· Web viewThe Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee officially presented its Olympic mascots Miraitowa and Someity at a massive event.The name of the blue-checked Olympic mascot Miraitowa

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A2Z July 2018 Current Affairs PDF

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July 2018

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omA2Z July 2018 Current Affairs PDF

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.

MOUsPremier stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has entered into an agreement with the Bombay Metal Exchange (BME) for the growth and systematic development of commodity derivatives markets in the non-ferrous metals complex.

In a bid to build a unique bond with youth of Jammu and Kashmir, Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) has joined hands with the Indian Army to provide acting courses to the youth of Baramulla district.

Facebook and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) have entered into strategic partnership to train youth and entrepreneurs in the country on digital skills.

The Union Cabinet approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) amongst BRICS nations on Regional Aviation Partnership.

Taking its “strategic alliance” with Accenture forward, Google has formed a new partnership with the global professional services company to help enterprises build Cloud solutions tailored to their specific industries and needs.











Appointments and ResignationsName Post Institution/CountryHaryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki has been given the additional charge of Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Governor Acharya Devvratis on leave.Actress Richa Chadha has become the face and voice of the Save the Elephants campaign by animal rights organisation People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).M. Venkaiah Naidu Chancellor Pondicherry Central UniversityB. Sriram MD and CEO IDBI BankT Latha MD and CEO Dhanlaxmi Bank LimitedSurendra Rosha India CEO Hongkong and Shanghai Banking CorporationSaraswati Prasad Chairman and Managing

DirectorSteel Authority of India (SAIL)

Adarsh Kumar Goel Chairman National Green Tribunal (NGT)K B Vijay Srinivas Director and General

ManagerUnited India Insurance Company

Vishwas Patel Chairman Payments Council of IndiaJanardan Singh Gehlot President International Kabaddi Federation (IKF)Rajat Sharma (‘Aap Ki Adalat’ anchor and senior journalist)

President Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA)

MukeshAmbani Managing Director Reliance Industries (RIL)Actor Akshay Kumar Ambassador Revital H Medicine of Sun Pharma Consumer

Healthcare CompanyDr. Sandeep Sanchet President Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New

DelhiRajan Kohli President Wipro LtdProf Anil D Sahasrabudhe Chairman All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)Imran Khan Prime Minister PakistanRecep Tayyip Erdogan President Republic of TurkeyLópez Obrador President MexicoUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Major General Jose EladioAlcain of Uruguay as head of mission and chief military observer for the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).Paytm Payments Bank CEO Renu Satti has resigned from the role and will now head Paytm’s new retail initiative.Award-winning Italian singer Laura Pausini has been named Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), WFP announced, calling her “a role model both on and off stage”.

Awards and RecognitionsAward Name Person/Institution Extra KnowledgeAtibadi Jagannath Das Samman 2018

Ramakanta Rath It is Odisha’s highest literary award

24th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award

Gopalkrishna Gandhi Former West Bengal Governor










Sangita Kalanidhi Award Aruna Sairam (Carnatic vocalist)

Special Lifetime Achievement Award T.H. Vinayakram (ghatam maestro)

Music Academy announced the award.

National Kalidas Samman AnjolieElaMenon (one of India's leading contemporary artists)

She received award for visual arts from the Madhya Pradesh government

British Indian of the Year Ishwar Sharma He is an Indian-origin schoolboy who is the under-11 UK national yoga champion

Golden Man Booker Prize ‘The English Patient’ It is the wartime love story by Michael Ondaatje who is Sri Lanka-born Canadian poet

India’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project has won the World Bank’s internal award for exceptional performance in achieving many development goals.Dr. T.K Chand received Knowledge Excellence Award from Secretary, Mines, Govt. of India for Outstanding Contribution in Aluminium Knowledge domain at the 22nd International Conference on Non-Ferrous Minerals and Metals 2018 at Ranchi, Jharkhand.Major General VD Dogra became the first serving Indian Army officer to complete an Ironman triathlon.SatyarupSiddhanta has become the second Indian mountaineer after MalliMastanBabu to climb Mt Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano in the world.A team comprising experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the University of Oxford has been selected for an award for exceptional research-led innovation to mitigate arsenic poisoning in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta in the north and northeast India.India Heritage Walk Festival, a collaboration of Sahapedia and YES Arts & Culture, has been awarded the PATA ( Pacific Asia Travel Association ) Gold Award 2018 for its recently concluded pan-India event.Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMF), the marketers of the popular Amul brand of milk and dairy products, has been awarded the ‘Marketer of the Year’ award by the International Advertising Association of India (IAAI).The United Nations has honoured the Cochin International Airport (CIAL) with ‘Champion of Earth’ award for being the first airport in the world to be completely powered by solar energy. CIAL is the first airport in the world to receive the highest environmental award issued by the United Nations.Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk are among the winners of Ramon Magsaysay Award 2018.|Bharat Vatwani is a psychiatrist who works for mentally-ill people living on the streets. Sonam Wangchuk, known for his reforms in the education sector in Ladakh.The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often referred to as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.

Conference and SummitsSummit Place Extra InfoPravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019 Varanasi, Uttar

PradeshTheme: Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India

18th International Children’s Film Festival Kolkata, West BengalInternational Round Table Conference on ‘Data for New India’

New Delhi

First ever India Tourism Mart (ITM) New Delhi To be held in September 2018










MOVE: Global Mobility Summit New Delhi NITI Aayog, in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners will organize summit in September, 2018

Exhibition titled “Arth: Art for Earth” New DelhiConference of Heads of AYUSH National Institutes New DelhiNational Traders’ Conclave New DelhiIndia’s Largest Apparel Trade Show – The 67th National Garment Fair”

Mumbai, Maharashtra

4th National Conclave on Mines & Minerals Indore, Madhya Pradesh

67th plenary meeting on north east council (NEC) Shillong, Meghalaya India’s first private sector triennial (Named the Odisha Triennial of International Art)

Odisha Triennial will see the convergence of artists from the national and international scene.

2nd National Tourism Conclave Jaipur, RajasthanInternational Blockchain Congress Hyderabad,

TelanganaFirst-ever metal craft exhibition Chilling village in Leh,

Jammu and KashmirInternational Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST)

India To be held in Navi Mumbai in October 2018.

17th World Sanskrit Conference Vancouver, Canada.India Japan AI and Fintech Forum Tokyo, JapanAsian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Theme of the meet -- ‘Preventing Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Development’.

Asean Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) Myanmar Will be held in October 2018. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) partner countries include India, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the US and Australia.

The International Congress of Parliamentary Women’s Caucuses

Dublin, Ireland It is international conference of female parliamentarians

5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional ministerial meeting

Tokyo, Japan

World Cities Summit (WCS) SingaporeUNCTAD meeting of a third inter-governmental group of experts on consumer protection

Geneva

10th edition of BRICS Summit Johannesburg, South Africa

Theme - ‘BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity










in the 4th Industrial Revolution’3rd BRICS Media Forum Cape Town, South

AfricaTheme - “BRICS Media Cooperation – Fostering an Inclusive, Just World Order”

8th BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting Durban, South AfricaBay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit

Kathmandu, Nepal To be held in Nepal from August 31, 2018

Nepal-India Think Tank Summit 2018 Kathmandu, Nepal8th India-Oman Joint Commission meeting Muscat, Oman11th World Hindi Conference or Vishwa Hindi Sammellan

Port Louis, Mauritius

Global Disability Summit 2018 London, UKIndia to host two plus two dialogue with US in September on bilateral, regional & global issues in New Delhi

International News Two women, Jayshree Ullal and Neerja Sethi, who belong to an Indian background, have secured a place on Forbes

list of Americas 60 richest self- made women, ranking on the 18th and 21st spot, respectively. Asia’s first arbitration centre specialized (International Arbitration Centre in Tokyo (IACT)) in intellectual property is

slated to open in Tokyo, Japan in September to resolve the growing number of disputes in the region. According to the study titled ‘The start of a new poverty narrative’, Nigeria has already overtaken India as the

country with the largest number of extreme poor in early 2018, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo could soon take over the number 2 spot.

The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) would be operated as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture. The $210 million facility, 241km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the “world’s emptiest airport” due to a lack of flights. India would operate the airport as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture.

