1. India, Kyrgyzstan ink 4 pacts during Prime
Minister Narendra Modi’s visit
i. India and
Kyrgyzstan have signed 4 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation
between the two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyrgystan as part of his official visit to 5
Central Asian countries and Russia.
ii. Agreement on
Defence Cooperation: It was signed to deepen cooperation between both countries
in matters relating to security, defence, military education and training. It
also covers provisions to conduct of joint military exercises, exchange of
military instructors, exchange of experience and information and observers etc.
iii. MoU and
Cooperation in the field of Elections: It was signed to deepen cooperation in
matters relating to legislation on elections and referendums. It also covered
rights of elections process stakeholders, modern systems and technologies as
well as other issues of election administration.
iv. MoU on
cooperation in the sphere of Standards: Seeks to strengthen and enhance
technical cooperation in the fields of conformity assessment, standardization
and sharing of expertise on mutual trade.
v. Agreement on
Cooperation in Culture: To deepen cultural cooperation between both countries
in areas such as preservation of cultural heritage, theatre, youth festivals
and organisation of folk arts.
2. India, Turkmenistan ink 7 pacts to enhance
regional cooperation & connectivity
i. India and Turkmenistan
have signed 7 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation between the
two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to Turkmenistan as part of his official visit to 5
Central Asian countries and Russia.
ii.Following are
the list of agreements :
MoU on Supply of
Chemical Products: It was signed between the India’s ‘Rashtriya Chemicals and
Fertilizers Limited’ and the Turkmenistan’s Turkmenhimiya’.
MoU on Foreign
Service Institutes of both nations and it was signed between Foreign Service
Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Institute of
International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
Agreement on
Cooperation in the field of Sports: It was signed between Union Ministry of
Youth Affairs And Sports of India and State Committee for Sport of
Turkmenistan.
Programme of
Cooperation In Science And Technology: It was signed between both governments
for the period of two years viz. 2015-2017.
MoU on Cooperation
in Yoga and Traditional Medicine: It was signed between respective entities of
both governments. MoU on Cooperation in the Field Of Tourism: It was signed
between respective entities of both governments.
Agreement in the
field of Defence: It was signed between respective entities of both
governments.
3. Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division conferred with
Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2015
i. Tata Steel's
West Bokaro Division was on 11 July 2015 conferred with the Golden Peacock
Environment Management Award (GPEMA) 2015 in New Delhi. It was presented by the
Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar to
Sanjay Rajoria, General Manager of West Bokaro, Tata Steel of Jharkand.
ii .Tata Steel won
the coveted award for its responsible environmental practices and resource
management while upgrading the skills of employees through training as new
technologies evolve.
iii. GMR Hyderabad
International Airport Ltd has been declared as the winner of ‘Golden Peacock
Environment Management Award (GPEMA)’ for the year 2015 for achievements in the
field of environment management at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
iv. Golden Peacock
Environment Management Award is annual award and presented for attaining
significant achievements in the field of Environment Management during the
previous year. It is awarded to manufacturing as well as service organizations
both in the Public and Private domain located in India.
v. Krishnapatnam
Port , recognized as one of India's largest ports and ranked amongst world's
finest ports connecting the eastern and western parts of the world, has been
bestowed with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award.
vi. Yes Bank
received the 2014 award.
4. SBI partners with bankbazaar.com
i. State Bank of
India (SBI), the largest bank in India, has partnered online financial product
aggregator ‘bankbazaar.com’ along with the bank’s subsidiary SBI CAP
Securities.
ii. Under this
arrangement, the bank will be able to display its home loan products on
bankbazaar.com, generate leads and provide door-step delivery, thus improving
the response time. Bankbazaar.com offers end to end solutions to the home loan
seekers from getting the customised quotes, comparison of the offers and
submission of online application to SBI
iii. This
partnership will help the bank to provide yet another online platform to the
prospective tech savvy home loan borrowers to apply for SBI Home Loans online.
iv. The tie up with bankbazaar.com also highlights SBI’s strategy to augment
its Home Loan portfolio by leveraging digital channels and increasing its
presence in the digital/online space, it added.
