Daily Current Affairs 8th July 2023

Daily Current Affairs 8th July 2023

National News

India and Singapore have signed the protocol.

• India and Singapore on July 06, 2023 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further extend the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) till 2028 to enhance cooperation in the field of personnel management and public administration.
• The agreement aims to further strengthen the partnership between the two countries through various forms of cooperation between the government public service authorities of the two countries.

India and Panama have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Electoral Cooperation.

• The Election Commission of India and the Electoral Tribunal (ET) of Panama signed a Memorandum of Understanding on July 07 to develop an organizational structure to enhance their continued cooperation in the “Electoral Management and Administration Sector in Panama City”.
• The MoU is being entered into as part of the Election Commission of India’s ‘International Cooperation Programme’ to further strengthen and expand its linkages and collaboration with foreign Election Management Bodies (EMBs). It is also significant that this is the fourth MoU signed by the ECI of our country with the EMB in the Latin American region.

MoD and HAL have signed an agreement on the contract for two Dornier aircraft.

• The Ministry of Defense signed a contract worth Rs 458.87 crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) on July 07, 2023 in New Delhi for “Two Dornier aircraft and associated engineering support package for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• It has been reported that the aircraft will be equipped with several advanced equipment such as maritime patrol radar, glass cockpit, electro-optic infra-red device, etc., which will further strengthen the coastal defense of the country.

NLC India has bagged the GeM Award for the year 2023 in the “Time Payments” category.

• NLC India under the Ministry of Coal and Navratna, India has received the GeM Award in the category “On Timely Payments (CPSEs)” for 2023 for its outstanding contribution in improving the reliability of e-market procedures.
• The award was received on behalf of NLC India by Mr. K Mohan Reddy, Director, Planning Division of the company.

India joins the crisis response team of global champions.

• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on July 07 that India has joined the Global Crisis Response Champions Group (GCRG), following an invitation by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to Prime Minister Modi.
• The decision to join the Group of Champions reflects India’s global leadership and commitment to addressing contemporary challenges, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

State news

Prime Minister Modi has laid the foundation stone for a new railway manufacturing unit at Kazipet.

• Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone of a new manufacturing unit for the railway sector at a cost of around Rs 501 crore at Kazipet in Telangana on July 08 and it is notable that the Prime Minister is laying foundation stones for “Several infrastructure projects” worth crores in Warangal as part of his four-state tour.
• Prime Minister Modi said the new center was opened with the aim of creating local industry and employment and increasing the potential for socio-economic development in the region and creating around 1200 direct employment opportunities.

The Gujarat government has entered into six MoUs with private industries for development of mangrove plantations.

• The Gujarat state government has signed six MoUs with some private sector companies for mangrove plantation under the Mishti project in Dwarka, Gujarat in the presence of Union Environment and Climate Minister Bhupender Yadav.
• The agreement is aimed at restoring and protecting mangroves and promoting the important role of mangroves in meeting India’s carbon sink targets and preventing coastal erosion, the Gujarat state government said.

Prime Minister Modi has flagged off the 2 Vande Bharat train service from Gorakhpur railway station.

• Prime Minister Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat train services between Jodhpur-Sabarmati and Gorakhpur-Lucknow on July 07.
• Significantly, with this train service, the total number of “Semi-high speed trains” operated across the country has reached 25.

Appointments

Appointment of P. Vasudevan as Managing Director of Reserve Bank.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on July 06 appointed P. Vasudevan as Managing Director.
• It is to be noted that prior to this appointment, Vasudevan was the Chief General Manager of “Payments and Settlement Systems” and with this appointment he will further enhance the bank with his outstanding strategies.

Justice SK Singh was appointed as Acting Chairman of National Green Tribunal(NGT).

• Following the recent retirement of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, the Central Government on July 06, 2023 appointed Justice  Sheo Kumar Singh, a former judicial member of the National Green Tribunal, as its Acting Chairman.
• He has served as a Judge of the Industrial Tribunal in the State of Uttar Pradesh and as Chairman of the Supervisory Board in the State constituted by the NGT. It is also noteworthy that he has been appointed as the Judicial Member of the NGT as per the order of the Union Ministry of Environment dated March 11, 2020.

Awards

Filmmaker Florian Zeller received the French medal.

• Academy Award-winning filmmaker Florian Zeller has received France’s highest civilian award for his contributions to storytelling, literature, art and cinema.
• It is notable that he was honored with the “Knight of the Legion of Honor” award by French President Emmanuel Macron at a ceremony held in Paris on July 5.

Sports news

Indian women’s under-18 archery team has won gold at the World Youth Championship.

• The Indian Women’s Under-18 team defeated the USA Women’s team to win the gold medal at the World Youth Archery Championship in Limerick, Ireland on July 6.
• The women’s team of Aditi Swami, Aishwarya Sharma and Ekta Rani beat  Leann Drake, Olivia Dean and Liko Arreola by 214-212. It is also significant that this is India’s second gold medal in this tournament.

Obituary

Renowned painter and sculptor Namboothiri passed away.

• Renowned Kerala painter and sculptor Namboothiri (age 97) whose works bring forth a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity, passed away on July 07 at midnight at a private hospital in Kottakkal , Malappuram district.
• He is the recipient of Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy’s Raja Ravi Varma Award (2003) and Kerala State Film Award for Best Art Director (1974). In 2004 he was awarded the “Bala Sahitya Award ” by the Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature for his best illustration work in “Kuttikalude Ramayanam” (Ramayana for Children).

Important day

 World Swahili Language Day 2023

• One of the 10 most spoken languages in the world and one of the 10 most spoken languages in the world and spoken in the regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations urges the observance of World Swahili Language Day on 07th July every year to celebrate and honor the Swahili language.
• It is notable that over 200 million people in Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda and the east coast of Africa speak this language.

Birthday of Rettamalai Srinivasan

• Srinivasan was born on July 7, 1859 in Kozhiyalam, a small town near Madurantakam in Chengalpattu district, as the son of Rettamalai.
• It is notable that he was a voice for the mainly Adi Dravida Tamil people and founded the Panchamar Mahajana Sabha and strove to improve their lives. During 1930–32, he participated in all the Round Table Conferences held in London along with Ambedkar as a representative of the Adi Dravida people.