Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of July 01st to 07th July 2023. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBI Clerk 2023 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• On July 1st National Doctor’s Day 2023 is observed nationally all over India as an honouring event among the public.

• Every year on July 2nd, World UFO Day is commemorated to raise awareness about Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) spotted in several parts of the world and alien life forms.
• World Sports Journalists Day is observed globally on 2nd July every year to acknowledge the work of sports journalists & to encourage them to do better at their work.
• International Plastic Bag Free Day 2023 is observed on July 3 every year to motivate people to avoid using single-use plastic to eliminate plastic pollution.

• Every year on June 6th, World Zoonoses Day is commemorated as the anniversary of the first-ever vaccine given for any zoonotic disease way back in 1885.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• Union Minister of Mines, Pralhad Joshi, has unveiled India's first-ever report on Critical Minerals for India.
• The government has also decided to bring the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023 to strengthen the research ecosystem in the country.
• Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asked the Indian banks to ensure enhanced and affordable credit to MSMEs to achieve the target of one trillion dollar merchandise exports by 2030.
• A seven-km undersea tunnel will be constructed for the bullet train project to save mangrove forests in Maharashtra.
• Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) intends to introduce a plan during the second half of this fiscal, to allow the subscribers of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) to withdraw 60% of the accumulated corpus systematically instead of the current system of a one-time withdrawal.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission in Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh and distributed sickle cell genetic status cards to the beneficiaries.
• The Government has revised the Crop Residue Management guidelines enabling efficient ex-situ management of paddy straw generated in the States of Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi.
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) successfully organized the National Workshop on Industrial Park Rating System (IPRS) in New Delhi.
• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) held its 36th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojna- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) launched eSARAS mobile App which will add to eCommerce initiatives for products made by the SHGs.
• The Startup20 Shikhar summit under India's G20 presidency began in Gurugram, Haryana.
• Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) hackathon has been announced by the centre to generate innovative ideas for th e availability and fair pricing of tomatoes.
• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav released the details of new discoveries and new records in Kolkata.
• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated Sai Hira Global Convention Centre in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh via video conferencing.
• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 11 NH projects worth Rs 5600 Crore in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan.
• Telecom sector is a continuously evolving sector with high technological obsolescence.
• Mumbai host the G-20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Summit and Research Ministers’ Meeting from 4th to 5th July 2023.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of his Council of Ministers in New Delhi.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has recently approved the PM-PRANAM scheme with a total outlay of ₹3,70,128.7 crore for three years ending March 2025.
• The Union Government launched a scheme for pregnant minor rape victims.
• India has doubled its share of global commercial services exports to 4.4 per cent in 2022 from 2 per cent in 2005, according to a World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO) report.
• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of the Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal to be developed at Bogibeel in Dibrugarh, by the bank of the River Brahmaputra (National Waterways 2) in Dibrugarh,
• REC Limited has extended a loan of ₹ 4,785 crores to HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Limited (HRRL), for setting up a green field refinery cum petrochemical complex in Barmer district, Rajasthan.
• The Government of India is organizing an International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2023) during 5th – 7th July 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, to bring together the global scientific, policy, academic and industrial leaders to discuss recent advances and emerging technologies in the entire green hydrogen value chain.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the progress of the implementation of Budget schemes with secretaries of the Finance Ministry and Corporate Affairs Secretary.
• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has launched a “Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States” from the earmarked allocation of the Preparedness and Capacity Building Funding Window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for strengthening fire services in the States with a total outlay of Rs. 5,000 crores.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will undertake a visit covering four states on 7-8th July 2023.
• The highly anticipated 67th Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) Convention will commence in Colombo.
• The Union Cabinet cleared the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill.
• The Government has extended the validity of coastal regulation zone clearance to 10 years as per a 2019 notification at present.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• India and the UAE have set a target of doubling non-oil bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030 from $48 billion at present.
• The United States of America (USA) rejoined as a member of the United Nations cultural and scientific agency, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after 5 years.
• New Zealand has become the first country to ban the thin plastic bags that supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and vegetables.
• Canada launched the "digital nomad strategy" which will make temporary arrangements for foreigners looking for jobs.
• For the first time, the 26th World Mining Congress (WMC) 2023 was held in Brisbane, Australia.

