Today's Current Affairs 15th July 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Young Dubai climber, 8, scales Europe's highest peak

• An eight-year-old mountain climber from Dubai is on top of the world after climbing Europe's highest peak. Ayaan Saboor Mendon, who is originally from India, conquered Mount Elbrus alongside his mother, Vani Mendon, and father, Saboor Ahmad.
• Last month, the climber scaled the 5,642-metre-high peak in only five days, after setting a target of eight days.
• It was far from the junior climber's first peak, as he had already reached the top of Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro and Australia's Mount Kosciuszko.
• At 5,642 metres, Mount Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe. It is renowned for being uncompromising, with harsh and unpredictable weather, extreme cold and soft snow, which makes handling heavy gear much more difficult. ompared to Mount Kilimanjaro, the expedition is said to be more challenging.

NATIONAL

Minister Vaishnaw inaugurates Indian Mobile Congress IMC in Delhi

• The Curtain Raiser of IMC-2023, the seventh edition of India Mobile Congress, was inaugurated by Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in the presence of Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan.
• The event was attended by members of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representatives from telecom industries, and start-ups. IMC-2023, co-hosted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and COAI, will take place from October 27th to 29th at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. With the theme of ‘Global Digital Innovation,’ the event is expected to attract over 100,000 participants, 5,000 CXO-level delegates, 350 speakers, and 400 exhibitors. The ministers emphasized the importance of IMC in showcasing India’s technological advancements and the transformative potential of 5G. The event aims to involve various industries, introduce partner countries, and promote India as a technology developer and exporter.
• Additionally, IMC 2023 plans to introduce a virtual exhibition to reach different parts of the country and emphasize the use cases of 5G in sectors like agriculture and education. Aspire, a start-up event within IMC, will focus on promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the telecom and digital domains.

SPORTS

India finish with 9 medals at World Deaf Youth Badminton Championships in Brazil

• India finished with nine medals (four silver and five bronze) in the third edition of the World Deaf Youth Badminton Championships, which took place from July 10 to 12. The official Twitter handle of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) shared the news on Thursday, July 13.
• The tournament was staged by Para de Minas, a municipality town in Brazil. Aaditya in Girl's Singles, Piyush & Shreya in Mixed Doubles, Soumyadeep & Piyush in Men's Doubles and Jerlin & Aaditya in Women's Doubles won the silver medals.
• Soumyadeep in Men's Singles, Jerlin in Women's Singles, Shreya in Women's Singles, Soumyadeep & Gauranshi in Mixed Doubles and Gauranshi & Shreya in Women's Doubles finished the event with bronze medals.

OBITURY

Veteran Marathi actor Ravindra Mahajani passes away

• Marathi actor Ravindra Mahajani has passed away at the age of 77, known for his notable contributions to Marathi cinema, had established himself as a respected actor and director. With a career spanning several decades, he had worked in numerous films and theater productions, leaving an indelible mark on the industry. His performances in movies like Mumbaicha Faujdar, Aram Haram Ahe, Zoonj, and Bolo He Chakradhari garnered critical acclaim and earned him a dedicated fan base. His son Gashmeer Mahajani is also an actor and best known for his work in Marathi cinema.
• Ravindra Mahajani (1946 – July 2023) was a Marathi actor and director. From the late seventies to the mid eighties, Mahajani featured in Marathi films. In his early career, Mahajani drove taxis and auditioned for films. He created Marathi films until 1987–1988. He was known as “the Vinod Khanna of the Marathi film industry” due to his personality and looks. Because of his resemblance to Vinod Khanna, director N. Chandra wanted him to star in his 1986 film Ankush.
• Mahajani declined. Mahajani featured in many romantic songs, including “Ha Sagar Kinara”, “Sumbaran Gao Deva”, and “Phite Andharache Jaale”. His film Devta is popular among rural fans. He is known for his roles in Duniya Kari Salam (1979), Mumbai cha Fauzdar (1984), Zoonj (1989), Kalat Nakalat (1990) and Aaram haram Ahe. The latter was a major hit while Laxmi Chi Pavale was a blockbuster. He made a comeback with 2015 film Kay Rao Tumhi.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Youth Skills Day

