Daily Current Affairs July 28 2022 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Nature Conservation Day- July 28

• The World Nature Conservation Day is observed annually on July 28.
• The occasion aims to create awareness about the need to preserve the environment and natural resources to keep the world healthy.
• Saving plants and animals that are threatened with extinction is one of the primary focuses of World Nature Conservation Day.

History:

• The history and origin of World Nature Conservation Day are unknown but the main aim of celebrating it on 28 July is to come together and support nature, don’t exploit it.
• Conservation of nature is the wise management and utilization of natural resources. As we know that due to natural imbalance, we are facing several problems like global warming, various diseases, natural disasters, increased temperature, etc.
• Therefore, for the next generation, it is necessary to preserve it.
• So, it is important to raise awareness among people all over the world to understand the importance of saving resources, recycling them, preserving them, and also understanding the consequences of damaging them.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

GoI Designates 5 New Ramsar Sites, taking the total number to 54:

• In India, five new wetlands have been identified as being of international significance.
• As a result, there are now 54 Ramsar sites in the nation as compared to 49 previously.
• “Delighted to tell those 5 additional Indian wetlands have received Ramsar status as wetlands of worldwide importance,” stated Shri Bhupender Yadav, the Union Minister of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.

The five newly designated wetlands are:

1. Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
2. Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest, Tamil Nadu
3. Pichavaram Mangrove, Tamil Nadu
4. Pala wetland, Mizoram
5. Sakhya Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.

About Ramar Site:

• Under the Ramsar Convention, a wetland site is defined as having international significance and is known as a Ramsar Site.
• The Iranian city of Ramsar, where this contract was signed, inspired the name Ramsar.
• The Ramsar Convention is another name for the Convention on Wetlands.
• It is an international environmental convention that was formed by UNESCO in 1971 and went into effect in 1975.
• Wetlands designated as Ramsar areas are protected by the convention’s rigorous rules.
• The Ramsar list’s objective is to create and maintain a global network of wetlands that are crucial for the preservation of biological variation in general and for maintaining human existence via the preservation of their ecosystem’s elements, functions, and advantages.

Ministry of Women and Child Development issues Detailed Guidelines for ‘Mission Shakti’:

• Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued detailed guidelines for the ‘Mission Shakti’ scheme.
• The Government of India has launched ‘Mission Shakti’ – an integrated women empowerment program as an umbrella scheme for the safety, security, and empowerment of women for implementation during the 15th Finance Commission period 202l-22 to 2025-26.
• The norms of ‘Mission Shakti’ will be applicable with effect from 04.2022.
• ‘Mission Shakti’ is a scheme in mission mode aimed at strengthening interventions for women’s safety, security, and empowerment.
• It seeks to realize the Government’s commitment to “women-led development‟ by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence and citizen-ownership.
• The scheme seeks to make women economically empowered, exercising free choice over their minds and bodies in an atmosphere free from violence and threat.
• It also seeks to reduce the care burden on women and increase female labor force participation by promoting skill development, capacity building, financial literacy, access to micro-credit, etc.

About the Schemes:

• ‘Mission Shakti’ has two sub-schemes – ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’.
• While the “Sambal” sub-scheme is for the safety and security of women, the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for the empowerment of women.
• The components of the ‘Sambal’ sub-scheme consist of erstwhile schemes of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) with a new component of Nari Adalats – women’s collectives to promote and facilitate alternative dispute resolution and gender justice in society and within families.
• The components of the ‘Samarthya’ sub-scheme consist of erstwhile schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh, and Working Women Hostel that have been included with modifications.
• In addition, the existing schemes of the National Creche Scheme for children of working mothers and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) under the umbrella of ICDS have now been included in Samarthya.
• A new component of Gap Funding for Economic Empowerment has also been added to the Samarthya Scheme.

