Current Affairs in English – July 28 2022

National Events:

National Institute of Virology:

Monkeypox virus has been for the first time isolated in India by the National Institute of Virology ( NIV ) in Pune . NIV works under Indian Council for Medical Research- ICMR .
Genomic sequence of the Indian strains has 99.85 percent match with the West African Strains circulating globally . Monkeypox is an acute viral disease and its symptoms are fever , Lymph node enlargement , etc.

Bill to amend the two – decade – old Competition Act:

The Union cabinet has cleared a Bill to amend the two – decade – old Competition Act .It aims to reform the competition regulation ecosystem .
The Competition ( Amendment ) Bill seeks to introduce changes to the governing structure of the Competition Commission of India ( CCI ) and modify the substantive provisions in law to address the needs of new age markets .

Dinesh Shahra Lifetime Award:

Dinesh Shahra Foundation ( DSF ) has instituted a first – of – its – kind ‘ Dinesh Shahra Lifetime Award ‘ for Excellence in Music .The initiative is supported by the Indian Arts & Cultural Society .
Apart from a trophy or memento , the recognition will also include a significant cash component . Dinesh Shahra’s book – Sanatan Leela , was also launched during the event .

BM – SEAL – 11:

The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved additional investment of $ 1,600 million ( around 12,000 crore ) by Bharat Petro Resources Ltd ( BPRL ) for development of BM – SEAL – 11 Concession Project in Brazil .
The BPRL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited ( BPCL ) .Since 2008 , BPRL has been associated with development of this project in Brazil .

ISRO:

ISRO has earned 279 million dollars in foreign exchange by launching satellites for global clients . ISRO in association with its commercial arms has successfully launched 345 foreign satellites from 34 countries on – board Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle ( PSLV ) .
Recently on June 30 , PSLV – C53 mission by ISRO , successfully launched 3 Singapore customer satellites : DS – EO , NeuSAR and SCOOB – 1.

CWG:

Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh & shuttler PV Sindhu have been named as India’s flag – bearers for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games ( CWG ) 2022 .
Sindhu was also the flagbearer at the 2018 CWG in Gold Coast .A total of 215 athletes from India will be taking part in the CWG 2022 taking place in Birmingham , England from 28 July to 8 August 2022 .

BSNL:

The Union Cabinet on 27 July 2022 approved a revival package of over Rs 1.64 lakh crore for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited ( BSNL ) . It includes cash support of Rs 43,964 crore and non – cash support of Rs 1.20 lakh crore .
The package is aimed at making BSNL a sustainable entity & vibrant telecom player . The revival programme is for a 4 – year period . BSNL Founded : 2000 . Chairman : Pravin Purwar.

HAL & Honeywell:

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL ) on 27 July 2022 signed a contract worth over $ 100 million with US – based Honeywell .Under this contract , Honeywell will supply and manufacture 88 engines for the HAL’s Hindustan Trainer Aircraft ( HTT – 40 ) .
It will also provide maintenance services for HTT – 40 . HTT – 40 is a training aircraft built by HAL for Indian Air Force . HAL Chairman : R Madhavan.

Tats Steel & AUS:

Tata Steel has signed a MoU with Aarav Unmanned Systems ( AUS ) , a Bengaluru – based startup , providing end – to – end drone solutions for effective mine management .
Both companies will work together to provide exclusive drone – based solutions , including mine analytics and geo – technical mapping . Tata Steel recently also spent 12,100 crore on the acquisition of Odisha based steel mill NINL .

Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance:

A discussion paper on ‘ Climate Risk and Sustainable Finance ‘ was released by RBI . In discussion paper , RBI said it intends to prepare a strategy based on the global best practices on mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change .
RBI suggested that banks and other financial institutions could consider eliminating the use of paper at their branches as well as introduce e – receipts at ATMs .

Kerala Savari:

Next month, the Kerala state government will launch a rental car booking app called ‘Kerala Savari’ to compete with rental car booking apps like Ola and Uber.
While no other state government in the country has taken such an initiative, the Kerala government has taken this new initiative.

Tamil Nadu Events:

CM’s breakfast scheme:

In Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister’s breakfast scheme has been introduced for students studying up to class V.
One lakh 14,095 students from 1,545 government primary schools will benefit under this scheme.

International Events:

World Nature Conservation Day : 28 July:

World Nature Conservation Day is observed on 28 July every year . The day is observed to create awareness on the importance of protecting natural resources . The theme for World Nature Conservation Day 2022 is ‘ Living Sustainably in Harmony with Nature .
The Earth is currently facing several challenges such as climate . change , loss of habitat for wildlife , deforestation , etc.

World Hepatitis Day : 28 July:

World Hepatitis Day is observed each year on 28 July . It is observed to raise awareness about viral hepatitis , which causes inflammation of the liver that leads to severe disease and liver cancer .
The hepatitis virus has five primary strains : types A , B , C , D and E. The first World Hepatitis Day was observed in 2008 . The theme for 2022 is ‘ Bringing hepatitis care closer to you’.

ICC:

The International Cricket Council ( ICC ) awarded Associate membership status to 3 new countries on 26 July 2022 during the ICC Annual Conference in Birmingham . These three new members include Cambodia & Uzbekistan from Asia and Cote D’Ivoire from Africa .
The addition of these new countries has taken the total number of ICC members to 108 countries including 96 associates .

Rare pure pink diamond:

A rare pure pink diamond , believed to be the largest found in 300 years , has been unearthed in Angola , a country in Central Africa . It is a 170 – carat pink diamond & has been named ‘ The Lulo Rose ‘ .
It weighs 34 grams .Miners in Angola discovered it at the Lulo mine in Angola’s diamond – rich northeast . The Lulo Rose is a type 2a diamond , meaning it has few or no impurities .

Sports Events:

Coca-Cola & Neeraj Chopra:

Coca – Cola has signed Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra for Limca Sportz promotion .Recently , Neeraj Chopra has become the first – ever Indian to win a silver medal at World Athletics Championships with his best throw of 88.13 m .
Also , Neeraj Chopra has been ruled out of the Birmingham . Commonwealth Games 2022 in England due to an injury he picked up at World Athletics Championships .

Leicester Cricket Ground:

In England , the Leicester Cricket Ground has been named after India’s legendary cricketer , Sunil Gavaskar .It has been named after Gavaskar to acknowledge his immense contribution to uplifting Indian Cricket to a certain height .
There is already a ground named after Gavaskar in the Kentucky area of the US . Gavaskar was the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in test cricket .