Important Weekly Current Affairs PDF Download (July 01st to 07th July 2024)

Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of July 01st to 07th July 2024. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBIClerk 2024 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• GST Day is observed on July 1st each year, commemorating the date when GST was officially launched in India.

• Every year on July 2nd, World UFO Day is commemorated to raise awareness about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO) spotted in several parts of the world and alien life forms.
• World Sports Journalists Day is observed globally on 2nd July every year to acknowledge the work of sports journalists & to encourage them to do better at their work

• International Plastic Bag Free Day 2024 is observed on July 3 every year to motivate people to avoid using single-use plastic to eliminate plastic pollution.
• Every year on July 6th, World Zoonoses Day is commemorated as the anniversary of the first-ever vaccine given for any zoonotic disease way back in 1885.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is the leading body responsible for the integrated development of India’s national statistical system, aligning it with global standards and practices
• India has achieved remarkable success in the Mutual Evaluation conducted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during 2023-24
• The 10th Meeting of BRICS Environment Ministers took place on 28th June 2024, chaired by the Russian Federation in a hybrid format.
• Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development, Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has launched a web portal developed in  collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) and NABARD
• Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav and Smt. Anupriya Singh Patel, unveiled three significant initiatives at the आयुष्मानभारत, गुणवत्तस्वास्थ्य (Ayushman Bharat Quality  Health) event

• Air India has announced plans to establish South Asia’s largest flight training school in Maharashtra’s Amravati district, investing over ₹200 crore.
• In June 2024, India’s manufacturing sector rebounded strongly from a slight slowdown in May.
• The Indian government plans to elevate the National Test House (NTH), an industrial testing lab under the Consumer Affairs Ministry, as the apex certification body for all Indian products
• India is set to update the base years for national accounts and major macro-indicators starting from January to February 2026, coinciding with the first and second advance estimates of national income for FY26
• Union Minister for Coal and Mines, Shri G Kishan Reddy, inaugurated the “Noble Initiative for Rewarding Mains Aspirants of National Civil Services Examination (NIRMAN)” portal in New Delhi, a CSR initiative by Coal India Limited (CIL) to aid meritorious youth from its operating districts who have qualified for the UPSC Preliminary exams in 2024.
• External Affairs Minister Jaishankar arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan to represent India at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Heads of State on July 3 and 4, stepping in for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• NITI Aayog is set to launch the ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’ campaign on 4th July 2024, running until 30th September 2024.
• The Centre has extended the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) under the Union Urban Development Ministry till March 31, 2025.
• The 6th meeting of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) Ministerial Council was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi in a hybrid format
• The Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme is a significant initiative under the ‘Make in India’ campaign, led by the Ministry of Defence and executed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
• Budget 2024 may witness ‘Modi 3.0’ expanding the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) to encompass senior citizens in India, fulfilling the NDA’s pledge to extend healthcare support to those aged 70 and above
• The eight key Cabinet Committees in India include the CCEA, ACC, CCS, Cabinet Committee on Accommodation, Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, and Cabinet Committee on Skill, Employment, and Livelihood
• The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) notified the Scheme Guidelines for the “Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) Programme – Component II: Incentive Scheme for Green Hydrogen Production (under Mode 1)- Tranche-II

• The Union government is set to unveil a framework to promote climate-resilient agriculture in 50,000 villages located in climatically-vulnerable districts.

• The government has introduced a draft national policy on Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), outlining several measures to aid and benefit millions of farmers across the country.
• The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), India’s premier chamber for commerce and industry, is pleased to announce the Uttar Pradesh MSME Sammelan: MSME Vision for Viksit Bharat, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
• With the Union Budget expected, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed the removal of the contentious angel tax for startups
• The National Buildings Construction Corporation Limited (NBCC) has requested permission from the Gurugram district administration to demolish seven towers at the Green View condominium complex in Sector 37 D, following their declaration as “unsafe for habitation”.
• SEHER, a credit education program launched by the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and TransUnion CIBIL, aims to empower women entrepreneurs in India with essential financial literacy content and business skills
• The Union Budget is likely to propose the construction of an additional 20 million rural houses over the next five years under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) Gramin

