Current Affairs 03rd July 2020| Current Affairs News

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Private Train Operations Likely To Begin By April 2023

• Private train operations in the country will begin by April 2023, and the ticket fares in these trains will be competitive with airfares on similar routes.
• The improvement in technology will also mean that the coaches that now require maintenance after running 4,000 km, will need maintenance after every 40,000-km, that is either once or twice a month.
• Private participation in passenger train operations will only be five per cent of the existing 2800 Mail/Express trains over IR.
• The private entity has to ensure 95 per cent punctuality and record not more than one failure per lakh kilometre of travel.

About Indian Railways

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: VK Yadhav

Govt clears Defence acquisition worth Rs 38,900 Cr

• Defence Acquisition Council ( DAC) in its meeting accorded approval for Capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces. Proposals for an approximate cost of 38900 Crore rupees were approved. The meeting chaired by Defence minister Rajnath Singh focused on indigenous design and development. These approvals include acquisitions from Indian Industry amounting to 31130 Crore rupees.
• The equipments are to be manufactured in India involving Indian Defence Industry with participation of several MSMEs as prime tier vendors. The Indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80 per cent  of the project cost.
• A large number of these projects have been made possible due to Transfer of Technology by DRDO to the Indigenous Industry. These include Pinaka ammunitions, BMP armament upgrades and Software Defined Radios for the Army, Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile Systems and Astra Missiles for Navy and Air Force. The cost of these Design and Development proposals is in the range of 20400 crore rupees.
• Further, addressing the long felt need of the Indian Air Force to increase its fighter squadrons, the DAC also approved the proposal for procurement of 21 MIG-29 . It also approved upgradation of existing 59 Mig-29 aircraft and procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft.

Drug Discovery Hackathon jointly launched by Union Ministers Dr Harsh Vardhan and Ramesh Pokhriyal

• Human Resources and Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan jointly launched the Drug Discovery Hackathon 2020. It is an online competition and anybody from anywhere in the country or world can participate.
• Mr Pokhriyal stated, Drug Discovery Hackathon is first of its kind national initiative for supporting drug discovery process. He stated, to attract international talent, the hackathon will be open to participation from across the globe from professionals, faculty, researchers and students.
• Dr Harsh Vardhan emphasized the need to establish the culture of computational drug discovery in the country. In this initiative, HRD Innovation cell and AICTE will focus on identifying potential drug molecules through the Hackathon while CSIR will take these identified molecules forward for synthesis and laboratory testing.
• He stated, the objective of this Hackathon is to identify drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 by in-silico drug discovery through the hackathon and follow up by chemical synthesis and biological testing.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

World Bank approves US $500 mn budgetary support for Pak to tackle Covid-19

• The World Bank (WB) has approved US $500 million in budgetary support for Pakistan to address the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The money will help Pakistan strengthen fiscal management, promote transparency and private sector growth, and undertake foundational reforms in the energy sector to transition to low-carbon energy.
• The money support for Pakistan has been approved under the “Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy”
• The project will be financed by a US $250 million credit from the International Development Association and a US $250 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

About World Bank

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• President: David Malpass

ICICI Bank launches instant loan facility against mutual funds

• ICICI Bank has launched a facility that enables retail customers to get loan of up to 1 crore instantaneously by pledging their holdings in both debt and equity mutual funds.
• The fully digital and paperless facility empowers the customers to avail this loan as an overdraft (OD) in a matter of few minutes, without visiting a branch and submitting physical documents.
• ICICI Bank has launched ‘Insta Loans against Mutual Funds’ in partnership with ‘Computer Age Management Services’ (CAMS). ‘Insta Loans against Mutual Funds’ is an extension of the Insta LAS, an instant loan facility against equity.

