Latest Current Affairs For Thursday 7th July, 2022

Uganda announces discovery of 31 million metric tonnes of gold deposits

The African country, Uganda has recently announced the discovery of a deposit of 31 million tonnes of gold ore, with extractable pure gold estimated to gross 320,000 tonnes.

It will attract big investors to develop the Sector hitherto dominated by small wildcat miners.

To boost the country’s economy, the Ugandan Government has licensed Wagagai Gold Mining Company, a Chinese firm to start producing gold products in the Busia district.

Indian American, Jayshree V Ullal on Forbes list of richest self-made women

Jayshree V Ullal, the president and CEO of Arista Networks, a computer networking firm has been named on the eighth edition of Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women.

She has been heading Arista Networks since 2018.

She is also on the board of directors of Snowflake, a cloud computing company.

Other Indian American: Neerja Sethi, Neha Narkhede, Indra Nooyi, Reshma Shetty

Diane Hendricks, co-founder and chairman of ABC Supply has topped the list.

Burman family becomes official promoter of Eveready Industries

Dabur India promoter Burman family has now become official promoter of Eveready Industries.

The investment firms of the Burman family entities had acquired a 14.55% share of Eveready Industries from the open market and now collectively own a majority stake.

Prior to this, the family had acquired a 23.83% stake in Eveready Industries.

Besides Dabur, the Burman family owns other businesses which include Aviva Life Insurance Co, Lite Bite Foods, HealthCare atHOME (HCAH).

Indian Navy commissions first ALH Squadron INAS 324

Indian Navy has commissioned Indian Naval Air Squadron 324 in the presence of Vice Admiral, Biswajit Dasgupta at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam.

This is the first Naval Squadron on the Eastern Seaboard operating indigenously designed and built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III (MR) helicopters.

This has been named as ‘Kestrels’, after a bird species, that has good sensory capabilities, symbolising the role envisaged of the aircraft and the air squadron.

Edelweiss General Insurance launches SWITCH, comprehensive motor insurance

Edelweiss General Insurance has launched a comprehensive motor insurance product named SWITCH.

This product was launched under Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority's (IRDAI) Sandbox initiative.

SWITCH is a digital mobile telematics-based motor policy.

This app detects the motion and automatically activates insurance when the vehicle is driven.

SWITCH is about ‘Drive less, pay less; Drive better, pay less’.

CEO, Edelweiss General Insurance: Shanai Ghosh

Muthoot Finance gets approval from RBI to open 150 new branches

Muthoot Finance has received an approval from the RBI to open 150 new branches across the nation.

This approval will help the company to expand its customer base.

Muthoot Finance had also expanded its doorstep service of gold loan@home across South India with an aim to make credit more accessible and easy to avail.

The consolidated assets under management growth of 11% to ₹64,494cr and profit of ₹4,031cr for FY22.

MD: George Alexander Muthoot

Greenko signs MoU with IIT-H to set up School of Sustainable S&T

Greenko and IIT Hyderabad have signed an MoU to launch nation's first dedicated school for sustainable science and technology.

Aims: Fill the gap in research, education and skills in the sustainable development space.

The school will also promote studies in climate change mitigation; artificial intelligence and space technology; energy transition and industrial transformation.

The Greenko School of Sustainable Science and Technology (GSSST) will open by June 2023.

Michelle Poonawalla receives Shiromani Award at NRI World Summit 2022, UK

Michelle Poonawalla has received the prestigious Shiromani Award from G. P. Hinduja, co-chairman of Hinduja Group at NRI World Summit 2022, United Kingdom.

She has been recognized for her contribution to the field of Art and was a speaker at the House of Lords, UK.

Oher winners: Sadhu Bhramvihari, Lord Rami Ranger, Rita Hinduja Chhabria, Dr. Kamel Hothi OBE and Falguni Shane Peacock.

The Shiromani Award was instituted in 1977.

India's first testbed for autonomous navigation launches at IIT-Hyderabad

Minister of State for Science, Jitendra Singh has launched the TiHAN, a Testbed for Autonomous Navigation for both ground and aerial vehicle testing, at IIT Hyderabad.

Aim: to promote collaborative research between academia, industry and R&D labs.

TiHAN refers to Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation.

TiHAN has been recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

India signs MoU with Armenia on High Impact Community Development Projects

India has signed an MoU with Armenia on High Impact Community Development Projects in Armenia with financial and technical assistance from India.

The MoU was signed at the 8th India-Armenia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological, Cultural and Educational Cooperation (IGC) held in Yerevan.

Later, Mahatma Gandhi Auditorium was inaugurated at the Yerevan State Medical University (YSMU).

Armenia Capital: Yerevan; 

Currency: Dram

SBI Life signs pact with Paschim Banga Gramin Bank for bancassurance

The Paschim Banga Gramin Bank has signed a bancassurance pact with SBI Life Insurance to offer wide product range of SBI Life.

Products include: Wealth creation, credit life, annuity and savings products.

The agreement was signed by Arun Kumar Patra, General Manager of Paschim Banga Gramin Bank and Jayant Pandey, Regional Director of SBI Life.

Bancassurance: Arrangement between a bank and an insurance company to sell its products to the lender's customers.

Odisha emerges as top state in State Ranking Index for NFSA

Three states, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh have emerged as the top states in the State Ranking Index for National Food Security Act (NFSA).

The first edition of State Ranking Index for NFSA has been released by Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal.

Special Category: Tripura, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Last: Ladakh (34), Meghalaya (33), Manipur(32)

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enacted on July 5, 2013.

Aviva Life appoints Asit Rath as new MD and CEO

Asit Rath has been appointed as the new chief executive officer and managing director of Aviva India, with effect from July 11, 2022.

He will replace Amit Malik, who is leaving the business after 10 years.

Currently, He is working as the CEO of Prudential Myanmar Life Insurance.

Aviva India is a JV between Dabur Invest Corp and Aviva International Holdings Limited (UK-based insurance group).

Since 1834, Aviva International has been associated with India.

Maryna Viazovska becomes second woman to win Fields Medal for Mathematics

Ukrainian mathematician, Maryna Viazovska has been named as one of four recipients of the 2022 Fields Medal for mathematics.

She is the second woman to win the Fields Medal after Maryam Mirzakhani (Iranian), who received the prize in 2014.

Other winners: Frenchman Hugo Duminil-Copin, Korean-American June Huh, Britisher James Maynard

The Fields Medal is awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU).

Award: citation and a cash prize of 15,000 Canadian dollars

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.