Introduction
The article Current Affairs One-Liners July 2019 includes One-Liners with an explanation, analysis, and issues of current events, including political or industrial controversy or public policy issues in the month of July.
July 2019
1. International News
- Lessons in all Sudanese schools have been suspended indefinitely amid mass demonstrations over the shooting death of schoolchildren at a rally.
- North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea’s military, the second such launch in a week.
- Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls have clashed in a televised US debate that laid bare the party’s deep divisions over how best to win in 2020.
- China is planning to spend $150 billion on 5G wireless technology in the next six years — a move to jump-start automated manufacturing and enable Beijing to emerge as a world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- London is the world’s best student city for the second consecutive year, according to the sixth edition of the QS Best Student Cities Ranking compiled by global consultancy QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
- Earlier, Trump denounced the “horrors” of slavery in a speech in Jamestown, Virginia, celebrating the founding of the first local legislature thereby English colonists 400 years ago.
- The attack, which came one day after the United Nations said civilians are being killed and wounded at a “shocking” level in Afghanistan’s war, occurred around 6:00 am (local time), authorities said.
- The latest launches were from the Hodo peninsula on North Korea’s east coast, the same area from where last weeks were conducted, the JCS said in a statement. It said it was monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture.
- South Korea went to the WTO in 2014 to challenge U.S. tariffs levied on oil country tubular goods (OCTG), a type of steel piping used in the energy industry.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its first-ever audit of the Goods and Services Tax, has said the government had failed to try out the system before its rollout, leading to inadequate compliance mechanisms, and lower tax revenues. The report was tabled in Parliament.
- One soldier was killed in a fierce exchange of fire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri as Pakistan resorted to “unprovoked” ceasefire violation in Pir Panchal Valley’s Rajouri district and the Kashmir Valley and two Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants
- IndiGo is set to launch daily direct flights between Kolkata and Hanoi from October 3, making the Vietnamese capital the fifth Southeast Asian destination on the airline’s network, the low-cost carrier announced.
- Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan stressed that the overall purpose of the legislation was to ease the process of addressing grievances of consumers.
- The Trinamool Congress MP had said the way the bills were being passed amounted to a “mockery of Parliament” and was the government’s way of “smothering” the Opposition.
- Congress workers alleged that activists belonging to the Social Democratic Party of India, the political wing of fundamentalist outfit Popular Front of India, were behind the attack.
- The action came after the department found that the transaction was made through shell companies involving a suspect in the AgustaWestland chopper scam, government officials said.
- The CJI was invited to speak at the concluding ceremony of Delhi government’s ‘Happiness Utsav’ to mark the first year of implementation of happiness curriculum in its schools.
- The SJM, which is the economic arm of the RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP, has been pushing for regulating trade ties with China
- In a stock exchange notice, the housing finance company said the current default amount was ₹25.06 crore towards interest on the aforesaid NCDs. Six investors were holding the NCDs as on date of default (July 29).
- Reliance Jio becomes the largest telecom company of India with 331.3 million subscribers overtaking Vodafone Idea whose customer base stood at 320 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019.
- On the face of it, the near doubling of net profit, stable bad loans, and healthy growth in domestic loans for Axis Bank in the latest June quarter offers comfort to investors.
- Two-time Olympic champion Caster Semenya won’t be eligible to compete in 800m at this year’s world track and field championships after a Swiss court reversed a June ruling that had allowed Semenya to compete.
- Two domestic players — Akshay Dullarwar of Vidarbha and Divya Gajraj of Rjasthan — were handed backdated suspensions along with Prithvi Shaw for a doping violation in the 2018-19 domestic season.
- International Cricket Council (ICC) officially launched the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC).
- The 23rd President’s Cup Boxing Tournament for the year 2019 was held from July 22-29, 2019 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia.
- Tamil Nadu teenager J Jerlin Anika(15) has bagged 4 medals(1 gold,2 silver,1 bronze) in the 2nd World Deaf Youth Badminton Championships 2019 held in Taipei, Taiwan.
- India’s first and only Sports Gaming self-regulatory industry body, Indian Federation of Sports Gaming (IFSG) has appointed former Supreme Court(SC) judge, Justice A. K. Sikri, as its ombudsman and Ethics Officer.
- The Registrar of Geographical Indications(GI), Chennai has awarded a GI certificate registering the sweetmeat as ”Odisha Rasagola” to the state of Odisha which will be valid till Feb 22, 2028.
- Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lalji Tandon was sworn in as the 28th Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
- Jagdeep Dhankhar, a former Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan and a noted Supreme Court lawyer, was sworn in as the 28th governor of West Bengal at the Raj Bhavan, Kolkata in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee
- A seven-time Member of Parliament (MP) from Chhattisgarh’s Raipur and former Union minister, Ramesh Bais, aged 71, was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Tripura in the presence of Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and senior officials of the administration.
- Cafè Coffee Day Founder VG Siddhartha’s body has been found on the banks of river Netravati in Mangaluru after he went missing on Monday. Siddhartha had asked his car driver to drop him at a bridge across the river.
- Eminent economist and former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn passed away on July 31.
1. International News
- Five crew members and 12 civilians are dead, local media side citing an army statement. Twelve people are injured.
- The personal details of about 106 million individuals across the US and Canada were stolen in a hack targeting financial services firm Capital One, the company has revealed.
- It comes after Donald Trump used his presidential veto to override resolutions passed by both chambers of Congress preventing the sale.
- Vietnam has apprised India of its standoff with China in the South China Sea (SCS) where the two have overlapping claims, Vietnamese diplomatic sources said on Monday.
- The World Health Organisation(WHO) and the government of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have come together with a program to control the Ebola outbreak over the next six months by launching surveillance and vaccination training to the citizens of DRC.
- According to Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) of Bangladesh, 10528 patients were infected with dengue and nearly 700 more people were reported with dengue infection across Bangladesh.
- The BJP’s core group on Jammu and Kashmir will meet in New Delhi on Tuesday, ostensibly to discuss prospects of polls in the State and the current political situation
- Opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha on Monday expressed deep reservations about the Centre’s decision to introduce the Dam Safety Bill, 2019
- Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted last year to suggest measures to combat lynchings will continue functioning. It will be headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, said a senior government official.
- The Opposition is staring at the possibility of the NDA managing to clear the Triple Talaq Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
- Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar stated that the average monthly income per agricultural household from all sources is Rs. 6,426 in the country based on the Situation Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)
- As a new initiative that would enhance the security of women, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NRF) zone has introduced pink-colored SLRcoach (second Class -cum- Luggage-cum Guard’s Coach) for women.
- A two-day 5th International Dharma-Dhamma conference was held at Rajgir International Convention Centre(RICC) in Rajgir, Bihar from 27 -28 July 2019 with the theme of “Sat-Chit-Ananda & Nirvana in Dharma-Dhamma Traditions”.
- According to its internal memo, the bank is revising the lending terms due to growing stress in this sector since April 2019.
- Proxy firms, which advise shareholders mainly on corporate governance-related issues and assist them in voting on resolutions, will be fully regulated by SEBI now.
- Infosys co-founder and its former chairman Nandan Nilekani has introduced a new platform “Sahamati” based on a new class of non-banking financial institutions called the account aggregator (NBFC-AA) model.
- 7th Economic Census (EC) for the year 2019 which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) commenced from Tripura on July 29, 2019.
- For the first time in the Olympic Games’ history, Table Tennis Mixed Doubles event added in a new Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games.
- Defending champion Bhakti Kulkarni(Goa) retained her title in the 46th National Women Chess Championship 2019 held in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
- Defender Jaideep grabbed the initiative for Patna Pirates with stunning tackles against Tamil Thalaivas’ match-winning raiders in the seventh ProKabaddi League on Monday.
- Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (Dutch) of won 2019 Formula 1 German Grand Prix. It was his second win for the year 2019.
- Team INEOS'(formerly Team Sky) rider, Egan Bernal (22, Colombian cyclist) became the 1st Colombian to win the 106th edition of Tour de France 2019,
- After the Chandigarh Cricket Association of Punjab decided to merge with the Union Territory Cricket Association (UTCA), the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) cleared the UTCA to get the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI)
- The new terminal of the Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) International Airport has been shortlisted for the Leading European Architecture Forum (LEAF) awards 2019
- A sand artist from Puri, Odisha, Sudarshan Pattnaik was awarded People’s Choice Prize at the Boston International Sand Art Championship 2019.
- Social entrepreneur philanthropist and eminent fashionista Priya Priyadarshini Jain was conferred with the prestigious “Indian Women of Influence” award at the House of Lords, The United Kingdom Parliament, London.
- 21 year old VidishaBaliyan from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh became the firstIndian, crowned Miss Deaf World 2019 which was held in Mbombela, South Africa.
- Fagu Chauhan, a six-time member of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, was sworn in as the 29th Governor of Bihar replacing Lal Ji Tandon who has taken charge as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
- Anandiben Patel took oath as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh(UP). Govind Mathur, the Chief Justice of the UP High Court administered her the oath of Office and Secrecy at Raj Bhawan in Lucknow, UP.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)headed by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi that has Home Minister Amit Shah as its member, has appointed IPS officer V K Johri as the next Director-General of the Border Security Force (BSF).
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has appointed Pune Lok Sabha member Girish Bhalchandra Bapat as chairman of the estimates committee, which is one of the three financial standing committees of the parliament apart from the public accounts committee(PAC) and committee on public undertakings.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) has received 1st batch of 4 of total 22 AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack helicopters from US (United States)aerospace major Boeing at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh(UP).
- Pakistan informed that it will send its first astronaut to space in 2022 using China’s satellite launching facilities.
- Former minister in united Andhra Pradesh and senior Congress leader Mukesh Goud passed away today while undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospitals in Jubilee Hills.
1. International News
- The US director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, has become the latest high-profile figure to leave the Trump administration.
- Suspected Boko Haram extremists killed more than 60 people in an attack on villagers leaving a funeral in northeastern Nigeria.
- Iran on Sunday slammed as “provocative” a British proposal for a European-led naval mission to escort tankers in the Gulf, amid soaring tensions over the seizure of ships.
- Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said on Monday around 50 other people were wounded in the attack against the Green Trend office in the capital Kabul.
- Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, who on Tuesday will mark 20 years on the throne, has cast himself as a modernist open to change while discretely exercising absolute power.
- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Foreign Ministers Meet was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 25-26, 2019.
- Born in a Scheduled Caste family at Chipachoor village in Vellore district, D. Raja, the new general secretary of the Communist Party of India, had to battle poverty and hunger.
- Former Delhi HC CJ said, “The person holding the highest judicial office in the land sat as a judge in his own cause”
- Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to move for leave to introduce the dam safety bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha to provide or surveillance,
- “Discussions are already going on it at the Niti Aayog,” said Rajiv Kumar, vice-chairman of NITI Aayog, who was present at the meet along with the secretary of water and cleanliness, Parmeshwaran Iyer.
- The 36th Goods & Service Tax (GST) Council Meeting was held in New Delhi Via Video Conference under the chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
- Minister of State (I/C), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER) Dr. Jitendra Singh chaired a review meeting with senior officers of Ministry of DoNER, North Eastern Council (NEC) and other organizations of MDoNER in New Delhi.
- Union Minister of Defence Shri Rajnath Singh launched a Dashboard of Department of Defence Production (DDP) to help in effective monitoring of various initiatives and schemes of the departments of the Ministry of Defence in the presence of Secretary (Defence Production) Dr Ajay Kumar, Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Yesso Naik and other senior officials of the Ministry.
- The Ministry of Mines in association with the Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Nagpur, has organized a workshop called ‘Waste To Wealth’ on productive utilization of ‘Red Mud’ in New Delhi.
- In pursuance of the announcement made by the then Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley in the budget speech 2018-19, the Government has decided to set up 2 Defence Industrial Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister of Haryana has invited Nepal to be the partner country for 2019 International Gita Jayanti Mahotsav scheduled to be held at Kurukshetra,
- An online higher education platform, upgrade with Liverpool John Moores University(LJMU), North England, UK offers India’s first online Master’s degree program in Machine Learning(ML)and AI(Artificial Intelligence).
- Healthy growth in core income and lower slippages are positives, but a still large stressed book, lower NPA recoveries and possible pressure on margins, need a watch.
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up payments banks having either given up their licence or closed operations, surviving players like Fino Payments Bank have asked the RBI to relax the ₹1-lakh cap on deposits.
- A high-level 10-member Committee has been formed under the Chairmanship of Kiren Rijiju, Sports Minister to coordinate and strategize the preparation for the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
- Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju informed that the third edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) will be held in Guwahati, Assam from January 18-30, 2020.
- The 7th edition of Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament 2019 was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Indian boxers finished their campaign with 8 medals- 1 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze. It was organized by the Thailand Boxing Association.
- Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir(27) announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect citing his desire to concentrate on white-ball cricket.
- The appointment committee of cabinet (ACC), Government of India has re-appointed Badri Narain Sharma (1985-batch IAS officer from Rajasthan) as chairman of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA). He will continue as the NAA chairman for two years.
- A ‘smart agricopter’ has been developed by the team of three students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to eliminate manual spraying of pesticides in agricultural fields & It also allows spraying pesticides 10 times faster with 100% accuracy than manual spraying.
- A team of scientists at Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital district of Uttarakhand has discovered 28 new variable stars in Milky Way galaxy.
1. International News
- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned the EU on Saturday that the “anti-democratic” Irish backstop must be ditched if they were to strike a Brexit divorce deal.
- President Donald Trump’s special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said that he’s satisfied with the Taliban’s commitment to prevent international terrorist organisations from using Afghanistan as a base to plot global attacks.
- Police fired volleys of tear gas and protesters hurled bricks during clashes in a rural Hong Kong town on Saturday as several thousand activists gathered to protest an attack by suspected triad gang members at a train station last weekend.
- The president described Mr. Cummings’ majority-black district in Baltimore as a “rodent-infested mess”.
- INS Tarkash which was constructed for the Indian Navy by Russia reached SaintPetersburg, Russia to take part in the Russian Navy Day parade celebrated on 28 July.
- Jordan, an Arab country in Western Asia, opened its first Underwater Military Museum Dive Site, off its Red Sea coast, Aqaba.
- India is looking to conclude three Military Logistics Support Agreements (MLSA) by the year-end, which will further enhance the operational reach of the military in the region.
- A day after 17 political parties jointly wrote to Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu complaining about “hurried legislation” that was being rushed through without due parliamentary procedures.
- In the wake of the Congress-led Opposition’s failure to prevent the amendments to the Right to Information Act in Parliament, RTI activists have charted a plan of action looking to the Supreme Court, the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the public arena.
- Last month’s downing of the US Global Hawk drone by Iran in the Persian Gulf has prompted a rethink within the Indian military establishment,
- Approval was given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), in the 45th meeting of the Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee.
- Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel held a meeting with Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of Saudi Aramco in New Delhi.
- ICICI Bank’s net profit shot up to Rs 1,908.03 crore for the first quarter of the fiscal, led by a strong growth in its interest income.
- CARS24, an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars has received a license of a Non-banking Finance Company (NBFC) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and will be venturing into the consumer lending business as a separate entity within the Cars24 group.
- The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Healthcare Federation of India (NATHEALTH) signed MoU (Memorandum of understanding), to improve efficiency of Service Delivery under Ayushman Bharat scheme
- Two all-outs inflicted by U Mumba sealed Puneri Paltans’ fate in the opening game of the Mumbai leg of ProKabaddi League Season-7.
- International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun 2019 was held at the Shooting Center, Suhl, Germany from July 12-20, 2019.
- Most nominated actor in Academy Award history, Meryl Streep wins inaugural Tribute Actor award in Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The actress has won the Oscar, three times.
- The third edition of Journal Excellence award instituted by The CSR Journal, a digital and print news publication awarded six firms in terms of best practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The theme was “India first”
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla appointed Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Congress floor leader in Lok Sabha as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
- A state-owned telecommunications service provider, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited(MTNL) ’s director Sunil Kumar has been given additional charge of chairman and managing director of the company.
- Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader S. Jaipal Reddy passed away on Sunday at around 1.30 a.m. in Hyderabad. He was 77.
1. International News
- Mr. Trump tweeted after the announcement: “Wow! Big VICTORY on the Wall. The United States Supreme Court overturns lower court injunction, allows Southern Border Wall to proceed. Big WIN for Border Security and the Rule of Law!”
- US President Donald Trump on Friday ruled out a tariff waiver for Apple products made in China.