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India presided over its first meeting as Chair of the ‘Colombo Process’ at the Permanent Representative Level Meeting in Geneva at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Headquarters.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• The Tamil Nadu (TN) Legislative Assembly adopted a Bill that makes punishment more stringent for offences pertaining to prohibited liquor such as denatured spirits and methanol.
• The Tamil Nadu (TN) Assembly approved an amendment to the State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 2021 enhancing the age limit for the Chief of the Commission from 70 to 75 years.
• The Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has approved the draft Uttar Pradesh Nodal Investment Region for Manufacturing (Construction) Area Bill (NIRMAN)-2024, aiming to propel the state towards achieving a one trillion dollar economy.
• Ezhavas and Nairs, the two major Hindu communities in Kerala, account for about 41% of the government employees in the state.
• Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Mohan Yadav introduced the ‘Lokpath Mobile App’ in Bhopal, MP.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• IBM is set to establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) cluster for Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) units in GIFT City, Gujarat

• In June 2024, India’s GST collection reached Rs 1.74 trillion, marking a 7.7% year-on-year growth, which is lower than previous months’ increases (12.4% in April and 10% in May).
• The U.S. government has allocated $176 million to Moderna to advance its development of a bird flu vaccine amid concerns over a multi-state outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cows and human infections
• In June, the services sector in India showed improvement with the HSBC India Services Business Activity Index (services PMI) rising to 60.5, up from 60.2 in May.
• Following the abrupt cessation of six debt schemes worth ₹20,215 crore in April 2020 due to a liquidity crisis amid the Covid pandemic, Franklin Templeton Asset Management plans to launch a series of fixed-income schemes
• The coal sector has shown the highest growth rate of 10.2% (provisional), following the electricity industry among the eight core industries for May 2024, as per the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) with the base year 2011-12, released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industries.

• The European Union has imposed provisional duties up to 38% on Chinese electric car imports.

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is nearing the finalization of a model to launch a Producer Price Index (PPI) in India, which may eventually replace the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
• To enhance kitchen safety, quality, and efficiency, the Government of India has mandated adherence to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for stainless steel and aluminium utensils
• Since the early 1960s, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has established a robust income stream from fixed-wing combat aircraft, notably by designing and building the HF-24 Marut and assembling MiG-21 fighters from Soviet blueprints
• Bajaj Auto has launched the world’s first compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered two-wheeler, the Freedom 125, in Pune

