1) 15th President of India: Draupadi Murmu
•Daughter of a tribal family coming from a very ordinary house in Odisha, Draupadi Murmu has been elected as the 15th President of India. The 2022 Indian Presidential Election was the 16th presidential election that was held in India on the 18th of July 2022. Murmu becomes India’s first woman tribal president. She also becomes the second woman to hold the post after Pratibha Patil. The tenure of incumbent president Ram Nath Kovind will end on 24 July.
2) ISRO used PSLV to launch 345 foreign spacecraft from 34 different nations since 1999
•Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy, and Space, announced that ISRO has signed six agreements with four nations for the launch of foreign satellites between 2021 and 2023. According to the Minister, the Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has successfully launched 342 foreign satellites from 34 countries since 1999 on a commercial basis. Dr. Jitendra Singh stated in a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha today that the launch of these foreign satellites on a commercial basis will generate roughly 132 Million Euros.
3) Jawaharlal Nehru Port becomes first 100% Landlord Major Port of India
•Jawaharlal Nehru Port has become the first 100 per cent Landlord Major Port of India having all berths being operated on the PPP model. The PPP model of investment in Indian ports has made remarkable progress in the last 25 years, beginning from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, resulting in capacity addition and productivity improvement. JNP is one of the leading container ports in the country and is ranked 26th among the top 100 global ports (as per Lloyds List Top 100 Ports 2021 Report).
4) 13th Petersburg Climate Dialogue begins in Germany
•The 13th Petersberg Climate Dialogue began in Berlin, Germany. The two-day informal ministerial meet is being chaired by Germany and Egypt, hosts of this year’s annual climate meet (COP-27). The informal ministerial meeting proposes to build consensus and provide political direction to resolve divergences aimed at improving the implementation of climate action, the core goal of COP-27.
5) Sri Lanka: Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as 9th President
•Veteran Sri Lankan politician and six-time Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the 9th President of the Island nation by the Parliament. He secured 134 votes in the presidential election by the 225-member parliament. The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe will serve the remaining term of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which ends in 2024.
6) Tamil Nadu tops in Smart City Fund utilisation
•Tamil Nadu tops the list of states so far as utilisation of funds under the government’s flagship Smart City Mission is concerned. While Tamil Nadu has spent over Rs 3932 crore out of the Rs 4333 crore released by the Centre, Uttar Pradesh is in the second position with the utilisation of Rs 2699 cr out of the Central share release of Rs 3142 crore. As on 8 July 2022, the Centre has released Rs 30,751.41 crore for 100 Smart Cities, out of which Rs 27,610.34 crore (90%) has been utilised.
7) In 272 of the most needy districts, Govt starts “Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan”
•To address the issue of drug abuse among Indian youth, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment began implementing Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan in the 272 most susceptible districts in August 2020. The National Survey of Extent, Pattern and Trends of Substance Use conducted in 2004 and the Comprehensive National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India conducted in 2018 both show a change in the pattern of substance abuse, according to Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy.
•According to A. Narayanaswamy, the participation of stakeholders including women, children, educational institutions, and civil society groups is given special consideration under the “Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan” programme.
8) India sign an agreement with Namibia to reintroduce cheetah
•A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Namibia aims to bring back cheetahs to the country after nearly seven decades. The first eight cheetahs are expected to arrive in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park by August 15. Separately, India is anticipated to receive 12 cheetahs from South Africa; a draught deal has already been signed, and a final one is forthcoming, according to authorities with knowledge of the situation.
9) Sanjay Agarwal to chair the committee Center established to strengthen MSP system
•A committee on the Minimum Support Price (MSP) was established by the government eight months after it made a similar commitment in exchange for repealing three divisive agriculture policies. Sanjay Agrawal, a former agricultural secretary, will preside over the committee. The government has made a provision for Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) to have three representatives on the committee, but the farm organisation has not yet provided any candidates for the group.
10) India Innovation Index 2021: Karnataka, Manipur and Chandigarh topped
•Karnataka, Manipur and Chandigarh topped the third edition of NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index, which ranks the states and the union territories on their innovation performance. NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery released the India Innovation Index 2021 in presence of apex public policy think tank member Dr VK Saraswat, CEO Parameswaran Iyer and senior adviser Neeraj Sinha.
11) Morgan Stanley cuts India’s FY23 GDP forecast to 7.2%
•American brokerage Morgan Stanley cut its FY23 real GDP expansion estimate for India by 0.40 per cent to 7.2 per cent on slower global growth and GDP growth will slow down to 6.4 per cent in FY24. A majority of watchers are expecting FY23 GDP growth to come at over 7 per cent levels. The RBI estimate also stands at 7.2 per cent.
•Global growth, Morgan Stanley said, is likely to slow to 1.5 per cent YoY in the quarter ending December 2022 from 4.7 per cent in the quarter ended December 2021. Slower trade growth, tighter financial conditions and changes in commodity prices are the three main reasons, it said, is why they see the pace of global growth slow going ahead.
12) Henley Passport Index 2022: India ranks 87th
•The Henley Passport Index has recently released the list of the World’s Most Powerful Passports for the year 2022. Three Asian nations Japan, Singapore and South Korea bagged the top three positions on the list, reversing pre-pandemic rankings that were dominated by European nations. India is ranked 87th on the list of the world’s most powerful passports in 2022, according to the latest Henley Passport Index from Henley & Partners, an immigration consultancy.
13) Due to an intense heat wave, England under its first-ever red weather warning
•As temperatures have continued to soar, the UK Meteorological (Met) Office issued the first-ever red extreme heat warning for areas of England, including London. Temperatures could reach 40 degrees Celsius, and a red warning, the maximum level used by the Met Office under its alert system, indicates a risk to life is possible. The unusual warning, which is categorised as a national emergency, signifies that life is in danger for people of all ages.
