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AWARDS AND HONOURS

NAME OF THE AWARD	AWARD WINNER	KEY POINTS TO NOTE
2016 National Award for Excellence in Cost Management	V.O. Chidambaranar Port	Under the category “Transportation and Logistics”.
Indian Film Festival Of Melbourne	Aishwarya Rai Bachcha	For her contribution to global cinema.
Mahanayak Samman 2017	Shakuntala Barua	—
Yoshiaki Ishizawa	Ramon Magsaysay Award	For save Cambodia’s renowned Angkor Wat temple complex

APPOINTMENTS         

NAME	DEPT/FIELD
Ram Nath Kovind	14th President of India
Devendra Chawla	COO of Walmart India
Nikhil Arora	VP and MD of India operations of Godaddy
Subhash Chandra Garg	India’s Alternate Governor on the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
P.V. Sindhu	Deputy Collector of Andra Pradesh
Ravi Mittal	Part-time member of IRDAI board

INDIAN AFFAIRS

• A high altitude cloud physics observatory has been established at Munnar (Kerala), in Western Ghats, the region which is the gateway for the monsoon of India.
• International Labour Organization Ms. Deborah Greenfield launched the following publications and Mobile App for Road Maintenance “Aarambh”.
• Maneka Sanjay Gandhi launched an online complaint management system titled Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace in New Delhi.
• India will be hosting the 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) in 2017, one of the world’s largest conference on Cyber Space and related issues” announced Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• The Ministry of Rural Development will launch a new sub-scheme under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) which will be named as “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)”.
• The Lok Sabha has given its approval to a bill amending the law on free and compulsory education to extend the deadline for teachers to acquire the prescribed minimum qualifications for appointment.
• India has launched its first petroleum Research & Development (R&D) facility for testing high-end BS-VI quality fuel emissions.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banning the use of stapler pins in tea bags effective January 1, 2018.
• Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for incubating innovative ideas and business start-ups in the domestic energy sector.
• Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan launched an app “India Quake” on the occasion of Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences in New Delhi.
• Harshvardhan launched an app “Sagar Vani” on the occasion of Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences in New Delhi.
• The count of tigers in Uttarakhand has gone up to 242 with an increase of 63 big cats this year. Uttarakhand has two tiger reserves – the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger Reserve.
• The Punjab government has announced the launch of its flagship ‘Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar’ scheme by flagging off over 100 uberMOTO bikes.
• The Madras High Court has ruled that ‘Vande Mataram’ must be sung schools, educational institutes and government offices.
• Government has implemented the “Seekho aur Kamao” scheme which encourages the youth from minority communities to learn employment skills.
• Mumbai Metro has announced the launch of India’s first Mobile Ticketing System ‘OnGo’ which will help commuters cross the AFC gates using their mobile phones.
• The GST Council has formed a selection committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to identify and recommend eligible persons for appointment as the chairman and members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority.
• Bengaluru may be India’s Silicon Valley but ranks at the 40th spot among the top 50 global cities that foster high-potential women entrepreneurs, according to a report by tech giant Dell.
• Mass rapid transportation technologies such as hyperloop, metrino and pod taxis could soon be a reality in India after Niti Aayog cleared half-a-dozen proposals of the transport ministry exploring options to improve public transport.
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) received a final nod from the Reserve Bank of India to function as the Bharat Bill Payment Central Unit (BBPCU) and operate the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS).
• Delhi Metro has become the only completely ‘green’ Metro system in the world for adhering to green building norms for its residential colonies.
• Maharashtra government has announced that integrated coaching will not be allowed in the state from the next academic year.
• Brahm Mohindra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab has launched its flagship health scheme “Care Companion Programme” (CCP) targeted at improving patient outcomes through better family engagement and education.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently released Operational Guidelines for Planning and Implementation of Family Participatory Care (FPC) for improving newborn health.
• The Border Security Force (BSF) signed an MoU with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in the presence of MoS (Independent Charge) Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE.
• India has emerged strong, exhibiting a high potential in terms of digital payments and has been categorised under the “break out” segment among 60 countries, according to the Digital Evolution Index 2017.

BANKING  AND FINANCE

• (SIDBI) has started full-fledged merchant banking operations to benefit the expanding number of growth-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), especially those with a strong technology and innovation quotient.
• India has seen the launch of its fourth payments bank, Fino Payments Bank. It joins Airtel Payments Bank, India Post Payments Bank and Paytm Payments Bank.
• Finance minister Arun Jaitley introduced in the Lok Sabh the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which empowers the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to resolve stressed assets clogging the banking system.
• Bank of India’s new chief has launched Project Connect, an initiative to revive the bank that has suffered huge losses for two consecutive years due to a sharp rise in bad loans.
• State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance have signed an agreement for the distribution of insurance products through the branches.
• Canara Bank, which has set an ambitious target of moving to ‘paperless’ futuristic banking, launched its first ‘Digital Banking Branch’ at Spencer Towers in MG Road, Bengaluru.

