Current Affairs in English – July 13 2022

National Events:

Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare & IRRI:

A Memorandum of Agreement ( MOA ) was signed between the Department of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare ( DA & FW ) and International Rice Research Institute ( IRRI ) .
It has been signed on commencement of Phase -2 activities of IRRI South Asia Regional Centre ( ISARC ) . ISARC had also set up a Centre of Excellence in Rice Value Addition ( CERVA ) .

National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers:

A two days ‘ National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers in Bengaluru will held on 14-15th July , 2022 . One of the major interventions of this conference would be launching of e – NAM Platform of Platform .
It would promote trade and marketing of agriculture produce for getting better prices of agriculture commodities to farmers .

Brazilian Navy:

A Brazilian Navy delegation led by Vice Adm Liberal Enio Zanelatto visited Western Naval Command on 11 July 2022 . The delegation also visited Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Ltd. & a Kalvari ( Scorpene ) class submarine of the Indian Navy .
The Brazilian Navy operates 4 Scorpene class submarines and is exploring options for collaboration towards maintenance of the diesel – electric attack submarines .

Cervical cancer:

Drugs Controller General of India ( DCGI ) on 12 July 2022 approved the country’s first indigenously developed Human Papillomavirus Vaccine ( HPV ) against cervical cancer . This vaccine has been developed by the Serum Institute of India .
Cervical cancer is the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age with a high death ratio in India .

IMGC & RBL:

India Mortgage Guarantee Corp. ( IMGC ) has partnered with RBL Bank to offer mortgage guarantee – backed home loan products for salaried and non – salaried customers .
This partnership with IMGC will help RBL Bank extend mortgage guarantee – backed home loans to new borrower segments through its network of over 500 branches across the country .

Jharkhand:

Jharkhand has topped in the delta ranking of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Rurban Mission with a composite score of 76.19 in the month of June 2022 . With this , the state has improved its position to eighth place in the overall ranking of the mission .
The Centre had launched this mission in 2016 with the objective of stimulating local economic development and creating well – planned Rurban clusters .

IIP:

The Index of Industrial Production ( IIP ) jumped 19.6 percent in May 2022 as against 7.1 percent in April 2022 .
According to the data released by the National Statistical Office , the manufacturing sector’s output grew 20.6 percent in May while the mining output climbed 10.9 percent and the Electricity sector surged 23.5 percent . The IIP had grown by 27.6 percent in May 2021 .

PMFBY:

Andhra Pradesh government has decided to rejoin the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana ( PMFBY ) . Andhra Pradesh has decided to implement the PMFBY from the Kharif – 2022 season .
With this decision , crops of more than 40 lakh farmers of the state will get insurance cover in case of natural calamity . Andhra Pradesh had opted out from PMFBY in 2020 citing higher premium prices .

Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records:

Maharashtra’s Maha Metro and the National Highway Authority of India ( NHAI ) on 10 July 2022 received the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records certifications .
They received the certifications for constructing the longest multi – layer viaduct in Asia . This multi – layer viaduct has been constructed on 3 metro stations under the Nagpur Metro Rail project .

PIMS:

Paper Import Monitoring System , PIMS will come into effect from 1st October 2022 . As per PIMS , an importer will have to provide advance information online about the import of papers and obtain a registration number .
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has introduced Paper Import Monitoring System by amending the import policy of major paper products .

Avdhash Kaushal:

Noted social worker and Padma Shri awardee Avdhash Kaushal passed away on 12 July 2022 at the age of 87 .Kaushal founded an NGO named ‘ Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra ‘ which fought for human rights and the conservation of the environment .
He is credited with bringing mining activities to an end in Mussoorie , Uttarakhand in the 1980s . He was awarded a Padma Shri in 1986 .

Adani group:

The Adani group secured a Letter of Intent ( Lol ) from Department of Telecommunications ( DoT ) for grant of a unified license for the Gujarat circle . The unified license will allow the group to provide long – distance call and internet facilities in Gujarat circle .
In July , Adani Sportsline , the sports arm of Adani Group , inked a long – term sponsorship deal with Indian Olympic Association ( IOA ) .

lithium – ion cell – NMC 2170:

Bengaluru – based electric two – wheeler maker Ola Electric on 12 July 2022 unveiled India’s first indigenously developed lithium – ion cell – NMC 2170 . Ola will begin the mass production of this cell from its Chennai – based Gigafactory by 2023 .
The company was recently allocated 20GWh capacity under the ACC PLI scheme by the Government of India for developing advanced cells in the country .

RBI:

Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) has imposed a fine of Rs 1.67 crore on Ola Financial Services Private Limited for non – compliance with certain provisions related to Prepaid Payment Instruments ( PPI ) and Know Your Customer ( KYC ) norms .
The penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI under Section 30 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act , 2007 .

Tamil Nadu Events:

Order of the Rising Sun , Gold and Silver Star:

Vice Chairman of the Chennai – based Sanmar Group Narayanan Kumar has been conferred with the Order of the Rising Sun , Gold and Silver Star by the Govt of Japan .
He has been awarded for his contribution to strengthening economic relations between Japan and India . Mr Kumar is also the Chairman of the Indo – Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry .

International Events:

Ranil Wickremesinghe:

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as Acting President after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives .
He is also serving as the Minister of Finance. Earlier he served as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka from 1993 to 1994 , 2001 to 2004 , 2015 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 . He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 2001 and from 2004 to 2015 .