Current Affairs One-Liner : 6th July 2023

• National:
• Startup20 Shikhar Summit was held in Gurugram, Haryana from 3rd to 4th July 2023. It was organized by the Startup20 Engagement Group under the India G20 Presidency.

• Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the ‘5G & Beyond Hackathon 2023’ in association with a number of governments, academia & industry stakeholders.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO), and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) have launched a priority research agenda to address the critical issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• According to provisional data released by the Reserve Bank of India, India’s services exports in May 2023 climbed 7.7% on year to $27.06 billion, while imports rose 2% to $15.5 billion.
• Airtel Payments Bank, a FASTag issuer, has collaborated with Park+ to enable FASTag-based smart parking solution at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport.
• GAIL (India) Limited has been accredited with Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) T3 Status which is the highest level of facilitation for Importers & Exporters by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Ministry of Finance.
• NATO decided to extend Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s contract by a further year until 1 October 2024. The decision to extend his term reflects allies’ inability to come to an agreement on a successor to lead the 31-nation military alliance.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of Marnix Lux SA by Concentrix Corporation. The acquisition also includes approximately 22% shareholding in the combined company by the shareholders of Marnix Lux.
• Elena Geo Systems, a Bengaluru-based space technology company, has launched India’s first NavIC-based PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing) device. The device will house a 5G mobile phone and NavIC chip along with its adapter and receiver to be able to communicate with NavIC satellite.
• IIT Kanpur have developed India’s first 100% Dimethyl Ether (DME)-fuelled tractor/vehicle, marking a significant step towards a sustainable alternative fuel-based transport system.
• Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of the Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal to be developed at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh, by the bank of the River Brahmaputra (National Waterways 2) in Assam’s Dibrugarh.
• Union Cabinet has cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill. The bill will apply to the processing of digital personal data within India where such data is collected online, or collected offline and is digitized.
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar- Tanzania was signed between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India, IIT Madras and Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) Zanzibar- Tanzania.
• Space Economy Leaders Meeting under India’s G20 Presidency began in Bengaluru on July 6th. The two-day meeting will focus on the sharing of the space mission economy, responsibilities of space agencies, and alliance in space missions.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully integrated the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft with the launch vehicle, Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3), at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) has identified a third unique farmer’s jackfruit variety for promotion. This new variety is bigger in size, deep orange in color and is suitable for processing to make products like jam and squash.
• Economy:
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a “Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States” from the earmarked allocation of Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding Window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for strengthening fire services in the States with a total outlay of Rs. 5,000 crore.
• S&P Global India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), India’s services sector growth eased to a three-month low in June 2023. However, order books remained healthy despite businesses raising charges at the sharpest pace in almost six years.
• The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has constituted a five-member working group for implementing the recommendations of the Reserve Bank of India’s committee on the “working of the Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)”.
• World:
• Thailand's parliament voted on whether to appoint progressive party leader Pita Limjaroenrat prime minister on July 13. Pita’s pro-democracy Move Forward Party netted the most seats at the May 14 election but there were no guarantees it would be able to form government or that he would lead the country.
• The United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden and Ukraine have launched a case against Iran at the United Nations’ highest court over the downing in 2020 of a Ukrainian passenger jet and the deaths of all 176 passengers and crew.
• Kurt Campbell, the US National Security Council’s coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs, said that India is among one of the most sought-after players on the global stage and United States has taken its own step to develop much further the relationship between the two countries.
• Sports:
• Indian badminton players PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round of the Canada Open 2023 BWF Super 500 event in Calgary. PV Sindhu beat local shuttler Talia Ng while Lakshya Sen defeated world No. 4 Kunlavut Vitidsarn to advance in the tournament.
• The Indian men’s football team won the SAFF Championship 2023 title after beating Kuwait 5-4 in a thrilling penalty shootout at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru. This was India’s ninth SAFF Championship in 14 editions.
• Appointments:
• Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar was appointed as the Chairman of Senior Men’s Selection Committee by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday.
• B.Neeraja Prabhakar has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) for the ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) located in Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh.