Weekly Current Affairs (15.07.21 to 22.07.21)

1. TRANSPARENCY REPORT OF GOOGLE INDIA UNDER NEW IT RULES

• Google India became the first technology company to release significant social media intermediaries (SSMIS) transparency report under the new ‘Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021’.
• The transparency report includes details of complaints received from Indian users and actions taken on Google’s platform from April 1-30, 2021.
• SSIM is a technological platform with over 5 million users.
• These reforms made by Google make it more reliable & user-friendly.

 

2. ASSASSINATION OF HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE

• On July 7, 2021, Gunmen assassinated Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise and injured his wife in their house. The First Lady Martine Moïse was hospitalized due to the night attack.
• The nation of more than 11 million people had become increasingly volatile and dissatisfied under Moses.
• Opposition leaders had accused Moise of seeking to increase his power, including by approving an executive order that had limited the powers of the court that checks government contracts. There is also the creation of an intelligence agency, which reports solely to the president.
• The incident further exacerbated the chaos in the unstable Caribbean country, which was already experiencing escalating gang violence, a recent surge in COVID-19 infections and anti-government demonstrations.

 

3. APPOINTMENT OF GOVERNORS IN VARIOUS STATES

• The governor of Himachal Pradesh, Bandaru Dattatraya, was named governor of Haryana.
• The governor of Mizoram, Sreedharan Pillai, was transferred to Goa, and the governor of Haryana, Satyadev Narayan Arya, was appointed governor of Tripura.
• Tripura Governor Ramesh Bais is appointed Jharkhand Governor.
• Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar went on to become governor of Himachal Pradesh.
• President Kovind endorsed the appointment of Governors and the portfolio changes of others in the context of a reshuffle of the Union Cabinet.
• Mangubhaï Chhaganbhai Patel becomes governor of Madhya Pradesh.
• Hari Babu Kambhampati is the new Governor of Mizoram.
• Gehlot, India’s Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, has been appointed Governor of Karnataka.

 

4. ISRAEL’S ORIGIN PEGASUS SPYWARE CONTROVERSY

• Pegasus, a spyware tool developed by a cyber-security company office in Tel Aviv Israel NSO Group. Recently, Indian politics attacked the use of Pegasus spyware to monitor ministers, opposition leaders, journalists, government officials, and scientists in India.
• Once Pegasus this software is installed, the attacker has complete access to the target user’s phone. This is the “surveillance technological tool to developed the intelligence & to fight against crime & terrorism.
• As the recent context, this software has preached around 60,000 mobile phones mainly of Ministers, senior bureaucrats, opposition party leaders & leading businessmen of the country.
• Union Information Technology and Communications minister Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw has rejected all the charges of snooping and told all the allegations as false and baseless.

 

5. INDIA’S 1ST GREEN HYDROGEN PLANT

• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will build India’s first Green Hydrogen plant at the Mathura refinery in Uttar Pradesh (UP). It is therefore aimed at meeting the growing demand for cleaner forms of energy.
• It will be the first indigenous unit of green hydrogen. Previous projects have been announced to produce green hydrogen from fossil fuels, including natural gas.
• Green hydrogen will replace the carbon-intensive fuels used at the Mathura refinery to convert crude oil into value-added products such as gasoline and diesel.
• Green hydrogen is hydrogen generated by the division of water by electrolysis. The process of producing green hydrogen is fuelled by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy.
• The IOC has set itself the goal of focusing on petrochemical, hydrogen and electric mobility over the next decade.

 

6. FIRST TRAIN BETWEEN JAYNAGAR (BIHAR) – KURTHA RAILWAY LINK (INDO-NEPAL TRIAL)

• The first train link between India and Nepal, i.e. Jaynagar – Kurtha Railway Link witnessed the successful trial movement of the high-speed train from the Indian district of Jaynagar Madhubani in Bihar to the Nepalese district of Kurtha in Mahottari on July 18, 2021. It was implemented by IRCON (Indian Railway Construction Limited) as part of the India-Nepal Friendship Railway Project and is funded by the Indian government.
• This 50 km long train section covering 5 stations (Jaynagar, Inarwa, Khajuri, Baidehi and Kurtha) was built with a down payment of Rs 619 crore.

 

7. CHINA’S NEW SATELLITE FENGYUN-3E (FY-3E) TO IMPROVE WEATHER FORECAST, MONITOR SEA TEMPERATURE

• Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on 5 July 2021 launched A Long March-4C rocket carrying the FY-3E satellite.
• China has launched a new meteorological satellite, Fengyun-3E (FY-3E), in planned orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in north-western China.
• The satellite has 11 advanced remote sensing payloads, with an expected life of eight years.
• This is also the world’s first weather satellite for the public service in orbit from dawn to dusk.
• An orbit from dawn to dusk is a synchronous orbit of the sun in which the satellite follows but never travels in the shadow of the Earth.
• It will feature FY-3C and FY-3D satellites in orbit, making China the only country in the world to successfully network weather satellites in three different locations.
• Fengyun-3E is the 377th mission in the Long March family of aircraft-carrying rockets.
• The satellite will primarily obtain data on temperature, moisture and other meteorological parameters for digital prediction applications, which will enhance China’s weather capabilities.
• The satellite will also monitor global snow and ice cover, sea surface temperature, natural catastrophes and the environment’s better response to climate change and the prevention and mitigation of extreme weather events.