- Mr. Fielding said “it makes more sense for him to go to the country before Brexit than after” because of the potential upheaval that could follow a no-deal exit.
- Itbayat has a population of about 2,800 people and lies in the Luzon Strait that separates the Philippines and Taiwan.
- Pakistan has used the F-16 fighter jets against India, the latest being in the aftermath of the Balakot airstrike inside Pakistan by India.
- Tulsi Now Inc, the campaign committee for Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign’s advertising account for six hours on June 27 and June 28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to potential voters, The New York Times reported.
- The Gabbard campaign has said it was told by Google they wanted to verify billing information and policy compliance, neither of which was a problem.
- The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Hyderabad-based businessman Sana Sathish Babu in connection with the Moin Qureshi case.
- The identity of the slain militants is yet to be ascertained. Initial reports suggest the slain militants belong to the Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit.
- The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned Trinamool Congress (TMC) Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien in connection with the agency’s probe on the funding of TMC’s mouthpiece Jago Bangla, the MP revealed in a tweet on Friday.
- Tragedy struck the Sadais in the wee hours of July 14, forcing hundreds like them, from Gopalkhan, Mehat, Bhalla Mehat, and at least a dozen other adjoining villages to flee.
- Addressing a press conference at BJP headquarters in New Delhi, Nadda said the government’s initiatives on different fronts have been “transformational” and “exemplary” and they will prove to be milestones in the journey of development.
- The Union Minister for MSMEs(Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Nitin Gadkari stated that a panel of RBI(Reserve Bank of India) has recommended an increase in the collateral-free lending limit to Rs 20 lakh for MSMEs and self-help groups(SHG).
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), the regulator for overseeing insolvency proceedings has tightened norms governing resolution professionals
- Federation Internationale de Football Association(FIFA) has released its ranking for the year 2019. Belgium leads the overall FIFA rankings, followed by Brazil, France, England, and Uruguay.
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approved the Indian Cricketers’ Association (ICA), which is formed as per the board’s new constitution to look after the interest of former players.
- Sri Lanka pacer, Kulasekara Mudiyanselage Dinesh Nuwan Kulasekara aged 37 announced retirement from international cricket. He hails from Nittambuwa, Sri Lanka.
- Karnataka’s Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) state President BS Yediyurappa sworn in as the 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He succeeded H. D. Kumaraswamy of Janata Dal (Secular) party.
- The President of Tunisia and the North African country’s first democratically elected leader, Beji Caid Essebsi passed away at the age of 92 in Tunis, Tunisia after suffering from a severe health crisis. He was born in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia.
1. International News
- South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Friday described the launches as “acts of provocation” that are “not helpful to an efforts to alleviate military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”
- Iran has released nine out of 12 Indians who were on board the ship MT Riah that was detained in early July, official sources said Thursday.
- Ukraine on Thursday seized a Russian tanker for its alleged involvement in the capture of three Ukrainian Navy vessels by Russia, prompting Moscow to warn of consequences if any Russian citizens were “taken hostage”.
- Attorney General William Barr said in a statement he had directed the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to schedule the executions of five inmates.
- Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign team also believes that its emails were being placed in Gmail spam folders at “a disproportionately high rate” compared to other Democratic contenders.
- Democrats after the hearing said they had clearly laid out the facts about the Mueller report, which did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but detailed extensive Russian intervention in the 2016 election.
- President Ram Nath Kovind, who completed two years in office on Thursday, will be the first President in recent years to visit over 12 countries, including his upcoming visit to West African countries later this week.
- Ministry of External Affairs says that there are plenty of things on the plate to take the India-U.S. relations forward.
- Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that the government had decided to extend the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha till August 7.
- The Parliament approved the amendment to the Right To Information (RTI Act) on Thursday, with the Rajya Sabha passing it after negating an opposition-sponsored motion to send it to a House committee for greater scrutiny.
- The Triple Talaq Bill was cleared from the Lok Sabha on Thursday with 303 votes in favor and 82 against the bill.
- Earlier this week, the SJM had complained to union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar that he had given incorrect information about the herbicide in his response to a question in Parliament.
- Rajya Sabha passed the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal reviewed the preparations for the construction of the India Pavilion at the Dubai World Expo 2020.
- The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has proposed light urban rail transit system – ‘Metrolite’ in small cities and towns which have a lower projection of ridership.
- Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat introduced the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill 2019 that seeks to amend the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to resolve water disputes in a time-bound manner.
- The Union Government has reconstituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine frameworks for dealing with matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace with Home Minister Amit Shah, replacing his predecessor Rajnath Singh, as its head.
- The British Council of India and Universities UK International have joined hands together for the launch of UKIERI Mobility Programme: Study in India.
- The trial run of India’s fastest second Vande Bharat Express (also known as Train 18) on New Delhi to Katra( Jammu and Kashmir) route was successfully conducted by Indian Railways’ Northern Railway zone.
- Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy and Power R K Singh informed that Gujarat was ranked first in the installation of rooftop solar projects in India with an installed capacity of 261.97 megawatts (MW), out of which 183.51 MW were subsidized installations and 78.45 MW was non-subsidised.
- Hughes has argued in favor of breaking up Facebook from Instagram and WhatsApp -- companies which the social network acquired, CNET reported on Thursday, citing reports.
- Anil Agarwal will likely make about $500 million from his investment and pocket between $200 million and $300 million after fees, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
- Being something of a G-20 pioneer in financial taxes hasn’t stopped the rise of India’s equity market, which exceeds $2 trillion, making it three quarters the size of its economy.
- The PMO has asked the Finance Ministry to examine the concerns raised by formers RBI governors and deputy governors on the issuance of such bonds and its implications.
- The board of Punjab National Bank (PNB) has approved fresh equity capital raising of up to Rs 5,000 crore.
- Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) on Thursday released the schedule of six recruitment examinations to be conducted between September and December this year
- The state assembly passed the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Bill on Thursday amid opposition protests over a clause that compels the institutes to provide an undertaking that they will not allow any “anti-national” activity on the campus.
- Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth continued with his good form as he advanced to the semifinals of the Japan Open badminton tournament after an easy win over Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto here on Friday.
- Filipino professional boxer, Manny Pacquiao (40) claimed the WBA (World Boxing Association) welterweight championship 2019
- Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has become the top-ranked Indian company to feature in the latest “Fortune Global 500 list 2019” with a jump of 42 places.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with immediate effect.
- Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Ehsan Mani has been appointed second time as chairman of the ICCs Finance & Commercial Affairs (F&CA) committee.
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the tenure extension of Sanjay Kothari (a 1978-batch IAS officer Haryana) as President’s secretary.
- The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, notified that Sanjeev Kumar Singla, a 1997 batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer, was appointed as the Private Secretary (PS) to the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi in Level-14 with effect from June 14, 2019.
- Book on the former prime minister of India, Chandra Shekhar, named, “Chandra Shekhar – The Last Icon of Ideological Politics” was released by the prime minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
1. International News
- Dominic Raab and Priti Patel returned to government as foreign secretary and home secretary respectively.
- North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
- US President Donald Trump’s claim that he was “totally exonerated” by special counsel Robert Mueller was rejected by Mr Mueller in a hearing on Wednesday.
- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month cited threats from Iran as a reason to approve the $8.1 billion arms sale to the two U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf.
- Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have recorded their highest ever temperatures, in a heatwave searing Western Europe.
- When Boris Johnson entered the famous black door of No. 10 Downing Street as Britain’s new prime minister, he was the first for nearly half a century to do so unaccompanied by a spouse.
- The firing comes ahead of US-South Korean military exercises next month that North Korea has warned could affect the planned resumption of denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
- Sun’s Tron Foundation said all parties have agreed to reschedule the lunch. Buffett’s assistant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- Cambridge Analytica is accused of acquiring data from up to 87 million Facebook profiles for use in political campaigns around the world.
- The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco came hours after another federal judge in Washington, D.C., let the 9-day-old policy stand.
- Avoiding an immediate confrontation with the Opposition, the government did not introduce the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in the Rajya Sabha.
- Panel members express apprehension, former members urge RTI (Amendment) Bill’s withdrawal.
- The Centre’s pension scheme for small traders has been notified and is being introduced on a trial basis this week, with the formal launch of the scheme likely to be done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon, according to Union Labour and Employment Ministry officials.
- Debate in the Rajya Sabha over amendments in RTI Bill, 2005 and Triple Talaq Bill in Lok Sabha will be taken up for consideration and discussion.
- The Druk Green Power Corporation Limited (DGPC) of Bhutan, which runs the 60MW Kurichhu project in eastern Bhutan, had announced on Tuesday that it would release excess water from the 55-meter tall dam.
- Nalini had sought the parole to make arrangements for her daughter’s wedding. Her daughter Harithra, who was born in prison, currently lives in the UK.
- H D Kumaraswamy government lost the majority in the floor test in the assembly on Tuesday, BSP supremo Mayawati expelled him from the party.
- The bill, which criminalizes instant divorce by Muslim men and seeks jail term for the guilty, was the first draft legislation tabled by the Narendra Modi government in this first session after it took an oath of office for a second term in May.
- Priti Patel, Alok Sharma, and Rishi Sunak have all been nominated to cabinet ranking in the new parliament headed by recently elected British PM Boris Johnson.
- Drama erupted in the state assembly after BJP state president Gopal Bhargava claimed that it would take 24 hours to topple the government if instructions arrived.
- India is banking on the novelty of a debut offering at a time when investors are desperate for returns as the world’s pile of negative-yielding debt grows to a record $13.4 trillion.
- The company plans to increase its workforce in India by 20 per cent over the next three to five years. It will hire new engineering talent with expertise in areas of critical importance to customers such as artificial intelligence (AI) and networking, HPE said in a statement.
- ICSI CS Foundation Results 2019: Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) on Thursday declared the CS foundation results 2019.
- Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the admit card for Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination- 2019.
- Border Security Force (BSF) has postponed the date of conducting recruitment exam for the posts of head constable radio operator and radio mechanic.
- Bihar Technical Service Commission (BTSC) has invited applications for recruitment of 9130 staff nurse Grade- A and 169 post of tutors.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been formulated for admissions in these classes under which the board will itself approve the admission requests, it has been learnt.
- “I returned from NCC camp on July 10. In the midst of the floods around July 13, I lost my NCC documents. I am preparing for joining the Army. I am in my first year of graduation,” he said.
- In a tweet, Stalin said: “In the preliminary exam for recruitment of Junior Associate post, the SBI had fixed the cut off mark for EWS category at 28.5 per cent as against the cut off mark for SC, General and Other Backward Communities (OBC) at 61.25 per cent and for ST at 53.75 per cent.”
- Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth moved into the quarterfinals of the Japan Open after registering contrasting wins in their respective events here on Thursday.
- India will send a good contingent for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday, expressing confidence that the country’s performance at the games will be better.
- Michael Phelps paid tribute to Hungarian teenager Kristof Milak’s “beautiful technique” after he took down the American legend’s long-standing 200 metres butterfly record at the world championships in South Korea.
- Keshav Dutt, two-time Olympic gold medallist in hockey and Prasun Banerjee, former Indian football captain, will be awarded the ‘Mohun Bagan Ratna’ for the year 2019 on Mohun Bagan Day on July 29, 2019.
- Priti Patel had been a prominent member of the “Back Boris” campaign for the Conservative Party leadership and was widely tipped for the plum post in his frontline team.
- The government has appointed Atanu Chakraborty as the new Economic Affairs Secretary replacing Subhash Chandra Garg, who will be the new Power Secretary.
- India’s Central Bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has assigned Deputy Governor BP Kanungo to run the monetary policy portfolio after the resignation of fellow Deputy Governor Viral V. Acharya.
- Current General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Army Command, Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane has been appointed as the next vice chief of the army staff in the Indian Army.
- India’s Kishen Mangaldas Narsi (Mumbai) has been appointed as the Chairman of Asian Boxing Confederation’s (ASBC) competitions commission.
- The Chief Minister (CM) of Karnataka H D Kumaraswamy (59) of Janata Dal (Secular) submitted the resignation to the Governor Vajubhai Vala after the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government lost majority in Karnataka Assembly.
- Hollywood actor Rutger Hauer, best known for his role in the 1982 film ‘Blade Runner’, passed away on July 19 aged 75 in the Netherlands after suffering from a brief illness.
1. International News
- Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has filed an appeal against a court ruling blocking a deal to reduce the number of asylum seekers reaching the US border.
- The Russian defence ministry says four bombers, supported by fighter jets, patrolled a pre-planned route over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.
- Kenya’s Finance Minister Henry Rotich has pleaded not guilty in court to charges of corruption, after spending the night in police custody.
- Theresa May had a mission to fight Britain’s “burning injustices” through strong and stable leadership — but her legacy as Prime Minister will be anything but.
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan has said his country was fighting the US' war on terror and had "nothing to do with 9/11" but things went wrong as previous Pakistani governments didn't tell the truth to the US.
- The US leader made several surprising statements Monday alongside Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House, including that he had plans for a quick end to the Afghan conflict, but which would wipe the country “off the face of the Earth”.
- Boris Johnson, the ebullient Brexiteer who has promised to lead Britain out of the European Union with or without a deal by Halloween, will replace Theresa May as prime minister after winning the leadership of the Conservative Party on Tuesday.
- Federal regulators, House Judiciary Committee, and even two 2020 presidential hopefuls plan to impose new restrictions following an antitrust probe into the business practices of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple.
- The Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (Co-BNAM) was held in Caracas, Venezuela with the theme “Promotion and Consolidation of Peace through Respect for International Law”.
- The Union government planned to extend the ongoing Parliament session by 10 days as it was keen on clearing its legislative agenda, and party MPs should gird themselves for it, BJP president Amit Shah said at a meeting of the parliamentary party on Tuesday.
- US visas under an employment generation program for wealthy foreigners that can lead to citizenship will cost more starting Wednesday with standard minimum investment going up from $1 million to $1.8 million, and from $500,000 to $900,000 in certain designated areas.
- The decision was taken after the land-owning agency got a poor response for 7,700 flats that were put on sale in the housing scheme of 2019.
- The machine, which was put up over the weekend at the airport’s terminal two, is currently being checked for efficiency.
- The incident occurred at the banks of Tawkak river in Charaideo district. The rescued girl is being treated for trauma. The death toll due to heavy rains have now risen to 70 people.
- The IMD data for the period July 1 to July 15 shows that the Bikaner and Jodhpur divisions in western Rajasthan have been worst hit.
- BJP state president and former Karnataka CM visited the RSS office to take the blessings of Sangh Parivar. BS Yeddyurappa won the trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly on Tuesday evening.
- The Patkura verdict brings an end to the two-decade-long battle between Naveen Patnaik and 69-year-old Mohapatra, his principal bête noire.
- Set up with first five Sainik schools of the country in 1961, SSK, Kunjpura has sent over 800 cadets to NDA and about 1,000 personnel to defence forces.
- The idea of digitally-enabled districts, to be facilitated by public sector banks, is timely but challenges are galore, said experts.
- ICICI Lombard’s June quarter performance in good stead, despite the overhang of long-term motor insurance policies.
- An Inter-Ministerial committee set up by the Government on virtual currency headed by finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg submitted its report to the Finance Ministry.
- Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways stated that Mumbai headquartered Indian state-owned insurance group, LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) has agreed to offer Rs 1.25 trillion (Rs 1.25 lakh crore) line of credit by 2024
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Japan Credit Bureau (JCB) International along with domestic banks, launched RuPay JCB Global Cards.
- In the ICC Test team rankings, India remains in the first place followed by New Zealand (2) and South Africa (3) with England (4) and Australia (5) rounding up the top five.
- The 38th edition of the Indonesia Open for the year 2019 was held from July 16-21, 2019 at Istora Gelora Bung Karno in Jakarta, Indonesia.
- The 21st Edition of the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships for the year 2019 was held from July 17-22, 2019 at the JawaharLal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack, Odisha.
- Federation of International Football Federation has awarded FIFA under 20 Women World Cup 2020 (10th edition) hosting right to Nigeria after 10 years.
- India boxer Shiva Thapa, a four-time Asian medallist, became India’s first gold medallist at the Kazakhstan President’s Cup Boxing Tournament 2019 by defeating Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin in the finals held in Astana, Kazakhstan in the 63kg category.
- British competitive swimmer, Adam George Peaty(24) has broken his own world record in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke at the FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Aquatics Championships 2019 held in Gwangju, South Korea.
