NATIONAL NEWS

Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam in Varanasi on implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).

• It was organized by the Ministry of Education in association with University Grants Commission and Banaras Hindu University from 07 July to 09 July 2022.

• Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam provides a platform to discuss NEP 2020.
• It will provide a platform for academicians and policy makers to share their experiences and discuss the roadmap for effective implementation of the NEP 2020.

Chhattisgarh Government Approves Electric Vehicle policy

• Bhupesh Baghel cabinet approved the Chhattisgarh Electric Vehicle (EV) policy in 2022 to help boost EV adoption in the state.

• The aim of this policy is to create a robust charging infrastructure, ease the conversion of existing vehicles into hybrid or electric models and incentivize manufacturing.

• This announcement makes Chhattisgarh the 21st state in the country to announce its EV policy.
• The government has set a target of five years to have a minimum of 15 per cent of new registrations with the rapid adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles—individual use or commercial purpose as EVs till 2027.

Nokia Partners with IISc

• Nokia announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru to set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in order to facilitate research in the areas of networked robotics.

• The research lab will promote inter-disciplinary research involving robotics and advanced communication technologies in 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• The CoE will also develop research across industrial automation, agriculture and disaster management.

CBSE Launches Pariksha Sangam portal

• The CBSE Board has created a website named “Pariksha Sangam” to consolidate board examination results, sample papers, and other information in a single window.

• The recently developed Pariksha Sangam portal would unify numerous examination-related operations to be carried out by the school’s regional offices and the Headquarters of the CBSE Board.
• The Pariksha Sangam is split into three primary sections: the head office (Ganga), regional offices, and schools (Saraswati).
• All of the operations linked to the CBSE Board Result 2022 for classes 10th and 12th will be streamlined through the Pariksha Sangam platform.

8th Meeting of BRICS Communications Ministers

• The 8th Meeting of BRICS Communications Ministers was held in virtual mode under the presidency of China.
• Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, participated in the meeting and highlighted achievements of India in the field of ICT.
• He also underlined the reforms undertaken by Government in Telecom sector.
• The Ministers decided to work in the field of ICTs in areas identified at the 14th BRICS Summit held on 23-24 June 2022.

India’s First Right-To-Health Bill in 2022

• The Rajasthan government will introduce the Right to Health Bill, the first of its kind in India in the Rajasthan Assembly.

• It aims to provide quality and affordable health care services by government and private healthcare providers.

• Rajasthan has ensured the health and security of every family by providing free treatment up to Rs 10 lakh to the people through Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana.
• Along with this, accident insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh is being given to the families registered in the scheme.
• Recently, the chief minister approved Rs 117 crore for the expansion of the facilities in Mahila Chikitsalaya (women’s hospital) at Sanganeri Gate in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India Elected to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee

• India has been elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for four years (2022-2026) cycle.

• The elections for the Intergovernmental Committee took place during the 9th General Assembly of the 2003 Convention held at UNESCO headquarters, Paris from 05 July to 07 July 2022.
• The Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention consists of 24 members.
• The announcement to this effect was made by Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER G.K Reddy.
• As a member of the intergovernmental committee, India will have the opportunity to closely monitor the implementation of the 2003 Convention.

BANKING

Defence Ministry Inks MoUs with Three Private Banks

• The Defence Ministry has linked up with private sector banks for the first time to provide financial services in overseas procurement of military hardware.

• These three private sector banks are HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

• The agreement was signed by PCDA (Principal Controller of Defence Accounts), New Delhi on behalf of the Defence Ministry.
• Till now, only authorized public sector banks were utilized to provide these services to MoD.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Wall of Former Chief Economists

• The First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Gita Gopinath has made it as the first woman to be featured on the 'wall of former chief economists' of the IMF.

• This makes her only the second Indian to achieve this feat as the first Indian to achieve the honour was Raghuram Rajan as IMF's Chief Economist and Director of Research between the years 2003 and 2006.

• Gita Gopinath's was appointed as Chief Economist of IMF in October 2018.
• She was promoted as the IMF's First Deputy Managing Director in December 2021.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President-Designate of CII for 2022-2023

• The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has elected R Dinesh, Executive Vice-Chairman of TVS Supply Chain Solutions as its president-designate for 2022-23.

• He will replace Sanjiv Bajaj.

• He was the chairman of CII Southern Region during 2018-2019.
• He has held several positions in CII, including those of Chairman of National Committees on Logistics, CII Family Business Network India Chapter Council, CII Tamil Nadu State Council and CII Institute of Logistics Advisory Council.
• ITC chairman and managing director Sanjiv Puri has been elected the Vice President of CII for 2022-23.

President of Market Research Society of India

• Manish Makhijani, Global Insights Director of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. was elected as the new President of Market Research Society of India for the 2022-2024 term.

• He succeeds Sandeep Arora.

• Makhijani has worked as the Vice President of MRSI last three years.
• Additionally, Paru Minocha and Saurin Shah were elected as Vice-Presidents and Prashant Kolleri as the Secretary and Nitin Kamat as the Treasurer for MRSI.
• The election of the new Managing Committee members was held at MRSI’s 34th Annual General Meeting on 07 July 2022 in Mumbai.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Getting the Bread: The Gen-Z Way to Success

• Prarthna Batra’s debut book titled ‘Getting the Bread: The Gen-Z Way to Success’ was launched by sporting icon Sakshi Malik in New Delhi.

• This book is an attempt by the young author to share her journey with millennial readers and tell them how she sees the world and how to make an impact in a competitive and dynamic world with a human-centric approach.

• It is a well- written book that will serve as a source of inspiration to young readers.
• Prarthna is also the co-founder of Lajja Diaries, an online platform to felicitate the gender discourse on feminism and women’s rights in India.

Viswanathan Anand’s Memoir ‘Mind Master’

• Viswanathan Anand, a five-time world chess champion has released an enhanced paperback edition of his critically acclaimed autobiography ‘Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion’s Life’.

• The book includes an extra chapter on how to deal with uncertainty and quickly shifting reality in the aftermath of the pandemic.

• Anand is the co-writer of an autobiography with journalist-author Susan Ninan.
• In Mind Master, Anand takes stock of a lifetime of games played, opponents faced and problems overcame and extracts useful insights that will aid every reader in overcoming life’s obstacles.

OBITUTARY

Ex-Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe

• Shinzo Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister and remained a powerful and influential politician after leaving office, has died after being shot during a campaign speech on 08 July 2022. He was at the age 67.

• Abe, Japan’s longest – serving prime minister held office in 2006 for one year and again from 2012 to 2020.

• He also served as chief Cabinet Secretary from 2005 to 2006 under Junichiro Koizumi and was briefly leader of the opposition in 2012.