KVIC launches Knowledge Portal for Khadi by the Center of Excellence:

• The Knowledge Portal for Khadi is a platform developed by the Center of Excellence for Khadi to provide design directions to the Khadi institutions.
• The portal was inaugurated by Ms. Preeta Verma, CEO-KVIC.
• The Center of Excellence for Khadi has been set up by KVIC, Ministry of MSME at NIFT, to support Khadi Institutions.
• Knowledge Port for Khadi attempts to disseminate design knowledge to a broader section of Khadi Institutions.

Key Points:

• The portal intends to create design intervention by simplifying the trends especially suitable for Khadi.
• Each story has a key theme, color palette, and directions for woven designs, prints, textures, and surfaces.
• Every story has been separated into two segments – Home and Apparel. Besides the themes, the portal also provides size charts, silhouette boards, buttons and closures, and seams and finishes for both home and apparel.
• The information will be updated twice a year to provide directions according to the seasons and trends.
• It is envisaged that the information will be of value to not only Khadi institutions but also to organizations providing support to develop apparel, home products, and packaging for Khadi.
• The portal will be hosted on the website of the Center of Excellence for Khadi and can be accessed on coek.in

The Minister launches the “National Standards for Civil Service Training Institutions”:

• India was the first nation in the world to develop standards for civil service training institutions at the national level.
• In announcing the “National Standards for Civil Service Training Institutions” at the Capacity Building Commission (CBC) headquarters in New Delhi Jitendra Singh expressed the hope that India would soon serve as a global model in this area.
• Jitendra Singh also inaugurated the web portal and approach paper for the National standards, as a part of the launch event in presence of over 103 participants consisting of 25 Central Training Institutions, 33 State level Administrative Training Institutions, and other civil service training institutions along with capacity building commission.

Key Points:

• The National Standards for Civil Service Training Institutions (NSCSTI) is developed by CBC to create a baseline for Central Training Institutes on their current capacity, for elevating their quality and capacity of training delivery, and to harmonize standards for training.
• It will also set aspirations for training institutions to strive toward excellence.
• The country is having standards and accreditation in higher education, healthcare, and the environment, but for the first time, it became applicable for training institutions also.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

City Union Bank Partners with Aditya Birla Health Insurance

• Private sector lender City Union Bank (CUB) and standalone health insurer Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL), the health insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd, have announced a bancassurance partnership for the distribution of health insurance products of ABHICL through the former’s network of branches across India.
• This is the 3rd health insurance Partnership for CUB as it has entered into such bancassurance pacts with Star Health and Alliance Insurance as also Care Health (formerly known as Religare Health Insurance Co).
• This is the 14th agreement by Aditya Birla Health Insurance with CUB for the bancassurance partnership.
• Under the Partnership, ABHICL’s suite of health insurance plans will be made available to more than 4.4 million customers of CUB across 727+ branches in 153 districts of the country.
• Some of ABHICL’s innovative health plans that will be accessible for CUB customers include Day 1 cover for asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes; wellness coaching on nutrition and fitness; counseling on mental health; incentivized wellness benefits of up to 100% Health Returns and chronic management program, among others.

About CUB :

• Founded: 1904
• Headquarters: Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India
• MD & CEO: Dr. N. Kamakodi
• The CUB was originally incorporated under the name Kumbakonam Bank as a limited company on 31 October 1904.
• In 1987, the name of the bank was changed to City Union Bank.

About ABHICL :

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• CEO: Mayank Bathwal

JICA extends ODA Loan of JPY 100 billion for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project

• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the Government of India (GoI) to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 100,000 million Japanese Yen ( INR 6,000 Crore) as Tranche 3 on the ‘Project for the Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR).‘
• The loan agreement was signed between Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, and Mr. Watanabe Jun, Senior Representative, JICA India.

Objective :

• To develop a high-frequency mass transportation system by constructing the High-Speed Rail between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, using Japan’s Shinkansen technology (also known as the “Bullet Train”), enhancing mobility in India and contributing to regional economic development.
• National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is the Executing Agency of the Project.
• JICA has been supporting the project for the Mumbai – Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail by providing ODA loans.
• The loan agreement has been signed after the JPY 250,000 million (approximately INR 18,000 crore) package of JICA’s commitment in 2017.