- Shane Lowry of Ireland won his maiden golf title at the British Open 2019 by beating England’s Tommy Fleetwood by six strokes.
- John Isner of America won the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2019 in the finals after defeating Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan with a 7-6(2), 6-3 scores.
- India’s proud bodybuilder Ravinder Kumar Malik has bagged the “Mr. South Asia” award. He achieved this feat at the 12th South Asia Bodybuilding and Physic Sports Championships 2019 held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
- British politician & a Leader of the Conservative Party Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (55), who has promised to lead Britain out of the European Union (28-nation bloc) with or without a deal by the end of October 2019
- Former Chinese Premier Li Peng died of an illness on Monday at the age of 90, the state media reported.
1. International News
- Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Puerto Rico to demand the resignation of the island’s embattled governor, Ricardo Rosselló.
- Under the new rules, any undocumented migrants who can’t prove they’ve been in the US continuously for more than two years can be immediately deported.
- Either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will become the new Conservative leader on Tuesday as the result of the contest to succeed Theresa May is announced.
- The three Russian planes had entered the South Korean air defense identification zone with two Chinese military planes.
- US, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted that the country knew about the presence of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden on its soil. Pakistan's spy agency ISI provided information to the CIA,
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan, US President Donald Trump said relations between the two countries improved after the US ended the $1.3 billion aid that it had been giving to Pakistan. "We were paying $1.3 billion...Pakistan was not doing anything for us," Trump added.
- US President Donald Trump has said if the US wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, the country could win it in a week. "Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of Earth...literally in 10 days,"
- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday offered to mediate the decades-long Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to.
- The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was cleared by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha amid criticism from the Opposition that the legislation will ensure that only the government’s nominees are appointed to the National Human Rights Commission.
- The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 three days after it was introduced.
- Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated disruptions on Monday as opposition members raised slogans over the Sonbhadra killings, the political crisis in Karnataka and mob lynchings.
- According to the bill, besides a Chief justice of India, a former Supreme Court judge can also be made the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
- The Singapore based Global Indian International School (GIIS) will launch the concept of SMART Campus at Hadapsar and Balewadi campuses in Pune, Maharashtra.
- The defence ministry will hold its 11th biennial arms exhibition ‘DefExpo 2020’ in Lucknow, next year from February 5-8 in line with Modi government’s big push to develop Uttar Pradesh as one of the two major defence manufacturing hubs.
- Vice President of India, Shri Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 13th edition of the annual Global Healthcare Summit (GHS) organized by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), with the lighting of the traditional lamp and delivering the keynote address at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad.
- Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh commissioned the fifth Dornier squadron of the Indian Navy- Indian Naval Air Squadron 313 (INAS 313 ) at the Naval Air Enclave in Meenambakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- India will be the first recipient of local currency financing by the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB). The objective of local currency financing is to provide more options to borrowers.
- The Reserve Bank of India’s Governor Shaktikanta Das said policy makers have effectively delivered more easing than the three interest-rate cuts this year suggest, signalling a more cautious stance on future action.
- CWG 2018 gold medallist shooter Manu Bhaker will pursue Political Science at the Lady Shri Ram College in Delhi.
- Hilary Swank, a two-time Oscar winner, will be conferred with the Leopard Club Award at the 2019 Locarno International Film Festival which will be held from August 7- 17, 2019.
- The Music Academy’s Executive Committee unanimously selected Carnatic vocalist S. Sowmya for Sangita Kalanidhi Award 2019.
- At the 21st Mines Environment & Mineral Conservation (MEMC) week held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 2 mines of the Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) received the top honours.
- India’s first fully-integrated Fresh Meat brand, Zappfresh was conferred with the ‘Best Farm to Fork Fresh Meat Brand’ accolade at the 6th edition of ‘CMO Asia National Awards for Marketing Excellence’
- Former Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises & a veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kalraj Mishra, aged 78, was sworn in as the 26th governor of Himachal Pradesh replacing Acharya Devvrat,
- Indian politician Acharya Dev Vrat (60) sworn in as the 20th governor of Gujarat. He took the oath in Sanskrit. He succeeded Om Prakash Kohli.
- Coca-Cola India appointed Sarvita Sethi as the Vice-President (VP) for Merger and Acquisitions (M&A) and new ventures for Coke’s India and Southwest Asia region with effect from August 1, 2019.
- India’s leading publishing house Srishti publishers and distributors announced the second print of ‘Who Stole My Job’ by nationally acclaimed author Sunil Mishra.
1. International News
- Dozens of masked men armed with batons stormed a train station in the Hong Kong district of Yuen Long on Sunday.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party is set to convincingly win a snap parliamentary election, consolidating his political power.
- U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his attacks on Sunday on four Democratic congresswomen he launched xenophobic tweets against last week, demanding they apologise “for the horrible (hateful) things they have said.”
- Israeli work crews have begun demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in an east Jerusalem neighbourhood.
- In the event of G7 finance ministers meeting in France, all fully supported two-pillar taxation for large tech companies to be adopted by 2020.
- Pakistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas raked up the issue of Kashmir and made references to the recent UN Human Rights report on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
- The report had used an estimated number of births and deliveries to calculate two key health outcome indicators — “full immunization coverage” and “proportion of institutional deliveries” — which carried high weight in the calculation of the final index score.
- India is in discussion with Iran to free at least 30 of its nationals who were on board two foreign-flagged ships detained by Iranian authorities.
- Using the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS), out of the 18,02,646 service electors, 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout in Lok Sabha elections 2019.
- The International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Biro praised Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) for providing free cooking gas connection to poor.
- Union Government reconstituted the Group of Ministers (GoM) called the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) on Air India disinvestment.
- As per the order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, Amita Prasad(IAS,1985 batch Karnataka) has been appointed as chairperson of Inland Waterways Authority of India(IWAI), Ministry of Shipping, in the rank and pay of secretary.
- According to the 2nd edition of payments solution company Razorpay Software Pvt Ltd’s digital transactions quarterly report, ‘The Era of Rising Fintech’, Bengaluru got the top position in the list of “most digitized cities” in the April-June 2019
- Culture Minister, Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated the architectural illumination of the historic Safdarjung Tomb in New Delhi.
- National Award-winning Indian filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar’s political thriller film ‘Indu Sarkar’ has been included into NFAI(National Film Archives of India).
- Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank (ABIPBL) which had started its operation on February 22, 2018, will shut down its operations within 18 months of launch due to “unanticipated developments in the business landscape that have made the economic model unviable”.
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) expanded its probe into the role of five credit rating agencies after a forensic audit mandated by the new board of crisis-ridden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) flagged serious lapses.
- World number five PV Sindhu won her first silver medal of the year after finishing second at the Indonesia Open on Sunday.
- Chinese tennis great Li Na, France’s Mary Pierce and Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia were inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame. They all are two-time Grand Slam singles champions.
- Ramush Haradinaj, prime minister (PM) of Kosovo, Serbia’s southern province has stepped down from his post after he was summoned for questioning as a suspect by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
- Chanryaan-2 Launch Time: The 20-hour countdown for the launch of the Rs. The 1,000-crore mission began Sunday evening at 6.43 pm.
- Interesting Facts about Chandrayaan - 2:
- Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar mission of India and the first attempt to conduct a soft landing on the Moon’s South Polar Region.
- The total weight of the Chandrayaan-2 is 3,850 kg (8,490 lb).
- The total cost of the mission is approximately US$141 million.
- Originally, Chandryaan-2 was scheduled to launch in 2011 and was supposed to carry Russian-made lander and rover. Since Russia pulled out, ISRO had to develop its own lander and rover and this resulted in a delay.
- The main scientific objective of Chandryaan-2 is to map the location and abundance of lunar water.
- It will be launched to the lunar South Pole because a larger section of this region stays in the shadow. Thus, there is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it.
- The mission will also study of lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, the lunar exosphere.
- As the South Polar Region has craters that are extremely cold and everything here is frozen thus the fossil of these craters can reveal information about the early Solar System.
- Chandrayaan-2 will also do 3D mapping of the topography of the South Polar Region and will determine its elemental composition and seismic activity.
- The mission is the first Indian expedition to attempt a soft landing on the lunar surface and explore lunar terrain with indigenous technology.
- With Chandryaan-2 India will become fourth country to soft-land on the lunar surface
- Chandrayaan 2 will use the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover to attempt a soft landing in a high plain between two craters Manzinus C and Simpelius N at a latitude of about 70° south. Both the Lander and the Rover are expected to be active for one month.
- The Vikram lander will detach from the orbiter and descend to a lunar orbit of 30 km using its 800 N liquid main engines.
- Once detached the lander will then perform a comprehensive check of all its onboard systems before attempting a soft landing, and perform scientific activities for approximately 15 days.
- Pragyaan, the rover of the mission will operate on solar power. It will move on 6 wheels traversing 500 meters on the lunar surface at the rate of 1 cm per second, performing on-site chemical analysis and sending the data to the lander, which will relay it to the Earth station. The expected operating time of Pragyaan rover is around 14 days
- ISRO has selected eight scientific instruments for the orbiter, four for the lander, and two for the rover.
1. International News
- The foreign secretary has urged Iran to reverse its “illegal” seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf.
- More than 20,000 protesters have gathered in Moscow demanding free and fair elections in the Russian capital.
- The victims, mainly prisoners from the war-era detention camps for non-Serbs near the town of Prijedor, were told they were being released in a prison exchange but instead were driven to the Koricani Cliffs in central Bosnia.
- Britain denounced the Iranian seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf as a ”hostile act” on Saturday, rejecting Tehran’s explanation that it had seized the vessel because it had been involved in an accident.
- The United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informed that the US has imposed sanctions against Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Brigadier General Than Oo and Brigadier General Aung Aung for gross human rights violations, including killing of Rohingya Muslims.
- The Indian Naval Ship(INS) Tarkash reached Sweden on a three-day visit, as a part of Indian Navy’s mission of building “bridges of friendship” and strengthening international cooperation with friendly countries.
- People facing possible statelessness are not the only ones feeling the National Register of Citizens (NRC) heat. The stress of the updating exercise appears to have taken a toll on the Assam government officials.
- Ahead of external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Beijing next month to prepare the grounds for the second bilateral informal summit, China’s new envoy to India has said the two sides should narrow their differences and step up cooperation on the world stage.
- Income-tax authorities will keep tabs on people who don’t declare any taxable income but splurge money on acquiring cars and homes, traveling overseas, buying jewelry and investing in financial instruments, as they seek to identify tax evaders and widen the taxpayers’ base.
- A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court here on Saturday granted a three-day custody of Mohammed Mansoor Khan, the owner of IMA Jewels, to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) until July 23 in connection with a multi-crore-rupee Ponzi scheme case, in which thousands of investors have allegedly been cheated.
- The central government has approved a sum of Rs 206.8 crore for a Central Sector Scheme called ‘Implementation of Agriculture Export Policy’, which aims at double farmers’ income by the year 2022.
- Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) launched a Scheme called “Paramarsh” of University Grants Commission (UGC) in New Delhi.
- Australia and India recently finalized a new veterinary health protocol for the export of Australian breeder sheep to India.
- The technical education department of West Bengal(WB) will sign an MoU(memorandum of understanding) with the British Council to improve the English speaking skills of the students studying in Polytechnic Colleges in the state.
- The 8th edition of Hand-in-Hand(HiH)Military exercise 2019 between India, China will be held on December 2019 at Umroi near Shillong in Meghalaya.
- 5th Edition of International Police Expo for the year 2019 was held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on July 19-20, 2019 with the theme “Challenges to Strengthen Peace and Security”.
- The municipal officials of Chhattisgarh have launched a unique garbage cafe scheme in Ambikapur of Surguja district which has become India’s first ‘Garbage Cafe’ for Ragpickers.
- The Kerala government will set up India’s first space tech park at Thiruvananthapuram’s Knowledge City with the entire investment made by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) which is a major space research center of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network and the Telangana government signed a pact for a pilot project called ‘Medicine from the Sky’ to deliver emergency medical supplies such as blood and vaccines via drones.
- The lender’s net profit rose to Rs 5,568.16 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 as against Rs 4,601.44 crore a year ago.
- After the central government dropped support, The World Bank had withdrawn $300 million of fund for Amaravati Capital City project in Andhra Pradesh, the ambitious project of former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu.
- Public procurement portal Government eMarketplace (GeM) inked pact with SAIL in presence of Steel secretary, Binoy Kumar.
- The Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) and the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) successfully concluded the ‘testing transfer’ of Rs 325 crore Motihari in Bihar to Amelkhgunj in Nepal pipeline project and it is set to start commercial operation from August 2019.
- Wolves beat champions Manchester City to win the pre-season Premier League Asia Trophy following a bizarre penalty shootout in China.
- Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju unveiled All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Golden Baby Leagues Handbook 2019-20 on the sidelines of the Intercontinental Cup in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- Rani Banga won a gold medal in the Rope exercise and a silver medal in the clubs exercise at the annual Championship held at Holon, a northern city of Israel.
- In the finals of the Second edition of Hero Intercontinental Cup football tournament held at The Arena by TransStadia, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, North Korea won the title by defeating Tajikistan by a solitary goal.
- Dutch Junior Open Squash Tournament 2019 was held at Amsterdam, Netherlands. Anahat Singh won the title in girls U-13 by beating England’s Lauren and Neel Joshi won the title in U-17 category by beating English opponent Hassan Khalil.
- The Cricket Association of Puducherry (CAP) became the newest associate member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after the Committee of Administrators (CoA) accepted their proposal.
- Nigerian footballer John Obi Mikel, aged 32, announced retirement from international football after the end of Nigeria’s campaign in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on Saturday approved the appointment of Ajay Bhadoo as Joint Secretary to President Ram Nath Kovind.
- Ministry of External Affairs appointed Shri Upender Singh Rawat as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Panama. He is a 1998 Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer. He succeeds Ravi Thapar.
- Ministry of External Affairs appointed Shri Sanjeev Kumar Singla as the next Ambassador of India to the State of Israel.
- Former 3 time chief minister of Delhi from Congress Sheila Dikshit passed away at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla in New Delhi due to cardiac arrest. She was 81 years old.
1. International News
- The UK government has said it is “deeply concerned” about Iran’s “unacceptable” seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf.
- The Pentagon has said US troops are being deployed to Saudi Arabia to defend American interests from “emergent credible threats”.
- Benjamin Netanyahu has become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, surpassing the record set by the country’s founding father.
- The Trump Administration on Friday expressed doubts over Pakistan’s intentions in arresting terrorist Hafiz Muhammed Saeed, the mastermind of the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai attack, saying his previous arrests made no difference either to his activities or that of his outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
- Government of Sri Lanka and IRCON (Indian Railway Construction Company) International Limited, under the Ministry of Railways, signed $91.26 million agreement for the up-gradation of 130 km rail track located between Colombo and Jaffna in Tamil -majority northern province of Sri Lanka.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)” in the emergency committee meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland.
- Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has passed a resolution to declare the birth anniversary of Dogra monarch Maharaja Hari Singh on September 23 as State holiday, days after the State paid tributes to people killed during his rule in 1931 in the Valley.
- Minority organizations in Assam apprehend a large-scale exclusion from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be published on July 31.
- The government is considering extending Parliament’s ongoing session by five working days, two persons aware of developments said.
- Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri G. Kishan Reddy informed that Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has launched a scheme ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)’ for the period 2018-2020.
- Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) has released a UGC(University Grants Commission) Guide to Student Induction Programme called “Deeksharambh” in New Delhi.
- R K Singh, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy has reviewed the first-ever Draft Distribution Perspective Plan for the power sector in India.
- Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar informed that the total number of employees benefited under Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Members of Parliament (MP) in New Delhi, asked the parliamentarians to take up a social cause or an issue of human sensitivity as a mission.
- The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu(T.N), Edappadi K. Palaniswami stated that two new districts Tenkasi and Chengalpattu will be created for administrative convenience by bifurcating Tirunelveli and Kancheepuram districts respectively.
- The Marine Acoustic Research Ship (MARS), INS Sagardhwan started its two-month-long second mission Sagar Maitri from Southern Naval Command in Kochi, Kerala.
- According to a recent Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report titled ‘Asian Development Outlook 2019, India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth expected to grow by 7% in 2019 (FY-Fiscal Year 2020) and 7.2% in 2020 (FY21).
- A medium-sized public sector bank in India, Andra Bank launched its AI (Artificial Intelligence) interactive assistant called “ABHi” at a function in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India’s current account (CA) balance deficit rose to $68 billion in 2018-19 from $49 billion in 2017-18.
