Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of July 15th to 21st 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 15th World Youth Skills Day 2023 is celebrated to mention the significance of developing skills among young people worldwide & the theme is Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future.
• World Day for International Justice 2023 is celebrated and observed all over the world on July 17th of this current year & the 2023 Theme: “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice”
• On July 18th of this current year(2023), Nelson Mandela International Day 2023 is celebrated and observed worldwide as an honouring event.
• World Chess Day is globally celebrated on July 20th every year to mark the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.
• International Moon Day is celebrated every year on July 20th to commemorate the anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s landing on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission and to promote international cooperation in space exploration.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

• India’s fintech giant and leading Full-Stack Payments, and Business Banking Platform, Razorpay, launched its first international Payment Gateway in Malaysia for the Malaysian market with Curlec, now known as ‘Curlec By Razorpay’.
• IDFC FIRST Bank has collaborated with Club Vistara and Mastercard to introduce a travel credit card.
• Max Life Insurance Company has partnered with DCB Bank to provide a variety of life insurance products, including term, savings, and retirement plans, allowing them to protect their financial future and expand their investment portfolio.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to increase Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions by introducing QR codes.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE) signed two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) in Abu Dhabi for establishing a framework to promote the use of local currencies for cross-border transactions; and cooperation for interlinking their payment and messaging systems.
• HDFC Bank has launched Unified Payments Interface Quick Response Code (UPI QR code) interoperable with India’s sovereign digital currency, Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has tightened the disclosure norms for listed companies with strict timelines and introduced criteria for determining the materiality of events.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has mandated that all entities providing ESG (environmental, social, governance) rating services will have to get a certification from the regulator within 6 months.
• Fincare Small Finance Bank Limited (FSFBL) has launched its multilingual campaign ‘The Great Indian Fixed Deposit (FD) Fest’ featuring brand ambassador Viswanathan Anand.
• Payments service provider PayU has launched a 45-day fintech accelerator program, inFINity for early-stage Indian startups in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) India, a cloud platform, and venture capital firm Chiratae Ventures.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licences of 2 cooperative banks- Sri Sharada Mahila Co-operative Bank, Tumkur, situated in Karnataka, and Harihareshwar Sahakari Bank, Wai, Satara in Maharashtra, because of inadequate capital and no earning prospect.
• Google Pay, the second largest Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform in the country, has started rolling out the UPI Lite feature for users in India.
• Country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), has raised Rs 3,101 crore capital via additional tier I bonds (AT1) or perpetual bonds at a coupon of 8.1%.
• According to Crisil Market Intelligence and Analytics (MI&A), Rural areas have the least presence of payments banks’ (PBs’) functioning offices, whereas urban areas have the highest number of functioning offices (44%).
• According to an article in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) latest monthly bulletin, India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) needs to grow at 6% per annum over the next 25 years for it to become a developed country by 2047-48.
• The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) has asked all insured banks to display the DICGC Logo and QR code (quick-response code) linked to its website on the banks’ internet banking portals and websites.
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has selected Tata AIG General Insurance Company Limited as the non-life insurer for the State of Maharashtra to initiate and drive activities in collaboration with all other non-life and health insurance companies to increase insurance penetration in the State in line with its vision “Insurance for all by the year 2047”.
• The incremental credit-deposit (C/D) ratio of all scheduled banks decreased to 63.7% in Q1 of FY24.
• The Bank of India (BoI) inaugurated its IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in the International Financial Services Centre at GIFT SEZ area in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a notification addressing all banks regarding the inclusion of “NongHyup Bank” in the Second Schedule of the RBI Act, 1934.
• Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched its environmental initiative 'PNB Palaash', an 8-month period campaign to embrace sustainability.
• Private lender HDFC Bank entered the coveted $100 billion market-cap club becoming the 7th largest global lender.
• IIFL Home Finance Ltd (IIFLHFL), a digital first home finance company, has secured a $50 million loan from US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
• The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) has recommended 16 candidates for the position of executive directors (EDs) in public sector banks (PSBs) for FY24.
• PhonePe Insurance Broking Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of PhonePe Private Limited, has launched health insurance plans offering comprehensive insurance in partnership with leading insurers.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of United India Co-operative Bank Limited, Nagina, Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and asked the bank not to carry on any banking business.
• State Bank of India (SBI) will set up a new trustee company as its wholly-owned subsidiary for managing the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF).
• Public sector banks (PSBs) are expected to step up one-time settlement (OTS) in written-off loans as the Finance Ministry and the RBI have emphasised on the importance of improving recovery from these accounts.
• Non-life insurer Cholamandalam MS Insurance has been appointed lead insurer for West Bengal by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
• Pension regulator, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), is seeking bids for its intranet portal - PINTRA as part of their digital transformation through its Technology Architecture (TARCH) project.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• Prime Minister (PM) Shri Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the French Bastille Day Parade in Paris, France
• India and France will be jointly developing a combat aircraft engine and engine for the Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The UN delivered grim news on global food security. 2.4 billion people didn't have constant access to food last year, as many as 783 million faced hunger, and 148 million children suffered from stunted growth.
• According to a new United Nations (UN) report, Some3 billion people, almost half of humanity, now live in countries that spend more money paying interest on their debts than on education or health.
• The first-ever Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) started in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Russia refused to extend the agreement that has enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports for the past year, complaining that promises to free up its own shipments of food and fertilisers had not been kept.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Absolute Foods, a leading bioscience company specialising in agri-tech, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the government of India’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and enhance the resilience of the farmers.
• Adani Group has commissioned India's first transnational power project from its Ultra-Supercritical Thermal Power Plant (USCTPP) of Adani Power located at Godda in Jharkhand, India to supply power to the Bangladesh electricity grid.
• The Global Food Regulators Summit 2023 is being organised in New Delhi, Delhi for the first time, as a G20 or Group of 20 event.
• Pakistan’s Prime Minister (PM) Mr Shehbaz Sharif launched the construction of a 1,200-megawatt Chinese-designed nuclear energy project, which will be built at a cost of $3.5 billion as part of the government efforts to generate more clean energy in the Islamic nation.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : NATIONAL NEWS