About JICA :

• Founded: 1974
• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
• President : Akihiko Tanaka

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance inks strategic partnership with CUB

• Private life insurer Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has entered into a strategic partnership with City Union Bank (CUB) to offer a wide array of life insurance solutions to the lender’s customers across their 727 branches.

About the Partnership :

• Through this partnership, CUB customers will be able to fulfill their long-term financial goals by investing in Bajaj Allianz Life’s value-packed products ranging from term, savings, retirement, investment solutions, and more.
• It will further help Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance to expand its footprint in the southern states, and beyond.

About Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance :

• Founded: 2001
• Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO:  Tarun Chugh
• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Bajaj Finserv Limited, one of the Indian non-banking financial institutions, and Allianz SE, the world’s leading insurance company headquartered in Munich, Germany.

HDFC Securities partners with Equitas SFB to offer Demat, trading services

• HDFC Bank subsidiary and stock broking company, HDFC Securities Ltd, has partnered with small finance bank Equitas to provide Demat accounts and broking and investment services to its customers.

About the Partnership :

• With this partnership, Equitas SFB will be able to offer its customers a 3-in-1 account that helps them access the services of HDFC Securities.
• HDFC Securities will oversee the entire journey for Equitas’ customers, from account opening to regular share transactions
• All Equitas Small Finance customers would be able to open their demat and trading account for buying & selling shares and trading in futures & options/ commodities and even currencies.
• The tie-up will provide customers of Equitas with additional investment avenues, enabling them with more choices and allocating their savings across asset classes.

About HDFC Securities Ltd :

• Founded: 2000
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO: Dhiraj Relli
• HDFC Securities is the stock broking arm of India’s largest private-sector lender, HDFC Bank.
• It offers over 30 investment vehicles, spanning asset classes such as stocks, gold, real estate, and debt instruments.
• The company offers investment and direct trading services through buying and selling of equities, along with currency derivatives, mutual funds, NCDs, fixed deposits, bonds, and more.

About Equitas SFB :

• Founded: 2016
• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• MD & CEO : Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan
• Equitas Small Finance Bank is a subsidiary of the holding company Equitas Holdings Ltd.

Indian Bank bags SHG Linkage award from NABARD

• Indian Bank has bagged the best performing bank award in Tamil Nadu for the FY 2021-22 under the Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme category from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• State finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan gave away the award, which was received by Mr. S L Jain, MD & CEO, and Mr. V Chandrasekaran, general manager (Rural Banking) during NABARD’s 41st foundation day.

Note :

• On July 12, 2022, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) celebrated its 41st Foundation Day.

About Indian Bank :

• Founded: 15 August 1907
• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• MD & CEO: Shanti Lal Jain

About NABARD :

• Established: 12 July 1982
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman : Govinda Rajulu Chintala
• NABARD is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
• It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, GoI.

City Union Bank partners with Royal Sundaram General Insurance for insurance products

• City Union Bank (CUB) and Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited have partnered to enable the customers of the CUB to have easy access to comprehensive general insurance products of Royal Sundaram across its branches.
• Royal Sundaram’s general insurance products bouquet include health, motor, personal accident, and travel, as well as home insurances in retail and insurance against fire, marine, industrial and other risks under commercial lines.
• It brings us one step closer to becoming a one-stop shop (point) for all the financial needs of our customers.

About Royal Sundaram General Insurance :

• Managing Director: M.S. Sreedhar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Mastercard set to replace Paytm as BCCI title sponsor:

• Mastercard is expected to take over as title sponsor for all international and domestic cricket matches organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, replacing Paytm (BCCI).
• Paytm controlled the rights until the end of 2023.
• Paytm has asked the BCCI to award its India Home Cricket title rights to Mastercard.
• Paytm was said to have missed the July deadline for requesting reassignment. However, due to their ‘long standing’ connection, BCCI has agreed to accept its delayed request.
• According to the original conditions of the Paytm arrangement, Mastercard will be awarded the rights till 2023 and would continue to pay INR 3.8 Cr every match.
• Paytm, on the other hand, will be required to pay a re-assignment charge of around INR 16.3 Cr – 5% of the original deal value (INR 326.8 Cr).
• Paytm and BCCI initially signed a four-year arrangement for championship sponsorship in 2015 for INR 203 Cr (i.e., INR 2.4 Cr per match).
• The contract was recently renewed in August 2019 for a period of up to March 2023, and Paytm would place a winning offer of INR 3.80 Cr per match, a 58 percent increase over the previous arrangement.

