Current Affairs in English – July 18 2022

July 18 , 2022

National Events:

Jagdeep Dhankhar:

• President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignation of West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who has been named as the ruling National Democratic Alliance candidate for the vice presidential election .
• Dhankhar was appointed as the Governor in 2019 . La Ganesan , Governor of Manipur , has been appointed to discharge the functions of the Governor of West Bengal , in addition to his own duties .

Hindalco & Phinergy:

• Hindalco has signed an MoU with Israel’s Phinergy .It will develop and pilot the production of aluminium plates for aluminium – air batteries in India .
• IOC Phinergy , a joint venture between Phinergy and Indian Oil Corporation is also party to the agreement .

Food Products Export:

• The exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 14 % in the first three months of the financial year 2022-23 compared to the corresponding period of 2021-22 .
• The overall export has increased to 5,987 million dollars from April to June 2022 from 5,256 million dollars over the same period of 2021-22 . Rice exports has witnessed a growth of 13 percent .

CII-EXIM Bank Conclave 2022:

• Vice President of Gambia Badara A Joof has arrived in India on 18 July 2022 . He is on a 5 – day visit to India . Badara Joof will participate in CII – EXIM Bank conclave 2022 along with attending other bilateral engagements .
• The 17th CII – EXIM Bank Conclave on India – Africa Growth Partnership will be held in New Delhi on 19 July 2022 .

Swavlamban:

• PM Narendra Modi addressed the NIIO ( Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation ) Seminar ‘ Swavlamban ‘ on 18 July 2022 at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi .
• He unveiled ‘ SPRINT Challenges , aimed at giving a boost to usage of indigeneous technology in the Indian Navy . SPRINT stands for Supporting Pole – Vaulting in R & D through iDEX , NIIO and TDAC .

JSW Steel & BCG:

• JSW Steel has collaborated with Boston Consulting Group ( BCG ) for its decarbonisation and sustainability agenda .
• As part of this , BCG will leverage its proprietary CO2 Al platform along with its best – in – class digital and analytics capabilities to support JSW Steel .
• JSW Steel has an ambitious target of reducing its carbon emission by 42 per cent by 2029-30 versus base year 2005 .

NITI Aayog & WFP:

• NITI Aayog and the World Food Programme ( WFP ) , India , will launch the ‘ Mapping and Exchange of Go Practices ‘ initiative for mainstreaming millets in Asia and Africa on 19 July 2022 .
• Both will prepare a compendium of good practices for scaling up the production and consumption of millets in India and abroad . The event will be inaugurated by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery .

RBI & GCC:

• The Reserve Bank of India has informed that the share of remittances from the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC ) region to India has declined in 2021 .
• These observations were made in a recent article titled ‘ Headwinds of COVID – 19 and India’s Inward Remittances ‘.
• Remittances are the second major source of external financing for low and middle – income countries after foreign direct investment .

JC Flowers ARC & Yes Bank:

• Yes Bank has selected JC Flowers ARC as partner to form an asset reconstruction company to sell bad loans of the bank valuing 48,000 crore .
• The bank signed a binding term sheet with JCF ARC LLC and JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction Pvt . Ltd. for this strategic partnership .This is being termed the single – largest bad loan deal . Yes Bank MD & CEO : Prashant Kumar. Headquarters : Mumbai.

Income of Farmers:

• A study by SBI shows the average income of farmers rose by 1.3 -1.7 times across India between financial year 2017-18 and 2021-22 .Increase in income of farmers engaged in cash crops was noteworthy compared to farmers growing non – cash crops .
• Income from allied and non – farm activities grew by a significant 1.4-1.8 times in line with the increase in farmers ‘ income during the same period .

First and only state in the country:

• Kerala has announced that it has become the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service . It was announced when the Kerala Fiber Optic Network Ltd ( KFON ) received the Internet Service Provider ( ISP ) license from the Dept of Telecommunications .
• KFON scheme is envisaged to provide free internet to BPL families & 30,000 govt offices in the state . It was launched in 2019.

NSE & SEBI:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) has appointed Ashish Kumar Chauhan as the new MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange ( NSE ) .
• He is known as the ‘ father of India’s financial derivatives ‘. He is one of the founders of the NSE.

