1. Flipkart signs MoU with Karnataka govt to promote local art, and craft 

• Flipkart has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Mines of Government of Karnataka to promote the arts, crafts and handloom sector of Karnataka.
• This MoU providing market access through a Flipkart e-commerce platform and to increase the local business of Karnataka.
• This MoU will unite the Flipkart Samarth Programme with the brands based in Karnataka like Cauvery and Priyadarshini Handlooms, part of Karnataka Handlooms Development Corporations.
• This will benefit the MSME through skills of branding, digital marketing and financial management and showcase the high-quality products which are made by local artisans. This will promote the local handlooms and handicrafts to the consumers across the nation.

Foot Notes:
About Karnataka:
Chief Minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
Capital: Bengaluru 
Governor: Vajubhai Vala

2. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission launches app development module for school students

• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission has launched the ATL App Development Module for school children across the country. The ATL App is an online course, which is completely Free. Through six project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions, young innovators can learn to build mobile apps in various Indian languages and showcase their talent.
• NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant has said that COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a big disruption, which is being tackled through the use of technology to aid everyday lives.
• Mr Kant said, it is crucial for the young Indians to learn skills at a young age and to enable them to become the next generation of technology leaders.

Foot Notes:
NITI Aayog:
Formed: 1 January 2015
Headquarters: New Delhi
Chairperson: Narendra Modi

3. Mukesh Ambani overtakes Warren Buffett to become world's seventh richest person

• Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has become the world's 7th richest person after overtaking legendary investor tycoon Warren Buffett in terms of net worth.
• The Indian billionaire's net worth currently stands at $69.9 billion, while Warren Buffer's net worth stands at $69.1 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is ranked at the top of the world's richest individuals list with a net worth of $189.2 billion.
• Mukesh Ambani's net worth has seen a massive spike due to the rapid rise in the share price of Reliance Industries. RIL's share prices have almost doubled since March 2020 after a series of investments in Reliance Jio platforms within three months starting with Facebook in April.

4. India moves up a rank to become second largest FDI source in UK

• India invested in 120 projects and created 5,429 new jobs in the UK to become the second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) after the US in 2019.
• The Department for International Trade (DIT) inward investment statistics for 2019-2020 found India moving up from its previous third-largest spot, representing an overall 4 per cent FDI increase for the UK on 2018-2019 with 1,852 new inward investment projects in the 2019/20
• The US remains the number one source of FDI for the UK, delivering 462 projects and 20,131 jobs, followed by India, Germany, France and China and Hong Kong. Australia and New Zealand were responsible for 72 projects and the Nordic and Baltic region 134, an increase for both regions.

Foot Notes:
About UK:
Prime minister: Boris Johnson 
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling

5. International Malala Day observes on 12 July

• Malala Yousafzai, one of the most prominent education activists, was born on 12 July 1997.
• The date is annually observed as Malala Day, to commemorate her struggle against Taliban and inspire scores of other girls across the world.
• Malala was born in Mingora town, located in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
• On July 12, 2013, Malala Yousafzai, a sixteen-year-old Pakistani girl engaged in the promotion of women’s education, delivered an impassioned speech at the United Nations (UN) headquarters on the need for gender equality in education. The address saw several rounds of standing ovations for the teenager and the day, July 12, which is also her birthday, was soon declared by the UN as Malala Day in honour of the young activist.
• In 2014, at the age of 17, Malala became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace prize.

6. Turkey turns iconic Hagia Sophia Istanbul museum into mosque

• Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the decision after a court annulled the site's museum status.
• Built 1,500 years ago as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest in 1453.
• In 1934 it became a museum and is now a Unesco World Heritage site.
• Islamists in Turkey long called for it to be converted to a mosque but secular opposition members opposed the move. The proposal prompted criticism from religious and political leaders worldwide.
• Defending the decision, President Erdogan stressed that the country had exercised its sovereign right in converting it back to a mosque.

Foot Notes:
About Turkey:
President: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 
Capital: Ankara
Currency: Turkish lira

7. Chhattisgarh organises India's first e-Lok Adalat 

• In Chhattisgarh, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, an e-Lok Adalat was held on 11 july. Under the e-Lok Adalat, the virtual hearings were conducted through video conferencing.
• In the wake of the financial crisis faced by the people and the lawyers due to the Corona virus pandemic, the High Court and Chhattisgarh State Legal Services Authority decided to organize e-Lok Adalat for resolving the pending cases. Inaugurating the e-Lok Adalat, the Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court P R Ramchandra Menon said that in this difficult time of pandemic, e-Lok Adalat is a noble initiative to bring relief to people and to reduce the pendency.

Foot Notes:
About Chhattisgarh:
Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
Capitals: Bilaspur, Raipur

8. NTPC wins prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2019

• NTPC Ltd, a central PSU under Ministry of Power and India’s largest power generation company, has won the prestigious CII-ITC Sustainability Award 2019, under Outstanding Accomplishment in Corporate Excellence Category. Also, the company has received Commendation for Significant Achievement in category of CSR.
• NTPC has also initiated Contractors’ Labour Information Management System (CLIMS) through which payment to contract labourers is paid on the last day of the month at project sites.
• CII-ITC Sustainability Awards recognize and reward excellence in sustainability practices. It is considered to be the most credible platform for sustainability recognition in the country.
• With a total installed capacity of 62110 MW, NTPC Group has 70 Power stations comprising of 24 Coal, 7 combined cycle Gas/Liquid Fuel, 1 Hydro, 13 Renewables along with 25 Subsidiary & JV Power Stations.

Foot Notes:
About NTPC:
Founded: 1975
Headquarters: New Delhi, India
Chairman: Gurdeep Singh

9. UNIFIL's Indian battalion wins UNIFIL environment award 

• An Indian battalion stationed with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has won an environment award for a project that aims to decrease waste generation, reuse plastic, build green houses and compost pits.
• UNIFIL's Indian Battalion (INDBATT) was adjudged first for a project that seeks to “increase awareness and decrease waste generation by planting seedlings in their positions and areas of responsibility, preventing littering, reusing plastic bottles, building green houses and building compost pits.
• UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col gave the annual environmental awards to seven Missions entities for initiating and implementing innovative projects to preserve environment.
• The Mission's Sector West Headquarters and Irish-Polish Battalion (IRISHPOLBATT) won the award for second place. The Sector West Infrastructure Management Centre (IMC) project aimed at turning food waste into compost and donating to the host communities.

Foot Notes:
About UNIFIL(United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon):
Headquarters: Naqoura, Lebanon
Formation: 19 March 1978

10. Former cricketer Chetan Chauhan tests positive for COVID-19

• Former Indian cricketer Chetan Chauhan, 72, has tested positive for Covid-19.
• The former opener, who played 40 Tests, is remembered for being Sunil Gavaskar’s partner in numerous Tests in the 1970s. The pair is one of the most successful Indian opening pairs in history.
• Chauhan was the first player in Test history to score more than 2000 runs without a hundred. He was a heavy scorer of runs in domestic cricket. In international cricket, he had built a reputation of being a gritty fighter.
• He scored 3022 runs with Gavaskar in their 59 opening stands, ten of which were over 100. He scored 2084 runs in his career. He also played seven ODIs.

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