- Private sector lender RBL Bank reported a near 41 per cent increase in net profit for the first quarter of the fiscal, led by strong growth in its interest income and stable asset quality.
- Indian shuttler PV Sindhu beat the third-seeded Japanese shuttler Nozomi Okuhara in the Indonesia Open 2019 to reach the semi-final stage of the tournament.
- Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships held in Apia, Samoa. The championship were held across three categories — senior, junior and youth.
- Star Indian sprinter Hima Das (24) from Assam clinched her 4th international gold in women’s 200m race with a time of 23.25 seconds and Muhammed Anas Yahiya (Kerala) also won gold in the men’s 400m with the time of 45.40s at the Tabor Athletics Meet 2019 in the Czech Republic.
- The 9th Edition of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Film Festival for the year 2019 was held at the National Film Corporation Cinema Hall, Colombo, Sri Lanka from July 2-7, 2019. It was conducted by the SAARC Cultural Centre.
- Indian Foreign Service officer Vivek Kumar was today appointed as Private Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An official order said the decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister.
- Founder of popular South Indian food chain Saravana Bhavan, P Rajagopal, who convicted in a murder case passed away due to a Heart attack in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was 72.
1. International News
- President Donald Trump says a U.S. warship destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
- The White House confirmed on Wednesday that Turkey would be excluded from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program after it purchased a Russian missile defense system in defiance of warnings from Western allies.
- Police had taken into custody a 41-year-old man who shouted “{You} die!” as he poured what appeared to be gasoline around the studio.
- The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a Congressman’s bid to launch impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, tamping down a groundswell of anger after the President made xenophobic comments about Democrats.
- The Republic of Palau, an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean has signed International Solar Alliance Framework agreement to become a 76th country that joined the International Solar Alliance(ISA).
- Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the committee that published a widely-welcomed report on UK-India relations on June 24, wrote to foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt that countries with major economies should now hold leadership positions in international organizations.
- “It’s a huge loss for our overall (aviation) industry,” Pakistan Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Thursday.
- The blast comes amid an unending wave of violence across Afghanistan, where civilians are being killed every day in the country’s grueling conflict, now in its 18th year.
- The H-1B visa program allows employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in the US on a non-immigrant basis in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.
- Potzel, who is in New Delhi to brief Indian interlocutors on Friday on the first round of the German-facilitated intra-Afghan dialogue held in Doha during July 7-8, stressed he was “not here to give advice to the Indian government”.
- Sharing tentative figures, officials said there has been an overall increase of 15-20 percent, with growers claiming that fruit production doubled as a comparison to last year.
- The incident happened on Tuesday when the men from Thane halted their vehicle in the middle of a road in the busy Chheda Nagar locality.
- Karnataka Assembly trust vote: HD Kumaraswamy pointed to the message that he had received from Governor Vajubhai Vala last evening and asked Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar to take a call.
- Wild buffalos running in floodwaters, exhausted rhinos resting on patches of land and elephants crossing a road were some of the unusual sights as rangers raced to reach animals struggling in the waters.
- In June last year, Hema Patel pleaded guilty to alien smuggling for financial gain by fraudulently bonding illegal aliens from immigration custody and causing their release into the United States.
- Recently, the district administration had asked the farmers to keep an eye on the river’s water level and to start night vigil to ensure the situation does not go out of hand in a flood-like situation.
- A village head and his supporters allegedly opened fire on a rival group over a land dispute in Ghorawal police station area, killing 10 people, including three women, and leaving 19 injured on Wednesday.
- Within minutes, more than 4,000 people had ‘liked’ his tweet seeking suggestions and 800 users retweeted it. And, ideas started pouring in immediately.
- Mayawati said, in a statement on Friday morning, that the Centre and its agencies should enquire about the wealth of the ruling party’s leader.
- The Supreme Court on Friday extended by six months the time frame for completing the criminal trial in Ayodhya case while setting a nine-month deadline for the final order in the case to be delivered.
- The Centre has asked the Supreme Court to extend the 31 July deadline for publishing the final list of the National Register of Citizens for Assam.
- Tens of thousands of cattle are estimated to be smuggled to Bangladesh annually through the porous 2,216-km India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal.
- The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D(Three-Dimensional) bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure.
- The Union Cabinet approved 7 amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). It will help to speed up the bankruptcy resolution process and correct deviations that have crept into its functioning.
- Rajya Sabha passed Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2019 seeks to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
- As per the Indian Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing industry, NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies), the demand for digitally skilled talent projected to grow significantly at 35% Compounded Annual Growth Rate(CAGR) till 2023.
- 8th meeting of India-Uzbekistan Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism was held in New Delhi.
- Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched a 3-day public awareness campaign named “Jagrukta Abhiyaan” in New Delhi to sensitize and mobilize the people on measures about prevention and control of Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs) like Malaria, Dengue, and Chikungunya.
- Internet Saathi initiative, a collaborative program of Google India and Tata Trusts, will be expanded to villages in Punjab and Odisha.
- The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has selected 12 beaches in India to compete for the ‘Blue Flag’ certification.
- Former president Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday that India would become a $5 trillion economy by 2024 because of the strong foundation laid by previous governments.
- In a dossier to Pakistan, India has mentioned nearly 30 instances in the past four years when Sikh pilgrims visiting the neighboring country were subjected to “anti-India propaganda” such as espousing the Khalistani cause.
- Central power to decide tenure, salaries of information commissioners will hurt autonomy, say activists
- Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday claimed that the ‘sanctity of Budget numbers have been called into question’ and strongly objected to the manner in which Finance 2019 Bill was introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- Out of 18,126 students who appeared for NATA July 2019, as many as 14,589 cleared the same. Result available at nata.in.
- The drop in profit of the life insurance subsidiary of State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, was attributed to higher tax outgo.
- India’s largest private sector bank, ICICI(Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) launched a new digital platform called ‘InstaBIZ’.
- Union Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi informed that due to insufficient domestic availability of coking coal, the gap between demand and supply of coal cannot be bridged completely.
- Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India in the fourth quarter of FY19 slowed down more than expected to 5.8% from 6.6% in the previous quarter.
- Microsoft’s Azure-based business segment for the first time ever reported slightly more quarterly revenue than its Windows-based segment.
- Right-arm medium pacer, Jade Dernbach(33) of England announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on the day England won 2019 World Cup held at Lord’s (also known as Lord’s Cricket Ground), London.
- Top Indian shuttler P.V. Sindhu fought hard to progress to the women’s singles quarterfinals but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s singles event of the Indonesia Open, in Jakarta on Thursday.
- The Ministry of Tourism’s campaign, “Find the Incredible you” has won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold Award 2019 under the “Marketing – Primary Government Destination” category.
- According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index 2019, French businessman & CEO of LVMH (a merger of renowned brands Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy), Bernard Arnault (70) has overtaken Bill Gates as the world’s 2nd richest person.
- On the 20th anniversary of the Kargil War a new book titled, “Kargil: Untold stories from the War” authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat released in New Delhi.
- Former South African soccer player Marc Batchelor was shot dead in car, outside his home in Olivedale, Johannesburg, South Africa. He was 49 years old.
1. International News
- Six months after a deadly dam collapse in Brazil, new evidence has emerged that suggests the disaster could have been prevented.
- The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo a “public health emergency of international concern”.
- The Taliban forced a Swedish non-profit group to close 42 health facilities it runs in eastern Afghanistan, the organisation said on Wednesday
- Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the Mexican drug lord found guilty of running a murderous criminal enterprise that smuggled tons of drugs into the United States, was sentenced by a U.S. judge on Wednesday to spend the rest of his life in prison.
- After the second meeting of officials of India and Pakistan, the Foreign Office (FO) informed that Pakistan would allow 5,000 Sikh pilgrims per day throughout the year to visit Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib situated in Kartarpur, Narowal District, Pakistan.
- India on Wednesday said the ICJ verdict in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case vindicated its position that Pakistan had violated the Vienna Convention.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that India and China had been maintaining “peace and tranquillity” on the border by respecting bilateral pacts, and added that the government was “fully alive” to the country’s security needs.
- The Congress on Wednesday was divided over the Supreme Court order on the Karnataka rebel MLAs, with senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi claiming victory but the party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala describing it as a “terrible judicial precedent”.
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will make a statement in Parliament on former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav verdict, today.
- The result is based on the final answer key. Those who clear the exam will be eligible for counselling rounds. Check ICAR result at ntaicar.nic.in
- Worst quarterly performance in 20 quarters; net profit plunges to ₹113.8 crore from ₹1,260.36 crore a year ago due to higher provisioning.
- To commemorate World Youth Skills Day (July 15) and celebrate the 4th Anniversary of the Skill India Mission, the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE) launched ‘Kaushal Yuva Samwaad’ (A Youth Dialogue) in New Delhi.
- Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament passed National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that seeks to amends the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act, 2008 to take action against new schedule offences including human trafficking, terrorism etc by empowering investigating agency for speedy trials and convictions.
- Union Panchayat Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed that under Bharat Net programme, more than 1.28 Lakh Gram Panchayats were linked with optical fibre.
- As per the ODI (One Day International ) rankings, 2019 released by the ICC (International Cricket Council), right-handed top-order batsman, Virat Kohli, and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have retained their top numbered position following the conclusion of the World Cup.
- Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 2019 and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings 2019, Ashleigh Barty of Australia got the top position in women’s ranking while Novak Djokovic of Serbia remained at world number one in men’s ranking.
- Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) Fellowships (Akademi Ratna) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards (Akademi Puraskar) for the Year 2018 were announced by the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama headquartered at New Delhi.
- Cricketer Smriti Mandhana and tennis star Rohan Bopanna were conferred with the Arjuna Awards by Union Sports minister Kiren Rijiju at a ceremony held in New Delhi
- Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Group Chairman AM Naik has been appointed as the Non-Executive Chairman of mid-sized IT services firm Mindtree on Wednesday.
- Election Commission of India(ECI) appointed Ex-DG IT Chennai Sh B Murli Kumar (ex IRS – 1983) as Special Expenditure Observer for 8-Vellore Parliamentary Constituency. People are set to cast vote on August 5, 2019.
- An Indian writer, artist & activist, Raja Dhale passed away at the age of 78 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was one of the founding members of the Dalit Panther started in April 1972,
1. International News
- The resolution denounced Mr Trump’s “racist comments that have legitimised fear and hatred of New Americans and people of colour”.
- Articles published in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Canberra Times reported claims that Gayle had exposed himself to a female massage therapist in Sydney in 2015.
- The chief prosecutor’s office said his arrest was in connection with an extradition request issued in March last year.
- Pakistan expressed hopes on Tuesday that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s maiden trip to the White House later this month would help repair its acrimonious relationship with Washington as the U.S. seeks its help in ending the war in Afghanistan.
- The Trump administration is proposing a nearly five-fold increase in merit-based legal immigration and half those based on family and humanitarian system, in an effort to overhaul the outdated system.
- The report named State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019 produced by the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) was released.
- The foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak International University (BGNIU) has been laid in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Baba Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
- World Bank Arbitration Court imposed a penalty of $5.8 billion on Pakistan for unlawful denial of a mining lease to Tethyan Copper Company for the Reko Diq project in 2011.
- There is an “enormous potential” for growth in the India-U.S. relationship, the Trump administration has said, exuding confidence that the ongoing trade negotiations could be worked through because of the friendship between the two nations.
- Poor weather forced a Vistara flight to turn from one airport to another requesting for permission to land before it declared a fuel emergency and arrived at Lucknow after two extra hours of being in air.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday pulled up Ministers for playing truant from roster duty in Parliament, taking cognizance of complaints by Opposition leaders.
- Haryana government officials will engage in a game of golf with Korean investors later this week to aide trade talks.
- India denies Kulbhushan Jadhav is a spy. It has argued in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Pakistan has violated international law by forbidding consular access to him.
- Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) for Indian States and Union Territories (UTs).
- Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Former Minister of State for Human Resource Development(HRD) Satya Pal Singh & Former Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha have been unanimously elected as members of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) from Lok Sabha.
- Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment stated that under the mega pension scheme, “Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan”, 30,85,205 Persons have enrolled
- The first-ever Himalayan States Conclave will be hosted by Uttarakhand on July 28, 2019, with the main focus on sustainable development of the Indian Himalayan Region.
- Minister for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar stated that IFFI (International Film Festival of India) will mark its Golden Jubilee Edition 2019 (50th edition) in Panaji, Goa scheduled from 20th to 28th November 2019.
- The Uttar Pradesh Education Board (UPEB) has released the UP D.El.Ed Merit List 2019. Formerly known as UP BTC, the merit list was released online on the official website.
- The result will be based on the final answer key. Those who clear the exam will be eligible for counselling rounds. Check ICAR result at ntaicar.nic.in
- Federal Bank’s net profit shot up by 46.25 per cent to ₹384.21 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal on the back of stable asset quality and robust non-core income.
- Bank of England, Alan Turing, a crack code-breaker and visionary mathematician who set the foundations for artificial intelligence (AI) will feature on Britain’s new £50 banknote.
- The 30th Summer University Games (XXX Summer Universiade) 2019, largest multi-sport event, participating 118 nations &having 18 sports. The tournament was held in Naples, Italy.
- International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) approved India’s application to host the ISSF World Cup stages. ISSF World Cup in rifle/pistol/shotgun events to be held at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, New Delhi from March 15 to 26, 2020.
- Somalia’s government has announced that it will award a prize in honour of journalist Hodan Nalayeh who was killed in an attack by Islamist militants.
- The centre-right defence minister will replace Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 November.
- Christine Lagarde has said she will step down as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- BJP senior leader Biswa Bhushan Harichandran has been appointed as Andhra Pradesh governor by the president Ramnath Kovind.
- The Rashtrapati Bhavan Tuesday appointed former Rajya Sabha MP Anysuya Uikey as the Governor of Chhattisgarh and Biswa Bhusan Harishchandran as the Governor of Andhra Pradesh.
- The President of the Republic of Singapore Halimah Yacob appointed Justice AK Sikri, the former judge of the Supreme Court, as an international judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) with effect from August 1, 2019.
- Kiran Shankar More (56), Indian former cricketer & wicket-keeper has been appointed as the interim coach of the USA (United States of America) cricket team.
- NASA has shared an image of the Sun with International Space Station (ISS) appearing in front of it as a tiny black spot.
- Known as the “white Zulu”, he was a vocal critic of the apartheid government which ruled until 1994.
1. International News
- An undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck south of Indonesia’s Bali on Tuesday, the European earthquake monitoring agency EMSC said, causing some residents and visitors on the tourist island to briefly rush out of buildings.
- Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and his three aides were granted pre-arrest bail on Monday by an anti-terrorism court in Pakistan in a case pertaining to the banned outfit’s illegal use of land for its seminary.
- The carnage went largely unseen inside Sudan as the country’s military rulers imposed a nationwide blackout on mobile internet services.
- The Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has signed a bill into law penalising a range of acts of sexual harassment including catcalling, wolf-whistling and persistent telling of sexual jokes, which pro-women’s groups have accused him of committing.
- In the event of 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee meeting 2019 in Baku, Azerbaijan( June 30 to July 10,2019), the UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) announced that the Chinese city of Fuzhou will host the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2020.
- The Supreme Court on Monday admitted a writ petition seeking to decriminalise abortion and allowing women the right to exercise their reproductive choice.
- HTN’s Tiranga TV news channel has significantly curtailed operations and is set to lay off most of its 200 employees with only a month’s notice and salary, according to staff at the 6-month-old channel, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
- Amendments to the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act and the Surrogacy Regulation Bill were re-introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in the Lok Sabha on Monday. These bills had lapsed since they had not been passed by the Rajya Sabha.
- A high-level committee set up by the Union ministry of health and Family Welfare, Government of India has produced their report called ‘National Digital Health Blueprint’ was released by Health Minister Dr. Harshavardhan in New Delhi.
- The Kerala government will set up India’s first elephant rehabilitation centre named Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre at Kottoor, an ecotourism village situated nearly 35 km from Thiruvananthapuram, at an outlay of Rs 105 crore.
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Centre for Dental Education and Research (CDER) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health will undertake the largest nationwide Oral Health Survey 2019. It will collect data which will act as a baseline for planning preventive and treatment strategies.
- DU admissions 2019: A total of 1,54,075 (1.54 lakh) students have registered for the postgraduate registrations at DU of which 131129 (1.31 lakh) have paid the application fee.
