NATIONAL NEWS

Bharat Forge Arm Partners with Talgo India

• BF Infrastructure Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharat Forge Ltd and Talgo India Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Spanish manufacturer Patentes Talgo have signed an agreement.

• The agreement is to set-up a joint venture for manufacturing high-speed passenger trains.

• This collaboration is expected to contribute to the Union government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. It will help bring state-of-the-art and high-speed rail technology and solutions.
• The proposed collaboration will focus on setting-up manufacturing, maintenance and life cycle support hub for new generation, energy efficient, lightweight aluminium high-speed trains.

Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle to Indian Army

• Tata group’s arm for aerospace and defence, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has delivered an indigenously developed Quick Reaction Fighting Vehicle-Medium (QRFV) to the Indian Army.

• The vehicle will enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Army in future conflicts and war-like situations.

• Indian Army had earlier inducted Ultra Long-Range Observation System.

e-FIR system in Gujarat

• Union home minister Shri Amit Shah has launched an e-FIR filing system in Gandhinagar, Gujarat which will enable the citizens to file FIRs online without visiting the police stations.

• Through the e-FIR online service, the citizens of Gujarat will not need to go to the police station to file a complaint and the time of the citizens will be saved and the complaints will be disposed of quickly.

• The e-FIR service has been coordinated with the Gujarat State Police CCTV Command and Control.

• After the e-FIR will be registered, if the vehicle passes through the road, the vehicle number will be immediately flashed at the CCTV command and control through which the crime of theft can be detected immediately.

India’s first Passenger Drone “Varuna”

• India’s first passenger drone Varuna, was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
• According to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the present administration has used technology including drones to guarantee last-mile service delivery.
• This was shown in his presence by Sagar Defence Engineering, the company that created the indigenous “Varuna” drone without a pilot.
• Varuna, the first drone in India that can transport people, has a 25-kilometer range.
• The drone has 25–33 minutes of flying and a payload capacity of 130 kg.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

External Affairs Minister on a Visit to Uzbekistan

• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will be on a two-day visit to Uzbekistan from 28 July 2022 to take part in the meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers.
• The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent intergovernmental international organization.
• Its current members are Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan and Iran.
• The meeting will discuss preparations for the upcoming Meeting of the Council of Heads of State on 15th and 16th September 2022 in Samarkand.
• They will review ongoing cooperation in the expansion of the SCO Organisation and exchange ideas on regional and global developments of common concern.

BANKING

CUB Partners with Aditya Birla Health Insurance

• City Union Bank (CUB) and Aditya Birla Health Insurance have announced a bancassurance partnership.

• It is for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank's network of branches in India.

• Aditya Birla Health Insurance with a market share of 12% in the standalone health insurance will offer unique products for the customers of CUB with the health insurer.

• This is the third health insurance tie-up for CUB after bancassurance pacts with Star Health and Alliance Insurance.

Awareness Campaign for Unclaimed Deposits

• The Reserve Bank of India has launched a national campaign with a focus on the eight states that have the maximum amount unclaimed deposits.

• The unclaimed deposits in banks have sharply jumped to Rs 48,262 crore in FY22 from Rs 39,264 crore in theFY21, according to the annual report of the central bank.

• According to RBI norms, balances in savings/current accounts that are not operated for 10 years or term deposits not claimed within 10 years from the date of maturity are classified as ''unclaimed deposits''.

• After this, banks transfer such money to the 'depositor education and awareness fund' maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Most of these funds are with banks across Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Gujarat. Maharashtra, Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
• Accordingly, the monetary authority has launched a campaign in the languages of these eight states along with Hindi and English.

SPORTS

India's Flagbearers for CWG 2022

• Double Olympic medallist badminton player PV Sindhu and Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh were named the country’s flagbearer for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham.

• While PV Sindhu's name was announced, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) added Manpreet as the second flagbearer after being informed by the organisers that two flagbearers one male and one female was a must for each nation.

• Sindhu was also the flagbearer at the 2018 CWG in Gold Coast.

Three New Countries to Receive ICC Membership Status

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) awarded Associate membership status to three new countries during the ICC annual conference in Birmingham on July 26, 2022.
• The three new ICC members include Cote D'Ivoire from Africa and Cambodia and Uzbekistan from Asia.
• The addition of these three new countries has taken the total number of ICC members to 108 countries including 96 associates.
• One of the major criteria to gain ICC membership includes having a proper structure with minimum team requirements for 20 and 50-over tournaments.

Leicester Cricket Ground Named after Indian Cricketer

• In England, the Leicester Cricket Ground has been named after India’s legendary cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar.

• It has been named after Gavaskar to acknowledge his immense contribution to uplifting Indian Cricket to a certain height.

• There is already a ground named after Gavaskar in the Kentucky area of the Unites States.

• Gavaskar was the first cricketer to score 10,000 runs in test cricket.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Wealthiest Women in India

• The 3rd edition of Kotak Private Banking-Hurun -leading Wealthy Women list was published.
• As per the Kotak Private Banking-Hurun list published HCL Technologies’ Chairperson Roshni Nadar Malhotra has retained her position as the richest woman in India, with a 54 per cent jump in her networth to Rs 84,330 crore in 2021.
• She retained the position for the second year in a row.
• Falguni Nayar, who quit her investment banking career to start the beauty focused brand Nykaa, has emerged as the richest self-made woman with a networth of Rs 57,520 crore.
• Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw witnessed a 21 per cent decline in her fortune and has moved down one rank to be the third richest woman in the country with a wealth of Rs 29,030 crore.

IMPORTANT DAYS

83rd Raising Day of CRPF

• Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has celebrated its 83rd Raising Day on 27 July 2022.

• The 83rd Raising Day parade was organised at the Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu.

• This was for the first time that the CRPF celebrated its Raising Day outside the national capital.

• It officially works under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• CRPF, the India’s largest central armed police force came into existence in 1939.
• It was renamed the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on December 28, 1949, upon the enactment of the CRPF Act.

OBITUTARY

Punjabi Singer Balwinder Safri

• Veteran Punjabi singer Balwinder Safri, known as the Bhangra star passed away. He was at the age of 63.

• Balwinder Safri was a UK-based Punjabi singer and was known for his popular tracks like 'O chan mere makhna', 'Pao Bhangra', 'Gal Sun Kuriye', 'Nachdinu' and many more.

• Safri was actively involved in the Bhangra music scene since the 1980s. He also had formed his band named Safri Boyz Band in 1990.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner David Trimble

• The Nobel peace prize winner and former first Northern Irish minister David Trimble passed away. He was at the age of 77.

• Trimble, who became Northern Irish first minister in the power-sharing government that emerged from the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, was one of the chief architects of the agreement that ended three decades of conflict in the region.

• For this, he won the Nobel Peace prize along with John Hume in 1998.

• In 2002, he was also awarded the Golden Plate Award by the American Academy of Achievement.

Eminent Assamese Writer Atulananda Goswami

• Eminent Assamese litterateur Atulananda Goswami, known for his novels and short stories passed away. He was at the age of 87.

• Goswami received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2006 for his short story collection 'Seneh Jarir Ganthi'.

• He was also bestowed with the Ambikagiri Roy Choudhury Sahitya Award, the Kumar Kishor Memorial Award, the Katha Award and the Sneha Bharati Sahitya Samman.