Salient features of ‘Insta Loans against Mutual Funds’

• Instant access to funds:The customers get access to instant liquidity by leveraging their existing mutual fund portfolio, without selling them.
• Flexibility of mutual funds:The loan can be availed against a wide range of debt and equity schemes of mutual funds serviced by CAMS and approved by the Bank
• Wide range of loan amount:Minimum loan amount is Rs. 50,000 for both debt and equity schemes of MFs. Maximum loan amount is Rs. 1 crore for debt schemes of MFs and Rs. 20 lakh for equity schemes of MFs
• Competitive margin:Minimum 20% for debt and 50% for equity MFs
• Advantage of OD; No fixed EMI:Since the loan is available as an OD, the customers do not have to pay fixed EMI. They only need to pay interest on the limit utilised and for the number of the days it was utilised
• No foreclosure charges:The customers have the flexibility to repay the principal as and when they choose to, without any foreclosure charges

About ICICI bank

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO): Sandeep Bakhshi

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Innoviti tie up to offer EMIs

• Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti Payment Solutions announced that they have collaborated to offer equated monthly instalments (EMI) billing options on Kotak debit cards swiped on Innoviti POS terminals.
• The facility will allow over 1 crore Kotak customers to pay for their purchases in instalments by using the EMIs on debit cards facility at over 70,000 Innoviti POS terminals across more than 1,000 cities.
• Importantly, with over half of Innoviti’s POS terminals installed in 350 smaller cities and towns in India with a population of less than 20 lakh, this arrangement will help consumers particularly in tier 2 and 3 cities access credit conveniently through their Kotak debit cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank stated.

About Kotak Mahindra Bank:

• CEO: Uday Kotak
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Carlyle Group to acquire 25% stake in Airtel’s data centre biz for $235 mn

• US-based Carlyle Group will invest $235 million (approximately Rs 1770 crore) for approximately 25 per cent stake in Nxtra Data Ltd, an arm of Bharti Airtel engaged in the data centre business.
• The transaction is subject to the necessary regulatory approvals, including approval from the Competition Commission of India.
• US-based Carlyle has prior experience in data centre ownership through investments in Coresite in the US and Itconic in Spain.
• Nxtra, which is building multiple large data centres across India, will use the proceeds from the deal to scale up its infrastructure.
• Carlyle invested $700 million during the first half of 2020, excluding $235 million for 25 per cent stake in Airtel’s data which was announced today. In 2019, the company invested $698 million over three deals which rose to $700 million during the first half of 2020.
• Besides Airtel data center investment, the other top investments by Carlyle in India includes $200 million in Financial Services firm Destimoney (in February 2015), $260 million in payment services firm SBI Cards & Payment Services (in December 2017), $653 million SBI Life Insurance (March 2019) among others.

Fitch slashes India’s growth projection from 9.5% to 8% for FY22

• Fitch Ratings cut India’s growth forecast for 2021-22 fiscal to 8 per cent from 9.5 per cent projected last month. It retained its projection of Indian economy contracting by 5 per cent in the current fiscal.
• Indian economic growth stood at an estimated 4.2 per cent in 2019-20. In its June update of Global Economic Outlook, Fitch projected Indian economy to grow 5.5 per cent in 2022-23.
• In India, where authorities imposed one of the most stringent lockdowns globally to try to halt the spread of the virus, measures are being relaxed only very gradually; with a limited policy easing response and ongoing financial sector fragilities, we have pared our 2021 forecast to 8 per cent from 9.5 per cent in the previous GEO, Fitch stated.
• In May update to the outlook, Fitch had predicted 9.5 per cent growth in 2021-22.
• S&P has forecast a 5 per cent contraction in the fiscal year starting April, and the growth to recover to 8.5 per cent next fiscal.
• Moody’s expects India’s real GDP to contract by 4 per cent in fiscal 2020 due to the shock from the coronavirus pandemic and related lockdown measures, followed by 8.7 per cent growth in fiscal 2021 and closer to 6 per cent thereafter.

About Fitch Ratings:

• Headquarters: New York, United States
• CEO: Paul Taylor

India’s GDP may contract by 6.4% in FY21: Care Ratings

• Care Ratings revised India’s GDP growth forecast for the current financial year to (-) 6.4 percent as economic activity continues to be under restriction. The rating agency, in May, had projected a decline in GDP growth of 1.5-1.6 percent in FY21.
• Under these assumptions our forecast for GDP growth is now (-) 6.4 percent for FY21 with GVA (de)growth estimated to be around (-) 6.1 percent, Care Ratings stated in a report.
• The sharper fall in real GDP also means that the nominal GDP for the year will also decline assuming inflation of 5 percent which in turn will affect the projected fiscal deficit number of the central government which will be in the region of 8 percent for FY21, it stated.
• In FY20, the country’s economy grew at an estimated 4.2 percent, almost a decade low.
• It, however, stated the positive growth will come from only agriculture and the government sector.
• The agency’s May estimate for a decline in GDP growth of 1.5-1.6 percent was based on the assumption that the lockdown would be ending by the month-end and that the recovery process will be gradual and be calibrated across sectors with the second half being closer to normal.