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data showed the annual sales growth rate of listed private non-financial companies slowed to 4.7% in FY 2023-24 from 19.8% in FY2023.
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has launched a set of electronic forms under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), to ease the compliance burden for insolvency professionals, and enhance the effectiveness of the liquidation process.
• Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.93% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, accelerating from 5.87% in the first quarter.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined hands with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and central banks of 4 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries to collaborate on Project Nexus – a multilateral international initiative to enable retail cross-border payments.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has instructed market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges, to charge all their members uniformly from October 1, 2024 without any discounts based on trading volumes.
• HDFC Bank has announced a scheduled system upgrade on July 13, 2024, to enhance its Core Banking System (CBS) and improve customer experience.
• Union Bank of India launched “Union Premier” branches for high-value customers in rural and semi-urban (RUSU) markets.
• Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed up to 100% aggregate contribution by non-resident Indians (NRIs), Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), Resident Indians (RI) in the corpus of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) that are based out of International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
• Tata AIG General Insurance has issued India’s largest Performance Surety Bond, valued at over Rs 100 crores in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
• ICICI Lombard has introduced Surety Insurance to offer risk mitigation solutions specifically for India’s growing infrastructure sector.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed rationalisation of norms governing export and import transactions to promote ease of doing business and empower banks to deliver quicker and more efficient services to foreign exchange customers.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that 9 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including Ujjivan Financial Services, have surrendered their certificates of registration (CoR).
• State Bank of India (SBI) has launched “MSME Sahaj,” a web-based digital business loans solution focused on invoice financing for MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime.
• Zomato Financial Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zomato, has withdrawn its application for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) license with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The government has decided to keep the current interest rates for small savings schemes the same, for the period of 01, July to 30th September 2024, i.e. the second quarter (Q2) for the financial year (FY) 2024-25.
• Bandhan Bank has launched a facility for online collection of direct taxes, enabling its customers and others to pay taxes seamlessly across India.
• The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $170 million policy-based loan to consolidate and strengthen India’s health system preparedness and response capacity to future pandemics.
• Bank of India (BOI) plans to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore through infrastructure bonds.
• Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reduced the face value of debt securities from Rs 100,000 to Rs 10,000 to encourage greater participation of retail investors in the corporate bond market.
• Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) has proposed the introduction of Mutual Fund (MF) Lite Regulations in the Mutual Funds segment to simplify the offering of passive funds.
• A new banking malware called ‘Snowblind’ is targeting Android users to steal banking credentials.
• Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) decided to streamline the process for public issuance of debt securities to provide faster access to funds for such issuers.
• Hitachi Payment Services, India’s end-to-end payments and commerce solutions provider, has announced that it has received the final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an Online Payment Aggregator, under the Payments and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• Public sector banks (PSBs) seem to have started FY25 on a strong note, clocking robust credit growth, going by provisional business updates of Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and UCO Bank for the first quarter of FY25.
• The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that deposits made under the Special Deposit Scheme (SDS) for non-government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds would earn 7.1% interest from July 1 to September 30, 2024.
• The country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) announced 11 new initiatives including enhancement of its digital banking features and opening of 35 new Agricultural Centralised Processing Cells to mitigate risks in its agricultural loan portfolio.
• Non-banking finance company (NBFC) Indiabulls Housing Finance has officially changed its name to ‘Sammaan Capital Limited’, following the receipt for Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies (RoC), and Certificate of Registration (CoR) as an NBFC-ICC (Investment and Credit Company) from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• DBS Bank India has partnered with Receivables Exchange of India Limited (RXIL), a Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform, to offer a pre-shipment financing solution.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and Online PSB Loans Limited. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to smoothen the enrolment and claim settlement processes under the Jan Suraksha Schemes for all 43 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).
• Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued new guidelines to streamline operations and enhance the ease of doing business for credit rating agencies (CRAs).
• The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched the ‘Jeevan Samarth’ agency transformation project to address the evolving needs of customers.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a quarterly “order books, inventories and capacity utilisation” (OBICUS) survey of companies in the manufacturing sector.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a penalty of ₹10,000 on YES Bank for not exchanging mutilated notes.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1,31,80,000 on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance with certain directions related to ‘Loans and Advances – Statutory and Other Restrictions’ and ‘Know Your Customer (KYC) Direction, 2016’.
• Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) plans to raise up to Rs 7,500 crore through additional Tier-I (AT1) and Tier-II bonds to meet prudential regulator norms and support business growth, with the bank’s board of directors approving the raising of this additional capital in suitable tranches by March 31, 2025, and beyond if needed.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan is set to be honoured with the prestigious Pardo alla Carriera at the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Locarno,
• President Droupadi Murmu honoured six Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including four posthumously, with gallantry medals during a Defence Investiture Ceremony

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• General Upendra Dwivedi took over as the 30th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army on June 30, 2024.
• Ravi Agrawal, a 1988-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body for the Income Tax Department.
• Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sujata Saunik took over as Maharashtra’s Chief Secretary (CS), becoming the first woman to hold this position in the state’s history.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the appointment of Arnab Kumar Chowdhury and Charulatha S. Kar as executive directors (EDs).
• The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), has recommended Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, who is one of the managing directors of State Bank of India (SBI) as the next Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI).
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has re-designated its chairman Siddhartha Mohanty as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), with effect from June 30, 2024.

• National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval has appointed TV Ravichandran and Pawan Kapoor as the new deputy NSAs in the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) team.
• SBI General Insurance announced the appointment of Naveen Chandra Jha as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
• Medical Assessment and Rating Board President Dr B N Gangadhar has been appointed the chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC).
• Antonio Costa, former Prime Minister of Portugal (2015-2024), has been elected as the new President of the European Council.
• The President of India, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Constitution of India, appointed Shri Sheel Nagu, Judge of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana with effect from the date he assumed charge of his office.
• Dhirendra K Ojha, a senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer of the 1990 batch, has been appointed as the principal spokesperson of the central government.
• The Canadian government has appointed Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan chief of the defence staff – the highest position in the country’s armed forces.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• The Basketball Federation of India (BFI) has signed a seven-year deal with ACG Sports Limited, securing Rs. 216.30 crore to host the National Star Basketball League for both men and women
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Haryana and the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, in Panchkula, Haryana

