General Knowledge & Current Affairs
July 2022 -11th to 17th
- The Architect of the New BJP: How Narendra Modi Transformed The Party” by journalist Ajay Singh set for release on July 11
- PM unveils National Emblem cast on the roof of New Parliament Building
- India likely to surpass China, as world’s most populous country in 2023, says World Population Prospects 2022 report of UN
- Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra unveils new logo of country’s Public Service Broadcaster, Prasar Bharati
- West Bengal: Union Minister Smriti Irani inaugurates Sealdah Metro Station of East-West corridor
- First-ever symposium and exhibition on Artificial Intelligence in Defence held in Delhi
- Number of undernourished in India fell, obese rose in 15 years, says State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 report released by UN
- Bihar: PM unveils centenary memorial pillar of the Bihar Assembly building in Patna
- Jharkhand: PM inaugurates an airport and AIIMS in Deoghar; flags off Deoghar-Kolkata IndiGo flight
- Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement Centre’s New Education Policy at pre-primary level
- President addresses Dhammacakka Day 2022 celebrations at Sarnath (UP) through video message
- PM Modi speaks with PM of the Netherlands Mark Rutte over the phone
- Cabinet approves Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road rail line for improved mobility.
- PM Modi participates in the first Leaders’ Summit of I2U2 (India, Israel, UAE and USA) virtually
- UN Deputy Secretary-General commends India localising monitoring of sustainable development goals
- Lok Sabha Secretariat releases list of ‘unparliamentary’ words such as ‘Jumlajeevi’, ‘tanashah’, ‘Dictator’, ‘black’ and ‘Khalistani’
- Proportion of unmarried persons 15-29 years age bracket at 23% in 2019: Govt
- Women and Child Development Ministry issues guidelines for Mission Shakti Scheme that has been launched for the safety, security and empowerment of women
- Free Covid booster doses for all adults for next 75 days from July 15 at govt clinics
- Mustafizur Rahman appointed as Bangladesh’s next High Commissioner to India
- Academic and activist Avdhash Kaushal dies at 87 in Dehradun; awarded Padma Shri in 1987
- Meeting of BIMSTEC Expert Group on Cyber Security Cooperation being held in New Delhi on July 14-15
- London Indian Film Festival: Filmmakers Aparna Sen and Nandita Das awarded Icon Award
- India’s first monkeypox case reported in Kollam district of Kerala
- Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde restores Emergency pension scheme scrapped by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) govt
- IIT, Madras is the best educational institute in Education Ministry’s India Rankings 2022 of Higher Educational Institutions
- Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu and Assam’s CM Himanta Biswa Sarma sign pact to resolve decades-old border dispute
- RJD MLA Anant Singh, convicted in arms case, disqualified by Bihar assembly
- Varanasi to be the first city in SCO to be granted the rotating title of ‘Cultural and Tourism capital of SCO’ in September when India assumes SCO Presidency
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches indigenously built Y- 3023 Dunagiri, Project 17A frigate in Kolkata
- Supreme Court slams Nagaland government for delaying 33% women’s quota in local bodies
- Indian Navy participating in RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific exercise) in US from July 12 to August 4
- Kerala has become the first and only state in the country to have its own internet service: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan
- BJP announces West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its Vice-Presidential candidate
- UP: PM inaugurates 296-km-long Bundelkhand Expressway constructed at a cost of Rs 14,850 crore
- 18th All India Legal Services Authority Meet held in Jaipur
- J&K: Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan shoots 3 colleagues before killing self at a camp in Udhampur district
- Former Punjab speaker, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Nirmal Singh Kahlon dies at 79
- Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign on July 13; opposition parties agree to form an all-party interim government
- China and Pakistan start ‘Sea Guardians-2’ naval drills off Shanghai coast
- Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky sacks ambassadors to Germany, India, Czech Republic, Norway and Hungary
- Ukraine: 15 killed as building hit by rocket in Chasiv Yar town in the Donetsk region
- FIELDS MEDAL WINNERS
– 1. Maryna Viazovska (Ukraine)
– 2. Hugo Duminil-Copin (France)
– 3. June Huh (US-South Korea)
– 4. James Maynard (UK)
– Awarded by International Mathematical Union to mathematicians under the age of 40 - WIMBLEDON TENNIS (LONDON) WINNERS:
– Novak Djokovic of Czech Republic: men’s singles
– Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan: women’s singles
– United Kingdom’s Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk of United States: mixed doubles
– Czech Republic’s Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova: women’s doubles
– Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell: men’s doubles - MALAYSIA MASTERS (KUALA LUMPUR) WINNERS
– Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo: men’s singles
– South Korea’s An Se Young: women’s singles
– China’s Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan: women’s doubles
– Indonesia’s Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Fajar Alfian: men’s doubles
– China’s Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong: mixed doubles - World Population Day celebrated on July 11
- Japan: Ruling party LDP wins majority in Upper House (House of Councillors) polls held after ex-PM Shinzo Abe’s killing
- Japan awards Ex-PM Shinzo Abe country’s highest honour – the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum — posthumously
- Bangladesh: Archaeologist Dr. Enamul Haque dies at 85 in Dhaka; awarded Padma Shri by India in 2020
- Lt Gen Mohan Subramanian appointed Force Commander of UN Mission in South Sudan
- NASA releases 1st full-color image from its James Webb Space Telescope; provides glimpses of what the early Universe looked like
- British composer Monty Norman, known for James Bond theme, dies at 94
- International Malala Day observed on July 12
- World Economic Forum (WEF) releases Gender Gap Report 2022 in Geneva: Iceland first, India 135th
- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees to Maldives in military aircraft
- Ukraine joins NATO’s programme of technological cooperation between armies
- Apple ends decades-long relationship with chief designer Jony Ive
- Twitter launches Unmentioning feature allowing users to quit conversations
- 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
- Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka’s interim president
- Ukraine: Russian missiles kill 23 in Vinnytsia city
- India’s Adani Ports, Israel’s Gadot win tender to buy Haifa port from Israel govt
- International North-South Transport Corridor: Russia’s 1st rail transit cargo to India reaches Iran
- Only risks, no gains, for 15-39 age group from alcohol consumption: Lancet
- North Korea recognises Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People’s Republics (LPR) in Ukraine as independent countries; 3rd after Russia and Syria
- US carries out test of hypersonic missile ARRW (Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon)
- World Youth Skills Day celebrated on July 15; theme: ‘Transforming youth skills for the future’
- World Plastic Surgery Day observed on July 15
SPORTS - England (246/10 in 49) defeat India (146/10 in 38.5) by 100 runs in 2nd ODI of 3-match series at Lords in London; series at 1-1
- Surya Sekhar Ganguly wins Chess960 Rapid Open at 55th Biel Chess Festival in Switzerland
- US decides not to impose sanctions against India for purchasing S-400 missiles from Russia; India gets CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) waiver
- World Emoji Day being celebrated on July 17
- Perks provided by employers to employees not subject to GST: Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
- Govt. exempts excise on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for overseas flights
- India hands over 44,000 metric tonnes of urea under a credit line extended to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka
- RBI allows payments for cross-border trade in rupee, move to benefit trade with Russia
- Govt. announces curbs on export of wheat flour and related products
- Govt launches Jute Mark logo to promote Indian golden fibre
- Devesh Sachdev re-elected as Chairperson of MFIN (Microfinance Institutions Network)
- Govt. sacks National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL), chairman and managing director (CMD) Satish Agnihotri’ over charges of corruption
- India’s third power exchange -Hindustan Power Exchange Ltd. (HPX) – starts; promoted by PTC India Ltd, BSE & ICICI Bank
- Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurates National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at Panchkula in Haryana
- Retail (Consumer Price Index-CPI) inflation eases slightly to 7.01% in June
- Industrial production grows 19.6% in May
- Ola Electric launches country’s first indigenously developed lithium-ion cell
- RBI approves Meena Hemchandra as part-time chairman of Karur Vysya Bank
- Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) detects Customs duty evasion of around Rs 4,389 crore by mobile company Oppo India
- Delhi HC permits Vivo India to operate bank accounts frozen by ED on July 5
- No more selling of non-ISI marked items on e-commerce portals
- TCS launches TCS Pace Port Toronto, its global research & co-innovation centre in Canada
- Panasonic launches its first fully rugged laptop TOUGHBOOK 40 in India
- Lenovo launches new Yoga, IdeaPad gaming series, Legion range in India
- 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
- India’s horticultural crops output increase marginally to 341 million tonne in 2021-22
- e-NAM (electronic-National Agriculture Market) platform linked to private agri-services providers; will enable more farmers use the online platform to sell their produce to buyers of their choice
- Trade deficit in April-June quarter jumps to a record $70.8 billion
- Govt launches “Jagriti” mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness towards their rights