 

8. FIRST OF ITS KIND INDIAN INSTITUTE OF HERITAGE AT NOIDA, UP

• The central government decided to set up an Indian World-Class Heritage Institute in Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) to focus on conservation and research in the material patrimony of India.
• He was briefed by Union Minister Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Ministry of Culture in a written answer in the Lok Sabha.
• This is going to be an autonomous institution of its kind in India.
• It will be established as a university incorporating the Institute of Archaeology (Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology).

 

9. BANK NATIONALISATION DAY 2021

• All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) has organized a month-long National Webinars from July 1 to 31 to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of bank nationalization.
• Nationalization of Banks Day is celebrated each year across India from July 19 to commemorates the issuance of the 1969 Ordinance on Banking Corporations (Business Acquisition and Transfer).
• All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) held one month of national webinars from July 1-31 to commemorate the 52nd anniversary of the nationalization of banks.
• The first bank nationalization in India was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in January 1949.

 

10. INDIA’S FIRST POD TAXI LAUNCHED IN UP

• The first Pod taxi service in India will be launched in Uttar Pradesh (UP) between Noida International Airport (NIA) (Jewar Airport) and the project of “film city” in Uttar Pradesh (UP). A final report on the project was received from the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA).
• The project will cost Rs.862 crore and will extend for about 14.5 km between the airport and the film city.
• On 17 July 2021, Zurich Airport International AG, the Swiss company, signed a shareholding arrangement with Noida International Airport Limited (NIAL) for the development of the NIA in Jewar, UP.
• The project is 14 km long, between which the first autonomous taxi will be operated.

About Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA):

H.Q – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Chairman – Arvind Kumar

11. THE 74TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2021

• The 74th Festival de Cannes 2021 was held from 6 to 17 July 2021 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congresses Convention Center in Cannes, France.

1. American director and writer Spike Lee was president of the jury at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
2. French actress Doria Dillier hosted the 74th Festival in Cannes.
3. “Night of Knowing Nothing” by Payal Kapadia in India won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at the Film Festival.

• The festival is held annually in Cannes, France, since 1946.
• The Palme d’Or and the Grand Prix are both grand prizes of the festival.
• The Festival de Cannes 2020 was canceled.

LIST OF CANNES FILM FESTIVAL WINNERS 2021:

• PALME D’OR – TITANE,
• DIRECTOR – JULIA DUCOURNAU
• BEST ACTRESS – RENATE REINSVE, THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
• BEST ACTOR – CALEB LANDRY JONES, NITRAM
• BEST DIRECTOR – LEOS CARAX, ANNETTE

 

12. EURO CUP- 2020

• Italy was the winner of the European Football League, Euro 2020. Italy beat Great Britain in the final shoot-out at Wembley Stadium in London.
• Also, this is the first major international trophy won by Italy since their 2006 FIFA World Cup win
• This is the second title of the Italian, European Championship after the first in 1968. It is also the first major international trophy to be won by Italy since winning the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Gianluigi Donnarumma, the goalkeeper from Italy, was named UEFA EURO 2020 player.
• The UEFA European Football Championship is an international four-year European men’s football championship (organized annually). The event is organized by the European Football Association Union (UEFA)
• Italy’s Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was nominated player of UEFA EURO 2020. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy) was the winner of the Star of the Match award.
• After 1968, this win is Italy’s second European championship. In the Finals, Italy defeated England in a penalty shoot-out at Wembley Stadium in London.

 

13. NEW NEPAL’S PRIME MINISTER OF NEPAL

• On 13 July 2021, SHER BAHADUR DEUBA took the oath of office as the new Prime Minister of Nepal. He was sworn in by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
• The shift in political leadership came after a day after the Supreme Court of Nepal in a dramatic verdict declared Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had violated constitutional principles.
• Deuba, 75, President of the Nepalese Congress, was sworn in as Prime Minister for the fifth time.

 

14. BADMINTON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP -2026

• The Global Sports Governance Body, BWF declared that India will be the host country for the 2026 Badminton World Championships.
• Earlier, Hyderabad hosts the prestigious event in 2009. This will be the second time that India will host this world championship.
• India was supposed to host the Sudirman Cup in 2023, but the World Badminton Federation decided to grant China the right to host the world mixed team championships.
• President Himanta Biswa Sarma said “Staging a tournament of the stature of the World Championships is a great achievement for us at the Badminton Association of India as well as for the country,”

 

15. WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS 2021

• The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom spots the prestigious place for the 2021 Wimbledon Championships Grand Slam tennis tournament.
• Novak Djokovic & Ashleigh Barty successfully defended the Singles title as the Grand Slam tournament title. The Championship held from 28 June-11 July 2021.

Winners: 

Men’s Single: Novak Djokovic(Serbia)

Runner–up: Matteo Berrettini (Italy)

Women’s Single: Ashleigh Barty (Australia)

Runner–up: Karolína Pliskova (Czech Republic)

Men’s Doubles: Nikola Mektić/Mate Pavić(both Croatia)

Women’s Doubles: Hsieh Su-we (Chinese)/ Elise Mertens(Belgium)

Mixed Doubles: Neal Skupski (Britain)/ Desirae Krawczyk(United States)

 

16. BIMAL JALAN’S THE INDIA STORY

• A new book entitled “The India Story” authored by Former RBI governor Bimal Jalan.
• The book explores the economic history of India and aims to pave the way for the future of the Indian political economy.
• The Author Bimal Jalan explains India’s economic policies from 1991 to 2019. The book talks about the role of governance in implementing these policies.
• He has already written 3 more books about India’s economic and political history, namely:

1. India Then and Now” (2020)
2. India Ahead (2018)
3. Politics Trumps Economics (2012)