Important Days
World Chocolate Day celebrated on 7th July
World Chocolate Day or International Chocolate Day is observed on 7th July every year. The day celebrates the existence of chocolate in our lives. It is marked by eating chocolates and sharing with dear ones.
The day is an annual global celebration of chocolate, which allows people to gorge and indulge, hopefully guilt-free, in it. World Chocolate Day was first celebrated in the year 2009.
However, some even believe that people started marking July 7 as International Chocolate Day because it was the day when chocolate was first introduced to Europe in 1550.
National
GoI launches mobile app ‘Matsya Setu’ for Indian aqua farmers
Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, Giriraj Singh has launched the Online Course Mobile App “Matsya Setu”.
The app was developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad.
The online course app aims to disseminate the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country.
Govt creates ministry of cooperation to boost cooperative movement
The government has created a Ministry of Cooperation to boost the Indian cooperative movement and give a fillip to the indigenous enterprises. India’s first minister of cooperation will also be sworn in once the Union Cabinet reshuffle takes place and the new ministers take the oath of office at the Durbar Hall in President House.
The new ministry of Cooperation will work to realize the vision of “Sahkar se Samriddhi” and will provide a separate administrative, legal, and policy framework to boost the cooperative movement in the country.
The development will aid the deep of the cooperatives as true people-based movements with benefits going down to the grassroots. The ministry will be mandated to streamline the processes for the ease of doing business for cooperatives and ultimately aim to broaden and strengthen the multi-state cooperatives.
Appointments
Jim Whitehurst resigns as IBM president
Jim Whitehurst has announced he is stepping down as the president of IBM. Whitehurst’s resignation is being seen as one of the several management moves IBM announced.
The 53-year-old’s exit led to shares of the technological giant falling 4.8 percent to $139.83, the most in five months.
Whitehurst was appointed as IBM’s president last year. This was the first time in decades that the corporation split up the designation of a chief executive officer (CEO) and president.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- IBM CEO: Arvind Krishna.
- IBM Headquarters: Armonk, New York, United States.
Nitin Gadkari becomes “Brand Ambassador” of Khadi Prakritk Paint
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways & MSME, Nitin Gadkari, virtually inaugurated India’s first and only paint made from cow dung, under the brand name ‘Khadi Prakritk Paint’.
In addition to this, the minister also declared himself as the “Brand Ambassador” of paint, to promote it across the country and encourage young entrepreneurs to take up the manufacturing of cow dung paint.
The Khadi Prakritk Paint automated manufacturing plant has been set up on the campus of Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, which is a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
Neha Parikh appointed as CEO of crowd-sourced navigation app ‘Waze’
Indian-American, Neha Parikh, has been appointed as the CEO of Waze, a crowd-sourced GPS navigation app and a subsidiary of tech giant Google.
The 41-year-old Neha replaces Noam Bardin, who stepped down as the CEO in November 2020, after leading the Israeli company for 12 years.
The Waze app can give out directions in 56 different languages. The app was founded in Israel in 2008. It was acquired by Google in 2013 for around USD 1.1 billion (110 crores).
Agreements
Tourism Ministry signs MoU with Yatra to strengthen hospitality, the tourism industry
The tourism ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Yatra to strengthen and enable the tourism and hospitality industry.
The event was organized under an arrangement between the Ministry of Tourism and the Quality Council of India (QCI), where the MoU for the Tourism Ministry Yatra tie-up was signed.
While the MoU is meant to mainly strengthen tourism, it also takes into consideration and provides support for accommodation units.
The MoU outlines that both parties signing the document would participate in encourage the accommodation units to self-certify themselves on the System for Assessment, Awareness & Training for the Hospitality Industry (SAATHI) on the Online Travel Agency Platform (OTA).
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Tourism had also signed an MoU with ClearTrip and Ease My Trip. There has been an ongoing effort by the ministry to strengthen the tourism sector in India while extending support to accommodation units.
The accommodation units registered on NIDHI and SAATHI on the OTA platform are to be provided extended visibility with the signing of this MoU. SAATHI is an initiative by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Quality Council of India.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Minister of State (IC) of Ministry of Tourism: Prahlad Singh Patel.
Economy
GST collection dips below Rs 1 lakh crore in June
GST collection dipped below Rs 1 lakh crore in June after staying above that mark for eight consecutive months. Centre mopped up Rs 92,849 crore GST for the month of June of which CGST is Rs 16,424 crore, SGST is Rs 20,397 crore, IGST is Rs 49,079 crore (including Rs 25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 6,949 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods.