Nepal and India will Jointly Promote Tourism Nepali and Indian officials agreed to an early finalization of an MoU for Preliminary Engineering cum Traffic Survey

of the Raxaul-Kathmandu rail line. Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated a library in Kathmandu built by the Indian Government in the

presence of Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the world’s largest state-of-the-art visa centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh with

modern facilities, promising shorter waiting times for applicants. Militaries of India and Pakistan will be part of a mega anti-terror drill in Russia named “Peace Mission” in August

2018 which is being organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). It will be for the first time since Independence that India and Pakistan will both be part of a military exercise.

India’s latest frontline warship INS Trikand has reached Sri Lanka on a goodwill visit. The Sri Lanka Navy ceremonially welcomed the state-of-the-art warship in accordance with naval traditions.

Indian naval ship INS Sumitra became the first-ever warship to enter port of Sabang in Indonesia. The warship was deployed in Malacca Straits.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution 2427, aimed at a framework for mainstreaming protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children throughout the conflict cycle.

Not educating girls or creating barriers in their school education globally costs between USD 15 trillion to USD 30 trillion, the World Bank said as the UN marks ‘Malala Day’ on July 12.










Iceland was elected to take up the seat left vacant at the United Nations Human Rights Council after the United States quit the body.

Myanmar has joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA), becoming the 68th member of the grouping that is aiming at optimum utilisation of solar energy.

In Turkey, the state of emergency, which was imposed after the failed coup two years ago, came to an end on 19th July. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared emergency on 20th July 2016, five days after warplanes bombed Ankara and clashes broke out in Istanbul that claimed 249 lives.

The UN has entered into a partnership with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems by using sophisticated online tools.

The UN has cut its peacekeeping budget by $610 million for the current year while the monthly payment to each peacekeeper will increase by $96 per month.

The UN member states have approved a 6.69 billion US Dollar budget for 13 peacekeeping operations for the year 2018-19.

Disney has launched a campaign titled ‘Dream Big Princess’ with an aim to inspire and support aspiring women filmmakers.

The world’s first digital art museum opened its doors to the public in Tokyo, Japan allowing patrons to step all the way into the artworks.

The 42nd World Heritage Committee meeting held in Bahrain’s capital Manama, with 19 new sites inscribed to the World Heritage List.The World Heritage List now contains 1,092 sites in 167 countries.The next session of the World Heritage Committee will be held in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan.

Mount Fanjingshan, situated in China’s southwestern province of Guizhou, was inscribed to the World Heritage List at the 42nd World Heritage Committee meeting in Bahrain.

One of Colombia’s last remaining national environmental treasures, and the country’s largest national park (Chiribiquete National Park), has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

China, UAE, Cyprus and significantly, Mauritius, along with 21 other countries have been tagged as “high-risk jurisdictions” by global banks acting as custodians for foreign funds which comprise the largest group of investors in the Indian stock market.

Video sharing platform YouTube has announced the investment of $25 million to counter the spread of fake news on its platform.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), world sugar production is likely to hit a record 187.6 million tonnes (mt) this year on account of increase in output in India, the EU, Thailand and China.

Google has rolled out “caller ID and spam protection” on its Phone app with which the app itself would be able to filter out calls that it detects to be spams, eliminating all notifications and alerts for those calls as well.

Twin stamps of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela will be released during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

China has successfully launched an optical remote sensing satellite – Gaofen-11, as part of its high-resolution Earth observation project which will also provide data for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

National News Humanoid Robot Sophia, who was in India, says the country is colourful, diverse and beautiful. Developed by Hong

Kong based company Hanson Robotics, Sophia is modeled after actress Audrey Hepburn, and is known for her human-like appearance and behavior compared to other robotic variants. Sophia uses artificial intelligence, visual data processing and facial recognition.










South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived on his first state visit to India during which he held talks with Prime Minister NarendraModi on key issues such as the situation on the Korean peninsula, and ways to boost trade and defence cooperation.

Prime Minister of Bhutan TsheringTobgay arrived in New Delhi on a three-day visit during which both the countries held discussions on a host of issues, including economic cooperation and security ties.

India will head the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for two years as its Vice Chair. According to a Finance Ministry release, the position will enable India to take on leadership role of Asia Pacific Region of the organisation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Headquarters building of the Archaeological Survey of India in New Delhi.

Indian Railways is all set to establish its footprint in Sri Lanka with the export of six DMU (diesel multiple units) train sets consisting of 78 modern coaches worth Rs 600 crore. All train sets would be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.

Nepal plans to operate its first ever broad-gauge passenger railway service from Janakpur town to Indian border town Jayanagar in Bihar starting December.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) launched an Online Guidance System for determining notifiability of merger & acquisitions. The Guidance System has been named as “Do It Yourself (DIY): A notifiability check for mergers & acquisitions under the Competition Act, 2002”.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched its first in-house single umbrella e-marketing system that can be accessed from anywhere in India for sale and purchase of its products.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved proposal for expanding the scope of Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) by enhancing its capital base to Rs. 10,000 crore and tasking it to mobiliseRs. 1,00,000 crore for Revitalizing Infrastructure and Systems in Education or RISE by 2022.

More than 19,500 languages or dialects are spoken in India as mother tongues, according to the latest analysis of a census released recently.There are 121 languages which are spoken by 10,000 or more people in India, which has a population of 121 crore, it said.

Bringing the best of Google to Indian startups, Google announced Launchpad Accelerator India — a new comprehensive mentorship program, tailored exclusively for startups based in India, deploying Machine Learning/AI to build solutions for India’s local needs.

Driven by increased focus on digital transformation, the demand for data scientists in India shot up by 417 per cent in the past one year, according to a new study titled “Talent Supply Index” (TSI) by data-driven hiring solution provider Belong Technologies India Pvt Ltd.

The Union Government has granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status to six institutions including 3 from Public Sector and 3 from Private Sector.Three Public Universities granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, IISc Bangalore.Three Private Universities granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status: Jio Institute by Reliance Foundation, BITS Pilani, Manipal Academy of Higher Education.

The Cabinet approved India’s accession to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) extending copyright coverage to the internet and digital spheres.

The Union Cabinet approved the transfer of a 5.99 acre Sashastra SeemaBal (SSB) plot in Tawang to the Arunachal Pradesh government for constructing a multipurpose ground.










The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its nod for the continuation, up to 2020, of eight schemes of the Home Ministry for relief and rehabilitation of migrants under the umbrella scheme “Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrants and Repatriates”.

Highlighting the need to systemise disaster data by setting up a database on a sustainable basis, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju announced that it will be India’s endeavour to set up disaster database expeditiously well before the target date of 2020.

Government launched Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 in New Delhi. The month long survey will begin on 1st August.

With an aim of eliminating human entry into septic tanks and drains for cleaning, the ministry of housing and urban affairs has launched a ‘technology challenge’ seeking suitable solutions from individuals and NGOs.

To fast track the resolution of area based infrastructure issues, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched the Local Area Plan (LAP) and Town Plan Schemes (TPS) for 25 smart cities in the country, under which the ministry will provide Rs 2 crore as central assistance to every city for planned urban expansion.

Under the guidance of Piyush Goyal, Minister of Finance, Corporate Affairs, Railways and Coal, in order to capture the lost traffic through the new delivery model for domestic cargo, Indian Railways has introduced Double Stack Dwarf Container Services.This train was booked from the Reliance Rail Siding at Kanalus to Rewari in the state of Haryana.

The Indian Railways is planning to launch a special train on November 14, along the route taken by Lord Ram in the Hindu epic Ramayana.This 800-seater tourist train, named ‘Sri Ramayana Express’, will start from Delhi and reach Rameswaram in 16 days.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUA) has launched two programmes India Smart Cities Fellowship (ISCF) and the India Smart Cities Internship (ISCI) to give youth the chance to work In the domain of urban planning and governance.

The central government think tank NITI Aayog has unveiled the blueprint of ‘National Health Stack’ (NHS), a shared digital healthcare infrastructure. The blueprint is in line with the implementation of the Centre’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat and other public healthcare programmes in the country.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has developed a mobile app ‘GST Verify’ to protect interest of consumers.It is an android app to verify if the person collecting GST from the consumer is eligible to collect it or not. It also provides the details of the person/ company collecting GST.