About Mastercard

• Founded: 16 December 1966
• Headquarters: New York, US
• CEO: Michael Miebach
• Executive Chairman: Ajay Banga.

Nokia engages Wipro for digital transformation over five years:

• An announcement on the signing of a new, five-year contract for digital transformation with Nokia of Finland was made by Wipro Ltd., a firm with its headquarters in Bengaluru.
• The new agreement builds on a relationship that was established more than 20 years ago.
• With a focus on process optimization, touchless processing, and enhanced user and customer experience across order management, supply chain, finance, and accounting operations, Wipro will offer business services in support of Nokia’s new operating model.
• Even though an official announcement regarding the arrangement was made public, Wipro noted that it had acknowledged the contract in the press release that was issued alongside the financial results for FY22 without disclosing the customer or providing information about the deal’s terms or magnitude.

About Wipro

• Founder: H. Hasham Premji
• CEO: Thierry Delaporte
• Chairman: Azim Premji

About Nokia

• Founder: Fredrik Idestam, Eduard Polon and Leo Mechelin
• Chairman: Sari Baldauf
• Headquarters: Espoo, Finland

ONDC adds 15 more cities, and onboards Snapdeal for pan-Indian access:

• Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) has expanded its pilot to 15 more cities.
• Snapdeal has also signed the onboarding agreement with the network and will debut on it next month.
• ONDC expanded to Noida, Faridabad, Lucknow, Bijnor, Bhopal, Chhindwara, Kolkata, Pune, Chennai, Kannur, Thrissur, Udipi, Kanchipuram, Pollachi, Mannar, and Ramanathapuram.
• The network first began its pilot on April 29 in Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong.
• Snapdeal will provide pan-Indian access on ONDC.
• At the time of launch, more than 2,500 cities and towns across the country will be enabled for access.
• More cities and towns will be added to the ONDC network during the year

Key Points:

• The increasing digitization of India’s retail is a transformative opportunity that can benefit sellers, buyers, and other stakeholders.
• ONDC’s efforts will catalyze this growth in the right direction and help create an inclusive, enabling, and open-access-based digital commerce ecosystem.
• Snapdeal looks forward to a strong partnership with ONDC in this path-breaking endeavor
• The growth of Indian e-commerce is being fuelled by price-conscious consumers from the country’s smaller cities and towns.
• According to a RedSeer report, the number of online buyers from tier-2 and smaller cities — which account for more than 80 percent of the population — will triple in five years.
• It will go from about 78 million in 2021 to nearly 256 million by 2026.
• So far, the only other major platform on the network is Paytm’s buyer side.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

LIC reduces its stake by 2% in Sun Pharma to 5.024%

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has reduced shareholding in Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries by selling a 2 percent stake in the pharma company for about Rs 3,882 crore.
• LIC’s shareholding in Sun Pharma has diluted from 16,85,66,486 to 12,05,24,944 equity shares.
• LIC’s stake in Sun Pharma has been reduced from 7.026% to 5.024% of the paid-up capital.
• The shares were sold through open market transactions during the period from May 17, 2021, to July 22, 2022.
• The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 808.02 apiece, valuing the transactions at a total of Rs 3,881.85 crore.
• On the BSE, shares of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) declined 0.70 percent to close at Rs 684.15 apiece while that of Sun Pharmaceuticals fell 0.75 percent to Rs 868.05 apiece.

