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Current Affairs Weekly PDF- July First Week (1-7)

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INDIAN AFFAIRS
• On June 30, 2018, At the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at Manama in
Bahrain , India’s nomination of the "Victorian and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai " was inscribed
on UNESCO's World Heritage list.As recommended by the World Heritage Committee, India accepted
the renaming of the ensemble as “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai”.Click here to
read more.
• On June 29, 2018 ,The fourth National Consultation Meeting of Ministers of States & UTs, in-charge of
Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairswas held in New Delhi.The Objective is to improve consumer
protection and welfare including availability of essential food items at stable prices, Public Distribution
System etc., and chart a future course of action.
• On June 29,2018, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat announced that 22,000 rural markets would be linked to the Electronic National
Agriculture Market (e-NAM) by 2020 as part of its drive to double the income of farmers.
This was announced the "AgriVikas 2018", a conclave on agriculture and allied sectors in Bhubaneswar,
Odisha.
• On 29th June 2018, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation stone for Gattu
irrigation project in Jogulamba Gadwal district, Telangana.The Gattu irrigation project will provide
water to 33,000 acres in 4 mandals of Jogulamba Gadwal district. Nearly 2.8 tmc of water will be
supplied to 41 tanks.
• On 29th June 2018, the Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for effective management of
disasters.This agreement will lead to development and pilot implementation of decision support
systems for automating risk assessment, advisory generation and dissemination.
• On June 29,2018, The Central Reserve Police Force launched 'Madadgaar Helpline', a
distress helpline for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.It aims to provide immediate assistance to the
people amidst the war-torn region.The helpline number is : 14411.
• On June 30,2018, The Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism Shri. K.J. Alphons inaugurated the Institute of
Hospitality Management in Jodhpur .India is among the fastest growing Tourism economy in the world.
• Bhitarkanika national park in Odisha has become the largest habitat of the endangered estuarine
crocodiles in India with a record number of 101 nesting sites.A total of 101 nesting sites of estuarine
crocodiles were found by enumerators. In 2017, 80 nesting sites were spotted.
• Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, the second busiest in India, has been ranked as the
fifth least punctual airport in the world. as per a study conducted by OAG, a global leader in providing
flight information. 'on-time performance' (OTP),for Delhi was 70.7 %. Nagoya
KomakiAirport in Japan has topped the global ranking list with OTP rate of 94.5 %.OTP for Mumbai was
60 %.
• On July 2, 2018, The Income Tax Department has launched instant Aadhaar-based e-PAN allotment
service for individuals seeking PAN (Permanent Account Number) service for the first time.The pan
service is only available for valid Aadhar card holders.This facility is free of cost and is available for a
limited period on first-come, first-served basis.
• On July 2, 2018, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social
Justice and Empowerment announced that a “National Workshop on Skill Development for Persons
with Disabilities (Divyangjan)” will be organized on July 3,2018.
The event will be inaugurated by Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Minister for Social Justice and
Empowerment.
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• On July 2, 2018, Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Shri Radha Mohan Singh announced
the "National Policy on Marine Fisheries, 2017" in the inter-session meeting of the consultative
committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare on “Marine Fisheries-Mariculture in
India” in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.The government has also included a sub-component namely,
'Assistance for Deep-Sea Fishing' under 'Blue-Revolution.
• On July 2, 2018, The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that it has organized a two-day
“National Consultation on Accessible Elections,” from the 3rd July, 2018 in New Delhi.The event is a part
of the ECI’s pursuit of its mission ‘leave no voter behind,’ with special focus on “Persons with
Disabilities” (PwD).The theme of “Inclusion of PwD’s” has been given a special focus in the ECI’s
Strategic Plan 2016-2025.
• On July 1,2018, The government has set up a 13-member committee for Sub-National Accounts will be
headed by Ravindra H Dholakia, a retired professor of IIM Ahmedabad.It would review the concepts,
definitions, classifications, data conventions, data sources and data requirements for preparation of
State Domestic Product (SDP) and District Domestic Product (DDP).
• On July 1,2018, The Government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018 via Gazette
Notification.Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no
payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the
validity period.
• Ministry of Defence has approved the sanction for construction of 17 new baffle firing ranges in Military
Stations/Cantonments/Training Establishments at an estimated cost of Rs. 238 crores.With this 7
additional ranges are added to the Southern Command, 3 to the Eastern Command, 2 to the Northern
Command, 1 to the South Western and 1 to the Central Command.
• On 3rd July 2018, “National Workshop on Skill Development for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)”
was held in New Delhi.The workshop was organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons
with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
• On July 1,2018, the Ministry of Power announced that it will hold a conference of state power
ministries at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh on July 3, 2018. The Conference will be inaugurated by Shri R K
Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy.The aim is to review the
implementation of various ongoing Schemes/ Programmes & work on issues pertaining to Power and
Renewable Energy sectors.
• On July 3, 2018, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the “Happiness Curriculum” for students
of nursery to Class 8 in government schools . The curriculum was launched in the presence of the Dalai
Lama.It aims to target modern day problems like terrorism, corruption and pollution and solve them
through human-centric education.
• On July 2,2018, The first meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) was held
at Central Water Commission (CWC) office in Delhi.It was chaired by the CWC Chairman, S Masood
Hussain, who is also heading the Cauvery Authority.
• On July 2, 2018, Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that Jharkhand will have the first
'Khadi Mall' of the country.This was announced while addressing the 'Karigar Panchayat' organized by
the Khadi Board at the Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium .
• On July 1, 2018, The Chhattisgarh government set up a tribal museum in the state's upcoming new
capital Naya Raipur . The decision was taken during a meeting of Chhattisgarh State Tribal Advisory
Council chaired by Chief Minister Raman Singh at New Mantralya.The museum aims to exhibit culture
and tradition of scheduled tribes.
• On July 3, 2018, An MoU has been signed between the Madhya Pradesh government and National Health
Agency for implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana under the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya
Swasthya Suraksha Mission in the state from August 15,2018.An expenditure of over Rs. 16 hundred
crore at the rate of Rs. Twelve hundred per family has been estimated.
• On July 3, 2018, The Centre has announced a state-of-the-art e-waste recycling unit for Bengaluru,
India’s technology capital. It will be India’s first such unit in the government sector.Bengaluru produces
an estimated one lakh tonne of electronic waste a year. Bengaluru ranked third after Mumbai and Delhi.
• Cabinet Approvals on July 4, 2018
 Cabinet approves transfer of Defence land to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
(a)4 acres for the construction of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 4 at Kandhar Lines, Delhi Cantt.
(b)7.5 acres for the construction of Kendriya Vidvalaya in Survey No. 408, Jalandhar Cantt
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(c )7.118 acres for construction of Kendriya Vidyalaya Number 2 Dhar Road in District Udhampur,
Jammu & Kashmir.
 Cabinet approves Transfer of 5.99 acres of Sashastra Seema Bal’s land at Tawang to the State
Government of Arunachal Pradesh
 Cabinet approves exemption from charging commercial rates for the plot of land allotted to the
High Commission of Fiji in New Delhi
 Cabinet approves accession to WIPO Copyright Treaty, 1996 and WIPO Performance and
Phonograms Treaty, 1996.
 Cabinet approves DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2018
 Cabinet approves Umbrella Schemes for Relief and Rehabilitation of Migrants and Repatriates
 Cabinet approves renaming of Agartala Airport, Tripura as Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya
Kishore Airport, Agartala
 Cabinet approves extension of Scheme of Recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks upto 2019-
20.
 Cabinet approves creation of one post each of Vice-Chairperson and Member in the National
Commission for Safai Karamcharis
 Cabinet approves revision of the compensation on SESF Operations with Boeing 747-400
aircraft
 Cabinet approves renewal of MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India &
Saudi Organisation for Certified Public Accountants
 Cabinet approves MoU between India and United Kingdom on cooperation in the sphere of Law
& Justice and establishing a Joint Consultative Committee.
• On July 4, 2018, the think tank NITI Aayog announced that it is organising ‘MOVE: Global Mobility
Summit’ in New Delhi on 7th and 8th September, 2018 in association with various ministries and
industry partners.It will also see participation from countries like Netherlands, Slovakia, USA, UK,
Netherlands, China, South Korea, Australia etc.
• On July 4, 2018, The Maharashtra government set up a seven-member expert panel to prepare
guidelines for surrogacy centres in the state. The seven-member committee headed by Vandana
Krishna.To examine guidelines laid down by the Indian Council of Medical Research on Assisted
Reproductive Technology (ART).
• On July 4, 2018, The International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST) in association
with Indian National Science Academy (INSA)announced the 5-day 19th edition of its prestigious global
event to be held in Navi Mumbai.The focal theme for this edition of the prestigious congress is 25 Billion
Meals a Day by 2025 with Healthy, Nutritious, Safe and Diverse Foods.
• On 4th July 2018, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari flagged off Wagon Cab's taxi ambulance services in New
Delhi.Wagon Cab claims to be India's first road emergency cab services provider. Wagon Cab provides
medically-trained drivers in its ambulance-taxis.
• On July 4, 2018, The Rajasthan government approved 1 per cent reservation for five communities,
including the Gujjar community, against their demand of 5 %.The five communities who benefit from
the order of the Rajasthan government are – Godia Lohar, Banjara, Gujjar, Raika and Gadaria.
• On July 4, 2018, The Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Prime
Minister’s Office, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra
Singh attended the 4-day Meghalaya Annual Cultural Festival, "Behdienkhlam", held every year at the
small peripheral town of Jowai, Meghalaya.
• On July 4, 2018, The Madhya Pradesh government announced Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan (Sambal)
Yojana 2018 (a scheme to provide subsidized power).The scheme is likely to cost the state
exchequer Rs 1000 crore and come into effect from July 1,2018.
• On July 4, 2018, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani launched 'Poshan Abhiyan'--a statewide mission to
eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious
food through Anganwadi centres.The chief minister also launched 'Purna' project to
eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18.
• On 4th July 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to name the
Agartala airport in Tripura after Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Kishore, the erstwhile ruler of Tripura.
• Odisha's ST and SC Development Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi said that, the government has decided
to increase the inter-caste marriage incentive from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.The incentive amount will be
deposited in a joint account of the couple in any nationalised bank. They can withdraw the amount only
after 3 years of marriage.
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• On 4th July 2018, Maharashtra government allocated Rs 15 crore for the implementation of a pension
scheme for senior journalists, called Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar Sanman Yojana.Maharashtra
government has made a provision of Rs 15 crore for implementing the Acharya Balshastri Jambhekar
Sanman Yojana.
• On July 3, 2018, The Chief Election Commissioner Shri. O.P. Rawat, along with the Election
Commissioners Shri Sunil Arora and Shri Ashok Lavasalaunched a mobile app, called ‘cVIGIL’.The
operating system should beAndroid Jellybean and above. The application supports all the latest Android
smartphones.
• On July 5, 2018, Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush
Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile
Application ‘Khan Prahari’ on Swami Vivekananda’s death anniversary in New Delhi to pay tribute to
integrity.
• On June 30, 2018, External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated a three day 9th Heads of Mission
Conference of all Indian ambassadors and high commissioners in New Delhi.The theme of this year’s
conference is : Unprecedented Outreach: Unparalleled Outcomes.
• On July 5, 2018, The National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body for implementation of the Centre's
ambitious Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme, has launched a formal process to
empanel public and private hospitals to achieve universal health coverage.
• On July 5, 2018, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into three Unilateral Advance
Pricing Agreements (UAPA) in May and June 2018.The total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT
has gone up to 223, which inter alia include 20 Bilateral APAs.The UAPAs entered pertain to consumer
industry, automobile and precious stones & metals sectors of the economy.
• On July 5, 2018, The Centre and the state governments of Tripura and Mizoram signed an agreement for
repatriation of thousands of people belonging to the Bru community from Tripura to Mizoram.The Mou
was signed among the Government of India, Governments of Mizoram and Tripura and Mizoram Bru
Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) in New Delhi.
• On 4th July 2018, IRCTC said that, the National Security Guard (NSG) will be the first central paramilitary
force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant as per a MoU signed with the IRCTC. IRCTC
will provide this scheme through advance deposit to enable smooth service during online ticket
booking.
• On July 3,2018, The UP Government announced a new Defence Manufacturing policy named ‘UP
Defence Aerospace Unit and Employment Generating Policy, 2018’.Under this policy,
around 3000 hectares of land would be acquired by nodal agency UPIEDA and entrepreneurs will be
given land under plug and play formula investment of Rs 50,000 crore in the next five years.
• On 5th July 2018, Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy presented the Congress-JD(S) coalition
government’s first budget, announcing farm loan waiver worth Rs 34,000 crore.The budget has raised
the rate of tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32%. This increases petrol prices by Rs 1.14 a litre.
• On 5th July 2018, Union Minister of State for Culture (I/c), Dr. Mahesh Shrama, inaugurated an
exhibition named "Arth - art for earth" at IGNCA, New Delhi.‘Arth - Art For Earth’ by Manav
Gupta comprises "Excavations in Hymns of Clay". It is a suite of environmental art installations created
by Manav Gupta with a storyline and poetry.
• On July 6, 2018, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) entered
into an agreement with Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) for setting up a 'Design
University for Gaming' in Visakhapatnam.This MoU will help in developing the city as 'International
Gaming and Digital Learning Hub'.
• On July 6, 2018, The Haryana Health Department announced the launch of an intensive diarrhoea
control campaign from July 15 to 30.The decision was taken at a steering committee meeting of
different state departments under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary, Health Department, Raja
Sekhar Vundru.
• On July 6, 2018, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said, under Sagarmala project, Centre
will provide 500 crore rupees to Shipping Corporation of India(SCI) to lease out cruises to promote
cruise tourism.This was announced at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) Annual Awards event
in Mumbai.
• On July 5, 2018, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has developed a mobile
app 'GST Verify' to protect interest of consumers.It has been developed by B Raghu Kiran joint
commissioner GST Hyderabad and is operational all across the country.
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• On July 6, 2018, The Airport authority of India has allocated Rs.1200 crores, spread over 12 years for
the establishment of Civil Aviation Research Organization (CARO) at Begumpet
Airport, Hyderabad.With an aim to start Research and Development infrastructure, procurement of
tools, skill development and knowledge transfer.
• On 6th July 2018, the Telangana government allotted 200 acres to 3 women entrepreneurs' associations
in Telangana.This announcement was made by Telangana Industries and IT Minister K T Rama Rao at
an event in which the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation offered allotment letters to
18 women entrepreneurs of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) at the FLO TSIIC Industrial Park,
Sultanpur near Hyderabad.
• On July 6, 2018, The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the 8th International Convention of
Saurashtra Patel Cultural Samaj through video conference which was held in California, United States of
America.This can help in boosting India’s tourism development through Ek Bharat Shresht Bharat
Abhiyan scheme.
• On 5th July 2018, India’s first biofortified sorghum (jowar) named Parbhani Shakti containing higher
iron and zinc than regular sorghum was formally launched.This improved sorghum variety has been
developed by International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid-Tropics (ICRISAT). It was
released for cultivation by Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Maharashtra.
• On July 7, 2018, The Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir launched the first
Cyber Forensic van of Delhi Police and an online cyber crime portal where people can file complaint
online regarding such crimes . This was announced at the "Cyber Safety and Digital awareness
programme for senior citizens” organized by Delhi Police.
• On July 7, 2018, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia chaired the first meeting of the task force set up to
recommend the framework for a national policy on e-commerce .This is done on the decision of a think-
tank constituted on the issue under the chairmanship of Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh
Prabhu in April 2018.
• On July 5, 2018, East Coast Railway launches highest ever 6 (six) Limited Height
Subways (LHS) in Sambalpur Division and completed it in a single block of four and half hours .Aim is to
eliminate all unmanned Level Crossing Gates over Sambalpur Division.
• On July 5, 2018, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) launched
a Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CoE – DSAI) in collaboration with
the Government of Karnataka, in Bengaluru.NASSCOM also signed a Memorandum of Understanding
with NITI Aayog to collaborate in areas of applied research, accelerating adoption and ethics, privacy
and security.
• On July 5,2018, The Uttarakhand high court declared the entire animal kingdom, including birds and
aquatic animals, as a legal entity having rights of a “living person”.This comes a year after the court
accorded the status of “living entity” to the Ganga and Yamuna rivers (in March 2017) which was stayed
by Supreme Court.
• On July 7, 2018, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee set a “one person one car” policy for
ministers and bureaucrats.In lieu of certain ministers holding charge of multiple departments taking
advantage of multiple government vehicles this decision was made.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
• On July 3, 2018, The World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim announced The World Bank’s support
to the Bangladesh government in managing the Rohingya crisis in a meeting with Finance Minister AMA
Muhith at the Secretariat in Dhaka .The WB lent Bangladesh amount of over US$3 billion, which is
the second largest among the countries in the world that they had financed.
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• On July 3,2018, China approved USD 1 billion grant to Pakistan after it has been placed in Financial
Action Task Force FATF’s ‘grey list’ .The move comes after Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves
dropped to $9.66 billion last week from $16.4 billion in May 2017.
• On 1st July 2018, the 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional
Ministerial Meeting was held in Tokyo, Japan.The Ministers agreed to focus on finding breakthroughs
for conclusion of the RCEP negotiations, in line with the RCEP Leaders’ mandate in 2017.
• New America, an American think tank has announced a fellows exchange programme to enable India
and the US to utilise technology in a better manner to improve the lives of their citizens.The Exchange
programme is funded by the Ford Foundation. It will bring fellows from India to the United States, and
fellows from the United States to India.
• MORI Building Digital Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, has become the world’s first all-digital museum.The
MORI Building Digital Art Museum in Tokyo is a collaboration between the developer and art collective
TeamLab. In this museum light and space is the art. There are no guide maps, no descriptions, and no
signs warning viewers to not touch the art work.
• India has received a joint submarine design and construction proposal from Russia to build on the
technology transfer acquired while building the nuclear fleet. It is said to reduce the cost of Indian
Navy’s next-generation vessel plan.
• On July 6, 2018, India goes on a joint venture to operate the loss-making Mattala international airport in
southern Sri Lanka with the Sri Lankan government. Mattala airport, named after former
president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was a China-supported infrastructure project in his home district of
Hambantota.
• On July 6, 2018, The 2nd meeting of the joint working group on tourism cooperation between India and
Nepal concluded in Kathmandu. Both sides agreed to jointly promote Buddhist and Ramayana
circuits and Adventure tourism.
• On July 7, 2018, The UN member states approved a USD 6.69 billion dollar budget for 13 peacekeeping
operations from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019 and implementation of other reforms for the first time in
more than 40 years.The missions include MINUJUSTH , MINURSO, MINUSCA,MONUSCO and UNIFIL.
BANKING & FINANCE

