4TH & 5TH JULY
Contents
MM NARAVANE TO INAUGURATE WAR MEMORIAL IN ITALY
PARLIAMENTARY PANEL TO IMPLEMENT SATELLITE TV
SIRISHA BANDLA SET TO FLY INTO SPACE
MITHALI RAJ BECAME HIGHEST RUN-GETTER
INNOVATIVE INVESTMENT PROMOTION AGENCY 2021
LEAF COALITION ANNOUNCED AT CLIMATE LEADER’S SUMMIT
1ST INDIAN WOMEN SWIMMER TO QUALIFY INTO OLYMPICS
SUPREME COURT ON (ONORC) SYSTEM
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COOPERATIVES
MM NARAVANE TO INAUGURATE WAR MEMORIAL IN ITALY
- Indian Army chief General MM Naravane will embark on an official visit to the United Kingdom (UK) and Italy, during which he will be meeting his counterparts and the senior military leadership of these countries.
- The highlight of the visit will be Gen Naravane’s inauguration of the Indian Army Memorial in the famous town of Cassino, Italy. In the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War II, over 5,000 Indian soldiers laid down their lives while fighting to save Italy from fascist forces.
- Nearly 50,000 Indians were enlisted for Italy’s liberation between September 1943 and April 1945.
- Both the UK and Italy are important partners for India in the fields of defence, healthcare, aerospace, education, clean technology, renewable energy and information and communication technology among others.
(SOURCE: THE PRINT)
PARLIAMENTARY PANEL TO IMPLEMENT SATELLITE TV
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has given its nod to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education to provide technical assistance for satellite TV classrooms in the country to bridge the learning gap due to COVID-induced lockdown.
- ISRO scientists have appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Education and made a detailed presentation about the proposed satellite TV classroom for students.
- Vinay Sahastrabuddhe-led parliamentary panel had earlier sought help from ISRO scientists to provide technical assistants to start satellite TV classrooms for students who reported a learning gap in the school syllabus due to the COVID pandemic.
- The Committee explored satellite TV classrooms that will broadcast school-based educational programs and students can take advantage of it in cluster classrooms and the issue of smartphone and data connectivity can be resolved, especially in the rural areas.
- ISRO Chairman:Sivan.
- ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- ISRO established: 15 August 1969.
(SOURCE: SPACE.COM)
SIRISHA BANDLA SET TO FLY INTO SPACE
- India-origin woman Sirisha Bandla will travel to the edge of the space aboard ‘VSS Unity’ of Virgin Galactic, which is scheduled to fly off on July 11 from New Mexico.
- This is significant as she will be the third woman of Indian origin to go to space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams.
- About the Bandla: Bandla, the vice-president of government affairs at Virgin Galactic in Washington DC, will travel alongside his boss and the group’s founder, billionaire Richard Branson and four others in the company’s spaceflight.
- Bandla will take care of the researcher experience of the Unity22 mission. The 34-year-old hails from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh in India.
- She moved to the United States at the age of four along with her family. She graduated from the school of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University, Indiana. Bandla also has a masters degree in Business Administration from Georgetown University.
(SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS)
MITHALI RAJ BECAME HIGHEST RUN-GETTER
- India captain Mithali Raj became the highest run-getter in women’s cricket across formats, overtaking former England skipper Charlotte Edwards.
- Mithali became the world’s most prolific batter in women’s internationals, overtaking Edwards’ 10,273 runs. Suzie Bates of New Zealand is third with 7849 runs. Stafanie Taylor (7832) and Meg Lanning (7024) round up the top five.
- Mithali achieved the feat during the third and final inconsequential ODI against hosts England while chasing 220 for a consolation win.
- In 2020, Raj was named to the ICC’s ODI team of the decade, a fitting honour for her consistency in the sport.
- She is also the most capped player in the history of the women’s game, having featured in 11 Tests, 216 ODIs and 89 Twenty20 Internationals so far.
(SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES)
INNOVATIVE INVESTMENT PROMOTION AGENCY 2021
- Invest India has been awarded the world’s most innovative Investment Promotion Agency 2021 by OCO Global. OCO Global is a leading authority on foreign investment and offers a range of economic development services, products, and unique company assessment tools.
