14TH JULY

Contents

SHER BAHADUR DEUBA BECOMES NEPAL PM FOR 5TH TIME
NEPAL SIGNED USD 1.3 BILLION DEAL WITH INDIA
INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTRE
INDIA TO HOST BWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2026
10TH ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE AIRCRAFT P-81
INDIA LAUNCHED BHIM UPI SERVICES IN BHUTAN

SHER BAHADUR DEUBA BECOMES NEPAL PM FOR 5TH TIME

• Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba on 13th July became the country’s Prime Minister for the fifth time.

• His appointment is in line with the ruling issued by the Supreme Court on 12th July to make way for his claim to the premiership, replacing incumbent K P Sharma Oli.

• Previously, Deuba served as Nepal’s Prime Minister four times from June 2017 to February 2018, June 2004 to February 2005, July 2001 to October 2002 and September 1995 to March 1997.

• Nepal Capital: Kathmandu.
• Nepal Currency: Nepalese rupee.
• Nepal President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

(SOURCE: THE PRINT)

NEPAL SIGNED USD 1.3 BILLION DEAL WITH INDIA

• Nepal has signed a USD 1.3 billion deal with India, to develop a 679-megawatt Lower Arun Hydropower project, located between Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts in eastern Nepal.

• As per the deal, India’s state-owned Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), will develop the 679-megawatt hydropower project in the neighbouring Himalayan nation.

• About the project: This will be the second mega project undertaken by India in Nepal, after the USD 1.04 billion 900-MW Arun-3 hydroelectric projects.

• The project will be developed under the build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model.

• This 679 MW Hydropower project is the single largest foreign investment project in the country, based on the 2017 cost estimates.

(SOURCE: THE ECONOMIC TIMES)

INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTRE

• India’s and Asia’s first National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) will come upon the bank of the Ganges in the premises of Patna University.

• Around 1,455 dolphins have been sighted during a survey conducted in 2018-19 in the river Ganga by the teams of experts. The Gangetic dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal but frequently falls prey to illegal poaching.

• The presence of dolphins in the Ganga gives a sign of a healthy ecosystem because dolphins live at least in 5 ft to 8 ft deep water.

• About the Gangetic dolphin: The Gangetic dolphin has been declared an endangered aquatic animal and is one of the four freshwater dolphins species in the world as another three species are said to be found in the Yangtze River, the Indus River in Pakistan and the Amazon River globally.

(SOURCE: DOWN TO EARTH, HINDUSTAN TIMES)

INDIA TO HOST BWF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2026

• The Badminton World Federation has allotted the BWF World Championships to India for 2026.

• This will be the second time that India will host the premier tournament, which is held every year except for the Olympic year. India had hosted the BWF World Championships in Hyderabad in 2009.

• Since then, India has played host to various major badminton tournaments including the 2014 Thomas and Uber Cup Finals, the Asian Championships apart from the annual BWF Super 500 event, the Yonex-Sunrise India Open.

• Badminton World Federation President: Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen.
• Badminton World Federation Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
• Badminton World Federation Founded: 5 July 1934.

(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)

10TH ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE AIRCRAFT P-81

• Indian Navy received the 10th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from the US-based aerospace company Boeing.

• The Defence Ministry had signed a contract for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009. However, later in 2016, it signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft. The remaining two aircrafts are expected to be delivered in the last quarter of 2021.

• About the P-8I: P-8I is a long-range maritime reconnaissance and Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft, and a variant of the P-8A Poseidon used by the US Navy.

• India was the first international customer of Boeing for this aircraft. The Indian Navy inducted the first P-8I aircraft in 2013, while the ninth P-8I aircraft was received in November 2020.

• Headquarters of Boeing: Chicago, United States.
• Boeing Founded: 15 July 1916.
• President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing: David L. Calhoun.

(SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS)

INDIA LAUNCHED BHIM UPI SERVICES IN BHUTAN

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched BHIM-UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan will further strengthen the cooperation between the two neighbouring nations.

• With the launch in Bhutan, the payment infrastructures of the two countries are seamlessly connected and will benefit tourists and businessmen from India who travel to Bhutan.

• This will enhance the ease of living and travelling through cashless transactions.

• The services have started in Bhutan under India’s “Neighbourhood First” policy. She described BHIM UPI as one of the brightest in facilitating digital transactions in India during the pandemic.

• Bhutan Capital: Thimphu.
• Bhutan Prime minister: Lotay Tshering.
• Bhutan Currency: Bhutanese ngultrum

(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)

ISRO SET TO LAUNCH GEO IMAGING SATELLITE

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting back into launch activity fully at Sriharikota spaceport with the planned orbiting of geo imaging satellite GISAT-1 onboard GSLV-F10 rocket on August 12.

• GISAT-1 will be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV-F10 and, subsequently, it will be positioned in the final geostationary orbit, about 36,000 km above earth’s equator, using its onboard propulsion system.

• About the satellite: The 2,268-kg GISAT-1 was originally slated to be launched from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100 kms north of Chennai, on March 5 last year but was postponed a day before the blast-off due to technical reasons.

• According to ISRO, GISAT-1 will facilitate near real-time observation of the Indian sub-continent, under cloud-free conditions, at frequent intervals.

• The earth observation satellite will provide the country near real-time images of its borders and also enable quick monitoring of natural disasters.

• ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan.
• ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

(SOURCE: THE HINDU)