• On June 30,2018, Premier stock exchange BSE has entered into an agreement with the Bombay Metal
Exchange (BME) for the growth and systematic development of commodity derivatives markets.With its
domain knowledge and unique stakeholders ranging from importers, traders to corporates, the BME
will assist the BSE in designing new and innovative deliverable products in commodities
like aluminium, copper, zinc, nickel and lead among others.
• On July 2, 2018, The 9th and final meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on India-Nepal relations
concluded in Kathmandu.They discussed on various bilateral issues including 1950 Peace and
Friendship treaty, trade, transit and border.
• On June 30,2018, The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) approved Life
Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India’s proposal to hike its stake to 51 per cent in IDBI
Bank from 10.8 per cent.LIC is expected to infuse Rs 13,000 crore into IDBI Bank.
• On July 2, 2018, NSE signs an agreement with Nasdaq for a suitable platform and technology backbone
to effectively tap post–trade delivery capabilities.They also signed an MoU on business opportunities
across listings, corporate and market services and data and innovations in products, processes and
technology.
• On July 3, 2018, NABARD has announced that it has sanctioned Rs 735.53 crore in the first quarter of
the current fiscal under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for West Bengal.These
include 6 solar power, 1 medium irrigation, 5 minor irrigation and 12 flood protection projects, 57
projects for the widening and strengthening of roads and 5 rural bridges.
• The main custodian banks shared a list of 25 countries named as “high-risk jurisdictions” with
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently.China, UAE, Cyprus and Mauritius, along with 21
other countries have been named as “high-risk jurisdictions” by global banks acting as custodians for
foreign funds.
• On July 5, 2018, The RBI has issued licence to Bank of China to launch operations in India.This was done
in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a commitment to Chinese President Xi
Jinping to allow Bank of China to set up branches in India when they met on the sidelines of the SCO
summit in Chinese city of Qingdao.
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• On July 3, 2018, IIFL is India's top investment bank for equity issuance by private sector companies as
per report of Prime Database Investment Bankers League table for FY 2017-18. It has helped in raising
about Rs. 48,000 crores of capital in the year 2017-18.
• On July 2, 2018, Indian public and private banks have started using AI improve efficiency, detect human
behaviour and reduce operational costs.
Bank New AI/Technology Uses
deployed
SBI SBI Intelligent Assistant. A smart chat assistant that efficiently resolves
queries of NRI customers .
Innovation Centre Will explore AI Robotic Process Automation
(RPA) to make banking process more efficient.
Bank of Baroda Baroda Brainy artificial intelligence robot.
Digital Lab hi-tech digital branch equipped with advanced
gadgets.
Allahabad Bank emPower app App will have Chatbot and artificial
intelligence based e-commerce payments.
• On June 30, 2018, State-owned Punjab National Bank and Allahabad Bank have raised the marginal cost
of funds-based lending rate, the floor rate at which it lends to consumers, for select tenors by 0.05-
0.10 per cent.
PNB BANK:
Term Change by (basis Points) Changed rate of MCLR
Overnight 10 7.90
One month 10 8.05
Three Month 10 8.20
Six month 10 8.40
One year 5 8.45
Three years 5 8.60
Five years 5 8.75
• ALLAHABAD BANK:
Term Change by (basis Points) Changed rate of MCLR
Overnight 10 7.95
One month 10 8.05
Three Month 10 8.25
Six month 10 8.30
One year 10 8.45
Two years 10 8.65
Three years 10 8.75
• On July 4, 2018, World Bank group member International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested $100
million in Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Ltd. (M&M).This would enhance financial support
towards tractor finance which in turn will improve mechanized farming by cutting costs by 25% and
raising productivity by 20%.
• On July 3, 2018, The Finance Ministry announced that it has kept the interest rates on small savings
schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the July-September quarter.The move is aimed at banks
lowering their deposit rates.The interest rates are as follows:
Schemes Interest rate
5 yr Senior citizen Savings Scheme (paid 8.3
quarterly)
Savings Deposits 4%
Public Provident Fund (PPF) 7.6
National Savings Certificate (NSC) 7.6
Kisan Vikas Patra (maturity in 11 months) 7.3
Sukanya Samriddhi Account 8.1
Term Deposit (1-5 years) 6.6-7.4
5 year Recurring Deposit 6.9
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• On July 5, 2018, State-run Bank of Baroda has increased the marginal cost based lending rates (MCLR)
by 0.05 per cent for various tenors of loansThe rates will come into effect from July 7,2018.The rates are
as follows for different tenors:
Tenors New Rates (in %)
Overnight 8
One Month 8.5
Three Months 8.15
Six Months 8.35
One Year 8.50
• On July 5, 2018, SBI Card, the country's second largest credit card issuer, announced the launch of ELA'
(Electronic Live Assistant), a virtual assistant for customer support and services.It is designed to
enhance customer experience by providing relevant and instant responses to customer queries.
• On July 5, 2018, Public sector Indian Bank revised the interest rates on Foreign Currency Non-Resident
(banking) term deposits with immediate effect.The interest rates for term deposits are as follows:
Term Deposits Rates (in %)
>=1 year and < 2 years 3.59
>=2 years and <3 years 3.77
=5 years 3.93
• On July 5, 2018, Yes Bank said it has received approval from capital markets regulator SEBI to start
mutual fund business after RBI’s approval.The name of the Mutual Fund business is Yes Asset
Management (India) Limited (YAMIL). It will have its Headquarters in Mumbai.
• On July 4, 2018, Fusion Microfinance has reduced the interest rate for its existing customers
by 140 basis points to 23 per cent from 24.4 per cent.The new rate of interest will be effective from June
1, 2018.This will allow new customers to avail loans at 23.5 per cent now instead of previous 24.6 per
cent rate.
• On July 4, 2018, ICICI Bank announced that its mortgage loan portfolio crossed the Rs 1.5-
trillion milestone, making it the largest private player in the segment.It is targeting to grow it to Rs 2
trillion by FY20.
• On July 6, 2018, According to RBI data in the fortnight ending in June 22, the bank credit grew by 12.84
per cent to Rs 86,16,408 crore and bank deposits had risen by 7.59 per cent to Rs 113,53,525 crore. In
the year-ago fortnight, bank loans stood at Rs 76,35,689 crore.
• On July 6, 2018, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will get a major upgrade with new features and a
doubling of the transaction limit to Rs 2 lakh and is awaiting RBI’s approval. It is the apps most awaited
‘standing instruction feature’.
• On July 6, 2018, HDFC Bank overtook Russia's Sberbank to become the most valuable bank in the
emerging market outside China.HDFC Bank’s current market capitalisation is $78.4 billion against
Sberbank's $74.4 billion.
Position of Banks on a global level:
Bank name M-Cap
JPMorgan Chase (USA) $353 billion
Bank of America $282 billion.
Industrial & Commercial Bank of $273.4 billion
China (China)
China Construction Bank (China) $225.1 billion
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• On June 30,2018, Tata Steel agreed to a 50-50 joint venture with Germany's Thyssenkrupp to create
Europe's second-largest steel company after Lakshmi Mittal's ArcelorMittal.The joint venture will
create a strong pan-European steel company that is structurally robust and competitive.
• On June 30,2018, The first three phase energy efficient Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) coaches
built with stainless steel bodies were rolled out by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu.The MEMU train consists of eight coaches and two driving motor coaches.
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• On July 2, 2018, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam has become the first oil public sector
undertaking (PSU) to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing 'Legatrix'.
The cloud-based compliance management system was inaugurated by Managing Director S K Barua at
the companys corporate office in Guwahati.
• SoundLogic has named cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a partner-evangelist.Recently, SoundLogic
appointed PointNine Lintas as its full-service agency. PointNine Lintas is working with the team at
SoundLogic and Mahendra Singh Dhoni on the marketing roadmap for SoundLogic.
• On July 4, 2018, Tata Power Renewable Energy Ltd. (TPREL), a subsidiary of Tata Power, has
announced the successful commissioning of two solar projects of 50 MW each in Ananthapuramu Solar
Park, located in the state of Andhra Pradesh.These projects are under a 25 year power purchase
agreement (PPA) signed with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI).
• IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited, has announced its tie-up with Oxigen Services India Pvt.
Ltd., to enable distribution of its insurance products at Oxigen retail outlets.IndiaFirst Life Insurance
Company Limited will offer PoS Insurance Khata. This product enables a customer to increase his life
cover and create savings in a ways that suits his budget.
• On 4th July 2018, the government increased the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy by a record Rs
200 per quintal amounting it to Rs 1,750 per quintal.Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that, the cabinet
has approved the MSP of 14 kharif (summer-sown) crops for the 2018-19 season.
• ICAT has issued the first BS-VI certification for a heavy duty engine model for M/s Volvo Eicher
Commercial Vehicle Limited.The engine was developed and manufactured indigenously by Volvo Eicher
in India. ICAT is the first of the new world class centers established under the National Automotive
Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP).
• On July 6, 2018, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at the Reliance Industries' 41st Annual
General Meeting said that Reliance is India's largest payer of Goods and Services Tax
(GST), Excise and Customs Duty, and Income Tax in the private sector paying Rs.9844 crore in FY18.
• On July 6, 2018, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of Chennai announced the launch of indigenously
manufactured semi high-speed train, code-named Train 18 in September,2018.The train has been built
in record time of 16 months which usually takes about 2 to 3 years .
• On July 6, 2018, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) is setting up a joint venture (JV) in India with the
manufacturer, Zorya Mashproekt, to overhaul turbines in India.The navy will soon have 34 warships
driven by Zorya turbines, with four turbines per vessel, adding up to 136 in-service turbines.
• On July 6, 2018, Infosys said that it has partnered with Siemens PLM Software to develop applications
and services for the open cloud-based IoT operating system called MindSphere.The partnership would
help customers to use the power of data generated by their devices and improve competitiveness in the
digital world.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
• On 30th June 2018, artist Anjolie Ela Menon received the National Kalidas Samman in Delhi for visual
arts from the Madhya Pradesh government.She has been awarded the Kalidas Award for her sensitive
portrayal of the identity and spirit of women in her paintings.She has received the Padma Shri award &
received a doctorate from Rabindra Bharati University, recently. Artist A. Ramachandran was also
awarded the Kalidas Award.
• Himachal Pradesh has been named first among states for its performance under the Pradhan Mantri
Surakshit Matritav Abhiyan (PMSMA) in India.Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda prsesented
the award and it was received by Additional Chief Secretary, Health, BK Agarwal on behalf of Himachal
Pradesh, at an event in New Delhi.
• On 1st July 2018, former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and Australian Ricky Ponting have been
inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame for their achievements in international cricket, at an event in
Dublin, Ireland.
• Milan Shankar Tare, a fisherman of Palghar district, Maharashtra, has been selected for 2018 National
Maritime Search and Rescue Award.The National Maritime Search and Rescue Award honours his brave
act at sea and selfless duty with the highest traditions of maritime fraternity.
• On 4th July 2018, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Giriraj
Singh distributed the Swachhata Awards 2018 of MSME Ministry at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New
Delhi.Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) celebrated Swachhata Pakhwada from
16th to 30th June 2018.
9|Page
• On 1st July 2018, Major General VD Dogra became the first serving Indian Army officer and the only
General in the world to have completed ‘Ironman’ competition held in Austria.The Ironman is an
international triathlon comprising 3 consecutive events: 3.8 km of swimming, 180 km cycling and 42.2
km of running (a full marathon).
• On 6th July 2018, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) announced Bansi Lal Ketki of Mumbai,
Maharashtra bagged the first prize of Rs 50,000 and a certificate in the logo design contest. Tabrej
Qureshi of Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh won the first prize in the slogan/tagline contest.His tagline
was: 'Awaaz Aapke Adhikar Ki' and slogan was: 'Desh may vikas ki aayge bahar, jab hoga surakshit
manav adhikar'. He will receive a prize of Rs 20,000 and a certificate.
• Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO, received Knowledge Excellence Award from Secretary, Ministry
of Mines, Anil Gopishankar Mukim, for Outstanding Contribution in Aluminium Knowledge domain, at
the 22nd International Conference on Non-Ferrous Minerals and Metals 2018 at Ranchi, Jharkhand.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
• On 29th June 2018, Imran Khwaja, Mahinda Vallipuram and Tony Brian were elected as the associate
member directors on the International Cricket Council (ICC) board at the ICC annual conference.The
newly-elected directors will be on the ICC board for a term of 2 years. They were elected by the voting
associate members of ICC and the regional representatives.
• The Democratic National Committee (DNC) of United States has appointed Indian American Seema
Nanda as its new CEO.She has become the first Indian American to be appointed as operational head of
a major American political party.
• On July 2, 2018, The Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has recommended 15 executive directors to be
elevated as managing directors (MD) at various public sector banks.The panel was headed by former
Department of Personnel and Training Secretary B P Sharma.
Name Earlier post Appointed as Bank
Anushula Kant Deputy Managing managing director SBI
Director and CFO
B Sriram Managing Director MD and CEO IDBI
(SBI)
Padmaja Chunduru Deputy Managing Managing Directors SBI
Karnam Sekar Director
Mrutyunjay
Mahapatra
Pallav Mohapatra
J Packirisamy
C V Nageswar
Gopal Murli Bhagat Executive Directors Corporation
Bank
P V Bharathi Canara Bank
Atul Kumar Goel Union Bank of
India
S Harisankar Allahabad Bank
Ashok Kumar United Bank of
Pradhan India
CH S S Syndicate Bank
Mallikarjuna Rao
M K Bhattacharya Indian Bank
A S Rajeev
• On July 2, 2018, The country's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has selected Arijit
Basu as Managing Director of the bank.He will be in charge of commercial credit and IT, and will also
hold additional charge of stressed assets resolution group.He will fill in the post vacated by Rajnish
Kumar, who has been elevated as the chairman of the bank.
• Harmeet Singh has become the first Sikh man to be hired as an anchor by a news channel in
Pakistan.Recently, Manmeet Kaur had become the first female Sikh reporter of Pakistan.
• Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) MD and CEO Ravindra Marathe and executive director R K Gupta have been
divested of all their functional responsibilities with immediate effect.Another Executive Director A.C.
Rout has been given the responsibilities of MD and CEO of Bank of Maharashtra.
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• On 30th June 2018, United India Insurance Company announced that it has appointed K B Vijay Srinivas
as its Director and General Manager with effect from 1st July 2018.Before this, K B Vijay Srinivas was
serving as Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of National Insurance Company Ltd.
• On July 1,2018, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won Mexico’s presidency with the widest margin in a
presidential election since the 1980s.He replaced President Enrique Peña Nieto.
• On 30th June 2018, Saraswati Prasad was appointed the new chairman and managing director (CMD) of
SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited).He succeeds incumbent CMD P K Singh who has retired. P K
Singh assumed office as SAIL chairman in 2015. Earlier, he was the chief executive officer of SAIL's
Durgapur Steel Plant.
• P K Shrivastava took charge as the new director general and chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB) with effect from 1st July 2018. Earlier,he was the additional director general of ordnance factories
and member of OFB.
• On July 2, 2018, Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) on its polls for the post of president
elected Senior journalist Rajat Sharma as its president.Hecis currently the Chairman and Chief Editor of
Hindi news channel INDIA TV.He was conferred with Padma Bhushan award in 2016.
• On 2nd July 2018, the Payments Council of India announced that, it has appointed Vishwas Patel as its
new Chairman.He replaces Naveen Surya, who has been promoted as Chairman Emeritus.He was
serving as Co-Chairman of Payments Council of India.Loney Antony, Managing Director, Hitachi
Payment Services has been appointed the new Co-Chairman of Payments Council of India.
• On 3rd July 2018, Uttam Dhillon, an Indian-American White House lawyer, took charge as Acting
Director of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), United States.He succeeds Robert Patterson. Robert
Patterson retired recently.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed a Uruguay Army general Major General Jose
Eladio Alcain as the chief military observer of the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan
(UNMOGIP).He will succeed the incumbent UNMOGIP chief Major General Per Gustaf Lodin of Sweden.
• On 2nd July 2018, journalist Rajat Sharma was elected the President of Delhi & District Cricket
Association (DDCA).The DDCA elections were conducted between June 27 and June 30, 2018.
Rakesh Kumar Bansal was elected as the Vice President with 48.87% votes. Former sports committee
head Vinod Tiharawith 1374 votes became secretary.
• Justice L Narasimha Reddy has been appointed the Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (UoH) by
President Ram Nath Kovind.Justice L Narasimha Reddy is the former Chief Justice of the Patna High
Court. He retired as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court in July 2015.
• Wipro has promoted its head of digital business Rajan Kohli as a president.He has joined 7 other
presidents of Wipro now. He will report to chief executive Abidali Neemuchwala.
He will continue as the global head of Wipro Digital. Wipro also promoted 4 other executives as senior
vice presidents.
• The Muthoot Pappachan Group has named actress Vidya Balan as its brand ambassador.Vidya Balan has
been appointed the brand ambassador for 2 years. The Muthoot Pappachan group will launch a new ad
campaign, including TV commercials.
• Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel has been appointed the chairperson of National Green Tribunal.Justice
Adarsh Kumar Goel retired as Supreme Court judge on 6th July 2018.He had also served as executive
chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority.
• On July 7, 2018, Shareholders of Reliance Industries have approved giving Mukesh Ambani another five
years as the Chairman and Managing Director of the company.As many as 50,818 crore (98.5 %) shares
out of a total share base of 616.45 crore voted on the resolution of his appointment taken during
the 41st annual general meeting held on July 5,2018 in Mumbai.