- About Invest India: Invest India, set up in 2009, is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. It is the national investment promotion and facilitation agency.
- Invest India focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and the development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India.
- In addition to a core team that focuses on sustainable investments, Invest India also partners with substantial investment promotion agencies and multilateral organizations.
- Invest India also actively works with several Indian states to build capacity as well as bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.
LEAF COALITION ANNOUNCED AT CLIMATE LEADER’S SUMMIT
- At the Leaders Summit on Climate 2021, the LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition was announced. It will be one of the most significant public-private partnerships in the history of tropical forest conservation. I
- It intends to raise at least USD 1 billion in funding for countries that are committed to protecting their tropical forests.
- It is a collaboration of the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway. To participate, a country must meet certain predetermined conditions imposed by the Coalition.
- LEAF will employ the results-based financing model. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation:
- REDD+ seeks to mitigate climate change by incentivizing forest conservation. It monetizes the value of carbon locked up in most developing countries’ tropical forests, propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established REDD+.
(SOURCE: DOWN TO EARTH MAGAZINE)
1ST INDIAN WOMEN SWIMMER TO QUALIFY INTO OLYMPICS
- Maana Patel has grown to be the first girl and solely the 3rd swimmer from India to qualify the Tokyo Olympics 2021 ticket. Maana Patel joins Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash to have qualified for the Olympics.
- She is a 21-year-old backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad who has won gold medals in the 50-metre backstroke and 200-metre backstroke at National Games.
- She also gained gold in the 100-metre backstroke at the sixtieth National School Games (2015) and broke the national record in backstroke.
- She was selected for Olympic Gold Quest in 2015, making it the first time a swimmer was roped in. In 2018, she secured three gold medals at the 72nd Senior National Aquatic Championships.
- Maana Patel: She was born on March 18, 2000. She is an Indian backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She began at the age of seven.
- Backstroke or back crawl: It is one of 4 swimming styles used in competitive events which are regulated by using FINA. This style swims on the back. This swimming fashion has a gain of convenient breathing.
- Summer or Tokyo Olympics: This event will begin from 23rd July to 8th August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Originally it was scheduled from 24 July to 9 August 2020. But it was postponed and rescheduled for the first time amid the covid-19 pandemic.
- 2020 Games will be the second time Japan has hosted the Summer Olympic Games—the first being in Tokyo in 1964. Tokyo has come to be the first city in Asia to host Summer Games twice.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
SUPREME COURT ON (ONORC) SYSTEM
- On July 31, 2021, the Supreme Court ordered all states and Union Territories (UT) to implement the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) system.
- The introduction of ONORC aims to reform the PDS, which is plagued by issues such as inefficiency and leakages. ONORC was established in August of 2019.
- Aim: Allowing migrant labourers covered by the National Food Security Act (NFSA) to use their ration card to buy food at any fair price shop in any part of the country.
- Technology Used: The system identifies a beneficiary using biometric authentication on electronic point-of-sale devices in low-cost stores.
- The system operates under the support of two portals-Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) and Annavitran. The Annavitaran portal keeps track of intra-state transactions, while the IM-PDS portal keeps track of inter-state transactions.
- ONORC progress: To date, 32 states and UTs have joined the ONORC, encompassing approximately 69 million NFSA beneficiaries. Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and West Bengal are the four states that have yet to join the scheme.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF COOPERATIVES
- The UN celebrates the International Day of Cooperatives each and every year on the first Saturday of July to increase the cognizance of cooperatives.
- In the year 2021, the International Day of Cooperatives will be celebrated on the third of July with a centre of attention on the contribution of cooperatives to combating climate change.
- This 3rd July, the International Day of Cooperatives (#CoopsDay) will be celebrated as Rebuild higher together. Cooperatives all over the world will showcase how they are meeting the COVID-19 pandemic disaster with team spirit and resilience and offering communities a people-centred and environmentally just recovery.
- History of the day: United Nations (UN) is celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives each year on the first Saturday of July on account that 1923.
- Co-operatives have been acknowledged as associations and firms via which residents can correctly make their lives better by contributing to the social, economic, cultural, and political development of their community and nation. Cooperatives hire 280 million human beings globally, which is 10% of the world’s employed population.
(SOURCE: FIRST POST)