About Care Ratings:

• Headquarters: India
• Founded: 1993

SERB launches ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme to strengthen scientific research mechanism

• The Science and Engineering Research Board has launched a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ to provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs and workshops across the country.
• The primary objective of this inter-ministerial scheme is to encourage high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower, which can lead towards research careers and knowledge-based economy.
• Accelerate Vigyan will initiate and strengthen mechanisms for identifying research potential, mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.

About Science and Engineering Research Board:

• Secretary: Prof Sandeep Verma
• Headquarters: New Delhi

Intel Capital to invest Rs 1,894 cr in Jio Platforms

• Reliance Industries Limited and Jio Platforms Limited announced that Intel Capital will invest Rs. 1,894.50 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs. 5.16 lakh crore. Intel Capital’s investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.
• The deal with Intel Capital — the 12th such investment in 11 weeks —takes the total stake that RIL sold in Jio Platforms to 25.09 percent.
• Intel Capital joins the list of marquee firms who have recently invested in Jio Platforms, taking the total investment amount to Rs. 117,588.45 crore. Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has more than 388 million subscribers.
• Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.
• Intel Capital invests globally in innovative companies with a focus on disruptive technology areas like cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G – opportunities where Jio is also innovating and investing for growth.
• Intel Capital is the investment arm of Intel Corporation, a leader in the semiconductor industry, shaping the data-centric future with computing and communications technology that is the foundation of global innovations. Intel has operated in India for more than two decades and employs thousands of employees there with state-of-the-art design facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

About Intel Capital:

• Founder: Avram Miller
• Headquarters: Santa Clara, California,U.S

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Karnataka govt launches portal to connect job seekers and employers

• Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa launched ‘Skill Connect Forum’, a portal that connects job seekers with employers on a common platform.
• An unemployed person will be imparted a skill and then enabled to get a job,” the Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood department stated in a statement,.
• The initiative comes even as the state continues to reel under the economic uncertainty and acute fund crunch due to the covid-19 induced lockdown that has resulted in job losses across the state and country.
• The state government has been trying to introduce amendments to key industrial and labour laws as part of its efforts to improve ease of doing business and attract investors in the hope that it would generate employment.
• The Skill Connect Forum portal provides information on available jobs.
• Any individual can register on the portal by uploading details of their qualification, skill sets and other details. Similarly, employers would also register on the portal which then tries to match the requirement and availability.

About Karnataka:

• Chief minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
• Capital: Bengaluru (Executive Branch)
• Governor: Vajubhai Vala

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

Prof Sanjay Dwivedi appointed Director General of IIMC

• Professor Sanjay Dwivedi was appointed as the Director General of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).
• Dwivedi is at present Registrar of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal.
• His appointment as the DG, IIMC on direct recruitment basis for a period of three years.

About IIMC

• Headquarters: New Delhi

Karnam Sekar retires as Indian Overseas Bank MD & CEO

• Public sector Indian Overseas Bank’s (IOB) managing director and chief executive Karnam Sekar retired on June 30.
• Sekar was appointed as OSD of IOB after merger of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank into Bank of Baroda.
• He had joined the bank as an OSD (officer on special duty) and whole-time director on April 1, 2019 and was elevated as MD and CEO on July 1, 2019 after the retirement of Subramaniam Kumar.

2 Agricultural experts from India named by UN chief to scientific group for 2021 food summit

• Prof Rattan Lal of Ohio State University and Dr Uma Lele of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) are among the Scientific Group Members named by UN President Guterres.
• Lal, a pre-eminent Indian-American soil scientist, was named last month as the 2020 World Food Prize Laureate for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
• Lal serves as distinguished university professor of Soil Science and founding Director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre at The Ohio State University.
• Lele, the first woman to be awarded a PhD in agricultural economics by Cornell University, was elected President Elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists in July 2018.
• Guterres, in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Rome-based Agencies, will convene the Food Systems Summit in 2021, as a critical contribution to the Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Shashank Manohar steps down as ICC chairman, Imran Khwaja to take interim charge

• ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar stepped down from the post after two-year tenures.
• Deputy Chairman Imran Khwaja will assume the responsibilities of the Chairperson until a successor is elected.