• India virtually hosted the 23rd Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• The new national estimates for non-communicable diseases (NCDs)- “Metabolic non-communicable health report of India-the ICMR-INDIAB National Cross-sectional Study” was recently released.
• Vistara, India's leading full-service carrier, has expanded its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa, one of Europe's premier airlines, enabling enhanced connectivity to Vistara customers while travelling across Europe.

• United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has removed India from his annual report on the impact of armed conflict on children, citing “measures taken by the government to better protect” them.
• The Greater Chennai City Police (GCP) launched India’s first ‘Police Drone Unit’ for aerial surveillance over vast areas and quick detection of criminal activities.
• Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy launched the 'Jagananna Amma Vodi' scheme for the fourth year, under which financial assistance of Rs 6,393 crore will be deposited into the bank accounts of 43 lakh beneficiaries, at Kurupam in Parvathipuram Manyam district, AP.
• A team of the Geological Survey of India (GSI) discovered India’s biggest ‘Natural Arch’ during their survey of coal in Kenduadihi block in Odisha’s Sundargarh forest division, a Geo Heritage Site.

• The Government of Odisha & the Quality Council of India (QCI), in collaboration with industry associations – Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC),Odisha Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises (OASME), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) - launched the Odisha Gunvatta Sankalp (Odisha Quality Mission) at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June 2023 is ₹1,61,497 crore of which CGST is ₹31,013 crore, SGST is ₹38,292 crore, IGST is ₹80,292 crores (including ₹ 39,035 crores collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹11,900 crore (including ₹ 1,028 crores collected on import of goods).

• The Ministry of Coal has substantially increased overall coal production with a growth of 8.40% in Q1 of FY 2023-24.
• India's leading integrated power producer NTPC Limited has nearly doubled coal production from its captive mines during the first quarter of the financial year 2023 - 2024, compared to the production during Q1 of the previous year.
• The Centre will soon notify rules for setting up GST appellate tribunals and appoint members after approval from the GST Council.
• Tamil Nadu’s electronics exports nearly tripled in one year to $5.37 billion in FY23 from $1.86 billion in the previous year.
• The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms breached ₹300-lakh crore market during the closing hours, but settled at ₹90-lakh crore at close.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries in Asia remained flat year-on-year at $662 billion during 2022, despite clocking about half of global inflows, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its World Investment Report 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• ICICI Lombard General Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance have jointly launched a combi product, ‘iShield’, which will provide customers with both health and life insurance under the “use and file” procedure.
• Tata Group-backed life insurance arm, Tata AIA has introduced a first-of-its-kind in the insurance industry, by enabling digital payments via WhatsApp and Unified Payment Interfaces (UPI).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has finalised directions for commercial banks to hold sufficient regulatory capital against their exposures arising from operational risks.
• The World Bank has approved USD 1.5 billion (around ₹12,600 crore) in financing to accelerate India's low-carbon energy infrastructure.
• One97 Communications Ltd, owners of the brand Paytm, has partnered with retail non-banking finance company (NBFC) Shriram Finance Limited to offer financial services to its users, including loan products.
• South Indian Bank (SIB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (Automobile division) for providing the latter’s dealers with financing solutions.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (KMBL), partnered with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to introduce the facility of linking its RuPay Credit Card to UPI (Unified Payments Interface) apps.

• State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has partnered with Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMFL), better known as Amul, to offer financial services to Amul’s supply network pan-India under the MUDRA scheme.
• Bank of India (BoI) has launched a ‘Centralized Pool Buy-Out and Co-Lending Cell’ to boost priority sector lending.
• The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a loan of USD 200 million (about Rs 1,600 crore loan) to the Government of Himachal Pradesh (HP) to facilitate power sector reforms & increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in the state’s electricity generation.
• As a part of the 68th Bank Day celebrations, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its upgraded digital banking application, ‘YONO (You Only Need One) for Every Indian’, and introduced the Interoperable Cardless Cash Withdrawal (ICCW) facilities.
• Transactions undertaken on the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) network dipped 0.9% in June,2023 both in terms of volumes and value of transactions, after touching a record high in May, 2023.
• On the occasion of the 68th Foundation Day of the State Bank of India (SBI), the bank through its CSR arm SBI Foundation, has pledged a grant of ₹22.5 Crores to establish a Banking Data and Analytics Hub at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B).
• Public sector lender Indian Bank in collaboration with National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL), has unveiled new services under its digital transformation initiative - Project WAVE (world of advanced virtual experiences)
• The Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Limited.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed a consolidated framework for cybersecurity, laying down a common structure for various regulated entities like stock exchanges, brokers, asset management companies and portfolio managers, among others.
• State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has launched 34 transaction banking hubs across the top-21 district centres of India.
• Piramal Finance, a leading housing finance company, has opened its first all-women branch “Maitreyi” in the country at Tripunithura, a suburban area in Kochi, Kerala.

