National News
MasterCard Ties Up with SBM Bank India
- MasterCard has partnered with SBM Bank India in order to provide its customers with an online real-time domestic and cross border payments facility.
- The online real-time payment facility will be done through ‘MasterCard Send’.
Rajnath Singh e-inaugurated 6 Bridges in J&K
- Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh e-inaugurated 6 bridges in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The bridges are developed under the Project Sampark by Border Road Organisation.
Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligence System (BLUIS)
- Chief Minister of Odisha has launched Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligence System (BLUIS) which is the web and mobile-based solution to monitor the unauthorized change of land use.
- This system will help to prevent the encroachment of government lands.
World Bank Financially Supports Namami Gange Programme
- World Bank and Government of India has signed a loan agreement to financially support Namami Gange Programme.
- The loan amount of $400 million has been sanctioned by World Bank to make Ganga a clean and healthy river.
Bharat Dynamics Ltd signs LAToT with DRDO-DRDL
- Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a License Agreement and Transfer of technology (LAToT) with Defence Research and Development Organisation- Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDO-DRDL).
Flipkart to Promote Art, Craft and Handloom Sector of Karnataka
- E-commerce industry Flipkart has entered into an agreement with the government of Karnataka to promote arts, crafts and handloom sector of the state.
- For this purpose, the E-Commerce giant Flipkart has signed MoU with Department of MSME and Mines of the government of Karnataka.
India’s First E-Lok Adalat at Chhattisgarh
- The decision and development of e-Lok Adalat in Chhattisgarh has taken place because of the Chhattisgarh State Legal Service Authority and the High Court.
- The E-Lok Adalat is launched with an aim to carry out court cases via the virtual platform in the pandemic situation of COVID-19 and to maintain social distancing.
'ATL App Development Module'-- NITI Aayog
- NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission has launched the ATL App Development Module for school children across the country.
- The ATL App Development Module is an online course, which is completely Free.
Banking
‘Bhavishya’ Saving Account—By Fino Payments Bank Ltd
- Fino Payments Bank Limited has launched ‘Bhavishya’ Saving Account.
- The ‘Bhavishya’ Saving Account is launched for the minors who are in between the age group of 10-18 years.
India’s GDP to contract by 3% in FY21
- BofA Securities, which is a foreign brokerage, has stated that India’s GDP will contract by 3% for the financial year 2021.
- BofA Securities has also predicted that India’s GDP will contract this fiscal with estimates ranging up to 7% negative growth.
Tamil Nadu Tops in Market Borrowings—By RBI
- As per the data by Reserve Bank of India, Tamil Nadu state has topped in market borrowings among all the states in India.
- Tamil Nadu has raised Rs 30,500 crores in the fiscal year 2020-21 which is accounted for 17% of the borrowings done through the issue of the bonds.
7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave
- RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das addressed the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave.
- In the conclave, the governor delivered various policy measures taken in order to deal with the economic crisis being faced by the country amidst COVID-19 lockdown.
Panel Formed for 'Indian Pandemic Risk Pool'-- By IRDAI
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), being the regulatory provider has formed a panel which will examine the degree of convenience of ‘Pandemic Risk Pool’.
- The panel will be headed by Suresh Mathur, Executive Director of IRDAI.
India: Second Largest Foreign Direct Investor in the UK
- UK Government has released new data in the Department for International Trade (DIT) inward investment statistics for 2019-2020.
- As per the statistical analysis, India has become the second-largest Foreign Direct Investor in the United Kingdom (UK).
Index and Ranking
11th Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2020
- The United States Property Consultant Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL), India has released 11th Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2020.
- As per the report, India ranks at 34th position with a total score of 2.69 under the semi-transparent zone.
Reports
Voluntary National Review 2020 Report-- NITI Aayog
- National Institution for Transforming India Aayog(NITI Aayog) has released India’s 2nd Voluntary National Review (VNR) report at the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2020.
