Correct Answer :   Razorpay

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Razorpay has announced the launch of its first international payment gateway for the Malaysian market with Curlec, now known as ‘Curlec by Razorpay’.

* In February 2022, Razorpay had acquired a majority stake in Kuala Lumpur-based fintech Curlec at a valuation of $20 million with an aim to fuel its global expansion plans. The balance stake acquisition was to be completed in 2023.

* The company currently works with over 700 Malaysian businesses, including Tune Protect, CTOS, Courts, Mary Kay and The National Kidney Foundation.

* “The new Curlec payment gateway will serve more than 5,000 businesses with a target of RM10 billion ($2 billion) in annualized gross transaction value (GTV) by 2025," Razorpay said in its statement.

* We have always been aware that simplifying payments is a universal problem. We see great potential in SEA, we recognise the power of payments in Malaysia and what it means for businesses of any kind and size.

* We firmly believe that our extensive experience in operating within the diverse and dynamic market of India has prepared us to tackle different challenges and solve payment problems on a global scale," said Shashank Kumar, managing director and co-founder, Razorpay India.

* Curlec co-founder and CEO Zac Liew added, “With the launch of our Payment Gateway, ‘Curlec by Razorpay’, we are now a full-stack payment solutions provider, combining the might of both worlds - world-class tech capabilities and an understanding of the local payment ecosystem.

In the recent past, Curlec has enjoyed significant traction in insurance, lending, and savings, having tracked a 110% increase in transaction volumes. In the next two years, we expect Curlec to provide an unrivaled payment experience for our customers and target a growth of 10X."..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Justice Alexander Thomas

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Chief justice of the Kerala High Court Justice S Venkatanarayana Bhatti was elevated to the Supreme Court, Justice Alexander Thomas was on Thursday (13th July 2023) appointed as the high court's acting chief justice of the Kerala High Court.

A notification issued by the department of justice in the law ministry said Justice Alexander Thomas, senior-most judge of the Kerala High Court, will perform the duties of the office of the chief justice of that high court with effect from the date Justice Bhatti relinquishes the charge as chief justice following his appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court .

Justice Alexander Thomas :

Justice Alexander Thomas was born on September 4, 1961, and served as a Senior Government Pleader in the Kerala High Court from 1998 to 2001. He was appointed as the Additional Judge of the Kerala High Court on January 23, 2014. He was appointed as Legal Retainer & Standing Counsel for Railway Ministry from 2004 to 2007 as well as served as Standing Counsel & Legal Retainer for Kerala Public Service Commission from 2007 to 2011.

The notification dated July 13, 2023, reads, “In exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Alexander Thomas, seniormost Judge of the Kerala High Court, to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from the date Shri Justice S. Venkatanarayana Bhatti relinquishes the charge as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court consequent upon his appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India”.

Correct Answer :   India

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India would host the Conference on Traditional Medicines for ASEAN Countries on 20th July 2023.

The conference would be conducted by the Ministry of Ayush, the Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Mission to ASEAN, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

Aim : The Conference on Traditional Medicines aims to strengthen the platform between India and ASEAN Countries to share their best practices and draw a roadmap for future cooperation in the field of Traditional Medicines.

Addressing the Media at the Curtain Raiser event 13th July 2023, Union Minister for Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The multi-dimensional relationship between India and ASEAN stands on a strong foundation of shared geographical, historical, and civilizational links which is far older that goes back to more than two millennia.”

He continued, “Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi at the 12th ASEAN India Summit at Myanmar in November 2014 enunciated ‘Act East Policy’, giving a new momentum to the strategic partnership. The India ASEAN conference on Traditional Medicine being held after almost a decade is a major step towards deepening cooperation of India with ASEAN.”

