CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS 18 july. for mock interview pl remit rs,200 gpa...

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS

17th and 18th July 2022

 

National News

Margaret Alva named Opposition's candidate for post of Vice President of India

NCP chief Sharad Pawar announced that Congress leader Margaret Alva is Opposition's candidate for the post of Vice President of India. Alva has earlier served as a Union Minister and has also served as Governor of several states including Gujarat and Goa. On Saturday, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was announced as BJP-led NDA's candidate for Vice President post.

Private schools in Tamil Nadu to remain closed tomorrow over Kallakurichi violence

The Tamil Nadu Private School Association president said all private nursery, matriculation and CBSE schools in the state will remain closed on Monday to protest against the attack on a school in Kallakurichi, where a girl died by suicide. Meanwhile, the Directorate of Matriculation said there's no prior permission for a strike. People protesting over the incident torched school buses.

Supreme Court bench headed by CJI to hear pleas on Maha crisis on July 20

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana will on July 20 hear a batch of petitions related to the recent political crisis in Maharashtra. Both Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the faction led by CM Eknath Shinde have moved the court over the disqualification of MLAs. Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut demanded the imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra.

Varanasi named 1st cultural and tourism capital of SCO 

The holy city of Varanasi showcasing India’s culture and traditions over the ages will be declared the first “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.  Varanasi will become the “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the SCO for 2022-23 under a new rotating initiative by the eight-member organisation to promote people-to-people contacts and tourism among the member states.  The Beijing-headquartered Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is an eight-member economic and security alliance comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

Consumer Affairs Department launches Jagriti, its new mascot 

Jagriti is a mascot created by the Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) with the goal of empowering customers and raising awareness of their rights. Jagriti will be shown as an educated consumer who is advocating for her rights and finding answers to the issues she encounters.  The Jagriti mascot will be employed to raise consumer awareness of a variety of Departmental topics, including the provisions of the 2019 Consumer Protection Act, hallmarking, the National Consumer Helpline toll-free number 1915, provisions of the Weights and Measures Act, decisions of the Central Consumer Protection Authority, and consumer testimonies regarding grievance redressal.

 

Kerala becomes first state to have own internet service 

Kerala is now the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who made the announcement.  The announcement followed the Department of Telecommunications’ granting of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) licence to the IT infrastructure project of the Kerala Fiber Optic Network Ltd (K-Fon), which aims to provide everyone in the state access to the internet.  K-Fon or Kerala Fiber Optic Network Ltd is a state government initiative that aims to eliminate the digital gap. As per the government, the infrastructure created by this project is expected to complement the state’s current telecom ecosystem.

VK Singh appointed as Director (Technical) of REC Limited 

V.K. Singh has taken charge as Director (Technical) of REC Limited.  Before this elevation, Singh was Executive Director in REC holding a portfolio of key business areas including Private Sector Project Management, Entity Appraisal and Procurement and is also a Director on the Board of REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited.  REC Limited, formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited, is a public Infrastructure Finance Company in India’s power sector. The company is a Public Sector Undertaking and finances and promotes power projects across India.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Pak to get $4 bn from friendly countries amid forex crisis: Minister

Pakistan will likely receive $4 billion from friendly countries this month to bridge gap in its forex reserves highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said. The country will receive the amount in form of deposits and investments, he added. Ismail's comments come as IMF reached a staff-level agreement with Pakistan for disbursal of $1.17 billion.

 

Agreements News

MoU signed between RBI and Bank Indonesia to further their shared cooperation 

An agreement was reached between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank Indonesia to increase collaboration in payment systems, digital financial innovation, anti-money laundering, and countering the funding of terrorism (AML-CFT).  On the sidelines of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Bali, the two central banks agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further their mutual cooperation.

 

BANKING, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

 

Which household items will get costlier from tomorrow due to changes in GST rules?

Pre-packaged and labelled food items like curd, lassi and buttermilk will get costlier from July 18 as they'll attract 5% GST. Jaggery, khandsari sugar, puffed rice will no longer be exempt from GST. Kitchen utensils like knives, spoons, forks, and stationery items like pencil sharpeners, maps, globes and electrical appliances such as LED lights and fixtures will also get costlier.

 

Integration with new tax site completed by Kotak Mahindra Bank

As one of the first private banks to be fully connected with the new portal, Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced the completion of its technical integration with the new income tax e-filing system.  According to a statement from the lender, Kotak Mahindra Bank clients can now pay their direct taxes online through the e-pay tax page of the portal using Kotak net banking or in person at a branch. For its clients, this will make the tax payment procedure quick, easy, and convenient.

