Current Affairs in English – July 8 2022

National Events:

Dengue and Chikungunya:

In order to control Dengue and Chikungunya , ICMR – Vector Control Research Centre ( VCRC ) has developed special female mosquitoes that will mate with males and produce larvae that do not carry these viruses .
Two colonies of Aedes aegypti , infected with wMel and wAlbB Wolbachia strains called Ae . aegypti ( Pud ) for decreasing the spread of the viral disease , have been developed .

Gita Gopinath:

India – born Gita Gopinath has become the first woman and second Indian to feature on the ‘ wall of former chief economists ‘ of the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) .Raghuram Rajan was the first Indian to feature on this wall .
Gita was the first – ever woman chief economist of the IMF .At present , she is serving as the Deputy Managing Director of the IMF since January 21 , 2022 .

UN Report:

The number of undernourished people in India has declined in the last 15 years to 224.3 million in 2019-2021 , according to a UN report .
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 report , said that the number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021 .
Number of obese adults in India , grew to 34.3 million in 2016 from 25.2 million in 2012 .

Confederation of Indian Industry:

R Dinesh , Executive Vice – Chairman , TVS Supply Chain Solutions , has been elected President Designate of the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII ) for 2022-23 .
He was the Chairman of CII Southern Region during 2018-19 .He will replace Sanjiv Bajaj .

Nokia & IISc, Bengalore:

Nokia has announced a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science ( IISc ) in Bengaluru to set up the Nokia Centre Excellence ( CoE ) .
The CoE will promote inter – disciplinary research involving robotics and advanced communication technologies in 5G and Al .
It will also develop use cases across industrial automation , agriculture , and disaster management .

‘ Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam’:

PM Narendra Modi on 7 July 2022 inaugurated ‘ Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam ‘ on implementation of the National Education Policy ( NEP ) in Varanasi . The Ministry of Education is organising Shiksha Samagam from 7th to 9th July 2022 .
It will provide a platform for academicians & policymakers to deliberate , share their experiences & discuss the roadmap for effective implementation of the NEP 2020 .

‘ SVANidhi Mahotsav ‘:

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on 7 July 2022 launched ‘ SVANidhi Mahotsav ‘ in New Delhi . It is a cultural festival for celebrating the success of the ‘ PM SVANidhi ‘ Scheme .
Prime Minister Street Vendors Atma Nirbhar Nidhi – PM SVANidhi scheme was launched on 1 June 2020 as the first comprehensive effort for the financial inclusion of street vendors .

‘ Statue of Peace ‘:

Home Minister Amit Shah on 7 July 2022 unveiled the ‘ Statue of Peace ‘ of Swamy Ramanujacharya at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir . Ramanujacharya is revered as a Ve philosopher and social reformer .
He revived the Bhakti movement and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought . He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya , Bhakta Ramdas , Kabir , and Meerabai .

MoD allowed 3 private sector banks:

Ministry of Defence ( MoD ) on 7 July 2022 allowed 3 private sector banks , for the first time to provide financial services to it for overseas procurement of military hardware . These 3 banks are HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank & Axis Bank .
In this regard , MoD has signed MoUs with each of these three banks . Till now , only authorised public sector banks were utilised to provide these services to MoD .

GST Council:

The GST Council has set up a Group of Ministers , chaired by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala . It will suggest required changes in the law for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal ( GSTAT ).
The 6 – member GoM would also ensure that the amendments are in line with various court judgements relating to setting up the tribunal .

Electric Vehicle ( EV ) policy:

The Chhattisgarh Cabinet on 7 July 2022 approved its Electric Vehicle ( EV ) policy .The aim of this policy is to create a robust charging infrastructure , ease the conversion of existing vehicles into hybrid or electric models & incentivise manufacturing .
This announcement makes Chhattisgarh the 21st State in the country that has announced its EV policy . Chhattisgarh CM – Bhupesh Baghel.

‘ Animal Health Summit ‘:

Union Minister Parshottam Rupala on 6 July 2022 inaugurated First India ‘ Animal Health Summit ‘ 2022 in New Delhi . It was organised by the Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture ( ICFA ) and the Agriculture Today Group .
This summit was held to understand the significance of animal health towards the broader objective of the country’s food and nutrition security and overall economic development .

International Events:

British Prime Minister:

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 7 July 2022 announced his resignation . He lasted just three years as the British Prime Minister .
Johnson was forced to quit when more than 40 ministers and aides , including three cabinet members , quit the government on 5 July 2022 demanding his resignation .

Inter – governmental Committee of UNESCO:

India has been elected to the Inter – governmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage ( ICH ) for four years ( 2022-2026 cycle ) .
The elections for this took place at UNESCO headquarters , in Paris from 5 to 7 July 2022 . This Committee consists of 24 members . India ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH in September 2005 .

BRICS:

The 8th Meeting of BRICS Communications Ministers was held in virtual mode on 6 July 2022 under the presidency of China . Minister of Railways , Communications , Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw , participated in the meeting .
The Ministers decided to work in the field of ICTs in areas identified at the 14th BRICS Summit . The Ministers also adopted a Declaration .

Sports Events:

Rohit Sharma:

Rohit Sharma became the first captain in cricketing history to win 13 consecutive T20ls . Rohit achieved this feat during the first T20 match of the three – match series against England on 7 July 2022 at Southampton .