• World Youth Skills Day is celebrated every year on July 15. Started in 2014, World Youth Skills Day seeks to celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
• The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2023, as per the United Nations website, is skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future. The World Youth Skills Day 2023 theme highlights the essential role that teachers, trainers and other educators play in providing skills for youth to transition to the labour market and to actively engage in their communities and societies.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Ministry of Textile and Gujarat Government signed MoU for PM MITRA PARK at Vansi in Navsari district

• Union Textile Minister Piyush Goyal said Focus of PM MITRA PARK is to bring quality, scale and sustainability in textile sector The park is likely to attract the investment of Rs. 10 lakh crore and create employment for 3 lakh people.
• Inspired by the 5F vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister - Farm to Fibre to Fabric to Fashion to Foreign, Gujarat is setting-up PM MITRA Park in Vansi village, Jalalpore Taluka in Navsari District after receiving formal approval from the Government of India.
• The program for MoU signing between Government of India (Ministry of Textiles) and Government of Gujarat was held in Surat, Gujarat on 13.07.2023. The event was attended by dignitaries namely Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel, Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Textiles and Railways, Smt. Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Hon’ble Minister of Industries, Gujarat, Shri Balvantsinh Rajput, Hon’ble Minister of State, Shri Harshbhai Sanghvi and officials of State Government.

3rd Sherpas G20 meeting began in Hampi, Karnataka

• The third Sherpas meeting under India’s G20 Presidency begin in Hampi today in Karnataka. Chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, the three days meeting on the banks of river Tungabhadra near UNESCO World Heritage site Hampi will deliberate and engage in co-authoring the Leaders Declaration to be adopted by the G20 leaders in New Delhi Summit. Issues being considered are Green development, climate finance, lifestyle for environment, accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals, technological transformation and digital public infrastructure, multilateral institutions for the 21st century and women-led development.
• Akashvani's Correspondent report: Over 120 delegates from G20 member countries, invitees and International Organisations led by India’s G20 Sherpa will negotiate the text reflecting Presidency priorities. These priorities were arrived at after incorporating the feedback from the voices of Global South Summit. After intense deliberations in the day, the delegates will explore Hampi’s enigmatic landscape of monuments and boulders spread over 4000 hectares. They will witness the city plan, waterways, temples and other infrastructure built during the Vijayanagar empire that flourished between 1336 to 1646 AD. They will also experience the local craft and handicrafts and cultural performances from Karnataka. Sudhindra Akashvani news Bengaluru.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

Vinod Mankara’s new book released from the rocket launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre

• Vinod Mankara, a national award-winning filmmaker-writer, launched his new book from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here. The SDSC-SHAR hosted the one-of-a-kind premiere of ‘Prism: The Ancestral Abode of Rainbow,’ a compilation of science essays, on Thursday evening, as preparations for the country’s much-anticipated Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 were in full swing.
• While the countdown for the historic launch was underway at the space centre, ISRO Chairman S Somanath handed over the book to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director S Unnikrishnan Nair. Besides Lipi Publications managing director Lipi Akbar, the book’s publisher, SDSC-SHAR Director A Rajarajan, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) director V Narayanan, former ISRO Director K Radhakrishnan, and many other space experts were present during the function.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

HDFC Bank becomes first bank to offers interoperability of UPI and CBDC QR code payments

• HDFC Bank – the country’s largest private sector lender –to implement interoperability between United Payment Interface and Central Bank Digital Currency, The lender has registered over 1 lakh customers and 1.7 lakh merchants under CBDC pilot programme.
• HDFC Bank customers can now transact money available in their CBDC wallet across UPI QR code and there will be no need to scan different QR codes at the same merchant.
• Merchants, on the other hand, only need to display one QR code at the storefront or through the acquiring bank’s mobile application. There is no need for merchants to change their existing QR codes
• HDFC Bank will facilitate payments in Digital Rupee across several cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, Bhubaneshwar, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Gangtok, among others.