India’s first biofortified sorghum (jowar), with significantly higher iron and zinc than regular sorghum, has been formally launched.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 denomination to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of scientist Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis and 12th Statistics Day.

The Aadhaar issuing authority Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made Virtual ID (VID) system operational with its Authentication User Agencies (AUAs) which have migrated to VID and UID Token.The Virtual ID is a 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number.

The Income Tax Department has introduced an ‘instant’ Aadhaar-based PAN allotment service for individuals seeking to file taxes for the first time. The facility is free of cost and instant allotment of e-PAN is available only for a limited period on a first-come-first-serve basis for valid Aadhaar holders.

According to data from National Health Profile 2018, Rabies is the only disease that had a 100% death rate in India in 2017.

The Election Commission launched a mobile app, “cVIGIL”, for citizens to report any violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during elections.










Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Piyush Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application ‘Khan Prahari’ developed by CMPDI, Ranchi in New Delhi. Khan Prahari is a tool for reporting any activity taking place related to illegal coal mining like rat-hole mining, pilferage etc.

The Sunil Mehta Committee, set up to look into the faster resolution of stressed assets, has recommended the creation of an asset management company for the resolution of stressed loans worth more than Rs500 crore. Sunil Mehta committee on bad loans resolution has recommended a five-pronged strategy Project ‘SASHAKT’ to deal with Non-performing Assets in the country’s banking system. The five-pronged strategy includes: SME resolution approach,Bank-led resolution approach,AMC/AIF led resolution approach,NCLT/IBC approach, andAsset-trading platform.

Despite the fact that technology can today help people to work from anywhere, nearly half the people in India want more “mobile-free” time to devote to their friends and family, showed results of “Live Life” survey by American Express and research firm Morning Consult.

The National Security Guard will be the first central paramilitary force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant under an agreement signed with the IRCTC.

Reiterating that the central government was focused on development of sea route and inland waterways to boostcruise tourism in India, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said that under Sagarmala project, the government will give Rs 500 crore to Shipping Corporation of India to lease out cruises to promote cruise tourism.

Train 18 – the code name given to the India’s ambitious semi high-speed train that is a ‘Made in India’ initiative will soon roll out by September. The train that is made by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) based in Chennai has the capacity to run at the speed of 160 Kmph.

State-owned BSNL launched India’s first Internet telephony service “Wings”. This service would allow customers to make and receive calls over the Internet from anywhere in India or abroad.

The Indian Army has joined hands with the State bank of India (SBI) on the Defence Salary Package, which will include free personal accident death and total disability cover.

The Archaeological Survey of India has issued an order allowing photography within the premises of all centrally protected monuments or sites, except at Ajanta Caves, Leh Palace and TajMahal.

In an attempt to engage with the people of India on the important issues of water conservation and water management, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has launched a video contest titled “JalBachao, Video Banao, PuruskarPao”.

The National Health Agency (NHA) has launched a pilot for the Beneficiary Identification System (BIS) for confirmation of 10.74 crore poor and vulnerable families eligible for health coverage under Ayushman Bharat, or Modicare.

The Telecom Commission has approved the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) net neutrality recommendations that bar service providers from discriminating against internet content and services by blocking, throttling or granting them higher speed access.

UIDAI announced that the estimated savings and gains since the inception of Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) stood at over Rs 90,000 crore as on March 31 this year.

NitiAayog has proposed 15-point action plan for combating air pollution in ten most polluted cities in the country, including Delhi, Kanpur and Varanasi. The draft action plan titled ‘Breathe India’ includes encouraging electric vehicles, phasing out private diesel vehicle and development of crop residue utilisation policy.

The latest census figure of 2011 shows Sanskrit has earned 10,000 new speakers in a span of 10 years, a growth of 71 per cent, though the ancient language may be the least-spoken language in India. According to the 2011 data,










released recently, 24,821 people have registered Sanskrit as their mother tongue, in comparison to 14,135 people who had said Sanskrit was their mother tongue in 2001.According to the data, Hindi remains India’s most spoken language followed by Bengali.

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), a large-scale fertiliser cooperative federation has taken another step to serve and connect the farmers digitally by launching a social e-commerce app and web portal, “IFFCO iMandi”.

The government is planning to build 1,911 kilometres of international connectivity roads over the five year period ending 2022 under its flagship Bharatmala scheme.

In a move to put a check on vehicle thefts, the government will soon notify a new standard for automobile industry to use a technology which involves spraying thousands of small dots laser etched with a vehicle identification number throughout the vehicle body, including their engines. The technology named MicroDots makes it almost impossible to remove the dots and hence, the car’s identity can be established at any stage.

The government will print and hand-deliver about 110 million ‘family cards’ for the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme in a major public contact programme by organising ‘Ayushman Pakhwaras’ in villages as it seeks to implement the Prime Minister’s signature move.

After 165 years of its birth, Indian Railways is set to get its first publicly-owned dedicated corridor for freight trains on August 15, when the country will be celebrating its 72nd Independence Day.

Bollywood singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh is all set to get his own wax statue at the Madame Tussauds museum in the national capital.

India accounts for one-fifth of global deaths due to floods, according to government data that lends perspective to a new World Bank study that says climate change will lower the standards of living of nearly half of the countrys population by 2050.

The ‘BIMARU’ Indian states – Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh – have the highest numbers of partially immunized and non-immunized children, according to UN bodies WHO and Unicef.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone of India’s first National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The proposed institute will impart training to trainers and create a skill-based ecosystem to meet the industry demands.

One of the country’s first Defence incubators will come up in Hyderabad, which is India’s missile development centre and fast emerging the hub for aerospace industries.

NABARD has launched a centre for accelerating concerted action on climate change by various stakeholders including government, private and financial sectors. The Centre for Climate Change has been set up in Lucknow.

Kerala stands as the best governed state in the country and Karnataka is in the fourth position, said the Public Affairs Index 2018 released by the think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC).

A countrywide initiative called Student Police Cadet (SPC) programme, which aims to build a bridge between the police and young students by educating them in crime prevention and ethics through classes at school and outside, was launched by home minister Rajnath Singh.

Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan has unveiled the first of a kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast System, SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting) at Chandni Chowk in New Delhi. The giant true colour LED display will give real-time air quality index on 24×7 basis with colour coding along with 72-hour advance forecast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi digitally launched an India-assisted emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka. Apart from providing ambulances, the grant also covers the training of manpower in India and meeting operational costs for one year.

To improve the livelihood of people on the border, India and Bangladesh will set up six more “border haats” (markets) in addition to the existing four.










The environment ministry has decided to re-introduce a scheme for awarding Indian authors for their original work in Hindi on subjects related to environment including pollution and climate change. The Medini Puraskar Yojna, which aims at promoting original writing of books in Hindi, will have four awards for authors of various environmental topics.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a contest, #Childline1098, inviting people to share images of the Childline 1098 logo that they spot at unique locations and send it with a tagline, to mark World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30.

Scheme titled ‘Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Diverse Cultural Traditions of India’ is being implemented by the Ministry of Culture with the objective of reinvigorating and revitalizing various institutions, groups, individuals, identified non-MoC institutions, non-government organisations, researchers and scholars so that they may engage in activities/ projects for strengthening, protecting, preserving and promoting the rich intangible cultural heritage of India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Indian Government has decided to gift a cancer therapy machine to the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala, which will not only serve the people of Uganda but also the people of many East African countries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced to build a Gandhi Heritage Centre in Uganda’s Jinja, where a statue of Mahatma Gandhi now stands.

India has extended lines of credit (LoCs) worth $200 million to Rwanda as Prime Minister Narendra Modi (who was on a visit to Rwanda) announced that the first Indian diplomatic mission will be opened in the East African nation. Prime Modi also visited a village in Rwanda and donated 200 cows for an economic development project of the East African nation.

The IT ministry launched a desktop software e-Aksharayan to enable editing of text printed on scanned documents and it can be downloaded for free from its website.

The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, laid the foundation stone for permanent campus of National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) for Women at Mohali, Punjab. This is the first NSTI Institute for Punjab and only one of its kind in India which is exclusively for women.