Appointments
| Name of the Person | Designation |
| Sijo Kuruvila George | Member of the Central Government’s Expert Committee on Science and Technology policy |
| Jayant Krishna | First India based CEO of UKIBC (UK India Business Council) |
| Lee Hsien Loong | Prime Minister of Singapore |
| Gyanendro Ningombam | President of Hockey India |
| Hemang Amin | Interim CEO of BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) |
| Andrzej Duda | President of Poland |
Awards and Honours
| Award | Awardee |
| EU Green Building Award 2020 | International Olympic Committee |
| CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2019 | NTPC Ltd |
| 2020 Dada Saheb Phalke Award | Kezang D Thongdok |
| ‘Development Marketplace Award 2020:Innovations to Address Gender-Based Violence’ | Institute for Human Development (IHD) |
| Von Karman Award 2020 by International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) | K Sivan |
| Mohun Bagan Ratna Award | Hockey Player Gurubux Singh and Cricketer Palash Nandi |
| Elites Excellence Award 2020 | Chhattisgarh CM Darpan website and mobile app |
Important Days
| Date | Day | Theme |
| 7th July 2020 | World Chocolate Day/ International Chocolate day | -- |
| 10th July 2020 | National Fish Farmers Day | -- |
| 11th July 2020 | World Population Day | Theme: Putting the brakes on COVID 19: Safeguarding the health and rights of women and girls |
| 12th July 2020 | World Malala Day | -- |
MoUs Signed
NMPB signs MoU with ICAR NBPGR
- The MoU between two entities is signed with an aim to conserve Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources (MAPGRs).
- The preservation and conservation of MAPGRs will take place at ICAR- NBPGR.
CBDT signs MoU with SEBI
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed MoU with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the purpose of data exchange between two organisations.
- Upon signing the MoU, both organisations will now be able to transfer and share the information on an automatic and regular basis.
ADB Renews MoU with IEA
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) has renewed MOU with International Energy Agency (IEA).
- The MoU is renewed with the aim to further increase the collaboration on sustainability with a focus on energy sector resilience in Asia.
NATGRID signs MoU with NCRB
- The National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) has signed a MoU with National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
- Upon signing the agreement, NATGRID will be able to access the complaints on First Information Reports (FIR) and stolen vehicles.
Government Schemes
‘Nekara Samman Yojana’ -- Karnataka
- Government of Karnataka has launched a scheme called ‘Nekara Samman Yojana’ for the weaver's community.
- To build this scheme, the state government has allotted Rs 10.96 crore.
Defence
Boeing Completed Deliveries of 37 Helicopters to IAF
- Boeing which is a United States defence equipment manufacturing company has completed its delivery of AH-64E Apache and CH-47F(I) Chinook military helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) unit.
- Along with this, Boeing has delivered last five of the 15 numbers of CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to IAF.
Acquisition of Raven and Spike Firefly by Indian Army
- Indian Army is set to increase its weapon and ammunition inventory by acquiring unmanned aerial vehicle ‘Raven’ from the United States and a variant of Rafael ‘Spike Firefly’ from Israel.
- Thus, the ‘Raven’ and ‘Spike Fly’ are soon to become part of the Indian army’s weapon inventory.
Science and Technology
IIT-Hyderabad partners with NVIDIA
- Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has partnered with NVIDIA which is a multinational company to establish research AI centre.
- The centre will be named as ‘NVIDIA Artificial Intelligence(AI) Technology Centre'(NVAITC).
Rewa Solar Project in Madhya Pradesh
- PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Asia's Largest Solar Power Project in Madhya Pradesh via video conference. The project is named as Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project.
- It is the 750 MW ultra solar power plant which is comprised of 3 solar generating units of 250 MW each.
‘SHUDH’ UV Sanitizing Device— IIT Kanpur
- IIT Kanpur has developed and launched an Ultraviolet (UV) sanitizing device named as ‘SHUDH’.
- The acronym for SHUDH is- Smartphone operated Handy Ultraviolet Disinfection Helper.
‘Visa Secure' Technology—By Visa and Federal Bank
- The payment technology global holder Visa has come up with partnership with Federal Bank to launch a modernized technology to the bank account holders to carry out safe banking transactions.
Google Announces Digitization Fund for India
- The global tech giant Google has announced to invest $10 billion in India with an aim to digitize the Indian Economy. The funds are allotted under ‘Google for India Digitisation Fund’.
- The announcement of this investment was made during the virtual meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Summits and Conferences
4th Virtual Ministerial Meet on Climate Action
- The 4th edition of ‘Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA)’ was held virtually.
- The meeting from India was participated by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar.
India Global Week 2020
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the inaugural session of 3-day virtual India Global week 2020.
- India Global week 2020 session is based on the theme ‘Be The Revival: India and a Better New World’.
