NATIONAL:
1. New Chief Justice of India
Why in news - CJI N V Ramana recommended to the government the name of Justice Uday Umesh Lalit as his successor.
Key Points –
• Justice Lalit will be the 49th CJI.
• He was elevated directly to the Supreme Court from the Bar in August 2014.
• He was part of the 5 judge bench which in August 2017, “set aside” the centuries-old practice of instant triple talaq.
• He hails from Maharashtra.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Chinese Military Drills near Taiwan
Why in news - China is staging live-fire military drills surrounding Taiwan in response to a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Key Points –
• Five ballistic missiles fired by China appear to have landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
2. Pakistan's Role in US Drone Strike
Why in news - The US drone strike on Ayman al-Zawahiri has raised questions over Pakistan’s possible role in the raid.
Key Points –
• Reports suggests that the Pakistan's airspace could have been used for carrying out the precision strike.
• Reports claim that the attack was launched from Ganci Airbase ( Kyrgyzstan).
ECONOMY:
1. Recognition of Startups
Why in news – Commerce & Industry minister Piyush Goyal has announced that 75000 startups have been recognized in the country.
Key Points –
• Out of the total –
A. IT services (12%)
B. Healthcare and Life Sciences (9%)
C. Education (7%)
D. Professional and commercial services (5%)
E. Agriculture (5%).
• 7.46 lakh jobs have been created by the Indian startup ecosystem so far.
RANKS & INDICES:
1. Fortune Global 500 List
Why in news – The annual ranking of the 500 largest corporations across the world has been released.
Key Points –
• Top 5 – Walmart (1st), Amazon (2nd), State Grid (3rd), China National Petroleum (4th) and Sinopec (5th).
• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has been placed at the 98th position, making it the highest-ranked Indian company.
• LIC has a revenue of $97.26 billion and a profit of $553.8 million.
• 9 Indian companies have got rank in Top 500.
• Other Indian companies - Reliance Industries (Rank - 104), Indian Oil Corporation (142), ONGC (190), Tata Motors (370), Tata Steel (435) etc.
SUMMITS & CONFERENCES:
1. ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM)
Why in news - The 55th AMM was convened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on August 3, 2022.
Key Points –
• Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN for 2022.
• ASEAN members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• A Special ASEAN-India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) held on 16-17 June to commemorate 30 years of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
AWARDS & HONOURS:
1. Agricultural Infrastructure Funds (AIF)
Why in news - Narendra Singh Tomar presented the award for the best state in the country in utilisation of Agriculture funds in the financial year 2021-22.
Key Points –
• Andhra Pradesh ranks first in utilisation of AIF.
• CEO of State Rythu Bazars B. Srinivasa Rao received the award.
SECURITY:
1. Yudh Abhyas
Why in news - The 18th edition of exercise “Yudh Abhyas” is scheduled to take place from October 14 to 31, 2022.
Key Points –
• It is a joint military exercise between India and the US.
• Location - Auli, Uttarakhand.
• Last edition (2021) – Alaska, US.
• In June 2016, the US designated India a “Major Defence Partner”.
2. All-Women Air Crew
Why in news - In a first, all-women Navy crew completes a surveillance mission over the Arabian Sea.
Key Points –
• 5 women officers of INAS 314 completed the mission onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.
• The aircraft was captained by Lt Commander Aanchal Sharma.
• Pilots — Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite.
APPOINTMENTS:
1. Shweta Singh
Why in news - IFS officer Shweta Singh was appointed as a director in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
AGREEMENTS:
1. Odisha and FICCI
Why in news - Odisha and FICCI signed an MoU for the next “Make in Odisha” summit in 2022.
STATES/UTs:
1. CHEERAG Scheme
Why in news - Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched the “Chief Minister Equal Education Relief, Assistance and Grant (Cheerag)” scheme to study in private schools.
Key Points –
• The government will reimburse –
A. Rs 700 per student from Classes II to V
B. Rs 900 per student from Classes VI to VIII
C. Rs 1,100 per student from Classes IX to XII.
2. Poshaka Balyam
Why in news - Kerala has launched “Poshaka Balyam” (Nutritious Childhood) on August 2 to improve nutrition among children in the age group of 3-6.
Key Points –
• The Anganwadi and pre-school children will be provided with eggs and milk twice every week.
• Kerala is the first state to implement such a program in the country.
BIHAR:
1. Langat Singh College
Why in news - The astronomical observatory at the Langat Singh College, Muzaffarpur is now included in the UNESCO list.
Key Points –
• It was included in the UNESCO list of Important Endangered Heritage observatories of the world.
• It was established in the college in 1916 (106-year-old).
• A planetarium was also set up in the college in 1946.
2. Natural Farming
Why in news - Under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, 4,000 hectares have been identified in Muzaffarpur for natural farming.
Key Points –
• 4 clusters have been formed.
• In each cluster, at least 65% of the total beneficiary farmers would be from small and marginal category.
• Benefits –
A. Rs 2000 to farmers per hectare in the first year.
B. Rs 12,200 per hectare for three years for cluster construction, capacity building etc.
C. 2 crore 11 lakh to the district for the first year.
3. Atul Prasad
Why in news - Former IAS officer Atul Prasad has been appointed as the chairman of Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). He would succeed RK Mahajan.
POINTERS:
• Who has become the first Indian to win a medal in the high jump at the Commonwealth Games - Tejaswin Shankar.
• Which scheme has been launched by the Union Government to create a strong R&D ecosystem - State University Research Excellence Scheme.
• Which state has signed a tripartite MoU with NITI Aayog for the transformation of school education - Arunachal Pradesh.
• Who has recently been honored with the “Dream SS 2022 Award” for promoting education - Satyanarayan Moondayur.
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and which department of Bangladesh have signed an MoU for emergency ferrying of petroleum products to the northeastern states of India - Bangladesh Road and Highways Department.
• Which aviation company hasdecidedd to increase the retirement age of pilots from 58 to 65 - Air India.
• ISRO will launch its new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) on which date – August 7, 2022.
• Who is heading a special task force to monitor monkeypox in the country - VK Paul.
• Who has successfully predicted the structure of nearly all proteins known to science - AlphaFold tool.
• On which date, the Earth completed one rotation in 1.59 milliseconds less than 24 hours, marking the shortest day ever - June 29.