NATIONAL NEWS
Eight Indian States Highly Vulnerable to Climate Change: ReportEight Indian states — Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal — are highly vulnerable to climate change, according to a national climate vulnerability assessment report.
- These states, mostly in the eastern part of the country, require prioritisation of adaptation interventions, the report pointed out.
- Among all states, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand have over 60 per cent districts in the category of highly vulnerable districts. Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim and Punjab have been categorised as lower-middle vulnerable states. Uttarakhand, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Nagaland, Goa and Maharashtra have been categorised as states with low vulnerability.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Indian, Kyrgyz special forces begin two-week exercise 'Khanjar'Special forces of India and Kyrgyzstan began a two-week military exercise in Bishkek with a focus on counter-terror drills.
- The eighth edition of special forces exercise, ''Khanjar'', was inaugurated at a facility of special forces brigade of the national guards of the Kyrgyz republic.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBL Bank, Mastercard partner to offer first-of-its-kind, payment functionality in IndiaRBL Bank and Mastercard have partnered to launch a mobile-based consumer-friendly payment solution – the Pay by Bank App, a first-of-its-kind payment functionality in India.
- As a part of this alliance, RBL Bank account holders will now be able to enjoy contactless transactions across the world through their mobile banking application both in-store and online.
- This feature will be available at all Mastercard accepting merchants, worldwide that practice contactless and online payments.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Brokerages downgrade India's GDP growth projections for FY'22With the resurgence of COVID-19 cases posing risks to economic recovery, leading brokerages have downgraded India's GDP growth projections for the current fiscal year to as low as 10 per cent on local lockdowns threatening fragile recovery.
- While Nomura has downgraded projections of economic growth for the fiscal year ending March 2022 to 12.6 per cent from 13.5 per cent earlier, JP Morgan now projects GDP growth at 11 per cent from 13 per cent earlier. UBS sees 10 per cent GDP growth, down from 11.5 per cent earlier and Citi has downgraded growth to 12 per cent.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing said it has partnered with the Indian Aviation Academy (IAA) and the University of Southern California (USC) for safety management system training to all stakeholders in the domestic aviation industry.
- Commercial aircraft operators, airports and air traffic services are required to have a Safety Management System (SMS), as per the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirement.
- It is considered a best practice to provide a framework for hazard identification, risk mitigation and promotion of a positive safety culture.
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
Microsoft buys AI speech firm Nuance for $19.7 billionMicrosoft said it has agreed to buy Nuance Communications, a cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) software firm, in an all-cash transaction valued at $19.7 billion, including debt.
- The acquisition will combine solutions and expertise to deliver new cloud and AI capabilities across healthcare and other industries, and represent the latest step in Microsoft’s industry-specific cloud strategy.
SPORTS
Swimmer Srihari Nataraj Creates National Record, Wins Second Gold in UzbekistanAce Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj created a national record in 50m backstroke while winning his second gold of the Uzbekistan Open Championship. The 20-year-old clocked 25.11 seconds to bag the top prize in the FINA-accredited Olympic qualifying event.
- Indian swimmers enjoyed a rich haul of 29 medals — 18 gold, seven silver and four bronze — in the meet.
- It was Srihari’s third national record in two days as the Bengaluru swimmer had rewritten the national marks twice in 100m backstroke.
Former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak was banned for eight years from all cricket after he accepted five charges of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code, including disclosing inside information and facilitating corrupt approaches.
- One of Zimbabwe's finest fast bowlers, Streak has been under investigation for a host of games between 2017 and 2018 when he served as a coach.
- He was also charged of leaking inside information during his coaching roles, including the IPL.
Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium will host the T20 World Cup final in November this year.
- The BCCI has zeroed in on eight venues in all for the October-November T20 Cup, which include Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Dharamshala.
India won three gold medals at the ongoing Asian Wrestling Championships in Almaty.
- Vinesh Phogat won her first gold in the Asian championships beating Meng Hsuan Hsieh of Taiwan in the 53-kg category final.
- Anshu Malik in 57-kg and Divya Kakran in 72-kg category won their respective finals as India ended the competition with four gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
AWARDS
Filmmaker Roberto Benigni to receive Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement awardOscar-winning Italian director-actor Roberto Benigni of 'Life is Beautiful' fame has been honoured with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 78th Venice International Film Festival, organisers announced.
- The director is best known for his Holocaust drama “Life is Beautiful”. The 1997 film fetched him the best actor and best international film Oscars.
OBITUARIES
Hindi author Narendra Kohli passes awayVeteran Hindi writer Narendra Kohli passed away of Covid complications in Delhi. He was 81.
- His emphasis was always on the revival of culture through his writings. He wrote more than 100 books including novels, essays, satire and memoir.
lawyer and legal scholar K J Shethna has passed away.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief on the passing away of KJ Shethna.
- In a tweet, Mr Modi said, in addition to his contribution to the legal field, he was also at the forefront of many community service initiatives.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Suresh Raina's memoir 'Believe' to release in 2021The much-awaited autobiography of Suresh Raina, titled ‘Believe – What Life and Cricket Taught Me’, is set to hit the bookstands in May 2021.It will be published by the prestigious publishing house, Penguin India.
- The memoir has been co-authored by Raina and sports author Bharat Sundaresan.
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