Sharing details about the achievements of the Ministry, he added, “The Ayush sector has grown multi-fold in the last 9 years since the year 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi elevated the then Department of Ayush under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to an independent Ministry of Ayush. Today the Ministry is engaged with many top class International organizations from UK, USA, Japan, Brazil, Germany as well as National organizations like CSIR, DST, DBT, IITs etc. to undertake high quality research on Ayush systems in various Non Communicable disease conditions like Diabetes Mellitus, Cancer, Mental Health as well as infectious diseases like Covid.

The ASEAN conference will provide a platform to share the research outcomes of various projects implemented by the Ministry of Ayush. Similarly, ASEAN countries will also share their experiences.”.

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Jammu and Kashmir

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Jammu and Kashmir, a path-breaking Mobile-Dost-App has been launched in sync with the vision of Apka-Mobile-Hamara-Daftar, a pioneering initiative for mobile-based delivery of citizen-centric services in the Union Territory.

While launching the Mobile-Dost-App, the Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta said that this revolutionary App signifies a significant step towards a digitally empowered Jammu & Kashmir.

He added that the administration is committed to providing seamless services to its residents, fostering ease in accessibility, mobility, transparency, and efficiency in governance.

The Chief Secretary said with the launch of this App, the administration aim to enhance accessibility and convenience ensuring that every individual of J&K will get benefited from government services at their fingertips.

Aim : The Mobile-Dost-App aims at empowering the people of Jammu & Kashmir by providing a comprehensive platform to access all the Government to Citizen Services (G2C) directly from their mobile devices. With just a few taps, residents can now effortlessly avail a number of services, enhancing their daily lives and fostering an efficient, effective, and transparent governance system..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Devesh Uttam

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Indian diplomat Devesh Uttam has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Lithuania, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

An Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of batch 2003, Uttam is expected to take up his assignment shortly.

The MEA informed of his appointment through an official release 11th July 2023.

“Shri Devesh Uttam (IFS: 2003), presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Lithuania. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly,” the MEA release read.

Earlier in May 2023, Lithuanian Ambassador to India Diana Mickeviciene welcomed the opening of a new mission in Lithuania and said that the country is very happy to enter a new stage in its ties with India.

“We welcome this step. I think we’re very happy to enter a new stage in our relationships where it’s going to be fully reciprocal. So, we are, of course, wishing our Indian colleagues for setting up themselves in the Lithuanian capital… And we look forward to really working together and to strengthen our relationship.” the envoy said while speaking to ANI on India operationalising new mission in Lithuania..

Source : ANI

Correct Answer :   FSSAI

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The defence ministry and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have joined hands to promote use of millets and healthy eating practices among armed forces personnel, officials said on Thursday (13th July 2023).

An MoU was signed in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya here.

The two Union ministers also unveiled a book "Healthy Recipes for Defence" to promote consumption of 'Shree Anna' (millets) and its health benefits, the defence wing of the PIB said in a statement.

Correct Answer :   Israel

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Israel's parliament gave preliminary approval on Tuesday (11th July 2023) to a bill that limits some Supreme Court power, part of a rebooted judicial overhaul by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that has set off a deep political crisis.

The drive to change the justice system by Netanyahu's ruling coalition of nationalist and religious parties has sparked unprecedented protests, stirred concern for Israel's democratic health among its Western allies and bruised the economy.

Commanding 64 of the Knesset's 120 seats, Netanyahu's coalition won the first of three required votes for the new bill to be written into law, with protests expected to intensify.

The new bill seeks a curb on the Supreme Court's power to void decisions made by the government, ministers and elected officials by ruling them unreasonable.

It now returns to committee for discussion and could be altered before being brought for the final votes.

Critics argue that this judicial oversight helps prevent corruption and abuses of power. Proponents say the change will facilitate effective governance by curbing court intervention.

"It is not the end of democracy, it strengthens democracy," Netanyahu said in a video statement released at sundown as the Knesset debated the bill.

"Even after the amendment, court independence and civil rights in Israel will not be harmed in any way. The court will continue to oversee the legality of government action and appointments," Netanyahu said..

