Central govt. issues certificate of GI registration for Saffron grown in Kashmir Valley

NATIONAL NEWS

Central govt. issues certificate of GI registration for Saffron grown in Kashmir Valley

• The Union Government has issued a certificate of GI registration for Saffron grown in the Kashmir Valley.
• On Providing Geographical indication (GI) tag Kashmir saffron will get a unique identity in the global market further helping farmers to be profitable.
•  A geographical indication is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location and ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users are allowed to use the popular product name.
• India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, and come into force w.e.f September 2003.

CCI approves Krishnapatnam port acquisition by Adani Ports and SEZL

• The Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited (KPCL) by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited.
• The acquisition foresee the equity shareholdings and management control of the KPCL by Adani groups and SEZL.
• KPCL engaged as a developer and operator of the deep-water port at Krishnapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Fact: Headquarters of CCI – New Delhi

         Chairman of CCI - Ashok Kumar Gupta

TRIFED Signs MoU with IIT, Delhi for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA)

• An organisation under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the welfare of the tribal peoples called the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) has now come forward to sign a MoU with IIT Delhi for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).
• MoU will Introduce Tribals to Newer Processing Technologies, Product Innovation, and Mentorship and Transformational Digital systems.
•  UBA is a flagship national programme of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• It’s a Tripartite MoU signed between TRIFED, IIT Delhi and Vijnana Bharati - Swadeshi Science Movement.
• UBA functions to bring transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.

Fact: Union Minister of Tribal Affairs – Arjun Munda

          Union Minister of Human Resource Development - Ramesh Pokhriyal

Kargil Vijay Diwas Celebrated at Pune

• Kargil Vijay Diwas is been celebrated in India every year on 26^th July as the anniversary of India's victory in the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan.
• This is to remember the victory of the Indian Armed Forces and to pay tribute to the supreme sacrifice of our martyrs in the Kargil War.
• Kargil war was fought for over 60 days and the Indian Armed Forces fought valiantly against the Pakistani infiltrators despite all the odds and attained victory against its counterpart.
• The Kargil War also referred as Operation Vijay was fought at an altitude of approximately 16,000 feet against Pakistan.
• This year marks the 21^st anniversary and the ceremony was organised at the National War Memorial, Pune.

ECONOMIC NEWS

India announces 400 million dollar currency swap for Sri Lanka

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has signed agreement for extending a 400 million dollar currency swap facility with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
• Indian High Commission in Colombo has remained closely engaged in fruitful bilateral cooperation with Sri Lanka on all matters of mutual interest. 
• Sri Lanka has around one billion dollar loan commitment from India and has requested to reschedule the payment due to ongoing financial crisis and COVID situation.

Fact: President of Sri Lanka - Gotabaya Rajapaksa

          RBI chairman - Shaktikanta Das

RANKINGS & REPORTS

India ranked 3rd in gaining forest area in world – FAO

• India has ranked 3rd among the top 10 countries that have gained in forest areas during 2010-2020.
• The report was released by Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2020 brought out by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN).
• China topped the rank followed by Australia, where Romania acquired the least position.
• The forest area managed by local, tribal and indigenous communities in India increased from zero in 1990 to about 25 million ha in 2015.

Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report

• The Cooling Emissions and Policy Synthesis Report states that, by combining energy efficiency improvements with the transition away from super-polluting refrigerants, the world can avoid cumulative greenhouse gas emissions of between 210-460 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) over the next four decades.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) has assisted the report.
• The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Programme (K-CEP) supports the report.

Fact: Headquarters of IEA – Paris, France

         Headquarters of UNEP – Nairobi, Kenya

Hyderabad Ranked 16th in World’s most Surveilled Cities & China tops: Comparitech

• Hyderabad has positioned in 16th rank among the list of top 20 cities with the maximum number of Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras in India.
• The analysis was done by Comparitech on the World’s Most Surveilled Cities, in 150 major cities across the globe.
• The list was topped by Taiyuan, China followed by Wuxi, China and London, England.
• The research also highlighted the 20 most populated cities in the world where Tokyo, Japan topped the list followed by New Delhi and Shanghai, China.
• Other Indian cities, which made into top 20, are Mumbai in 9th rank and Kolkata in 15th rank.