Current Affairs One-Liner : 9th &10th July 2023

• National:
• Archaeologists conducting excavations at Porpanaikottai in Tamil Nadu, India, have discovered several artefacts, including a gold stud, a bone point, and a carnelian bead.

• The Centre has sought an explanation from the West Bengal government for the alleged diversion of PM POSHAN (midday meal scheme) funds for State elections.
• Ministry of Railways has announced that fares of AC chair cars, executive classes of all trains, including Vande Bharat, will be reduced by up to 25 percent. The decision is part of a discounted fare scheme in trains that saw below 50 percent occupancy during the last 30 days.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar filed his nomination papers for elections to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar on July 10th, 2023. After filing the nomination form, Jaishankar thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• A parliamentary committee has endorsed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 without objections. The bill proposes amendments to the Forest Conservation Act 1980 and aims to exempt certain forest lands from legal protection.
• The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has recently released a draft of comprehensive guidelines for the exhibition of Public Service Awareness (PSA) films produced by the Central Government in cinema theatres.
• The 37th Hyderabad Sailing Week -2023 and Laser National Championship concluded on a grand note at Secunderabad Sailing Club last evening. Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan presented prizes to the winners under various categories of the championship.
• The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of Education has released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) combined report for 2020-21 and 2021-22. This report assesses the performance of the school education system at the district level by creating an index for comprehensive analysis.
• Economy:
• National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi for its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO is a complete offer-for-sale (OFS) of more than 5.72 crore equity shares by existing shareholders.
• National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) has filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi for its initial public offering (IPO). The IPO is a complete offer-for-sale (OFS) of more than 5.72 crore equity shares by existing shareholders.
• India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves jumped by USD 1.853 billion to USD 595.051 billion in the week ended on June 30, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The National Housing Bank (NHB) has operationalised the ₹10,000-crore Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF) that was introduced in this year’s Budget. The initial corpus for this fund is 10,000 crore.
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has unveiled a comprehensive set of proposed changes to its pension fund regulations, aiming to enhance the ease of doing business and reduce compliance costs.
• The government has amended rules under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to allow the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to share data with the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). This decision has been taken to help the ED recover evaded revenue on account of the GST through money laundering.
• World:
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed “brave” Ukraine on the 500th day of Russia’s invasion. He spoke from Snake Island, which became the symbol of his country’s resilience.
• Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government abruptly collapsed on Friday amid infighting over migration policy. Rutte, who’s led the Netherlands since 2010, effectively brought his fourth administration to an end after he gave his coalition partners an ultimatum to limit the right to family reunions for refugees from war zones.
• Latvia’s longest-serving Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics became the first openly gay head of state in the European Union (EU) when he was sworn in as the country’s new President. He has pledged to fight for inclusion and equality.
• Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe will embark on a two-day visit to India on July 21 during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be Mr. Wickremesinghe’s first visit to India since being appointed President of the cash-strapped country last year following the ouster of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in a people’s uprising in July.
• New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins signed a free trade agreement with the European Union that will deliver more savings for exporters than any of the South Pacific nation’s previous arrangements.
• Two controversial laws signed by the Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, entered into force. These laws effectively allow the Bosnian Serb entity to bypass or ignore decisions made by the top international envoy to Bosnia.
• Sports:
• Young Indian Grandmaster Dommaraju Gukesh scored a memorable win over illustrious compatriot and idol Viswanathan Anand in the eighth round of the rapid event of the 2023 SuperUnited Rapid and Blitz tournament, part of the Grand Chess Tour.
• Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen defeated Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto 21-17, 21-14 in the semi-final of the Canada Open Badminton tournament. He then went on to win the Canada Open 2023 beating Li Shi Feng of China in the final at Calgary on Sunday.
• Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen won the Canada Open 2023 men’s singles title after defeating China’s Li Shi Feng in straight sets 21-18 and 22-20. This was Lakshya Sen’s first title of the year and his second BWF Super 500 title after the India Open in January last year.
• India’s Priyansh became the under-21 world champion in compound archery at the World Archery Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland. He defeated Aljaz Brenk of Slovenia with a score of 147-141 in the men’s U-21 individual final.