Top Current Affairs 8th July 2021 at Freshers Wisdom

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Top Current Affairs

Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assasinated

• Haiti has declared a state of emergency after the assassination of its President Jovenel Moïse.
• He was shot dead and his wife injured in an attack on their home in the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince.
• Mr. Moïse had led the Caribbean country, one of the poorest nations in the world, since 2017 but had faced widespread protests demanding his resignation.

Panchayati Raj Min organises a training

• An orientation training programme on Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, India@75 was organised by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj for all 225 Panchayats identified for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, on 7 July’21.
• The programme was chaired by Chandra Shekhar Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Ministry.
• The programme was attended by Joint Secretaries of the Ministry, representatives of State and UT Depts, etc.

Former Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh passes away

• Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Virbhadra Singh passed away in July 2021.
• Veerbhdra Singh is the longest-serving CM of Himachal Pradesh.
• He was currently the MLA from Arki in Solan district.
• Nine-time MLA and five-time MP, Singh was Himachal Pradesh’s CM for six terms.

Swami Prakashananda passes away

• Former chief of Sivagiri Mutt and one of the oldest spiritual leaders, Swami Prakashananda passed away in July 2021.
• One of the longest-serving Presidents of the Sree Narayana Dharma Sangham Trust, Swami Prakashananda had made significant contributions in converting Sivagiri Mutt into a global spiritual center.
• Sivagiri Mutt was established by 20th-century reformer Sree Narayana Guru.

“Balidan Diwas” commemorated

• To commemorate the “Balidan Diwas” of the Kargil war hero of 1999, Captain Vikram Batra, his then Commanding Officer and now General Officer Commanding in Chief Northern Command, Lieutenant General Y K Joshi paid homage to his fallen comrade from the sky.
• Captain Batra had made the supreme sacrifice after capturing Point 4875 now known as Batra Top. 

12 Union Ministers resign

• 12 members of the Council of Ministers resigned from their post on 7 July 2021.
• They include Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Prakash Javadekar, and Santosh Kumar Gangwar.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignations.
• The resignation of Babul Supriyo, Sanjay Dhotre, etc. have also been accepted.

Portfolios of Union Ministers announced- I

• Portfolios for PM Modi’s new council of ministers have been announced after its expansion.
• Home Minister Amit Shah is the new Minister of Cooperation in addition to his old Home portfolio.
• Dharmendra Pradhan is the Education Minister along with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia is the Civil Aviation Minister.
• Kiren Rijiju will be the Law Minister.

Portfolios of Union Ministers announced- II

• Hardeep Singh Puri is the Minister for Petroleum and will continue in the Housing and Urban Development ministry.
• Anurag Singh Thakur is the new Information and Broadcasting Minister and Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Mansukh Mandaviya is the new Health Minister as well as the Minister for Chemical and Fertilizers.
• Sarbananda Sonowal is the new Ports and Shipping Minister.

A book by Venu Madhav released

• A book titled ‘The Fourth Lion: Essays for Gopalkrishna Gandhi’ has been released.
• It has been authored by Venu Madhav Govindu and Srinath Raghavan.
• The book consists of twenty-six essays contributed by individuals drawn from various walks of life and from across the globe.
• A book titled ‘The Fourth Lion: Essays for Gopalkrishna Gandhi’ authored by Venu Madhav Govindu and Srinath Raghavan.

World Chocolate Day: 7 July

• World Chocolate Day is celebrated every year on 7 July.
• Chocolate came into existence in 450 BC.
• It first originated in Mesoamerica where fermented beverages were created out of the beans from inside the cacao pods. 
• Chocolates were first brought to Europe in the 16th century and July 7, 1550, was the day when chocolates were brought to the continent.

Neha Parikh joins Waze as CEO

• Neha Parikh has been appointed as the new CEO of Waze, a crowd-sourced navigation app and a subsidiary of Google.
• She is the former Indian-American President of the travel website Hotwire.
• Neha, a board member of the online used car retailer Carvana, replaced Noam Bardin, who stepped down in November 2020 as the CEO after leading the Israeli company for 12 years.

Jim Whitehurst resigns as IBM President

• Jim Whitehurst has decided to resign as the President of IBM just 14 months after joining the role.
• He will continue to serve as Senior Advisor to Chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna. IBM.
• IBM also announced other transitions and changes in senior management.
• Rob Thomas will be Senior Vice President of Global Markets.
• Tom Rosamilia will be Senior Vice President of Cloud and Cognitive Software.

Thumbs Up partners with Tokyo Olympic Games

• The Coca-Cola Company’s home-grown soft drink brand, Thums Up, has announced to become a worldwide partner at the Olympic Games.
• This is probably the first time when a beverage firm from India is partnering with the Olympic Games.
• Thums Up will unveil a creative and innovative marketing campaign as an ode to the athletes and their difficult journey.