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ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• Manappuram Finance has agreed to buy 85.39 % stake in Indian School Finance (ISFC) for more Rs 212
crore.ISFC lends to educational institutions like private schools, vocational colleges and institutes,
coaching centres etc. to build infrastructure.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• India is currently in the process of inducting the first batch of its intercontinental ballistic missile
system Agni-V.Agni-V will bring targets across China within its range. Agni-V missile system has a strike
range of 5,000 km.The air-launched variant of the Brahmos is the world's fastest supersonic cruise
missile.
• Deepak Mathur, Executive Vice-President, Global Sales at SES Video, said that, the successful launch of
SES-12 satellite recently will help India's direct-to-home (DTH) TV market. SES-12 is designed with
advanced wide beams and high throughput beams. It was successfully launched onboard a SpaceX
Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida, US, in June 2018.
• On July 3, 2018, Fleet Space Technologies, an IoT (Internet of Things) startup, disclosed last week that
its first 10-kg nano-satellite Centauri I would fly to space on a PSLV later this year.Co-founder and CEO
Flavia Tata Nardini said that it is developing a series of 10-kg nano-satellites about the size of a shoe
box
• On 2nd July 2018, Indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas of No 45 Squadron 'The Flying Daggers' formally
started operations from the Air Force Station at Sulur near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, under Group
Captain S Dhankhar.The 'No 45 Squadron' was involved in training aircrew. It will now take care of
operations and maintenance of Tejas under Group Captain S Dhankhar.
• On 25th June 2018, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time approved the use
of Epidiolex, an oral solution made from marijuana, for the treatment of seizures related to 2 rare and
severe forms of epilepsy.
• On July 3, 2018, Natco Pharma announced that they have launched fixed dose combination
of Sofosbuvir-Daclatasvir tablets for the treatment of Hepatitis C under the brand name Hepcinat Plus,
in India.The product is a generic fixed dose combination of Sofosbuvir 400 mg and Daclatasvir
60mg tablets.
• Scientists of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia have
identified the gene that strengthens the human immunity system.This gene plays a major role in
regulating the body's immune response to infection including cancer and diabetes.The gene has not yet
been named. It is currently referred to as C6 or f106.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that, the first 'pad abort' test was
performed successfully on 5th July 2018 at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.The PAT (pad
abort test) is the first in a series of tests to qualify a crew escape system technology of a manned
mission in the future.
• Scientists of the University of Warwick have produced a new method of microscopy that enables to
view proteins under human cells.Scientists have procured a tagging device called FerriTag. FerriTag
utilizes a protein shell used to contain iron cells in human bodies.
• NASA's Parker Solar Probe, the mission that aims to get the closest to the Sun than ever by any human-
made object has got its revolutionary heat shield “Thermal Protection System or TPS” permanently
attached to the spacecraft.
• On July 7, 2018, Drug firm Zydus Cadila announced that got tentative nod from the US health regulator
USFDA to market Deferasirox tablets for oral suspension.The tablet is used to treat high levels of iron in
the body caused by multiple blood transfusions or non-transfusion-dependent thalassemia.
ENVIRONMENT
• The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved to include 4 species: Northern River Terrapin
(riverine turtle), Red Panda, Clouded Leopard and Arabian Sea Humpback Whale in the recovery
programme for critically endangered species.
• Scientists have warned that, rising sea levels would cost $14 trillion worldwide annually by
2100.Scientists have warned that failing to limit global warming to 2 degree Celsius will lead to global
economic consequences.
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SPORTS
• The 58th National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships (NISSAC),was held at the Sarusajai Sports
Complex in Guwahati, Assam from June 26 to June 29.It had 52 events for men and women.Click here to
read more.
• On 30th June 2018, India won the six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai title in Dubai.India defeated Iran
44-26 in the finals and became champions of the six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai.
• On 1st July 2018, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix in Austria.Ferrari's Kimi
Raikkonen finished in the second spot. Following him Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel finished in the third
spot.
• From 26th June to 1st July 2018, the 2018 Malaysia Open, officially named the CELCOM AXIATA Malaysia
Open was held at Axiata Arena in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Total Prize money of the tournament was
$700,000.
Winners of the 2018 Malaysia Open:
 Men's Singles - Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia)
 Women's Singles - Tai Tzu-ying (Chinese Taipei)
 Men's Doubles - Takeshi Kamura, Keigo Sonoda (Japan)
 Women's Doubles - Misaki Matsutomo, Ayaka Takahashi (Japan)
 Mixed Doubles - Zheng Siwei, Huang Yaqiong (China)
• On 1st July 2018, Australia won the Champions Trophy hockey 2018 in Breda, the Netherlands.Australia
won their 15th gold medal at Champions Trophy. India won their second silver medal. In the 2016
edition also, India had lost to Australia and settled for silver medal.
• International Cricket Council (ICC) has introduced stricter sanctions for ball-tampering.Tampering with
the ball will be now penalized with a ban of up to 6 Tests or 12 ODIs.ICC also added obscenity and
personal abuse to the list of offences to bring better behaviour on the field.
• On 4th July 2018, the anti-doping disciplinary panel of NADA gave a 4 year suspension to shot
putter Inderjeet Singh for testing positive for anabolic steroids in a dope test before the 2016 Rio
Olympic Games.But he was provisionally suspended on 26th July 2016 after he tested positive for
banned substances: androsterone and etiocholanolone.
• Rani Rampal will lead the Indian women’s hockey team at the Asian Games that will be held in
Indonesia from 18th August to 2nd September 2018.Goalkeeper Savita has been named the vice captain.
Rajani Etimarpu has been made the reserve goalkeeper.Indian women’s hockey team for Asian Games:
 Goalkeepers: Savita (Vice-Captain), Rajani Etimarpu
 Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Sunita Lakra, Deepika, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar
 Midfielders: Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Udita, Nikki Pradhan, Neha Goyal
 Forwards: Rani Rampal (Captain), Vandana Katariya, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Navjot Kaur.
• On 5th July 2018, Bajrang Punia won gold medal in the 65kg category at the Tbilisi Grand Prix in
Georgia.Bajrang Punia defeated Iranian wrestler Mehran Nasiri in the finals and won gold medal in
the 65kg category.
Shardul Thakur will replace Jasprit Bumrah in India's One-Day International squad for the upcoming
ODI series against England.This decision was made by All-India Senior Selection Committee after Jasprit
Bumrah injured his left thumb during the first Twenty-20 International match against Ireland in Dublin.
• On 5th July 2018, The Law Commission recommended that gambling and betting on sports, including
cricket, to be allowed as regulated activities taxable under the direct and indirect tax regimes and used
as a source for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).The commission's report, Legal Framework:
Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India has recommended various changes in the law for
regulating betting and generating tax revenues from it.
• On 7th July 2018, cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni reached the milestone of playing 500 international
matches during the second T20 International against England. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the
3rd Indian after Sachin Tendulkar (664) and Rahul Dravid (509) to reach this milestone of playing 500
international cricket matches.
OBITUARY
• On 2nd July 2018, former chief of naval staff Admiral JG Nadkarni died at naval hospital in Mumbai.He
was the Navy chief from December 1987 to November 1990.He was the 14th Chief of Naval Staff. He
was the founding member of the Maritime History Society.
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• On 3rd July 2018, Rajmata of the erstwhile Marwar principality and former MP, Krishna Kumari, passed
away following a heart attack in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.She was born in 1926. She was the princess of
Dharangdhra in Gujarat.
• On 29th June 2018, French-Italian actress Liliane Montevecchi, died after fighting colon cancer, at her
residence in Manhattan, United States.She entered Hollywood in the 1950s. In 2013, she was honored
by the French Minister of Culture as an "Officer of Arts and Culture" to France and the world.
• On 7th July 2018, popular Kumaoni folk singer Kabutari Devi died following a heart attack, at a hospital
in Uttarakhand.Her songs expressed the struggles in the life of Pahari women.
IMPORTANT DAYS
• On July 2018, National Doctors' Day was celebrated.In 1991, the Indian government declared July 1
1st
as National Doctors day. This day marks the birth and death anniversary of the most famous physician
of India Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy (Dr. B C Roy).He had received the Bharat Ratna Award in 1961. He was
the second Chief Minister of West Bengal.The theme for Doctors' Day 2018 as: 'zero tolerance to
violence against doctors and clinical establishment'.
• On 1st July 2018, International Joke Day was celebrated all over the world.International Joke Day is said
to have officially started in the United States. The first joke is often attributed to the Greeks.
• On 1st July 2018, Indian Government celebrated the 1st Anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) as GST day.Four Laws called CGST Act, UTGST Act, IGST Act and GST (Compensation to States) Act
were passed by the Parliament and were notified on 12th April 2017.
• On 2nd July 2018, World Sports Journalists Day was celebrated all over the world.World Sports
Journalists Day was established by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in 1994 to mark
the 70th anniversary of its foundation.The International Sports and Press Association (AIPS) was
formed in 1924 during the Paris Summer Olympics.
• On 2nd July 2018, World UFO (Unidentified Flying Objects) day was observed all over the world.The first
World UFO Day was celebrated in 2001.This day is celebrated to create awareness about the existence
of UFO’s.
• On 3rd July 2018, the 50th Foundation Day celebration of Water and Power Consultancy Services
(WAPCOS) will be held at Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra, New Delhi.It does consultancy assignments in
countries of Asia, Africa, Middle East, and the Pacific Islands. It operates in over 45 countries.
• On 4th July 2018, the 242nd America Independence Day was celebrated in the United States.This day is
celebrated every year as America Independence Day. This day is a federal holiday in the United
States.The 13 colonies were: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Providence,
Connecticuit, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, Georgia.
• On 7th July 2018, World Chocolate Day was celebrated all over the world.World Chocolate Day is
celebrated every year on 7th July 2018. This day is said to be commercially celebrated since 2009.
• On 7th July 2018, International Co-operative Day or International Day of Co-operatives was observed
throughout the world.The theme for International Day of Cooperatives 2018 is: "sustainable
consumption and production of goods and services".The Slogan is: Sustainable societies through
cooperation.
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14 | P a g e
Current Affairs Weekly PDF- July Second Week (8-15)

INDIAN AFFAIRS
• On July 6 2018 ,The MoU has signed between British Council in India Director Alan Gemmell
OBE and state Home Secretary Atri Bhattacharya for promoting cultural, educational and skill
development exchanges between UK and west Bengal in presence of West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee.
• On July 7 2018 ,The policy document of the five year jackfruit mission has been released
by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma.It is Rs.80 crore investment project mission
over a period of five years.The First state level Jackfruit Fruit Festival 2018 with the
theme “The Humble Jack”.
• On July 6 2018 ,Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a state-wide plantation
campaign from the Narwana sub-division of the district.It would be carried out from July to
August this year.
• On 6th July 2018, the Gorakhpur administration in Uttar Pradesh launched an android based
smart phone application named 'Stop JE/AES' to combat encephalitis.This app was launched by
Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar and DM Vijyendra Pandian.
• On July 9, 2018, Sh. Hardeep S Puri, MoS(I/C), Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs announced the launch of the Smart cities digital payment award and other initiatives
under AMRUT and Smart City mission.Click here to read more.
• On July 9, 2018, NITI Aayog released the ‘Strategy and Approach paper on the NHS’, terming it
as ‘the blueprint for India’s futuristic digital health system’.With an Objective to implement the
Centre's flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat.Kerala became the first state in the country to
launch such a kind of initiative in January 2017as the state’s ‘eHealth kerala project’.
• On July 9, 2018, The University Grants Commission (UGC) announced that the HRD
Ministry granted "Institutions of Eminence" status to three public and three private institutes.
They areIIT-Delhi, IIT-Bombay and the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in the
public sector, and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, BITS Pillani and Jio Institute
by Reliance Foundation in the private sector.
• On July 9, 2018, Global Housing construction technology challenge has been proposed to use
the opportunity of large scale construction under PMAY-U.It will give a boost to building
affordable houses in India in a cost effective and sustainable manner.
• On July 9, 2018, The Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers announced that Union Minister for
Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananthkumar will be inaugurating
the CIPET: Centre for Skilling & Technical Support (CSTS) at ITI Building and laying the
foundation stone of new Central Institute of Plastics Engineering &Technology (CIPET)
Building at Doiwala, Dehradun on July 10,2018.
• On 9th and 10th July 2018, a 2 day International Round Table Conference is organized by the
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in New Delhi.The objective of this
Conference is to identify innovative ideas to enhance the statistical system in India.
1|Page
• On July 9, 2018, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has finally decided to hold The
1st Global Travel Mart India (GTMI) on September 16 and 18 in New Delhi.The first edition of
the Mart will be organized in partnership with FAITH, the umbrella body representing all the
industry associations in the country.
• On July 9, 2018, Himachal Pradesh Government announced that it is banning the use of plastic
and thermocol cutlery in the state.This will come under Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control)
Act, 1995.It was the first state in the country to ban plastic and polythene carry bags in 2009.
• On July 10, 2018, Shri Venkaiah Naidu became the first Chairman of Rajya Sabha to sign MOU
with President of the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, Mr. Bernard Makuza.This is the first
time that Rajya Sabha entered into an MOU in its 76 years of existence.
• On July 10, 2018, Energy Minister of government of Maharashtra Chandrashekhar Bawankule
announced that the state government will launch a scheme called "one farmer one
transformer"from August,2018.The objective of the scheme is to reduce electricity losses.
• On July 10, 2018, Education Minister of Maharashtra Government Vinod Tawde announced the
launch of a scheme for electrification of schools in the state.
• On July 10, 2018, The Gujarat government has given religious minority status to its Jewish
Community .It was issued by the state’s Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• On July 10, 2018, It was announced that the next Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in the
holy city of Varanasi in January 2019.The theme of the three-day event will be the 'Role
of Indian Diaspora in building a New India'.
• On July 11, 2018, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce
and Industry, released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business in New Delhi.Top 5
states according to the BRAP 2017 report:Andhra Pradesh,Telangana,Haryana,Jharkhand,
Gujarat.
• On July 11, 2018, The Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes
(DGFASLI) and Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) at New Delhi.With an Objective to bring changes in working of ship
recycling industry and to improve safety and health of the workers and supervisors in Alang.
• On July 10, 2018, The Gujarat government gave approval for additional Rs 39 crore to develop
infrastructure for state's "Seema Darshan" or border tourism project at Nadabet near Suigam
in Banaskantha district in a meeting at Gandhinagar.With an Objective to instill patriotism
through a unique initiative for border tourism.
• On July 11, 2018, the first-ever metal craft exhibition was held in Chilling village, Leh.With an
Objective to promote and preserve the metal craft tradition of Ladakh.This event would
encourage and involve young generations in the village to continue this craft.
• On 10th July 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Industries and
Mines Department under the Gujarat government and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion
Agency (KOTRA) in Delhi.It was signed with an aim to improve and strengthen Korea - Gujarat
trade and industrial investment relations and to encourage ongoing dialogue and cooperation.
• On July 8, 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in New Delhi on a four day visit to
India from June 8-11, 2018.
 South Korean President Moon Jae-in visits Akshardham temple
 On July 9, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in
visited Gandhi Smriti to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
 On July 9, 2018, Korean President spoke at the India-Korea Business Forum. This was
organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
 On July 9, 2018 India and South Korea have decided to join forces to work
towards Industrial Revolution 4.0.
 On July 9, 2018, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu and South
Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-Chong signed agreements on trade and commerce.
 India and Korea to work towards the goal of raising bilateral trade to US $50 billion by
2030.
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 India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre Inaugurated.NSIC signs MOU with Small

Business Corporation (South Korea).India, S Korea discuss capacity building in
Afghanistan.Click here to read more.
• On 12th July 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated ‘Dharohar Bhawan’, the new
Headquarters building of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at 24,Tilak Marg in New
Delhi.The new Headquarters building has advanced facilities like energy efficient lighting and
rainwater harvesting.
• On July 12, 2018, Niti Aayog has proposed 15-point action plan named “Breathe India” for
combating air pollution in ten most polluted cities in the country.According to a recent WHO
database (2018), Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Varanasi, Agra, Gurgaon, Muzaffarpur,Lucknow
and Patna are the top ten most polluted cities in India.
• On July 12, 2018, the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation has launched a video contest titled “Jal Bachao, Video Banao, Puruskar Pao”. It is
a fortnightly contest that will run till 4th November 2018.With an Objective to engage with the
people of India on the important issues of water conservation and water management.
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched a technology challenge with an aim to
eliminate human entry into septic tanks and drains for cleaning, seeking suitable solutions
from individuals and NGOs.
• On July 12, 2018, As per UIDAI, the estimated savings and gains since the inception of Aadhaar-
based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) stood at over Rs 90012 crore as on March 31,2018.This
was announced by chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in a
programme at India School of Business (ISB).
• On July 12, 2018, the Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body in the
Department of Telecommunications, approved the net neutrality rules implying internet will
remain open to everybody in the country.
• On July 12, 2018, The Bihar cabinet approved amendments to the state's stringent prohibition
law. This was done by Division Bench of the Patna High Court comprising Chief Justice
Rajendra Menon and Justice Rajiv Ranjan Prasad .With an Objective to reduce the quantum of
sentence for those held guilty of violating the law.
• On July 12, 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated a
canteen in Vijayawada to mark the launch of much-awaited'Anna Canteens' in various parts of
the state .Total 60 'Anna Canteens' were opened in the first phase across the state.
• On July 12, 2018, The Goa Cabinet approved Information Technology policy 2018.It focuses on
reverse migration and creation of around 10,000 jobs in the next five yearsIncentives would be
provided to the units that recruit pass-outs from technical institutes in Goa.
• On July 13, 2018, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping, Water
Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation laid foundation stone for widening of
NH-16 between Icchapuram and Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh.Click here to read more.
• On July 12,2018, The First Meeting of Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on coordination between
MGNREGA and Agriculture was held at NITI Aayog.The Convener of the Sub-Group Shri Shivraj
Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal.The next meeting of the Sub-Group will be held
on 31st August,2018.
• On a special request from Election Commission of Bhutan, India International Institute of
Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) organized a 5 -day Capacity
Development programme for Media Officials from Bhutan from July 9-13, 2018 at New Delhi.
• On July 13, 2018, The 4th National Conclave on Mines & Minerals was held at Indore, Madhya
Pradesh.With an Objective for showcasing blocks which will be auctioned by the states in FY
2018-19 to the potential investors.
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• On 13th July 2018, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), an organisation under the Ministry
of Culture, issued an order allowing photography within the premises of all centrally protected
monuments/sites except at Ajanta Caves, Leh Palace and Taj Mahal.
• On July 13, 2018, The Odisha government announced the constitution of a 'Heritage Cabinet,'
headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The decision regarding the constitution was taken at
the state cabinet meeting in Puri on December 26, 2017.With an Objective to protect ancient
monuments, temples and archaeological sites and preservation of culture in Odisha.
• On 13th July 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu released the State
Credit Plan (banking) 2018-19, with an aim to improve banking services in Andhra Pradesh.
The Priority Sector has been allocated Rs 1,44,220 crores.The non-priority sector,has been
allocated Rs 50,000 crores.
• On 11th July 2018, Haryana Finance Minister Abhimanyu said that, Haryana has topped other
states in per capita revenue collection under GST, and is also the 4th highest generator of e-way
bills in India.
• On 13th July 2018, the Botanical Garden in Kothaguda reserve forest was re-launched after
renovation. It was inaugurated by Telangana Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama
Rao.Total area of the reserve forest is 274 acres. Development activities were carried out in 12
acres of the visitors’ zone.
• On July 14, 2018, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran
Iyer, launched 'Swachh Survekshan Grameen' 2018, a survey of rural cleanliness programme,
to rank all districts and states on the basis of qualitative and quantitative evaluation.Top
performing states and districts will be awarded on October 2.
• On July 13,2018, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated a multimedia exhibition
organised by Regional Outreach Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB)
in Puri, Odisha.The exhibition is taking place at Saradhabali near Bholanath Vidyapith in Puri.
• Every year in June or July the Ratha Yatra, the Festival of Chariot: Chariots of Lord
Jagannath is celebrated every year at Puri in Odisha.It is considered as India and world oldest
Ratha Yatra.This year it is celebrated on 14th of July.The return journey of Puri Jagannath Ratha
Yatra is known as Bahuda Yatra.
• On July 13,2018, Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Dev Vrat inaugurated 69th Van
Mahotsava celebrations at Ganevag (Nehra) near Shimla.This campaign has been jointly
organized by the forest department and State Red Cross Society, Shimla.
• On July 13,2018, Industry body Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India
(OPPI) launched a digital campaign, ThinkForHealth, calling for ideas to improve access to
healthcare in india.The initiative has been launched with partnership of Telangana
government.Through this initiative Telangana govt intends to make Hyderabad a bio-
pharmaceutical innovation hub under Make in India campaign.
• On July 14 2018 ,Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated Goa IT Day celebrations
in Panaji,Goa.Goa CM has showed his gratitude that Goa became an IT destination and it will
create path to large number of graduates who searching opportunities out of state.
• On July 15, 2018, The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) constituted a 10 Member Committee,
headed by the Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs Injeti Srinivas to review Companies
Act 2013. With an Objective to review penal provisions of the act and to examine ‘de-
criminalisation’ of certain offences.
• On July 15, 2018, The Finance Ministry released India will head the Asia Pacific
Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for two years as it s Vice Chair from July, 2018 to
June, 2020.The underlying Theme of the Inaugural Ceremony is “Customs – Fostering Trade
Facilitation”.
• On July 13, 2018, The tourism department of Rajasthan announced that The 2nd
National Tourism Conclave was organised in Jaipur.This is the second National Tourism
Conclave organised by Elets. The first such Conclave was organised in Chandigarh in 2017.
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• On July 15, 2018, The first of world’s cheapest drinking water project called as 'Sulabh Jal' was
launched in Darbhanga district, Bihar. This was launched by Sulabh International, an
organisation that introduced the concept of 'Sulabh Sauchalya' in the country.
• On July 15, 2018, The Haryana Education Department launched 'I am not afraid of
English' initiative from Class 1 in the state's primary schools.The initiative is aimed at capacity
building of teachers to enable them to help the students to learn, read, write and speak English.
• On July 12,2018, State Bank of India and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development have joined hands to provide collateral-free credit in Telangana.Through this
agreement NABARD will assist the NGOs to nurture and handholding of the JLGs to help tenant
farmers, share croppers etc.
• On July 8 2018,The 17thWorld Sanskrit Conference will be inaugurated by Human Resource
Development Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar at Vancouver, Canada from 9th July to 13th July,
2018 to promote, preserve and practice the Sanskrit language all over the world by the people.
• On 6th July 2018, the UK launched the new UKRI Science, Research and Academia scheme for
overseas scientists and researchers, including Indians, to enhance the growth of UK's research
sector.
• On July 10, 2018, according to a report by US venture capital and startup data base CB
Insights, New Delhi(18) and Bengaluru(21) had among the highest number of
startup investment rounds greater than $100 million since 2014.
Startup Hubs Number of investment round >
$100 million since 2014
Silicon Valley 158
Beijing 128
Shanghai 58
New York 40
Los Angeles 30
Bengaluru 21
London 19
New Delhi 18
Boston 13
Berlin 11
Paris 5
Austin 4
Seattle 4
Tel Aviv 2
Tokyo 1
• On 9 July 2018, the Foreign Ministry announced that, India and China have reached an
th
agreement regarding reduction of tariffs on the import of Indian medicines, cancer drugs, to
China.
• On July 9, 2018, The 15 member UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2427 aimed at
formulating a framework for protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of
children throughout the conflict cycle at the UN Headquarters in New York City.
• On July 11, 2018, Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated a library built by the Indian
Government in the presence of Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri.This would provide
research and reference facilities to the researchers and academicians of India and Nepal.
• On July 11, 2018, US President Donald Trump's administration announced a package
of 10% tariffs targeting Chinese exports worth USD 200 billion.Earlier in March, the US
imposed massive trade tariffs amounting to USD 60 billion on China, in an effort to stop the
latter from stealing "intellectual property" from American companies.
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• Indian Navy's P8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft from Indian Naval Ship (INS)
Rajali has inducted at Hawaii to take part in the Rim of Pacific Multinational Naval exercise
(RIMPAC-18) for the first time.
• On 11th July 2018, Indian naval ship INS Sumitra became the first-ever warship to enter port of
Sabang in Indonesia.INS Sumitra was deployed in Malacca Straits.
• India has ranked 57th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) developed by Cornell University.
China has improved its rank from 22 in 2017 to 17 in 2018.Since 2011, Switzerland has been
ranked on top every year. In 2018, it is followed by Netherlands at second spot
and Sweden at third.
• On 13th July 2018, the Second India-China Maritime Affairs Dialogue was held in Beijing,
China.India and China exchanged views on various topics of mutual interest like perspectives
on maritime security and cooperation, blue economy, and further strengthening of practical
cooperation.
• On 12th July 2018, the Portuguese parliament approved a law that will allow citizens to change
their gender and name from the age of 16 without a medical report showing identity
disruption.Portugal has become the sixth European country to grant the right following
Denmark, Malta, Sweden, Ireland and Norway.
• On July 13, 2018, South Africa has unveiled a powerful radio telescope.They are releasing the
"clearest view yet" of the centre of our galaxy through this telescope.It is known as the 64-
antenna MeerKAT, which was completed after a decade of design and construction.
• UN chief Antonio Guterres has established a panel on digital cooperation aimed to deal with the
"dark side" of digital innovation like cyberwarfare and proliferation of hate speech. He named
senior Indian diplomat Amandeep Singh Gill as the executive director of the panel's
secretariat.The high-level panel has been co-chaired by Jack Ma and Melinda Gates.
• On July 13, 2018, INS Tarangini arrived at her seventh port, Sunderland in the UK, during
her #Lokayan-18 voyage and also to participate in the prestigious ‘tall ship races -
2018’.Lokayan is a combination of two Sanskrit words: ‘Lokya’ meaning worldwide and ‘Yana’
meaning travel, thus literally meaning, ‘travel around the world’.
• On July 15, 2018, Militaries of India and Pakistan will be part of a mega anti-terror drill
named "Peace Mission" in Russia in August which is being organized by the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO).It will be for the first time since Independence that India and
Pakistan will both be part of a military exercise.
BANKING & FINANCE