About ICC

• CEO: Manu Sawhney
• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Axis Bank appoints LIC MD Suseel Kumar on board as non-executive member

• Axis Bank appointed Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) managing director T C Suseel Kumar on its board as non-executive member.
• LIC is one of the promoters of Axis Bank.
• The proposal relating to the appointment of Kumar as the additional non-executive (nominee) director of the bank will be subject to the approval of shareholders at the 26th Annual General Meeting, Axis Bank stated.
• Kumar was appointed MD of LIC in March 2019.

About Axis Bank:

• CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

RIL only Indian company on global list of 100 firms that prospered during the pandemic

• Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) is the only Indian company to feature on a list of businesses that prospered during the Coronavirus enforced lockdown.
• A list of top 100 companies by Financial Times ranked Mumbai-based RIL at 89. The publication ranked companies based on resiliency during the pandemic.
• While Reliance’s core energy businesses have struggled during the pandemic, foreign investors flocked to its digital arm Jio. After Facebook bought a 10 per cent stake for $5.7 billion in April, Jio sold stakes to everyone from Silver Lake and KKR to Mubadala, the publication stated.
• RIL’s telecom unit Jio Platforms has raised Rs 1,17,588.45 crore from global investors since April 22, the conglomerate stated on July 3.
• On July 3, RIL stated American semiconductor giant Intel will be investing Rs 1,894.5 crore in Jio Platforms.
• Here are the top 10 companies on Financial Times’ list of businesses that performed well during the pandemic:
• Amazon
• Microsoft
• Apple
• Tesla
• Tencent
• Facebook
• Nvidia
• Alphabet
• Paypal
• T-Mobile

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IIT-Roorkee researchers develop sterilizing system for personal belongings

• IIT-Roorkee has developed a disinfection box that can be used for sterilizing a wide variety of personal belongings including medical equipment, Personal Protection Equipment, apparels among others, against coronavirus.
• Termed as the ‘Unisaviour’ box, it comprises a metal coated with specially- designed highly reflective geometry to allow the calibrated passage of UVC light to disinfect personal belongings.
• The device has been developed by a team of researchers at IIT Roorkee led by Professor Soumitra Satapathi, Laboratory of Integrated Nanophotonics and Biomaterials.
• The box has an internal coating of indigenously- developed metal oxide along with herbal anti-bacterial and anti-viral layers to prevent the growth of microorganisms when UVC light is not in use.
• The user-friendly device comes with an additional safety switch for UVC light.
• The ‘Unisaviour’ box is equipped with an Arduino-programmed system to control the time exposure and intensity of UVC light, that aids in the sterilization of various personal belongings.

IIT Kanpur develops virtual classroom system ‘Mobile Masterjee’

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has developed an innovative virtual classroom aid titled ‘Mobile Masterjee’.
• The classroom-to-home teaching setup is designed to record the lectures/instructions by the teachers while using smartphones. ‘Mobile Masterjee’ can capture the videos in horizontal (table) and vertical (blackboard) positions.
• Earlier, IIT Kanpur had developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered solution for instant fact checking amid the deluge of fake news and unverified messages floating on the various social media platforms. Titled ‘Satyanweshi’ (seeker of truth in Sanskrit), the AI chatbot is programmed for finding and checking true information about Covid-19.

ICMR aims to launch indigenous Covid-19 vaccine by August 15

• Indian Council of Medical Research, ICMR is planning to launch indigenous Covid-19 vaccine for public use by the 15th of August after completion of all clinical trials. ICMR has partnered with Bharat Biotech International Limited to develop this path breaking, Covid-19 vaccine.
• ICMR has asked Bharat Biotech to fast track the clinical trial mechanism and ensure that the subject enrolment is initiated by 7th of July.
• This is the first indigenous vaccine being developed in India and one of the top priority projects of the government. The vaccine is derived from a  SARS-COV2 strain isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune. ICMR and Bharat Biotech are jointly working for the pre-clinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine.
• Recently, the Central Drug Standard Control Organisation, the National regulatory body for Indian Pharmaceuticals and medical devices, has granted approval to Bharat Biotech India to conduct human clinical trials for Corona Vaccine called ‘Covaxin’.