Hockey legend Keshav Datt dies

• Two-time Olympic gold medallist in hockey, Keshav Datt, passed away in July 2021.
• He was part of India’s historic feat at the 1948 Olympics where they beat home team Britain 4-0 at the Wembley Stadium in London to win the first gold post Independence.
• Before the 1948 Olympics, Datt had toured East Africa under the leadership of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand in 1947.

ADB establishes the high-level advisory group

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has joined with leading public health experts, vaccine regulators, and policymakers.
• It has formed an advisory group with them.
• The group will provide its developing member countries (DMCs) with expert technical and scientific advice on the quality, safety, and effectiveness of vaccines for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

JSPL announces investment in Odisha

• Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL) will invest over ₹1 lakh crore in Odisha to create employment opportunities in the state.
• 5 projects have been approved in the metal and metal downstream sectors.
• These projects include expansion of Bhushan Power and Steel Integrated Steel Plant in Sambalpur, expansion of Tata Steel Ltd crude steel production, etc.

Mohammad Azharuddin: HCA President

• Mohammad Azharuddin has been re-instated as President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association by Ombudsman Justice (retd) Deepak Verma.
• In an interim order, the HCA Ombudsman temporarily disqualified five members of the HCA Apex Council –K John Manoj, Vice President, R Vijayanand, Naresh Sharma, Surender Agarwal, and Anuradha.

Tech Mahindra partners with StaTwig

• Tech Mahindra has partnered with StaTwig to implement vaccine traceability platform ‘VaccineLedger’ globally.
• StaTwig is a Singapore and Hyderabad-based digital supply chain solution provider.
• The companies aim to roll out a blockchain-based traceability solution for global vaccine supply chain transparency, predict and prevent failures in supply chains, etc.

Rythu Bharosa Chaitanya Yatra to be held

• Andhra Pradesh govt will conduct Rythu Bharosa Chaitanya Yatra from July 9-July 23, 2021.
• It will create awareness among farmers on agriculture-related aspects like CMAPP (Continuous Monitoring of Agriculture Prices and Procurement), e-cropping, and many more.
• The collectors were instructed by the Chief Minister to conduct mandated inspections to ensure that the deficiencies are rectified.

Govt sells up to 7.49% equity in NMDC Ltd

• The government sold up to 7.49% equity in NMDC Ltd through an offer for sale on 6 July 2021.
• 3.49% of it was sold through a green-shoe option.
• With the divestment, the government ended up reducing its stake to 60.8% in the iron-ore producer.
• The proceeds from the sale will take the government towards the target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore set for FY22.

Dept of Public Enterprises under Fin. Ministry

• The Finance Ministry has been expanded with the addition of the Department of Public Enterprises.
• It is the nodal entity for policy formulation for all central public sector units (PSU).
• As per the department website, it was set up as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) in 1965 in the Ministry of Finance.
• Till now, it was part of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

Patient care guidelines updated by WHO

• Patient care guidelines have been updated once again by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• It now includes the usage of interleukin-6 receptor blockers.
• It is a lifesaving drug for patients who are critically ill or have a severe case of COVID-19.
• Coupled with the use of corticosteroids, the treatment is exceptional.

Saudi Arabia to invest in the transport sector

• Saudi Arabia will invest over 500 billion riyals ($133.34 billion) in airports, sea ports, rail and other infrastructure by the end of the decade.
• This is in a bid to make the kingdom a global transportation and logistics hub.
• It plans to increase the number of international aviation routes from 99 to over 250 and more than triple total annual passenger traffic to 330 million by 2030.

Amazon launches ‘Digital Kendra’

• Amazon India has announced the launch of its first brick-and-mortar resource center, ‘Digital Kendra’ in Surat, Gujarat.
• This is in line with its mission to digitize 10 million small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India.
• ‘Digital Kendras’ will act as walk-in establishments and provide MSMEs the opportunity to learn about the benefits of e-commerce and avail a range of third-party services.

The first solo motorcycle expedition concludes

• The world’s first solo motorcycle expedition undertaken by Kanchan Ugusandi, covering 18 treacherous passes in Northern Himalayan ranges culminated on 7 July 2021 in New Delhi.
• Kanchan has become the first solo woman biker to scale the Umlingla Pass.
• She has also become the first woman to cover the 18 passes and also the first woman to traverse a distance of 3,187 kilometers.

MNRE organises a webinar

• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), in collaboration with the International Solar Alliance (ISA), organized a webinar on “Women in Renewable Energy and Sustainability”, on 7 July 2021.
• The webinar featured two-panel discussions.
• The theme for the first panel was “Women Leadership in Renewables: Envisioning a New World”.

