04th July and 05th July 2022 Current Affairs and GK Update

July 6, 2022
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Current Affairs in English

Important Days

International Plastic Bag Free Day 2022: 03 July 

  • The International Plastic Bag Free Day is held on July 3 around the world to spread awareness that a plastic bag-free world is possible and that sound environmental alternatives to single-use plastic bags are available.
  • 2022 is the 13th edition of the celebrations.
  • The day is an initiative by Bag Free World for the purpose of getting rid of the single-use of plastic bags around the world and promoting environmental conservation by encouraging us all to stay away from the use of plastic bags and instead look for more eco-friendly alternatives.

National News

1. NTPC Commissions India’s largest floating solar power project in Telangana 

  • NTPC Ltd has declared the Commercial Operations Date (COD) of the last part capacity of 20 MW out of 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project in Telangana. Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project is India’s largest Floating Solar Plant commissioned by NTPC.
  • Now the total commercial operation of Floating Solar Capacity in the Southern Region has reached 217 MW. Prior to this, NTPC declared Commercial operation of 92 MW Floating Solar at Kayamkulam (Kerala) and 25 MW Floating Solar at Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh).

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • NTPC Ltd Founded: 7 November 1975;
  • NTPC Ltd Headquarters: New Delhi, India.

2. Grand Hackathon: 3-day event launched by Shri Piyush Goyal 

  • Union Minister Piyush Goyal has virtually kicked off a three-day Grand Hackathon that the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is hosting in association with NABARD.
  • The physical portion of this event took place at the Fort, Mumbai location of the Bombay Stock Exchange.
  • The Grand Hackathon is divided into two categories: the Agri Grant Challenge and the Agri Innovation Hackathon, both of which will highlight innovations that will help the agriculture sector adopt eCommerce.

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • Minister of Textiles, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: Shri Piyush Goyal

International News

3. Yair Lapid takes over as 14th Prime Minister of Israel 

  • Leader of Yesh Atid Party, Yair Lapid has officially become the 14th prime minister of Israel, after replacing Naftali Benett. He is a former journalist who serving as PM of Israel since 1 July 2022.
  • Yair Lapid’s term could be the short one as he take over the caretaker government ahead of Israel’s election which was scheduled to take place on November 1.

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • Israel Capital: Jerusalem;
  • Israel Currency: New Shekel;
  • Israel President: Isaac Herzog.

Appointments News

4. Singapore’s T. Raja Kumar is the new president of FATF 

  • T. Raja Kumar of Singapore has been appointed as the president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the anti-money laundering watchdog. Kumar has replaced Marcus Player who was holding the post till now and will discharge his service for the next two years.
  • Kumar has been working against global terror financing for quite a long time. Soon after taking over the charge, Kumar presented his objectives for the coming Plenary period (July 2022 -June 2024) to strengthen the FATF.

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • FATF Headquarters: Paris, France;
  • FATF Purpose: Combat money laundering and terrorism financing;
  • FATF Founded: 1989.

5. FanCode onboards Ravi Shastri as brand ambassador 

  • Former team India coach and cricketer, Ravi Shastri has been appointed the new brand ambassador for FanCode, a live content, sports statistics, and e-commerce marketplace.
  • FanCode is set to host some of the best cricketing action with exclusive rights to India’s tour of the West Indies and ECB’s The Hundred, and Shastri will bring out FanCode’s ‘fan-first’ proposition by leading the upcoming campaigns for these properties.

Agreements News

7. Star Health and IDFC FIRST Bank joined together to offer Bancassurance 

  • For the distribution of its health insurance options, the insurer and IDFC FIRST Bank have inked a corporate agency agreement. In accordance with this strategic partnership, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company will use IDFC FIRST Bank‘s cutting-edge digital platform and extensive distribution network to offer its best-in-class health insurance products to the Bank’s customers.
  • With a focus on going digital, IDFC FIRST Bank provides customer service through its mobile app and net banking platform, which supplement its network of branches, ATMs, and lending centres.

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • MD and CEO of IDFC FIRST Bank: V. Vaidyanathan
  • MD of Star Health: Prakash Subbarayan

Bankings News

7. Govt revamps Banks Board into Financial Services Institutions Bureau 

  • The government has transformed Banks Board Bureau (BBB), the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, into Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) by making some amendments.
  • Guidelines for selection of general managers and directors of public sector general insurance companies have been made part of FSIB.
  • The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has also approved the appointment of Bhanu Pratap Sharma, former Chairman, BBB as initial chairperson of FSlB for a term of two years.
  • Other members of the headhunter are Animesh Chauhan, former Chairman and Managing Director of erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce, RBI’s ex-executive director Deepak Singhal and Shailendra Bhandari, former MD of erstwhile ING Vysya Bank.