About ICMR:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Secretary & Director General: Dr. Balram Bhargava

Surviving core of Jupiter-like planet spotted near distant star: Research

• A rocky planet 39 times as massive as Earth has been spotted orbiting a distant star at breakneck speed, with astronomers concluding it may be the surviving core of a planet once perhaps larger than Jupiter that was stripped of its gaseous atmosphere.
• Researchers stated that it is the largest rocky planet ever discovered and would be the first planetary core ever found, offering a unique opportunity to better understand the interiors of gas giants like Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system.
• The planet, called TOI-849b, orbits a star a bit smaller and cooler than the sun, located 730 light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
• Gas giants are composed of a solid core surrounded by a vast atmosphere mostly of hydrogen and helium.
• Its diameter of 27,000 miles (43,500 km) is a bit less than Neptune, the smallest of our solar system’s four gas planets, but much larger than Earth’s 7,900 miles (12,700 km). It orbits extremely near its star – much closer than our solar system’s innermost planet Mercury is to the sun – and travels 10 times more quickly than Earth, completing an orbit every 18 hours.

Australian scientists discover ancient underwater Aboriginal sites

• Australia’s first underwater archaeological sites off its west coast dating to more than 7,000 years ago will help with the understanding of the cultural and technology development of its first peoples, according to scientists.
• Archaeologists in Western Australia discovered hundreds of stone tools made by aboriginal people when the seabed was dry, at two ancient sites now submerged in the Dampier Archipelago.
• While the region is well known for its rich ancient history and its rock-art carvings, the two sites are the first confirmed underwater locations holding evidence of human civilization on Australia’s continental shelf.
• Divers from Flinders University plunge into the water on the Pilbara Coast to retrieve the aboriginal objects from what was once dry land, at a depth of between 2.4 metres and 11 metres (8-36 feet).
• They have found cutting and grinding tools and hammer stones that date back thousands of years, as per sources.
• Data from the find is being analysed for precise dating, however radiocarbon dating and analysis of sea-level changes show the site is at least 7,000 years old.

About Australia:

• Prime minister: Scott Morrison
• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

India and Japan conduct naval exercise amid tensions with China

• The Indian and Japanese navies have reportedly conducted an exercise in the Indian Ocean amidst ongoing India-China border tensions in Ladakh.
• Rajput-class destroyer INS Rana and Kora-class missile corvette INS Kulish of the Indian Navy participated in the ‘goodwill training’ exercise.
• The Japanese vessels are JS Shimayuki and JS Kashima. They belong to the country’s Maritime Self-Defence Force’s training squadron.
• According to undisclosed sources, the passing exercise (PASSEX) is considered a significant strategic signalling for China.
• In the last three years, the Indian and Japanese navies have conducted 15 of these training exercises.
• Since 2015, Japan has also been regularly taking part in naval drills between India and the US.
• The bilateral exercise Malabar began in 1992 in the Indian Ocean. Last year, it was held in Sasebo in September.
• In 2018, India and Japan launched an annual joint land military exercise called Dharma Guardian.

About Japan:

• Prime minister: Shinzō Abe
• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Veteran IIC librarian, poet and author Kaul passes away at 79

• A noted library and information specialist, author, poet, and bibliographer, Dr Hari Krishen Kaul passed away after battling with Covid-19 for two weeks. He was 79.
• Kaul was known for forming DELNET, a network of over 1,500 libraries in South Asia, in 1988, and was the founder-member and president of the Poetry Society (India), which he set up in 1984, along with poets Keshav Malik, J P Das and Lakshmi Kannan.

Former executive director of NID Professor Vikas Satwalekar passes away

• Alumnus and former executive director of the National Institute of Design (NID), Professor Vikas Satwalekar passed away.
• Prof Satwalekar was formerly an NID executive director (1989-2000) and the head of its visual communication programme (1982-2000).
• He had worked on prestigious exhibition design projects, such as the Khalsa Heritage Museum, and conceived and designed ‘Bharat Ek Darshan’ and ‘India Exhibit’ at the Commonwealth Institute, London.

