Current Affairs - July 30, 2018 Current Affairs

The International Army Games 2018 at Patriot Park in Moscow region was declared open by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. Indian teams are taking part in two major competitions-- Tank Biathlon event at Alabino ranges and Moscow region and Elbrus Ring competition in Caucasus mountains. The games are being held from July 28 to August 11 at 24 training grounds in seven countries namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, and Russia. For the first time that Armenia and Iran are co-hosting events of the Army Games. The opening ceremony was attended by Indian Ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran along with Indian attaches attended the ceremony.

Bajrang Punia won his second consecutive international gold and Sandeep Tomar won a silver medal at the Yasar Dogu International in Istanbul, Turkey. Indian wrestlers returned with 10 medals, including seven by women, from the ranking event. In the women's competition, Pinki gold medallist in the 55kg category with her 6-3 win over Ukraine's Olga Shnaider in the final. The Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik failed to reach the medal round in the 62-kilogram category.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel tank engines to Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Devraj Anbu. The engines, V-46-6 and V92S2, can power up the tanks - T-72 Ajeya and T-90 Bhishma. This making of fully indigenized engines, for the first time, is under the Center's 'Make in India' programme. It was produced by the Engine Factory Avadi (EFA), a unit of Ordnance Factory Board. The EFA has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987 for the Indian Army.

OYO has inked an MoU with SBI and Bank of Baroda for extending support to budget hotels and create jobs across levels. The MoU will enable financial support for OYO's existing & potential hotel partners for fuelling transformation and standardisation at their properties. These loans will help individuals hailing from Tier II and III cities to be self-employed and run their own budget assets.

Mohun Bagan 'Ratna', the highest honour of Mohun Bagan club was awarded to former India international Pradip Chowdhury at its foundation day programme. Pradip Chowdhury is a former Mohun Bagan captain. He was also the India team manager. He is the 18th recipient of Mohun Bagan 'Ratna' award. This award was first given to Sailen Manna in 2001. In 2017, former India defender Subrata Bhattacharya won this award.

Ace Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma has lifted the 2018 Russian Open Badminton trophy at Vladivostok on July 29. In the title clash, Sourabh defeated Japan's Koki Watanabe by 18-21, 21-12, 21-17, and win his first title of the season. In Mixed Doubles, the pair of Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg lost in the Final against the Russian-Korean team of Vladimir Ivanov and Min Kyung Kim, 19-21, 17-21.

Government is in the process to introduce Digiyatra facility to enhance the experience of air passengers. It will be one among the Digital India programme that is coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The aim is to reduce the queues at airports and bring efficiency to the boarding process. It is to place Indian Aviation amongst the most innovative aviation networks in the world. In this facility, the image of the passenger will be captured as he/she enters the airport, and then the passenger will be able to go through the full lifecycle of the travel in a hassle-free manner. To access this facility one needs to enrol into DigiYatra program through AirSewa app. The DigiYatra programme will be launched at airports in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Varanasi and Vijayawada.

Hyderabad will host a 3 day International Blockchain Congress beginning August 3. Jointly hosted by NITI Aayog, Telangana & Goa governments, IBC will bring together 3,000+ blockchain enthusiasts, innovators, businesses & regulators. Global Blockchain Protocol Consortium, a body of various countries to further progress the evolution of blockchain technology, will be launched at the congress.

A team of doctors, from the Blood Bank of Kasturba Medical College (KMC) Mangalore, came across a rare blood group and identified it as 'pp' or 'P null' phenotype. Immunohaematology work-up was performed by the team and International Blood Group Reference Laboratory (IBGRL), Bristol, U.K., confirmed it by doing a serological test. This is the first time that the P blood group null phenotype has been detected in India.

Rajasthan will soon have its first 'cow sanctuary', a shelter for 10,000 bovines spread over an area of more than 220 hectares in Bikaner district. The state government has signed a memorandum of understanding with a private trust in this regard. The state already has a ministry dedicated to welfare of cows and last year it had announced a 10% surcharge on stamp duty towards cow protection.

Invest India and the UAE Minister for Artificial Intelligence (AI) signed an MoU for India - UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge in New Delhi. This partnership will generate an estimated USD 20 billion in economic benefits during the next decade for both countries. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu and H.E. Ahmad Sultan Al Falahi, Minister Plenipotentiary - Commercial Attache, UAE Embassy at the India leg of GovHack series of World Government Summit.

India is aiming to buy an advanced air defence system from the U.S. to defend the National Capital Region (NCR) from aerial attacks like 9/11-type. The cost estimated for buying National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II) is $1 billion. The buying process has been initiated. India is also planning to buy a very long range S-400 air defence systems from Russia. India is also developing an indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. Phase-I of the BMD will be deployed soon.

Essel Infraprojects Ltd, (EIL) has launched Electric Vehicle charging and battery swapping infrastructure initiative under Essel Green Mobility Limited in Lucknow. Essel Infraprojects is planning to invest Rs.1,750 crore on this project. Under the project, EIL has initiated 250 charging stations, 1,000 battery swapping stations in 20 cities of Uttar Pradesh. EIL will also invest in the deployment of 25,000 e-rickshaws simultaneously. This will create around 50,000 job opportunities.

The Assam government has decided to implement a Pranam Scheme to ensure that government staff take care of their parents & physically challenged siblings. The scheme will part away with 10 to 15% of state government employees' monthly salary if they are found guilty of not taking adequate care of their dependent elderly parents and physically challenged siblings.

Cherkallam Abdullah (76), the senior Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader and former Kerala Minister, has passed away on July 27, 2018. He was a prominent leader of the Opposition Congress-led UDF in north Kerala. A 4-time MLA from Manjeswaram in Kasaragod district since 1987, Abdullah was the local self development minister in the A K Antony cabinet from 2001-2004.