Health Minister J.P. Nadda launched the ‘National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme’ with the goal of ending viral hepatitis, or inflammation of liver, as a public health threat by 2030.

Government of India has approved a new scheme namely Mahila Shakti Kendra for implementation during 2017-18 upto 2019-20 to empower rural women through community participation.

The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee on data protection in India has suggested amendments to various laws including the Aadhaar Act to provide for imposition of penalties on data fiduciaries and compensations to data principals for violations of the data protection law.

All the 13 lakh employees of the Indian Railways will take turns to swear an oath publicly to “bring about integrity” and “eradicate corruption”. Termed “Mission Satyanishtha”, the program will involve railwaymen attending formal training course on probity and integrity in public life.

R Ramanan, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission and Arvind Gupta CEO, MyGov launched the “#InnovateIndia Platform”, a collaboration between the Atal Innovation Mission and MyGov, a citizen-centric platform of the Government of India.

Minister of State for communications Manoj Sinha in Lok Sabha told MP Virender Kashyap that all villages adopted by the Member of Parliaments under ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna’, will be provided free WiFi services across India by the Government.

State News

Andhra Pradesh










Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the top ranked state in the Union government’s latest ease of doing business index for states. The index is jointly prepared by the World Bank and the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).Meghalaya was ranked last at 36th position and appeared as the worst performing state.

The commerce ministry has approved a proposal of HCL Technologies to set up a new IT special economic zone (SEZ) in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, with a proposed investment of Rs 408.48 crore.The ministry has recently constituted a group, headed by Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani, to study the SEZ policy.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) entered in an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Government to set up a ‘Design University’ for gaming in Visakhapatnam.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated ‘Anna Canteen’, which will serve food for just Rs. 5. The canteen would serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner all at the same rate.

CM launched ‘e-Pragati portal’, a digital platform for governance in the state, would help to connect all the state government departments and act as a stand-alone to resolve the issues.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched the ‘Project Gandiva’. This project aims to achieve medals in Olympic Games in a span of ten years. The government wants to make Andhra Pradesh No.1 in the country in athletics.

Assam Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam has become the first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) to adopt an online

legal compliance system by introducing ‘Legatrix’. Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal laid foundation stone for the state’s first cultural university at Majuli to be built at

an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore. The Assam government has decided to set up a separate directorate for the Divyangs. The Social Welfare

department will give 1 thousand rupees per month to all Divyangs as stipend. In a unique and first ever in the country, Assam government has decided to implement a scheme to part away with

10 to 15 per cent of state government employees’ monthly salary if they are found guilty of not taking adequate care of their dependent elderly parents and physically challenged siblings.

Bihar With the launch of cost-effective innovative water project, Bihar will soon provide the cheapest drinking water in

the world. The first of such a water project was launched in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, by Sulabh International, an organisation that introduced the concept of ‘SulabhSauchalya’ in the country.With the help of this project, the people will easily be able to get pure and clean water only in 50paisa/litre.The ‘SulabhJal’ project converts contaminated pond and river water into safe drinking water.

Chhattisgarh President Ram Nath Kovind launched Chhattisgarh government’s Sanchar Kranti Yojna at Jagdalpur in the Naxal-

affected Bastar region of the state. Under the scheme, 50 lakh smartphones will be distributed free of cost to the people.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh launched an online portal and mobile app called ‘Aabhaar-Aapki seva ka’ by the online pension management system for the pensioners of the stateActress Kangana Ranaut and .

Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh launched a smartphone distribution scheme called ‘Mobile Tihar’ under Sanchar Kranti Yojna.

Delhi










In what was termed a “historic” occasion, Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal launched the “Happiness Curriculum” for students of nursery to Class 8 in government schools. The curriculum was launched in the presence of the Dalai Lama.

The Delhi government launched the “Connect Delhi” initiative in a bid to make commuting easy for the residents of national capital.The initiative will carry out a holistic planning exercise covering all public transport to ensure all areas of Delhi are connected.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has joined hands with US-based chip-designer Nvidia Corp to set up a Centre of Excellence in Delhi to offer the industry a complete design and implementation environment for the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based applications.

Indo Korea Technology Exchange Centre inaugurated at NSIC campus, Okhla Industrial Estate, New Delhi. The Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra announced that all private hospitals in Delhi, which were

given land on concessional rate, must provide free treatment to certain percentage of poor patients. The Delhi government would send 77,000 senior citizens along with one adult attendant each on all-expenses paid

pilgrimages every year, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal approving the scheme called Mukhyamantri Tirthyatra Yojana.

India’s first asymmetrical cable-stayed Signature Bridge connecting the Outer Ring Road with Wazirabad will open by October end.

With alarming shortage of staff in the Health Department, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal set up a deadline of September 15 to fill up all vacancies on contract.

The Delhi High Court constituted a five-member committee to examine the punishment and death sentencing awarded in the sexual harassment cases.

The Delhi Cabinet approved a scheme under which farmers in the national capital can lease out part of their agricultural land for setting up solar panels for additional income. Under the ‘Mukhyanmantri Kissan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna,’ any farmer can rent out not more than one third of his land to a private firm to set up solar panels at a rate of Rs one lakh per annum per acre.

Amid opposition by some members, the government decided that a museum for all prime ministers of the countrywould be constructed in the Teen Murti Bhavan complex that houses the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML).

Gujarat A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Industries and Mines Department under the

Gujarat government and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).The MoU was signed with an aim to recognize a mutual desire to further enhance and strengthen Korea – Gujarat trade.

Prime Minister NarendraModi will inaugurate the Statue of Unity on October 31, the birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel in Kevadiya near SardarSarovar Dam in the tribal-dominated Narmada district, about 190 kilometres from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

BJP president Amit Shah unveiled a stainless steel Charkha at the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The charkha, which is 21 feet in length, 11 feet in height,and 6.5 feet in breadth, is made of chromium-nickel stainless steel and is installed on the Sabarmati Riverfront near the Riverfront Park, right across the Sabarmati Ashram.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched ‘PoshanAbhiyan’--a statewide mission to eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadicentres.The CM also launched ‘Purna’ project to eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18. ‘Purna’ stands for Prevention of Under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls.










Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has given in-principle approval for the 39-crore rupees ‘SeemaDarshan’ project for developing more infrastructure facilities from T-Junction to Zero Point at Nadabet near Suigam in Banaskantha district to instil patriotism through a unique Gujarat initiative for border tourism.

In order to promote the Sanskrit language, the Gujarat state government has decided to form the Sanskrit Bhasha Vikas Board. The state will also be celebrating a Sanskrit Utsav, which will begin from Raksha Bandhan and have various activities around the language.

The Gujarat government has come out with an ‘Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness Policy’ for better management of solid and liquid waste in cities.

Haryana The Haryana Health Department will launch an intensive diarrhoea control campaign from July 15 to 30 under

which ORS and zinc packets would be distributed to about 26.5 lakh children below five years of age across the state.

The Haryana Education Department has launched ‘I am not afraid of English’ initiative to promote English language right from Class 1 in the state’s primary schools.

Haryana has topped the states in per capita revenue collection under GST and has become fourth highest generator of e-way bills in the country.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched the ‘Paudhagiri’ campaign, aimed at increasing the green cover in the state. Under this campaign, 22 lakh students from class 6 to 12 of all government and private schools in Haryana will plant a sapling each during three months of monsoon — July, August and September

Himachal Pradesh After Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh Government is all set to ban the use of plastic and

thermocol cutlery in the state. The Himachal Pradesh government announced a subsidy of 10 per cent or Rs 4,000 per KW, whichever is less, to all

domestic consumers, institutions and those in the social sectors for installation of solar power plants at the rooftop of their buildings.

Jammu Kashmir The Central Reserve Police Force launched ‘Madadgaar Helpline’, a distress helpline for the people of Jammu and

Kashmir, with the aim of providing immediate assistance to locals.

Jharkhand Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that the first ‘Khadi Mall’ of the country will be opened soon in

Ranchi.

Karnataka Union minister of chemicals and FertilisersAnanth Kumar announced that the country’s first e-waste recycling unit

will come up in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Indian IT industry apex body Nasscom has opened a Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

(AI) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The South Western Railway launched a Captain service in the Bengaluru-New Delhi Karnataka Express train to

ensure comfortable journey to long-distance passengers. Software major Wipro would work with the Karnataka government to fight air pollution in the state, especially

Bengaluru.










