Important Days
World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: 30th July
United Nations observes 30 July every year as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. In 2013, the General Assembly designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons to raise awareness of the situation of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.
The 2021 theme for World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is Victims’ Voices Lead the Way.
This year’s theme puts victims of human trafficking at the centre of the campaign and will highlight the importance of listening to and learning from survivors of human trafficking.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Headquarters: Vienna, Austria.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Founded: 1997.
International Day of Friendship: 30 July
International Day of Friendship is observed globally on 30th July. This day is celebrated to mark the importance of friends and friendship in life. The day also advocates the role that friendship plays in promoting peace in several cultures across the world.
In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Friendship Day with an aim to forge a strong bond of friendship of people of various countries irrespective of race, colour, gender, religion, etc.
National
Govt announces 27% reservation for OBCs, 10% quota for EWS in medical seats
The centre has announced a 27% reservation for OBCs and a 10% quota for students from the economically weaker sections (EWS) for undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental courses under the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme.
Under the AIQ scheme, 15% of seats at the UG level and 50% seats at the PG level are kept domicile free in government medical and dental colleges against which students from other states to are offered admission while the rest of the seats are kept only for students from within the state.
This will immensely help thousands of our youth every year get better opportunities and create a new paradigm of social justice in our country.
A statement by the government said that the decision would benefit nearly 1500 OBC students in MBBS and 2500 OBC students in PG while it will also impact around 550 EWS students in MBBS and around 1000 EWS students in PG medicine.
Kerala police launched ‘Pink Protection’ project for women safety
The Kerala Police launched a new initiative called the Pink Protection project for the protection of women in public, private and digital spaces.
The Pink Protection project aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying & humiliation in public places. It has 10 components, one of which is activating the existing Pink Police Patrol system, named Pink Janamaithri Beat.
They will collect information from panchayat members, neighbours and other locals and hand it over to the Station House Officers for further action.
The Pink Beat system, in which specially trained women police officers have been deployed, will be present at Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private buses and in front of schools, colleges and other public places including bus stops.
Pink control rooms have been set up in all 14 districts to coordinate the activities.
The Pink Shadow Patrol team will also be deployed to detect the presence of anti-socials in crowded areas and to take action.
A bullet patrol team of woman police officers called “Pink Romeo” was also launched as part of the project.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan;
- Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.
Bhoot Jolokia chillies from Nagaland exported to London
A consignment of ‘Raja Mircha’, also referred to as King Chilli or Bhoot Jolokia, from Nagaland, has been exported to London for the first time.
Naga king chilli is constantly on the top five in the list of the world’s hottest chillies based on the Scoville Heat Units. It got a GI tag in 2008. It was declared the hottest chilli pepper in the world by Guinness World Records in 2007.
International
Maldives’ Abdulla Shahid won the Presidency of the 76th UNGA
Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid won the Presidency of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
This is for the first time in the history of the United Nations (UN), Maldives will hold the office of President at the UNGA. Abdulla Shahid’s victory at the UNGA Presidential election is a “proud accomplishment” and “a step forward in elevating the country’s stature on the global stage”.
Maldives’ decision to join the UN in 1965, immediately after its independence, sparked a debate on how a “microstate”, could possibly contribute to the organisation.
Over the years, Maldives has cleared all the doubts by raising its voice on issues of concern and playing a prominent role in the UN as well as in the other multilateral organisations including the Commonwealth.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- President of the Maldives: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih;
- Capital of Maldives: Male; Currency of the Maldives: Maldivian Rufiyaa.
Appointments
Property consultant Colliers appoints Ramesh Nair as CEO for India
Property consultant Colliers has appointed Ramesh Nair as the chief executive officer (CEO) for India and managing director, market development, for Asia.
Nair’s experience and leadership skills will be particularly relevant to its clients in the region and around the world as they seek opportunities in the post-COVID economy. Nair joined Colliers from JLL India, where he held the position of CEO & country head, leading over 12,000 people.
