NATIOANL NEWS

India’s First Autonomous Navigation Facility

• Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology inaugurated India’s first Autonomous Navigation facility, TiHAN at the IIT Hyderabad campus.

• TiHAN (Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation) is a multidisciplinary initiative that will make India a global player in ‘smart mobility’ technology.

• It was developed at a budget of Rs. 130 crores by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology.
• TiHAN Testbed will provide a unique platform for high quality research between academia, industry and R&D labs both at the national and international level.

India Extends Deadline for Duty Free Cotton Imports

• India has extended the deadline for duty free cotton imports from earlier announced September 30 till October 31.
• The government has extended the deadline as the sowing of the fibre crop delayed in some regions due to patchy monsoon rainfall.
• India, which is the world's biggest cotton producer had allowed duty free imports in April after local prices went up to a record high due to drop in production and rally in global prices.
• India mainly imports cotton from the United States, Egypt and Brazil.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India Sign MoU with Armenia

• The 8th session of the India-Armenia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC) was held in Yerevan.

• The Indian delegation was led by Secretary (West), Shri Sanjay Verma.

• India and Armenia also signed an MoU on High Impact Community Development Projects in Armenia with financial and technical assistance from India.
• A Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium was later inaugurated at the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU) along with Dr. Armen Muradyan, Rector of the University.

New Zealand Declares Equal Pay for Cricketers

• New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced an agreement that Male and female cricketers in New Zealand will now earn equal pay.
• It is a 5-year agreement between NZC and the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and will be effective from 01 August 2022.
• According to the agreement, women's players will be paid the same match fees as men in all forms and events at both the domestic and international levels.

BANKING

SBI Life and Paschim Banga Gramin Bank

• The Paschim Banga Gramin Bank has partnered with SBI Life Insurance for a bancassurance service.
• The partnership will see all the branches of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank across West Bengal.
• It offers SBI Life’s range of protection, wealth creation, credit life, annuity and savings products, thereby increasing accessibility of life insurance solutions in the region.
• Bancassurance is an agreement between a bank and an insurance company.

DFC Bank Merge with Parent HDFC

• India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved its proposed merger with parent and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd (HDFC).

• Currently, HDFC Bank is in the home loan business in conjunction with HDFC.

• As per the arrangement, HDFC Bank sells home loans, while HDFC approves and disburses.
• HDFC Bank gets a sourcing fee for the transactions and has the option to purchase up to 70% of the fully-disbursed loans.

SPORTS

Indian Boxer Alfiya Pathan Wins Gold

• The Indian Youth World champions Alfiya Pathan won gold medals in the Elorda Cup in Nursultan, Kazakhstan.

• Alfiya Pathan beat 2016 world champion and a strong title contender Lazzat Kungeibayeva by a 5-0 margin in the women's category of 81kg.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Ranking for Implementation of NFSA

• Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal released the ‘State Ranking Index for NFSA’ 2022 during a conference of state food ministers on food and nutrition security in India.

• The Government announced that Odisha has topped in the state ranking for implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) through ration shops, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

• As per the government’s ranking, Odisha is at first position with a score of 0.836, followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.797) and Andhra Pradesh (0.794).
• Among the special category states Tripura has obtained the first rank. Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim are at the second and third positions.
• The current version of the Index measures the effectiveness of NFSA implementation majorly through operations and initiatives under TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System).

AWARDS & PRIZES

Fields Medal 2022

• Ukrainian Maths professor, Maryna Viazovska won the top mathematics prize named the Fields Medal 2022.
• Four mathematicians have been awarded the prestigious Fields Medals at a ceremony held in Helsinki, Finland. This was informed by the International Mathematical Union jury on 05 July 2022.
• The four awardees of the prestigious prize include France's Hugo Duminil-Copin, US-based June Huh, Britain's James Maynard and Ukraine's Maryna Viazovska.
• Ukraine's Maryna Viazovska has become the second woman in history to win the Fields Medal after the Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014.
• Fields medal is the highest honor for a mathematician. The medal is awarded every four years on the occasion of the International Congress of Mathematicians.
• The Fields medal and cash prizes are funded by a trust established by J.C.Fields at the University of Toronto.

Ayurveda Ratna award

• Tanuja Nesari, Director of All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) was awarded with the Ayurveda Ratna Award by the UK Parliament.

• It was given for recognising her contribution to furthering the growth of Ayurveda in India and abroad.

• The UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on India Traditional Sciences conferred this award on Dr Nesari.
• The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences was formed in 2014 with an aim to spread the knowledge of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani and Sangeetam in the United Kingdom and abroad. Its mission is to expand and integrate Medical Pluralism in the National Health Service.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President of AIU

• Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Suranjan Das was appointed the president of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

• He replaced G Thiruvasagam and Das will be 101 President of AIU.

• Das, an eminent historian, was appointed the vice-president of AIU a year ago. His tenure as president will be for one year from 01 July 2022.

OBITUTARY

Former Indian Goalkeeper EN Sudhir

• Former India goalkeeper E N Sudhir died in Goa. He was at the age of 76.

• Sudhir, who was born in Kozhikode in Kerala.
• Former India international Sudhir played as a goalkeeper for India in the year 1970s.
• Sudhir made his international debut against Indonesia in Rangoon (currently Yangon) in the Olympic q ualifiers in 1972. He represented India in nine matches.
• He was also part of the national team in the 1973 Merdeka Cup and the Asian Games squad in 1974.