Today's Current Affairs 4th July 2023

INTERNATIONAL

India, France navies conduct maritime partnership exercise in Bay of Bengal

• Indian Naval Ships INS Rana and INS Sumedha undertook a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy ship FS Surcouf in the Bay of Bengal
• INS Rana is a guided missile destroyer and INS Sumedha is an indigenously built offshore patrol vessel that took part in the exercise.
• The French Navy’s La Fayette class frigate Surcouf visited Visakhapatnam from June 26-29 and participated in a variety of activities with Indian Navy ships, which included professional and social interactions, sports fixtures and cross-deck visits, the Ministry of Defence said in an official release.
• Before leaving Visakhapatnam, the Indian naval vessels — Rana and Sumedha — participated in a number of exercises with the FS Surcouf, which included tactical manoeuvres, replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches, air defence against fighter aircraft and cross-deck helicopter operations.
• A customary farewell steam past between the ships reaffirmed the close friendship between the two fleets, marking the end of the MPX.

NATIONAL

PM Narendra Modi Inaugurates Sai Hira Global Convention Centre In Andhra Pradesh

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually inaugurated the Sai Hira Global Convention Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Puttaparthi.
• Speaking at the event, the PM said that it will be a centre of spiritual conferences and academic programs and that experts from all across the world will come here. He expressed hope that the centre will help the youth of the country. He said that the country is getting a major think tank in the form of Shri Hira Global Convention Center:
• PM Modi said that any idea is effective only when it is followed by action. He added that today, India is moving on the path of duty and taking the development and legacy forward.

SPORTS

Max Verstappen wins Austrian GP 2023, takes dominance to a new level

• Max Verstappen, the reigning Formula One champion, continued his impressive performance by securing a commanding victory at the Austrian Grand Prix 2023. This win further solidified his pursuit of a third consecutive world title. Starting from the pole position for the fourth consecutive race, Verstappen demonstrated his dominance by achieving his fifth consecutive win and seventh win out of nine races in the current season.
• With this remarkable performance, Verstappen extended his lead in the championship standings to 81 points over his teammate Sergio Perez, who also drives for the Red Bull team. Charles Leclerc, the previous year’s winner at this circuit, finished in second place, crossing the finish line 5.2 seconds after Verstappen. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez secured the third position, finishing 17.2 seconds behind the leader.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

PM Prasad takes over as Coal India chairman

• Coal India’s (CIL) newly-appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) PM Prasad on Saturday,while assuming charge, said that uninterrupted coal supply to the power sector is among the top priorities of the public sector coal mining major,
• Prior to taking charge as Coal India CMD, he led the Jharkhand based Central Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India, subsidiary, to its production target achievement in FY23.
• He has an over 30-year experience in the coal mining sector, and is a post-graduate in mining engineering from Indian School of Mines IIT Dhanbad. He succeeds Pramod Agrawal who stepped down on 30 June on attaining the age of superannuation.

Centre re-appoints Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General of India

• The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet on Friday re-appointed Tushar Mehta as the Solicitor-General of India.
• Besides Mehta, six Additional Solicitor Generals of India – namely, Vikramjit Banerjee, K.M Nataraj, Balbir Singh, S.V Raju, N. Venkataraman, and Aishwariya Bhati – were re-appointed.
• he term for all the law officers is that of three years, or until further notice, whichever should be earlier.
• About: Tushar Mehta - Tushar Mehta is a senior counsel in India and is currently serving as the Solicitor General of India. Mehta attended the Gujarat University, where he obtained his law degree and received five gold medals. He has also received honorary doctorates from Amity University, Noida and Karnataka State Law University.

SBI appoints Kameshwar Rao Kodavanti as CFO

• State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Kameshwar Rao Kodavanti as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with effect from July 1, 2023.
• Rao, who is a a Chartered Accountant (CA), has been working with the Bank since August 1991, SBI said in a regulatory filing.
• Kodavanti brings a wealth of experience to his new role at State Bank of India. Having served the bank for over three decades, he possesses expertise in various domains, including banking, forex, finance, and accounting. His long-standing association with the bank has equipped him with valuable insights into the industry and the institution’s operations. Additionally, Kodavanti is a qualified chartered accountant, further bolstering his financial acumen.
• He has vast experience in Banking, Forex and Finance, and Accounting, it added.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Indian Navy signs MoU with IPRCL for gallery at National Maritime Heritage Complex

• A morandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on 2 June, 2023 between the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, and Indian Port Rail and Ropeway Corporation (IPRCL) for the construction, and commissioning of a gallery at the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) in Lothal, Gujarat.
• The signing of the MoU took place in the presence of Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW), Sarbananda Sonowal and Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupendra Patel.
• The gallery will be based on the theme 'Evolution of the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard' at the NMHC. It will comprise a maritime museum, a lighthouse museum, maritime theme parks, amusement park centres, adopting an edutainment approach using the latest technology.

National Anti-Doping Agency, India signs MoU with South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization

• National Anti-Doping Agency, India signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (SARADO) in New Delhi today. SARADO is comprised of Anti-Doping Organisations from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The MoU aims to increase Regional Cooperation in anti-doping in sports.
• Speaking on the occasion Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur highlighted India’s increasing participation and achievements in the international sporting arena. He also talked about the government's responsibility in promoting clean sports efforts and contributing to the global anti-doping movement. Mr Thakur said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has envisioned India to become a sporting powerhouse in the coming years. He said, the Ministry is working relentlessly to improve Indian athletes’ sports performance at the national and international levels. Mr Thakur said, the approach to anti-doping is rooted in both, prevention and detection.

UAE-India Economic Summit in Abu Dhabi

• The UAE-India Economic Summit, themed "Fostering Synergies–Uniting the Falcon and Tiger Economies," took place on July 3, 2023, at the ADGM Auditorium in Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi. The event, jointly hosted by SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAPS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), brought together industry leaders from India and the UAE, and marked the official opening of SBICAPS ADGM Branch Office.
• The summit featured engaging panel discussions on topics such as startups, sustainability, green energy, capital markets, and stressed asset resolution. Prominent figures in attendance included Dinesh Khara, Chairman of State Bank of India, Sunjay Sudhir, Indian Ambassador to UAE, Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, CEO of ADGM Registration Authority, along with senior representatives from ADGM and SBICAPS.

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Indian Bank Collaborates with NESL for Project Wave, Unveiling Digital Services

• Public sector lender Indian Bank has unveiled new services under its digital transformation initiative — Project WAVE. Accordingly, the city-headquartered bank in collaboration with National E-Governance Services Ltd, has introduced an electronic bank guarantee (e-BG) service to ease traditional paper-based processes.
• This move will also reduce the turn-around time of the bank guarantee issuance and delivery to the beneficiary from an industry average of 3-4 working days to a few minutes, Besides, the facility would replace the need for physical stamp paper and physical signatures of customers by replacing them with digital stamping and e-signing making the entire process digital.
• At an event held in Chennai recently, the bank’s Managing Director and CEO S L Jain launched the digital services in the presence of senior executives,