According to US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), Karnataka is the new national leader in renewable energy generation. It has overtaken Tamil Nadu that had long been India’s top renewables market.

A team of doctors led by Dr. Shamee Shastry from the blood bank of Kasturba Medical College (KMC), Manipal identified a rare blood group called ‘pp’ or ‘P null’ phenotype.

Kerala India’s first air-conditioned Bed Space Dormitory- Peter’s Inn, was thrown open for public at MG Road Metro

Station in Kochi, Kerala.

Madhya Pradesh The Madhya Pradesh State Government launched an outstanding power bill waiver scheme and subsidised power

scheme called ‘Sambal’ for labourers and poor families. Under SambalYojana, the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families would be provided electricity at a cost of Rs 200 per month.

In Madhya Pradesh, in a first of its kind initiative, the state govt will appoint girls as a district Brand Ambassador who have recorded significant achievements in any field under the BetiBachao-BetiPadhao scheme.

Maharashtra The Maharashtra government announced a new scheme called ‘Kanya Van SamruddhiYojana‘, wherein farmers

families where girl children are born, will be given saplings for plantation. The scheme is aimed at empowering women and promoting tree plantation.

In order to reduce electricity losses, the Maharashtra government will on August 15, 2018 launch a new scheme allocating one transformer per farmer. Two lakh farmers will be given electricity connection for high voltage distribution line which will ensure uninterrupted power supply under the scheme “one farmer one transformer”.

The Elphinstone Road station in Mumbai has been renamed as Prabhadevi station. The new name came into effect from the midnight of July 18.

Meghalaya The Behdienkhlam Festival of the Raij Tuber, one of the most colourful and the biggest festivals in the Jaintia Hills

region concluded amidst thousands of spectators from across the state and outside. The Meghalaya government launched ‘Meghalaya Milk Mission’ and First Meghalaya Bull Fair on 28th July, 2018.

The Mission aims to plug the demand and supply gap in the availability of per capita milk, to generate alternate livelihoods for the rural people through the dairy sector and to create and revive dairy co-operatives.

Mizoram The first international festival of Mizoram – Mizo Hnahthlak International festival – was organised in Aizawl,

which brought the Mizo ethnic community from across borders.

Odisha Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a ban on the use of plastic in the state from October 2, on the

occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard

Early Warning System (RIMES) for effective management of disasters. The Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) has become the largest habitat of the endangered estuarine crocodiles in

the country with a record number of their nesting sites spotted in it. Altogether 101 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles were found this time by enumerators.










The Odisha government has increased, from the present Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh, the incentive to encourage inter-caste marriage among the Hindu community.

The Odisha government has constituted a ‘Heritage Cabinet’ to preserve the Odia language and the state’s culture. The cabinet comprises eight members and will be headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

Union Minister DharmendraPradhan inaugurated a multimedia exhibition of the various schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi organised by Regional Outreach Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) at Saradhabali near Bholanath Vidyapith in Puri, Odisha.

A special unit of the Odisha Police has launched a drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles “endangered” pangolin, one of the world’s most illegally traded mammals.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the state government would implement its own food security actfrom October 2 this year. Odisha’s own food security act would cover nearly 34.44 lakh people who have been left out from the National Food Security Act (NFSA), he said.

CM inaugurated the Rs 300 crore Rukura Medium Irrigation Dam project in Sundargarh district. CM launched the ‘Green Mahanadi Mission’, a plantation drive under which 2 crore saplings will be planted along

the Mahanadi river and its tributaries.

Punjab Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has ordered a mandatory dope test of all government employees,

including police personnel, from the time of their recruitment through every stage of their service. Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has finalized a blue print to further develop prestigious Virasat-e-Khalsa, a

museum of the Sikhs, at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra

Pradhan, laid the foundation stone for permanent campus of National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) for Women at Mohali, Punjab. This is the first NSTI Institute for Punjab and only one of its kind in India which is exclusively for women.

Rajasthan Microsoft has signed an MoU with the Rajasthan government to provide free digital training to 9,500 college

students in one year. The initiative was taken for the enhancement of digital learning and capacity building of college students in the state.

The government in Rajasthan approved one percent reservation for ‘Gujjars’ and four other backward castes. India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and light bulletproof vehicles (LBPV)

will be set up by DCM Shriram Industries Group on the campus of Shriram Rayons in Kota, Rajasthan. The city of Udaipur has once again in 2018 been ranked among the World’s Best Cities by Travel + Leisure.

Udaipur, the heritage-city built by the Maharanas of Mewar in the 16th century, is on the third place among the 15 of the world’s best cities.

Mobile app ‘Bijli Mitra’ launched for replacement of transformers. It will provide ease for farmers to get their defunct transformers replaced within six hours of registering a complaint through mobile app.

Tamil Nadu The Tamil Nadu government has informed the Madras High Court that a 24-hour helpline has been set up to

investigate issues faced by inter-caste couples and offer them necessary assistance and protection.

Telangana










State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up a Civil Aviation Research Organisation (CARO)at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad aimed at “finding indigenous solutions” to meet the challenges posed by the growing air traffic.

The Telangana government has allotted 200 acres to three different women entrepreneurs’ associations in the state.

Industry body Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) in partnership with the Telangana government launched a digital campaign, ThinkForHealth, calling for ideas to improve access to healthcare in India.

The government of Telangana will set up of a state-of-the-art B-Hub, which will have a scale-up manufacturing facility for biopharma based R&D. AB-Hub will be a first of its kind initiative in the country, aimed at providing much needed support to the biopharma R&D activities.

Tripura The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi, renamed the Agartala airport after Tripura’s last ruler

Maharaja BirBikram Kishore Manikya. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar inaugurated the seven-day long “Kharchi Puja” at Puran Habeli, seven km

from the state capital. The annual festival is meant to cleanse the sins of mortal souls. Originally a Hindu tribals’ festivity, it is now observed by all communities and religion.

Uttarakhand In a first, the Uttarakhand High Court accorded the status of ‘legal person or entity’ to the animals in the state. The

HC stated that “they have a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.”

Uttar Pradesh UPCM Yogi Adityanath formed a three member-committee to look after the security arrangements in the prisons

across the state. Committee head - Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh. With encephalitis claiming the lives of hundreds of children every year in eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, the

Gorakhpur administration has launched an android based smart phone application - ‘Stop JE/AES’ - to combat the epidemic.

South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung opened the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturing factory in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

UP CM announced a ban on plastic bags, cups and glasses across the state from July 15. The Uttar Pradesh Police signed anMoU with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for crime mapping

analytics and predictive systems. The Prime Minister, NarendraModi, laid the Foundation Stone of the Poorvanchal Expressway in Azamgarh in Uttar

Pradesh. Addressing a large public gathering, he described the occasion as the start of a new chapter in the development journey of the State.

PM launched the much awaited Bansagar canal in Mirzapur which is expected to provide a big boost to irrigation. The government has announced that it is set to complete the multi-modal terminal at Varanasi by November this

year, while two others at Sahibganj and Haldia would be completed next year. In a bid to strengthen the expertise and capabilities of the employees of North-Eastern Railways, Minister of State

for Railways Manoj Sinha inaugurated Regional Rail Training Institute (RRTI) at Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur.

West Bengal West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the British Council and the state government will

sign anMoU to promote cultural, educational and skill development exchanges between Britain and Bengal.










West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee set a “one person one car” policy for ministers and bureaucrats and mandated economy class for all domestic air travel in a bid to cut costs incurred by the state government.Banerjee also formed a committee, to be headed by chief secretary Malay Kumar De, to supervise progress of government projects.

Kolkata Police has unleashed a new weapon against eve-teasers, stalkers and roadside Romeos: an all-woman motorbike squad, “The Winners”, a special all-women patrolling team to combat and prevent crimes like molestation, eve-teasing etc. to make public places safer for women.

The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to rename the state as ‘Bangla’ in three languages — Bengali, English and Hindi.