About LIC :

• Founded: 1 September 1956
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairperson : M R Kumar
• Managing Directors: B C Patnaik, Smt. Ipe Mini, Siddharth Mohanty, Rajkumar
• LIC is an Indian statutory insurance and investment corporation.

About Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries :

• Founded: 1983
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founder & MD: Dilip Shanghvi

Bharti Airtel allows 1.2% equity shares to Google for USD 1 Billion

• Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has allotted over 71,176,839 equity shares of the face value of Rs 5 each fully paid up, on a preferential basis to Google International LLC (Google) at an issue price of Rs 734 per equity share.
• The allotment is part of Google’s commitment to invest USD 1 billion with Airtel, which included equity investment in the company worth USD 700 million, about Rs 5,224 crore.
• Google invested as part of its USD 10-billion India Digitization Fund
• Out of the total investment with Airtel, USD 300 million was earmarked for implementing commercial agreements
• It includes investments in scaling Airtel’s offerings that cover a range of devices to consumers via innovative affordability programs as well as other offerings aimed at accelerating access and digital inclusion across India’s digital ecosystem.
• Google has also invested Rs 33,737 crore (about USD 4.5 billion) to buy a 7.73 percent stake in Jio Platforms.

About Bharti Airtel :

• Founded: 7 July 1995
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman: Sunil Bharti Mittal
• MD & CEO: Gopal Vittal

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Gen. Naravane and former US Defense Secretary honored for fostering Indo-US relations:

• General Manoj Mukund Naravane, a former head of the Indian Army, has received recognition from the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) for his efforts to strengthen ties between India and the US.
• Along with Naravane, Jim Mattis, a former US Defense Secretary General, also received the public service award.
• Those who made a major contribution to strengthening ties between the US and India received awards from the USISPF for public service and global leadership.

Key Points:

• While serving as the Defense Secretary, General Mattis made an effort to secure India as a strategic partner for the US.
• While serving as the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army, Gen. Naravane allegedly strengthened defense partnerships and expanded cooperation between the US and India.
• On April 30, Gen. Naravane announced his retirement, and since then, he has moved into his newly designated home in Delhi Cantonment.
• Naravane had the distinction of holding significant command and staff roles in both peace and conflict, in the North-East and Jammu & Kashmir, throughout his remarkable four-decade military career.
• He also participated in the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s mission in Sri Lanka.
• Former Indian Army Chief was Inspector General of the Assam Rifles (North), headed a Strike Corps in the Western Theatre, established an Infantry Brigade, and oversaw a Rashtriya Rifles Battalion.
• His staff positions included spells as a Brigade Major of an Infantry Brigade, Defence Attache in Yangon, Myanmar, and Directing Staff in the Higher Command Wing at the Army War College, in addition to two terms at the Integrated Headquarters of MoD (Army), New Delhi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

World Airport Traffic Dataset 2021: New Delhi is among the top 20 busiest airports

• The top 20 aviation sectors’ worldwide air traffic rankings for the entire year 2021 are revealed by the annual World Airport Traffic Dataset from the Airports Council International (ACI) World.
• The most complete airport statistics collection in the market, the World Airport Traffic Dataset includes airport traffic for over 2,600 airports across more than 180 nations and territories.
• It gives an overview of the demand for air travel at airports throughout the globe in three categories: passengers (domestic and international), air cargo (freight and mail), and aircraft movements (air transport movements and general aviation).

Key Points:

• In terms of passenger footfall in 2021, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was in first place with 7.6 crore passengers.
• The 13th busiest airport in India is Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in New Delhi, which has been listed in the top 20. 3.7 crore passengers passed through IGIA in 2021, up 30.3 percent from 2.8 crores in 2020, when IGI was ranked 16th.
• The top 20 busiest airports contribute 19% of all traffic worldwide (863 million passengers).
• The ranking gives an overview of the demand for air travel at airports throughout the globe in three categories: passengers (domestic and international), air cargo (freight and mail), and aircraft movements (air transport movements and general aviation).