- The penalty is for non-compliance with the directions issued by the RBI on Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC) norms, code of conduct for opening and operating current accounts and reporting of data on Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) and fraud risk management and classification and reporting of frauds, the central bank said in a statement.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said it has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Union Bank of India for non-compliance with the directions on cybersecurity framework.
- The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) ship, MV AAI flagged-off by Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Shipping (Independent Charge) and Chemical and Fertilisers, from Dhubri river port (Assam )to Narayanganj(Bangladesh), carrying 1000 MT of Bhutanese stone over river Brahmaputra, using Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.
- Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won record sixth British Grand Prix at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom.
- In recognition of the contributions and efforts towards underprivileged children, women’s empowerment through Meer Foundation and for the achievements in the Indian entertainment industry, Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood actor, will be felicitated with an Honorary Degree, Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) from Melbourne-based La Trobe University at the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) at Bundoora, Australia.
- Senior BJP leader and former union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Kalraj Mishra(78) appointed as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh, replacing Acharya Devvrat.
- After 10 Congress Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a cabinet reshuffle, the Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant of BJP inducted 4 new ministers in the Goa Cabinet.
- Prominent American computer scientist, credited with inventing the computer password, Fernando J. Corbato passed away at Newburyport in Massachusetts,U.S as a result of complications caused by diabetes. He was 93.
1. International News
- US President Donald Trump has been accused of racism after posting tweets attacking Democratic congresswomen.
- Iranians remain furious that US President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear deal last year and has imposed crushing sanctions on the country.
- The Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed the first case of Ebola in the eastern city of Goma, home to more than a million people.
- Premier Li Keqiang said this month that China will make timely use of cuts in banks’ reserve requirement ratios (RRR) and other financing tools to support smaller firms, while repeating a vow not to use “flood-like” stimulus.
- The 19th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting (CFAMM) for the year 2019 was held at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in Marlborough House, London, United Kingdom (UK) on July 10, 2019.
- Nepal has been hit by heavy rainfall since Thursday. More than 25 districts and 10,385 households have been affected. Thirty five people are reported to be missing in the rain-related incidents that have thrown normal life out of gear in central and eastern parts of the country.
- Four towns along the Ayeyarwady and Chindwin rivers were in danger of being inundated as the rivers rose, the Department of Disaster Management said.
- In its 700-page ruling against Pakistan, the tribunal on Friday awarded a USD 4.08 billion penalty and USD 1.87 billion in interests, Dawn reported.
- The Supreme Court on July 15 asked the Uttar Pradesh government to suggest a way out after the sessions judge hearing the joint trial of the dual Babri Masjid demolition cases sought six months more to finish the case.
- The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has set a March 2020 deadline for completing the “Museum on Prime Ministers of India” in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex, which houses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), officials said.
- Lightning is one of the major natural disasters in Odisha claiming over 400 human lives annually, 85% of which occur between May and September. In 2018-19, 320 people died of lightning against 465 in 2017-18.
- More than one-and-a-half-months after the tragedy at Taxshilla Arcade at Varachha, the parents are yet to immerse their children’s ashes. The mortal remains have become part of their home near Varachha, a migrants’ hub in Surat.
- A notice by the Rajasthan high court said the decision was unanimously taken in a full court meeting on July 14 to “honor the mandate of equality enshrined in the Constitution”.
- The minister was speaking at the foundation laying function of 245-bed Powergrid Vishram Sadan (restroom for patients’ attendants) at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences auditorium in Ranchi on Sunday.
- Lightning is one of the major natural disasters in Odisha claiming over 400 human lives annually, 85% of which occur between May and September. In 2018-19, 320 people died of lightning against 465 in 2017-18.
- The UGC notified the MANF scholarships in 2018 December after a two-year gap when they were faced with protests from students' groups.
- DU Cut Off 2019: With the fourth cut off, Delhi University has opened admission for some of the student-favourite courses. Hindu College, which had closed admission for B.Com. (H) in the third list, has opened admission for the course in the fourth list but cut off is only slightly less than the second cut off.
- The Union Budget, tabled on July 5, allocated Rs 94,853.64 crore for the education sector, which marks an increase of over 13 per cent from the revised estimates of 2018-19 financial year.
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide $100-million loan to L&T(Larsen & Toubro) Infrastructure Finance Company(LTIF) for wind and solar infrastructure projects.
- An Agri Business Incubation Centre has been set up by the Union Agriculture Ministry in Indira Gandhi Agriculture University of Raipur, Chhattisgarh under the National Agriculture Development Scheme Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RAFTAAR).
- The financial services sector, led by non-banking lenders and housing finance companies (HFCs), was the largest overseas borrower in April-May period of the the current financial year amid tight liquidity conditions in the domestic market.
- Kolkata-headquartered state owned lender, Allahabad Bank, has reported a fraud of Rs 1774.82 crore by Bhushan Power & Steel to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
- England beat New Zealand to win the men's World Cup for the first time after one of the most amazing games of cricket ever played was tied twice.
- Indian table tennis players, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Amalraj Anthony Arputharaj won India’s first ever bronze medal in men’s doubles competition at the 2019 World Tour Platinum Australian Open that held in Geelong Arena, Geelong in Australia.
- Indian boxing star Vijender Singh Beniwal(Haryana) clinched his 11th consecutive win in US professional Boxing (United States) against Mike Snider of US in Newark, New Jersey
- Britain’s Amir Khan, Olympic silver medallist, won the World Boxing Council (WBC) International Welterweight Title defeating Australian Billy Dib in the fourth round of his bout at the inaugural Super Boxing League 2019 held at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- Accenture Inc, a consulting and outsourcing services provider, appointed Julie Sweet as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) succeeding David Rowland. She is currently the CEO of Accenture’s business in North America.
- FanMojo, a e-sports venture where users play skill-based games to earn money owned by mobile tech company U2opia Global appointed Indian cricketer Prithvi Shaw as its brand ambassador.
- Former Secretary of Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), Mr. C. Kapur passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He served for the cue-sports for more than 40 years.
1. International News
- Donald Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal to spite Barack Obama, according to a leaked memo written by the UK’s former ambassador to the US.
- An armed man who attacked an immigration detention centre in the US city of Tacoma died after police officers opened fire, authorities say.
- Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen visited Haiti on Saturday in an attempt to bolster support in the region after the neighboring Dominican Republic broke diplomatic ties with Taiwan last year.
- China’s southeast coast is one of the country’s most sensitive regions as it faces Taiwan across the narrow Taiwan Strait. China deems democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province, to be taken by force if needed.
- The Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in the presence of Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of UNCCD and the UN Under-Secretary-General informed that India will host the 14th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP)
- The United States India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF) 2nd annual leadership summit was held in Washington DC, US on July 11, 2019.
- The First Global Conference for Media Freedom 2019, hosted by the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada, was held on July 10-11, 2019 in London, UK.
- Noted industrialist Adi Godrej on Saturday warned that the rising intolerance, hate crimes and moral policing could “seriously damage” economic growth.
- After 13 years as the BJP’s general secretary (organisation), Ram Lal has been declared co-incharge of the RSS’s publicity and communications wing, signalling his return to the mother organisation from the political wing of the Sangh Parivar.
- Food and beverage giant PepsiCo India has been slapped with a notice from a central agency under the Agriculture Ministry regarding an application to revoke the registration of its potato variety used to make its trademark Lays chips.
- Ministry Of Women And Child Development(WCD) stated that at National level, Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has increased to 931 from 923 for the time period between FY(financial year) 2015-16 and 2018-19.
- The 11th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Senior Officials’ Meeting (MGC SOM) 2019 was held in New Delhi to review progress in several areas of cooperation.
- The nodal agency of the Kerala state government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with the Indian Women Network floated by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will host a one day event ‘Women Startup Summit 2019’
- Delhi University Saturday released its fourth cut-off list for admissions to various undergraduate courses like B.Com (Honours), BA (Honours) Economics and in science streams.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will come out with a mobile application to help visually challenged people in identifying currency notes as cash still remains a dominant mode of transaction.
- Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance stated that the government has infused over Rs 3.15 lakh crore into public sector banks(PSB) in the last 11 years up till 2018-19.
- The state-owned banks in India stated that Rs.1.50 trillion ($21.76 billion) worth of loans as wilful defaults in 2018-19.
- Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) U-17 World Cup draw was held in the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland.
- Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has been involved in a tussle with his boss chief minister Amarinder Singh, resigned from the state cabinet on Sunday.
- Former Argentine President Fernando de La Rua, aged 81, passed away at a Hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1. International News
- Turkey has received the first parts of a Russian S-400 missile defence system despite opposition from the US.
- Prosecutors have accused jailed US financier Jeffrey Epstein of paying large amounts of money to two people who could be potential witnesses in his child sex trafficking case in an effort to influence them.
- US President Donald Trump has declared a state of emergency in Louisiana as a growing tropical storm nears landfall.
- The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said efforts to deport families with orders to leave the country will continue after an upcoming national sweep that President Donald Trump said would start Sunday.
- According to the “Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2019” by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) between 2006 and 2016, India registered a fastest reduction of poverty rate from 55.1% to 27.9% and lifted 271 million (from 640 million to around 369 million) out of poverty.
- Ukraine and its European partners have inaugurated the world’s largest new metal dome encasing the destroyed reactor at the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power station. 2. National News
- Indian and Pakistani officials will meet at the Attari-Wagah border on Sunday to discuss issues, including ways to bridge gaps related to the Kartarpur Corridor that is to be made operational by November, ahead of the commemoration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.
- At least 11 men in civilian clothing on Friday morning drove close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in J&K’s Ladakh region from the Chinese side and unfurled a big banner apparently “to counter Dalai Lama’s birthday celebrations in a nearby village on this side”.
- Amid a drought scare in half of India, Meghalaya is all set to become the first state in the country to have a proper water policy.
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development(WCD), Government of India implementing the Swadhar Greh Scheme for the rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances so that they could lead their life with dignity.
- Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda launched the Phase-II of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of Fertilizer Subsidy in New Delhi in the presence of Minister of State for Shipping (IC) and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya, Secretary, Fertilizers, Shri Chhabilendra Roul and Additional Secretary, Fertilizers, Shri Dharam Pal.
- The Defence Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC), and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to promote a culture of Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights (IP-R) in the Defence system.
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has launched an all India drive ‘Operation Thirst’ (on 8-9 July 2019) in New Delhi to crackdown the selling of unauthorized Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) in the premises of railway stations.
- The 5th India-EU High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Mobility (HLDMM) was held in New Delhi between India and the European Union (EU).
- Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy informed Rajya Sabha that Article 370 is contained as a temporary provision with respect to Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in Part XXI (Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions) of the Constitution.
- Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) informed that in the Performance Grading Index 2017-18, Chandigarh was ranked best among States and Union territories (UTs) in the field of education.
- Telangana TS Inter Supplementary Results 2019 Manabadi Date: To clear the exam, students need to secure 35 per cent marks in part-I English, part-II second language and group subjects for 500 marks in the first year.
- The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has signed a loan agreement of providing $124 million (over Rs 850 crore) to Papua New Guinea and Senegal governments to finance infrastructure and health care projects.
- Karnataka Bank has registered 7.46 per cent growth in net profit at ₹175.42 crore in the first quarter of 2019-20. Its profit stood at ₹163.24 crore in the corresponding period of 2018-19.
- France became the first country to pass GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) Tax on digital giants in defiance of a probe ordered by the United States (US) President Donald Trump.
- The illustrious pair had not met at Wimbledon since the 2008 showpiece which Nadal memorably won, but this time it was Federer who could celebrate as he beat the Spaniard 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 6-3 6-4.
- Anshula Kant, managing director of the State Bank of India, has been appointed as managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank, its president David Malpass announced on Friday.
- Joao Gilberto, a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter &considered one of the fathers of the bossa nova passed away after battling with health issues. He was 88.
1. International News
- President Donald Trump will no longer pursue adding a question on citizenship to the 2020 US census questionnaire
- At least 37 people have been injured on board an Air Canada flight that hit severe turbulence and had to make an emergency landing
- The move came as the Pakistan government decided to curtail the space given by the press to jailed politicians like Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Zardari.
- Just a week after insisting that he was “absolutely moving forward,” President Donald Trump has abandoned his effort to insert a citizenship question into next year’s census.
- The Government of India (GoI) handed over the 250 pre-fabricated houses for use of Refugees returned from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
- With an aim to fund less-polluting transportation projects, French government announced to impose green tax up to €18 ($20) on plane tickets for all outgoing flights from airports in France with effect from 2020.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that measles disease has been eradicated in Sri Lanka. The last case of measles caused by an indigenous virus was reported in May 2016.
- U.S. trade officials will meet with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday, after two days of talks with a “composite delegation” from the Commerce Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, the first formal effort to resolve the recent Indo-U.S. trade impasse.
- The Assam government will establish 200 Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) for handling cases of people to be excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC). July 31 is the deadline for publishing the NRC.
- Former Minister says in the Rajya Sabha that foreign investors and rating agencies will look at instability and chicanery
- The Supreme Court has decided to hear Karnataka rebel MLAs’ petition on Tuesday even as it barred the Speaker from taking any decision on either resignation of the lawmakers or their disqualification till then.
- The Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (UPMSP) has released the UP Board Class 10 Compartment Exam 2019 admit cards on the official website, the link for which is upmsp.edu.in
- Private sector lender Axis Bank has decided to turn cautious while lending, with newer risks emerging in the economy.
- According to the Finance ministry, total deposits in over 36.06 crore bank accounts opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was at Rs 1,00,495.94 crore.
- An internal committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suggested to review the timings of different financial markets. It recommended the timing of the functioning of the foreign exchange market from 9 am to 9 pm instead of 9 am to 5 pm.
- South Korean multinational conglomerate, Samsung partners with Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace to offer financial products.
- Three-time runners-up England defeated five-time champions Australia by 8 wickets in the second 2019 World Cup semi-final to reach World Cup final for the fourth time and the first time since the 1992 edition.
- Fitness brand Reebok appointed Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif as its new brand ambassador in India. This will enhance Reebok’s commitment to be the best fitness brand in India.
- Mandla Maseko, aged 30, the first black African in space passed away in a motorbike crash in Pretoria. He was a part-time DJ and candidate officer with the South African Air Force and was nicknamed “Afronaut” and “Spaceboy”.
1. International News
- Emergency crews said an emergency beacon was activated on the vessel in seas near Newcastle, 160km (100 miles) north of Sydney, on Thursday.
- “The United States is very concerned that the digital services tax… unfairly targets American companies,” the US trade representative said.
- Media reports quoting US officials said the tanker was asked to stop in Iranian waters close by, but the boats withdrew after a warning from the UK’s frigate.
- The US House of Representatives, on Wednesday, passed (365-65) the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, which increases the annual limit of family-based immigrant visas offered to citizens of each country and eliminates the country-wise caps on employment-based immigrant visas.
- The U.S. peace envoy to Afghanistan is in Beijing for a previously scheduled meeting, an American Embassy spokesman said on Thursday, amid signs of new momentum in efforts to end Afghanistan’s 17-year war and push by China to boost its influence in the region.
- “Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey” (annual report) by CBRE, an American real estate consulting firm, New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) was the 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly $144 per sq ft. 6 of the world’s 10 most expensive office markets were from Asia.
- Indian Haj mission in Saudi Arabia adopts Digital India and ‘equality of women’ motto for the empowerment of Muslim women pilgrims & to reach out to a large number of pilgrims as part of the Government of India’s initiative of Digital India.
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report titled Global Study on Homicide 2019.
- The Congress on Wednesday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra had imposed conditions similar to “martial law” in Mumbai to prevent their leaders from meeting rebel MLAs, and accused the ruling party of “dismantling democracy” in the country.
- The Union Cabinet approved the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, a previous version of which had lapsed when the Lok Sabha was dissolved in May.
- The government has received complaints of banks either not sanctioning or delaying disbursement to applicants of the Credit-Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister of State (independent charge) Hardeep Singh Puri admitted in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
- Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday told the Lok Sabha that Karnataka Minister D.K. Shivakumar was not allowed to enter a Mumbai hotel because the rebel Congress MLAs lodged there feared for their safety.
- The Finance Bill 2019, one of the documents of the Union Budget 2019-20, gave certain powers to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
- The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) recommended for “in-principle” permission for exploration of Uranium in Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana.
- The National Museum of Indian Cinema launched a fortnightly bulletin named “NMIC Bulletin“ in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was brought out by the Films Division with veteran filmmaker Jahnu Barua.
