28TH JULY
Contents
INDO-RUSSIA JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE ‘INDRA 2021’
BASAVARAJ S BOMMAI AS NEW CM OF KARNATAKA
IMF PROJECTED INDIA’S GDP GROWTH AT 9.5%
RBI PLANS DIGITAL CURRENCY PILOTS SOON
1ST CITY TO PROVIDE QUALITY DRINKING TAP WATER
SCO DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING IN TAJIKISTAN
WORLD NATURE CONSERVATION DAY: 28TH JULY
WORLD HEPATITIS DAY OBSERVED ON 28TH JULY
INDO-RUSSIA JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE ‘INDRA 2021’
- The 12th Edition of the Indo-Russia joint military exercise called ‘Exercise INDRA 2021’ will be held at Volgograd, Russia from 01 to 13 August 2021.
- The exercise will entail the conduct of counter-terror operations under the United Nations mandate by a joint force against international terror groups.
- 250 personnel from both nations will form part of the exercise, which will involve the conduct of counter-terror operations against international terror groups, under the United Nations mandate.
- The Indian Army contingent comprising of a Mechanised Infantry Battalion underwent rigorous training at different locations in India to refine their drills for participation in the joint exercise.
- About the Exercise INDRA-21: Exercise INDRA-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian & Russian Armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both countries.
- The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
BASAVARAJ S BOMMAI AS NEW CM OF KARNATAKA
- The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) legislature party has unanimously elected Lingayat MLA Basavaraj S Bommai as the new Chief Minister of Karnataka.
- The 61-year-old will succeed BS Yediyurappa, who resigned on July 26, 2021. He will be sworn in as the 23rd Chief Minister of Karnataka on July 28, 2021.
- Prior to this, Basavaraj Bommai was the Home Minister in the BSY government. He is a two-time MLC and three-time MLA from Shiggaon in the Haveri district.
- Karnataka Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot.
- Karnataka Capital: Bengaluru.
(SOURCE: THE HIDNU)
IMF PROJECTED INDIA’S GDP GROWTH AT 9.5%
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sharply cut India’s economic growth projection by 300 basis points, from 12.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent for the financial year 2021-22 (FY22).
- The downward revision in the GDP growth rate is due to a lack of access to vaccines and the possibility of renewed waves of coronavirus.
- For FY23 (2022-23), IMF has estimated the gross domestic product (GDP) of India at 8.5 per cent, which is 160 basis points higher than its earlier projection of 6.9 per cent.
- In the case of the global economy, IMF has projected 6.0 per cent growth in 2021 and 4.9 per cent in 2022.
- IMF Headquarters: Washington, D.C. U.S.
- IMF Managing Director and Chairman: Kristalina Georgieva.
- IMF Chief Economist: Gita Gopinath.
(SOURCE: THE ECONOMIC TIMES)
RBI PLANS DIGITAL CURRENCY PILOTS SOON
- The Reserve Bank of India is currently working on a phased implementation strategy for its own digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), and will launch it in the wholesale and retail segments soon.
- India is already a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
- RBI is currently examining the scope of CBDCs, the underlying technology, the validation mechanism, distribution architecture and degree of anonymity etc.
- The primary idea for the RBI is to protect consumers from the appalling level of volatility seen in some or many of the virtual currencies that have no sovereign backing.
- Though the phased rollout of digital currency augurs well for India, it will come with its own challenges.
- Digital currencies are gaining more and more traction by the day, and there are countries that have launched or are going to be launching digital currencies, including Ecuador, Tunisia, Senegal, Sweden, Estonia, China, Russia, Japan, Venezuela, and Israel.
(SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS)
1ST CITY TO PROVIDE QUALITY DRINKING TAP WATER
- Puri has become the first city in India where people can avail high-quality drinking water directly from the tap on a 24-hour basis.
- It has enabled the people of Puri to collect quality drinking water directly from the tap. Henceforth, people need not have to store or filter drinking water.
- The project would benefit 2.5 lakh citizens of Puri and 2 crore tourists who visit the tourist place every year.
- They need not have to move around with water bottles. Puri would no more be burdened with 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste. Water fountains have been developed at 400 locations in Puri.
- Chief Minister of Odisha: Naveen Patnaik
- Governor: Ganeshi Lal.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)
SCO DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING IN TAJIKISTAN
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh is on a three-day visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan from July 27-29, 2021 to attend the annual meeting of the Defence Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.
- During the annual meeting, defence cooperation issues among SCO member states will be discussed and a communique is expected to be issued after the deliberations.
- Raksha Mantri will also meet his Tajikistan counterpart Col Gen Sherali Mirzo to discuss bilateral issues and other issues of mutual interest.
- Tajikistan Capital:
- Tajikistan Currency: Tajikistani somoni.
- Tajikistan President: Emomali Rahmon.
(SOURCE: THE PRINT)
WORLD NATURE CONSERVATION DAY: 28TH JULY
- World Nature Conservation Day is observed on 28th July every year. The main objective of celebrating this day is to raise awareness about protecting nature and adopting best practices for conserving our natural resources.
- The Earth is supplied a limited amount of properties that we all rely upon each day like water, air, soil and trees.
- What are the steps to conserve the environment?
- Use of alternative energy such as solar and wind energy.
- Plant more trees to maintain the ecosystem and to prevent soil erosion.
- Use the water resources in a proper way and reuse the kitchen water for watering the gardens.
- Grow vegetation in catchment areas.
- Reduce the usage of electricity.
- Use recyclable and biodegradable products.
- Ensure the recycling of wastes.
- Try to minimize the use of cars for a shorter distance.
- Use paper bags or cloth bag instead of plastic bags.
- Grow your own vegetables by using organic compo
- Install water treatment plants and rainwater harvesting.
(SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES)
WORLD HEPATITIS DAY OBSERVED ON 28TH JULY
- World Health Organization is observed on 28th July every year as “World Hepatitis Day”.
- This day is celebrated to enhance awareness of viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver that causes a range of health problems, including liver cancer. This year theme of World Hepatitis Day 2021 is ‘Hepatitis Can’t Wait’.
- History of the day: The date of 28 July was chosen because it is the birthday of Nobel-prize winning scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and developed a diagnostic test and vaccine for the virus.
- There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D and E. Together, hepatitis B and C are the most common cause of death, with 1.3 million lives lost each year.
- WHO Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Director general: Tedros Adhanom.
(SOURCE: FIRST POST)