List of top 20 busiest airports:

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ENVIRONMENT

ZSI Scientists Discover a New Kind of Eel from Petuaghat Fishing Harbour, West Bengal:

• Scientists and research scholars of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new eel species based on two specimens collected from Petuaghat fishing harbor, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal.
• The new species has been termed Bengal conger, stated Dr. Dhriti Banerjee, Director, ZSI.
• The species belong to the family Congridae and order Anguilliformes.
• The recently discovered species has been named Ariosoma Bengalense in the name of the collection locality.
• The species is distributed in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal.
• The color of the species is brown.
• The species has larger eyes in comparison to similar congeners.
• The species has total vertebrae 146-149.
• Both supratemporal pores and myorhabdoi are absent in the new species.
• The species has a total length of 316-304mm.
• This species is currently known from the northern part of the Bay of Bengal (West Bengal), India, 197 km away from the Deshpran fishing harbor, at a depth of 168 m (21047.752’N, 87052.869’E), within the Exclusive Economic Zone of India.

Key Points:

• The new species differs from four of the seven species reported from India: Ariosoma majus, A. melanospilos, A. maurostigma, and A. Indicum with the absence of supratemporal pores vs. three in all the species mentioned.
• While collecting Eel samples from the East coast of India, the scientists collected two specimens of the genus Ariosoma from the Petuaghat fishing harbor, West Bengal and while identifying those specimens it was found to be an undescribed species.
• Herein, the scientists described the new species of the genus Ariosoma based on two specimens collected from the northern part of the Bay of Bengal, India.
• The discovery got good mileage as the story has been published in Zootaxa, published by Magnolia Press, New Zealand recently.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mr. Bajram Begaj was sworn in as the new president of Albania

• A retired military officer and politician, Bajram Begaj, took oath as 9th President of Albania.
• In his first address in front of the lawmakers as the president, the 55-year-old Begaj declared that he will support and respect both the government and opposition’s work, calling for cooperation between political parties instead of conflict.
• Begaj will become the fifth president in the history of Albania to have a military background, after Ahmet Zogu, Ramiz Alia, Alfred Moisiu, and Bujar Nishani.
• He was the candidate of the Socialist Party (PS), which was in power under Prime Minister Mr. Edi Rama.
• He was the only candidate nominated for the five-year term.
• A total of 83 lawmakers participated in the voting that took place in the plenary session in the parliament, where Begaj received 78 votes in favor, while 4 lawmakers voted against and there was one abstention.

About Mr. Begaj :

• Begaj was born on 20 March 1967, in Rrogozhinë, Albania.
• He served as the Commander of the Doctrine and Training Command in the Albanian Armed Forces.
• He held various other posts including Chief of the Military Medical Unit and Deputy Military Director of SUT, Director of the Military Hospital, Director of the Health Inspectorate, etc.
• He had a long career in the Albanian army, serving as the 26th Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces from July 2020 to June 2022.

About Albania :

• Prime Minister : Edi Rama
• Capital: Tirana
• Currency: Lek

World Bank appoints Indian national Mr. Indermit Gill as chief economist & Senior VP

• The World Bank has appointed Indian national Mr. Indermit Gill as the chief economist and senior vice president for development economics.
• His appointment will be effective September 1, 2022.
• He will succeed American economist Mr. Carmen Reinhart.
• Mr. Gill will be only the second Indian after Mr. Kaushik Basu to serve as chief economist at the World Bank.
• Mr. Kaushik Basu was the Chief Economist of the World Bank from 2012-2016.

About Mr. Indermit Gill :

• Indermit Gill has a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, an MA from the Delhi School of Economics, and a BA in economics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi.
• He worked at the World Bank from 1993 to 2016, where his assignments included Director of Development Policy in Development Economics, staff director for the 2009 World Development Report on Economic Geography, chief economist for Europe and Central Asia, acting chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, and Principal Country Economist for Brazil.
• His pioneering work includes introducing the concept of the “middle-income trap” to describe how developing countries stagnate after reaching a certain level of income.
• He was a professor of public policy at Duke University and a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution between 2016 and 2021.
• He has published extensively on policy issues facing developing countries, sovereign debt, green growth, labor markets, poverty and inequality, and managing natural resource wealth.
• Currently, he is the Vice President for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions (EFI) at the World Bank, where he led work on macroeconomics, debt, trade, poverty, and governance.