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that the licence of Alwar Urban Co-operative
Bank in Alwar, Rajasthan has been cancelled due to its bad position to pay its depositors in
full and the present financial position of the bank leaves no scope for its revival.
• On 7th July 2018, United Bank of India said that, it will raise up to Rs 1,500 crore by issuing
equity shares in one or more tranches.The Bank said that, this capital raise will be surplus to
the capital support offered by the government.
• On July 10, 2018, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shri R.K
Singh with the officials from ADB and Finance Ministry reviewed the progress of lining project
of the Son canal in Shahabad – Bhojpur region of Bihar.The estimated cost of this project is USD
503 million (Rs 3272.49 crore) out of which USD 352 million is being provided by ADB.
• On July 11, 2018, India has become the world's sixth largest economy overtaking France,
according to World Bank data on gross domestic product (GDP) of countries for 2017.
The economies of the countries:
Country GDP in USD
USA US $19.390 trillion
China US $12.237 trillion
Japan US $4.872 trillion
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Germany US $3.677 trillion

UK US $2.622 trillion
India $2.597 trillion
France US $2.582 trillion
• On July 11, 2018, HDFC securities announced launch of Mutual Funds transactional capabilities
on Facebook Messenger through their virtual assistant, Arya.This project also includes
vision to innovate and provide intuitive and relevant digital solutions to customers through a
theme called "The Pace of Innovation" of HDFC Securities.
• On 12th July 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Indian
Army and SBI (State Bank of India)on the Defence Salary Package.This MoU will benefit serving
and retired Army personnel who have their accounts with SBI.
• India has become the 69th shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD).The Indian government had applied for membership in the EBRD in
December 2017.
• On 11th July 2018, IDBI Bank said that,it has increased its lending rates between 5 to 10 basis
points for a few tenures, effective from 12th July 2018.Bank has increased its one year marginal
cost of funds based lending rates (MCLR) by 10 basis point to 8.75% from 8.65 %.
• On 12th July 2018, Airtel Payments Bank said that, it has received required approvals from the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to begin taking new customers.UIDAI (Home - Unique
Identification Authority of India) has also allowed Airtel Payments Bank to use the 12-digit
unique identification number (Aadhaar) based e-KYC.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• On July 7 2018, Chief minister HD Kumaraswamy informed that Infosys Foundation would
contribute Rs 200 crore to the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd for construction
of Konappana Agrahara Metro Station and metro railway track.
• On July 6,2018, Engineering Export Promotion Council of India (EEPC) said that Indian
engineering exports have risen up 20 per cent during the April-May 2018 period despite the
US-China trade war.
• On July 7,2018, L&T Defence,announced the inauguration of a new second production line
for BRAHMOS Transport Launch Canister (TLC) at Ranoli, near Vadodara , Gujarat.It was
inaugurated by Dr. Sudhir K Mishra, DS & Director General (BrahMos) and CEO & MD, BrahMos
Aerospace.
• The commerce ministry has approved a proposal of HCL Technologies to establish a new IT
special economic zone (SEZ) in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, with a proposed investment of Rs
408.48 crore.
• On 7th July 2018, Indian Railways introduced Double Stack Dwarf Container
Services from Western Railway’s Rajkot railway station on its first commercial run.Through
this Double Stacked Dwarf Container service, Indian Railways has obtained increased revenue
of Rs. 18.50 lakhs.
• On July 10, 2018, Microsoft has signed an MoU with the Rajasthan government to provide free
digital training to 9,500 college students for one year.Microsoft will also train educators from
government colleges through the Microsoft Innovative Educator Programme, building capacity
for innovative use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the classroom.
• On 10th July 2018, Google announced Launchpad Accelerator India, a new mentorship program
that has been developed exclusively for startups based in India, utilising Machine Learning/AI
to develop solutions for India's local needs.
• On 11th July 2018, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) launched India's first Internet
telephony service named "Wings".Now, customers can use their BSNL landline on their mobile
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phone with Internet Telephony. Using this service customers can make and receive calls over
the Internet from anywhere in India or abroad.
• India’s first private sector unit for manufacturing Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) and Light
Bullet Proof Vehicles (LBPV) will be set up by DCM Shriram Industries Group on the campus of
Shriram Rayons in Kota.
• On July 12, 2018, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan inaugurated the state-
run power giant NTPC's 250 MW Solar Power Plant in Suwasra, District Mandsaur.This is one
of the biggest solar plant developed using domestically manufactured Solar cells and modules
Under Make in India Project.
• On July 13, 2018, The market valuation of Reliance Industries surged past Rs 7 lakh crore mark,
making it the second company after TCS to achieve this milestone.RIL's market capitalisation
(m-cap) rose to Rs 7,01,404 crore (over USD 102 billion) during the early trade on BSE.
• On July 13, 2018, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal launched its first consolidated Bridge
Management System (IR-BMS), a web-enabled IT application to store data on 1.5
lakh bridges.The web-based platform will show the bridge master data, works data,
information regarding inspection/monitoring and maintenance of the bridges and other
essentials.
• On July 14, 2018, The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is likely to partner with the government
of Gujarat to build the Rs 2,000 crore Dholera airport project.A proposal to this effect has
already been moved to the Civil Aviation ministry by DICDL that is yet to be approved by AAI.
• On July 13, 2018, Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) launched India’s first exquisite air-
conditioned bed space dormitory-Peters Inn.It was inaugurated by Kochi’s Mayor Soumini
Jain.The fully air-conditioned rooms are equipped with locker facility, free WiFi, round-the-
clock check-in and check-out facility and security cameras.
• On July 15, 2018, a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), India’s economic growth will rise to 7.4% in 2018 and 7.5% in
2019.China’s GDP growth is projected to moderate to 6.7% in 2018 and to 6.4% in 2019.
• On July 15, 2018, The University of Houston and Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy
(IIPE) signed an MOU on mutual collaboration on various fields.With an Objective to build
scientific and technical knowledge through joint research.

• Over 100 Swedish intellectuals have joined together and formed The New Academy a new
prize-giving body to award a new literature prize as this year’s Nobel Literature Prize has been
postponed.The new literature award carries a prize of 1 million kronor (around 97,000 euros,
USD 113,000).
• On 8th July 2018, Michael Ondaatje's 'The English Patient' won the special one-off Golden Man
Booker Prize to mark the 50th anniversary of the literary award at the Man Booker 50 Festival
in London. The Man Booker Prize is sponsored by Man Group.The Booker Prize for Fiction was
first awarded in 1969. It has been sponsored by Man Group from 2002.
• On 29th June 2018, Dr Ravi Mehrotra CBE, Chairman of Foresight Group International Ltd.,
received a lifetime achievement award at the Seatrade 30th Anniversary Award Ceremony held
at the Landmark, London.This award honours recipients who have made a remarkable
contribution to shipping and maritime industry.
• Satyarup Siddhanta has become the second Indian mountaineer after Malli Mastan Babu to
climb Mt Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano in the world.It is a stratovolcano that means a
volcano built of alternate layers of lava and ash.
• Ishwar Sharma has been named the “British Indian of the Year” for his achievements in
Yoga.He is an Indian-origin school kid. He is the under-11 UK national yoga champion.He has
won gold medal representing Great Britain at the World Student Games 2018 held in Winnipeg,
Canada, in June 2018.
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• Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has overtaken Alibaba Group's Jack
Ma to become Asia's richest person.Ambani was estimated to be worth $44.3 billion with
Reliance Industries Ltd. rising 1.6 percent to a record 1,099.8 rupees while Ma’s total net worth
was at $44 billion.
• On July 11, 2018, according to a ‘Twiplomacy’ study on ‘world leaders on social
media’ conducted by communications firm Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW), Prime
Minister Narendra Modi is the third most followed world leader on Twitter.
The Top 8 of the list are as follows:
Person Handle Followers
President,USA @realDonaldTrump 52 million
Pope Francis @Pontifex 47.5 million
Prime minister, India @NArendraModi 42.5 million
Prime minister, India @PMOindia 26 million
President, USA @POTUS 23 million
President, USA @WhiteHouse 17 million
President, Turkey @RT_Erdogan 12 million
Foreign Minister, @SushmaSwaraj 11 million
India
• On 13th July 2018, a top Environment Ministry official said that, India's Integrated Coastal Zone
Management (ICZM) project has bagged World Bank's internal award for exceptional
performance in achieving many development goals.
• On 12th July 2018, Union Minister of Railways & Coal, Piyush Goyal distributed awards to
winning stations of Station Beautification competition in Rail Bhawan, New Delhi.
Position Winners Zone
1 st Balharshah railway station (Maharashtra) Central Railway
Chandrapur railway station (Maharashtra)
2nd Madhubani Railway Station (Bihar) Eastern Railway
Madurai Railway Station (Tamil Nadu) Southern Railway
3rd Gandhidham Station (Gujrat) Western Railway
Kota Station (Rajasthan) West Central Railway
Secunderabad Satation (Telangana) South Central Railway
• On July 12,2018, 2 Indian-origin technology executives Jayshree Ullal and Neerja Sethi have
made it to the Forbes' list of America's 60 richest self-made women .Ullal is ranked 18th in the
list of 60 self-made women Sethi is ranked 21st in the list of 60 women.
• Prem Watsa, founder of Fairfax Financial Holdings, was presented the Special Jury ‘NRI of the
Year Award’ at the 5th edition of Times NOW & ICICI Bank NRI of the Year Awards 2018, in
Mumbai.Football team captain Sunil Chhetri was awarded the ‘Global Indian Icon’ award.

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• Uday Kumar Varma has been appointed a member of the Broadcasting Content Complaints
Council (BCCC).He is a former Information and Broadcasting secretary.He succeeds Wajahat
Habibullah.
• On 5th July 2018, Indian squash player Dipika Pallikal was appointed Asia's representative in
the Athletes Advisory Commission of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
• On 6th July 2018, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel retired as a Supreme Court judge.He was the first
person from Haryana to become a Supreme Court judge.
• On 9th July 2018, drug firm Sun Pharmaceutical Industries said that, Sun Pharma Consumer
Healthcare has named actorAkshay Kumar as the brand ambassador of health
supplement Revital H.
• On 9th July 2018, Anchor Electricals Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic
Corporation announced that,Vivek Sharma has been appointed as the company's new
Managing Director to head its electricals business.
• On 9th July 2018, David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary.Dominic Raab, a junior minister for
housing policy, has been named Brexit Secretary, to replace David Davis.
• On July 10, 2018, Dhanlaxmi Bank Limited has appointed T Latha as the Managing Director &
CEO.She will replace G Sreeram, who has retired from the office on July 1, 2018, on completion
of his tenure.Earlier she was a General Manager in Punjab National Bank.
• On 10th July 2018, drug firm Lupin said that, it has appointed Yashwant Mahadik as President,
Global Human Resources.Previously, he was Global Chief Human Resources Officer in Sun
Pharmaceuticals. Earlier, he held HR roles in companies like Philips, Johnson & Johnson,
AstraZeneca and Colgate Palmolive.
• On July 11, 2018, The BJP Tripura state committee proposed the government to appoint gold
medal winner in the prestigious FIG World Challenge Cup in Mersin in Turkey Dipa Karmakar,
as brand ambassador of the state.24 year old Dipa had created history becoming the first
Indian to finish fourth in gymnastics at the Olympics.
• On July 11, 2018, Ms. Nina Tshering La has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to
the Democratoc Republic of Congo.She is presently Deputy Chief of Mission, Hanoi has been
appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• On 10th July 2018, India Women's Cricket Team Coach Tushar Arothe resigned from his
position citing personal reasons.On 10th July 2018, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India)
accepted Tushar Arothe's resignation.
• On 11th July 2018, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra appointed D C Raina as the
advocate general of Jammu and Kashmir.Also, the governor accepted the resignation
of Jehangir Iqbal Ganaie, who was the advocate general during the PDP-BJP coalition
government in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Vice President of India and the President of ICWA, M. Venkaiah Naidu has appointed Dr. T.C.A.
Raghavan as the Director General, ex officio Member-Secretary of the Council, ICWA (Indian
Council of World Affairs).He has served as India’s High Commissioner to Islamabad and
Singapore and has served in India’s missions at London, Thimphu and Kuwait.
• On July 13,2018, Metals and Mining company Vedanta Ltd. has re-appointed Navin Agarwal as
a Whole time Director.This appointment is for another five-year period starting from August 1,
2018 and is subjected to stakeholders’ approval.
• On July 13,2018 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC) had appointed
Amitabh Malhotra as the head of investment banking for HSBC India.He will lead the
Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets (ECM) business. Previously, he has worked at
Rothschild India.
• Chelsea has appointed Italian Maurizio Sarri as their new manager on a three-year deal and
replaces Antonio Conte.
10 | P a g e
• On 13th July 2018, Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki was handed the additional charge
of Himachal Pradesh by President Ram Nath Kovind.

• On July 10, 2018, The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has conditionally approved
the merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, the largest M&A deal in the sector, which will
displace Bharti Airtel from the No. 1 spot after over 15 years.The Merged entity will have a
user base of 430 million.
• On July 11, 2018, Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Carlyle Group initiated the process of selling
at least 51 per cent stake in the mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance.Earlier in May 2018,
Quality Investment Holdings sold 4.8 per cent stake in PNB Housing Finance for Rs 1,024 crore
through an open market transaction.