5. Miss USA 2015: Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan Wins
the Crown!
i. Miss Oklahoma,
Olivia Jordan, won big at the 2015 Miss USA pageant on Sunday, July 12, beating
out 50 women to win the crown.
ii. Jordan, 26,
made it through the fierce rounds of the competition, sliding into the Top 15
after preliminary events and captivating viewers as she worked it in the live
show's bikini and evening gown rounds.
iii. The Oklahoma
native impressed during the question portion of the competition, which was held
in Baton Rouge, La. She spoke first on the issue of race relations in the
United States, stressing the need for improved dynamics, and later went on to
name Oprah and Harriet Tubman as two women she would like to see on the $10
bill.
iv. Jordan was
followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra, second
runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada Brittany
McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mamé Adjei.
6. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in
India written by Jairam Ramesh
i. The book Green
Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India was in news in the second week
of July 2015. It was written by former Union Environment and Forest Minister
(Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.
ii. It unveils the
story of environmental policy making in India from the perspective of a pivotal
decision maker.
iii. It chronicles
India's environmental decision-making since the 1991 movement, telling the
story of how, for the first time, the doors of the environment ministry were
opened to voices, hitherto unheard, into the policy-making process.
iv. At present,
Jairam Ramesh is Chair of the Future Earth Engagement Committee, a research
platform on global sustainability. He is also a member of the Rajya Sabha from
Andhra Pradesh.
7. Indigenously developed Nag anti-tank missile
tested from helicopter platform
i. In fresh trials,
India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided missile,
which can hit a target upto seven km, from a helicopter at a firing range in
Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
ii. Three-round
trial of helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa) missile were conducted yesterday at
the Chandhan firing range.
iii. HeliNa is a
helicopter-launched version of Nag and has been developed by the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided
Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
iv. The missile was
aimed at hitting targets at varied distances of upto 7 km.
8. Isro's Gagan Satellite-Based Navigation System
Launched
i. India on Monday
launched its satellite-based air navigation services, thereby joining a select
league comprising the US, Europe Union (EU) and Japan which have similar
systems. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju dedicated the services to
the nation in a ceremony in New Delhi.
ii. The system -
known as Gagan or global positioning system (GPS) aided geo-augmented
navigation system - is intended to provide accurate navigation services over
the Bay of Bengal, South East Asia, Indian Ocean, Middle East, and African
regions.
iii. Gagan works by
augmenting and relaying data from GPS satellites with the help of two augmentation
satellites and 15 earth-based reference stations.
iv. Gagan also
fills a vital gap between EU's "European Geostationary Navigation Overlay
Service" (EGNOS) and Japan's "Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation
System" (MSAS) coverage areas.
9. Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah suspended by
BCCI
i. Mumbai Ranji
cricketer Hiken Shah has been suspended by the BCCI with immediate effect after
being found guilty of breaching BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code. His involvement in
any form of cricket, affiliated with the BCCI stands suspended till the time
the disciplinary committee of the BCCI passes appropriate orders.
ii. The BCCI press
release says that Hiken Shah made a corrupt approach to one of his colleagues -
Pravin Tambe of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals before the 2015 edition of the
IPL.
iii. Tambe had
immediately informed the incident to his franchise team. Rajasthan Royals
followed the process of informing the incident to the Anti Corruption Unit of
the BCCI. Based on the information, BCCI President, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya,
instructed ACU to conduct an immediate inquiry into the matter.
iv. Hiken Shah has
played 37 First-class matches in which he has scored 2160 runs at 42.35 with
six hundreds and eight fifties. He has played six ODIs and T20Is each and
averages 15 and 32.40 respectively. Last year, he lost his place in the Mumbai
Ranji side and earlier this year in January, he was unhappy with his omission.