NATIONAL NEWS

First State in Country to Connect VLTD Vehicles with ERSS

• Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country to connect all registered commercial vehicles equipped with Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD) with Emergency Response Support System (ERSS).

• These vehicles can be tracked anywhere in the country through VLTD.

• More than 9,423 vehicles have been registered and linked with ERSS. Now it will be monitored by both the police and the transport department.
• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur formally inaugurated the system at a program organized at Peterhof, in Shimla.
• He also introduced the facility of panic button for the safety of women and children in public vehicles.
• When the panic button is pressed, a signal would be received through satellite to 112 and the person in distress would be connected and alert the police.

Microsoft Introduces Workplace Social App

• Microsoft (MSFT) introduces a new social workplace app named Viva Engage, a new app in Teams that helps build community and connection along with providing tools for personal expression.
• Microsoft Viva Engage, part of the company's Viva employee collaboration platform features through which leaders can share news and insights, answer questions and facilitate two-way conversations.
• It is built on the foundations of Yammer, Microsoft's existing enterprise social networking platform, Viva Engage is available through Microsoft Teams and Outlook as part of the company's Microsoft 365 software suite.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh to Resolve Old Border Dispute

• According to the chief ministers of both states, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have taken a step toward settling their seven-decade-old boundary dispute by signing the Namsai Declaration.

• Following their third round of discussions on the matter, the Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu and his Assam colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma signed the declaration in Namsai.
• The 804-km long shared border between the two states. Although there was initially no conflict, claims that citizens of one state were encroaching on the territory of the other have resulted in arguments and even violence.
• There were 123 border settlements that were in contention earlier. They have now decided to limit that to 86 villages.
• Additionally, they have decided to remedy the problem by 15 September 2022.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

MoU on Wildlife Conservation

• Government of India and Government of the Republic of Namibia have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization.

• They will establish the cheetah into the historical range in India.

• The main focus of the MoU includes Wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization by sharing good practices in technological applications, mechanisms of livelihood generation for local communities living in wildlife habitats and sustainable management of biodiversity.
• It also enhances collaboration in areas of climate change, environmental governance, environmental impact assessments, pollution and waste management

BANKING

Bajaj Allianz Partners with DBS Bank India

• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, one of India’s leading private life insurers and DBS Bank India, the wholly owned subsidiary of DBS Bank Singapore announced a strategic partnership.

• Bajaj Allianz Life and DBS Bank aim to empower the customers to Live More and Bank Less by investing in life insurance products that best meet their life needs in a planned manner.

• New and existing customers across the 550+ branches of DBS Bank can now choose from Bajaj Allianz Life’s retail products including term, savings, retirement and investment products.

• Customers of DBS bank and digibank users will be able to avail all the offerings by either visiting any of our branches or with just a tap on the app.

Karnataka Bank Signs MoU with JCB India

• The Karnataka Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with JCB India Limited, a manufacturer of earthmoving and construction equipment in India.

• Under the agreement, JCB will be nominating Karnataka Bank as its ‘preferred financier’ wherein individuals, contractors, companies and partnership firms can avail of loans from the bank.

• The bank provides various finance schemes for the purchase of machinery and equipment to customers with attractive rates of interest and speedy sanction of loans through digital platforms.
• The tie-up arrangement is expected to boost the lending avenues under the bank’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) portfolio.

SPORTS

2028 Summer Olympic Games

• Los Angeles has officially been confirmed as host of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

• The Opening Ceremony of the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic Games is set for 14 July 2028.

• The LA28, which is the organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games 2028 revealed that Paralympic Games will begin on 15 August 2028 and close on 27 August 2028.
• The LA28 Games will feature more than 3,000 hours of live sport across 800 events in more than 40 sports. 15,000 athletes are expected to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
• On 13 September 2017, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the city as three-time Summer Olympics hosts as Los Angeles hosted the games in 1932 and 1984.

West Indies Cricketers announced Retirement

• West Indies Cricketers Denesh Ramdin and Lendl Simmons have announced retirement from international cricket.

• Ramdin festured in 213 matches for the West Indies and has scored 5098 runs in international cricket with 6 hundreds and 23 fifties to his name.

• Simmons played a total of 134 international matches and scored 3466 runs with 2 centuries and 25 fifties.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Henley Passport Index

• The Henley Passport Index has released the list of the World’s Most Powerful Passports 2022, which ranks world's 199 passports according to the number of countries the holders can get visa free access.
• India has placed at the 87th position in the Henley Passport Index with visa-free access to 60 countries.
• Japan is ranked at the top of the list. The holder of Japanese passport will get visa-free access to 193 countries.
• Singapore and South Korea secured the second position with visa-free access to 192 countries each, as per Henley Passport Index 2022.
• Afghanistan is ranked at the bottom at 112th position with visa-free access to just 27 countries.
• China's passport is ranked at 69th spot with visa-free access to 80 countries.

AWARDS & PRIZES

J C Daniel Award

• Renowned Malayalam filmmaker KP Kumaran was awarded the 2021 JC Daniel Award, the highest honour in Malayalam Cinema.

• He won the award for his overall contribution to the Malayalam film industry.

• The award comprises of a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation and a plaque.

• KP Kumaran is a director who has infused a new visual language and emotion into Malayalam cinema through his 50-year-long film career.
• Kumaran made his directorial debut with Athithi in 1975 and won national award for Best feature film in Malayalam for his film Rugmini in 1989.

ICAR Sardar Patel Award

• The National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) has bagged the Sardar Patel Outstanding ICAR Institute Award 2021 in the Large Institute Category for its overall performance.

• Ch Srinivasa Rao (Director of NAARM) has received the award from the Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar.
• The National Academy of Agricultural Research Management is a national-level Natural Resource Service training institute for ARS cadre located in Hyderabad, Telangana.
• NAARM was established by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1976 to address issues related to agricultural research and education management in India.
• The awards were given away at a function to mark the 94th Foundation Day of the ICAR.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

MD of ONGC Videsh Limited

• Rajarshi Gupta has taken over as managing director of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the overseas investment arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

• Gupta has more than 33 years of wide-ranging experience in supervisory, managerial and strategic planning capacities in domestic and international operations of ONGC and ONGC Videsh.

• He replaces Alok Gupta.
• As country manager and president of ONGC Videsh’s US subsidiary, he had set up the Geological & Geophysical Centre of Excellence in Houston.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Chess Day

• World Chess Day is celebrated every year on 20 July.

• The day marks the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.

• The day is observed by teaching someone or learning how to play the game.
• On 12 December 2019, the General Assembly announced 20 July as World Chess Day.
• FIDE, which has 181 chess federations as its members, organizes chess events around the world on this day.