1) M. Venkiah Naidu launches social media super app ‘Elyments’
•Vice President of India, M. Venkiah Naidu has launched India’s first social media super application, “Elyments”. Under Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, more than 1,000 IT professionals came together to create the homegrown application.
2) Delhi govt to starts “Paudhe lagao, Paryavaran Bachao” campaign
•Delhi government will launch a mega tree plantation drive under the ‘Paudhe lagao, Paryavaran Bachao’ campaign. The campaign will be held from 10-26 July 2020. The campaign is launched with an aim to reduce air pollution by increasing green cover in the national capital. It has been planned that during the campaign, in 17 days, 31 lakh of tree saplings will be planted under the campaign. Out of the 31 lakh saplings, 20 lakh saplings will be of big trees and the remaining 11 lakh saplings will be of shrubs that will be planted on both sides of the road.
3) Odisha Govt launches ‘Balaram Yojana’ to provide crop loan
•Odisha government has launched ‘Balaram Yojana’ to provide crop loans to landless farmers. Under the new scheme, the landless cultivators will get loans through joint liability groups (JLGs).
4) Delhi Government launches e-learning portal “LEAD”
•Delhi Government has launched an e-learning portal name as “Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi (LEAD)”. The recently launched e-learning portal has been developed by the Delhi government. E-portal “LEAD” comprises of 10,000 instructional materials and course content for students of Classes I to XII. The Delhi government will also share its teaching-learning material on the digital platform “DIKSHA” through its e-learning portal “LEAD”.
•The Learning through E-Resources Made Accessible for Delhi (LEAD) portal will offer students access to textbooks, study material and course content as per the syllabus of the CBSE, NCERT and Delhi government’s curriculum online. It will also provide students with digital QR coded textbooks, explanatory videos, practice questions including evaluation.
5) UP Government launches “Mission Vriksharopan-2020” drive
•A campaign “Mission Vriksharopan-2020” has been launched by the Uttar Pradesh government. Under this campaign, more than 25 crore saplings were planted on 5th July in Uttar Pradesh. The tree plantation drive was launched on the occasion of Guru Poornima and hence several people were seen planting saplings to pay respect to their mentors.
•Under the Mission Vriksharopan campaign, medicinal, fruit yielding, environmental, shady, fodder, and other important plants of more than 201 species are being planted including Ficus Religiosa, Pipal, Ficus Virens, Pakad, Mulvari, Neem, Jamun, Arjun, Sahjan and Banyan.
6) MP Tourism board launches “Intzaar Aap Ka” campaign
•Madhya Pradesh Tourism board has launched a campaign “Intzaar Aap Ka“. The campaign has been launched on social media platforms to attract tourists to the tourist places of the state. Through the campaign “Intzaar Aap Ka”, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has been inviting tourists by describing about each tourist destination in an attractive way.
•The Madhya Pradesh Tourism board has also created various tour packages according to the time and convenience of the tourists along with all the safety standards in the prevention of Corona infection.
7) AIR broadcasts programme titled “Sanskrit Saptahiki”
•The All India Radio (AIR) has broadcasted a programme titled “Sanskrit Saptahiki“. It is the first ever ‘News Magazine’ programme in Sanskrit which constitutes news from the world of Sanskrit including the prominent developments of the week.
•Sanskrit Saptahiki is a weekly programme comprising various components such as Sukti, Prasang, Saptahiki, Sanskrit Darshan, Gyan Vigyan, Bal Vallari, Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat and Anvikshiki. The programme will also give voices to the children and the youth about the great Indian tradition and culture. The programme will also explain about the humane values embodied in the Sanskrit literature, philosophy, history, art, culture and tradition.
8) Jean Castex appointed as Prime Minister of France
•Jean Castex has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of France. The appointment of Jean Castex as the new french PM was made by the french President Emmanuel Macron. He replaced the former french Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who resigned from the post ahead of a government reshuffle.
•This is a part of the President Emmanuel Macron plans to strengthen his green credentials and refashion his centrist government ahead of a possible re-election bid. He is planning to boost the two remaining years of his term by focusing on efforts to relaunch the French economy post the COVID-19 crisis.
9) CBSE tie-up with Facebook to introduce curriculum on digital safety
•The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has partnered with Facebook to launch a free and comprehensive training program for teachers and students of its affiliated schools in the first phase. The program will cover teacher training on augmented reality and student training on digital safety and online well- being. The training program will be for three weeks in which 10 thousand teachers will be trained on augmented reality while 10 thousand students will be trained on digital safety and well-being.
•In the second phase, CBSE will introduce the training program on digital safety and augmented reality for 30 thousand students in each category. Schools have to online nominate their teachers and students for the training programs.
10) Coal India tie-up with NLC to develop solar and thermal power assets
•Government-owned mining majors NLC India Ltd and Coal India Ltd have formed a joint venture to develop solar and thermal power assets to the tune of 5,000 megawatts of power. Both companies will hold equal 50:50 equity in the joint venture company.
•Its projected capital expenditure up to the year 2025 is ₹1.28 lakh crore with a debt-equity ratio of 70:30. Coal India is the single largest coal producer worldwide and operates through 83 mining areas spread over eight states in India. It produces 607 million tonnes of coal annually. NLC India Limited is a ‘Navratna’ government of India company in the fossil fuel mining sector in India and thermal power generation.
11) Former RBI governor U. Patel pens book ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’
•Former RBI governor, Urjit Patel has written a book titled ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’ will be releasing later this month. The book focuses on the non-performing assets (NPAs) issue that has afflicted Indian banking in recent years. It is published by Harper Collins India. Patel’s book description says that sovereigns do not need to earn or save before spending money. They can either print or borrow.
•Patel worked with a ‘9R’ strategy which would protect depositors’ savings, rescue the banks and protect them from “unscrupulous racketeers”. Books or memoirs written by two of his immediate predecessors, Raghuram Rajan and D Subbarao had shed light on various subjects like the RBI’s autonomy, interest rates or its stance on demonetisation.
12) Quinton de Kock adjudged South Africa Men’s Cricketer of the Year
•At the Cricket South Africa annual awards 2020, Quinton de Kock was named as the men’s cricketer of the year, while Laura Wolvaardt was named as the women’s cricketer of the year. The 2020 Cricket South Africa annual awards were held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
