11 JULY 2020
CURRENT AFFAIRS
NATIONAL NEWS
PM Narendra Modi delivers inaugural address at India Global Week 2020 virtually
1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the India Global Week 2020, a virtual conference being organised in the UK.
Themed ”Be The Revival: India and a Better New World”, the event have 5,000 global participants from 30 nations and will be addressed by 250 global speakers in 75 sessions.
2. The conference feature a “never-seen-before” performance on the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat campaign.
3. The event also feature a “never-seen-before performance” on ‘Aatma Nirbhar Bharat’ by Madhu Nataraj and a special 100th birth anniversary concert in tribute to sitar maestro Ravi Shankar by three of his most eminent students.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
India Ranks Eighth For Cancer Preparedness Among 10 Asia-Pacific Countries: EIU
1.
India has been ranked eighth for cancer preparedness among 10 Asia-Pacific countries, according to a new report.
2. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report on “Cancer preparedness in Asia-Pacific: Progress towards universal cancer control”, sponsored by Roche, examines the findings from the EIU’s Index of Cancer Preparedness.
3. The report describes the complexities of the challenge of cancer facing 10 Asia-Pacific countries Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
4. Australia ranked 1st.
BANKING & FINANCE
IRDAI forms panel on ‘Indian Pandemic Risk Pool’
1.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a working group to examine the feasibility of ‘Pandemic Risk Pool’.
2. Suresh Mathur, Executive Director, Irdai, will be the Chairman for the 9-member working group with industry representatives as members.
3. The panel has been tasked to examine the possibility of addressing the different risks which have arised out of a COVID-19 pandemic with the help of a “Pandemic Risk Pool”.
4. Tamil Nadu tops market borrowings among States in 2020-21: RBI Data
According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Tamil Nadu has so far raised ₹30,500 crore in the fiscal 2020-21 and has topped market borrowings among States in the country.
5. Tamil Nadu has accounted for 17% of the borrowings done through the issue of bonds, known as state development loans.
6. With borrowings of ₹25,500 crore, Maharashtra accounted for 14%, followed by Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh at 17% each, as per the data.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
India’s GDP will contract by 3% in FY21 due to Covid-19: BofA Securities
1.
BofA Securities, a foreign brokerage, stated that India’s GDP will contract by 3% in FY21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, assuming the economy is opened up fully from next. The Indian GDP will contract this fiscal, with some estimates ranging up to 7% negative growth.
2. It also stated that RBI will monetize the fiscal deficit through the purchase of government bonds of up to $95 billion through open market operations (OMO), and its revaluation reserves of $127 billion will be used to recapitalize state-run banks.
Google relaunches Google Plus as Google Currents
1.
Internet search giant Google has relaunched its social networking platform Google+ as Currents.
2. The company has rebranded the app to Google Currents on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
3. The Google Currents app is now available on both the apps stores, however, it is only for enterprise customers.
MOU Signed By CBDT And SEBI For Data Exchange
1.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to facilitate the sharing of data between Sebi and CBDT on an automatic and regular basis.
2. In addition to regular exchange of data, SEBI and CBDT will also exchange with each other, on request and suo moto basis, any information available in their respective databases, for the purpose of carrying out their functions under various laws.
3. A Data Exchange Steering Group has also been constituted for the initiative, which will meet periodically to review the data exchange status and take steps to further improve the effectiveness of the data sharing mechanism.
SPORTS
Joshna Chinappa breaks into top-10 after World No.1 Raneem El Welily’s retirement
1.
India’s squash star Joshna Chinappa has broken into the top-10 of the PSA world rankings again after the shock retirement of Egyptian World No. 1 Raneem El Welily.
2. Joshna, who has not played since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved up a spot to be in 10th position.
3. The 33-year-old had entered the top-10 for the first time in 2016. Dipika Pallikal is the other Indian female player who has achieved the feat.
AWARDS
IOC receives Green Building Leadership Award
1.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that its new headquarters in Lausanne has been awarded the European 2020 US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership Award.
2. Olympic House, which also holds the rigorous LEED Platinum certification, is one of the most sustainable buildings in the world.
3. The award was announced by the USGBC, recognises “those advancing the development of sustainable, healthy and resilient buildings, cities and communities in regions around the world”.
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Indian Teenager in UAE Makes Guinness World Record with 101 One-Leg Hops over a Ruler
1.
An Indian teenager living in the United Arab Emirates broke a Guinness World Record by hopping over a ruler 101 times in 30 seconds.
2. The Dubai-based Indian national,Soham Mukherjee managed to break the previous title of 96 for Most side to side hops in 30 seconds.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launches Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligence System
1.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched BLUIS – Bhubaneswar Land Use Intelligence System, the flagship development of General Administration and Public grievances departments.
2. Under BLUIS, a web and mobile-based solution has been developed to monitor changes in all government lands in Bhubaneswar by leveraging high-resolution satellite imagery, thus making Odisha the first state in the country to tap space technology and artificial intelligence for safeguarding government lands.
3. BLUIS is a geo-tagged repository of all the government lands in Bhubaneswar, created through high-resolution satellite imagery to detect all changes taking place on government lands.
IITH, NVIDIA collaborate to establish 1st NVIDIA AI research centre
1.
The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH) is collaborating with NVIDIA, a multinational technology company, to establish India’s first ‘NVIDIA AI Technology Centre’ (NVAITC) to accelerate research on Artificial Intelligence and its commercial adoption.
2. IITH already houses two NVIDIA DGX-1TM systems and an NVIDIA DGX-2TM system dedicated to research being undertaken at the institute.
3. NVAITC will accelerate research for the 220 faculty at IIT Hyderabad, which is already among India’s foremost research institutions in just over a decade into its inception.
ENVIRONMENT
Himalayan butterfly named as India’s largest after 88 years
1.
A Himalayan butterfly named golden birdwing is now India’s largest, a record the southern birdwing held for 88 years.
2. The male golden birdwing is much smaller at 106 mm.
3. With a wingspan of 194 mm, the female of the species is marginally larger than the southern birdwing (190 mm) that Brigadier William Harry Evans, a British military officer and lepidopterist, recorded in 1932.
OBITUARIES
Veteran Telangana BJP Leader and Former Minister P Ramaswamy passes away
1.
Veteran BJP leader and former MLA P Ramaswamy died at a private hospital. He was 82.
2. Ramaswamy had served as MLA in 1983 and 19. 94He had represented Maharajgunj Assembly constituency in Hyderabad. He had also served as a minister.
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