CURRENT AFFAIRS : 1st JULY TO 15th JULY 2022

CURRENT AFFAIRS: 1st JULY to 15 JULY 2022

 

NATIONAL

  • I2U2: PM Modi participates in the first Leaders’ Summit of I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and USA) virtually. I2U2 stands for India, Israel, the UAE, and the US, and was also referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’ by Ahmed Albanna, Ambassador of the UAE to India. The grouping was first mentioned in October last year by a senior US official, who said the meeting will take place during US President Joe Biden’s ongoing trip to the Middle East from July 13 to July 16. Prime Minister Narendra Modiparticipated in the first-ever I2U2 Virtual Summit along with the heads of state of Israel, the UAE, and the US on Thursday (July 14), according to a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

 

  • LOCALISING OF SDG : UN Deputy Secretary-General commends India localising monitoring of sustainable development goals. The Indian government’s think tank, NITI Aayog, steers long-term policies and provides technical advice for their implementation. It has developed monitoring tools to chart the progress of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at state levels and right down to the district levels and this process is called localisation of sustainable development goals , reason being the process of development is percolating down to the grass-root levels and causing considerable development

 

  • UN-PARLIAMENTARY WORDS IN PARLIAMENT : Ahead of the monsoon sessionof Parliament that begins on July 18, the Lok Sabha Secretariat has released a list of ‘unparliamentary’ words. These words have been banned from usage during the proceedings of the Parliament. Lok Sabha Secretariat relea1sed the list of ‘un-parliamentary’ words such as ‘Jumlajeevi’, ‘tanashah’, ‘Dictator’, ‘black’ and ‘Khalistani’. Some words and expressions which were declared un-parliamentary from time to time by the Chair in different legislative bodies in India as well as in Commonwealth Parliaments have been compiled by the Lok Sabha Secretariat for ready reference in the future.

  • SINGLE WOMEN ISSUE : Proportion of unmarried persons 15-29 year’s age bracket was determined to be at 23% in India in 2019. On the other hand, today India has 72 million single women. This is the largest cohort of unattached women that has ever existed in the country’s history. It is a figure that is larger than the populations of the United Kingdom and Switzerland put together. It includes widows, divorcees, unmarried women and women who are separated from their husbands. It also includes 13 million single mothers who are heading households. Singles need no longer remain a mere statistic. They can be a force to reckon with.

  • MISSION SHAKTI: Women and Child Development Ministry issued guidelines for Mission Shakti Scheme that has been launched for the safety, security and empowerment of women. Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued detailed guidelines for ‘Mission Shakti’ scheme. The Government of India has launched ‘Mission Shakti’ – an integrated women empowerment programme as umbrella scheme for the safety, security and empowerment of women for implementation during the 15thFinance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26. The norms of ‘Mission Shakti’ will be applicable with effect from 01.04.2022. ‘Mission Shakti’ is a scheme in mission mode aimed at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment. It seeks to realise the Government’s commitment for “women-led development‟ by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence and citizen-ownership. The scheme seeks to make women economically empowered, exercising free choice over their minds and bodies in an atmosphere free from violence and threat. It also seeks to reduce the care burden on women and increase female labour force participation by promoting skill development, capacity building, financial literacy, access to micro-credit etc. ‘Mission Shakti’ has two sub-schemes – ‘Sambal‘ and ‘Samarthya‘. While the “Sambal” sub-scheme is for safety and security of women, the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for empowerment of women. The components of ‘Sambal‘ sub-scheme consist of erstwhile schemes of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) with a new component of Nari Adalats – women’s collectives to promote and facilitate alternative dispute resolution and gender justice in society and within families. The components of ‘Samarthya‘ sub-scheme consist of erstwhile schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh and Working Women Hostel have been included with modifications. In addition, the existing schemes of National Creche Scheme for children of working mothers and Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) under umbrella ICDS have now been included in Samarthya. A new component of Gap Funding for Economic Empowerment has also been added in the Samarthya Scheme.

 

  • FREE COVID BOOSTER DOSES : Free Covid booster doses for all adults for next 75 days from July 15 at govt clinics. So far, the COVID precaution doseswere available for free only for adults above 60 years of age. India expanded the vaccination drive for giving booster doses to health and frontline workers and those above 60 earlier this year. This was further expanded to cover all adults in April

 

  • BANGLADESH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA : The Bangladesh Government has appointed Mustafizur Rahmanas the next High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India. Mustafizur Rahman is currently serving as Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Offices in Geneva and the Ambassador to Switzerland

  • AVADHESH KAUSHAL DIES : An Academic and activist Avdhash Kaushal dies at 87 in Dehradun; awarded Padma Shri in 1987. Avdhash Kaushal was an Associate professor for seven years in Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. He headed an NGO Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) which works, among others, to promote the cause of the Van Gujjars: an indigenous forest-dwelling nomadic tribe of the northern Himalayas. Campaigns include literacy, elementary health and veterinary care, and community forest management

 

  • BIMSTEC : Meeting of BIMSTEC Expert Group on Cyber Security Cooperation  held in New Delhi on July 14-15. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. 7 countries are members of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). The member countries are India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka. BIMSTEC countries comprise 21% of the world’s population

  • LONDON INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL : London Indian Film Festival: Filmmakers Aparna Sen and Nandita Das awarded Icon Award. The London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) is the UK’s and Europe’s largest annual South Asian Film Festival. It showcases a rich assortment of entertaining and thought provoking Indian and South Asian independent new cinema along with outstanding master classes, panel discussions and industry events. It is supported by the Bagri Foundation and British Film Institute. The festival takes place in London, Birmingham, Manchester and other cities. In 2019 there were 26 participating cinemas with 95 screenings. The 2019 festival had a PR reach of over 160 million worldwide, partly due to a multilayered relationship with BBC and Indian media.

  • FIRST MONKEYPOX CASE : India’s first monkey-pox case reported in Kollam district of Kerala. A rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body, like the hands, feet, chest, genitals, or anus. The rash goes through different stages before healing completely. The illness typically lasts 2-4 weeks

 

  • EMERGENCY PENSION SCHEME RESTORED :Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde restores Emergency pension scheme scrapped by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govt.

 

  • EXTENSION IN REBATE SCHEME ON TAXES: Centre extends scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies till March 2024

  • Govt directs e-commerce platforms to sell Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani drugs only after customers upload valid medical prescriptions

 

 

  • India’s wholesale price-based inflation declines to 15.18% in June

 

  • Brijendra K Syngal, former Chairman of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) & known as ‘Father of Indian Internet’, dies at 82.

  • Infosys to acquire Denmark-based BASE life science for 110 million euros

 

 

WORLD

  • Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry to allow transit of Russian goods to Kaliningrad

 

  • Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emails his resignation letter to parliamentary speaker

 

  • Haiti: At least 89 people dead in gang violence in capital Port-au-Prince

 

 

SPORTS

  • India top ISSF Shooting World Cup medal tally at Changwon in South Korea; Arjun Babuta, Shahu Tushar Mane and Paarth Makhija win gold in the 10-metre air rifle team event