• India virtually hosted the 23rd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the 23rd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State.
• All SCO member states China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan were invited to participate in the summit.Iran, Belarus and Mongolia were invited as observers. As per SCO tradition, Turkmenistan was also invited as the guest chair. The heads of two SCO bodies, the Secretariat and the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure – the Rats, also participated in the summit.

• Piramal Finance opens first all-women branch in Kochi Piramal Finance opened the first all women branch named "Maitreyi" at Thripunithura near Kochi to cater to the unique needs of women customers.
• Kerala was chosen as the location for the inaugural branch due to its demographic and market dynamics, 50% of customers in Kerala are women, as against the national average of 20%. Kerala also has a high percentage of self-employed individuals, highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit of the state's population.

• The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.
• Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits. The Dalai Lama has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.

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• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and the Public Service Division, of the Republic of Singapore signed a protocol document, extending for five years the current memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the field of personnel management and public administration till 2028.

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• In an unprecedented move, Russian oil company Rosneft recently appointed Govind Kottieth (GK) Satish, a former Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) director, as a member on its board. This makes him the first Indian to be appointed to the board of the Russian oil giant.
• The appointment comes as a sign of Russia's strategy aimed at boosting trade links with India. GK Satish, 62, retired from the post of director for business development at IOC in 2021. According to a statement released by the Russian firm, he is one of the three newly appointed individuals to the 11-member board of directors. He is one of the five independent directors on the Rosneft board.

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• The Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) of India appointed Krishna Mishra as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect from 1 August 2023. FPSB India is the Indian subsidiary of FPSB, a global standard-setting organization for the financial planning profession.
• Krishna Mishra will lead the strategy and operations of FPSB India as CEO. His primary focus will be on advancing the financial planning profession in India. Krishna Mishra brings over 20 years of experience to his new role. His previous leadership positions include Country Head-International Business (India and South Asia) at Becker Professional Education, Head of North and East India at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, and Regional Head (East) and Business Head-Channel Business at HCL Infosystems.

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• In a major boost to India’s pursuit of 'aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in navigation applications and services, Bengaluru-based firm Elena Geo Systems launched a handheld NavIC-based navigator. The navigation device, which can provide precise directions in tasks related to infrastructure projects involving railway, land survey, telecoms and hydrocarbon exploration, was unveiled on the occasion of World Telecom Day in New Delhi.
• This comes nearly a month after the company launched a Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)-based indigenously designed chip to meet the requirements of services ranging from cab aggregators to the country’s defence forces.

• The Bank of India (BoI), one of the largest public sector banks (PSBs) in the country, has become the first bank to officially roll out Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) scheme. The MSSC is a government-guaranteed limited-period small savings scheme aimed at empowering women and fostering their financial inclusion.
• Under the scheme, individual girls or women can open an account, or a guardian can open one on behalf of a minor girl. The scheme was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget speech FY 2023-24.

• Netherlands men team finish their season four campaign on 35 points, making them champions of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/23 season. With this win, Netherlands become the first team in the men’s competition to win a second title, successfully defending their first title, won in the competition last year.
• The Indian men’s hockey team finished fourth in the FIH Pro League 2022-23 with 30 points from 16 matches. This was India’s second fourth-place finish in the FIH Pro League, having achieved the same position in their debut season in 2020-21. The Indian hockey team was third in the 2021-22 season. India captain Harmanpreet Singh finished as the top-scorer in FIH Pro League 2022-23 with 18 goals.

• Mongolia has granted two licenses to SpaceX to operate as an internet service provider using low-orbit satellites, allowing millions of internet users in Mongolia to access high-speed connection via Starlink.
• The network of fiber optic cables already provides wide-reaching access to high-speed internet across Mongolia, but the use of low-orbit satellites will provide greater access to hard-to-reach areas. The cooperation between the Mongolian government and SpaceX was initiated in February, and last month, the Prime Minister held a virtual meeting with Elon Musk to discuss possible investment and cooperation in the electric vehicle sector.