Today's Current Affairs 20th July 2023

INTERNATIONAL

India, Argentina sign agreements to strengthen cooperation in defence

• The decision was made during the meeting that took place between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and the visiting Minister of Defence of Argentine Republic Jorge Enrique Taiana in New Delhi.
• A MOU on cooperation in the defence sector is already in place between India and Argentina that was signed during former Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s visit to New Delhi in February 2019.
• “We are here to perfect and deepen the agreements we have and sign some others. One of them is a Memorandum of Understanding that is richer in content and concrete possibilities than the one currently in force,” said Taiana, adding: “I think we have a concrete opportunity in the field of Defence, where we can give a quality leap in cooperation between the two countries”.
• During their meeting, the two Defence Ministers discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation and exchange in areas of training and training of officers and cadets besides also measures to enhance defence industrial partnership.

India's Surat Diamond Bourse overtakes The Pentagon as world's largest office building

• A building in India’s diamond city of Surat has surpassed The Pentagon to become the world’s largest office. Surat in Gujarat state is known as the world’s diamond capital, where 90 per cent of the precious stones are cut. It will now house the world’s largest office building, the Surat Diamond Bourse, dedicated to the gemstone industry.
• The 15-storey building has more than 7.1 million square feet of floor space, outdoing The Pentagon, the headquarters of the US defence department in Arlington Co, Virginia, which has 6.5 million sq ft. It is 81.9 metres tall and cost 32 billion rupees ($38 million) to build.
• The Diamond Bourse was designed by Delhi-based Morphogenesis and is based on the concept of Panchtatva, the five elements of nature – water, fire, air, earth and sky.
• “It is the world’s largest building,” Sonali Rastogi, co-founder of Morphogenesis, told The National. "It houses different sizes of offices but are all meant for diamond merchants. There are 300 sq ft to 25,000 sq ft offices. It has been built for the diamond merchant community."
• The building has a unique design of nine interconnected rectangular structures emanating from a central spine. It can house more than 4,700 diamond offices and 65,000 industry professionals, including cutters, polishers and traders,

NATIONAL

Regional Office of Universal Postal Union (UPU) gets inaugurated in New Delhi

• Minister of State for Communication Shri Devusinh Chauhan and Director General, Universal Postal Union (DG UPU) Mr Masahiko Metoki inaugurated the Regional Office of UPU here today. The Regional Office will undertake UPU’s technical assistance activities in South Asia region by entering into a host country agreement by Department of Posts, India.
• The Regional Office of UPU in India will serve as a vital platform for exchanging ideas, experiences and expertise, thereby accelerating the modernisation and transformation of the postal sector. It will act as a hub for promoting collaboration among UPU member countries in the Asia Pacific region, encouraging innovation and facilitating knowledge sharing to enhance postal services.
• India also announced contribution of USD 2,00,000 over a period of four years towards the UPU’s Development and Technical Assistance activities through Asia Pacific Postal Union. This financial contribution aims to support capacity building, infrastructure development, and other essential activities to strengthen the postal sector in the region.

SPORTS

Indian Surf Team wins bronze medal at Asian Surfing Championship in Maldives

• Indian Surf Team won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship, held at Thulisdhoo Island in Maldives. 18 countries from Asia took part in this championship.
• The Surfing Federation of India sent a team comprising 4 senior Surfers in the men’s category and 2 Surfers in the Under 18 category. 5 out of the 6 Surfers were from Tamilnadu.
• Srikanth from Kovalam, Tamil Nadu made it to the semi-finals in the Men's Category.
• The President of the Surfing Federation of India Arun Vasu said that Surfing team finished overall 3rd with a bronze medal.
• Indian Surfers will now get ready for the first-ever World Surfing League (WSL) event in India to be held in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu from August 14 to 20 this year

DD Sports secures Television rights for FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

• DD Sports has partnered with 1Stadia to broadcast the highly anticipated 9th edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, bringing joy and excitement to fans.
• The tournament, starting on July 20, 2023, will mark the inaugural occasion when the World Cup is co-hosted by two countries, namely Australia and New Zealand.
• 1Stadia has granted streaming platform FanCode the sub-licensing rights for streaming the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, while public broadcaster DD Sports has been entrusted with the sub-licensing rights for television broadcasting.
• About: DD Sports - DD Sports was launched on 18 March 1998. It operated as an encrypted pay channel from 2000 to 2003, but on 15 July 2003, it transformed into the sole free-to-air sports channel in the country.
• Given that Doordarshan Sports is easily accessible and available free-to-air, football enthusiasts from households across the nation can seamlessly tune in to catch the tournament. The channel’s coverage extends to about 38 countries worldwide through the INSAT-4B satellite.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

