Shri M.

Venkaiah Naidu becomes first Chairman of Rajya Sabha to sign an MOU with Rwanda

On July 10, 2018, Shri Venkaiah Naidu

became the first Chairman of Rajya Sabha to
sign MOU with the visiting President of the
Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, Mr.
Bernard Makuza on his visit during 09 to 11,
July 2018.

This is the first time that Rajya Sabha entered

into an MOU in its 76 years of existence.
The MOUs signed were:
i. The three Senator delegation from Rwanda led by Shri Makuza is the first such a delegation
exclusively from the Upper House of any country to visit India.
ii. Dignitaries include Senators Ms. Gertrude Kazarwa, Deputy Chairperson of the Senate Committee
on Political Affairs and Good Governance and Ms. Therese Kagoyire Vishagara, Member of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Security.
iii. 6 articles of cooperation seeking to promote Inter-Parliamentary dialogue, Capacity building of
parliamentary staff, Organisation of conferences, forums, seminars, staff attachment programmes,
workshops and exchanges, Collaboration in mutual interest in regional and international multilateral
parliamentary bodies.

‘One farmer one transformer’: scheme launched to reduce electricity losses from Aug
15

On July 10, 2018, Energy Minister of government of

Maharashtra Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced
that the state government will launch a scheme for the
farmers from August,2018.
i. The scheme is called “one farmer one transformer”.
ii. It will be launched on 15th August,2018.
iii. The objective of the scheme is to reduce electricity
losses.
iv. Two lakh farmers will be given electricity connection
for high voltage distribution line which will ensure
uninterrupted power supply.

Maharashtra govt schools to get electricity at lower rates

On July 10, 2018, Education Minister of

Maharashtra Government Vinod Tawde
announced the launch of a scheme for
electrification of schools in the state.
i. Under the scheme, state-run schools will be
provided electricity at government rates and the
bill amount will be directly deposited in their
accounts.

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ii. The budgetary provision for school education includes funds for digital schools, educational material
and computerisation, among others.
iii. Additionally, the education department will join hands with the Zilla parishad to conduct a
structural audit of all schools in the state.

Gujarat’s government gives religious minority status to its Jewish community

On July 10, 2018, The Gujarat government has

given religious minority status to its Jewish
Community.
i. It was issued by the state’s Department of
Social Justice and Empowerment.
ii. hey will be given benefits of social welfares
within the state.
iii. The jewish community is very small in the
state with no more than 170 members and the
majority is located in Ahmedabad.
iv. This is done on the backdrop of Gujarat CM
Vijay Rupani’s commitment to grant religious
minority status to the community during his
trip to Israel.
v. Gujarat had also hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his six-day India visit
in January this year.

Varanasi would be the host of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019

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.
i. The theme of the three-day event will be the
‘Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New
India’.
ii. Events scheduled to happen on that day :
Ganga aarti in Varanasi, Kumbh Mela in
Allahabad and Republic Day celebrations in
New Delhi.
iii. Varanasi is Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s parliamentary constituency.

Bengaluru, Delhi top in startup funding : report by CB Insights

On July 10, 2018, according to a report by US

venture capital and startup data base CB
Insights, New Delhi and Bengaluru had among
the highest number of startup investment
rounds greater than $100 million since 2014.
i. Bengaluru had (21) and New Delhi (18)
ii. Each of the Indian cities had about the same
number as London(19), and significantly higher
numbers than Boston (13) and Tel Aviv (2),
cities that are often regarded as strong startup
hubs.

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iii. Some of the big-ticket deals in India included those to Flipkart, Ola and Paytm, and to those like
online grocer Bigbasket ($300 million in series-E funding led by Alibaba) and Swiggy’s $100-million
fund-raise led by South African internet and media giant Naspers.
iv. The big acceleration for Indian companies came from Japanese internet giant SoftBank that has
invested more than $7 billion in the Indian ecosystem, including in Flipkart and Ola.

China, India clinch deal to reduce tariffs on Indian medicines, anti-cancer drugs

On 9th July 2018, the Foreign Ministry

announced that, India and China have reached
an agreement regarding reduction of tariffs on
the import of Indian medicines, cancer drugs, to
China.
i. Earlier, Beijing had announced a reduction on
import duties on more than 8,500 Indian items.
ii. It has said that, it will relax taxes on more
goods from India and other countries as its trade
war with the US is in crucial stage.
iii. China has granted more access to Indian
pharmaceutical companies, as per discussions
between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wuhan
summit in April 2018.
iv. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying was responding to a query about India’s
decision to cut levies on 3,142 items from the member countries of Asia Pacific Trade Agreement.
China is also a signatory of this.
v. She said that China will also impose a negotiated agreed tariff rate on relevant items as per its
regulations.

