Daily Current Affairs and GK | 16 and 17 July 2023

Topic: Committees/Commissions/Taskforces

1. Government formed a panel to review all surveys being conducted under NSO.

• The government has established a new oversight mechanism to review data of NSO.
• Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) set up in 2019 will be replaced by a Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
• Pronab Sen, India’s first chief statistician, has been named as the chairman of the new committee.
• SCES was responsible for reviewing economic indicators related to the industrial sector, the services sector, and the labour force statistics.
• The SCoS will have a broader mandate to review the framework and results of all surveys being conducted under the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• SCoS jurisdiction will be beyond economic data and advise the Ministry on technical aspects for all surveys.
• This new panel will have 10 members and four non-official members who are eminent academics.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) issued notification regarding this on 13 July.
• SCoS work includes the identification of data gaps that need to be filled by official statistics.
• It has also been given authority to explore the use of administrative statistics to improve data outcomes.

Topic: International News

2. Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu announced the state of emergency amid rising food prices.

• To tackle rising food prices and shortages, Nigeria's President Bola Tinubu has declared an emergency.
• This state of emergency will allow the government to work towards improving food security and supply.
• Nigeria's President also announced that the government will also clear forests to increase farmland and agricultural output to control food inflation.
• He also announced that money which will came after removing the fuel subsidy will be used to provide farmers with fertilizer and grains.
• Poorer households will get a financial assistance of $10 (£8) a month for six months.
• Many farmers have abandoned their land after being targeted by gangs for ransom. The government will also increase the protection of farmers.
• As per a UN report, 25 million Nigerians are at high risk of food insecurity.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

3. World number one Carlos Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon title.

• Along with this, he stopped Novak Djokovic's victory chariot during the final of the Wimbledon Tennis Competition at the All-England Club.
• On 16 July, Alcaraz won his second Grand Slam title by defeating Djokovic in the final at Center Court in London.
• Spain's 20-year-old Alcaraz became the youngest player since Boris Becker to win the Wimbledon title.
• In 1986, Boris Becker won the title at the age of 18.
• The Spanish player won his second major title by winning the 2022 US Open.
• Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open and is a seven-time Wimbledon winner.
• He has 23 major singles titles to his name across the four tournaments — the Australian Open (10 times), the French Open (3 times), Wimbledon (7 times), and the US Open (3 times).
• He is the only male player in the Open Era to win each of those tournaments at least three times.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Telangana

4. The annual Bonalu Festival has been celebrated in Hyderabad on 16 July.

• The annual Bonalu (बोनालू) festival during the Hindu Lunar month of Ashada Masam (आषाड़ मासम) celebrated in Hyderabad.
• Long queues of devotees were seen at Akkana Madanna Temple in the old city, Hari Bowli, Shri Singhvahini Mahankali Temple at Lal Darwaza, and other nearby temples.
• Women dressed in traditional attire were seen carrying 'Bonam' on their heads and making offerings to the deity in temples.
• Bonam means sweet food in a pot.
• Devotional songs were sung on the streets and folk artists danced to the tunes of folk music.
• People from other parts of the city also come to the old city to have the 'darshan' of Goddess Mahankali and to be a part of the festive atmosphere.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

5. World Snake Day: 16 July

• World Snake Day was celebrated at the National Zoological Park in New Delhi on 16 July.
• The purpose of celebrating World Snake Day is to protect snakes by raising awareness about the snakes of India, mistrust about snakes and the importance of snakes in our ecosystem.
• On this occasion, the snake rearing staff conducted the enrichment activity by providing cage furniture in the reptile house.
• On this occasion, tree plantation was also done inside the snake houses.
• Presently 31 snakes of 07 species are present in the National Zoological Park.
• Snakebite is a public health issue in India.
• It is estimated that there are 78,000–100,000 incidents of snakebite globally every year, and the majority of which, around 64,000, occur in India.
• That's why India is called the snakebite capital of the world.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Indian Economy

6. Project on tax & financial crime investigation will be launched by India from July 18.

• On 16 July, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India will launch a pilot program on tax and financial crime investigation.
• It will be launched to take the lead to build capacity in tax and financial crime investigation in the South Asia region.
• The pilot program will be launched in collaboration with OECD for the South Asian Region at the Regional Campus of the National Academy of Direct Taxes in New Delhi.
• Financial crimes such as tax evasion, corruption, and money laundering are intrinsically related to each other.
• The Finance Minister said that the G20 has helped push several reforms in the global tax, anti-corruption, and anti-money laundering architecture.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It has 38 members and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. India and UAE signed three MoUs on 15 July 2023 in the banking and education sectors.

• The MoU in the banking sector has been signed by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das, and the Governor of the Central Bank of UAE.
• It is for the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions and covers all current account transactions and permitted capital account transactions.
• Another MoU in the banking sector pertains to cooperation for interlinking payment and messaging systems.
• The central banks of the two countries agreed to cooperate on linking their Fast Payment Systems (FPSs) - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India with the Instant Payment Platform (IPP) of UAE.
• These MoUs were signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to UAE.

Topic: Defence

8. Exercise 'Nomadic Elephant 2023' started on 17 July 2023 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

• It is a joint military exercise between Indian and Mongolian armies. Nomadic Elephant 2023 is the 15th edition.
• Indian Army contingent left for Mongolia on 16 July 2023 to participate in Nomadic Elephant 2023. The contingent comprises 43 personnel. 
• ‘Nomadic Elephant 2023’ is scheduled from 17 July 2023 till 31st July 2023.
• Indian Army soldiers from the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment and Soldiers of the Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084 are participating in the exercise.
• The theme of the exercise is focused on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under a United Nations mandate. 
• The exercise 'Nomadic Elephant' is an annual training exercise between India and Mongolia. It is conducted alternatively in the two countries.

