Daily GK Update: 7th July 2022

 National & International Appointments

1. India’s Lt Gen Mohan Subramanian appointed as Force Commander of UNMISS

• UN Secretary-General, António Guterres has appointed India's Lt Gen Mohan Subramanian as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
• He succeeds Lt Gen Shailesh Tinaikar (India).
• Presently, he is serving as the Commandant of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.
• Indian Army is active in UN Missions in Congo, Lebanon, South Sudan, Golan Heights, Syria, Western Sahara, Abyei and Cyprus.
• International Day of UN Peacekeepers: 29 May

 National Affairs

2. Ministry of Environment will organise “Hariyali Mahotsav”

• Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change will organize “Hariyali Mahotsav” on 8th July, 2022 at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi.
• Aim: To create awareness about the importance of trees in the life.
• This is being organized by Ministry of Environment in association with the State Governments, Police Institutions and Schools of Delhi for undertaking plantation drives.
• Union Minister of Environment: Bhupender Yadav
• World Environment Day: 5th June

 National & International Appointments

3. WCD Minister, Smriti Irani gets additional charge of Minority Affairs

• Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti Irani and Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia have been assigned additional charge in addition to their existing portfolios.
• Smriti Irani has been assigned the charge of Ministry of Minority Affairs after the resignation of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia has been given the additional charge of the Ministry of Steel after the resignation of Ram Chandra Prasad Singh.

 Obituaries

4. Freedom fighter, P Gopinathan Nair passes away

• Freedom fighter, Gopinathan Nair passed away at the age of 99 years.
• He had participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and imbibed the Gandhian principles of peace and non-violence in everyday life.
• He was served as chairman of the Kerala Mahatma Gandhi National Memorial Trust, which is managed by the Union Government.
• He received the Padma Shri in 2016.
• He had also been associated with the Bhoodan and Gramdan movements, which led by Vinoba Bhave.

 Important Dates

5. World Kiswahili Language Day: 7th July

• World Kiswahili Language Day is observed 7th July annually, following a declaration by UNESCO member states.
• Kiswahili is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa.
• This is also the only African language that is an official language of the African Union.
• On 7 July, 1954, the Tanganyika African National Union, led by Julius Nyerere has declared Swahili as unifying language for independence struggles.

 Honours & Awards

6. Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in public administration to be set up

• During the 320th meeting of Executive Council of Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), chaired by Dr. Jitendra Singh, has announced to set up Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in public administration in the field of academic excellence.
• The award will set up in the memory of the first President of India, who laid the foundation stone of the IIPA building complex in New Delhi.
• IIPA President: Venkaiah Naidu
• IIPA DG: Surendra Nath Tripathi

 Sports

7. New Zealand's men and women cricketers to receive equal pay

• New Zealand Cricket and the players’ association have signed a five-year deal, that shows, the women’s players at both international and domestic level receive the same match fees as men across all formats and competitions.
• The deal will come into effect from August 1.
• As per the deal, professional women’s players will receive equity in matters such as travel, accommodation, and the wider playing and training environment.
• Tests: $10,250; ODIs: $4,000; T20Is: $2,500

 National & International Appointments

8. Suranjan Das appointed as president of Association of Indian Universities

• Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, Suranjan Das is appointed as the president of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
• His one year tenure has come into effect from July 1.
• Earlier, he was a Professor of History at the University of Calcutta and served the Vice Chancellor at University of Calcutta for the period between 2008 and 2015.
• He was a recipient of the USIS International Visitorship Programme.
• AIU HQ: New Delhi 

 Banking & Finance

9. SBI General Insurance launches Comprehensive Cyber Insurance

• SBI General Insurance has launched the Cyber VaultEdge insurance plan for individuals.
• This comprehensive cyber insurance cover provides protection against financial losses arising from cyber risks and attacks.
• This covers unauthorised e-transactions, loss of wages resulting from identity theft and instances impacting online reputation.
• According to CERT-In, cyber security incidents jumped to ₹14.02 lakh in 2021 from ₹2.08 lakh in 2018.

 State Affairs

10. Rajasthan govt will introduce India's first right-to-health Bill

• The Rajasthan government will soon introduce in the Assembly the Right to Health Bill, the first of its kind in India.
• Aim: To provide quality and affordable health care services through government and private health care providers.
• Earlier, the government had prepared a draft bill that defines the rights of patients, attendants and health care providers.
• The draft also defines a system for addressing grievances of the stakeholders.
• Rajasthan CM: Ashok Gehlot

 Banking & Finance

11. South Indian Bank joins hands with Kerala Forest Dept for digital payment

• The South Indian Bank has signed an agreement with Forest and Wildlife Department of Kerala to enable digital collection of payments at eco-tourism centres, Vanasree shops, mobile Vanasree units and eco-shops across the State.
• With the help of this partnership, the digital collection system of South Indian Bank will now be available at all 124 tourist spots that comes under the Forest Department.
• South Indian Bank Headquarters: Thrissur; CEO: Murali Ramakrishnan

 Banking & Finance

12. IRDAI permits tech-enabled add-ons to motor cover

• IRDAI has permitted the general insurance provider to introduce technology-enabled add-ons to motor own damage (OD) insurance cover.
• Add-ons are: Pay-as-you-drive, pay-how-you-drive and floater policy for vehicles belonging to the same individual owner for two wheelers and private cars.
• Objective: It will make motor insurance more affordable, especially for customers who primarily opt for only third-party (TP) insurance and overlook the benefits of OD covers. 

 National & International Appointments

13. V P Nandakumar re-appointed as MD & CEO of Manappuram Finance

• India's leading gold loan NBFC, Manappuram Finance has reappointed VP Nandakumar as the managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of the company with effect from 27 July 2022 upto 31 March 2024.
• He is post graduate in science with additional qualifications in Banking & Foreign Trade.
• He started his banking career with Nedungadi Bank. In 1992, he promoted Manappuram Finance and has been a director of the company since then.