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the National Mega Conclave on FPO in the cooperative sector and released the action plan for the formation of 1100 new FPOs by PACS in New Delhi.
• The 120th anniversary of the India Government Mint has been celebrated in Hyderabad with commemorative souvenir coins.
• The Ministry of Coal has set a target to achieve coal gasification of 100 Million Tonne (MT) coal by FY 2030 reflecting the government’s commitment to harnessing the power of coal gasification.
• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 will boost Space StartUps and Space entrepreneurs.
• Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched AI for India 2.0, a free online training programme on Artificial Intelligence, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day.
• The Centre has extended the tenure of the Committee on Digital Competition Law (which had been set up to recommend a draft of the proposed Digital Competition Law) by one more month.
• As the first Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) in India to earn certification for its Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) recently made history.
• The number of persons living in multidimensional poverty in the country has fallen from 24.85 per cent to 14.96 per cent between 2015-16 and 2019-21.
• Union Defence Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh will inaugurate and lay the foundation of many development projects in Lucknow.
• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is coming with the third edition of its most prestigious ‘Global India Maritime Summit’ this year.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the New Integrated Terminal Building of Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair via video conferencing.
• The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) celebrated its 95th Foundation Day at National Agriculture Science Complex, Pusa, New Delhi.
• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will chair the Regional Conference on ‘Drugs Smuggling and National Security’ in New Delhi.
• The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the sale of subsidised chana dal under the brand name ‘Bharat Dal’ at the rate of Rs 60 per kg for one kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for 30 kg pack.
• The Union government has established a new oversight mechanism to review data from the National Statistical Office (NSO).
• Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya will inaugurate the Global Food Regulators Summit 2023  in New Delhi.
• The Ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) was held between Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in New Delhi.
• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah will inaugurate a ‘National Seminar on Delivery of CSC services through Primary Agricultural Credit Society (PACS)’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and the Agriculture Working Group (AWG) of G20, Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying inaugurated an International Symposium on Sustainable Livestock Transformation at NDDB, Anand, Gujarat.
• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launched the curtain raiser of Global Maritime India Summit (GIMS), 2023 in Mumbai.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the aegis of MoP&NG launched the Oil 2023 medium-term market report, titled: IEA Oil 2023 – Supply and demand Dynamics to 2028, in Delhi at an event that saw participation from the captains from the Indian oil and gas industry.
• One District One Product (ODOP) program, an initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, launched its first collaboration with the Government of Gujarat in New Delhi to promote the indigenous crafts and artisans of the State.
• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the maiden Global Food Regulators Summit 2023 in the presence of Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Tomar and special guest Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Govt. of Nepal, Dr. Bedu Ram Bhusal.
• Startup20 Engagement Group, under India's G20 presidency, has taken another transformative leap towards revolutionizing entrepreneurship across India by collaborating with Jagriti Foundation, a renowned non-profit organization dedicated to fostering robust entrepreneurship ecosystems in Tier 2/3 cities in India.
• A one-day conference titled "Policy Support & Enablers to Accelerate India's Electric Mobility," organized by NITI Aayog and supported by WRI India and Asian Development Bank, was held on the sidelines of the fourth Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta launched Mobile Dost App in sync with the vision of Apka Mobile HamaraDaftar.
• The National Law University (NLU), Delhi launched Eklavya – a ‘Research Affiliate’ programme, under its new academic initiatives.
• The Rajasthan Government has announced the minimum income guarantee to provide social security to citizens of Rajasthan.
• Ker Puja is a Hindu religious festival and a state holiday in the north-eastern state of Tripura celebrated every year in the month of July.
• A terrifying “shelf cloud” OR “Arcus cloud” appeared in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar.
• The Government of Odisha cabinet approved the inclusion of the Kui language in the 8th schedule.
• The Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) approved the construction of two "Obra D" thermal power projects in Sonbhadra's Obra, each to be rated at 800 megawatt (MW) and costing Rs 18,000 crore.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Telangana Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Kerala Chief Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti were appointed by the President of India Droupadi Murmu as Supreme Court judges.
• Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al-Sabah was elected the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) from 2023-2027 at the 42nd OCA General Assembly in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Australia has appointed a woman, Michele Bullock to lead its central bank, the first time ever in the 63-year history of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) for the next 7 years.
• The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has appointed Pramod Rao, Executive Director of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), as a Member in the Board of International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA).
• SBI Capital Markets (SBICAPS), has appointed Rajay Kumar Sinha as the Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the wholly owned subsidiary and investment banking arm of State Bank of India (SBI).
• DG Rakesh Pal has been appointed as the 25th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has appointed Sat Pal Bhanoo as the managing director (MD) of the company.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS AND HONOURS