ADB, Power Ministry and Finance Ministry approve lining project of the Son canal
in Shahabad – Bhojpur region of Bihar

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 and ADB approved it.
i. ADB and Finance Ministry officials will fix
a timeframe for the completion of the project.
ii. Finance Ministry will give permission to
appoint consultants by 17th July, 2018 and
ADB consultants will start their work by the
end of July.
iii. The process of design study, consultation
with stakeholders, feasibility report,
preparation of tenders etc. and the tender for the first phase of the lining of the main canal and
branches will be issued by the first week of October.
iv. 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.
v. This project will bring immense benefits to the agriculture sector of Shahabad – Bhojpur region of
Bihar.

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Microsoft & Rajasthan govt sign MOU for digital training to 9,500 students

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.
Objective:
For the enhancement of digital learning and
capacity building of college students in the state.
Key Points:
i. The MoU was signed for one year.
ii. The company will run MS office specialist
training programme in 50 government colleges
from August which will benefit 9,500 students.
iii. Successful participants will also be given certificates.
iv. 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.

Google announces Launchpad Accelerator India

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.
Google announces Launchpad Accelerator
India:
i. Launchpad Accelerator India program has
been developed after the success of the global
Launchpad Accelerator program.
ii. It has been designed to develop the AI/ML ecosystem in India by enabling Indian startups to create
scalable solutions for India’s unique problems.
iii. This is a 3 month accelerator. It will offer mentorship and access to Google’s people, network and
technologies, to a group of 8-10 Indian startups.
iv. Upto $100K of Google Cloud Credits will also be offered. Roy Glasberg is the founder of global
Launchpad.
v. Launchpad Accelerator India has been built Google’s “Solve for India” roadshow from 2017.
vi. 10 Indian startups were shortlisted from all over India. They were given 4 days of one-on-one
consultations with experts from Google and mentors from the industry to solve critical product and
growth challenges.
vii. Applications for the first class will be available till 31st July 2018. The first class starts in
September 2018.
viii. Eligibility for the startups to enroll for Launchpad Accelerator India mentoring program:

• Be a technology startup
• Be based in India
• Have at least raised seed funding
• Build a solution that addresses a real challenge of India
• Uses advanced technology like AI/ML to power the solution

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ix. As a part of the Launchpad Accelerator India, the shortlisted startups will undergo extensive
mentorship and support from Google in AI/ML, Cloud, UX, Android, Web, Product Strategy and
Marketing.

Dhanlaxmi Bank appointed T. Latha as MD and CEO.

On July 10, 2018, Dhanlaxmi Bank Limited

has appointed T Latha as the Managing
Director & CEO.
i. She will replace G Sreeram, who has retired
from the office on July 1, 2018, on completion
of his tenure.
ii. Her appointment will be for a period of three
years w.e.f July 2, 2018.
iii. Earlier she was a General Manager in
Punjab National Bank, she was in charge of
credit operations dealing with large corporate
credits and has handled Finance, Credit, Strategic Business Development, People Management, NPA
Resolution and Audit.
iv. Latha has 35 years of banking experience with Punjab National Bank on fields like Branch
Management, Regional Management and National Level Credit Management handling a portfolio of
around Rs 400 billion.

Lupin appoints Yashwant Mahadik as Global HR President

On 10th July 2018, drug firm Lupin said that, it has

appointed Yashwant Mahadik as President, Global
Human Resources.
Yashwant Mahadik – President, Global Human
Resources of Lupin:
i. Yashwant Mahadik will be based in Mumbai. He
will report to Lupin CEO Vinita Gupta and its
Managing Director Nilesh Gupta.
ii. Yashwant Mahadik is a HR professional with
nearly 30 years of experience in various sectors like
consumer and healthcare in global organisations.
iii. 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.

Vodafone-Idea merger gets govt’s conditional approval

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.
Key Points:
i. The conditions for approval include payment of Rs
7,268 crore which is split between a bank guarantee of
Rs 3,342 crore to cover what Ideaowes on account of one-

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time spectrum charges and cash of Rs 3,926 crore by Vodafone towards the market price for non-
auctioned airwaves.
ii. Upon the completion of the payment the department will transfer of Vodafone India’s licences and
Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd.’s licences to Idea Cellular.
iii. Among other conditions, Idea needs to replace Vodafone’s bank guarantees worth Rs 6,452 crore
held by DoT with its own. This is on account of spectrum payments that fall due over the next one
year.
iv. Together, Vodafone Idea will have 37.5% revenue market share and 39% customer market share,
making them a stronger entity.

“Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly” by Abhirup Bhattacharya

The book “Winning Like Sourav: Think &

Succeed Like Ganguly” has been written by
Abhirup Bhattacharya.
Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like
Ganguly:
i. 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.
ii.Sourav Ganguly is also credited for
encouraging players like Yuvraj Singh,
Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and building the concepts of
‘Team India’ and ‘Men in Blue’.
iii. Sourav Ganguly turned 46 years on 8th July 2018. Abhirup Bhattacharya has previously authored
“Winning Like Virat: Think and Success Like Kohli”.

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