Topic: National News

9. IIT-Delhi will open a campus in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi will open a campus in Abu Dhabi.
• An MoU has been signed between the Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge.
• It will be the IIT’s second international campus. Earlier, IIT Madras has signed MoU to set up a campus in Zanzibar.
• The IIT-Delhi campus in UAE will strengthen the partnership between India and UAE.
• IIT-Delhi is very soon planning to launch Short courses and executive programmes for the industry.
• IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi will launch courses in different areas such as Energy and Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science and Engineering and Healthcare.
• The decision to set up an international IIT campus in the UAE was announced in August 2022.
• IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi will support the academic, research and innovation ecosystem through collaboration with different universities around the world.
• IIT Delhi campus in Abu Dhabi will launch its academic programmes of Bachelor, Master and PhD in 2024.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

10. Assam government launched the 'Gajah Kotha' campaign.

• To reduce the increasing number of human-elephant conflicts (HEC), the 'Gajah Kotha' campaign has been launched by the Assam government.
• This initiative will target human-elephant conflict villages in Assam and educate people about elephant behaviour and ecology and cultural connection of the region.
• Aaranyak and the British Asian Trust in association with the Assam Forest Department will implement this initiative.
• With the help of Scientists, artists, educators and conservationists insightful and engaging awareness materials for the exhibition will be created.
• So far, around 1200 HEC-affected people in eastern Assam have been reached out to through ‘Gajah Kotha’ campaigns.
• Aaranyak collaborated with other local organizations to mobilize community members.

Topic: Sports

11. Yashasvi Jaiswal made history by becoming the first Indian opener to score a Test century on debut overseas.

• Jaiswal became the 17th Indian, and the third designated opener to score a century on Test debut.
• However, he is the first Indian opener to Make a century in his first Test away from home.
• Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw made their maiden Test centuries against Australia and West Indies at Mohali and Rajkot respectively.
• Jaiswal is only the fifth Indian to score a century on Test debut overseas.
• In 1959, the first player to do so was Abbas Ali Baig against England.
• The others are Surinder Amarnath at Auckland in 1976, Pravin Amre against South Africa at Durban in 1992, Sourav Ganguly against England at Lord's in 1996, and Virender Sehwag against South Africa at Bloemfontein in 2001.
• At the age of 21 years and 196 days, Jaiswal became the fourth youngest Indian after Prithvi Shaw, Abbas Ali Baig, and Gundappa Vishwanath to score a century on his Test debut.
• Before Jaiswal, the last Indian to score a century on debut was Shreyas Iyer against New Zealand in 2021.

Topic: Banking System

12. IFSC Banking Unit inaugurated by Bank of India at GIFT City.

• On 12 July, the Bank of India inaugurated its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in the International Financial Services Centre at GIFT SEZ area in Gandhinagar.
• BOI has targeted to achieve $1 billion in business by March 2024 and $4 billion in the subsequent three years.
• The IBU will provide services such as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), trade finance facilities, foreign currency loans, syndication loans, and foreign currency deposit accounts-current to various customers permitted as per IFSCA guidelines.
• BOI’s overseas branches contribute to nearly 15 per cent of global deposits and 16 per cent of global advances book.
• Bank of India has a presence in 15 foreign countries through 21 overseas branches, 4 overseas subsidiaries, one joint venture, and one representative office.
• In addition, BoI also inaugurated the NRI Help Center (NRI HC) located in the premises of the Centralized Foreign Exchange Back Office (FEBO) in the domestic sector of GIFT City.

Topic: Art and Culture

13. Guinness World Record Created for Lambani Art at the 3rd G20 Culture Working Group Meeting.

• As part of the third G20 culture working group (CWG) meeting in Hampi, a Guinness world record was created for the ‘largest display of Lambani items’.
• On July 10, a Guinness World Record was created for displaying a total of 1755 Lambani items.
• This record has been made under the ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign of the Culture Working Group, Ministry of Culture.
• More than 450 Lambani women artisans and cultural practitioners associated with Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra Kendra (SKKK) came together to create these items using GI-tagged Sandur Lambani embroidery having 1755 patchworks.
• This World Record endeavour is in accordance with the PM’s campaign of Mission ‘LiFe’ (Lifestyle for environment).
• Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra (SKKK) is aiming to revive traditional crafts and enhance the livelihoods of craftswomen by nurturing their skills.
• Lambani Art:
  • Lambani embroidery is prevalent in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, etc.
  • It is mainly performed by skilled women of the Lambani community for their livelihood.
  • Lambani crafts involve skillfully stitching together small pieces of discarded cloth to make beautiful clothes.
  • It is a combination of colourful threads, mirror work, and a rich array of stitch patterns.
  • Lambani art is also known as Banjara embroidery.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Personality in News

14. A renowned Marathi film actor Ravindra Mahajani passed away.

• Marathi film actor Ravindra Mahajani has passed away at the age of 74.
• He was living alone in the Ambi area of Pune.
• He acted in many Marathi, Hindi, and Gujarati films.
• He made his debut with Marathi Film Zunj (झुंज) in 1975.
• Lakshmi (लक्ष्मी),Duniya Kari Salaam (दुनिया करी सलाम) , Gondhalat Gondhal (गोंधळात गोंधळ) are some of his popular films.

(Source: News on AIR)