INS Sindhudhvaj:

• The Indian Navy’s Kilo – class submarine , INS Sindhudhvaj was decommissioned from service on 16 July 2022 after 35 years in service .
• Commissioned into the Navy in 1987 , Sindhudhvaj , was one of the 10 Kilo – class submarines India acquired from Russia between 1986 and 2000 .
• It was the only submarine to be awarded the Chief of Naval Staff ( CNS ) rolling trophy for Innovation by PM Modi .

5% GST:

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs clarified on single packages of food items like cereals , pulses and flour weighing up to 25 kg will be considered as ‘ prepackaged and labelled ‘ , liable to 5 % GST from July 18 .
• If a retail shopkeeper supplies in loose quantity the item bought from a manufacturer or distributor in a 25 kg pack , such sale to consumers will not attract GST .

UNDP & Telangana:

• The United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) , has partnered with Telangana for Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture ( DICRA ) .
• DICRA is a first – of – its – kind digital solution that aims to strengthen food systems and food security by the use of Artificial Intelligence ( Al ) technology . DICRA will help farmers mitigate the effects of climate change on their crops and livestock .

Meleveetil Damodaran:

• Interglobe Aviation , the parent company of private airline IndiGo , on 16 July 2022 appointed Meleveetil Damodaran as Non – Independent Non – Executive Director . Mr. M. Damodaran is a retired IAS officer .
• He was the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) from 2005 to 2008 . He is widely acknowledged as one of India’s foremost champions of Corporate Governance .

Tata Steel:

• Tata Steel plans to invest ₹ 8,500 crore in India and 3,500 crore on the company’s operations in Europe in FY23 . In India , the focus will be on the Kalinganagar project expansion and mining activity .
• The company is expanding the capacity of its plant in Kalinganagar , Odisha from 3 MT to 8 MT . Tata Steel recently also spent 12,100 crore on the acquisition of Odisha based steel mill NINL .

Tamil Nadu Events:

Tamil Nadu Thirunal:

• On behalf of the Tamil Nadu government, the Tamil Nadu Thirunal special ceremony (July 18) is being held. Chennai province was named Tamil Nadu on July 18, 1967 by former Chief Minister Anna.

International Events:

International Nelson Mandela Day : 18 July:

• Every year on July 18 , Mandela Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of the former President of South Africa . The United Nations officially designated Nelson Mandela International Day or Mandela Day in November 2009 .
• The day is celebrated worldwide to commemorate achievements of the anti – apartheid leader . He was the country’s first black president .

World Day for International Justice : 17 July:

• July 17 is observed as the World Day for International Justice all around the world . The day is observed every year to back and promote those people , who voice their support for the rights of the victims and against injustice .
• This day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 . The theme for 2022 is ” Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment “.

Aviation Passenger Charter:

• The British government launched an ” Aviation Passenger Charter ” on 17 July 2022 to help passengers know their rights if they are faced with problems at airports .
• The new charter will help passengers know what to do if they are confronted by cancellations , delays or missing baggage . It has been developed by the British government , in partnership with the aviation sector & travel industry .

Sports Events:

PV Sindhu:

• Indian shuttler PV Sindhu clinched her maiden Women’s Single title of the Singapore Open Badminton tournament on 17 July 2022 .
• Sindhu has won three titles in 2022- the Swiss Open , Syed Modi India International , and now the Singapore Open .

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar:

• Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar has won a gold medal in the Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions ( 3P ) event in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation ( ISSF ) World Cup in Changwon , Korea .
• He defeated Hungarian Zakan Pekler in the gold medal match .This was the Aishwary’s second ISSF World Cup gold . India currently leads the medal tally with four gold , four silver and one bronze medal so far .

R Praggnanandhaa:

• Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa on 16 July 2022 won the Open A section of the 15th International Chess Open Paracin held in the town of Paracin in Serbia .He scored 8 points from nine rounds .
• Alexandr Predke ( Russian ) took the second spot with 7.5 points . Praggnanandhaa will also be part of India ‘ B ‘ team in the 44th Chess Olympiad to be held near Chennai from 28 July 2022 .