MERGER AND ACQUISITION

• Leading online travel company Yatra has acquired corporate travel service provider company Air Travel Bureau (ATB) for an undisclosed amount.
• Axis Bank Ltd has announced the acquisition of Snapdeal-owned mobile wallet FreeCharge in a Rs385 crore all-cash deal, strengthening its position in the payments space.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

• India and Bangladesh have signed a pact to connect both the countries by waterways. The waterways will facilitate movement of passengers and goods between India’s northeast and West Bengal with Bangladesh.
• Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has begun an eight-day-long two-nation tour of Mozambique and Tanzania with an aim of exploring new avenues of bilateral defence cooperation.
• Leading bourse BSE has joined hands with Egyptian Exchange (EGX) for cooperation in exchange of information across business areas.
• Australia has sent its first uranium shipment to India for testing purposes ahead of possible commercial sales to the nation.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) is conducting jointly with the US, the second edition of United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP-02) in New Delhi from 17 July to 04 Aug 2017.
• Singapore Airlines has been rated the world’s best airline in a survey by the Travel and Leisure magazine.
• Britain’s first woman Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill has been elected to an influential cross-party panel in the UK Parliament that examines the workings of the Home Office.
• Russia and Hungary will host two future editions of the world championships in short-course swimming.
• Iran and Iraq signed an agreement to step up military cooperation and the fight against “terrorism and extremism”, Iranian media reported, an accord which is likely to raise concerns in Washington.
• In the newly released Fortune Global 500 list, Apple has been named as the world’s most profitable company, reaping in nearly $45.7 billion in profit in the last financial year.
• China has opened a modern cinema theatre on Yongxing Island in the disputed South China Sea as part of its plan to establish authority over the area.
• World’s first floating wind farm emerged off coast of Scotland
• Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has been highlighting his government’s independence from international money lending organizations and their detrimental impact the nation.
• Zimbabwe’s parliament has passed a bill amending the constitution to give the president sweeping powers to appoint the country’s top judges without consulting any other institution.
• Russia and China are holding their first joint naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, in a signal that the countries are bolstering military ties.
• The 2017 BRICS Youth Forum opened to discuss the development of the youth in the countries of the grouping.
• Labor ministers from the BRICS countries are attending the two-day 2017 BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting in China’s southwestern municipality of Chongqing.
• National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is in China to attend Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (Brics) top security officials meeting beginning during which he is expected to hold talks with Chinese state councillor Yang Jiechi on the ongoing Sikkim standoff.
• Sri Lanka has signed a $1.1 billion deal to sell a 70% stake of the strategic Hambantota port to China, amid concerns over the massive debt the island nation incurred in building the port.

DEFENCE, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed India’s first unmanned tank, which has three variants – surveillance, mine detection and reconnaissance in areas with nuclear and bio threats.
• The United States said it shot down a medium-range target ballistic missile in its latest test of the country’s THAAD missile defense program, which is designed to protect the country against potential threats from countries such as North Korea and Iran.
• The smallest spacecraft ever launched are successfully travelling in low Earth orbit and communicating with systems on Earth, scientists have announced.
• To enable businesses to become more productive, Microsoft India has officially launched ‘Kaizala – a ‘made in India’ app.

SPORTS

WINNER	TITLE	SPORT/ VENUE
Sachin Siwach (Gold)	Commonwealth Youth Games	Held in Bahamas.
Jordan Spieth	British Open Title	─
Konsam Ormila Devi (Gold)	Asian Youth & Junior Weightlifting c’ship	Held in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Diksha (Silver)	Deaflympics (Deaf Olympics	Held in Turkey
Ajay Singh (Bronze )	Asian Youth Weightlifting	Held in Kathmandu, Nepal
Shiva Thapa Manoj Kumar Amit Phangal Gaurav Bidhuri Satish Kumar	Czech boxing tournament 48th Grand Prix Usti Nad Labem	Event Held in  Czech Republic.
Sebastian Vettel	Hungarian Grand Prix	─

• The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competition Committee has officially awarded Indonesia the hosting of the AFC U-19 championship next year. The decision was made during a meeting of the AFC competition committee.
• Indian shuttler HS Prannoy climbed to 17th position in the latest BWF (Badminton World Federation) world rankings.

OBITUARY

NAME OF THE PERSON	FIELD
Yash Pal	Eminent Indian scientist
Dharam Singh	Former Chief Minister of Karnataka
Inder Kumar	Bollywood actor
k E Mammen	Freedom fighter
Udupi Ramachandra Rao	Eminent space scientist and former ISRO Chairman

IMPORTANT DAYS

DATE OBSERVED	DAY OBSERVED	Theme / Purpose
July 26	Kargil Vijay Diwas	The day named after the success of Operation Vijay
July 28	World Hepatitis Day	Eliminate Hepatitis
July 29	International Tiger Day	Fresh Ecology For Tigers’ Protection
July 30	World day against trafficking in persons	—