Based in Mumbai, Ramesh will partner with Sankey Prasad, chairman & managing director of Colliers in India, to lead the business.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- The Asia Pacific CEO of Colliers is John Kenny;
- Colliers CEO: Jay S. Hennick;
- Colliers Headquarters: Toronto, Canada;
- Colliers Founded: 1976, Australia.
Agreements
BIAL signs a deal with IBM to set up ‘Airport in a Box’ platform
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), has signed a ten-year partnership with the company IBM to set up the ‘Airport in a Box’ platform.
The partnership is designed to help Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) improve its productivity, automate its information technology services, increase operational flexibility to handle future growth in passenger traffic and reduce costs.
The airport operator chose IBM Global Business Services, IBM hybrid cloud capabilities and Kyndryl, the new, independent company that will be created following the separation of IBM’s Managed Infrastructure Services business, to design and implement a next-generation architecture with a dynamic delivery model.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- IBM CEO: Arvind Krishna.
- IBM Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States.
Intel launches ‘AI For All’ initiative in collaboration with CBSE
Intel in collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), Ministry of Education, announced the launch of the AI For All initiative with the purpose of creating a basic understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) for everyone in India.
Based on Intel’s AI For Citizens program, AI For All is a 4-hour, self-paced learning program that demystifies AI in an inclusive manner.
It is as applicable to a student, a stay at home parent as it is to a professional in any field or even a senior citizen. The program aims to introduce AI to 1 million citizens in its first year. Partnerships and Initiatives at Intel.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Intel Chief Executive Officer: Pat Gelsinger;
- Intel Founded: 18 July 1968;
- Intel Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, United States;
- Intel Founders: Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce.
Banking
Madgaum Urban Co-op Bank licence cancelled by RBI
The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licence of Madgaum Urban Co-operative Bank Limited, Margao, Goa, as the bank with its current financial position would be unable to pay its present depositors in full.
According to the RBI, as per the data submitted by the bank, about 99 per cent of the depositors will receive full amounts of their deposits from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).
The bank ceases to carry on banking business with effect from the close of business on July 29, 2021.
Awards
Vaidehi Dongre from Michigan crowned as Miss India USA
Vaidehi Dongre, a 25-year-old girl from Michigan, has been crowned Miss India USA 2021 at the beauty pageant.
Arshi Lalani from Georgia was declared the first runner up and North Carolina’s Mira Kasari was declared the second runner up.
Dongre, who has majored in international studies, won the ‘Miss Talented’ title in the pageant for giving a flawless performance of Indian classical dance form Kathak.
Science and Technology
IIT Hyderabad developed a Covid RNA test kit called “COVIHOME”
India’s first Rapid electronic Covid-19 RNA Test kit that allows self-testing at home called ‘COVIHOME’ has been developed by a research group at the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad.
The kit has been validated by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology and can be used to check for Covid-19 trace at the comfort of home. This test kit can produce results within 30 minutes for both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients.
The major benefit of this testing kit is that it does not require RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction), an expert human resource, and a BSL 2 lab facility for the extraction of RNA, so it has the potential for one to take the test at home without expert supervision.
The validation report confirmed the kit’s efficiency at 94.2 per cent, Sensitivity 91.3 per cent and Specificity 98.2 per cent.
While a test currently costs around Rs 400, the developers say that mass production of the testing kit will help to reduce the cost to around Rs 300 per test.
Sports
Vantika Agarwal bags national women online chess title
Vantika Agarwal has won the National Women Online Chess title. She scored 9.5 points from 11 rounds. Arpita Mukherjee of West Bengal took the second spot and Tamil Nadu’s Sreeja Seshadri secured the third spot in the competition.
In the absence of over-the-board events due to the ongoing pandemic, the All India Chess Federation has decided to consider the performance of this online event for the selection of players for the Asian individual championship and other events.
Former England bowler Mike Hendrick passes away
Former England and Derbyshire bowler, Mike Hendrick has passed away. He played a major role in two of England’s Ashes-series victories and took 87 wickets in 30 Tests for his country between 1974 and 1981.
Hendrick, who took 770 wickets in 267 first-class matches and 35 wickets in 22 ODIs, was also the first professional coach of Ireland.