1. India, Kyrgyzstan ink 4 pacts during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit
i. India and Kyrgyzstan have signed 4 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyrgystan as part of his official visit to 5 Central Asian countries and Russia.
ii. Agreement on Defence Cooperation: It was signed to deepen cooperation between both countries in matters relating to security, defence, military education and training. It also covers provisions to conduct of joint military exercises, exchange of military instructors, exchange of experience and information and observers etc.
iii. MoU and Cooperation in the field of Elections: It was signed to deepen cooperation in matters relating to legislation on elections and referendums. It also covered rights of elections process stakeholders, modern systems and technologies as well as other issues of election administration.
iv. MoU on cooperation in the sphere of Standards: Seeks to strengthen and enhance technical cooperation in the fields of conformity assessment, standardization and sharing of expertise on mutual trade.
v. Agreement on Cooperation in Culture: To deepen cultural cooperation between both countries in areas such as preservation of cultural heritage, theatre, youth festivals and organisation of folk arts.
2. India, Turkmenistan ink 7 pacts to enhance regional cooperation & connectivity
i. India and Turkmenistan have signed 7 pacts/ agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two nations. These agreements were inked during the two-day visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Turkmenistan as part of his official visit to 5 Central Asian countries and Russia.
ii.Following are the list of agreements :
MoU on Supply of Chemical Products: It was signed between the India’s ‘Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited’ and the Turkmenistan’s Turkmenhimiya’.
MoU on Foreign Service Institutes of both nations and it was signed between Foreign Service Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.
Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Sports: It was signed between Union Ministry of Youth Affairs And Sports of India and State Committee for Sport of Turkmenistan.
Programme of Cooperation In Science And Technology: It was signed between both governments for the period of two years viz. 2015-2017.
MoU on Cooperation in Yoga and Traditional Medicine: It was signed between respective entities of both governments. MoU on Cooperation in the Field Of Tourism: It was signed between respective entities of both governments.
Agreement in the field of Defence: It was signed between respective entities of both governments.
3. Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division conferred with Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2015
i. Tata Steel's West Bokaro Division was on 11 July 2015 conferred with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA) 2015 in New Delhi. It was presented by the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar to Sanjay Rajoria, General Manager of West Bokaro, Tata Steel of Jharkand.
ii .Tata Steel won the coveted award for its responsible environmental practices and resource management while upgrading the skills of employees through training as new technologies evolve.
iii. GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has been declared as the winner of ‘Golden Peacock Environment Management Award (GPEMA)’ for the year 2015 for achievements in the field of environment management at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport.
iv. Golden Peacock Environment Management Award is annual award and presented for attaining significant achievements in the field of Environment Management during the previous year. It is awarded to manufacturing as well as service organizations both in the Public and Private domain located in India.
v. Krishnapatnam Port , recognized as one of India's largest ports and ranked amongst world's finest ports connecting the eastern and western parts of the world, has been bestowed with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award.
vi. Yes Bank received the 2014 award.
4. SBI partners with bankbazaar.com
i. State Bank of India (SBI), the largest bank in India, has partnered online financial product aggregator ‘bankbazaar.com’ along with the bank’s subsidiary SBI CAP Securities.
ii. Under this arrangement, the bank will be able to display its home loan products on bankbazaar.com, generate leads and provide door-step delivery, thus improving the response time. Bankbazaar.com offers end to end solutions to the home loan seekers from getting the customised quotes, comparison of the offers and submission of online application to SBI
iii. This partnership will help the bank to provide yet another online platform to the prospective tech savvy home loan borrowers to apply for SBI Home Loans online. iv. The tie up with bankbazaar.com also highlights SBI’s strategy to augment its Home Loan portfolio by leveraging digital channels and increasing its presence in the digital/online space, it added.
5. Miss USA 2015: Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan Wins the Crown!
i. Miss Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan, won big at the 2015 Miss USA pageant on Sunday, July 12, beating out 50 women to win the crown.
ii. Jordan, 26, made it through the fierce rounds of the competition, sliding into the Top 15 after preliminary events and captivating viewers as she worked it in the live show's bikini and evening gown rounds.
iii. The Oklahoma native impressed during the question portion of the competition, which was held in Baton Rouge, La. She spoke first on the issue of race relations in the United States, stressing the need for improved dynamics, and later went on to name Oprah and Harriet Tubman as two women she would like to see on the $10 bill.
iv. Jordan was followed in the top five by first runner-up Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra, second runner-up Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia, third runner-up Miss Nevada Brittany McGowan, and fourth runner-up Miss Maryland Mamé Adjei.
6. Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India written by Jairam Ramesh
i. The book Green Signals: Ecology, Growth, and Democracy in India was in news in the second week of July 2015. It was written by former Union Environment and Forest Minister (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh.
ii. It unveils the story of environmental policy making in India from the perspective of a pivotal decision maker.
iii. It chronicles India's environmental decision-making since the 1991 movement, telling the story of how, for the first time, the doors of the environment ministry were opened to voices, hitherto unheard, into the policy-making process.
iv. At present, Jairam Ramesh is Chair of the Future Earth Engagement Committee, a research platform on global sustainability. He is also a member of the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh.
7. Indigenously developed Nag anti-tank missile tested from helicopter platform
i. In fresh trials, India has test-fired its indigenously developed Nag anti-tank guided missile, which can hit a target upto seven km, from a helicopter at a firing range in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
ii. Three-round trial of helicopter-launched Nag (HeliNa) missile were conducted yesterday at the Chandhan firing range.
iii. HeliNa is a helicopter-launched version of Nag and has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).
iv. The missile was aimed at hitting targets at varied distances of upto 7 km.
8. Isro's Gagan Satellite-Based Navigation System Launched
i. India on Monday launched its satellite-based air navigation services, thereby joining a select league comprising the US, Europe Union (EU) and Japan which have similar systems. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju dedicated the services to the nation in a ceremony in New Delhi.
ii. The system - known as Gagan or global positioning system (GPS) aided geo-augmented navigation system - is intended to provide accurate navigation services over the Bay of Bengal, South East Asia, Indian Ocean, Middle East, and African regions.
iii. Gagan works by augmenting and relaying data from GPS satellites with the help of two augmentation satellites and 15 earth-based reference stations.
iv. Gagan also fills a vital gap between EU's "European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service" (EGNOS) and Japan's "Multi-functional Satellite Augmentation System" (MSAS) coverage areas.
9. Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah suspended by BCCI
i. Mumbai Ranji cricketer Hiken Shah has been suspended by the BCCI with immediate effect after being found guilty of breaching BCCI’s Anti-Corruption Code. His involvement in any form of cricket, affiliated with the BCCI stands suspended till the time the disciplinary committee of the BCCI passes appropriate orders.
ii. The BCCI press release says that Hiken Shah made a corrupt approach to one of his colleagues - Pravin Tambe of IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals before the 2015 edition of the IPL.
iii. Tambe had immediately informed the incident to his franchise team. Rajasthan Royals followed the process of informing the incident to the Anti Corruption Unit of the BCCI. Based on the information, BCCI President, Mr. Jagmohan Dalmiya, instructed ACU to conduct an immediate inquiry into the matter.
iv. Hiken Shah has played 37 First-class matches in which he has scored 2160 runs at 42.35 with six hundreds and eight fifties. He has played six ODIs and T20Is each and averages 15 and 32.40 respectively. Last year, he lost his place in the Mumbai Ranji side and earlier this year in January, he was unhappy with his omission.