Award-winning Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan dies at 72 in Mumbai

• Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest in Mumbai.
• Saroj Khan was born as Nirmala Nagpal. She joined the Indian film industry as a child artist, playing the younger Shyama in Nazarana. She became an assistant choreographer and her first break as an independent choreographer came with Geeta Mera Naam (1974). Her collaboration with Madhur Dixit shot her to fame in films like Tezaab and Beta and others.
• She was a recipient of three National Awards for films Devdas, Jab We Met and Sringaram (Tamil). She won Filmfare Awards for movies like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Guru, Khalnayak and Chaalbaaz.

DAILY CA 2nd JUL

• World UFO Day is celebrated on July 2
• National Anisette Day is observed on 2nd July every year
• MoRTH prepares blueprint for scheme of cashless treatment of motor accident victims
• “Dream Kerala project” announced for rehabilitation of Keralites returning from abroad
• Ashadhi Ekadashi festival celebrated in Maharashtra
• Andhra Pradesh CM inaugurates cancer care centre at GGH in Guntur
• World Bank approves $750 mn emergency response fund for India’s MSME sector
• RBI announces special liquidity scheme for NBFCs and HFCs through SPV
• HDFC Bank launches instant auto loan product
• Ravinder Bhakar, has taken over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Central Board of Films Certification (CBFC)
• Chola MS General Insurance appoints V Suryanarayanan as new MD
• Nigar Johar Becomes Pakistan Army’s First Female Lieutenant General
• Indra Mani Pandey appointed as India’s Permanent Representative to UN
• Sanjay Kapoor takes over as President of Hyderabad Management Association
• Kritika Pandey Wins 2020 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for India
• Mint bags best ‘Newspaper Front Page Design’ award at WAN-IFRA’s 19th Asian Media Awards
• Two renowned Indian-Americans honoured by prestigious American foundation
• AIIMS partners IIT-Delhi to launch app for patients needing plasma therapy
• IIT Gandhinagar develops AI based tool to detect Covid-19 from chest X-ray
• Fever Network launches ‘Happiness Partner’ initiative to help SMEs amid pandemic
• India Tennis Star Sumit Nagal Wins PSD Bank Nord Open in Germany
• African Cup of Nations postponed from January next year to 2022
• Ravindra Jadeja named India’s ‘most valuable player’ of 21st Century
• Rudolfo Anaya, ‘godfather’ of Chicano literature passes away
• Delhi Police inspector and gallantry award winner Sanjeev Kumar Yadav passes away
• Former speaker of Mizoram legislative assembly Upa Rokamlova passes away
• Former West Indies cricketer Everton Weekes passes away

DAILY CA 3rd JUL

• Private Train Operations Likely To Begin By April 2023
• Govt clears Defence acquisition worth Rs 38,900 Cr
• Drug Discovery Hackathon jointly launched by Union Ministers Dr Harsh Vardhan and Ramesh Pokhriyal
• World Bank approves US $500 mn budgetary support for Pak to tackle Covid-19
• ICICI Bank launches instant loan facility against mutual funds
• Kotak Mahindra Bank, Innoviti tie up to offer EMIs
• Carlyle Group to acquire 25% stake in Airtel’s data centre biz for $235 mn
• Fitch slashes India’s growth projection from 9.5% to 8% for FY22
• India’s GDP may contract by 6.4% in FY21: Care Ratings
• SERB launches ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme to strengthen scientific research mechanism
• Intel Capital to invest Rs 1,894 cr in Jio Platforms
• Karnataka govt launches portal to connect job seekers and employers
• Prof Sanjay Dwivedi appointed Director General of IIMC
• Karnam Sekar retires as Indian Overseas Bank MD & CEO
• 2 Agricultural experts from India named by UN chief to scientific group for 2021 food summit
• Shashank Manohar steps down as ICC chairman, Imran Khwaja to take interim charge
• Axis Bank appoints LIC MD Suseel Kumar on board as non-executive member
• RIL only Indian company on global list of 100 firms that prospered during the pandemic
• IIT-Roorkee researchers develop sterilizing system for personal belongings
• IIT Kanpur develops virtual classroom system ‘Mobile Masterjee’
• ICMR aims to launch indigenous Covid-19 vaccine by August 15
• Surviving core of Jupiter-like planet spotted near distant star: Research
• Australian scientists discover ancient underwater Aboriginal sites
• India and Japan conduct naval exercise amid tensions with China
• Veteran IIC librarian, poet and author Kaul passes away at 79
• Former executive director of NID Professor Vikas Satwalekar passes away
• Award-winning Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan dies at 72 in Mumbai