8. RBI modifies the rules for banknote sorting and authentication 

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published guidelines ordering banks to test their currency sorting equipment every three months.
  • Following the release of the new series of banknotes, the central bank updated the preexisting standards for authentication and sorting. The Reserve Bank stated that vendors will need to re-calibrate the equipment in the event of inconsistencies during the sorting.
  • According to new changes, banks must prepare a test deck containing at least 2,000 pieces of dirty notes, including mutilated and phony Indian currency notes.
  • The machine must be tested using notes in various denominations, including Rs. 100 notes from the old and new series, Rs. 200 notes, Rs. 500 notes, and Rs. 2,000 notes.

Business News

9. BESCOM develops ‘EV Mitra’ mobile app 

  • The Bengaluru Electricity Company BESCOM has developed EV Mitra mobile app to provide information about EV charging stations in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
  • The information on charges in each station for the electric vehicles to recharge are also mentioned in the app. The user-friendly app can be used by electric vehicle users to book in advance a slot in the station.
  • BESCOM has started 136 charging stations in Bengaluru and another 152 such stations will be started soon.
  • Under the Public-Private Partnership model, tenders have been invited to establish 1000 charging stations across the state.

Economy News

10. Rs 1,44,616 Crore Gross GST Revenue Collection For June 2022 

  • Gross GST collection in June 2022 is the second-highest collection next to the April 2022 collection GST collection crosses Rs 1.40 lakh crore mark 5th time since the inception of GST; 4th month at a stretch since March 2022.
  • The gross GST collection in June 2022 is the 2nd highest collection subsequent to the April 2022 GST collection of Rs 1,67,540 crore.
  • The total GST revenue collected in the month of June 2022 would be Rs 1,44,616 cr of which CGST would be Rs 25,306 cr, SGST is Rs 32,406 crore, IGST stands at Rs 75887 cr (along with Rs 40102 cr collected on the goods import and cess stood at Rs 11,018 crore (along with Rs 1197 crore collected on import of goods).

Awards News

11. HCL Technologies bags Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards 2022 

  • HCL Technologies was recognized at Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards 2022, for innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.
  • HCL Tech bagged the Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Healthcare and Life Sciences (global winner) and the 2022 UK Microsoft Partner of the Year Award (country winner).
  • The IT company was also named a finalist in the 2022 Microsoft Partner of the Year Award for Internet of Things (domain finalist).

Useful Notes For All Competitive Exams:

  • HCL Technologies CEO: C Vijayakumar (Oct 2016–);
  • HCL Technologies Founded: 12 November 1991;
  • HCL Technologies Headquarters: Noida.

Defence News

12. Indian Army Organises Suraksha Manthan-2022 

  • The Desert Corps of the Indian Army organised the “Suraksha Manthan 2022”, on aspects of Border & Coastal Security at Jodhpur (Rajasthan). During the course of the discussions, aspects of interoperability, operational cohesion and logistics were ironed out in order to enhance overall security along the International Boundary (IB) and coastal sectors.
  • A joint training calendar was also formulated to achieve a higher degree of interoperability and jointness amongst the security forces. Current security threats and challenges, along with joint mitigation response, were deliberated upon and such scenarios would now form part of the forthcoming exercises.

Ranks and Reports News

13. QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2023: Mumbai tops in India 

  • According to the QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2023, released by global higher education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Mumbai ranked at 103 has emerged as India’s highest-ranked student city.
  • The other Indian cities in the rankings include Bengaluru at 114, Chennai at 125 and New Delhi at 129.
  • London (UK) has topped the list ranked 1 followed by Munich (Germany) and Seoul (South Korea) ranked 2nd and Zurich (Switzerland) ranked 4th.
  • The ranking provides students with independent data regarding a range of factors relevant to their study decisions: affordability, quality of life, the standard of university, and the views of previous students that have studied in that destination.

Sports News

14. Jasprit Bumrah breaks Lara’s world record smashes Broad for 29 runs 

  • India captain Jasprit Bumrah bludgeoned a hapless Stuart Broad for 29 runs to create a world record for maximum runs off a single over in Test cricket, beating the legendary Brian Lara’s feat by one run.
  • The world record stayed with Lara for 18 years, he had hit South African left-arm spinner Robin Peterson for 28 runs in a Test match in 2003-04, which included four fours and two sixes off six legal deliveries.
  • Broad, who had also been hit for six sixes in an over by Yuvraj Singh in the inaugural World T20 in 2007, gave away 35 in the 84th over of the Indian first innings in the fifth rescheduled Test here.
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