2021 July 16
NATIONAL HEADLINES
1. PM Modi will inaugurate & dedicate to the nation several key projects of the Railways in Gujarat today (16 Jul) via video conferencing. He will also inaugurate the Aquatics and Robotics Gallery, and Nature Park in Gujarat Science City during the event.
2. The Railway projects include the newly redeveloped Gandhinagar Capital Railway station, gauge converted cum electrified Mahesana – Varetha line, and the newly electrified Surendranagar – Pipavav section.
3. Civil Aviation Ministry releases d-Drone Rules, 2021 for public consultation. The Drone Rules, 2021 will replace the UAS Rules 2021 (released on 12 Mar 2021). The last date for receipt of public comments is 05 Aug 2021. Import of drones and drone components will be regulated by Directorate General of Foreign Trade. All drone training and testing to be carried out by an authorised drone school.
4. PM Modi inaugurates and layed foundation stones of various development projects in Varanasi worth around 839 crore rupees.. He addressed the gathering at BHU in his Parliamentary Constituency Varanasi.
5. Union Education Minister Dhramendra Pradhan on 15 Jul (Thursday) announced that JEE Main dates for Phase IV 2021 have been postponed. Now it will be held on 26th-27th & 31 Aug 2021. It will also be continued on 1st & 2nd September 2021.
6. India is likely to be hit by the 3rd wave of coronavirus at the end of August 2021.
7. Maharashtra SSC Result 2021 to be announced on July 16 at mahresult.nic.in, sscresult.mkcl.org & maharashtraeducation.com
8. Punjab Congress leader Harish Rawat’s announcement of Cricketer turned Politician Navjot Singh Sidhu’s elevation to the post of state chief set off a flurry of political activity in Punjab. However, Rawat soon backtracked on his statement saying it will be discussed & no final decision has been taken.
9. The Andhra Pradesh govt has issued fresh orders for the implementation of 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in education & employment, in accordance with the Constitution 103 Amendment Act.
10. Jindal Steel to set up steel plant investment of Rs 7,500 crore in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.
11. Karnataka to create one crore jobs in next 5 years, says CM B S Yediyurappa, while addressing ‘World Youth Skill Day’ function organised by the Department of Skill Development.
12. Himachal Pradesh: An earthquake of magnitude 3.6 hit Shimla at 7:47 pm on 15 Jul (Thursday).
13. 119th Birthday of former CM of Tamil Nadu, K. Kamaraj, who is revered as the father of renaissance of Education in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry was celebrated in Puducherry on 15 Jul (Thursday).
14. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh on 15 Jul (Thursday) launched an Artificial Intelligence-powered grievance management application in New Delhi. The system was developed by Ministry of Defence with the cooperation of IIT-Kanpur. The system can identify repeat complaints or spam automatically.
15. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat is on 15 Jul (Thursday) visiting the Line of Control (LoC) to review the forces’ operational preparedness. Additionally, CDS Bipin Rawat will also review the Anti-Infiltration grid during his two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
16. According to report of Defence Ministry: A total of 147 additional women short service commission (SSC) officers of the Indian Army have been granted permanent commission as per the revised parameters set by the Supreme Court in March 2021.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. *External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar on 15 Jul (Thursday) called on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the sidelines of the Tashkent Connectivity Conference in Uzbekistan*. They discussed the current situation in & around Afghanistan. Dr Jaishankar reiterated India’s support for peace, stability and development of Afghanistan.
2. *India-Russia support intra-Afghan talks* : Russian envoy to India Nikolay Kudashev says that both India and Russia are supportive of the intra-Afghan talks.
3. *India will make the best of its two-year term in the UN Security Council* and underscore that it establishes the right to be a permanent member of the 15-nation body, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla has said, as the country prepares to assume Presidency of the Council with focus on maritime security.
4. Amid the ongoing military standoff with India, *the Chinese Army is building permanent concrete structures near the Line of Actual Control few kilometres from Naku La in Sikkim,* Eastern Ladakh, which will allow its troops access the disputed areas with India.
5. Calling Taliban the current reality in Afghanistan, Russia said it’s for India to decide to what extent it wants to be involved in the country. Responding to queries on the current security situation in Afghanistan.
6. *Canada suspended all direct flights from India until July 21*. However, passengers from India who wish to visit the country now have the option of taking a connecting flight as long as they obtain a negative Covid-19 certificate.
7. *Indian airlines await official orders before restarting flights to Dubai:* Airlines have received no official word from UAE civil aviation regulator General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) despite certain airlines allowing passengers to book air tickets to Dubai starting July 15. So booking tickets to Dubai is awaiting. India to Dubai international flight was suspended due to the second wave of Coronavirus spreading across the country.
8. Indian Navy received 10th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from US-based aerospace company, Boeing. Contract for eight P81 aircraft was signed by defence ministry in 2009. In 2016, ministry signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft. P-81 is a patrol aircraft and an integral part of Indian Navy’s fleet.
WORLD EVENTS
1. *The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and seemingly unstoppable march of the Taliban opens a strategic door to China that is laden with both risk & opportunity.* China abhors a power vacuum, especially on its borders, and maintaining stability after decades of war in its western neighbour.
2. *The United States rejects China`s “unlawful” maritime claims in the South China Sea* and stands with Southeast Asian countries facing Chinese “coercion”.
3. 17 people confirmed dead in collapse of hotel in Eastern China, unauthorized construction to blame. The hotel is said to have undergone frequent renovations in recent years. “The building used to have only three floors, but over the years they have been adding extra floors.
4. US Senate passed a legislation to ban the import of products from China’s Xinjiang region. The bill must also be passed by the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.
5. The Taliban have offered a three-month ceasefire in exchange for the release of 7,000 insurgent prisoners with Afghanistan govt. It was not immediately clear how the govt would react to the ceasefire offer, which comes as the United States accelerates the pace of a troop withdrawal due to be finished by 31 August.
SPORTS
1. Women’s Cricket: England beat India by 8 wickets in 3rd T20 to clinch series 2-1 on 14 July:
England – 154/2 18.4/20
India. – 153/6 20/20
2. England vs India: Wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant & training assistant Dayanand Garani tested positive for COVID-19 and three more members of touring party were isolated after they were deemed close contacts of Garani.
3. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has granted Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza & her husband Pakistan cricket star Shoaib Malik the much-coveted 10-year UAE Golden Visa both got married in 2010 and have been residents of Dubai for the past 7 years. The Golden Visa was instituted by the UAE govt in 2019 as a new system for long-term residence visas. It enabled foreigners to live, work and study in the country without the need of a national sponsor and with 100 % ownership of their business on the UAE mainland. These visas are for a period of five or 10 years and are renewed automatically.
(Source: Various Newspapers)