Source : Indiatoday

Correct Answer :   2

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The Central government Wednesday (12th July 2023) cleared the appointment of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and SV Bhatti as judges of the Supreme Court.

Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal tweeted the development.

[BREAKING] Central government clears appointment of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan, SV Bhatti as Supreme Court judges#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtofIndia @arjunrammeghwal https://t.co/gi01M9yJYV

— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) July 12, 2023

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended their elevation to the top court on July 5, 2023.

Justice Bhuyan is currently serving as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court while Justice Bhatti is the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.

Justice Bhuyan's parent High Court is the Gauhati High Court.

He was appointed as a judge of the Gauhati High Court on October 17, 2011. He is the senior-most judge of his parent High Court and has been serving as Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court since June 28, 2022.

Justice Bhatti was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on April 12, 2013 and is the senior-most in his parent High Court.

He was transferred to the Kerala High Court in March 2019 and is presently serving as Chief Justice there since June 1, 2023.

The Collegium resolution noted that the Andhra Pradesh High Court does not have any representation in the Supreme Court since August 2022.

The Supreme Court is currently functioning with a strength of 30 judges as against a sanctioned strength of 34.

With the appointment of two new judges, the strength of the apex court will rise to 32..

Source : Barandbench

Correct Answer :   Sarbananda Sonowal

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Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the indigenous Differential Global Navigation Satellite System (DGNSS) ‘SAGAR SAMPARK’ on 12th July 2023.

In the presence of Shri Shripad Y. Naik, the Minister of State of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; Shri TK Ramachandran, IAS Secretary, MoPSW and other senior officials from the ministry and Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships.

DGNSS is a terrestrial based enhancement system which corrects the errors and inaccuracies in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) allowing for more accurate positioning information.

The DGNSS service will help mariners in safe navigation and will reduce the risk of collisions, groundings, and accidents in the port and harbour areas. This will lead to safe & efficient movement of vessels.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Shripad Y. Naik said ‘DGNSS is an important Radio Aid to Navigation towards fulfillment of international obligations of International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)’.

After recapitalization with multiple satellite constellations like GPS and Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), DGNSS further increases the availability and redundancy as per International standards and helps the mariners to improve their positioning within 5 meters.

The latest DGNSS system is now able to transmit corrections of GPS and GLONASS. The DGNSS significantly improves the accuracy of GPS positioning, reducing errors caused by the atmospheric inferences, satellite clock drift and other factors. This is achieved with the help of modern state of art technology receivers and latest software. The error correction accuracy has been improved from 5 to 10 meters to less than 5 meters for 100 Nautical Miles from Indian coastlines..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   12th July 2023

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Milan Kundera, whose dissident writings in communist Czechoslovakia transformed him into an exiled satirist of totalitarianism, has died in Paris at the age of 94, Czech media said Wednesday (12th July 2023).

Kundera's renowned novel, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being,' opens wrenchingly with Soviet tanks rolling through Prague, the Czech capital that was the author's home until he moved to France in 1975.

 Weaving together themes of love and exile, politics and the deeply personal, Kundera's novel won critical acclaim, earning him a wide readership among Westerners who embraced both his anti-Soviet subversion and the eroticism threaded through many of his works.

If someone had told me as a boy : One day you will see your nation vanish from the world, I would have considered it nonsense, something I couldn't possibly imagine. A man knows he is mortal, but he takes it for granted that his nation possesses a kind of eternal life, he told the author Philip Roth in a New York Times interview in 1980, the year before he became a naturalised French citizen.

In 1989, the Velvet Revolution pushed Communists from power and Kundera's nation was reborn as the Czech Republic, but by then he had made a new life and a complete identity in his attic apartment on Paris' Left Bank.

He won accolades for his style depicting themes and characters that floated between the mundane reality of everyday life and the lofty world of ideas.

Other works : The Joke, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting

Awards : Jerusalem Prize (1985), Austrian State Prize for European Literature (1987), Vilenica International Literary Festival (1992), Herder Prize (2000).

Source : Business Sstandard