• On 9thJuly 2018, Pakistan launched 2 named PRSS-1 and PAK-TES-1A into the orbit from the
Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China,through a Chinese-made launch vehicle,Chinese Long
March (LM-2C) rocket.PRSS1,is a dual-purpose Earth observational and optical satellite.
• On 9th July 2018, Lupin, a drug firm said that, it has obtained approval from the U S Food and
Drug Administration forHydroxychloroquine Sulfate tablets that is used to treat malaria.
• Drug firm Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the US Food & Drug
Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Azithromycin tablets that is used for the
treatment of patients with mild to moderate infections in the US market.
• A study by Tel Aviv University has confirmed that, Noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter is
responsible for arousal in the brain as it plays a major role in human beings to sense the world
around them.
• Drug firm Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the US Food & Drug
Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Azithromycin tablets that is used for the
treatment of patients with mild to moderate infections in the US market.
• A study by Tel Aviv University has confirmed that, Noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter is
responsible for arousal in the brain as it plays a major role in human beings to sense the world
around them.
• Scientists have developed a computer named “SpiNNaker” that mimics human brain's neural
networks, and would overcome the speed and power consumption problems of conventional
supercomputers.
• Near-Earth asteroid 2017 YE5, an asteroid discovered in 2017, is actually two objects, each
around 900 metres in size and orbiting each other. This has been revealed by new observations
made by three of the world's largest radio telescopes.
• On July 13,2018, the first-ever 3-D, colour X-ray on a human was done by 2 New Zealand
scientists named Phil and Anthony Butler (father and son).This was done using CERN’s imaging
technology called Medipix in its lab.
ENVIRONMENT
• Researchers have discovered 7 new wasp species of the genus Clistopyga from Peru, Venezuela
and Colombia in the Amazon forests.The new wasp species are:Clistopyga crassicaudata,
Clistopyga kalmia,Clistopyga panchei,Clistopyga taironae,Clistopyga nigriventri,Clistopyga
splendid,Clistopyga isayae.
• On July 10, 2018, Scientists have discovered the oldest colors in the geological record, 1.1-
billion-year-old bright pink pigments extracted from rocks deep beneath the Sahara desert in
Africa.
• On July 11, 2018, The Mycological Laboratory of Goa university announced the discovery of a
new pigment from local wild mushrooms that may help fight cancer. The pigment has been
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declared as world’s first sulphur-rich edible melanin.It is a new suphur-rich melanin

biopigment of immense bioindustrial, biomedical and biotechnological potential.
• On July 11, 2018, international journal Ecological Engineering published that climate change is
threatening the Nilgiri tahr.According to the study, 60% of the population of the goat could be
lost from 2030.
SPORTS
• On July 8 2018,Indian Gymnast Dipa Karmakar bagged gold medal in FIG Atistic Gymnastics
World Challenge Cup at Mersin, Turkey.Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia clinched the silver and
Goksu Uctas Sanli took the bronze.
• Indian batsman Lokesh Rahul has improved 9 places and reached a career-high 3rd position in
the latest ICC T20 rankings.Lokesh Rahul has become India's highest-ranked batsman. He is
followed by Rohit Sharma in 11th rank who has improved by 2 positions and Virat Kohli in
12th rank who has moved down by 4 places.
• On July 10, 2018, Hockey India announced that Goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh will lead the 18-
member Indian Men's Hockey Team at the 18th Asian Games, slated to be held
in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18,2018.Midfielder Chinglensana Singh Kangujam has
been named the Vice Captain.
• On 7th July 2018, Indian lifter Jhilli Dalabehera has bagged the bronze medal in the 2018 IWF
Junior World Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan.She has become the second
woman lifter after Saikhom Mirabai Chanu in 2013 to win a medal in the Junior World
Championships.
• Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram finished runners-up at the White Nights International
Challenge in Gatchina, Russia.Ajay Jayaram lost to Pablo Abian of Spain in the finals and
finished runner-up.
• Anju Khosla has become the oldest Indian woman to complete an Ironman Triathlon which is
one of the toughest one-day sporting events.She completed her first full Ironman Triathlon, in
Carinthia, Austria, in 15 hours, 54 minutes and 54 seconds.
• On July 10 2018, India bagged three silver medals and a bronze to finish joint third with Iran in
the Asia Cup World Ranking Tournament Stage 3 in Taipei.Korea topped the tally with 14
medals, 8 of them being gold. Taipei bagged 5 medals with two gold medals.
• On 11th July 2018, the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Ministry approved a monthly
allowance of Rs 50,000 for each of the 18 members of the men's hockey team under the Target
Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
• On 13th July 2018, Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif officially retired from all forms of
cricket.He played in 13 Tests and 125 One Day Internationals. He captained India's U-19 team
in their first-ever World Cup win in 2000.Earlier he led his home team Uttar Pradesh. He
helped them win their first Ranji Trophy title in 2005-06.
• On 14th July 2018, Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the fourth Indian to achieve the mark
of 10,000 runs in ODIs, during the second match of the three-game series against England, at
Lord’s cricket ground in London.Three other Indian batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav
Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.
OBITUARY
• On 6thJuly 2018, senior Congress leader and former Meghalaya Governor MM Jacob Passed
away.He is a former Union Minister.He had also served as deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• On 7th July 2018, Journalist J N Sadhu died following a long term illness in Shimla, Himachal
Pradesh.He worked with The Indian Express for around 35 years.
• On 10th July 2018, Zsa Zsa, the reigning World's Ugliest Dog winner, passed away in her sleep,
in the United States.
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• On 12th July 2018, Spiritual leader and head of Sadhu Vaswani mission Dada JP Vaswani died
due to old age related ailments in Pune, Maharashtra.He has written more than 150 self-help
books.He had received the 1998 U Thant Peace Award from the United Nations. He edited 3
monthly journals namely the Excelsior, the India Digest and the East and West series.
• On July 13, 2018, Dr. & Prof. N N Wig, the doyen of Psychiatry in India died at the age
of 88 after a brief illness in Chandigarh.He led many pioneering studies related to
mental health at national and international levels and was head of the Department
of Psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi.
• On July 14, 2018, Former Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Kanu Gohain died after a
brief illness at the age of 68 at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.He was the last technocrat to
head the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), retired from services in 2008.
• On July 14, 2018, Senior journalist Kalpesh Yagnik after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age
of 55 at Indore.He was the group editor of popular Hindi daily 'Dainik Bhaskar'.
• On 15th July 2018, Kannada poet and film lyricist M.N. Vyasa Rao died following a cardiac arrest
at his home in Bengaluru.He was a bank employee by profession.He had also
received Karnataka Rajya Sahitya Academy award for his short story collection “Maleyalli
Neneda Maragalu”.
BOOKS & AUTHORS

• The book “Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly” has been written by Abhirup
Bhattacharya.This book speaks about Sourav Ganguly’s trust on talented youngsters that
gained India one of its greatest cricketers of all times - Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
IMPORTANT DAYS
• On 7thJuly 2018, Global forgiveness day was observed all over the world.It is said that, in 1994
the Christian Embassy of Christ’s Ambassador marked August 27th as the National Forgiveness
day.Later, National Forgiveness Day was renamed as Global Forgiveness Day, and the date was
also shifted from August 27th to July 7th.
• World Population Day is celebrated every year on July 11. July 11 was established as World
Population Day in 1989 by the United Nations.Theme for 2018:- "Family Planning is a Human
right"It aims to spread awareness on issues such as overpopulation, under-population and
birth control.
• July 12 is celebrated as International Malala Day as on July 12,2013, Malala Yousafzai's 16th
birthday, she spoke at the UN to call for worldwide access to education. Today Malala turns 21.
• On 15th July 2018, World Youth Skills Day was celebrated all over the world.The United Nations
General Assembly declared 15 July as World Youth Skills Day to create awareness on the
importance of investing in youth skills development.

Suggestions are welcomed; Contact us any time at affairscloud@gmail.com

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Current Affairs Weekly PDF- July Third Week (16-23)


INDIAN AFFAIRS
• Prime Minister Shri.Narendra Modi Visit Azamgarh, Mirzapur and his parliamentary
constituency Varanasi in Eastern Uttar Pradesh for 2 days on 14th & 15th of July.He dedicated
the Varanasi City Gas Distribution (CGD) network and Piped Natural Gas(PNG)services under
PM’s Urja Ganga pipeline.Click here to read more.
• On July 16, 2018, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar launched a campaign
called ‘Paudhagiri’. The aim is to increase the green cover of the state.
• On July 16, 2018, The Gujarat government launched a measles-rubella vaccination drive with
the help of Centre’s Rs.300 crore financial assistance. The campaign is being promoted by
former Test crickter Irfan Pathan.
• On 16th July 2018, Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra
Pradhan laid the foundation stone for National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) at Barang, in
Bhubaneswar,which is established at a cost of Rs 160 crore.
• On July 13, 2018, Country’s first Defence Incubator will come up in T-Hub , Hyderabad. Initial
corpus of Rs.100 crore has been contributed by PSUs HAL and BEL with Rs.50 crore each.
• On July 17, 2018, The National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation, NMDFC,
organized a workshop on financial management in New Delhi.
• On July 18, 2018, The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has approved,the following Proposals.
 Cabinet approves establishment of Medical College, Salempur at Deoria, Uttar
Pradesh
 Cabinet approves Policy framework for streamlining the working of Production
Sharing Contracts (PSCs) in Pre-NELP and NELP Blocks
 Cabinet approves continuation of the Schemes of Pre-Matric, Post Matric and Merit-
cum-Means based Scholarship Schemes
 Cabinet approves Special Package for Irrigation Projects in Vidarbha, Marathwada
and other chronically drought prone areas of Rest of Maharashtra
 Cabinet approves Special Remission to Prisoners on the occasion of 150th Birth
Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi
 Cabinet approves determination of Fair and Remunerative Price payable by Sugar
Mills for 2018-19 sugar season
• Cabinet Approvals With Foreign Countries On July 18, 2018.
 Cabinet approves signing of Memorandum of Understanding amongst BRICS Nations
on the Regional Aviation Partnership
 Cabinet approves MoU between India and Cuba on cooperation in the field of
Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy
 Cabinet approves MoU between India and Indonesia on cooperation in the field of
pharmaceuticals
 Cabinet approves the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) signed in 2010 MRA
between the ICAI of India and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Ireland
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 Cabinet approves MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and
Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, Bahrain
 Cabinet approves MoU between the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and
“National Board of Accountants and Auditors, Tanzania
• On July 18, 2018, The ministry of Defence announced that Indo-US Bilateral Defence
Cooperation, the 7th Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) meeting was held
between India and the US delegation in New Delhi.
• On July 19, 2018, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organised “Ganga Vriksharopan
Abhiyan” in five main stem Ganga basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand
and West Bengal.
• On July 19, 2018, Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh launched an online portal and mobile app
called ‘Aabhaar-Aapki seva ka’ for the online pensioners of the state.
• On July 19, 2018, According to Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Cities report, The city
of Udaipur has ranked 3rd among the 15 of the world’s best cities. The top 2 cities are both in
Mexico: San Miguel de Allende and Oaxaca.
• On July 19, 2018, External Affairs minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj is hosting the 10th edition
of Delhi Dialogue (DD X) from July 19th to July 20,2018 in New Delhi. The theme of this year’s
DD X will be “Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation”.
• National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) has installed a remote sensing instrument-
LiDAR for assessment of offshore wind resource at Gulf of Khambat, off the Gujarat Coast.
• On July 17, 2018, Western Railways renames Elphistone Road station to Prabhadevi on
Mumbai’s suburban section. The station code for the renamed station is PBHD. Previously it
was named Elphinstone road station after Lord Elphinstone , Governor of Bombay from 1853
to 1860.
• On 19th July 2018, the Lok Sabha passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018. This
Bill will replace the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance promulgated by President Ram
Nath Kovind in April 2018.
• On July 18, 2018, Government has announced the launch of a new MicroDot Technology that
would help check on vehicle thefts.
• On July 20, 2018, The Ministry of External Affairs announced the fourth round of Maritime
Affairs Dialogue between India and Japan that was held in New Delhi. Key issues discussed
were : maritime security, cooperation in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR),
Search and Rescue (SAR).
• On 16th and 17th July 2018, a 2 day International conference on “Empowering Women:
Fostering Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Sustainability” was organized by NITI Aayog’s
Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), Office of
International Programmes (OIP) University of Delhi.
• On 20th July 2018, Punjab tourism and cultural affairs minister Navjot Singh Sidhu finalized a
blue print to further develop Virasat-e-Khalsa, a museum of the Sikhs, at Anandpur Sahib,
Punjab.
• On 19th July 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu launched ‘e-Pragati
core platform’ at Undavalli, Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh aims to realise the vision
of ‘Sunrise AP 2022’ through this project.
• A world class exhibition on 4 eminent personalities of Bengal: Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore,
Netaji Subha Chandra Bose, Rishi Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Dr. Syama Prasad
Mukherjee will be organized soon at National Library in Kolkata on a permanent basis.
• On July 21, 2018, the Union Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh launched The Student Police
Cadet (SPC) Programme nationally. Total cost of the programme is Rs.67 crore. It covers two
kinds of topic: Crime prevention and control and Values and ethics.
• On July 21, 2018, The 7th Annual General Body Meeting of Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and
Development (ITRHD), took place in New Delhi.This meeting was aimed at recognizing efforts
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of preservation of Indian Heritage and Culture in Rural India and working in about 7 states of
India by ITRHD.
• On July 21, 2018, Scientists from International Union of Geological Science
(IUGS) have classified as a new chapter in Earth’s history – the Meghalayan Age. The geological
time has been divided into 3 parts: Meghalayan Age, Middle Holocene Northgrippian Age and
Early Holocene Greenlandian Age.
• On July 21, 2018, West Bengal government signed an agreement to implement the Ayushman
Bharat-National Health Protection Mission with the National Health Agency (NHA). According
to this, the scheme would be implemented through a “mixed mode” of third-party insurance
and state-run trust, Indu Bhushan.
• Himachal Pradesh government has approved implementation of Market Intervention Scheme
(MIS) for procurement of apple. This scheme will be implemented from 20th July to
31st October 2018.
• On 20th July 2018, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the 7 day
long “Kharchi Puja” at Puran Habeli, in Tripura. Kharchi Puja is an annual festival to cleanse the
sins of mortal souls.
• The Uttar Pradesh police has decided to hire digital volunteers to control the issue of rumors
and eliminate illegal activities.
• On July 22, 2018, The Rajya Sabha passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill,
2013. A person who is compelled to give a bribe will not be charged if he/she reports the
matter to law enforcement authorities within seven days.
• On July 22, 2018, The Environment Ministry re-introduced the ‘Medini Puraskar Yojna’– a
scheme that awards Indian authors for their original work in Hindi on environment, pollution
and climate change subjects. Rs one lakh will be given as first prize, Rs 75,000 as second prize
and Rs 50,000 as third prize.
• Odisha will be the host to the Odisha Triennial of International Art (OTIA), India’s first private
sector triennial, in December-January which will be a 40 day event. The events of the Odisha
Triennial of International Art (OTIA) will take place in Bhubaneshwar, Puri and Konark.
• On July 22, 2018, Science& Technology, Earth Sciences; Environment, Forest & Climate Change
Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated first of its kind Air Quality and Weather Forecast
System– SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting) at Chandni Chowk in Delhi.
• On July 22, 2018, The Sports Authority of India under Khelo India Talent Identification
Development scheme, cleared 734 players for a scholarship programme.
• On July 22, 2018, The first international festival of Mizoram ‘Mizo Hnahthlak’ was
organized Dengthuama Hall in Aizawl, Mizoram.
• On July 23 2018, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the
foundation for National Highways projects in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. The total
project worths over Rs 5485 Crores.
• On July 23 2018, Shri Yaduvendra Mathur, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog and Shri Sita Ram
Gupta, Executive Director, Lupin Foundation was signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to
collaborate and improve indicators in education, health & nutrition, financial inclusion and skill
development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure in Aspirational
Districts(in the backward disticts) of India.
• On July 23 2018, Shri Yaduvendra Mathur, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog and Shri Sita Ram
Gupta, Executive Director, Lupin Foundation was signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to
collaborate and improve indicators in education, health & nutrition, financial inclusion and skill
development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure in Aspirational
Districts(in the backward disticts) of India.
• On 22nd July 2018, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha inaugurated Regional Rail
Training Institute (RRTI) in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. The Institute was inaugurated with an
aim to strengthen the expertise and capabilities of the employees of North-Eastern Railways.
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• On 23rd July 2018, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three day National
Traders’ Conclave at Constitution Club of India, in New Delhi.In ‘Ease of Doing Business’, India’s
ranking has improved from 142 to 100.
• On 22-23 July 2018, The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border
Haats was held in Agartala, Tripura.The meeting reveal about the positive impact of Border
Hatts on the livelihoods of the people living in areas around the Haats.
• On 23rd July 2018, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik released the first tribal atlas of Odisha
consisting of a set of maps and statistics highlighting the tribal demography of Odisha. The
atlas has been prepared by the SC & ST Research and Training Institute along with Academy of
Tribal Language and Culture.
• On 22nd July 2018, a senior official said that, a special unit of the Odisha Police has launched a
drive to curb an international syndicate that smuggles endangered pangolin, which is one of
the world’s most illegally traded mammals.
• On 21st July 2018, Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a think tank, released Public Affairs Index (PAI)
for 2018, its third annual PAI, at an event in Bengaluru. Kerala topped in the best governed
state in India for the 3rd continuous year since 2016 among large states.TamilNadu,Telangana
and Karnataka followed kerala.
• On 13th July 2018, Pakistan Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk inaugurated the Pakistan-China
Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) project that will be the first land-based communication link between
Pakistan and China. It will help in developing the telecom sector in Gilgit-Baltistan region.
• Union Home Minister Shri Raj Nath Singh visited Bangladesh on a 3 day visit from July 13-
15,2018.He inaugurated the largest Indian visa centre in the world in Dhaka, Bangladesh & also
inaugurate the Bangladesh-India Friendship Building at the Bangladesh Police Academy,
Sardah.Click here to read more.
• External Affairs Minister Smt.Sushma Swaraj was on a two-day visit to Bahrain from July 14 to
15,2018.She co-chaired 2nd India-Bahrain High Joint Commission & Jointly inaugurated
impressive Embassy of India Complex in Manama.
• On 16th July 2018, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu,
co-chaired the 8th session of India-Oman Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with Minister
of Industry, Investment, Trade and Digital Economy of Oman,Dr. Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy,
in Muscat, Oman.
• On July 18, 2018, according to a report by online speed testing platform Ookla, India was
at 9.12 Mbps in the 4G speed category behind neighbors Pakistan (14.03 Mbps) and Sri Lanka
(16.98). India ranks 109th in overall 4G mobile internet speeds.
• On 15th July 2018, the UK Space Agency said that, it had chosen Sutherland, a peninsula on
Scotland’s north coast as the site for UK’s first space port. The United Kingdom will build its
first spaceport at A’Mhoine Peninsula in Sutherland on the northern coast of Scotland.
• On July 19, 2018, According to Bloomberg Billionaires index 2018, Jeff Bezos, The Amazon com
Inc. founder, is the richest man in modern history with a net worth of $152 billion. Bill gates is
in the second position with $95.5 billion followed by Mark Zuckerberg with $83.5 billion.
• On 18th July 2018, senior security officials of India and the United States held a meeting on
Homeland Security Dialogue in Delhi.And they resolved to improve cooperation in counter-
terror, immigration and aviation security.
• On 18th July 2018, India and Ghana signed 2 agreements to improve the bilateral cooperation
between India and Ghana. 2 MOUs on Cultural Exchange Programme and on cooperation
between Bureau of Indian Standards and Ghana Standards Authority were signed.
• On July 18, 2018, The Ministry of Defence announced that the Indian Air Force for the first time
is participating with fighter aircraft in Exercise Pitch Black 2018 (PB-18), which is to be held in
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Australia from 24 Jul to 18 Aug, 2018. The IAF contingent consists of 145 air-warriors
including Garud team, 04 X Su-30 MKI, 01 X C-130 and 01 X C-17.
• On 20th July 2018, J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, addressed the 8th
BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting held in Durban, South Africa. He stated that to achieve the
vision of UHC, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the ‘Ayushman Bharat’
(Long Live India) programme.
• On July 21, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of emergency
ambulance service for Sri Lanka from New Delhi. India has given a grant of 22.8 million US
dollars – 7.6 million dolars in the first phase and 15.2 million dollars for the expansion of the
project countrywide.
• Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said that, he has planned to make London, the world’s most
walkable city in the world by launching ‘Walking Action Plan’. It is part of a wider “Healthy
Streets” initiative. Sadiq Khan has assured to invest nearly 2.2 billion pounds ($2.9 billion) in
this initiative.
• On July 21, 2018, Myanmar, after joining International Solar Alliance (ISA) ,became
the 68th member of the association. Other bilateral projects undertaken by the two countries
are:The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project connecting Mizoram with Sittwe port in
Myanmar,The Trilateral Highway Project connecting India with Myanmar and Thailand,The
Rhi-Tiddim road,Offering economic and humanitarian aid to Rakhine State for Rohingya
refugee crisis.
• On July 22, 2018, According to report of Walk Free Foundation,the Global Slavery
Index estimates that 40.3 million people worldwide were subjected to modern slavery in
2016. North Korea has the highest concentration of modern slavery where one in 10 people are
in this condition.
• Indian Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Kingdom
to obtain help in enhancing overall public transport system in India. The MoU was signed by
the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, India, and Transport for London (TFL) to develop
public transport in India.
BANKING & FINANCE
• On July 16, 2018, SBI announced that it would launch a kisan Mela outreach program for
farmers on July 18,2018. This would help in imparting financial literacy to the farmers. The
bank will also issue Kisan Credit Card (KCC) with 10% of enhancement on their credit limit.
• On July 17, 2018, Yes bank announced that it would unveil the 7th edition of ‘Transformation
Series Challenge’. The theme is ‘Tech for Urban Development’. It will focus on Collaborative
Innovation – Collaboration as a Service (CaaS) for harnessing innovative solution from young
professionals for issues of national importance.
• On July 18, 2018, The Finance Ministry has approved capital infusion of Rs 11,336
crore in 5 public sector banks.The 5 banks are : Punjab National Bank (PNB), Andhra Bank ,
Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Allahabad Bank.
• On July 16, 2018, The first all-women branch of Jammu & Kashmir Bank was inaugurated by
the first lady Usha Vohra at an event at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre
(SKICC), in Srinagar
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would issue new Rs. 100 note with motif of ‘Rani Ki Vav’ next
month. The base colour of the note is lavender.
• On July 19,2018, Jana Small Finance Bank formerly known as Janalakshmi Financial Services
formally launched its operations. It has inaugural interest rate offer of 8.5% (9.1% for senior
citizens) for 366-day fixed deposits.
• On July 20, 2018, With Rajya Sabha clearing the bill of State Banks (Repeal and Amendment)
Bill, 2017, Parliament officially approved of the bill to merge SBI with its subsidiaries.The bill
repealed the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, and State Bank of Hyderabad
Act, 1956 and amended the State Bank of India (SBI) Act,1955.
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• Federal Bank has obtained the regulatory nod from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) to open offices
in Bahrain, Kuwait and Singapore. It will focus on the digital alternatives to reach out to more
customers.
• Under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana ,the government has cut the minimum annual deposit
requirement for accounts to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000 earlier.It will enable more number of people
to take advantage of the girl child savings scheme.
• On July 18, 2018, Indian Bank raised MCLR by up to 0.10%.
Tenors Increased Rates (in %)
Overnight 8.05
One Month 8.15
Three Months 8.35
Six Months 8.50
One Year 8.60
Three Years 8.80
Five Years 9.05
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• The Centre of Excellence in Maritime & Shipbuilding (CEMS) has said that, its hi tech labs at
Visakhapatnam are in ready state to commence orientation programmes for trainees. Recently,
CEMS had announced the readiness of its Mumbai labs also. CEMS is promoted by Indian
Register of Shipping (IRClass) along with Siemens and Ministry of Shipping.
• On July 17, 2018, According to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) update, The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s growth projection by 0.1 percentage point for 2018-19. It
now predicts the GDP growth to be 7.3%.The economy was projected to grow 7.8 per cent by
2019-20 which is now cut to 7.5%.
• On July 17, 2018, Defence manufacturer Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) signed an MOU
with Swedish firm SAAB to market air-surveillance radar.
• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced that, it had signed a partnership with French
energy company Total to develop a digital innovation centre in India.
• On July 18, 2018, Facebook and National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) took joint
responsibility to train youth and entrepreneurs in the country on digital skills.
• On 18th July 2018, power discom BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) announced that, it has
signed an agreement to source100 MW wind power that will help to meet its renewable power
necessities.
• On July 19, 2018, As per Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s Asian Development Outlook report
India continues to be the fastest growing economy in Asia with projected GDP growth
of 7.3 per cent.
• On July 17, 2018, IIT Delhi signed an agreement with All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) to
launch projects to give scientific validation to the ancient medical science of Ayurveda and
integrate it with technology.
• In June 2017, the Government gave administrative approval and financial sanction to
establish 10 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW each in fleet
mode. A target of installing 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 has been set.
• On July 17, 2018, BSE building Phiroze Jeejeebhoy Towers located on Dalal Street, in Mumbai
gets trademark under Trade Marks Act, 1999 by the government.
• On 19th July 2018, FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) said that,
India’s economic growth remains intact and India’s GDP is expected to grow at 7.5 % in the
current financial year.
• On 19th July 2018, CSIR- National Physical laboratory (NPL) has signed a MoU with Hindustan
Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) for indigenous development of petroleum certified
reference materials (CRMs) under trade name of Bhartiya Niredeshak Dravyas (BNDTM).
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• On 18th July 2018, Amazon’s stock market value reached $900 billion for the first time, posing a
threat to replace Apple as Wall Street’s most valuable firm.
• On July 20, 2018, Digital lending platform StashFin has partnered with non-banking finance
company DMI Finance to raise Rs 30 crores for onward lending through their platform
StashFin.com .
• On July 21, 2018, Power Grid Corporation of India signed an MOU with Uttar Pradesh Power
Corporation (UPPCL) for energy efficiency.Investment of about Rs 2,200 to 2,500 crore in these
projects by POWERGRID.
• A new Cruise Terminal capable of handling 5000 tourists will be set up at Ernakulum
Wharf of Cochin Port by February 2020. On 20th July 2018, Cochin Port Trust issued work
order to the contractor for starting the construction of the new Cruise Terminal.

• Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, received the USISPF Leadership Award at
the first Annual Leadership Summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) in
Washington DC, United States.The theme for this year’s summit was: “Strengthening the
Strategic Partnership”.
• On July 18, 2018, , Bollywood actors Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan have ranked in
the Forbes list of top 100 highest-paid entertainers 2018. Akshay Kumar ranked 76th with
earnings of $40.5M.Salman Khan ranked 82nd with earnings of $37.7M.
• Repco Micro Finance Ltd was awarded the NABARD 2018 award for its service to self-help
group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18.
• On July 19, 2018, The 26th edition of Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award
(ESPY) 2018 was held in the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.
Category Winner
Jimmy V Award for Perseverance Jim Kelly, Pro Football Hall of Fame
quarterback
Best Male Athlete Alexander Ovechkin, Washington
Capitals
Best Female Athlete Chloe Kim, Snowboard
Best International Men’s Soccer Cristiano Ronaldo, Real
Player Madrid/Portuguese National Team
Best International Women’s Soccer Sam Kerr, Chicago Red
Player Stars/Australian National Team
Best Male Tennis Player Roger Federer
Best Female Tennis Player Sloane Stephens
• India Heritage Walk Festival, a collaboration of Sahapedia and YES Arts & Culture, has been
awarded the PATA Gold Award 2018 under the ‘Heritage-Culture’ category.
• 2017 AIFF Awards
On 22nd July 2018, Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri was named the 2017 All India
Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year.
 2017 AIFF Award for Best Grassroots Development Programme: Kerala FA.
 2017 AIFF Award for long-time contribution to Indian Football: Hero Motocorp.
 2017 AIFF Award for Best Assistant Referee: Sumanta Datta (Assam).
 2017 AIFF Award for Best Referee: CR Srikrishna.
 2017 AIFF Emerging Woman Footballer of the Year: E Panthoi.
 2017 AIFF Emerging Player of the Year: Anirudh Thapa.
 2017 AIFF Woman Footballer of the Year: Kamala Devi.
 2017 AIFF Player of the Year: Sunil Chhetri.
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• Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Saran Singh would be named the Chef de
Mission of the Asian Games-bound Indian contingent. The 4 deputy Chefs de Mission to be
appointed are:
 B S Kushwaha(former secretary of Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Federation)
 R K Sacheti(Executive Director of Boxing Federation of India
 D K Singh(Uttarakhand Olympic Association)
 Colonel R K Swain(Secretary of Equestrian Federation of India)
• On 18th July 2018, seven new members took oath of office in the Rajya Sabha. The seven
members who took oath in Rajya Sabha are:
 Rakesh Sinha
 Sonal Mansingh
 Raghunath Mohapatra
 Ram Shakal
 Elamaram Kareem
 Binoy Viswam
 Jose K Mani
• Tata Capital has appointed Anil Kaul as the Managing Director of Tata Capital Housing Finance,
with effect from 18th July 2018. He succeeds R Vaithianathan.
• On 17th July 2018, India and Delhi pacer Parwinder Awana announced his retirement from all
forms of cricket.
• On 17th July 2018, Australian football player Tim Cahill retired from international football.He is
38 years old. He is Australia’s all-time leading goal-scorer. He has scored 50 international goals
in 107 appearances.
• Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as the Chef de Mission (incharge) of the upcoming 18th Asian
Games.
• Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has named Indian Athlete Hima Das as the first
sports ambassador of Assam.
• On 23rd July 2018, the Board of Max Financial Services (MFS) named Mr. Analjit Singh, Founder
and Chairman Emeritus of the Max Group, as the non-executive Chairman of Max Financial
Services (MFS). He succeeds Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai.
• On 16th July 2018, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said that, Life Insurance
Corporation of India’s (LIC’s) board has approved acquiring up to 51 % stake in IDBI Bank.
• On 16th July 2018, PhonePe said that, it has acquired Zopper Retail, in a move to increase its
offline business. The terms of the acquisition were not revealed. Zopper co-founder and
CEO Neeraj Jain will join PhonePe as Head of Product, Offline Merchant Solutions.
• Zaggle, a payments and group dining company, has acquired Click&Pay, a tech start-up, backed
by Dubai-based investors, in a cash-and-stock deal.

• On 16thJuly 2018, China announced that, it has planned to launch 300 low-orbit satellites
named the Hongyan constellation to offer worldwide communication services and the first in
the series will be launched in 2018.
• On 16th July 2018, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from an
Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha. Range of the missile: up to 290km with
supersonic speed.Cruising speed: up to Mach 3.0 that is 3 times the speed of sound.
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• On 16th July 2018, ISRO said that, it successfully performed a ground test of its high thrust
version of the Vikas Engine that will enhance the payload capability of ISRO’s launch vehicles,
at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in Mahendragiri, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu.
• Scientists from IIT Delhi have created a silk-based hydrogel that imitates hair growth, which
would help in production of drugs for hair loss treatment without the need for animal tests.
• On 16th July 2018, the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) launched a remotely
operable microscope worth Rs. 40 crore, claimed to be the world’s first remotely operable
LEAP microscope, which will allow precise view of atoms of a material.
• Scientists have discovered 12 new moons orbiting Jupiter, making the total number of natural
satellites circling around Jupiter to 79. The discovery includes 11 “normal” outer moons,
and one “oddball.” The researchers were led by Scott S Sheppard from Carnegie Institution for
Science, US.
• On July 19, 2018, ISRO signed contracts with three vendors to outsource Spacecraft Assembly
Integration and Testing (AIT) activities. They will help ISRO assemble about 27 satellites over
the next three years.
• On July 18, 2018, Combined Task Force (CTF 151) led by Commander Rear Admiral Saw Shi
Tat of the Singapore Navy visited Indian Naval Ship Teg in Djibouti to carry out anti-piracy
operations .
• On July 21, 2018, NASA launched an online toolkit “Remote Sensing Toolkit” to help users
analyze satellite data. It can be used in the areas of : research, business projects or
conservation efforts.
• On July 21, 2018, Facebook announced that it is aiming to launch, ‘Athena’, its own internet
satellite, early in 2019.
• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has created an online tool named TreadWill, to
help people overcome issues related to mental health. It is based on cognitive behavioural
therapy (CBT) which helps people with depressive symptoms.
ENVIRONMENT
• On July 17,2018, UNEP(UN Environment Programme ) has announced that UN would partner
with Google to monitor the impacts of human activity on global ecosystems by using
sophisticated online tools.
SPORTS
• FIFA 2018 was the 21st
edition of the tournament.This was the first World Cup to be held in
Eastern Europe. France won the title with a 4-2 goal against Croatia.
Category Player Country
Golden Ball Luka Modrić Croatia
Silver Ball Eden Hazard Belgium
Bronze Ball Antoine Griezmann France
Golden Boot Harry Kane(6 goals, 0 assists) England
Silver Boot Antoine Griezmann(4 goals, 2 assists) France
Bronze Boot Romelu Lukaku(4 goals, 1 assist) Belgium
Golden Glove Thibaut Courtois Belgium
Best Young Player Kylian Mbappé France
FIFA Fair Play Award Spain
• From 9 to 16 July 2018, the 36 Golden Glove of Vojvodina Youth Men & Women Boxing
th th th
Tournament, was held in Vojvodina, Serbia.India won a total of 17 medals with 7 gold medals, 6
silver medals and 4 bronze medals and obtained the first position.
• On July 16, 2018, According to Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), American tennis
player Serena Williams ranked 28th in the list with a jump of 153 places.Simona
Halep(Romania) topped the ranking by attaining 1st Position, Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark)
followed her.
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• On 17th July 2018, India has improved one spot and has reached the 5th position in the men’s
hockey world rankings released by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Australia, that
had won the Champions Trophy, remained on the top spot followed by
Argentina,Belgium,Netherlands,India & Germany.
• From 10th to 15th July 2018, 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships was held in Tampere
Stadium also known as Ratina Stadium, in Tampere, Finland. India’s Hima Das bagged gold
medal in the women’s 400 metre event at the IAAF World U20 Championships.She has become
the first Indian track athlete to win gold medal in a world championship across all age groups.
• The 2018 Wimbledon Championships was the 132nd edition of
the championship, the 125th staging of the Ladies’ Singles Championship event, the 51st in
the Open Era and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. Djokovic is a Grand Slam
champion for the first time since winning the 2016 French Open. Overall it is his 13th career
Grand slam.Angelique Kerber became the first German player since Steffi Graf in 1996 to lift
the crown at the All England Club.Click here to read more.
• On July 18, 2018, , India bagged 9 medals – 4 Silver and 5 Bronze in the 7th World Junior
Wushu championships held in Brasilia, Brazil from July 10-16,2018.Silver Medal won
by Babulu (42 kg sub-junior), Saleem ((56 kg sub junior), Savita (48 kg junior), Rohit (80 kg
junior) & Bronze Medal won by Himanshu (56 kg junior), Shruti (60 kg junior), Jahnvi (52 kg
junior), Karanjit Taijiquan, Karanjit Taijijian.
• On 18th July 2018, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won gold medal at the Sotteville
Athletics Meet in France.He made a throw of 85.17m and won the gold medal. Moldova’s
Andrian Mardare with a throw of 81.48m secured second position.
• On July 19, 2018, The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the latest ODI rankings and
India captain Virat Kohli has topped in Batting Category with a score of 911 points a career
high for him.This is the highest since Australia’s Dean Jones tally of 918 points in March
1991.In Bowling Category Jasprit Bumrah topped and Shakib Al Hasan topped in the list of ODI
all Rounder Category.
• On July 20, 2018, The International Olympic Committee (IOC ) in its Tokyo 2020 Olympics
schedule announced that it had added 7 medal event to its 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
These events include : women’s monobob, Big Air freestyle skiing for men and women, plus
mixed team events in short track speed skating, ski jumping, ski aerials and snowboardcross.
• On July 20, 2018, 28th Meeting of Shooting Hopes junior International Championship was held
between July 11 – 15, 2018 in Pilsen, Czech Republic. Manu Bhaker won her 9th International
Gold medal in the span of one year.Click here to read more.
• On 21st July 2018, India’s Muhammad Anas Yahiya broke his own national record to win
the 400 metres race at the Cena Noveho Mesta nad Metuji meet in Czech Republic. In the
women’s event, MR Poovamma won gold medal with a timing of 53.01 seconds. Rajiv Arokia
secured third position in the men’s 200m event with a time of 20.77 seconds.
• On 22nd July 2018, Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman became the quickest player to reach the
1000 runs in one-day internationals (ODI). He achieved this mark during the 5th and final ODI
of the ongoing five-match series against Zimbabwe.
• On July 22, 2018, Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Beckar became the world’s most expensive
goalkeeper upon joining the team of Liverpool from Roma. Virgil van Dijk became the world’s
most expensive defender upon joining Liverpool for $99 million in January.
• On 22nd July 2018, Lewis Hamilton won the German Grand Prix 2018 held at Hockenheimring
track in Germany. He was followed by Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes in the second position.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen secured the third position.
• ATP tennis world rankings on 23rd July 2018:
 1 – Rafael Nadal (ESP) with 9,310 points
 2 – Roger Federer (SUI) with 7,080 points
 3 – Alexander Zverev (GER) with 5,665 points
 4 – Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) with 5,395 points
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 5 – Kevin Anderson (RSA) with 4,655 points
IMPORTANT DAYS
• On 18thJuly 2018, Nelson Mandela International Day was observed all over the world. The
Nelson Mandela Foundation has dedicated Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 to Action
Against Poverty.
OBITUARY
• On 18th July 2018, activist Rajmata Satvashila Devi Bhosle Passed away. She was the wife of the
last King of the Sawantwadi Kingdom late Shivramraje Bhosle.
• On July 20, 2018, The 88 year old former and first finance minister of
Chhattisgarh, Ramchandra Singhdeo, had passed away in Raipur. He served as
the Minister of Water Resources before Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in
2000.
• On July 20, 2018, eminent Hindi poet Gopal Das Niraj passed away in Kolkata. He was
awarded Padma Shri in 1991 and Padma Bhushan in 2007. He also won Yash Bharati award,
and was the chancellor of Mangalayatan University, Aligarh.
• On 21st July 2018, food critic Jonathan Gold died due to pancreatic cancer in United States. He
became the first restaurant critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2007. He was the
subject of a documentary named “City of Gold” released in 2015.

