1) National Fish Farmers’ Day: 10 July
•National Fish Farmers’ Day is celebrated every year on 10 July, by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB). The event aims to draw attention to changing the way the country manages fisheries resources to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy ecosystems. This day is made to honour the fish farmers, aquapreneurs, fisherfolks, stakeholders and whoever else is associated in the fishery for their contribution in the fishery.
•The day is commemorated annually in remembrance of scientists Dr K H Alikunhi and Dr H.L. Chaudhury who had invented induced breeding technology of Indian major carps on 10 July 1957. 2021 will mark 21st National Fish Farmers’ Day.
2) Manipur enters India’s railway map as first passenger train reaches the state
•A passenger train Rajdhani Express from Assam’s Silchar railway station has reached the Vaingaichunpao railway station in Manipur for a trial run, putting the state on the Indian Railways map. The train covered the distance of 11 km between the two northeastern stations, with railway officials onboard.
•The train halted briefly at Manipur’s Jiribam railway station, where railway officials were greeted by local citizens before the national flag was hoisted accompanied by the national anthem. Notably, the Vaingaichunpao-Imphal (capital of Manipur) railway line is also under construction. Once completed, it will be the longest railway tunnel near Imphal.
3) Bharat Dynamics Ltd signs Rs 499-crore deal with Indian Air Force
•The Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has signed a contract with the Ministry of Defence for the manufacture and supply of Akash missiles to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The total worth of the deal is around Rs 499 crore. CMD, BDL Commodore Siddharth Mishra (Retd) stated that BDL is supplying Akash Missiles to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. With the announcement from the Union Cabinet regarding clearance of Akash Weapon System for Export, the Company is exploring offering Akash for export to foreign countries.
•BDL has already received export leads from some countries expressing interest in procuring the Missile. The Company has a well-established infrastructure and expertise to execute these orders and meet the customer delivery schedule.
4) RBI imposes monetary penalty on 14 banks for non-compliance
•The RBI has imposed penalties on SBI, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank and 10 other lenders for contravention of various regulatory norms, including on lending to NBFCs. The penalty imposed on the 14 banks totals Rs 14.5 crore, with a maximum Rs 2 crore fine on Bank of Baroda.
•The central bank imposed Rs 2 crore penalty on the Bank of Baroda, Rs 1 crore each on 12 other banks and Rs 50 lakh on the State Bank of India. RBI imposed Rs 1 crore penalty each on Bandhan Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Credit Suisse AG, Indian Bank, IndusInd Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, South Indian Bank, The Jammu & Kashmir Bank and Utkarsh Small Finance Bank.
5) Karnataka to develop 46 Kempegowda heritage sites in Bengaluru
•The Karnataka state government has decided to develop 46 Kempegowda heritage sites located in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Chikballapura, and Tumakuru districts, in a bid to promote tourism. According to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, the sites identified to be in three circuits would be developed at a cost of Rs 223 crore for promoting tourism.
•According to the Authority, these sites are developed to help people acknowledge the contribution of Kempegowda or Nada Prabhu Kempegowda, the founding father of Bengaluru.
6) National Film Archive of India adds Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’ to its collection
•National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has announced a significant addition of the original camera negative of Rajkumar Hirani’s 2014 film ‘PK’ in its collection. The filmmaker handed the negatives over to Director NFAI, Prakash Magdum, in Mumbai. The National Film Archive of India was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in 1964.
7) Zaila Avant-garde Wins 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee
•Zaila Avant-garde, an African-American, from New Orleans in Louisiana, has won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 14-year-old Avant-garde, who is also an accomplished basketball player, is the first African-American contestant to win the prestigious competition in its 93 years history. The 8th-grader Avant-garde correctly spelt “Murraya”, a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees having pinnate leaves and flowers, to win a USD 50,000 prize.
•Zaila is also the first Black contestant to win since Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica in 1998. 12-year-old Indian-origin Chaitra Thummala, from San Francisco and 13-year-old Indian-origin Bhavana Madini, from New York, won second and third place respectively.
