NATIONAL NEWS

Natural Farming Conclave at Surat

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Natural Farming Conclave held at Surat in Gujarat virtually.

• Guided by this vision of the Prime Minister as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Surat District undertook a concerted and coordinated effort to sensitize and motivate different stakeholders and institutions like farmer groups, elected representatives, Cooperatives and Banks to help farmers in adoption of Natural Farming.
• Consequently, at least 75 farmers were identified in each Gram Panchayat and were motivated and trained to undertake Natural Farming.
• The farmers were trained in 90 different clusters resulting in training of more than 41 thousand farmers across the district.

Mission Kushal Karmi Program

• Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Shri Manish Sisodia launched Mission Kushal Karmi for upskilling the construction workers in the city in collaboration with Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) and Delhi Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.

• It is to provide on-the-job skill development training to over 2 lakh registered construction workers in industry demand-driven job roles in the construction sector in a year.

• Under these 15 days special training program, workers will undergo upskilling which will boost their incomes in the future.
• The program will be conducted by the DSEU along with Simplex, the National real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), and India Vision Foundation.

Agreement to Ease Travel for Tourists

• The governments of West Bengal and Sikkim have signed an agreement to help tourists travel between the two neighbouring states with ease in a bid to boost tourism.

• The agreement will allow West Bengal-registered commercial vehicles to drop tourists at their hotels in different destinations of Sikkim.
• There were restrictions on West Bengal-registered vehicles in the Himalayan state.
• With the signing of the agreement, these restrictions would be lifted.
• The agreement was signed between West Bengal transport minister Firhad Hakim and Sikkim tourism minister Sanjit Kharel.
• The agreement will strengthen the relations between the two neighbouring states.

First-Ever AI Exhibition

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch India's first-ever 'Artificial Intelligence in Defence' (AIDef) symposium.

• The exhibition was organised by the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi.

• The Artificial Intelligence in Defence (AIDef) symposium will feature an exhibition to showcase the cutting-edge AI-enabled solutions developed by the services, research organisations, Industry and start-ups and innovators and the launch of AI products for the market.
• 75 newly developed AI products and technologies, having applications in defence, will be launched during the event.

India’s first-ever Animal Health Summit

• The first India Animal Health Summit 2022 was hosted at the NASC Complex in New Delhi.

• The main objective of the summit is to understand the importance of animal health to the country’s food and nutrition security, rural income and prosperity and overall economic growth.

• The Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) and the Agriculture Group are hosting the India Animal Health Summit 2022.
• Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying urged for wider usage of Ayurveda to ensure better animal health at the First India Animal Health Summit 2022.
• The two-day event will feature a wide variety of panel talks on subjects including the Business environment and investment prospects in the Animal Health industry and Animal Health policy initiatives.

BANKING

Salesforce Plans to Offer Grant for Education and Workforce

• A US-based tech major, Salesforce has announced an investment of USD 2 million (about Rs 15.85 crore) in direct company donations to over 22 non-profit Organizations (NPO) across India.

• With a focus on education and workforce development these grants are expected to impact 40,000 individuals across India.

• To give children access to quality education, Salesforce will partner with institutions such as Meghshala Trust, Inquilab Foundation, Learning Curve Foundation and others.
• Students will have access to Hybrid learning spaces, Social-Emotional Learning, STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and early education.

HDFC Partners with Salesforce

• NBFC-giant HDFC announced its partnership with leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform, Salesforce for supporting its growth priorities and to reimagine the customer lending lifecycle.

• Mulesoft with its innovative API-led integration approach and low code integration capabilities will help HDFC innovate quickly around connecting systems and help create new experiences.

• Salesforce introduced the next generation of MuleSoft, a unified solution for automation, integration and APIs to easily automate any workflow.
• HDFC announced that the company planned to build the next generation of integration backbone, to easily connect backend and frontend systems including Salesforce.

SPORTS

Wimbledon Women’s Singles Title

• Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan has won Wimbledon Women’s Singles title by defeating Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the final 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

• Elena has become the first tennis player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam singles championship.

Gujarat to Host 36th National Games

• Gujarat to host the 36th National Game.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has announced that the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has agreed to host the 36th National Games in the state.
• This will be the first time the state will host the prestigious games, scheduled to take place between September 27 and October 10, 2022.
• The prestigious event is being held after a gap of seven years, the last being held in Kerala in 2015.
• The national games will have more than 34 sports disciplines, which will be conducted in six cities.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & TechnologyDr Jitendra Singh, who is also Chairman of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) announced to set up Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in the field of academic excellence

• According to Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh in New Delhi, the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in Public Administration has been established in memory of India’s first president, who had also laid the foundation stone of the IIPA building complex in the national capital.

• The institute has to have a vision for the next 25 years to accomplish the goals that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Deputy Election Commissioner

• Senior bureaucrat R K Gupta was appointed as the deputy election commissioner by the Personnel Ministry.
• He succeeded T Sreekanth.
• Gupta, a Central Secretariat Service (CSS) officer, will serve as deputy election commissioner (Joint secretary level) till 28 February 2023.

Ranil Wickremesinghe Resigns as Prime Minister

• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka amid massive protests.

• He is a member of parliament from the United Natioanl Party (UNP).
• He has been the leader of the UNP since 1994.
• Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is also expected to resign on July 13th.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Fish Farmers Day

• National Fish Farmers Day is celebrated every year on 10th July.

• National Fisheries Development Board, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India is celebrating the National Fish Farmers Day virtually at NFDB Hyderabad.

• It is 65th National Fish Farmers Day being celebrated across the Country.
• Every year, this annual event is celebrated to commemorate Professor Dr. Hiralal Chaudhury and his colleague Alikunhi for their contribution in achieving the successful induced breeding of major carps on 10th July, 1957 at Angul in Odisha for the first time in the country.

OBITUTARY

OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo

• Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) Secretary-General, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, passed away in Nigeria. He was at the age of 63.

• Barkindo born in 1959, had worked in the crude oil sector for around 35 years.

• He completed BSc (Hons) in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria (1981).
• He began his career with the Nigerian Mining Corporation in 1982.