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Current Affairs Weekly PDF- July Fourth Week (24-31)

INDIAN AFFAIRS
• On 23rd July 2018, the Lok Sabha passed the Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017,
which aims to reduce delays in resolution of cheque bouncing cases.The Negotiable
Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017, aims to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
• On 23rd July 2018, the Lok Sabha passed the National Council for Teacher Education
(Amendment) Bill 2017 to grant retrospective recognition to Central/State institutions that are
conducting teacher education courses without NCTE approval. The NCTE Act, 1993, came into
act in 1995. It applies to all parts of India, except Jammu and Kashmir.
• On July 24, 2018, The Government set up a four-member committee headed by Home
Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba.With an Objective to suggest measures and legal framework to
effectively deal with incidents of mob violence.
• On July 24, 2018, To mark World Day against Trafficking in Persons on July 30, The Ministry of
Women and Child Development launched a contest named – “ #Childline1098”.Ministry signed
an MoU with the Ministry of Railways to rescue and rehabilitate runaway, abandoned,
kidnapped and trafficked children via Railways.
• On July 24, 2018, 3 states namely, UP, Jharkhand and Maharashtra launched the
Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018 (SSG 2018) announced by the Ministry of Drinking Water
and Sanitation on July 13th, 2018. The objective of SSG 2018 is to undertake a ranking of States
and Districts on the basis of their performance on SBM-G parameters.
• On July 24, 2018, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik set up ministerial committee headed
by Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera to draft policies for development of Odia film
industry, known as Ollywood. Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Sanjeev Chopra will
be Convener of the committee.
• On July 24, 2018, Union Agriculture Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh announced that the
government has sanctioned Rs 1,754.14 crore under National Dairy Plan (NDP).With an
Objective to enhance productivity of milch animals.
• A Scheme named ‘Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage and Diverse Cultural
Traditions of India’ is implemented by the Ministry of Culture. The Scheme is implemented
through: Sangeet Natak Akademi. It is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of
Culture.
• On July 25, 2018, Chief Minister of Delhi Mr. Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Mukhyanmantri
Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna’.With an Objective to increase the income of farmers by three
to five times in the national capital.
• On 24th July 2018, the 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under
POSHAN Abhiyaan was held in New Dehli. The programme uses technology to reduce the level
of Stunting, Under-nutrition, Anemia and Low Birth Weight in Children. It also focuses on
Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers.
• On 23rd July 2018, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje said that, ‘Bijli Mitra’ Mobile app
is launched on a pilot basis from Jhalawara, Rajasthan, to help farmers to get their defunct
transformers replaced within 6 hours of registering a complaint through the app.
• On July 25, 2018, Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik launched a plantation drive named –
‘Green Mahanadi Mission’. Under this scheme, 2 crore saplings would be planted along
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the Mahanadi, Ib and Tel rivers.The government has targeted to spend Rs.500 crore for the
drive in the next 5 years.
• Tamil Nadu government has released the draft state Forest Policy that aims to conserve forests
and wildlife, ecosystems, and climate change mitigation etc. It was released by Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister K Palaniswami as per the Vision Tamil Nadu 2023 document released by former
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in 2014,preserving the ecology was among the themes
of the document.
• On July 26, 2018, an International conference on India-Vietnam economic ties was held in New
Delhi.With an Objective to enhance the economic ties with Vietnam and enable government’s
Act East Policy. Both nations have agreed on a trade target of USD 15 billion by 2020.
• On July 26, 2018, “#InnovateIndia Platform”, a collaboration between the Atal Innovation
Mission and MyGov was launched by NITI Aayog.With an Objective to create and encourage a
structured ecosystem for innovation in India.
• On July 26, 2018, The National Green Tribunal formed a monitoring committee for Yamuna
Rejuvenation Project.With an Objective to submit an action plan for cleaning of Yamuna. B S
Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra has been appointed as members of
the committee.
• On July 26, 2018, The Meghalaya Cabinet approved the convergence of phase 4 of Meghalaya
Health Insurance Scheme (MHIS) with the centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana.Under this the
health coverage has been increased to Rs. 5 lakh from previous Rs.2.8 lakh per household
excluding government employees. The loan would be given by National Cooperative
Development Corporation.
• On July 26, 2018, Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the Rs 300 crore
Rukura Medium Irrigation Dam project in Sundargarhdistrict. The Rukura project, built at a
cost of Rs 296 crore, is constructed over the Rukura nullah in Bonai Sub-Division of
Sundargarh district. Over all, this project will irrigate 5,800 hectare of agricultural field and
Rs.300 crore has been provided for the construction.
• On July 25, 2018, West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi inaugurated the 18th International
Children’s Film Festival.The festival was being organised by Cine Central in collaboration with
the UNICEF. The inaugural film is Moana from the USA. Other films to be screened in the
festival include
 Doctor Funes Formula (Mexico),
 White Bridge(Iran),
 The Monkey King – Uproar in Heaven (China),
 The Magicians (Netherlands),
 The Shamer’s Daughter (Denmark),
 Giraffada (France), We are the Best (Sweden).
• Karnataka has become the leading State for renewable energy in India, surpassing Tamil Nadu,
according to the report “Karnataka’s Electricity Sector Transformation” released by
the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
• On 25th July 2018, the West Bengal government introduced the West Bengal Municipal Service
Commission Bill in the Assembly, for direct recruitment of personnel for various categories of
posts and services in the establishment of urban local bodies.
• On 24th July 2018, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation
stone of Amaravati International Sports Complex worth Rs 60 crore in Vijayawada.
Chandrababu Naidu also launched ‘Project Gandiva’. As per this project, government will
choose students aged between 10-16 years and offer them international level facilities and
coaching with an aim to secure medals in Olympic Games in a period of 10 years.
• From 1st August 2018, the “Gaj Yatra” exhibition will be conducted to raise awareness about
conservation of elephants at the Mandi House metro station in Delhi. Gaj Yatra will be
conducted for 2 months. It is conducted as part of India Habitat Centre’s year-long multi-media
festival on sustainable development named “Habitat Photosphere”.
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• On July 27, 2018, Minister of State for Communications announced that all villages adopted by
the Member of Parliament under ‘Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’ would get free Wi-Fi services.
• On July 27, 2018, Minister of State for Defence , Dr. Subhash Bhamre inaugurated a two-day Air
Defence India – 2018 Seminar & Exhibition in New Delhi. It was organised by Centre for Joint
Warfare Studies (CENJOWS) .
• On July 27, 2018, The Gauhati High Court has declared the Arunachal Pradesh Parliamentary
Secretaries (Appointment, Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2007 as
“unconstitutional” in line with Supreme court’s judgement.
• On July 27, 2018, The Indian Coast Guard and Bangladesh Coast Guard conducted a 2
day bilateral table-top exercise on maritime pollution in Kolkata that was held from July 26-27,
2018 in Kolkata.This exercise was conducted in the backdrop of the MoU signed
between India and South Asian Cooperation for Environment Protection (SACEP).
• On July 27, 2018, The West Bengal Assembly passed the Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2018.
This Amendment Bill has been prepared in accordance with the Lokpal and Lokayuktas
Act, 2013 passed by the Center and the West BengalLokayukta Act, 2003.
• On July 27, 2018, Haryana’s Department of Social Justice and Empowerment announced that
a special campaign to control the menace of drugs will be launched. This campaign would
include : prevention of sale of drugs, treatment of drug addicts, awareness among people about
the adverse effects of drugs on their health.
• On 25th July 2018, Haryana government has constituted an inter-district council, under
the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, to identify the
developmental priorities of Haryana. Director, Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal
Management (SJHIFM) will be the member Secretary.
• On 26th July 2018, Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a committee to listen to the
demands of ‘shiksha mitras’ and suggest a suitable action plan. The committee head is: Deputy
Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma.
• On July 28, 2018, the Lok Sabha passed the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and
Rehabilitation) Bill 2018. An initial corpus of 10 crore rupees will be created for the first time.
• On July 28, 2018, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library announced that a museum for
all former prime ministers of the country will be built in the 25 acre estate of Teen Murti
Bhavan complex in New Delhi. Rs 270 crore has been sanctioned by the government for the
construction of the museum of all 4 PMs.
• On July 28, 2018, The 6th India-UK Science & Innovation Council (SIC) meeting was held in New
Delhi.With an Objective to discuss about the bilateral S&T cooperation between the two
countries. Last SIC meeting was held in London on June 15, 2016.
• On July 28, 2018, Government of India has approved a new scheme to empower rural women
through community participation. It is called ‘Mahila Shakti Kendra’ for 2017-18 upto 2019-
20.The cost sharing ratio of the scheme is 60:40 between centre and states except North
Eastern states.North East and Special Category Stateshave the ratio of 90:10.
• On July 28, 2018, Indian Railways organized a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and
Launched “Mission Satyanishtha” at National Rail Museum, New Delhi. The objective is to bring
transperancy and ethics in the work culture and among all railway employees.
• On July 28, 2018, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a first-of-its-kind
legislation- the Assam Employees PRANAM Act would be implemented in the state
from October 02, the day of Gandhi Jayanti celebration in 2018.
• On 26th July 2018, the Gujarat government launched the ‘Urban Sanitation and Cleanliness
Policy’ for better management of solid and liquid waste in cities. The policy focuses on
streamlining the collection and disposal of all types of waste in cities and towns. This policy is
line with the National Urban Sanitation Policy.
• On July 29, 2018, The Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development
&Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, laid the foundation stone of National Skill
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Training Institute (NSTI) for Women at Mohali, Punjab. The cost of the project is Rs.17
crores.This is the first NSTI Institute for Punjab and is exclusively for women.
• On July 29, 2018, The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) launched a mobile application
named Mumbai Weather Live that will provide information on extreme weather events
in Mumbai. It also launched forecasts for Char Dham and Amarnath pilgrims that can be
accessed by registered users of through website of IMD or MapmyIndia. The Ministry
with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) would also launch ‘push SMS alerts’ for
mobile users across the country.
• On 27th July 2018, the high-level panel on data protection framework headed by Justice B N
Srikrishna submitted its report to the government. The panel has recommended 2 changes to
the Aadhaar Act. They are
 those who can request for authentication
 those who are limited to verifying the identity of individuals offline
• On 14th to 19th July 2018, the 11th state-level pineapple festival cum Sellers & Buyers Meet and
Youth Festival, 2018, was held in Thambalnu Market Complex under Andro constituency in
Thoubal district of Manipur. Najma Heptulla also inaugurated a cold storage unit constructed
under Department of Horticulture & Soil Conservation at Thambalnu Market Complex.
• On 28th July 2018, Odisha government approved a proposal for setting up a riverine port on
river Mahanadi in Kendrapara district, Odisha. The requirement of land for the initial phase has
been estimated as 175 hectare. This riverine port will be connected to National Highways-
53 and Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Line for transportation of cargo.
• On July 29, 2018, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced that the state government
would implement its own food security act from October 2 .It would cover nearly 34.44 lakhs
people left out of National Food Security Act (NFSA).Earlier it had launched the Act with rice
at Re 1 per kg for people living below poverty line in 2013.This was announced in ‘Ama
Mukhyamantri, Ama Katha’ (Our Chief Minister, Our Issues) program.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his 2 day tour of Uttar Pradesh from July 28-
29th 2018. The Prime Minister inaugurated 81 investment projects worth Rs 60,000 crore in
Lucknow. These projects are part of over 1,045 MoUs worth Rs. 4.28 lakh crore inked in
February during the ‘UP Investors Summit’.Click here to read more
• On July 30, 2018, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Radha Mohan Singh
launched the Rs. 215 crore Meghalaya Milk Mission in Shillong through National Cooperative
Development Corporation (NCDC).With an Objective to achieve Centre’s goal of doubling
farmer’s income by 2022 through promotion of milk business
• On July 30, 2018, Government set up a High Level Empowered Committee headed by Cabinet
Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha to address the issues of Stressed Thermal Power Projects. It
would work on : maximizing the efficiency of investment, changes in the fuel allocation policy,
regulatory framework, facilitation of sale of power, timely payments, /Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Asset Restructuring Company (ARC) Regulations.
• On July 30, 2018, Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) has been taken away from
the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and brought under the domain of the Finance
Ministry. On July 30, 2018, Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) has been taken away
from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and brought under the domain of
the Finance Ministry.
• On 30th and 31st July 2018, Unified Commanders’ Conference (UCC) 2018 is held in New Delhi.
It aims to review external security challenges and the preparedness of India. This conference
creates a platform for discussions at the top Level on all joint issues among the three Services
and Ministry of Defence.
• On 26th July 2018, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, inaugurated the 2nd Conference of
Young Superintendent of Police, organized by Bureau of Police Research & Development
(BPR&D), in New Delhi. Theme of the Conference was: “Predictive Policing and Contemporary
Challenges for Indian Police Forces”.
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• On July 31, 2018, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Oil & Gas CPSEs and its offices
celebrated Swachhta Pakhwada from 1st to 15th July, 2018. The theme of MoPNG initiatives in
this Pakhwada were “Innovation” and “Sustainability”.A QR Code campaign was launched
allowing public to register their support for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Visakhapatnam.Click
here to read more.
• On July 31, 2018, The Union Ministry of Earth Science unveiled a blueprint of Deep Ocean
Mission (DOM) to explore deep ocean.With an Objective to promote exploration in the deep
ocean to meet energy requirements of India.The Centre drew a five-year plan and allocated Rs.
8000 crore to explore the ocean and its resources.
• On July 31, 2018, Defence acquisitions council (DAC), chaired by India’s Defence Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman, approved the acquisition of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile
System-II (NASAMS-II) worth around $1 billion.With an Objective to defend National Capital
Region (NCR) from aerial attacks.
• On 24th July 2018, Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment
attended the Global Disability Summit 2018 held in London, United Kingdom. The motto of
Global Disability Summit 2018 was to firm up the commitments of the country leaders towards
the cause of persons with disabilities.
• On 24th July 2018, an Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent consisting of four Su-30 MKI, one C-
130 and one C-17 aircraft, landed at Darwin Air Force Base, Australia, to participate in the Pitch
Black – 2018 exercise. The Indian fighters are supported by a C-130J Super Hercules and a C-17
Globemaster-III.This is the first time, an IAF contingent is taking part in a multinational air
exercise in Australia with Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
• On July 23, 2018 PM Modi set out for his three-nation Africa tour of Rwanda, Uganda and South
Africa, as part of India’s outreach to the resource-rich continent.
 PM Modi attended the India-Rwanda Business forum in Kigali on July 24,2018.He
became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Rwanda.
 India, Rwanda signed eight agreements in various fields, the two countries signed a
defence cooperation agreement
 India extended USD 200 million line of credit to Rwanda, to open a High Commission in
Kigali
 Modi also visited the Genocide Memorial Centre which honours over 250,000 victims of
Rwanda’s mass killings in 1994.
 India, Uganda sign four MoUs in various fields
 P.M.Narendra Modi attended Indian-Uganda Business Forum in Kampala.
 Mr Modi and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni unveiled a bust of India’s first Home
Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
 India extended two lines of credit worth nearly USD 200 mn to Uganda
 10th BRICS Summit was held under the theme is “BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for
Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.Click here to
read more.
• On 22-27th July, 2018, The 3rd BRICS Film Festival was held in Durban, South Africa, along with
the International Durban Film Festival (DIFF). The last day of the festival was celebrated
as India Country Day. The Indian winners of the Film Festival are as follows:
Category Winner
Best Actress Bhanita Das, Village Rockstars.
Best Film Newton by Amit Masurkar.
Special Jury Village Rockstars by Rima Das.
Award
• On July 31, 2018, The US has elevated India’s status in the export control regime and
designated it as a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) country. This will allow India to buy
5|Page
more advanced and sensitive technologies from America. India is the only South Asian country
to be on the list.
• On July 31, 2018, India ranks 96th in the biannual United Nation’s E-Government Index
2018 among 193 countries released by UN.Earlier in 2014, India was ranked at 118 and now
has jumped 22 places in 4 years and 11 places in 2 years. Denmark is the world leader, both on
E-Government index and E-Participation sub-index.Republic of Korea is the regional leader.
BANKING & FINANCE

• On 23rd July 2018, Indian Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that, Indian banks and financial
institutions (FIs) signed an inter-creditor agreement (ICA) to expedite the resolution of banks’
non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, and enable smooth credit flow.It is developed on
recommendations by a committee headed by Punjab National Bank (PNB) Chairman Sunil
Mehta under the control of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
• On July 27, 2018, SoftBank announced partnership with Paytm to launch a payments service in
Japan. The service would be launched by SoftBank’s joint venture
company PayPay (with Yahoo Japan). This was established in June 2018. This will promote
cashless payment in Japan.
• SBI raises retail fixed deposit rates by 5-10 bps with effect from 30th July 2018.
The rates are as follows:
For deposits of below Rs 1 crore:
Tenors Revised For For Senior
Public w.e.f. Citizens
30.07.2018
7 days to 45 days 5.75 6.25
46 days to 179 days 6.25 6.75
180 days to 210 days 6.35 6.85
211 days to less than 1 year 6.4 6.9
1 year to less than 2 year 6.7 7.2
2 years to less than 3 years 6.75 7.25
5 years and up to 10 years 6.85 7.35
Between Rs.1 crore and Rs. 10 crore:
Tenors Revised w.e.f Revised for
30.07.2018 Senior
Citizen w.e.f.
30.07.2018
7 days to 45 days 5.75 6.25
46 days to 179 days 6.25 6.75
180 days to 210 days 6.35 6.85
211 days to less than 1 year 6.4 6.9
1 year to less than 2 years 6.7 7.2
5 years and upto 10 years 6.85 7.35
More than Rs. 10 crore:
Tenors Revised w.e.f. Revised for
30.07.2018 Senior
Citizen w.e.f.
30.07.2018
7 days to 45 days 5.75 6.25
46 days to 179 days 6.25 6.75
6|Page
180 days to 210 days 6.35 6.85

211 days to less than 1 6.4 6.9
year
1 Year to less than 2 year 6.7 7.2
2 years to less than 3 6.75 7.25
years
3 years to less than 5 6.8 7.3
years
5 years and up to 10 years 6.85 7.35
BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• On July 25, 2018, Sebi has given approval to the merger of Bharti Airtel and Indus Towers.
Bharti Airtel has received clearance from the BSE and NSE for the merger and will approach for
approval of National Company Law Tribunal. The merger of Bharti Airtel will Indus Towers
would create the largest mobile tower operator in the world outside China.
• On July 25, 2018, Oxigen and Fincare Small Finance Bank signed an agreement to start
Branchless Banking services, using Oxigen’s flagship Point of Sale device called the Oxigen
Micro ATM Super PoS. Fincare Small Finance Bank would offer bill payment services through
internet and mobile banking, also it would expand other services like POS, network, micro-
ATMs, pre-paid cards, BBPS, UPI and Bharat QR and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS).
• On July 26, 2018, for the first time a 16 member committee has been formed by Insurance
regulator IRDAI.With an Objective to examine motor third party insurance pricing and make
recommendations on the premium rates for 2019-20. IRDAI member P.J. Joseph is the
chairman of the committee.
• On July 26, 2018, Invest India and Business France have signed an MoU.With an Objecive to
promote business and startup ecosystem between the two countries.
• On 27th July 2018, Invest India and the UAE Minister for Artificial Intelligence (AI) signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for India – UAE Artificial Intelligence Bridge in New
Delhi. This partnership will produce an estimated USD 20 billion in economic benefits in the
next ten years for India and UAE.
• On July 29, 2018, Defence Ministry Nirmala Sitharaman handed over two types of indigenously
built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Vice Chief of Army Staff Devaraj Anbu. The engines
were manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi, a unit of Ordnance Factory
Board, Department of Defence Production. The first engine is of 1000 HP named V92S2 engine
and it powers T-90 Bhisma Tank.The second engine is V-46-6 engine and it powers the T-72
Ajeya Tank and its variants.
• On July 31, 2018, According to Nomura , GDP growth to peak to 7.8% in April-June quarter and
then moderate to 7.2 per cent in the second half of 2018. The GDP growth was at 7.7 per cent
in January-March quarter 2018. Reserve Bank of India had increase its retail inflation
projection by 0.30 per cent.
• On July 31, 2018, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman approved the implementation guidelines for the Strategic Partnership Model. DAC
gave approval for the acquisition of eight Fast Patrol Vessels for the Indian Coast Guard at a
cost of about Rs.800 crore.
• On July 31, 2018, BEML, HEC sign pact for making mining equipment. The MoU will result into
additional Rs 150-200 crore revenue for both PSUs.The mining products could be co-branded
and will come under ‘Make in India’ initiative.Coal India is a major client for these mining
equipment.
• On July 31, 2018, RIL surpassed TCS to become the most valued firm by market capitalisation
(m-cap).The current m-cap of RIL is Rs 7,47,676.35 crore and that of TCS is: Rs 7,39,297.87
crore which is Rs 8,378.48 crore less than RIL.
7|Page