• 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.
• India Post has entered into an agreement with Canada Post to introduce International Tracked Packet Service (ITPS) between two countries to facilitate e-commerce exports.
• London-based Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC)

has relaunched its private banking business in India almost 8 years after it closed the division amid an investigation by India’s tax department against individuals who had unaccounted foreign currency accounts in the bank’s Swiss branch.

• The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) unveiled an all new RuPay Select Debit card.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• Sporting legend and India’s first-zever Olympic medallist in women’s boxing, Mary Kom, has been honoured with the Global Indian Icon of the Year award at the annual UK-India Awards in Windsor, south-eastern England.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• The Tamil Nadu (TN) government has appointed senior bureaucrat Shiv Das Meena as the next Chief Secretary of TN.
• German luxury car brand Audi has appointed Gernot Dollner as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Board of Management, effective September 1, 2023.
• After 73 years of the establishment (1949) of Gujarat University in Ahmedabad, Dr Neerja Gupta has been selected as the 18th & first female vice chancellor (VC).
• The State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed 4 directors Ketan Shivji Vikamsey , Mrugank Madhukar Paranjape, Rajesh Kumar Dubey and Dharmendra Singh Shekhawat on the central board of the bank.
• TS Singh Deo has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
• Senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Anurag Verma took charge as the 42nd chief secretary of Punjab .
• Cashgrail Private Limited-owned Zupee, a gaming platform, has announced comedian and actor Kapil Sharma as its new brand ambassador.
• The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet approved the re-appointment of Tushar Mehta as Solicitor General for India (SGI) for a further period of 3 years along with his team of 6 additional solicitor generals (ASG) in the Supreme Court.

• Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN), Nand Lal Sharma took over the additional charge as Chairman of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
• The State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Kameshwar Rao Kodavanti, who has been with the bank since 1991, as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
• The Kerala government has appointed a 1990 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer V Venu as the new chief secretary of Kerala & also the Kerala government has appointed a 1990 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sheikh Darvesh Saheb as new Director General of Police (DGP) of Kerala.
• The Government of India (GoI) extended the tenure of Brajendra Navnit as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by 9 months till March 31, 2024.
• Rohit Jawa has assumed charge as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).
• The head of the United Nations's (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Qu Dongyu, was re-elected for a second term as head of the FAO.
• The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, took oath as Maharashtra's second deputy chief minister with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and existing Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in attendance.
• Debadatta Chand has taken charge as the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bank of Baroda.
• Private lender Bandhan Bank announced that Sunil Samdani resigned from the post of chief financial officer (CFO) to explore professional opportunities outside the bank.
• The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC), the cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in the government of India, has appointed Lieutenant general MU Nair as the new National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) replacing Lt Gen (retd.) Dr Rajesh Pant.
• A 1998-batch officer of Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), Krishna Kumar Thakur has been appointed as a Director (Human Resources) on the board of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
• The Board of Control of Cricket (BCCI) has appointed Ajit Agarkar as the chairman of the Senior Men’s Selection Committee replacing Chetan Sharma.
• L&T Finance Holdings Ltd. (LTFH) announced that Sudipta Roy will assume the position of Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company with effect from January 24, 2024, subject to necessary regulatory and/or statutory approvals.