Finance and Banking News The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that the licence of Alwar Urban Co-operative Bank in Alwar, Rajasthan has

been cancelled as it is not in a position to pay its depositors in full as and when their claims accrue, among other reasons. It also added that the cancellation of the licence is effective from the close of business on July 5.

The Reserve Bank of India has issued licence to Bank of China to operate in India. The Union Cabinet extended the recapitalisation scheme for “Regional Rural Banks” (RRBs) for the next three years.

This will enable the RRBs to maintain the minimum prescribed capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of 9%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has made it compulsory to incorporate purchaser’s name on the face of payment

instrumentalities like demand draft, pay order, banker’s cheques and other instruments to prevent money laundering.

The committee on bad-loan resolution led by Punjab National Bank chairman Sunil Mehta has suggested a live auction mechanism to help banks free up security receipts worth Rs 90,000 crore in their investment books that can used to revive credit growth.Recommendations were reviewed that seek to achieve this through an asset trading platform (ATP) recommended under Project Sashakt, the broad contours of which had been announced on July 2.

The government has approved capital infusion of Rs 11,336 crore in five public sector banks, including scam-hit Punjab National Bank, Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank, to help them meet regulatory capital requirements.

Bank credit grew by 12.84 per cent to Rs 86,16,408 crore in the fortnight ended June 22, according to RBI data. SBI Card has announced the launch of ‘ELA’ (Electronic Live Assistant), a virtual assistant for customer support and

services. Driven by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithms, ELA will revolutionise the way customers interact with the company.

HDFC Bank has gone past Russia’s Sberbank to become the most valuable bank in the emerging market outside China. HDFC Bank’s current market capitalisation is $78.4 billion against Sberbank’s $74.4 billion.

Private sector lender Yes Bank has received the final regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to commence its mutual fund business.

After running into rough weather due to Aadhaar-related e-KYC issues, Airtel Payments Bank has received requisite approvals from the Reserve Bank of India and UIDAI to start acquiring new customers.

India has become the 69th shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

Repco Micro Finance Ltd, a non-banking finance company promoted by Repco Bank, received Nabard 2018 award for its service to self-help group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18.

A micro-finance company-turned-Jana Small Finance Bank headquartered in Bengaluru began its operations for greater financial inclusion. One of the 10 financial institutions to get banking license from the Reserve Bank of India










in April 2017, Jana aims to be an inclusive digitised bank serving all customer segments and communities across the country.

Bank of Baroda has set up a dedicated team of lawyers to speed up recovery of bad loans that get embroiled in litigation. The Legal War Room will monitor the progress of recovery actions made by those specialised branches, over and above the identified 380 accounts.

The Lok Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018. ICICI Bank Ltd, India’s largest private sector lender by assets, reported a net loss of Rs 120 crore on a stand-alone

basis for the June quarter, on account of rising bad loans and treasury losses. The bank had reported a profit of Rs 2,049 crore in the year-ago period. This is the first time that the bank has reported losses from its India operations.

Leading mortgage lender HDFC has been awarded the best performing primary lending institution in credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS) for the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) and LIG (Low Income Group) category.

RBI to issue new Rs 100 notes in lavender colour

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue Rs 100 denomination bank notes. According to the RBI, the new bank notes will be in the “Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series”.

The new denomination has motif of ‘RANI KI VAV’ – a stepwell located on the banks of Saraswati river in Gujarat’s Patan, on the reverse.

The base colour of the note is lavender. The note has other designs, geometric patterns aligning with the overall colour scheme, both at the obverse and reverse.

All the earlier series of bank notes in Rs 100 denomination will continue to be legal tender.

Govt keeps small savings interest rates unchanged

The government has kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the July-September quarter. The move is aimed at matching the hardening interest rates in the banking sector. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.

Senior Citizens Savings Scheme: 8.3%. The interest on the senior citizens’ scheme is paid quarterly. Interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually. Public Provident Fund (PPF): 7.6% National Savings Certificate (NSC): 7.6% KisanVikasPatra (KVP): 7.3% and will mature in 11 months. SukanyaSamriddhi account: 8.1%. Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch interest rate of 6.6-7.4 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the five-year

recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9 per cent.

Business News The telecom ministry approved the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Ltd. that will create the country’s

largest mobile services operator. The BhartiInfratel, a mobile infrastructure company, has got the the approval of competition watchdog

Competition Commission of India (CCI) for merging its operations with Indus Towers. Manappuram Finance has agreed to buy 85.39 per cent stake in Indian School Finance (ISFC) for over Rs 212 crore.










IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between Bank of Baroda, Andhra Bank and Legal and General (UK), has announced its tie-up with Oxigen Services India Pvt. Ltd., to establish distribution of its insurance products at Oxigen retail outlets.

Reliance has become India’s largest payer of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Excise and Customs Duty, and Income Tax in the private sector.

Facebook has announced it is shutting down its fitness app “Moves”, Android app “Hello” and anonymous social media app “tbh”. Facebook is deprecating these apps due to low usage.

HDFC securities announced launch of Mutual Funds transactional capabilities on Facebook Messenger through their virtual assistant, Arya.

Payments-wallet services provider Paytm has launched foreign exchange services in 20 international currencies. It would offer “multi-currency forex card and forex cash”.

Walmart has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft on “digital transformation” for the onetime retail industry leader.

Flipkart’s digital payment subsidiary PhonePe has acquired Zopper Retail – a hyperlocal Point of Sale (POS) platform for small and medium businesses. The acquisition is a part of the company’s strategy to aggressively ramp up its offline business.

The board of Life Insurance Corporation of India approved the acquisition of up to 51 per cent stake in debt-ridden IDBI Bank.

Indian banks and financial institutions (FIs) have entered into an inter-creditor agreement (ICA) to expedite the resolution of banks’ non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and ensure smooth credit flow, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced. Goyal also told, the agreement, as suggested by a committee headed by state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) Chairman Sunil Mehta, is a “huge step forward” towards resolving the stressed assets issue and has been worked out under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Digital payments company Paytm is now on an expansion spree to build a ‘New Retail’ model to equip shopkeepers with technology, logistics and marketing capabilities.

SoftBank Group Corp. said it will unveil a digital payments service in Japan, and has partnered Paytm for the service. The service PayPay will be introduced by SoftBank’s JV PayPay Corporation. PayPay will team up with Paytm, a SoftBank Vision Fund portfolio company, to utilise Paytm’s technology and expertise in mobile payments.

Economy News President Ram NathKovind said the Indian economy is set for a surge in the next decade with the Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) size doubling to 5 trillion US dollars probably by 2025. Union Minister ArunJaitley said that after the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), there was an

increase of 18% in Direct tax collections. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India seems to be petering out with the inflows growth rate recording a five-year

low of 3 per cent at USD 44.85 billion in 2017-18.According to the latest data of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), FDI in 2017-18 grew by only 3 per cent to USD 44.85 billion.

According to NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar, the Indian economy is “on the cusp of a major sustained and ongoing recovery” and poised to grow above 8% from the next year.He also insisted that the weakening of the rupee should not be a cause of worry as it is still “overvalued” in terms of the Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER).

According to Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, India’s digital economy is expected to touch a $1 trillion mark by 2022.










According to Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), India’s economic growth is poised to rise to 7.4% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 as the economy has been able to navigate through growth obstacles due to demonetisation and impact of GST rollout.

The International Monetary Fund said India remains a key driver of global growth. However, the World Economic Outlook forecast cut India’s GDP outlook one-tenth for this year to 7.3 per cent and three-tenths for next year to 7.5 per cent.

According to a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB), India continues to be the fastest growing economy in Asia and is on track to meet current fiscal year’s projected growth of 7.3 per cent.

According to industry body Ficci, despite short-term challenges India’s economic growth story remains intact and the country’s GDP is expected to grow around 7.5 per cent in the current financial year.

The government has slashed the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000 – a move that will enable more number of people to take advantage of the girl child savings scheme. The government amended the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules – 2016 to state that the minimum initial deposit to open the account would be Rs 250.

According to a joint report by The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Deloitte, as the Internet of Things (IoT) adoption picks up in India, sectors like energy and utilities, industrial manufacturing, transport and logistics and agriculture will lead the market and industrial IoT will surpass the consumer IoT space in the country by 2020. The report was released on the sideline of “IoT for Smart India” summit held in New Delhi.