About World Bank :

• Established: December 1945
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C, United States
• President : David Malpass
• Membership: 189 countries (IBRD), 174 countries (IDA)
• The World Bank is the collective name for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA), two of five international organizations owned by the World Bank Group.

LIC HFL Board appoints Ravi Kishan Takkar as Additional Director

• The Board of Directors of LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL) has approved the appointment of Ravi Kishan Takkar, as an Additional Director (Independent) for five years.
• Takkar was MD & CEO of Kolkata-headquartered UCO Bank for three years till November 01, 2018.

About LIC HFL :

• Founded: 19 June 1989
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO: Viswanatha Gowd
• LIC HFL is one of the largest Housing Finance Mortgage loan companies in India.
• LIC HFL is a subsidiary company of LIC.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

AR Rahman unveils anthem ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ for 44th International Chess Olympiad:

• The forthcoming International Chess Olympiad, 2022, will have a welcome anthem called “Vanakkam Chennai,” composed by Grammy and Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman.
• The music video, which was directed by Vignesh Shivan, stars the chief minister MK Stalin, the grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand, and the music legend AR Rahman, who wrote and sang the theme song.
• Additionally, the Bharatanatyam performer in the music video is filmmaker Shankar’s daughter.
• The fantastic music video has received appreciation from online users for effectively displaying Tamil Nadu culture.

About the 44th International Chess Olympiad:

• The 44th International Chess Olympiad will be held this year in Chennai, the state capital of Tamil Nadu, under the auspices of the Federation International des Échecs.
• The largest chess tournament in the world, the 44th International Chess Olympiad, will take place at Poonjeri Village in Mamallapuram from July 28 to August 10.
• The location, which is around 50 kilometers from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The premier chess competition has created a lot of talks online.
• With each social media post, the anticipation for the event grows.

India will host ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025:

• According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will host the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in 2025.
• To make it a memorable occasion for everyone involved, BCCI would stop at nothing.
• The World Cup will have a successful edition since the infrastructure is in place.
• A Board subcommittee led by Martin Snedden and comprised of Ricky Skerritt, Clare Connor, Sourav Ganguly, and Martin Snedden conducted a competitive bidding procedure to choose the hosts.
• The committee and ICC administration thoroughly examined each offer, and the committee’s recommendations were adopted by the ICC Board.
• The four hosts for ICC women’s white-ball competitions from 2024 to 2027 are India, Bangladesh, England, and Sri Lanka.
• The 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup will be hosted in Bangladesh, and the 2026 tournament will be placed in England.
• As long as Sri Lanka qualifies for the tournament, it will host the Women’s T20 Champions Trophy in 2027.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

A key architect of the Good Friday Agreement & Nobel Peace Prize Winner David Trimble Passes Away

• The Nobel peace prize-winning former first minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble Passed away at the age of 77.

About David Trimble :

• David Trimble was born on 15 October 1944 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
• He served as Vice Chairman of the Lagan Valley Unionist Association from 1983 to 1985 and was named chairman in 1985.
• He served as chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Legal Committee from 1989 to 1995 and as honorary secretary of the Ulster Unionist Council from 1990–96.
• He was the First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002.
• He was the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 2005.
• He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper Bann from 1990 to 2005 and a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 1998 to 2007.
• In 1997, he became the first unionist leader to negotiate with the Irish republican party Sinn Fein
• He was the key architect of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.
• On 8 December 1999, Trimble was appointed an Officer in the Légion d’Honneur by the French Government.

Awards & Honors :

• In October 1998, Trimble and John Hume were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
• In 2002, he was awarded the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement.

