Current Affairs in English – July 25 2022

National Events:

Three Books:

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur on 24 July 2022 released three books published by Directorate of Publications Division .
The three books are : ‘ Moods , Moments and Memories – Former Presidents of India ( 1950-2017 ) ‘ ; ‘ A Visual History First Citizen – Pictorial Record of President Ram Nath Kovind’s Term ‘ and ‘ Interpreting Geometries – Flooring of Rashtrapati Bhavan ‘.

SBI & Whatsapp:

SBI has officially begun offering WhatsApp banking services to its customers . Customers can know their account balance and check mini statements on the go via SBI WhatsApp banking services .
Recently in July , Open agri network Samunnati has entered into a co – lending partnership with SBI to expand its outreach to Farmer Producer Organisations ( FPOs ) . SBI Chairman : Dinesh Kumar Khara.

HDFC Bank:

HDFC Bank will be among the world’s top 10 most valuable banks after its merger with parent HDFC . The combined market cap of HDFC Bank and HDFC would be around $ 160 billion .
HDFC Bank is a systemically important bank in India along with SBI and ICICI Bank . Recently in April , RBI approved HDFC Bank’s proposed merger with parent and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd ( HDFC ).

Joint Theatre Commands:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 24 July 2022 announced the setting up of joint theatre commands of the tri – services to enhance coordination among the armed forces .
Each of the theatre commands will have units of the Army , the Navy & the Air Force and all of them will work as a single entity looking after security challenges in a specified geographical territory .

Flag Code of India:

The Government has amended the Flag Code of India to allow the tricolour to be displayed in the open & on individual houses or buildings through day & night .
The provision earlier allowed the flag , when displayed in the open , to be flown from sunrise to sunset . The Flag Code was earlier amended in 2021 , allowing the use of polyester , apart from cotton , wool , silk khadi for making flags .

Income Tax Day : 24 July:

Income Tax Day is observed in India every year on July 24 . It was first observed in 2010 to commemorate 150 years of Income tax in India . On July 24 , 1860 , James Wilson introduced income tax for the first time in India .
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) celebrates this day by organizing several programmes across the country to promote the payment of taxes . CBDT Chairman : Nitin Gupta.

Droupadi Murmu:

Droupadi Murmu to take oath as the 15th President of India today . The oath of the office will be administered by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana .
She will be the first President to be born after Independence and is the youngest to occupy the top post .
She is also the first tribal woman candidate and second woman in the country to occupy the highest constitutional position of India .

Death of tigers:

27 tigers have died this year in Madhya Pradesh, known as the state of tigers. A total of 74 tigers have died in the country. These details are contained in the information published on the website of the National Tiger Conservation Commission.
Accordingly, in the period from the beginning of this year to July 15, 74 deaths of tigers have been reported across the country.

International Events:

World Drowning Prevention Day : 25 July:

World Drowning Prevention Day is celebrated annually on 25 July . The United Nations recognised this day for the global advocacy of drowning prevention with a resolution . The day was recognised in April 2021 by a General Assembly resolution .
According to the UN , an estimated 2,36,000 people drown annually , which makes drowning a major public health problem all around the world .

Monkeypox vaccine:

Monkeypox vaccine , Imvanex has been approved by the European Medicines Agency ( EMA ) for protecting adults from the virus as cases soar globally .
The vaccine of Bavarian Nordic origin , which is currently used against Smallpox , received the European nod based on the recommendation of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use ( CHMP ) , which showed protection against the monkeypox virus .

Wasifa Nazreen:

Mountaineer Wasifa Nazreen became the first Bangladeshi to scale the second highest mountain peak K2 in Pakistan . She climbed the 8611 metres or 28,251 feet high K2 mountain peak and returned to the base camp on 22 July 2022 .
Wasifa Nazreen climbed Mount Everest in 2012 . She is the second woman from Bangladesh to do so .

Long March 5B:

China has successfully launched the second space module to its permanent space station on 24 July 2022 . The 23 – tonne Wentian laboratory module was launched on the rocket , the Long March 5B .
The Wentian lab module will enable astronauts carry out scientific experiments , along with the other lab module . This is the second of the three space modules required for its permanent space station .

Global Energy Prize:

Kaushik Rajashekara , an Indian – origin professor at the University of Houston , has won the prestigious Global Energy Prize for the year 2022 .
He has won the prize for outstanding contributions to transportation electrification and energy efficiency technologies while reducing power generation emissions . This award is given by Global Energy Association in Russia . First awarded : 2003.

Ahmad Nawaf Al – Ahmad Al – Sabah:

Ahmad Nawaf Al – Ahmad Al – Sabah has been appointed the new Prime Minister of Kuwait , 3 months after the ex – Kuwaiti government resigned .The Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al – Jaber issued an Emiri Decree on 19 July 2022 appointing him Prime Minister .
Former PM Sheikh Sabah Al – Khaled had resigned from the post in April 2022 . Kuwait Capital : Kuwait City. Currency : Kuwaiti dinar.

Sports Events:

World Athletics Championships:

Neeraj Chopra on 24 July 2022 won a Silver medal in the men’s javelin throw event at World Athletics Championships in Eugene , US .
Grenadian Anderson Peters won the gold medal with a throw of 90.54 meters .With this win , Neeraj Chopra has become the first ever Indian to win a silver medal at World Athletics Championships .

Max Verstappen:

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix on 24 July 2022 . Verstappen has won seven races in 2022 – Saudi Arabian GP , Emilia Romagna GP , Miami GP , Spanish GP , Azerbaijan GP , Canadian GP , and now the French GP .

Casper Ruud:

Norway’s Casper Ruud won 2022 Swiss Open held in Gstaad , Switzerland on 24 July 2022 . The Swiss Open is Ruud’s 3rd title in 2022 , the other two titles are Buenos Aires and Geneva Open . Ruud had also won the 2021 Swiss Open title .