Following $100 million in investment, OneCard becomes India’s 104th unicorn 

OneCard, a mobile-first credit card company, raised $100 million in a series D round of funding backed by Temasek, making it the 104th unicorn in India. India has created more than 20 financial unicorns so far in 2022, including OneCard, Open, Oxyzo, and Yubi (formerly CredAvenue).  Existing investors including QED, Sequoia Capital, and Hummigbird Ventures also made investments in OneCard‘s most recent round, which is owned by FPL Technologies of Pune.

Sports News

IOA named 322-member Indian contingent for Commonwealth Games 

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced a 322-member Indian contingent including 215 athletes and 107 officials and support staff to represent the country at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.  The Games are scheduled to be held in British city from July 28 to August 8, 2022 Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the para-sports category.  Rajesh Bhandari, vice president of the Boxing Federation of India (BFI), is the Chef de Mission of the squad. Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the para-sports category.

Indian GM Aravindh Chithambaram won the tournament in Spain 

Indian Grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram has emerged winner in the 41st Villa De Benasque International Chess Open in Spain. Chithambaram’s coach R B Ramesh praised his ward for the title.  He defeated Armenia’s Robert Hovhannisyan and compatriot Raunak Sadhwani on the basis of a tie-break score here. Sadhwani finished in third place behind the Armenian. Chithambaram is also a former national champion.

Singapore Open 2022: PV Sindhu wins first Super 500 title 

PV Sindhu won the first Super 500 title of her career when she defeated reigning Asian champion Wang Zhi Yi of China 21-9, 11-21, 21-15 in the final of the Singapore Open.  Anthony Sinisuka Ginting won the men’s singles title at badminton’s Singapore Open 2022. Olympic bronze medallist Ginting from Indonesia beat unseeded Japanese player Naraoka Kodai in a closely fought final.

Babar breaks Kohli's record, becomes fastest Asian batter to reach 10,000 int'l runs

Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Sunday became the fastest Asian batter to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket, breaking Virat Kohli's record. The 27-year-old reached the 10,000-run mark during Pakistan's first innings in the first Test against Sri Lanka. Babar took 228 innings to reach the milestone. Kohli had set the previous record by taking 232 innings.

 

 

Rishabh Pant smashes his 1st ever ODI hundred as India win series against England

Rishabh Pant smashed his first-ever hundred in ODI cricket as India defeated England by five wickets in the third ODI in Manchester to win the three-match series 2-1. Pant became the second designated Indian wicketkeeper after Rahul Dravid to smash an ODI hundred in England. India have now won eight consecutive international series under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.

India's 16-yr-old Praggnanandhaa wins Paracin Open chess title in Serbia

Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa won Paracin Open 'A' chess tournament in Serbia on Saturday, scoring eight points from nine rounds. The 16-year-old remained unbeaten and finished half a point ahead of top seed Alexandr Predke, who finished at second spot with 7.5 points. Praggnanandhaa drew the seventh round with Predke and the ninth and final round with Kazakhstan's Alisher Suleymenov.

Stunning performance: Anurag Thakur on Sindhu's 1st Singapore Open title

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur took to Twitter to praise PV Sindhu following her title win at Singapore Open on Sunday. "Stunning performance by Sindhu to clinch her first ever Singapore Open title...third title of 2022, she is looking in superb form!" Third seeded Sindhu defeated Wang Zhi Yi of China 21-9, 11-21, 21-15 in 58 minutes.

Important days

World Day for International Justice 2022

World Day for International Justice is observed on July 17 to commemorate the organisations that work to bring justice to the victims of international criminal acts. It also commemorates the establishment of modern court systems in the world.  On July 17, 1998, 120 countries came together to sign a treaty titled the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The establishment came to be known as the International Criminal Court (ICC), which came into force on July 1, 2002.

Nelson Mandela International Day 2022 observed on 18 July

Every year on July 18 the world marks Nelson Mandela International Day. The day is a remembrance of the first democratically elected President of South Africa and his long years of struggle for justice against apartheid.  The theme for Nelson Mandela International Day 2022 is “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are”, according to the United Nations.  The day came about in November 2009, after the UN General Assembly recognised the former contributions of Mandela to peace and the fight for freedom.

Obituaries News

Former Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon Passes Away 

Former Punjab Speaker and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader, Nirmal Singh Kahlon has passed away at the age of 79.  He was the Rural Development and Panchayat Minister from 1997 to 2002 and the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Miscellaneous News

Inauguration of Census Data Workstation at IIT Delhi 

A new census workstation has been unveiled by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi in the Economics Lab of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Census Data Workstation was officially opened by Dr. Vivek Joshi, the Registrar General and Census Commissioner for India.  According to Dr. Joshi, the new workstation aims to make it easier for academics and researchers to access census microdata. Additionally, it will contribute to raising awareness of the enormous amount f data that was gathered during Census activities.

 

@@@@2

www.sbank.in   current affairs snippets