• The Bangladesh Navy has finalized a significant contract with India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for an 800-tonne ocean-going tug, under a $500-million line of credit extended by India for defence equipment purchases
• Cebu Pacific Air has announced a preliminary agreement with Airbus to purchase 152 single-aisle jets, marking the largest jet purchase in Philippine history.
• Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) shares saw a marginal rise after announcing a five-year title partnership with the Sydney Marathon in Australia.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a Maharatna and Fortune Global 500 company, has proudly announced its role as the official Principal Partner of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for four years, from the Paris Olympics in 2024 to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

• Mercer’s Cost of Living City rankings for 2024 reveal that Hong Kong, Singapore, and Zurich remain the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITION AND MERGERS

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved American co-working space firm WeWork’s entire 27.5% stake in its India unit to be sold to Real Trustee Advisory Company.
• The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) shareholding in IDFC First Bank increased after the insurer acquired 18,60,34,900 shares at ₹80.63 apiece in a private placement offer by the lender.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• The Indian Army contingent departed for the 13th edition of India- Thailand joint military Exercise MAITREE.

• Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari inaugurated the newly established Weapon Systems School (WSS) at Air Force Station Begumpet, Hyderabad.
• The 16th edition of India-Mongolia Joint Military Exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT commenced today, at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya).
• The Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), a joint venture (JV) between India & Russia, has produced and transferred 35,000 Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles to the Indian Ministry of Defence, Rostec state corporation of Russia announced.
• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has achieved the highest-ever growth in indigenous defence production in value terms during Financial Year (FY) 2023-24, on the back of the successful implementation of the policies and initiatives of the Government, led by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, focusing on achieving ‘Atma Nirbharta Or self-reliance.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• India’s first solar mission, the Aditya-L1 spacecraft, completed its first halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L1 point.
• As a part of the Axiom-4 mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has shortlisted two of its four trained Gaganyaan astronauts to travel to the International Space Station (ISS).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Rohit Sharma has joined Virat Kohli in retiring from T20 internationals following India’s victory over South Africa in the World Cup final in Barbados.

• BCCI offers Rs. 125 crore to Indian men’s T20 World Cup-winning squad
• Viswanathan Anand, former world chess champion from India, achieved a remarkable milestone by clinching the Leon Masters chess championship for the 10th time
• During South Africa’s one-off Test against India in Chennai, Laura Wolvaardt achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first South African woman to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket
• FIDE has announced that Singapore will host the 2024 World Championship match between India’s D Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren from China
• Former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who recently retired from all forms of cricket, has been appointed as the batting coach and mentor for Royal Challengers Bengaluru
• George Russell won the Austrian Grand Prix for Mercedes after a collision between Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.
• Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers has made an investment in Bengaluru-based direct-to-consumer (D2C) nutrition startup Supply6
• Hockey India has unveiled the inaugural Masters Cup, a groundbreaking tournament set to showcase the prowess of veteran players in both men’s and women’s categories.
• The Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, will commence its 133rd edition from July 27 to August 31, featuring a lineup of Indian Super League (ISL), I-League, and other invitational teams
• Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani fell short in his quest to secure a hat-trick of titles, losing 2-5 to compatriot Dhruv Sitwala in the final of the 2024 Asian Billiards Championship
• Hardik Pandya climbed two places to become the first Indian cricketer to reach the number one spot in the ICC’s T20I all-rounders’ rankings, buoyed by India’s recent World Cup victory
• Jyothi Yarraji is set to be the first Indian 100m hurdler to compete in the Olympics while shot putter Abha Khatua made a surprise cut through world rankings for the upcoming Paris Games

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Rajavarothiam Sampanthan, a veteran Sri Lankan politician and a moderate Tamil leader, who relentlessly pursued a life of peace, justice and dignity for Tamil nationals in the island nation, passed away at the age of 91.

• South African former high jump world champion Jacques Freitag found dead with gunshot wounds in South Africa at the age of 42.
• 74-year-old Gajinder Singh, the wanted terrorist and hijacker of an Indian Airlines (IA) flight to Lahore in 1981, has died of a heart attack at a hospital in Pakistan.

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