• The president of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association (TNBA), Aadhav Arjuna was elected as president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in the election held at the Nehru Stadium, New Delhi,Delhi.
• Fintech unicorn BharatPe has appointed Pankaj Goel as new chief technology officer (CTO).
• The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) members extended the tenure of alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg for another 1 year until 1st October 2024.
• Tech giant Google is set to appoint a well-known manufacturing and policy expert Sreenivasa Reddy as the new India policy head.
• Vice Admiral Atul Anand took over as additional secretary of the Department of Military Affairs in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) & he succeeded Lieutenant general Anil Puri, who superannuated on February 28, 2023.
• HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh (78) stepped down after serving the mortgage lender for 46 years.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

• The new national estimates for non-communicable diseases (NCDs)- “Metabolic non-communicable health report of India-the ICMR-INDIAB National Cross-

sectional Study” was recently released.

• Foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries in Asia remained flat year-on-year at $662 billion during 2022, despite clocking about half of global inflows, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its World Investment Report 2023. Inflows were highly concentrated.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• The National Anti-Doping Agency of India (NADA) India signed an MoU with South Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organization (SARADO), comprising of Anti-Doping Organizations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, at the NADA India – SARADO Cooperation Meet in New Delhi,.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Coast Guard & Indian Navy with Indian Port Rail & Ropeway Corporation Ltd., in Gandhinagar for the planning, development, construction, and commissioning of a gallery on the theme “Evolution of Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard” at the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) which is being constructed at the historic Indus Valley civilization region of Lothal (Gujarat).
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for cooperation in Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Innovative Air Mobility.
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of campus of IIT Madras in Zanzibar- Tanzania was signed between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Govt. of India, IIT Madras and Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) Zanzibar- Tanzania, in the presence of Dr S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India and Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• In a significant development for India’s military prowess and global alliances, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is gearing up to host its first-ever multilateral air force exercise called Tarang Shakti,' in October or November 2023.
• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) inked a Rs 2,725 crore contract with the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) for refit of submarine Indian Naval Ship (INS) Shankush.

• 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 along the coast of Vishagapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas completed 7 years of service in the Indian Air Force (IAF).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

• Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is preparing to launch a Twitter competitor called Threads.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited Chairman Deepak Parekh stated that HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank in India, and housing finance company HDFC Ltd are set to complete their merger by July 1,2023.
• The Executive Committee of the Central Board (ECCB) of the State Bank of India (SBI) has accorded approval to the Bank for acquiring the entire 20% stake held by SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS) in SBI Pension Funds.
• HDFC Limited has acquired an additional 0.5097% stake in HDFC Ergo to make it a subsidiary.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRzzO) plans to retain the names of the Chandrayaan-2 lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) for their Chandrayaan-3 equivalents as well.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation has partnered with ‘Vidya Shakti’ to take education to the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh (UP) through the use of Online Classes and Virtual Reality (VR) .

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry has approved wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia's proposal for training in Kyrgyzstan and Hungary under Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
• India beat Iran 42-32 in the final of the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 in Busan, South Korea.

• In Tennis, India’s Yuki Bhambri clinched his maiden title on the ATP World Tour, winning the doubles trophy at the Mallorca Championships with South African partner Lloyd Harris, in Spain.
• Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra clinched the Lausanne Diamond League 2023 title with the best throw of 87.66 meters.
• India's Dipika Pallikal and Harinder Pal Sandhu won the gold medal at the Asian Mixed Doubles Squash Tournament in Hangzhou, a test event for the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, in September.
• The Trophy tour of the 132nd edition of the Durand Cup commenced from the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi.

• Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu and Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Achinta Sheuli will be in the four-member Indian weightlifting team for the Asian Games 2023
• In Football, India has lifted the SAFF Championships trophy for the ninth time, beating Kuwait 5-4 in the penalty shoot-out in the final after a 1-1 stalemate at the end of regulation time at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.
• Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix to take another step towards a third successive world title.
• Indian football team midfielder Lallianzuala Chhangte was named the AIFF Men’s Footballer of the Year for 2022-23 while Manisha Kalyan won her second consecutive Women’s Footballer of the Year award.
• One Day International (ODI) captain of Bangladesh, Tamim Iqbal announced his retirement from international cricket.

• Sakshi Kochhar has become the youngest commercial pilot in India at the age of 18.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Veteran United States (US) Actor Alan Arkin Best Known For 'Little Miss Sunshine' Passes Away at the age of 89 in California, United States of America (USA).
• Former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Bir Devinder Singh Passed away at the age of 73.