Padma Shri awardee doctor Sushovan Bandyopadhyay passes away

• Sushovan Bandyopadhyay, famous as Bengal’s ‘one rupee doctor’, (Ek Takar Daktar) died at the age of 84 in Kolkata, West Bengal.

About Sushovan Bandyopadhyay :

• Banerjee was from Bolpur, West Bengal.
• He was an Indian physician and politician.
• He is an ex-MLA from the Bolpur seat and had contested on a Congress ticket in 1984.
• After the Trinamool Congress was formed, he became the first district president of the Trinamool in
• In 2020 he held his name in the Guinness World Records for treating the maximum number of patients in a lifetime (He treated More than 20 lakh patients).

Awards & Honors :

• In 2020, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government for his contribution to the field of medicine.
• He has got a gold medal from G. Kar Medical College and Hospital

Daily CA on July 28:

• The World Nature Conservation Day is observed annually on July 28.
• In India, five new wetlands have been identified as being of international significance.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued detailed guidelines for the ‘Mission Shakti’ scheme.
• The Knowledge Portal for Khadi is a platform developed by the Center of Excellence for Khadi to provide design directions to the Khadi institutions.
• India was the first nation in the world to develop standards for civil service training institutions at the national level.
• Mastercard is expected to take over as title sponsor for all international and domestic cricket matches organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, replacing Paytm (BCCI).
• An announcement on the signing of a new, five-year contract for digital transformation with Nokia of Finland was made by Wipro Ltd., a firm with its headquarters in Bengaluru.
• Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC) has expanded its pilot to 15 more cities.
• General Manoj Mukund Naravane, a former head of the Indian Army, has received recognition from the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) for his efforts to strengthen ties between India and the US.
• The top 20 aviation sectors’ worldwide air traffic rankings for the entire year 2021 are revealed by the annual World Airport Traffic Dataset from the Airports Council International (ACI) World.
• Scientists and research scholars of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new eel species based on two specimens collected from Petuaghat fishing harbor, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal.
• The forthcoming International Chess Olympiad, 2022, will have a welcome anthem called “Vanakkam Chennai,” composed by Grammy and Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman.
• According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), India will host the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup in 2025.
• Private sector lender City Union Bank (CUB) and standalone health insurer Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL), the health insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd, have announced a bancassurance partnership for the distribution of health insurance products of ABHICL through the former’s network of branches across India.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the Government of India (GoI) to provide an Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan of 100,000 million Japanese Yen ( INR 6,000 Crore) as Tranche 3 on the ‘Project for the Construction of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR).‘
• Private life insurer Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has entered into a strategic partnership with City Union Bank (CUB) to offer a wide array of life insurance solutions to the lender’s customers across their 727 branches.
• HDFC Bank subsidiary and stock broking company, HDFC Securities Ltd, has partnered with small finance bank Equitas to provide demat accounts and broking and investment services to its customers.
• Indian Bank has bagged the best performing bank award in Tamil Nadu for the FY 2021-22 under the Self Help Group (SHG) Bank Linkage Programme category from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• City Union Bank (CUB) and Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Limited have partnered to enable the customers of the CUB to have easy access to comprehensive general insurance products of Royal Sundaram across its branches.
• A retired military officer and politician, Bajram Begaj, took oath as 9th President of Albania.
• The World Bank has appointed Indian national Mr. Indermit Gill as the chief economist and senior vice president for development economics.
• The Board of Directors of LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL) has approved the appointment of Ravi Kishan Takkar, as an Additional Director (Independent) for five years.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has reduced shareholding in Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries by selling a 2 percent stake in the pharma company for about Rs 3,882 crore.
• Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has allotted over 71,176,839 equity shares of the face value of Rs 5 each fully paid up, on a preferential basis to Google International LLC (Google) at an issue price of Rs 734 per equity share.
• The Nobel peace prize-winning former first minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble Passed away at the age of 77.
• Sushovan Bandyopadhyay, famous as Bengal’s ‘one rupee doctor’, (Ek Takar Daktar) died at the age of 84 in Kolkata, West Bengal.