State-owned BSNL launched its Virtual Network Operator Services on a pan-India basis in collaboration with Virtual Network Operators (VNO) – Adpay Mobile Payment India and Plintron India.

Following the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meeting in New Delhi, Interim Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal announced reduced GST rates for a variety of commodities.

Apart from a 100 per cent waiver of GST on sanitary pads, the council has decided to nullify tax on raw materials such as stone, marble and wood, used by for making handicrafts like sculptures.

The GST charged for commodities such as lithium-ion batteries, vacuum cleaners, food grinders, mixers, storage water heaters, head dryers, hand dryers, paint, varnishes, water cooler, milk cooler, ice cream coolers, perfumes, toilet sprays and other toiletries has been slashed from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

The GST on handbags, jewellery box, wooden box for paintings, glass art ware, ornamental framed mirrors, handmade lamps, wax, natural gum, iron and brass products have been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

Various fabrics, like Chenille fabrics, mats made via handlooms, fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid, which were earlier under the 12 per cent bracket, will be charged 5 per cent, while the GST on washing machine reduced from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

Defence News For the first time, Indian Navy’s P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft from Indian Naval Ship (INS) Rajali

has inducted at Hawaii for participating in the Rim of Pacific Multinational Naval exercise (RIMPAC-18). For the first time, the Indian Air Force will participate with fighter aircraft in Exercise Pitch Black 2018 (PB-18),

which is scheduled from July 24, 2018 to August 18, 2018 in Australia. South Africa has unveiled the 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope, slated to be the world’s largest and most

powerful telescope on its completion in 2030. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel

engines to the Army. The engines manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi — a unit of Ordnance Factory Board,










Department of Defence Production — were fully indigenised for the first time under the Centre’s Make in India programme.

India is in negotiations with the United States to add the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) to its layered air defenses. NASAMS-II is a mid-range air defense system designed to counter threats from aircraft, UAV, and cruise missiles. The system is equipped with 3D surveillance Sentinel radars, fire distribution centers, and command-and-control units.

The Indian Coast Guard conducted a bilateral table-top exercise on maritime pollution response with Bangladesh Coast Guard in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Science In a landmark decision, the US Food and Drug Administration on June 25 approved the first medical drug made

from marijuana. Created by GW Pharmaceuticals, Epidiolex is an oral solution of cannabidiol (OSC) and does not cause intoxication or a high. The drug will be used to cure severe forms of epilepsies in children.

NatcoPharma has launched fixed dose combination of Sofosbuvir-Daclatasvir tablets for the treatment of Hepatitis C under the brand name Hepcinat Plus, in India.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted its first ‘pad abort’ test — crucial for proposed human spaceflight programme — at SatishDhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

ISRO successfully conducted a ground test of its high thrust version of the Vikas Engine that would improve the payload capability of the space agency’s launch vehicles.

IIT Madras has launched “world’s first” remotely operatable microscope that would enable a precise atom-by-atom view of a material in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Facebook has confirmed it is working on a new satellite project, named Athena, that will provide broadband internet connections to rural and underserved areas. The company aims to launch satellite in early 2019.

NASA has launched an online toolkit to make it easier for users to find, analyse and utilise the most relevant satellite data for their research, business projects or conservation efforts. The “Remote Sensing Toolkit” provides a simple system that quickly identifies relevant sources based on user input.

NASA is prepared for a launch on August 4 to touch the sun, for the first time in human history.NASA unveiled a cutting-edge heat shield that will protect the spacecraft from getting burnt. It was installed on June 27, 2018.

New Zealand scientists have performed the first-ever 3-D, colour X-ray on a human. The device is based on the traditional X-ray but incorporates particle-tracking technology developed for CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.

Scientists have developed a computer “SpiNNaker” that mimics the brain’s neural networks, and could overcome the speed and power consumption problems of conventional supercomputers.

Sports NewsTournament Winner Other InfoKabaddi Masters title (held in Dubai, UAE) India Beat IranHockey Champions Trophy (Men’s) (held in Breda, Netherlands)

Australia Beat India

2018 FIFA World Cup France Beat Croatia. Tournament was held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia

Asia Cup World Archery Korea India ranked third.










Tournament was held in Taipei, Taiwan.

FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Challenge Cup (held in Mersin, Turkey)

DipaKarmakar (from Tripura) She created history by becoming the first Indian gymnast to clinch a gold at a global event.

2017 AIFF (All India Football Federation) Player of the Year

Sunil Chhetri

2017 AIFF Woman Player of the Year Kamala DeviCalcutta South Club Senior ITF Tennis Championship (men’s singles) (held in Kolkata, West Bengal)

Sharad Tak

Spanish Grand Prix wrestling tournament Vinesh Phogat She clinched the gold medal in women’s 50 kilogram freestyle categoryin Madrid, Spain

Lagos International Badminton title (men’s doubles)

Mannu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy

Yasar Dogu International Men - Bajrang PuniWomen – Pinki

Held in Istanbul, Turkey

Russian Open Badminton trophy Sourabh VermaWimbledon title (Women’s) Angelique Kerber Serena WilliamsWimbledon title (Men’s) Novak Djokovic Kevin AndersonIndonesia Open title Japan’s Kento MomotaTbilisi Grand Prix Bajrang Punia (in the 65kg

category)Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull’s Max VerstappenBritish Grand Prix Germany’s Sebastian Vettel of

FerrariGerman Grand Prix Honda’s Marc Marquez (of

Spain)German Grand Prix 2018 Lewis Hamilton of Britain

(Mercedes)Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton

Sports Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating Indonesia’s top-seeded Kunlavut

Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia. Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to honour Lakshya Sen who bagged gold at the recently-concluded Asian Junior Championship.

The torch relay for the much awaited Asian Games 2018 began from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. The multi sport-event will begin on August 18 in Indonesia’s Jakarta city.

Hima Das created history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a gold at the IAAF World Under- 20 Athletics Championships in Tempere, Finland. She clinched the top spot in the women’s 400 meters final race.

India’s women cricket team coach TusharArothe has stepped down from the role, citing personal reasons. Indian Cricketer Mohammad Kaif has announced his retirement from all forms of the game.










Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore announced that more than 34 years after coming into existence, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) has been renamed as Sports India after the sports body’s governing body meeting.

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in Sottevile Athletics meet held in Sotteville, France. The Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) decided to approve the Indian Men’s Hockey team, comprising 18 players selected

for the Asian Games, as part of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Indian Football Teams faced a major setback as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has decided against sending its

senior teams to the Asian Games. The IOA chose not to clear Indian men’s and women’s Football Teams since they have deemed them “incompetent” to win any medals.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the incharge of the upcoming 18th Asian Games.

Former off-spinner Ramesh Powar has been appointed as the interim coach of the Indian women’s team until the BCCI finds a suitable replacement for Tushar Arothe.

Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will lead the 18-member Indian men’s hockey squad in the 18th Asian Games, which is slated to begin in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18.Striker Rani will lead Indian women’s hockey squad.

The anti-doping disciplinary panel of NADA handed a four-year suspension to shot putter Inderjeet Singh for failing a dope test prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Rahul Dravid was on Sunday inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, becoming only the fifth Indian to receive the honour after Bishan Singh Bedi, KapilDev, Sunil Gavaskar and Anil Kumble.

2018 IAAF World U20 Championships held in Tampere Stadium in Tampere, Finland. Kenya topped the medal tally with India placed on 18th rank.

India have jumped a rung to fifth position in the men’s hockey world rankings issued by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that Indian Athlete Hima Das will be named as the first sports ambassador of the state.

Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman has became the quickest player to reach the 1000 runs in one-day internationals (ODI), breaking the record of West Indies Legend Vivian Richards.

The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee officially presented its Olympic mascots Miraitowa and Someity at a massive event.The name of the blue-checked Olympic mascot Miraitowa is derived from a combination of the Japanese words for future and eternity and seeks to “promote a future full of eternal hope in the hearts of people all over the world.”Someity, the pink-checked Paralympic mascot which owes its name to a type of cherry tree blossom, “exhibits enormous mental and physical strength” and represents paralympic athletes, “who overcome obstacles and redefine the boundaries of what is possible.”

