risk Index (MRI),2020.
- As per the ranking released, India is stood at the third position in the Global Manufacturing Risk Index 2020.
Global Skill Index 2020
- The report of Global Skill Index 2020 was made by ‘Coursera’, which is the world’s largest online learning platform.
- In terms of data science domain scenario, India has received rank at 51st Position in global view and 12th rank position in terms of Asia Pacific region view.
Reports
‘Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients’—Report by TIFAC
- An autonomous organisation under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India namely Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), has released a report which describes the list of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) which are in need of prioritized manufacturing and the associated advantages.
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Rudrendra Tandon | India’s Next Ambassador to Afghanistan |
| Vikram Doraiswami | India’s Next Ambassador to Bangladesh |
| Vidhu P Nair | India’s Next Ambassador to Turkmenistan |
| Hemant Harichandra Kotalwar | India’s Next Ambassador to Czech Republic |
| Ashok Lavasa | Vice President of the Asian Development Bank |
| Brett Lee | Brand Ambassador for Sports Adda |
| Ossouka Raponda | First Women Prime Minister of Gabon |
| Roshni Nadar Malhotra | Chairman of HCL Technologies |
| Chabdrikapersad ‘Chan’ Santokhi | President of South American Country ‘Suriname’ |
| Shyam Srinivasan | MD and CEO of Federal Bank |
| P Praveen Siddharth | Personnel Secretary to the President Ram Nath Kovind |
| Ashwini Kumar Tiwari | MD and CEO of SBI Cards |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| US-India Business Council (USIBC) Global Leadership Award 2020 | N Chandrasekaran and Jim Taiclet |
| ‘Infra Business Leader of the year 2020 award by Rail Infra and Mobility Digital Award (RIMBDA)’ | Ved Prakash Dudeja |
| Global Humanitarian Award 2020 | Sachin Awasthi |
| CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists) International Press Freedom Award 2020 | Shahidul Alam (Bangladesh), Mohammad Mosaed (Iran), Dapo Olorunyomi (Nigeria) and Svetlana Prokopyeva (Russia) |
| 2020 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Tribute Actor Award | Kate Winslet |
| Nelson Mandella Prize 2020 | Guinean doctor Morissana Kouyate and Marianna Vardinoyannis from Greece |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 15th July 2020 | World Youth Skills Day | Theme: ‘Skills for Resilient Youth’ |
| 17th July 2020 | World Day for International Justice | -- |
| 18th July 2020 | Nelson Mandela International Day | -- |
| 20th July 2020 | World Chess Day | -- |
MoU’s Signed
BSE signs MoU with IIT Alumni Council
- Bombay Stock Exchange has signed MoU with IIT Alumni Council in order to boost the number of startups in India and to provide high investing depth to such new startups.
AAI signs MoU with BEL—For Cooperation in Civil Aviation Sector
- Airport Authority of India has signed an MoU with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in order to have cooperation in the Civil Aviation Sector.
- AAI and BEL now will jointly work to uplift the global opportunities in airport business in Asia and the Pacific region.
NTPC signs MoU with NIIF
- National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has signed MoU with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
- They have signed MoU with an aim to explore investment opportunities in order to enhance the renewable energy sector.
India and Israel to Work in Cyber Security Co-operation
- The MoU was signed between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a unit of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and Israel’s National Cyber Directorate (INCD).
CBDT signs MoU with MSME for Data Sharing
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed MoU Ministry of MSME.
- The MoU will allow the sharing of data by CBDT to MSME ministry.
Defence
P7 Heavy Drop System for IL 76 Aircraft—DRDO
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed the P7 Heavy drop system.
- The P7 Heavy drop system is capable of para dropping military stores weighing up to 7 tons from IL 76 aircraft.
Indian Navy conducted Naval Exercise at Andaman and Nicobar Island
- Indian Navy has conducted a naval exercise in Andaman and Nicobar Island.
- The exercise was conducted with aircraft and warships from Andaman and Nicobar Command and Eastern Naval Command.
Ministry of Defence signs Contract with BEML
- The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract agreement with Bharat Earth Movers Limited to procure Mine Plough (MP) for tank T-90 S/SK.
- A total 1,512 MP will be procured under this contract.
Science and Technology
ASPIRE-- e-portal Based on Automotive Technology
- International Centre of Automotive Technology (ICAT) has launched e-portal on automotive technology which is named as ASPIRE.
- The ASPIRE e-portal stands for Automotive Solutions Portal for Industry, Research and Education.
KrttiScan -UV Baggage Scan System for Corona Disinfection
- The Vehant Technologies, Noida in partnership with International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad has developed KritiScan, UV Baggage Disinfection System.
‘Hope Mission’ to Mars—By UAE
- United Arab Emirates (UAE) successfully launched ‘Hope Mission’ to Mars.
- Under this mission, the UAE will provide a complete picture of the atmosphere at mars for the first time.
Summits and Conferences
5th Conference on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies
- Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the fifth edition of the conference on Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Technologies.
- The theme for the conference was: Empowering India with Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Mission.
Digital Indo- Italian Business Mission on Food Processing
- Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harisimrat Kaur Badal virtually addressed the opening ceremony of Digital Indo- Italian Business Mission on Food Processing.
Indo-US Strategic Energy Partnership
- Both the countries announced to perform research and uplift the new areas on transformational power generation based on supercritical CO2 (sCO2) power cycles and advanced coal technologies, including carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Session, 2020
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually addressed the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Session. The session was held in New York, United States.
- The theme for the session was “Multilateralism after COVID19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary”.
3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meet
- The 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meet was conducted. It was participated by Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
