NATIONAL NEWS

Gujarat Government Doubles Insurance Cover

• The Gujarat government has doubled the insurance cover under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMAY) from 11 July 2023.

• Now the beneficiaries of PMAY will be able to get an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh.

• According to state health minister Rushikesh Patel, the decision will benefit around 1.78 crore Ayushman Bharat card holders in the state.

• Beneficiaries under PMAY will get free medical treatment in two thousand government hospitals and 795 private hospitals in the state.
• Gujarat has received over 39 lakh claims under PMAY.
• Gujarat ranks fifth in the country in terms of number of claims and second in terms of amount of claims settled so far under PMAY.

India’s 1st Tele-MANAS Chat-Bot

• Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha launched India’s first Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) Chatbot for the Union territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

• The initiative will ensure round-the-clock services of Health Counsellors, Clinical Psychologists and Consultants.

• The service was launched after Sinha inaugurated ‘J-K Health Conclave’ on mental health and non-communicable diseases at Srinagar, J&K.

• Tele-MANAS is a two-tier system.

• Tier 1 comprises State Tele MANAS cells, which includes trained counsellors and mental health specialists.

• Tier 2 comprises specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or eSanjeevani for audio visual consultation.
• The MoU inked between the J-K Health and Medical Education Department and the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre will provide significant technical support to improve cancer care services in the UT.
• It helps to establish preventive oncology service, day care centres and palliative care service at district hospitals.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Launched ‘Ama Pokhari’

• Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Shri Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Ama Pokhari’ project to rejuvenate all water bodies in the urban areas of Odisha.

• The project was inaugurated at Lokseva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar and is expected to effectively address water scarcity by rejuvenating water bodies in a natural and sustainable manner.

• Under the Ama Pokhari scheme, 2,000 large water bodies in 115 urban areas will be rejuvenated and its periphery will be renovated for healthy space for the public.

• Rs 120 crore has been allocated to the implementation of the initiative.

• The project will be implemented using natural and organic methodology to improve the climate of surrounding areas.

• The renovation and maintenance of these water bodies will be done in collaboration with members of Mission Shakti.
• The water bodies will also be developed for the recreation of citizens.
• It will also help in strengthening the ecological fabric of cities.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

China Released Its First Open-Source Computer Operating System

• China has rolled out its first-ever homegrown computer operating system called OpenKylin.

• It is China’s first open-source desktop operating system (OS).

• It is a Linux-based operating system built by a community of about 4,000 developers and is used in its space programme and industries such as finance and energy.

• OpenKylin users have access to the software’s lines of code and can modify them as they wish, unlike Microsoft and Apple, which keep the workings of Windows and MacOS systems secret.

• The term “open source” refers to computer software or applications where the owners or copyright holders enable the users or third parties to use, see, and edit the product’s source code.
• The source code of an open-source OS is publicly visible and editable.

Taiwan To Open 3rd Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre

• The Taiwanese government will establish a Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in Mumbai, Maharashtra as part of a broader aim to further deepen cooperation with India.
• At present, Taiwan has TECCs in Delhi and Chennai.
• The main aim of opening the Cultural Centre is to enhance cooperation between both countries.
• Also, the move to set up the TECC in Mumbai comes at a time when major companies in Taiwan are increasingly looking at relocating their production bases to India from China.
• Taiwan has set up an office in Chennai in December 2012.
• Trade volume between both the countries increased from USD 2 billion in 2006 to USD 8.9 billion in 2021.
• India and Taiwan’s cooperation has increased in the area of trade, critical supply chains, science and technology, culture, and education in recent years.

BANKING

Punjab National Bank Launched India’s First Virtual Branch

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched India’s first virtual branch in Metaverse.
• With this, the bank will be able to deliver a unique experience to its customers, who can now explore bank deposits, digital payments, senior citizen deposits, and flagship schemes of the government of India.
• With the help of this, customers can explore the bank’s products and services such as bank deposits, retail/Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans, digital products, women/senior citizens, ‘Do It Yourself’, and government flagship schemes.
• In addition, the bank will offer an immersive 3D experience to customers while they perform traditional banking activities through their digital avatars.
• The metaverse is the emerging 3-D-enabled digital space that uses virtual reality, augmented reality, and other advanced internet and semiconductor technology to allow people to have lifelike personal and business experiences online.

ECONOMY

OECD Marginally Raises India’s GDP Growth Forecast

• The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has marginally raised its 2023-24 (FY24) growth forecast for India to 6 per cent, from 5.9 per cent estimated earlier, while maintaining that “weak global demand and the effect of monetary policy tightening will constrain” growth in the world’s fifth-largest economy in the current fiscal year.

• Moderating inflation and monetary policy easing in the second half of 2024 will help discretionary household spending regain momentum.

• This, along with improved global conditions, will help economic activity to accelerate, with a growth of 7 per cent in real gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024-25

• Global GDP growth in 2023 is projected to be 2.7 per cent, the lowest annual rate since the global financial crisis, except for the 2020 pandemic period.
• The robust FY23 GDP data and encouraging signs of high-frequency indicators led to a spate of upward revisions in FY24 GDP growth forecasts by analysts.

SPORTS

First Male Archer to Win a Gold Medal in The Recurve Event

• Parth Salunkhe has become the first male archer to win a gold medal in the recurve event at the World Youth Archery Championships held in Ireland.

• India finished with its highest ever medal tally of 11 medals in this championship.

• The 19-year-old from Satara in Maharashtra won the gold medal on July 9 after defeating a Korean in the Under-21 men's recurve individual final.

• Salunkhe, who topped the ranking round, defeated seventh seed Song Injun 7-3 in a hard-fought five-set match.
• India finished with six gold, one silver and four bronze medals, the highest in terms of total medal tally.
• In terms of rankings, they were second only to Korea, which took the pole position with six gold and four silver medals.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Performance Grading Index for States

• The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education released the Performance Grading Index (PGI) report for States/UTs, an index for evidence based comprehensive analysis of school education system in State/UTs.
• This year's report released by the Ministry of Education has been named PGI 2.0.
• No state has been found in the top-5 category of PGI.
• Punjab and Chandigarh have been placed at the top position with the highest number of points in the overall ranking of PGI.
• While on the parameters of learning outcome and quality, Rajasthan has also topped with Punjab and Chandigarh with the highest marks.
• The Ministry has set six standards and ten categories in place of the earlier five standards and eight categories to determine the performance of the states in school education, in which the subject of teacher education has been added anew.

DEFENCE

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh's Visit to Malaysia

• Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is on an official visit to Malaysia from 10 July to 11 July 2023.

• The main objective of this visit is to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation and further enhance political partnership.

• Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with Malaysian Defense Minister Dato' Seri Mohd Hassan, in which the two ministers will review defense cooperation between the two countries and explore new ways to further strengthen these ties.

• The two countries will also exchange views on regional and global issues of bilateral interest.

• Rajnath Singh will also call on Malaysian Prime Minister C YB Dato' Seri Anwar Bin-Ibrahim during his visit.
• Both India and Malaysia have a common interest in the peace and prosperity of the entire region.
• The two democracies share a strong and multi-faceted relationship, which extends to a number of strategic areas, including defense and security.