• On July 24, 2018, Canadian author Michael Ondaatje has again made the Man Booker Prize list
with his latest novel “Warlight”. “Warlight” tells the story of two orphans in London in the
immediate aftermath of World War II. This year’s Man Booker Prize includes six U.K. writers,
three from the United States, and two each from Canada and Ireland.
• On July 26, 2018, Fortune released its The Ledger ’40 Under 40′list and 4 persons of India-
origin, including three women have been named on it. The Indian origin persons were:
4 India-Origin Person in Fortune List Top 5 Persons
Rank Person Position in Rank Person
company
4 Dhivya CFO of General 1 Kevin Systrom and
Suryadevara Motors Mark Zuckerberg
14 Anjali Sud CEO of Vimeo 2 Logan Green, John
Zimmer
24 Baiju Bhatt Cofounder and 3 Wang Xing
Co-CEO of
Robinhood
32 Anu Duggal Founding 5 Brian Chesky
partner of
Female Founders
Fund
• On 26 July 2018, two Indians Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk were named winners of
th
2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award. Other winners of the award are:

 Youk Chhang from Cambodia
 Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor
 Howard Dee from the Philippines
 Vo Thi Hoang Yen from Vietnam
• On 25th July 2018, Virat Kohli was awarded the International Cricket of the Year for 2017 and
2018 by England’s Barmy Army after the first day of India’s tour match against Essex, in
Chelmsford, England. Also, he became the fastest to score 3000 one-day international runs as
captain.
• On July 26, 2018, Eminent Poet Ramakanta Rath was conferred with Odisha’s highest literary
award Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman for 2018. It was given to him by Culture and Tourism
Minister Ashok Chandra Panda at an event organized by Odisha Sahitya Akademi.He was given
the award for his life time contribution to Odia literature.
• On July 27, 2018, The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has been selected for
the Champion of Earth Prize-2018. It is the highest environmental honour instituted by
the United Nations.CIAL will be given the award in on the sidelines of the UN General
Assembly ceremony in New York on September 26.
• Mohammed Ayazuddin Patel has received the Senior Fellowship Award for 2016-17 instituted
by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training Centre. This fellowship includes a cash
of Rs 4.8 lakh. He received the National Lalitkala Academy award in 2014. At present, he is a
member of the Karnataka Lalithakala Academy.
8|Page
• On 27th July 2018, the Ministry of Earth Sciences celebrated its foundation day at Vigyan
Bhavan in New Delhi. Following is the list of award winners honoured at the event:
Award Winners
Life Time Excellence award Professor K. S. Valdiya from JNCASR,
Bengaluru (for contribution in
isotope geoscience)
National Awards for Ocean Dr. Satheesh Shenoi, Director,
Science & technology INOCIS, Hyderabad & Dr. R.
Venkatesan, NIOT, Chennai
National Award for Dr. B. V. Krishna Murthy, Retd.
Atmospheric Science & Director, SPL, ISRO
technology
National award for Geoscience Prof. Sekhar Muddu, IISc, Bengaluru
& technology and Prof Sunil Bajpai, Director, BSIP,
Lucknow
National award for women Dr. Kusala Rajendran, IISc,
scientist Bengaluru
Young Researcher Awards Dr. Mala S. Bagiya, IIG, Mumbai
andDr. Praveen Kumar, INOCIS,
Hyderabad (for work in Earth
Science & Technology)
• On 28 July 2018, Assamese film “Xhoihobote Dhemalite” (“Rainbow Fields”) won 3 top
th
awards at the 3rd Love International Film Festival in United States. Xhoihobote Dhemalite won
awards for: the best film, best actress (Dipannita Sharma) and best music (Anurag Saikia). The
film was directed by Bidyut Kotoky.
• On 29th July 2018, Mohun Bagan ‘Ratna’, the highest honour of Mohun Bagan club was awarded
to Pradip Chowdhury at its foundation day programme. He is the 18th recipient of Mohun
Bagan ‘Ratna’ award. This award was first given to Sailen Manna in 2001.In 2017, former India
defender Subrata Bhattacharya won this award.Other awardees are:
 Goalkeeper Shilton Paul– Best Footballer for the year 2017-18
 Sudip Chatterjee– Best Cricketer
 Sourav Das– Best Youth Footballer Player
 Special award to – Rahim Alifor his performance in the U-17 World Cup
• On 27th July 2018, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was awarded the INFRA Icon
Award in the ‘Global Energy’ category at the mid-day INFRA Icons Awards 2018, in
Mumbai.The theme of the event was: ‘Smart cities envisages to take infrastructure
development to a next level’.
• Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen for the 24th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award
for his contribution in promoting communal harmony, peace and goodwill.He is a former
governor of West Bengal.The award contains a citation and a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.
• HDFC has received the best performing primary lending institution in Credit Linked Subsidy
Scheme (CLSS) for the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) and LIG (Low Income Group)
category.The award was presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was received by Renu
Sud Karnad, Managing Director, HDFC.
• Haryana’s Shivangi Pathak has successfully scaled Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest peak of
Africa.She is 17 years old.she became the youngest Indian woman to reach the peak of Mount
Everest. She was given title ‘The Eagle of Mountain’.
9|Page

• On 23rd July 2018, Justice Tahira Safdar was made the Chief Justice of the Balochistan high
court, Pakistan, by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar. This makes her the first woman chief justice
of any court in Pakistan.
• On July 27, 2018, The former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan has claimed victory in Pakistan’s
Election of 2018. The 65-year-old cricketer-turned-politician is representing Tehreek-e-Insaf
party (PTI). He will replace former Pm Nawaz Sharif.
• On 25th July 2018, India’s under-20 football coach Floyd Pinto was named the head
coach of Indian Arrows side for the upcoming I-League season, after the All India Football
Federation’s (AIFF) Technical Committee meeting.
• Paytm Payments Bank CEO Renu Satti has resigned from her position. Now, she will lead
as COO (Chief Operating Officer)of the ‘New Retail’ initiative. A new CEO is yet to be appointed
for the Paytm Payments Bank. Renu Satti was made the CEO of Paytm Payments Bank in 2017.
• Vice Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla has been appointed as the next Flag Officer Commanding-in-
Chief of the Southern Naval Command. At present, Anil Kumar Chawla is the Chief of Personnel
at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), at Delhi. He will succeed Vice
Admiral AR Karve, who will superannuate on 31st July 2018.
• On 30th July 2018, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) announced
that, Surendra Rosha has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer for HSBC India. He will
replace Jayant Rikhye as CEO of HSBC India. Jayant Rikhye is taking leave due to medical
reasons.

• On 26th July 2018, the government gave the final approval for the merger of Vodafone and Idea
Cellular that will result in the creation of India’s largest mobile operator with 35% market
share and nearly 430 million subscribers.

• SpaceX conducted their 13th launch of the year with a Falcon 9 rocket launching the Telstar
19V communications satellite for Canada’s Telesat.It has set a record as the heaviest payload
that a Falcon 9 has ever carried to a GTO.The satellite weights over 7000 kg.
• On July 31, 2018, The IT ministry launched a desktop software e-Aksharayan in a
conference for Indian Languages Technology Industry ‘Bhashantara’, in New Delhi.With an
Objecive to enable editing and printing of text in scanned documents.
• On 31st July 2018, China successfully launched Gaofen-11 satellite, an optical remote sensing
satellite, as part of its high-resolution Earth observation project. The Gaofen-11 satellite was
launched on a Long March 4B rocket from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern
Shanxi Province, China. It will also provide data for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
• A rare blood group named “pp” or “P null” phenotype has been identified by doctors from
Kasturba Medical College (KMC) in Mangaluru, Karnataka.ABO and Rh D are the most common
blood group systems. But over 200 minor blood group antigens apart from A, B and Rh exist.
ENVIRONMENT
• On 24th July 2018, scientists said that, they have discovered the largest dinosaur foot ever,
which has a width of around 1 metre. It belongs to a Brachiosaur. Brachiosaur is among the
biggest land animals on Earth. A study regarding this has been published in the journal PeerJ.
• On July 26, 2018, According to a report on US journal Science, a massive underground lake has
been detected for the first time on Mars. The lake is about 20 kilometres wide, located under a
layer of Martian ice and is the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet.
• On July 27 -28, 2018, a rare celestial event of the longest lunar eclipse to date called the ‘Blood
Moon’ was seen. It lasts for 1 hour and 42 minutes and 57 seconds.The next such phenomenon
10 | P a g e
can be witnessed on June 9, 2123 according to a National Geographic report.Earlier it occurred

on 16 July 2000, lasting nearly four minutes longer, at 1 hour and 46.4 minutes.
SPORTS
• On 14thto 22nd
July 2018, Badminton Asia Junior Championship 2018 was held in Jakarta,
Indonesia. Indian badminton player Lakshaya Sen defeated Indonesia’s Kunlavut Vitidsaran
21-19, 21-18 in the finals and won gold medal in the Badminton Asia Junior Championship.
• On 22nd July 2018, India’s Mannu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy won the men’s doubles title
at Lagos International Badminton in Lagos, Nigeria. Indian’s Sree Krishina Priya defeated by
Russia’s Ksenia Polikaprova in the finals of the women’s singles event and won silver medal.
• The ICC Test rankings are as follows:
Bowlers:
Rank Player Country
1 James Anderson England
2 Kagiso Rabada South Africa
3 Ravindra Jadeja India
4 Vernon Philander South Africa
5 Ravichandran India
Ashwin
Batting:
Rank Player Country
1 Steve Smith Australia
2 Virat Kohli India
3 Joe Root England
4 Kane Williamson New Zealand
5 David Warner Australia
All Rounders:
Rank Player Country
1 Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh
2 Ravindra Jadeja India
3 Vernon Philander South Africa
4 Ravichandran Ashwin India
5 Jason Holder West Indies
• Asian Cup for Cadets & Junior Judo Championships – 2018 held in Macau from 20th to 22nd July
2018 Indian Cadet and Junior Judo Teams have won 15 medals (4 Gold, 2 Silver and 9 Bronze
medals)
S.No. Name of player Weight Medal Age
category
1 Ms. Rohini Sambhaji -40Kg Gold Cadet
Mohite medal
2 Mr. Mayank -60Kg Silver Cadet
Kandian medal
3 Ms. Rebina Devi -57Kg Bronze Cadet
Chanam medal
4 Ms. Roshni Devi -70Kg Bronze Cadet
Laishram medal
5 Mr. Manpreet -73Kg Bronze Cadet
medal
6 Mr. Harsh Tokas -81kg Bronze Cadet
medal
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7 Ms. Pinckey Balhara -52Kg Gold Junior

medal
8 Ms. Tulika Maan +78kg Gold Junior
medal
9 Mr. Shiva Kumar -55Kg Gold Junior
medal
10 Mr. Rohit -100kg Silver Junior
medal
11 Ms. Megha Tokas -57Kg Bronze Junior
medal
12 Mr. Mohsin Gulab -60Kg Bronze Junior
Ali medal
13 Mr. Nitin Chauhan -66Kg Bronze Junior
medal
14 Mr. Jobandeep -90Kg Bronze Junior
Singh medal
15 Mr. Sachin Mallikc +100Kg Bronze Junior
medal
• The 15th National Youth Athletics Championships were held at Manjalpur Sports
Complex in Vadodara from July 21- 23 , 2018. Dhanvir and 100 meter hurdles gold
medalist Aparna Roy were declared as ‘best athletes’ of the meet. Haryana won the team
championships title with 165 points. Kerala came second with 150.Click here to read more.
• The Junior Asian Wrestling Championship was held in New Delhi from July 17-22, 2018.The
Championship is conducted by United World Wrestling (UWW) annually. 18 countries
participated in this championship.It conducts the championship in 3 events namely Free
style,Greco Roman,Women’s Wrestling.In Free style,Iran topped the team championships
with 189 points India ranked second with 173 points and Uzbekistan ranked third with 128
points.India won 8 medals comprising of : 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze.Click here to read
more.
• On 27th July 2018, the Indian Women’s Compound Archery team has secured number one
position in the world rankings as per World Archery Association (WAA). Current world
rankings in Women’s Compound Archery:
Position Country
1 India
2 Chinese Taipei
3 Colombia
4 United States of
America
5 Republic of Korea
• On July 29, 2018, Kathleen Baker set a world record of 58.00sec to win the 100m backstroke at
the US swimming championships.Earlier world record of 58.10 set by Canadian Kylie Masse at
the World Championships in Budapest on July 25 of last year.The top three finishers all broke
59 seconds, with Olivia Smoliga second in 58.75 and Smith third in 58.83.
• The 2018 Russian Open, was a badminton tournament which took place at Sport Hall
Olympic in Vladivostok, Russia from 24 to 29 July 2018.
Event Winner Runners Up
Men’s Singles Sourabh Verma (India) Koki Watanabe (
Japan)
Women’s Singles Ho Yen Mei (Malaysia) Shiroi Ebihara
(Japan)
Men’s Doubles Mohamad Arif Abdul Konstantin Abramov
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Latif & Nur Mohd & Alexandr

Azriyn Ayub Zinchenko (Russia)
(Malaysia)
Women’s Chisato Hoshi & Kie Choe Mei Kuan & Lee
Doubles Nakanishi (Japan) Meng Yean
(Malaysia)
Mixed Doubles Vladmir Ivanov Rohan Kapoor &
(Russia) & Kim Min Kuhoo Garg (India)
Kyung (South Korea)
• On July 27-29, 2018, The Yasar Dogu International Wrestling was held in Istanbul, Turkey.It
was conducted in two events namely Free Style and Women Wrestling.India won a total
of 10 medals: 2 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze medal.In Freestyle India won 3 medals: 1 gold, 1
silver, 1 bronze.In Women’s Wrestling India won 7 medals: 1 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze.
• Winners List:
Gold:
Bajrang 70 kg Freestyle
Pinki 55 kg Women’s
Wrestling
Silver:
Sandeep 61 kg Freestyle
Tomar
Pooja 57 kg Women’s
Dhanda Wrestling
Rajni 72 kg Women’s
Wrestling
Seema 53 kg Women’s
Wrestling
Bronze:
Vicky 57 kg Freestyle
Sangeeta 59 kg Women’s
Balali Wrestling
Sarita 62 kg Women’s
Wrestling
Geeta 65 kg Women’s
Wrestling
• On 28 July 2018, the International Army Games 2018 was inaugurated by Russian Defence
th
Minister Sergei Shoigu, at Patriot Park in Moscow, Russia. This is the first time Armenia and
Iran are co-hosting events of the Army Games. Indian teams are participating in 2 major
competitions: Tank Biathlon event at Alabino ranges, Moscow region and Elbrus Ring
competition in Caucasus mountains.
• On 26th July 2018, Prabhat Koli became the first Asian to swim the choppy water from
Jersey (an Island in the UK) to Francein cold weather. He covered 25km in 6 hours and 54
minutes. Prabhat Koli had crossed the English Channel when he was 16 years old.
• On 29th July 2018, Dustin Johnson won the 2018 RBC Canadian Open at the Glen Abbey Golf
Club in Oakville in Canada.He shot a 6-under par 66 and won his first RBC Canadian Open at
23-under par. He is currently in world number one position. Byeong Hun An and Whee
Kim secured second place.He has become the first player after Tiger Woods (2005-09) with at
least three wins in three consecutive seasons.
• On 29th July 2018, Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, won a gold medal in the Savo Games
in Lapinlahti, Finland. Neeraj Chopra made a throw of 85.69 metres and won the gold
medal. Chao-Tsun Cheng of Chinese Taipei made a throw of 82.52m and won a silver medal.
13 | P a g e
BOOKS & AUTHORS

• A book titled “Gandhi: The years that changed the world (1914-1948)” has been
written Ramachandra Guha. This book will be released in September 2018. He has written
several bestselling books like “India After Gandhi” and “Gandhi Before India”.
• The book “When Coal Turned Gold: The Making of a Maharatna Company” has been written by
Coal India Ltd’s (CIL)’s former chairman Partha Sarathi Bhattacharyya.This book talks about
the transformation of Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) from a loss-making enterprise into a profitable
Maharatna PSU.
OBITUARY
• On 23rd July 2018, Bengali actress Basabi Nandi passed away. She was also a playback singer.In
1974, she received the Best Supporting Actress Award from Bengal Film Journalists
Association.
• On 26th July 2018, sports journalist Swapan Sarkar passed away. He was the Delhi sports
correspondent of Ananda Bazaar Patrika (ABP).Earlier, he had worked for Amrita Bazar
Patrika, Northern India Patrika and Gujarat Samachar.
• On 27th July 2018, former Kerala Minister for Local Self Government Cherkallam Abdullah, died
after a long term illness at his residence. He is a four-time MLA from Manjeswaram in
Kasaragod district.He was the Minister for Local Self Government from 2001 to 2004. He was
also a senior IUML (Indian Union Muslim League) leader.
• On 22nd July 2018, Chiyo Miyako, the world’s oldest person, passed away in Tokyo, Japan.She
was 117 years old Japanese woman.She became the world’s oldest person in April 2018 after
Nabi Tajima of Japan died at the age of 117 years.
• On 29th July 2018, Bengali writer Ramapada Chowdhury, died due to cardiac arrest. His story
‘Abhimanyu’ was made into an award winning Hindi movie named ‘Ek doctor ki maut’ in 1990.
He was awarded the Sahitya Academy award in 1988. He had also received the Rabindra
Puraskar, Ananda Puraskarand Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize.
• On 30th July 2018, filmmaker and former director of Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII), John Sankaramangalam, died due to age related ailments in Thiruvalla, Kerala. He had
received two National and four Kerala State Film Awards.
IMPORTANT DAYS
• On 26th July 2018, the 19th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas was celebrated throughout India
to commemorate India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1999 Kargil War. On 26th July 1999, India
won the Kargil War that was fought for more than 60 days. Kargil Vijay Diwas is celebrated
every year for three days till 26th July.
• On 28th July 2018, World Hepatitis Day 2018 was observed all over the world. This day was
chosen as it is the birthday of scientist Dr Baruch Blumberg, who discovered hepatitis B virus
(HBV). WHO (World Health Organisation) has declared theme for World Hepatitis Day 2018
as: “Test. Treat. Hepatitis”.
• July 29 is celebrated as International tiger day or Global Tiger day.With an Objective to raise
awareness for tiger conservation. It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger
Summit where leaders of 13 tiger range countries resolved to double its number in the wild
by 2022. The slogan was ‘T X 2’.
• On 30th July 2018, World Day against Trafficking in Persons was observed all over the
world. Theme: ‘Responding to the trafficking of children and young people’ has been declared
as theme for World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2018 by United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC).
• On 30th July 2018, International Day of Friendship was celebrated all over the world. This day
also recognizes the importance of friendship as a noble and valuable sentiment in the lives of
14 | P a g e
human beings.This day is based on the idea that friendship between people, countries, cultures
and individuals can bring peace and bridge communities.
• On 31st July 2018, World Ranger Day was celebrated all over the world. This day is celebrated
to honour Rangers killed or injured during duty. It also honours the work of Rangers in
safeguarding earth’s natural treasures and cultural heritage.It was initiated by International
Ranger Federation (IRF). It is jointly promoted by The Thin Green Foundation, the charity arm
of IRF.

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