- Heavy Industries Minister Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey virtually attends the meeting of Ministers of Industry of the member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan
- LIC estimates its embedded value at Rs 5.41 lakh crore as of March 2022
- G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Bali, Indonesia
- PNB, 3 other PSU banks activate account aggregator system which is a financial data exchange where banks, fintechs or NBFCs can exchange customer data after taking consent from such users
- Privatise all public sector banks except SBI for now: Economists Poonam Gupta & Arvind Panagariya suggest
- Country’s foreign exchange reserves declined by USD 8.062 billion to USD 580.252 billion in the week ended July 8
- Rajkiran Rai G recommended for post of MD of NaBFID (National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development) by Financial Services Institutions Bureau
- Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurates 166 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations across 14 states
- Google buys 1.2% stake in Bharti Airtel for $700 million
- Facebook-owner Meta releases first human rights report in India
- US House of Representatives approves amendment on CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) waiver to India
- Centre amends Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules; will allow electronics industries industry to declare information in digital form through QR Code
- SRI LANKA
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country after huge crowds stormed the presidential complex in Colombo. Ranil Wickremesinghe, the prime minister and Rajapaksa’s ally, took over as acting president. - JAPAN
Crowds thronged the streets of Tokyo to mourn Abe Shinzo, a Japanese former prime minister, who was murdered with a homemade gun on July 8th while campaigning for an upper house election. - FIJI
The Pacific Islands Forum held its first in person meeting since 2019, with the leaders of several Pacific Island states including Australia and New Zealand gathering in Fiji to discuss economic and security issues. The Forum has taken on more importance given China’s recent security pact with the Solomon Islands and growing interest in the region. - RUSSIA
Russia cranked up the pressure on European backers of Ukraine by stopping the supply of gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany. Supposedly this is simply for ten days of essential maintenance, but Europeans fret that the pipeline might remain closed, or that Vladimir Putin might shut if off in the winter, when people need gas to heat their homes. - UKRAINE
Ukraine claimed to have destroyed a Russian ammunition depot in the southern city of Nova Kakhovka, using its new American Himars rocket system. It was the latest in a string of hits on Russian facilities in occupied territory. Russian forces in eastern Ukraine “paused” their offensive to regroup. - UK
Britain’s governing Conservative Party began the process of choosing a new leader, and thus a new prime minister, after Boris Johnson’s resignation. Tory MPs are whittling the field of candidates, the most diverse ever, down to two. - DJIBOUTI
British athlete Sir Mo Farah, the holder of four Olympic gold medals for long distance running, revealed that he had been trafficked to Britain as a child. He was taken from Djibouti by a female stranger and made to work as a domestic servant. - ISRAEL
Joe Biden visited Israel for the first time as America’s president. Unlike previous presidents, he did not offer a plan to forge peace between Israelis and Palestinians. - ANGOLA
José Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s president for 38 years until his ousting in 2017, died in Barcelona, Spain aged 79. He won a long civil war against UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), a rebel movement. - IRAN
America said that Iran planned to send drones to Russia to bolster its war against Ukraine, and may also train Russians to use them. It was unclear whether any had yet been delivered.
Thanks for Reading!
- International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at Changwon in South Korea: Mehuli Ghosh and Shahu Tushar Mane win gold in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team
- India (111/0 in 18.4) defeat England (110/10) by 10 wickets in 1st ODI of 3-match cricket series at Kennington Oval in London
- ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South Korea: Arjun Babuta wins gold medal in men’s 10m air rifle
- Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh wins Gijon Chess Masters tournament in Spain
- England (215/7) defeat India (198/9) in 3rd and last T20I at Trent Bridge, Nottingham; lose series 1-2
- Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc wins Formula One
- Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg
- Mexico’s Rey Vargas wins World Boxing Council featherweight title at San Antonio (US)
- 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
- International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Changwon, Korea: Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar wins gold medal in Men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions (3P) event