- India’s first cow sanctuary Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya in Agar Malwa, Madya Pradesh (MP), set up in September 2017, will be privatized due to financial crises.
- India’s first elephant rehabilitation centre will be set up by the Kerala State Government in its ecotourism village of Kottoor. Rs.105 crore has been allotted to this project which was launched by Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan.
- The Institute Of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) as a part of its latest recruitment drive has invited candidates to apply for a fresh vacancy at ibps.in.
- Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC), a public sector bank, has cut its Marginal Cost of Fund-based Lending Rate (MCLR) by 5-10 basis points across various tenors.
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed an MoU(Memorandum of understanding) with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) to fund large scale projects, including highways in a bid to achieve Prime Minister’s vision to make India a $5-trillion economy in the next five years.
- New Zealand defeated India by 18 runs in the first semi-final of the 2019 World Cup at Manchester on Wednesday to reach World Cup final for the second straight time.
- Magnus Carlsen of Norway, the world champion, won the Croatia Grand Chess Tour 2019 title against Maxime Vachier Lagrav of France.
- The 34th edition of the national level sailing championship 2019, ‘ Hyderabad Sailing Week’ was concluded at Secunderabad Club, Telangana.
- Mukesh Ambani -led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) surpassed IT-major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become the most valued firm by market capitalization (m-cap).
- Sunil Chhetri, Indian men’s football team captain, was named the Men’s Footballer of the year 2019 at the All India Football Federation‘s (AIFF) Awards.
- In ‘The Commonwealth at 70: From Westminster to the World’ book published by the popular London publishers St James House and the History of Parliament Trust, Aditya Birla World Academy, India’s leading International school situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, became the only Indian school to be featured in it.
- Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Gully Boy’, directed by Zoya Akhtar was honoured with the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award for Best Asian Film at the 23rd edition of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) for the year 2019 held at Bucheon City, South Korea.
- Northeast Frontier Railway’s (NFR) ‘Plan Bee’, a strategy of using an amplified version of honey bees sound to keep wild elephants away from train tracks won the “ Best innovation award” of Indian Railways for the 2018-19 fiscal.
- The Appointment Committee of the cabinet, Government of India(GoI) has approved Arun Kumar as new full-time Director General (DG) of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.
- A Japanese spacecraft has landed on a faraway asteroid, where it will collect space rock that may hold clues to how the Solar System evolved.
- AU Celestine from Tamil Nadu, a former India football goalkeeper passed away after a brief illness in Chennai. He was 73.
1. International News
- There have been violent clashes outside Nigeria’s National Assembly between police and Shia protesters.
- A senior general has said the US wants to create an international military coalition to safeguard waters around Iran and Yemen.
- In January this year, Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun went missing in China. Six months on, his family still don’t know where exactly he is, nor when he might come home.
- A migrant centre on the Italian island of Sicily which had been one of the largest of its kind in Europe has been officially shut down.
- The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs of Sharjah has granted the first golden card visa to an Indian expat businessman, Lalu Samuel, Chairman and Managing Director of Kingston Holdings and Chairman of Sharjah Industry Business Group.
- In an ongoing Overseas Deployment by the Indian Navy to the Mediterranean Sea, Africa and Europe, INS (Indian Navy Ship) Tarkash, a state-of-the-art stealth frigate of the Indian Navy equipped with a versatile range of weapons, reached at Tangier in Morocco as part of a visit of the 3-day visit.
- The Avenfield properties case was one of three filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last year in light of the Supreme Court’s verdict against Sharif in the Panama Papers case.
- Two Bradley fighting vehicles flanked Trump during his July Fourth speech last week, in which he praised American military might despite having himself avoided the draft during the Vietnam War with bone spurs in his feet.
- The majority of their income came from speaking engagements and payments for two books written by Biden, a top contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
- Talks had broken down in May over US accusations that Beijing had reneged on its commitments, and the dispute escalated with the two sides exchanging steep increases in punitive tariffs.
- The Rajya Sabha witnessed its first adjournment on Tuesday in the inaugural session of the second term of Narendra Modi government over the Karnataka political crisis.
- While India has rejected the ‘Update’ of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on Jammu and Kashmir, human rights activists have pointed out that it includes several unprecedented references to rights violations and constitutional changes undertaken by Pakistani authorities and militant groups, that actually support India’s narrative.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Bharatiya Janata Party MPs to undertake a 150-km padayatra (foot march) in their constituencies to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Stationed near Chang La pass which is perched at a height of 5,360 meters (17,590 feet), the 13 men, whose home is the low-lying eastern state of Jharkhand, have little experience of cold climes.
- Officials said the GPS device fitted into the bus was not functioning and the vehicle had no connection with the VTS at the UPSRTC headquarters at the time it fell into a drain.
- The Chief Minister of Haryana Government Manohar Lal Khattar has launched online portal named “Meri Faisal Mera Byora” (https://www.fasalhry.in/ )for farmers to directly avail crop related benefits of state government schemes after self -reporting their land and crop-related details.
- In an innovative eco-friendly initiative of bicycle-sharing in the city, a Bicycle-Sharing Scheme, conceived and prioritized under Puducherry Smart City Development Plan, is to be introduced in Puducherry.
- On the second day of the three-day budget session, Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed 5 important bills unanimously through voice vote.
- The training program includes basic and advanced commando courses, with specialization in handling urban crises such as hostage rescue, and super specialization for sniping, breaching, handling landmines and improvised explosive devices.
- Education Solutions Services, LLC (“ESS” or the “Company”), based in Knoxville, TN, is proud to announce the acquisition of Austin, TX-based Proximity Learning Inc. (“PLI”).
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has proposed to remove the mandatory Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) and introduce a penalty for absenteeism, reported the print.
- State Bank of India on Tuesday said it will pare its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) by 5 basis points (bps) across all tenors with effect from July 10.
- India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has finalized a three-year road map for medium-term objective named “Utkarsh 2022” for strengthening regulation, supervision of the central bank in a meeting in New Delhi.
- The proposal for setting up the High Altitude Institute of mountain medicine, training and research center, given by the medical director of Six Sigma Healthcare, Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj was accepted by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat.
- The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) sees a trend of consolidation in the rural financial institution's space this fiscal and the number of regional rural banks (RRBs) may shrink further to 38 from 45 at present.
- In the 15th edition of the CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Gold Cup for the year 2019, Mexico’s men’s soccer team won the title by defeating United States men, the defending champions, with 1-0 in the final.
- Toran Yadav(19), a specially-abled boy from Khatti village in Chhattisgarh clinched 3 medals for India at 4th World Yoga Festival and Championship 2019, held at Bulgaria, Sofia.
- Kyriakos Mitsotakis, aged 51, of New Democratic Party was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Greece.
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed the former Indian captain Rahul Dravid as Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
- American business and employment-oriented service, LinkedIn appointed Ashutosh Gupta as its new country manager for India effective September 2, 2019.
- Coffee Table Book commemorating 50 years of partnership with UN-WFP (United Nation World Food Programme) towards food and nutrition security in India has been launched by Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare along with Dr. Hameed Nuru, Representative, and Country Director, UNEP.
1. International News
- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said the controversial bill that would have allowed extradition to the Chinese mainland “is dead”.
- Downing Street says the UK’s ambassador to the US has the prime minister’s “full support”, despite Donald Trump saying he will no longer work with him.
- The US State Department has approved a potential arms sales to Taiwan, estimated to be worth $2.2bn (£1.76bn), the Pentagon said.
- A Swiss aerial display team has performed a fly-by over the wrong town, surprising people at a yodelling festival taking place nearby.
- The world’s largest burn and plastic surgery institute named Sheikh Hasina National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute started its functioning in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- The first model village built with Indian assistance under the Model Villages Program was jointly inaugurated by Minister of Housing and Construction and Cultural Affairs Sajith Premadasa, former President Chandrika Bandaranayke Kumaratunga and Acting High Commissioner of India Shilpak Ambule at Ranidugama in Gampaha in Sri Lanka.
- Amid heavy rainfall in Washington DC on Monday, leakage was reported in White House' basement offices with people sharing pictures online. Reagan National Airport witnessed 8.4 cm of rain from 9-10 am and broke the previous record of 5.6 cm set in 1958 in one hour.
- The UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) on Monday said India and Pakistan had failed to improve the situation in Kashmir and not taken any concrete steps to address the numerous concerns raised in its earlier report.
- Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to travel to India in September just days before he faces elections, official and diplomatic sources confirmed to The Hindu.
- Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and outgoing party president Rahul Gandhi were part of an orientation program for newly elected Lok Sabha members on Monday where they were told how to be more effective as lawmakers.
- The Congress opposed the introduction of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
- The 14 rebel Karnataka MLAs, including independent MLA H Nagesh, who resigned and withdrew their support to the JD(S)-Congress coalition state government, moved from their hotel in Mumbai to Goa on Monday. Thirteen JD(S)-Congress MLAs had resigned on Saturday, while two independent MLAs resigned today.
- Over 36% of schools across the country do not have electricity, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on Monday. The information was shared by the minister in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.
- Union Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The former diplomat was elected to the Upper House of Parliament from Gujarat in the by-elections held for two seats
- Former Rajasthan minister and BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf has said that incidents of rapes cannot be stopped. "Under Congress rule in Rajasthan, there is an increase of about 87 percent in the incidents of rapes and sexual assaults, which is worrisome," he added.
- The unofficial answer key for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) has been released on various websites of the private institutions.
- The Department of Higher Education (DHE), Haryana has released the second merit list for UG admission. The candidates can check the merit list at the official website i.e. online.highereduhry.com.
- The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' during a Lok Sabha session on Monday, July 08, 2019 informed about steps taken by the government to boost the teaching profession in India.
- Women who quit alcohol may have an improved health-related quality of life, especially their mental well-being, according to a study unveiled on Monday.
- The DCET 2019 for admission to second-year engineering courses will now be conducted on July 21 and postgraduate common entrance test will be conducted on July 20 and 21, 2019.
- The government fixed the price of the new series of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) at Rs 3,443 per gram opening July 8, 2019.
- The government has infused over Rs 3.15 lakh crore into Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in the 11 years through 2018-19, Parliament was informed on Monday.</li
- Only two batsmen had scored 600-plus runs in a single World Cup in the first 11 editions (1975-2015), while three have achieved the feat in the ongoing edition. Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden scored 673 and 659 runs in 2003 and 2007 editions, respectively.
- Sprinter Hima Das clinched her second international gold in women's 200m in a week with a top finish at the Kutno Athletics Meet in Poland. Hima, who has been struggling with a back problem for the past few months, clocked 23.97 seconds to clinch the gold.
- Defending champion Novak Djokovic defeated Frenchman Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-final for the 11th time. This is the 45th time that the 15-time Grand Slam champion has reached the quarter-final of a Grand Slam.
- At the Grand Prix of Spain Women’s Wrestling for the year 2019 held in Madrid, India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia which stood at 165 points.
- At the 46th Edition of Copa America held between 14 June to 7 July 2019 at 6 venues, the host country, Brazil defeated Peru with 3-1 scores to clinch the Copa America Title 2019 in the finals held at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- At the Grand Prix of Spain Women’s Wrestling for the year 2019 held in Madrid, India finished second with 130 points in team championship behind Russia which stood at 165 points.
- From 7th June to 7th July, FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 or 8th edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in France in 9 cities.
- At the 3rd edition of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Health Impact Awards organized at Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, Genesis Foundation, a Gurgaon based Non-Profit Organization was awarded as CSR Implementation Partner in the leadership category for its association with WPP India CSR Foundation for ‘Project Little Hearts’.
- IPS officer from Odisha cadre, M Nageswar Rao, has been removed from his current post of Additional Director of CBI and appointed as the Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard by Central Government. He will continue this post till July 2020.
- Leading fitness brand Reebok, which boasts of global assets like Victoria Beckham has announced Bollywood actor and wellness enthusiast, Katrina Kaif, as their new Indian brand ambassador.
- The Delhi government today announced that it'll appoint marshals in its hospitals to ensure security for doctors. The decision came after doctors at Delhi government-run LNJP hospital went on strike over alleged assault on a medical student by a patient's attendant.
- The Indian Army will buy the Excalibur artillery ammunition from the US (United States) under the emergency procurement procedures. It can strike targets more than 50 km away with the use of the GPS (Global Positioning System).
- After 18 years of research, Scientists from the University of Queensland in Australia and a team of Indian researchers led by R Thara, co-founder, and director of the Chennai-based Schizophrenia Research Foundation have discovered a new gene directly linked to schizophrenia.
- The German icebreaker RV Polarstern, a hulking ship will set out for the Arctic mission. It will trap scientists for a year in ice in the Arctic Ocean to study the impact of climate change. Researchers from 17 nations will participate in the mission.
- The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled Vivekadeepini, a summary of Prashnottara Ratnamalika written by Adi Shankaracharya, one of India’s greatest spiritual and literary geniuses.
1. International News
- Greece’s centre-right opposition party New Democracy has won the nation’s snap general election. With most districts counted, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras admitted defeat to his rival, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
- Venezuela’s opposition says it has agreed to resume talks with President Nicolás Maduro to try to resolve a prolonged political crisis.
- Iran has announced it will break a limit set on uranium enrichment, in breach of the landmark 2015 deal designed to curb its nuclear ambitions.
- Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Hong Kong for the first time since the storming of parliament on 1 July.
- California’s powerful India-origin Democratic Senator Kamala Harris has raised more than $23 million since she announced her presidential bid in January.
- A South Korean man has defected to North Korea, say media reports, in a very rare case of someone seeking to live in the authoritarian state.
- A Sydney gamer has pleaded guilty to assaulting his pregnant partner in an incident that was live-streamed as he played the popular game Fortnite.
- Navy and Air Force have no money left for new deals and may default on earlier payments as well There is a disappointment in the military and industry over the defence allocation in the Union Budget.
- Researchers and activists studying the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) data have refuted the argument made in this year’s Economic Survey regarding the positive causal impact of Aadhaar-linked payments (ALP) on the scheme, especially in drought-affected districts.
- The production of India’s first semi high-speed train has come to a grinding halt at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. The work on rolling out ten trains this fiscal remains a non-starter despite floating of tenders.
- United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived in New Delhi on July 7 night and will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar to boost cooperation in key sectors such as trade and energy.
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019. It will replace the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2019.
- Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The following programs were undertaken by him.
- India will be hosting the 3rd edition of International Sunflower Seed and Oil Conference (ISSOC) 2019 in Maharashtra, Mumbai (on July 19-20) with the aim to encourage better communications among sunflower oil producers, industry groups, academic researchers and local governments.
- Karnataka Government Crisis: 21 Congress ministers have sent their resignations to the state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao to make space in the HD Kumaraswamy cabinet to accommodate rebel MLAs.
- The candidates can check the merit list through the website cee.kerala.gov.in. The second allotment list will be released tomorrow.
- The online window to apply for the plus 3-degree admissions in Odisha will be closed on Monday, July 8, 2019. The candidates who want to apply can do so through the website- samsodisha.gov.in.
- The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has announced the result for the phase 1 exam held for recruitment to 4103 posts,” claim few portals. However the official website of FCI has no update on the result.
- For those who have applied but do not want to appear for the exam a withdrawal window will open from July 15 to July 22. The application process will be closed tomorrow.
- As part of the overhaul, the bank will scrap its global equities business and also cut some of its fixed income operations.
- Facebook is an ally in this mission to achieve 100% digital literacy in the country. At present Jio have 300 million users and it added 8 million users in April 2019.
- Punjab & Sind Bank set up a centralized hub named “Centralised MSME & Retail Group” (Cen-MARG) for processing retail and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans for better efficiency of branches in business acquisition.
- Megan Rapinoe’s penalty and Rose Lavelle’s fine run and finish gave the defending champions victory in the second half, after resilient first-half defending from the Dutch.
- A 10-year old Karate girl, Arinjeeta Dey (Barasat, West Bengal) has won a silver medal in the under 12 age category in the World Youth Cup 2019 which was held in Umag, Croatia (from July 1 to July 5, 2019).
- Nicky Winmar’s team St Kilda had just won a match against Collingwood in 1993 when he made the iconic gesture that would go down in sports history.
- Christine Lagarde (63), the first woman head of the Washington-based body, International Monetary Fund(IMF) nominated to become the first woman to lead the ECB (European Central Bank).
- Senior Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam termed Milind Deora's resignation as Mumbai Congress chief as a "ladder to climb to the top". "A resignation is given when someone wants to reject something. But here, a 'national' level position is being sought.