New solar thermal components testing facility

• A Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) based test rig facility has been established at Hyderabad.
• The facility has been set up by the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI).
• It will validate solar thermal components such as solar receiver tubes, heat transfer fluids, concentrating mirrors, etc. of the CST system in field conditions.

Database of genomic variations in oral cancer

• DBT-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG) has created a database of genomic variations in oral cancer.
• It is the first of its kind in the world.
• NIBMG has made this database publicly accessible.
• dbGENVOC is a browsable online database of GENomic variants of oral cancer and is a free resource.
• Oral cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among men in India.

Paris to quit Franco-German MAWS programme

• Paris will leave the Franco-German Maritime Airborne Warfare System (MAWS) defence procurement programme.
• The decision came after Germany’s decision to buy maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing.
• Germany’s Defence Ministry would buy five Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft for about 1.1 billion euros ($1.30 billion).

JK Tyre collaborates with Hyundai Motor

• JK Tyre and Industries Ltd, one of the country’s largest tyre manufacturers has announced a collaboration with Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country’s second-largest passenger vehicle manufacturer.
• They have collaborated for the new six and seven-seater sports utility vehicle, Alcazar.
• JK Tyre had earlier partnered with Hyundai for its midsize sports utility vehicle, Creta.

Bengaluru police launch a new payment system

• Bengaluru Police has started a new facility allowing traffic violators to pay fine in cashless mode.
• Bengaluru residents will be able to pay fine through PayTM electronic wallet mode.
• The move has been taken to eliminate cash transactions and enhance transparency.
• Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) BR Ravikanthe Gowda has launched the new facility.

HDFC Ltd sells stake in Hindustan Oil

• HDFC Ltd has sold a 2.46% stake in the Hindustan Oil Exploration Company (HOECL).
• Out of 1,48,26,303 equity shares of Rs. 10 each held by the Corporation in Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Limited (HOECL), the Corporation has sold 32,53,517 shares representing 2.46% of the paid-up share capital of HOECL.
• The total consideration for the sale of 32,53,517 shares is Rs. 37.19 crores.

Vman Aviation Services signs an agreement

• Indian aircraft leasing company Vman Aviation Services has become the first company from the business district to sign an aircraft purchase agreement after placing an order for an Airbus H125 helicopter.
• Vman will soon announce its first dry lease transaction.
• A dry lease is a leasing arrangement where an aircraft lessor provides an aircraft without crew to an airline or corporation.

Moderna begins human trial for flu vaccine

• Moderna has dosed its first participants in a human study of an mRNA vaccine that targets multiple strains of influenza.
• The company intends to recruit 180 adults in the US for the Phase 1/2 portion of the trial to evaluate the safety and strength of mRNA-1010.
• It is based on the same messenger ribonucleic (mRNA) technology deployed in Moderna’s Covid-19 shot.

Steve Ballmer in the $100 bn wealth club

• Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft Corp., has a net worth of more than $100 billion, making him the ninth person in the world to reach there.
• The rankings are given by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
• Ballmer, who stepped down as Microsoft’s CEO in 2014 and now owns the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, has seen his wealth grow by $20.1 billion in 2021.

RBI imposes a penalty on 14 banks

• The Reserve Bank of India has imposed monetary penalties on 14 banks including Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India (SBI) for non-compliance with rules.
• While Bank of Baroda has been fined two crore rupees, Bandhan Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Credit Suisse, Indian Bank, etc. have been fined one crore rupees of penalty each.
• The SBI has been fined 50 lakh rupees.

J&K administration accords a sanction

• The J&K administration has accorded sanction to uploading of Geotagged photographs through ‘PROOF’ (Photographic Record of On-site Facility) mobile app.
• No bills shall be entertained in the treasuries from the 1st of August 2021 onwards unless photographs are uploaded through the aforesaid application.
• The ‘PROOF’ application will be available for downloading on the BEAMS Portal.

High Court imposes a penalty on West Bengal CM

• The Calcutta High Court has imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
• She has been fined for painting the judiciary in a bad light.
• The amount paid in penalties by the West Bengal CM will be used for the families of lawyers affected by Covid-19.
• She was seeking recusal of Justice Kaushik Chanda from her Nandigram election petition over the judge’s links with the BJP.

Olympic torch relay cancelled in Tokyo

• The Olympic torch relay has been canceled on the streets of Tokyo in Japan, due to the pandemic.
• The public relay events in the city will be replaced with flame-lighting ceremonies streamed online.
• Only the leg in the remote Ogasawara Islands, south of Tokyo, will go ahead as planned.
• Tokyo 2020 is due to begin on 23 July 2021 despite public opposition.

India, Singapore hold a bilateral meeting

• India and Singapore held a bilateral meeting through virtual mode on 7 July 2021.
• It was held under the aegis of MoU entered between the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and Public Service Division of Singapore.
• Both sides decided to share the best practices on current technology tools and processes of governance, capacity building, and service delivery.