SBI Capital Markets Ltd. (SBICAPS) has appointed Shri Rajay Kumar Sinha as its new MD and CEO

• SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS) announced the appointment of Rajay Kumar Sinha as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of its wholly owned subsidiary and investment banking arm, effective July 14. Sinha takes over from Amitava Chatterjee, who will now serve as Deputy Managing Director in charge of Commercial Clients Group at SBI's Corporate Centre
• Previously, Sinha held the position of overseeing Treasury operations at SBI, where he managed the bank's investment portfolio, money market, equity, private equity, and forex operations. With his expertise in global markets, Sinha will contribute to the further strengthening of SBICAPS' investment banking business both in India and internationally.

Rakesh Pal appointed as DG Indian Coast Guard

• Rakesh Pal has been appointed as the 25th Director General (DG) of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). He is an alumnus of the Indian Naval Academy and joined Indian Coast Guard in January 1989.
• According to the ministry of defence he has undergone professional specialisation in Gunnery and Weapons Systems at Indian Naval School Dronacharya, Kochi, and an Electro-Optics Fire Control Solution course from the United Kingdom.
• The Officer holds the recognition of being the First Gunner of ICG. Pal was conferred with Tatrakshak Medal in 2013 and President Tatrakshak Medal in 2018 for his illustrious service.
• The ministry of defence said that Rakesh Pal was elevated to the rank of Additional Director General in February 2022 and was posted at Coast Guard Headquarters, New Delhi.
• He was given the additional charge of Director General Coast Guard in February 2023. During the period, many significant operations and exercises were accomplished that includes the seizure of drugs and narcotic substances and gold worth crores of rupees, rescue of mariners during severe cyclonic storms, joint exercises with the Foreign Coast Guards, anti-poaching operations, humanitarian assistance during cyclones and naturals calamities and Coastal Security exercises.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Chess Day / World Chess Day

• International Chess Day / World Chess Day is celebrated on July 20 every year with the aim to raise awareness about the game of chess and appreciate chess players across the world. Chess is known as the "game of kings" and is popular for its intellectual depth. This day celebrates the ancient game of etiquette and sportsmanship. There is no doubt that chess is a game with a global impact and the game as an intellectual and strategic tool is essential for intellectual development.
• History - UNESCO established International Chess Day with the aim to honor the founding of the International Chess Federation, FIDE by its French abbreviation in the year 1996. The headquarters of FIDE were established in Paris, France, and are now located in Switzerland. FIDE is an international organization that brings together different chess federations throughout the world and serves as the overseer of international chess tournaments. The International Olympic Committee acknowledged FIDE in 1999.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

UNDP India signed MoU whit Absolute for PMFBY

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Absolute, a bioscience company, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and enhance the resilience of farmers.
• According to a statement, the partnership between UNDP India and Absolute aims to enhance the implementation of the PMFBY and the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) by building technical capabilities of the scheme and digitalising service delivery of crop insurance and agricultural credit processes to increase reach and uptake of the schemes.
• It will also promote credit profiling of farmers, agri-entrepreneurs, and farmer producers organisations (FPOs), for accurate crop loss assessment and risk evaluation to mobilise agriculture financing.
• UNDP and Absolute will also use advanced technology and data-driven solutions to facilitate farmland identification and enhance farm monitoring, research and development, and analytical capabilities to facilitate data-driven policymaking and fraud analytics, ensuring efficient and transparent delivery of government support to vulnerable farmers,

India to host ASEAN Countries Conference on Traditional Medicines today 20th July

• India-ASEAN conference being held at New Delhi after almost a decade, ten ASEAN countries including Cambodia, Vietnam will participate,
• The Ministry of Ayush with support from the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian Mission to ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat is gearing up to host the Conference on Traditional Medicines for ASEAN Countries on 20th July 2023.
• The Conference on Traditional Medicines aims to strengthen the platform between India and ASEAN Countries to share their best practices and draw a roadmap for future cooperation in the field of Traditional Medicines.
• Addressing the Media at the Curtain Raiser event Union Minister for Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The multi-dimensional relationship between India and ASEAN stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical, and civilizational links which is far older that goes back to more than two millennia.” He continued, “Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the 12th ASEAN India Summit at Myanmar in November 2014 enunciated ‘Act East Policy’, giving a new momentum to the strategic partnership. The India ASEAN conference on Traditional Medicine being held after almost a decade is a major step towards deepening cooperation of India with ASEAN.”