- Originally scheduled to be launched in 2012, the mission was faced with problems which left the responsibility on ISRO to design, develop and build the lander on its own.
1. International News
- But the thorny issues of women’s rights, power-sharing with the Taliban, the role of regional powers including Pakistan and India, and the fate of Ghani’s administration remain unresolved.
- The United States conveyed a messgae to Iran warning of a limited stike against the country after its unmanned drone was shot down in the Gulf, Iran’s civil defence agency chief Gholamreza Jalali was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency on Sunday.
- Deputy fire chief Joel Gordon told reporters two of the injured were in serious condition after the blast, one of whom had potentially life-threatening injuries.
- The Trump administration has been labelled “inept”, insecure and incompetent in leaked emails from the UK ambassador to Washington.
- Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) on Sunday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that “Modi has similar qualities of 14th century Sultan of Delhi Muhammad bin Tughlaq.”
- A group of resigned MLAs flown from HAL airport in Bangaluru to Mumbai and provided accommodation at a five-star hotel.
- The Central Government is considering amendments to the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945 to ensure that registered medical practitioners dispense only generic medicines.
- Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman made her maiden Budget Speech and presented the Union Budget 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha.
- The first 2019 report of “State of the Education Report for India 2019: Children with Disabilities” has released by the UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) at an event in New Delhi.
- Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria stated that under the Government’s ambitious scheme, “Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)” 9 crores 62 lakh individual household toilets have been constructed since 2014.
- The highways of Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra are India’s first highway corridors will get charging stations for electric vehicles by March 2020.
- To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas(26th July 2019), the Indian army has released a special Kargil Tribute Song’ to honor, salute and pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and the war veterans who sacrificed and fought for the country.
- The Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel has inaugurated the ‘Jan Choupal’ program in Raipur, Chhattisgarh for holding public meetings once every week to discuss the issues of the people.
- As per the analysis by environmental Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Greenpeace India, transport and industrial clusters were giving rise to the country’s worst Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) hotspots like Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
- The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) on Sunday, July 7, 2019.
- Forced by parents and institutions, students’ attention is fixated on obtaining good marks, but this attitude militates against their chances of honing emotional intelligence and other social skills required to lead a happy life
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Saturday informed the exchanges about a fraud of ₹3,805.15 crore in NPA (non-performing asset) account of Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd. (BPSL).
- The Government of Hong Kong approved to grant about $9,02,278 (7.032 million Hong Kong dollars) from Hong Kong’s Disaster Relief Fund for cyclone Fani victims in Odisha.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India(RBI)will now given power to takes over as the regulator of Housing Finance Firms(HFFs) instead of NHB(National Housing Bank).
- India defeated Sri Lanka by 7 wickets at Leeds today to go top of the 2019 World Cup points table with 15 points from nine matches.
- South Africa defeated Australia by 10 runs in Manchester on Saturday to register their first victory against them in a World Cup match since the 1992 edition.
- Elavenil Valarivan(19), a three-time junior World Cup medallist strikes her silver medal in 10m Air Rifle event in the 30th World University Summer Games 2019 held in Napoli, Italy.
- Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora on Sunday announced his resignation from the post and said he was looking forward to play a role at the national level to help stabilise the party.
1. Important Days
- International Co-operative Day is an annual celebration of the co-operative movement observed on the first Saturday in July since 1923 by the International Co-operative Alliance.
- The Trump administration will continue to pursue a way of adding a citizenship question to the census, lawyers said in court filings submitted on Friday.
- A statue of US First Lady Melania Trump has appeared on the outskirts of her Slovenian hometown of Sevnica.
- The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. Iraq had been lobbying since 1983 for the 4,000-year-old site to be added to the United Nations’ prestigious list.
- A new record high temperature has been set in the US state of Alaska, part of which lies inside the Arctic Circle.
- Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, whose forces hold eastern Libya and much of the country’s south, launched an offensive in early April to wrestle the capital from forces loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA).
- Henley Passport Index 2019, which ranks 199 countries in the world based on their Visa-Free Scores showed that Indian passport ranked at 86th position with a mobility score of 58.
- An Arab country on the Persian (Arabian) Gulf, Kuwait that completes its two-year term as the non-permanent member in the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) has played a major role in declaring JeM chief Masood Azhar a global terrorist and in UNSC condemnation of Pulwama terror strike.
- The United States listed the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Hezbollah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.
- A “Gandhipedia” was being developed in order to sensitize society, particularly the youth, about Gandhian values, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2019-2020 speech on Friday.
- In the Budget document, the government’s allocation to the ‘National Ganga Plan and Ghat works’ shows only ₹750 crore for 2019-2020, a sharp fall from ₹2,250 crore allotted last year. Last year, the government has only managed to spend ₹750 crore, the revised estimates for the 2018-19 show.
- The 2018-19 Economic Survey presented on Thursday projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2019-20 to be 7%. The Indian economy grew 6.8% in 2018-19.
- The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the MoU between Government of India India and Government of the Republic of the Maldives on cooperation in the field of Health. T
- The Rajya Sabha has passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill-2019 after it was passed in Lok Sabha on July 1, 2019.
- The Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Pratap Chandra Sarangi in a written reply in Lok Sabha informed that the facility of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) has been extended to fisheries and animal husbandry farmers in order to assist them to meet their working capital needs.
- Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot informed that the budget for drug de-addiction measures was increased to Rs 135 crore from Rs 33 crore in 2014. It is provided to the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) for the year 2019-20.
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Budget 2019 informed that under the Unit Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) Scheme, around 35 crore LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs were distributed which saved Rs 18,341 crore annually.
- NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog released its “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index” (AMFFRI) for the year 2019.
- The Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), Smriti Irani stated that the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girls in secondary education level has registered an increase of 80.29% in 2016-17 compared to 80.10 % in 2015-16.
- Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal informed that all Unmanned Level Crossings (ULCs) in all Broad-Gauge (BG) Network were removed on January 31, 2019, and there isn’t a single ULC in the broad-gauge network in India.
- An Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) was signed between Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) and Morarji Desai National Institute Yoga (MDNIY) for organizing Yoga education and training courses/programmes for Police Personnel and CAPFs (Central Armed Police Forces)and their family members across the country.
- South Central Railways (SCR) of Indian Railways commissioned the longest electrified tunnel in India. It is situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh which is a part of the 113 km railway line between Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam – Krishnapatnam Port. It is constructed in the shape of a Horse Shoe.
- Failures are the pillars of success’, and the story of Vijay Wardhan justifies every word of this phrase.
- There are a total of seven rounds. This is the result for third round based on which students will get admission to IITs, NITs, IIESTs, IIITs. The result will be displayed at josaa.nic.in.
- The regulatory powers of the Reserve Bank of India have been significantly enhanced, with Budget 2019-20 bringing housing finance companies (HFCs) under its ambit and deepening its governance of non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).
- Indian mobile network operator, Reliance Jio has partnered with Facebook to launch a digital literacy initiative named “Digital Udaan” to empower first-time internet users with digital literacy and understanding of the Internet in real time.
- Punjab & Sind Bank has set up a centralized hub named “Centralised MSME & Retail Group” (Cen-MARG) for processing retail and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans for better efficiency of branches in business acquisition. It is headquartered in New Delhi.
- As per the data of the World Bank for the year 2018, the turnover ratio of the Indian stock market fell significantly by 60% in the past 10 years. Indian market volume compared to the size of the market was the lowest amongst major global economies.
- Tata Steel Kalinganagar becomes the first and the only Indian manufacturing plant that has been included in prestigious Lighthouse Network of the World Economic Forum
- Information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services (ITeS) NASSCOM( National Association of Software and Services Companies) and Not-for-profit public limited company, NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) has organized “World Skills India”- International Cloud Computing Challenge 2019
- Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 94 runs to end their 2019 World Cup campaign at fifth position with 11 points.
- All-rounder Shoaib Malik announced his retirement from ODI cricket after Pakistan’s last 2019 World Cup match against Bangladesh on Friday.
- B Harideesh Kumar has been appointed as director of Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for a period of three years.
- Earlier he worked as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Electronics Limited(CEL). Before joining Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Central Electronics Limited(CEL) he worked as ED-Marketing in Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation(IRCTC).
- Former Uttarakhand Governor Sudershan Agarwal passed away in New Delhi at the age of 88. He was born in Ludhiana, Punjab.
1. International News
- China is deliberately separating Muslim children from their families, faith and language in its far western region of Xinjiang, according to new research.
- Sudan’s military leaders have reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share power until elections can be held, mediators say.
- Southern California has been struck by its strongest earthquake in two decades, causing damage and fires.
- Najib is now on trial for graft after his electoral defeat. His wife Rosmah Mansor has also pleaded not guilty to money laundering linked to 1MDB.
- Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet Donald Trump for the first time on July 22nd and their focus will be on “refreshing” bilateral relations, which was hit after the US President publicly criticised Pakistan, cancelled military aid and asked it to do more to fight terrorism.
- Amash was the only Republican in Congress to call for impeachment proceedings against Trump, drawing the ire of many fellow Republicans and Trump.
- Turkey is one of the only Muslim-majority countries to have criticized China over the detention of an estimated one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in the restive Xinjiang province.
- Last year, a daughter of Sheikh Mohammed tried to flee Dubai after appearing in a 40-minute video saying she had been imprisoned on and off for several years and had been abused.
- State Ministers Saurabh Patel, Pradeepsinh Jadeja and BJP MLA Arunsinh Rana were among the first few to cast their votes.
- MDMK chief Vaiko was on Friday sentenced to one year in jail by a special court in Tamil Nadu’s Chennai in connection with a sedition case filed against him in 2009 by the DMK government in the southern state.
- Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat also released a video of a special tribute song, penned by Bollywood lyricist Sameer, dedicated to Kargil heroes.
- The Indian government will remain firm on its proposal for mandatory data localisation by companies based abroad despite rising concerns in the US over such a move and fears that this could escalate the trade war between New Delhi and Washington, a person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.
- A police spokesperson said a cordon and search operation was launched by police and security forces in Batpora-Narwani area of Imam Sahib in Shopian on a credible input about the presence of militants.
- The 30-share index was trading 171.82 points, or 0.43 per cent, lower at 39,736.24 at 1150 hours. Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 55.70 or 0.47 per cent, to 11,891.05.
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said the government will bring a new national educational policy and Rs 400 crore has been provided for world class institutions.
- India Postal department has extended the last date to apply for the recruitment of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS).
- YES Bank Ltd has picked up a 9.47 per cent stake in Eveready Industries by way of invocation of shares pledged by group company, McLeod Russel India Ltd.
- SBI made extended loans of about 51 crore to 47 infrastructure projects during the financial year of 2018-19.
- They now project global growth to slow further to hit a six-year low of 2.9 percent by 2019-end from 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19) and the recent peak of 4 percent in the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18).
- However, they expect growth in the emerging markets (EMs) to be better than that in the developed markets (DMs). As regards India, they peg the economic growth at 6.2 percent in 2019 (7.4 percent in 2018) and at 7.1 percent in 2020.
- PAN and Aadhaar will become interchangeable. You can use your Aadhaar number to file your I-T Returns soon.
- ₹5 lakh minimum limit announced for taxpayers. In view of rising income levels, those in the ₹2-5 crore and ₹5 crore-and-above brackets will see increase in effective tax rate by 3% and 7%, respectively.
- GST rate on electric vehicles proposed to be lowered to 5%. Additional income tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on interest on loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.
- Additional deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on loans up to March 31 2020 for buying affordable houses, giving ₹ 7 lakh benefit to home buyers.
- Proposal to provide Aadhaar cards for NRIs with Indian passports, after their arrival in India, with no waiting period.
- ₹20 coin coming up.
- Excise duty on fuel hiked by ₹1.
- To resolve the angel tax issue, startups will not be subject to any scrutiny in respect to valuation. Funds raised by startups will not require any scrutiny by the I-T department.
- TDS of 2% on cash withdrawals exceeding ₹1 crore in a year from bank accounts, to discourage business payments in cash.
- Period of exemption for capital gains arising from sale of house for investment in startups to be extended to March 31, 2021.
- ₹70,000 crore in recapitalisation for public sector banks.
- ₹1.05 lakh crore disinvestment target for the year.
- TV channel to be launched for promoting startups and to help matchmaking for funds.
- New national educational policy hopes to transform Indian education into one of the best in the world, with focus on bringing in foreign students.
- ₹50 lakh crores proposed for Railway infrastructure.
- By 2022, the 75th year of Independence, every single rural family, except those who are unwilling to take the connection, will have electricity and clean cooking facility.
- Stress on zero-budget farming, which is a form of gardening as a self-sustainable practice, with minimum external intervention.
- The pension benefit will be extended to 3 crore retail traders under PM Karam Yogi Maan Dhan Scheme. It requires only Aadhaar numbers and bank accounts.
- ₹1 crore worth of loans proposed to MSMEs. The Government will extend pension benefits to 3 crore retail traders and shopkeepers who have a revenue of less than ₹1.5 crore.
- Investment by FIIs and FDIs in debt securities in infrastructure debt funds to be allowed. Minimum public shareholding in listed companies can be increased from 25% to 35%.
- Indian sprint runner Hima Das, nicknamed ‘Dhing Express’ won the gold medal in women’s 200m with a timing of 23.65 seconds in Poznań Athletics Grand Prix 2019 held in Golecin Stadium, Poznań, Poland.
- West Indies defeated Afghanistan by 23 runs at Leeds on Thursday to register their second victory in 2019 World Cup, 34 days after their first.
- Indian multinational corporation Wipro’s Chairman, Azim Premji and Global Financial services company Mastercard’s CEO and President, Ajaypal Singh Banga have been chosen for 2019 Global Excellence Award
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) appointed American economist David Lipton as its interim leader. He replaces Christine Lagarde who was nominated to head the European Central Bank.
- Reserve Bank of India has appointed AK Misra as an additional director on Board of Directors (BOD) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. He was the former executive director of RBI.
- Basant Kumar Birla, Indian businessman and Birla group patriarch passed away recently in Mumbai at the age of 98. He was born in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- Barun Haldar, veteran newsreader of All India Radio(AIR) passed away at the age of 85 in Kolkata. He was born in Kolkata, West Bengal.
1. Important Days
- Independence Day is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July [latex]4^{th}[/latex], 1776.
- Australian Alek Sigley who went missing in North Korea last week is “released and safe”, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said.
- China has warned the UK not to “interfere in its domestic affairs” amid a growing diplomatic row over the recent protests in Hong Kong.
- North Korea has accused the US of being “hell-bent on hostile acts”, despite a recent agreement between the two countries to resume nuclear talks.
- The U.S. on July 2 designated the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a terror organization. “The BLA is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan,” said the U.S. State Department in a statement.
- Pakistani authorities announced a crackdown against Hafiz Saeed, leader of the group blamed for the deadly attacks on Mumbai in 2008, amid growing international pressure to act against militant groups.
- Russia says the main cause of the deadly incident on board a submersible which killed 14 crew on Monday was a fire in the battery compartment.
- Egypt has called on auction house Christie's to cancel the sale of a 3,000-year-old bust of ancient boy-king Tutankhamun.
- Thirteen people were also jailed for 10 years for their part in the attack on a train carrying Hasina in 1994, prosecutor Aminul Islam said. At that time, Hasina was an opposition leader and her arch-rival, Khaleda Zia, was prime minister. Now Zia and her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) are the opposition.
- An official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said later that the two sides were in the process of scheduling a principal-level phone call with Chinese officials for next week.
- The World Health Organization has introduced its first guideline on self-care interventions for health named “WHO Consolidated Guideline on Self-Care Interventions for Health”.
- India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu stated that the Government of India has pledged to contribute $5 million in 2019 to UN Palestine refugee agency.
- In order to tackle plastic pollution, the Government of New Zealand has officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags with effect from 1 July 2019.
- The party officials terms it as a “precautionary move” to “thwart any attempt by the ruling BJP to influence the MLAs for cross-voting.”
- Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on July 3 hit back at the Congress on the Rae Bareli rail coach factory issue, and said that not a single coach was made there before the Modi government came to power in 2014.
- Amit Shah, who continues as the national Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, was on his first visit to home state Gujarat after being inducted in the Union Council of Ministers.
- A flood warning has been issued to 19 districts of Uttar Pradesh by the Flood Management Information System Centre (FMISC) this week, in view of the rise in the water level of rivers following heavy rain in Nepal.
- Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan stated that the Government sets target is to raise health services expenditure to 2.5 percent of the country’s GDP(Gross domestic product) by 2025 due to the increment of expenditure over the last 10 years.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal for grant of Organised Group ”A” Service (OGAS) status to Group ”A” executive cadre officers of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) & extended the benefit of Non-Functional Financial Upgradation (NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) at an enhanced rate of 30%.
- The Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar reviewed the National Film Heritage Mission (NFHM) during a visit to the National Film Archive of India (NFAI), Pune, Maharashtra.
- Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the cooperative sector export-promotion forum (CSEPF) will be created under the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) after consultations with 20 states and Union territories.
- Minister of Electronics and Information and Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply in Lok Sabha stated that comprehensive legislation on data privacy named Data Protection Bill is under formulation to strengthen the protection of personal data.
- The United States (US) Secretary of State, Michael R. Pompeo visited India on 25-27 June 2019. He held talks with the External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and it paved the way to further strengthen the India-U.S.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) and Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) are participating in the Garuda VI bilateral exercise at Mont de Marsan in France.
- IBPS Recruitment 2019: Institute of Banking Personal Selection (IBPS) has issued notification for a number of posts.
- Indian government shortly coming up with its first full federal budget and with education sector outlays being actively discussed, it is time to take a broader, holistic view of where Indian education needs to go.
- The working group has also been tasked with recommending appropriate measures to enhance RBI’s off-sight surveillance and on-site supervision over CICs.
- The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its report ‘Working on a Warmer Planet: The Impact of Heat Stress on Labour Productivity and Decent Work’, stated that India is projected to lose 5.8% of working hours in 2030 equivalent to 34 million full-time jobs due to global warming.
- General Budget, the Economic Survey for the fiscal year 2018-19 laid out blue print for $5 trillion economy.
- Vaibhav Yadav, Indian pro boxer won the World Boxing Council (WBC) Asia silver welterweight championship 2019 that held in Pattaya, Thailand.
- England defeated New Zealand by 119 runs in their last league match of 2019 World Cup today to qualify for World Cup semi-finals for the first time since the 1992 edition.
- Quantela Inc, a Hyderabad and Silicon Valley-headquartered digital technology company, was awarded World Economic Forum’s (WEF) ‘Technology Pioneers’ award 2019.
- The annual general meeting of Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) 2019 was held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
- Congress president Rahul Gandhi officially resigned from his post. He stated that accountability was critical to the future growth of the party and assumed that he was responsible for the loss of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
- Two women have won the backing of the EU’s leaders to head the European Commission and European Central Bank, breaking with more than 60 years of male dominance at the top of the bloc’s institutions.
- The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the assignment of additional charge as Secretary to the Ministry of Textiles to Rabindra Panwar, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development with immediate effect and till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders whichever is earlier.
- The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN) announced the new appointments at its 10th Annual General Meeting in New Delhi. Manoj Kumar Nambiar, Managing Director (MD) of Arohan Financial Services, was appointed as its chairman succeeding Udaya Kumar Hebbar.
- Carlin Dunne, motorcycle racer aged 36 passed away during the 97th Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. He hailed from Santa Barbara, California, USA.
- Celebrity businessman Lee Iacocca passed away at the age of 94 in California due to Parkinson’s disease. He was the former CEO of Chrysler and also worked in Ford.
1. International News
- An attack has killed up to 40 migrants at a detention centre on the outskirts of the Libyan capital Tripoli, government officials say.
- Kamala Harris, the first Indian-origin Senator, has surged to the second spot among more than 20 Democratic candidates eyeing the White House in the 2020 presidential run, according to a latest national opinion poll.
- The National Defense Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, that contained such a proposal was passed by the U.S. Senate last week.
- The Trump administration has dropped a controversial plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, marking a major victory for civil rights groups.
- Japan officially resumed commercial whaling for the first time in more than three decades after Tokyo’s controversial decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
- The Supreme Court sought the response of the government on a special leave petition filed by Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh against a February 28 decision of the Delhi High Court, rejecting his challenge to amendments enacted to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from 2015 onwards, through Finance Acts as ‘Money Bills’.
- Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday which provides for supersession of Medical Council of India for a period of two years with effect from September 26, 2018.
- The Rajya Sabha will today debate on electoral reforms, including ‘One Nation, One Election’ bid, electoral bonds and Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
- The Trinamool on Tuesday accused the BJP government of bypassing the rules of Parliament to try to push its agenda.
- In order to boost research culture in India, the University Grants Commission (UGC) approved a new initiative – Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE).
- Union Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA)- a campaign for water conservation and water security in New Delhi. It will focus on 256 water stressed districts and 1,592 water stressed blocks.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed a high powered 9 member committee of chief ministers headed by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for transforming Indian agriculture and raising farmers’ income.
- Indian bond traders, who were expecting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to keep the cash spigot open, may have to rework their calculations.
- The Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of ₹50 lakh each on Allahabad Bank and UCO Bank for non-compliance with its directives on ‘Know Your Customer (KYC) norms/ Anti Money Laundering (AML) Standards’ and ‘Opening of Current Accounts’.
- India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) and India’s sovereign wealth fund, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have signed an MoU(Memorandum of Understanding) to provide financing solutions to the infrastructure sector.
- India defeated Bangladesh by 28 runs at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Tuesday to become the second team after Australia to qualify for the 2019 World Cup semi-finals.
- The Department of Sports and Youth Service of the Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) and Odisha State Table Tennis Association (OSTTA) to host the 21st Commonwealth Championship for the year 2019.
- At the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters for 2019 hosted by Sergio Garcia Foundation which was held at Real Club Valderrama, Spain, Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar finished at the 13th spot. Another Indian, Shiv Kapur finished at the 56th spot.
- IIT Kanpur (Indian Institutes of Technology) awarded an honorary doctorate to Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team in recognition of his services to sports on the occasion of their 52nd convocation.
- Veteran British journalist Sir Mark Tully was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognization of his contributions to the UK-India relationship. The annual UK-India Awards honours special talents and organisations who use their worldwide influence to strengthen UK-India ties.
- N S Vishwanathan was re-appointed as the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for one more year with effect from July 4, 2019.
- Batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after being overlooked for World Cup spot multiple times by BCCI.
- The State Government of Haryana appointed Keshni Anand Arora as the state’s new chief secretary. She replaces Mr. DS Dhesi, who has retired on June 30, 2019. She will be the 33rd cabinet secretary of Haryana since 1966.
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), a public sector bank based in Chennai has appointed Karnam Sekar as its new Managing Director (MD)and Chief Executive Officer(CEO). He replaces R Subramaniakumar.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation has signed a contract with a Russian company for selection support, medical examination and space training of Indian astronauts for the country’s proposed maiden manned space mission ‘Gaganyaan’.
- Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal stated that In order to reduce accidents, Indian Railways is conducting extensive trials of modern technology TRI-NETRA (Terrain Imaging for Drivers Infrared, Enhanced, Optical & Radar Assisted) for detecting obstructions on tracks during fog.
- The United States(US) space agency, NASA’s(National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a new planet called L 98-59b. It is roughly around 80 percent the size of Earth.
- America’s space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has planned to send a flying multi rover vehicle, ’Dragonfly’ to Saturn’s moon Titan to search for signs of life.
- For the first time, an international team of researchers has discovered the source of FRB 180924, a mysterious powerful pulse of cosmic energy known as Fast Radio Burst (FRB), which lasted for just a fraction of a second.
- Dipankar Banerjee, a solar physicist from Indian Institute of Astrophysics has been selected by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) for its PUNCH mission.
- Minister of Textiles and Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani launched new book ‘Whispers of Time’ written by Dr. Krishna Saksena (91) at India International Centre in New Delhi.
- Momir Bulatovic, who served as the President of Montenegro during the turbulent breakup of the former Yugoslavia died at the age of 62 in Raći, Montenegro. He was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia.
- Rakesh Shukla passed away in Delhi at the age of 71. He had represented Delhi and Bihar in First-Class cricket and earned his Test cap against Sri Lanka in 1982. He hailed from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
- Working Women’s Forum (WWF) founder Dr. Jaya Arunachalam, aged 87, passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu after a brief illness. She hailed from Tamil Nadu.
1. Important Days
- World Sports Journalists Day is celebrated on July 2nd, to mark the services of sports journalists for the promotion of sports.
- Iran has breached the limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium set under a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, a watchdog has confirmed.
- Two crew members and eight passengers died when the Beechcraft BE-350 King Air crashed into the unoccupied building Sunday morning at Addison Municipal Airport, north of Dallas.
- A Moscow court jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for 10 days on Monday after finding him guilty of breaking the law when he took part in a street demonstration last month.
- President Donald Trump signed a $4.6 billion aid package on Monday to help the federal government cope with the surge of Central American immigrants at the U.S.- Mexico border.
- A five-star hotel in Shanghai was the first to receive a warning for violating the city’s new domestic garbage sorting regulations that came into effect Monday.
- Protestors forced their way into the central chamber of Hong Kong's parliament after the hours-long siege. The protestors, who broke through parliament's reinforced glass doors, then spray-painted messages on the walls.
- Iran rejected a White House accusation that it was long violating the terms of its nuclear deal with world powers. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham had said, "There is little doubt that even before the deal's existence, Iran was violating its terms.
- US President Donald Trump has called Afghanistan "Harvard of terrorists". Trump said he wants to pull troops out of Afghanistan but is concerned that without American military presence, the country could be used as the base for terrorist attacks on the US.
- World's fourth richest person Warren Buffett is donating $3.6 billion worth of his company Berkshire Hathaway's stock to five charities. These charities include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charity run by his friend and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates and his wife.
- The Government of India signed a deal with Russia for acquiring the ‘Strum Ataka’ anti-tank missiles. The deal is worth around Rs 200 Crore.
- India has abstained from voting on a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to find the possibility to end the trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture.
- The G20 (Group of 20) Summit 2019 was held at the International Exhibition Center, Osaka, Japan on June 28-29, 2019. It was the 14th meeting of the G20.
- Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla told Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal not to take on the job of the Speaker.
- The Rajya Sabha will debate electoral reforms on Wednesday following notices given by 12 Opposition parties.
- The Supreme Court agreed to consider on July 30 a batch of petitions to have a Constitution Bench examine the validity of a constitutional amendment providing 10% economic reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.
- District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma on Monday clarified that there was no dress code for visitors at Bada Imambada, nor was there any compulsion to cover one’s head.
- One of India’s best known engineering colleges, the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K), is venturing into specialised medical education and plans to set up a super-speciality hospital and medical college in an attempt to further its own research in areas of bioengineering and bioscience, an intersection of engineering and medicine.
- The Parliament passed The Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which became the first legislation to be passed by the newly constituted 17th Lok Sabha.
- The central government’s ambitious project of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’, under which beneficiaries can buy subsidized foodgrains from any ration shop in the country will begin on 1 July 2020.
- Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad formed a committee headed by Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan to look into the revival plans for the Telecom sector which is under financial stress. It will review the issues in the sector and promote Ease of Doing Business (EDB).
- Supreme Court judge, Justice Indu Malhotra, has recused herself from hearing a case challenging a Bombay High Court order which decriminalized beef possession if animals were slaughtered outside Maharashtra.
- Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that 12% and 18% GST slabs can be merged into one rate with a further increase in revenue. He added except for luxury and sin goods, 28% slab has almost been phased out, and zero and 5% slabs will always remain.
- Bharti AXA Life POS (Point of Sale) Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana is a pure life term insurance plan aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India.
- The Finance Ministry of India has launched the 11th tranche of Electoral Bonds sale from July 1-10. In this regard, India’s largest Public Sector Bank (PSB), State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds in the XI phase of sale through its 29 branches.
- On the lines of Reserve Bank of India’s June 7 circular on the resolution of bad loans, the debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. is constituting a sub-committee to oversee the process of divestment of its assets.
- Sri Lanka defeated West Indies by 23 runs at Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Monday to register their third victory in the 2019 World Cup and move to sixth place on points table.
- Veer Chotrani became third Indian after he won 26th Asian junior Individual squash championship 2019 in the U-19 category at Macau, China. It was organized by Macau Squash Association.
- French Open 2019 women's singles finalist Markéta Vondroušová crashed out of the Wimbledon in the first round on Monday after losing to Madison Brengle.
- A Navaratna Company based on Odisha, The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), has been selected for the President’s Award for Excellent CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programme.
- MTNL(Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) P.K. Purwar has accepted his additional post as CMD of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for a period of three months from July 1, 2019.
- NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a planet 'L 98-59b', around 80% Earth's size, the tiniest exoplanet discovered by TESS to date. TESS also discovered two other planets in the same system that are 1.4 and 1.6 times the Earth's size.
- Director Babu Narayanan, a notable director in Malayalam film industry passed away at Thrissur, Kerala due to cancer. He was born in Kozhikode(also known as Calicut), Kerala.
1. Important Days
- National Doctors’ Day is a day celebrated to recognize the contributions of physicians to individual lives and communities.
- North Korean state media has hailed US President Donald Trump’s impromptu visit to the country as “an amazing event”.
- Police have clashed with protesters in Hong Kong on the 22nd anniversary of its shift from British to Chinese rule.
- Vast crowds have taken to the streets in Sudan to demonstrate against military rule, with reports of deaths and injuries.
- EU leaders meeting in Brussels are divided over who should get the EU’s top jobs, including a successor to Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.
- Whaling boats embarked on Monday on their first commercial hunts since 1988, when Japan switched to so-called research whaling, but will stay within the country’s exclusive economic waters.
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan has said that the country's opposition leaders who use the phrase 'selected Prime Minister' for him "were themselves manufactured in the nursery of military dictatorship".
- Erdogan said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must uncover the killers of the Washington Post columnist, and added that some aspects of the murder were still being hidden.
- Nagaland has decided to start a variant of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that neighbouring Assam is updating.
- Industry groups seek simplification of registration and return filing to build on the gains; revenue trend in recent months signal turnaround.
- US President Donald Trump’s tweet seeking the withdrawal of new trade tariffs imposed by India on the eve of G20 did not appear to have affected Prime Minister Narendra Modi who batted on the front foot when the two leaders met the following day, with the result that bilateral ties between the world’s two largest democracies remain on an even keel.
- The annual pilgrimage to Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas would begin on Monday under tight security amid an escalation of militant violence.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited G20 nations to join the International Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. The infrastructure is required not only for development, but it is also necessary to combat natural calamities, PM Modi said.
- The plea said as many as 24 Assembly seats have been carved out by the government from PoK and Gilgit as these territories are Indian territories which are under the occupation of Pakistan.
- The caretaker of the structure continued to claim that it is a historic dargah but the land records showed that it was recently raised.
- India has moved down one place to 74th rank in terms of money parked by its citizens and enterprises with Swiss banks, while the UK has retained its top position, as per data released by the central banking authority of the Alpine nation.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its frequently asked questions (FAQ) section stated that the data related to payment transactions must be stored in systems of the country and if any information is processed abroad, it should be deleted from their systems and brought back to India not later than one business day or 24 hours from the payment processing, whichever is earlier.
- The Union Finance Ministry, Government of India reduced the interest rate on small savings schemes by 0.1 percent (10 basis points) for the July-September quarter.
- The RBI (Reserve Bank of India) relaxed the leverage ratio (LR) for banks in a bid to help them expand their lending activities. The leverage ratio (LR) reduced to 4% for Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) and 3.5% for other banks with effective from October 1, 2019.
- The Government of India, State Government of Kerala and World Bank signed a loan agreement of $250 million (Rs 1,725 crore) for the Kerala Resilient Programme.
- Hosts England handed India their first defeat in 2019 World Cup by beating them by 31 runs on Sunday.
- In the finals of the St Peters Youth Centre Open Hockey Tournament for 2019 held in Mumbai, teams of Central Railway (Women) and Union Bank of India (Men) emerged as champions.
- Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS Officer Aparna Kumar created history by becoming the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve the incredible and rare feat of completing ‘7 Summits’ challenge.
- Opener Rohit Sharma has become the second Indian batsman in history to smash three hundreds in a World Cup edition.
- India captain Virat Kohli has become the first skipper to score five consecutive fifties in World Cup history.
- Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya was sworn in as the Governor of Manipur. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir of the High Court of Manipur administered the swearing in ceremony at the Darbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan,
- Tamil Nadu Government appointed K Shanmugam as Chief Secretary (CS) of Tamil Nadu succeeding Dr. Girija Vaidyanathan.