With eased relaxations following improvement in the overall Covid-19 situation in the country, the government expects GST revenues to rise from July 2021 onwards.
List of GST Collection previous months
- May 2021: Rs 1,02,709 crore
- April 2021: Rs 1.41 lakh crore(All time Highest)
- March 2021: Rs. 1.24 lakh crore
- Feb 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore
- January 2021: Rs 1,19,847 crore
Business
Paytm launches ‘Postpaid Mini’ to provide small-ticket instant loans
Paytm has announced the launch of Postpaid Mini, small-ticket loans that will give users the flexibility to access loans ranging from Rs 250 – Rs 1,000, in partnership with Aditya Birla Finance Ltd.
The product is an extension of its Buy Now, Pay Later service, driving affordability amongst those new to credit. These small ticket instant loans will give flexibility to users and also help manage their household expenses to maintain liquidity during the ongoing Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Paytm Postpaid is offering a period of up to 30 days for repayment of loans at 0 percent interest.
There are no annual fees or activation charges, only a minimal convenience fee. With the launch of Postpaid Mini, the company will offer access to loans ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 1000, in addition to Paytm Postpaid’s instant credit of up to Rs 60,000.
This could help users pay for their monthly expenses, including mobile and direct to home (DTH) recharges, gas cylinder booking, electricity, and water bills, shop on Paytm Mall, and more.
Useful notes for all competitive exams:
- Paytm HQ: Noida, Uttar Pradesh;
- Paytm Founder & CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma;
- Paytm Founded: 2009.
Committees
DPIIT sets up a 9-member panel to curb Digital Monopolies
The Central Government has formed a nine-member panel for the development of an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), designed to curb digital monopolies.
This ONDC project is initiated by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and will be implemented by the Quality Council of India (QCI).
The nine-member committee of ONDC will advise the Government of India on measures needed to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics, and enhance value for consumers, among other things.
Awards
Korean Air wins Air Transport World’s Airline of the Year Award
Korean Air has been announced the winner of one of the most prestigious honors in the aviation industry: Air Transport World’s (ATW) 2021 Airline of the Year. This year’s award is even more meaningful to Korean Air, as the global industry has been suffering from the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19.
The company’s excellent leadership, its ability to remain operationally profitable through the industry’s worst-ever crisis, its strong commitment to health safety customer service excellence, and its remarkable relationship with employees.”
The judges also noted the airline’s “transformational strategic deal to incorporate Asiana and create a larger, more global flagship carrier. Korean Air plans to continue to strengthen its position in the global aviation industry and aims to become one of the world’s top 10 airlines after successfully acquiring and integrating Asiana Airlines.
Sports
Jaipur to get India’s second-largest cricket stadium
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released a financial grant of Rs 100 crore to the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), which will be used to build India’s second-largest cricket stadium.
The facility, which will be second to the recently inaugurated Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, is set to be built in Jaipur. The construction of the new stadium is likely to be completed within 24-30 months from commencement.
Meanwhile, an amount of Rs 290 crores has been estimated to be spent on the construction of the second-largest cricket stadium in India.
This amount will be sourced from; Rs 100 crore from the bank loan, Rs 100 crore from BCCI grant, Rs 90 crore from RCS funds, sale of boxes, seats & sponsorship. The proposed stadium will have a spectator capacity of 75,000.
Obituary
‘Superman’ director Richard Donner passes away
Ace filmmaker Richard Donner, best known for helming the original ‘Superman’ film, ‘Lethal Weapon’ film series and ‘The Goonies’, has passed away.
The 91-year-old filmmaker was at the forefront of some of the most popular genres in the history of mainstream cinema: the superhero movie, the horror flick, the buddy cop romps.
The legend got his first big directing break with the 1976 cult classic horror film ‘The Omen’, which solidified his foothold in the industry and led to his next major studio film, ‘Superman’ (also the original) that paved the path for countless other flicks, including ‘Goonies’, and all of the ‘Lethal Weapon’ movie series, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.
Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar passes away
Legendary Bollywood actor Mohammed Yusuf Khan, known professionally as Dilip Kumar passed away at 98. He was popularly known as the tragedy king of Bollywood. He was last seen in the 1998 film Qila.
He was the first actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1954 and won it a total of 8 times. He and Shah Rukh Khan jointly hold the record for most Filmfare trophies.
- Daily Current Affairs in English 11 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 10
- 11 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- 10 Sep 2022 Daily Current Affairs in Hindi – सभी प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए महत्वपूर्ण
- Hindu Editorial with Vocabulary: Sep Month – Day 9
- Daily Current Affairs in English 10 Sep 2022 – Useful for all Competitive Exams