• NTPC has received the prestigious Economic Times (ET) HR World Future Skills Awards 2023 for “Best use of AI/AR/VR in Learning and Upskilling" and “Best Advance in Creating an Extended Enterprise Learning Programme”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BUSINESS NEWS

• India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in June 2023* are estimated to be USD 60.09 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 16 per cent over June 2022.
• The Union Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman announced that India and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are launching a pilot programme on tax and financial crime investigation for South Asia from July 18, 2023.
• Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing the Credit Guarantee Scheme under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) to strengthen the credit delivery system and facilitate a smooth flow of credit to the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSMEs) engaged in Livestock sector without hassles of collateral security.
• Union Minister for Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal discussed the roadmap to achieve the target of $250 billion in textiles production and $100 billion in exports by 2030.
• The extant policy of the Government, all non-exempted Central Ministries/Departments (currently 55 in number) are mandated to spend at least.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

• NITI Aayog released the 3rd edition of the ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022’’ for States/UTs Tamil Nadu (TN) topped the 3rd edition of the NITI Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2022 with an overall score of 89, piping Maharashtra (78.20) and Karnataka (76.36).

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

• Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) regional office in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) , in a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh, approved proposals to procure 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets and 3 Scorpene diesel-electric submarines for the Indian Navy.
• Indian Naval Ship (INS) Sunayna was at Seychelles to participate in Op Southern Readiness 2023 conducted by Combined Maritime Forces(CMF).
• An Indian Army contingent comprising 43 personnel left for Mongolia to take part in a joint military exercise 15th edition 'Nomadic Elephant 2023' between India and Mongolia.
• The Indian Army signed the contract for procurement of Tactical Access Switch with Tata Advanced Systems Limited, continuing with the commitment towards the 'Make in India' initiative.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

• International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) and PIEDS BITS Pilani, have signed a MoU at BITS Pilani PIEDS Finxcelerator, Pilani Campus in Rajasthan
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Ministry of Education and Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) to establish the 1st campus of IIT Delhi in Abu Dhabi.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, inaugurated the 'Sagar Sampark' Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGNSS) in New Delhi, Delhi to strengthen the maritime sector in India.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched its third lunar mission - Chandrayaan 3 on-board the heavy lift LVM3-M4 rocket in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, is developing a tamper-proof signalling system based on blockchain technology for the Indian Railways.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released a new image of a small star-forming region captured by James Webb Space Telescope to celebrate the completion of the telescope’s first year of science.
• Simplifai, an AI automation solutions firm, has launched Simplifai InsuranceGPT, a custom-built, world-first GPT tool fuelled by the company’s no-code AI-powered platform.
• India’s space agency,Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is jointly developing a nuclear-powered engine along with Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC), it is reliably learnt.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

• India has so far taken home three gold and three bronze medals from the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
• The six-member Indian team secured two Gold medals at the 64th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2023 held in Chiba, Japan.
• In Wimbledon, sixth seed Ons Jabeur will take on unseeded Marketa Vondrousova from the Czech Republic in Women's singles.
• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur hailed athlete Parul Chaudhary for putting up a determined performance and bagging a gold medal in the Women's 3000 metres Steeplechase Final at the Asian Athletics Championships.
• In the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, India displayed a fantastic performance as they finished third, winning 27 medals, with 6 Gold, 12 Silver and 9 Bronze.
• In shooting, India shooter Prithviraj Tondaiman bagged the bronze medal in the men’s trap event at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup Lonato 2023 in Italy.
• In Wimbledon Tennis, World number one Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic's long reign at the All-England Club to win his first Wimbledon 2023 title and his second Grand Slam title with a 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory in the final at the Centre Court in London.
• Australia's state of Victoria will not be hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected exceeding expenditures.
• Star Indian Shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy has set the Guinness world record for the fastest shot by a male player in badminton, recording a mind boggling 565 kilometres per hour with his smash during the game.
• The Indian Surf Team won the bronze medal at the Asian Surfing Championship, held at Thulisdhoo Island in Maldives.
• In shooting, India bagged one silver to stay in the second position of the medal tally on Day 4 of the ISSF Junior World Championships, in Changwon, Korea.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

• Dr Mangala Narlikar, an eminent mathematician and the wife of Dr Jayant Narlikar who is the founder director of Pune-based Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) passed away at the age of 80 in Maharashtra
• Former Kerala chief minister (CM) and Congress Working Committee member Oommen Chandy passed away at the age of 79 in Bangalore, Karnataka.