The first stage of the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme ultra-stage bicycle race got underway in Moscow with an Indian’s participation. The longest bicycle race in the world will consist of 15 stages, from 260 km up to 1,372 km long.

Former India paceman Parvinder Awana announced his retirement from all formats of the game with immediate effect.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) appointed Floyd Pinto as the new head coach of Indian Arrows. Pinto is the head coach of the Indian U-20 team which will play in the COTIF International tournament in Spain.

Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen bagged the gold medal after defeating Indonesia’s top-seeded Kunlavut Vitidsaran in the final match of the Badminton Asia Junior Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia. Badminton Association of India (BAI) has decided to honour Lakshya Sen who bagged gold at the recently-concluded Asian Junior Championship.

Shubhankar Sharma became the youngest Indian golfer to make the cut in any Major after he capped a wonderful back nine to achieve the feat at the 147th Open Championships at Carnoustie, Scotland.

Creating history, India jumped to the top rank of the compound archery women team category. World Archery Association also announced the rank in compound mixed team and India bagged fifth rank in world rankings.










India captain Virat Kohli was presented with the International Player of the Year award for 2017-2018 by England’s Barmy Army.

A city college student, Prabhat Koli (19), who crossed the English Channel when he was 16, has become the first Asian to swim the choppy water from Jersey (an Island in the UK) to France in cold weather.

Mohun Bagan ‘Ratna’, the highest honour of the century-old club has been conferred on former India international Pradip Chowdhury at its foundation day programme on 29th July.

CommitteeHead of Committee

Purpose

Ravindra H Dholakia The government has set up a 13-member committee to upgrade the norms for computation of economic data at states and districts level in the backdrop of plans to revise the base year for National Accounts or GDP calculation.

InjetiSrinivas, Corporate Affairs Secretary

Ministry of Corporate Affairs has constituted a 10 Member Committee to review the Companies Act 2013. According to an official release, certain offences of the act may require to be decriminalised. It will also allow the trial courts to pay more attention on offences of serious nature.

P.J. Joseph Insurance regulator IRDAI has constituted a 16-member committee to examine motor third party insurance pricing aspects and make recommendations on the premium rates for 2019-20

CM Manohar Lal Khattar The Haryana government has constituted an inter-district council, under the chairmanship of CM Khattar, to identify the developmental priorities of the state.

Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma Bowing to the pressure and sustained protests by ‘shiksha mitras’ across the state, the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a committee to look into their demands and suggest a suitable action plan.

C K Mishra The government has formed a committee comprising officials of the environment ministry, experts from NEERI, IITs and various other forums to look into the issue of industrial pollution around the iconic Taj Mahal.

Anil Swarup The government has decided to set up a committee with suitable representations from NCC, M/o Youth Affairs and Ministry of HRD to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS).

Pradeep Kumar Sinha The Central government decided to set up a high-level empowered panel to resolve issues plaguing the power sector and revive stressed assets

A K Goel (National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson)

The National Green Tribunal formed a monitoring committee on the cleaning of the Yamuna River. The tribunal headed by A K Goel directed the committee to develop an action plan on the same and submit it by September 2018 and submit a detailed report on the issue by December 31, 2018.

Sashi Bhusan Behera Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik set up a ministerial committee for the development of Odia film industry.

Rajiv Gauba The Centre has set up a high-level committee to formulate steps to check mob lynchings and directed it to submit the recommendations within four weeks

The Ministry of Human Resource Development reconstituted a three-member fact-finding committee to assess the allegations against the Vice-Chancellor of Manipur University, Prof Adya Prasad Pandey.

Rankings










Index India’s Rank Other InformationGlobal Innovation Index (GII) 57th 1st - Switzerland 2018 AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index

7th

United Nation’s E-Government Development Index (EGDI) 2018

96th 1st - Denmark

India has become the world’s sixth largest economy overtaking France, according to World Bank data on gross domestic product (GDP) of countries for 2017.United States has topped the list recording a GDP of USD 19,390,604 million.India has the world’s fifth largest cultivated area under genetically modified (GM) crops, at 11.4 million hectares (mh) in 2017 according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).The country with the highest area under transgenic crops, at 75 mh, is the United States.The UK has topped an annual global ranking of nations’ soft power, with France placed second on the list of 30 countries which does not feature India. India does not figure on the list, but this year’s report also features a chapter dedicated solely to Asia, listing 10 countries in the region, ranking India’s soft power as eighth.

According to the results of a global survey by human rights group Walk Free Foundation (WFF), India is home to 8 million slaves among its whopping population of 1.3 billion. In terms of highest slavery, North Korea and Eritrea topped the list, said the 2018 Global Slavery Index.

Loans from BanksFrom To Amount PurposeAsian Development Bank (ADB)

India USD 503-million

For lining project of the Son canal in Shahabad-Bhojpur region of Bihar which would benefit the agriculture sector immensely in the region

NABARD West Bengal Rs 735.53 crore

In the first quarter of the current fiscal under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for West Bengal for facilitating the execution of 86 projects

Deadlines/ Important DatesWhat for Deadline/DateDeadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking has been extended till March 31, 2019

BooksBook Author Other InfoGandhi: the years that changed the world (1914-1948)

Ramachandra Guha

This magnificent book will not only tell the story of Gandhi’s life, from his departure from South Africa to his dramatic










assassination in 1948, but also the history of our freedom movement and its many strands.

ObituariesName Profession Other InfoKanu Gohain Former Director General of Civil

Aviation (DGCA)N N Wig Doctor (Psychiatrist) He was the doyen of Psychiatry in

IndiaAdmiral J G Nadkarni Former and 14th chief of naval

staffHe was the Navy chief between December 1, 1987 and November 30, 1990.

Krishna Kumari Politician She was Rajmata of the erstwhile Marwar principality and former MP

M.M. Jacob Politician He was former Meghalaya GovernorRamchandra Singhdeo Politician He was former and first finance

minister of ChhattisgarhJN Sadhu JournalistKalpesh Yagnik JournalistSwapan Sarkar Sports Journalist Ramapada Chowdhury Bengali WriterGopal Das Neeraj Hindi PoetM.N. Vyasa Rao Kannada poet and film song lyricistKabutari Devi Kumaoni folk singerJohn Sankaramangalam Former director of the Film and

Television Institute of India (FTII)Kavi Kumar Azad Actor He is best-known for his role of Dr

Hansraj Haathi in the popular comedy show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah

Rita Bhaduri ActressBasabi Nandi Bengali ActressJ. P. Vaswani Spiritual leader He was the spiritual head of The

Sadhu Vaswani MissionJonathan Gold Pulitzer Prize-winning food criticLiliane Montevecchi Tony Award-winning French-Italian

actress, singer, dancer and cabaret star

ZsaZsa, the reigning World’s Ugliest Dog winner, passed away in her sleep, in the United States. ZsaZsa was an English Bull Dog. She was 9 years old. She won the “World’s Ugliest Dog” title last month in the United States.

Important Days










Date Day Extra Info1 July National Doctors’ Day The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has declared the

theme for Doctors’ Day 2018 as: ‘zero tolerance to violence against doctors and clinical establishment’

1 July GST Day On 1st July 2018, Indian Government celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) as GST day.

1 July International Joke Day 2 July World Sports Journalists Day7 July World Chocolate Day7 July Global Forgiveness Day7 July International Day of Cooperatives Theme 2018: Sustainable consumption and production

of goods and services11 July World Population Day Theme 2018: Family Planning is a Human Right12 July World Malala Day Celebrated on birthday of Pakistani activist for female

education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai

15 July World Youth Skills Day17 July World Day for International Justice Theme 2018: Workers on the move: the quest for social

justice18 July Nelson Mandela International Day Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 marks

the 100th birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela who was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999

26 July Kargil Vijay Diwas 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwa28 July World Hepatitis Day Theme 2018: Test. Treat. Hepatitis28 July World Nature Conservation Day29 July International Tiger Day30 July World Day against Trafficking in

PersonsTheme 2018: Responding to the trafficking of children and young people

30 July International Day of Friendship31 July World Ranger Day










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Documents

· Web viewThe Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee officially presented its Olympic mascots Miraitowa and Someity at a massive event.The name of the blue-checked Olympic mascot Miraitowa