ANS : A 

• Every year, July 3 is observed as the ‘International Plastic Bag Free Day.’
• It is observed to encourage people to use natural and eco-friendly alternatives to plastic bags and other items.
• The first International Plastic Bag Free Day was observed on July 3, 2008, when Rezero, a member of Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), initiated it.
• Zero Waste Europe Headquarters – Brussels, Belgium.

List of Important day in July :​ 

ANS : B 

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah, inaugurated the ‘Akshar River Cruise,’ a Made in India initiative, on the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad.
• The launch took place through a video conference today, showcasing the collaborative efforts of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited.
• The ‘Akshar River Cruise’ on the Sabarmati riverfront is a luxury river-cruise equipped with twin engines and built at a cost of Rs 15 crore, the river cruise will be a major attraction for the people of Ahmedabad as well as tourists.

ANS : D

• Coal India’s (CIL) newly-appointed chairman and managing director (CMD) PM Prasad ,while assuming charge, said that uninterrupted coal supply to the power sector is among the top priorities of the public sector coal mining major.
• CIL would achieve the 780 million tonne (MT) output target of FY 2024 with all efforts and means available at its disposal.
• Prior to taking charge as Coal India CMD, he led the Jharkhand based Central Coalfields Ltd, a Coal India, subsidiary, to its production target achievement in FY23.
•  He succeeds Pramod Agrawal who stepped down on 30 June on attaining the age of superannuation.

Coal India Limited (CIL) :

• It is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Coal, Government of India.
• It is headquartered at Kolkata.
• It is the largest government-owned-coal-producer in the world.
• It is also the seventh largest employer in India with nearly 272,000 employees.

ANS : C 

• Ajit Pawar, NCP leader, took oath as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra along with nine NCP MLAs.
• The swearing-in ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan on 2 July 2023, in the presence of CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
• Before the ceremony, Ajit submitted a letter of support of 35 NCP MLAs to Governor Ramesh Bais.
• With Ajit’s entry, the state will now have two DCM’s.

ANS : C

• A European-built orbital satellite was launched to space from Florida on a mission to shed new light on the mysterious cosmic phenomena known as dark energy and dark matter, unseen forces scientists say account for 95% of the known universe.
• The telescope dubbed Euclid, named for the ancient Greek mathematician called the “father of geometry,” was carried aloft in the cargo bay of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• The mission focuses on two foundational components of the dark universe.
  • One is dark matter, the invisible but theoretically influential cosmic scaffolding thought to give shape and texture to the cosmos.
  • The other is dark energy, an equally enigmatic force believed to explain why expansion of the universe, as scientists learned in the 1990s, has long been accelerating.

ANS : D

• West Indies, who won the first two editions of the men’s 50-over World Cup in 1975 and 1979, were bundled out for 181 in 43.5 overs before Scotland knocked off their target with seven wickets and 39 balls to spare.
• West Indies were on the brink of elimination after successive losses to Zimbabwe and Netherlands – the defeat to the Dutch coming after a Super Over in which their opponents scored a record 30 – and will now be a notable absentee in the subcontinent later this year.

Cricket : 

• The first official cricket test match was played in the year 1877 between Australia and England in Melbourne.
• The First One Day International cricket match was played in the year 1971 between England and Australia in Melbourne.
• The first World Cup of one-day matches was played in 1975 in London.
• The apex institution of world cricket is the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its headquarters are now in Dubai.
• Earlier it was in Lords (England).
• The ICC was founded in 1909.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was formed in 1927.​
• Terminologies used in cricket are Toss, Run, Wicket, Bails, Crease, Pavilion, Maiden Over, Follow-on, Bowled, Stump Out, Run Out, L.B.W. Hit Wicket, No
  ball, Wide ball, Dead ball, Overthrow, Bye, Leg bye, Cover drive, Late cut, Hook, Glance, Stroke, Spot, Pull, Sixer, Followthrough, Googly, Cover, Gully, Long on, Silly point,Midwicket, Mid on, Forward short leg

ANS : B 

• According to the 17th edition of the Global Peace Index 2023 released by international think-tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), India has ranked at 126th position by climbing nine positions from 2022.
• The list is topped by Iceland.
• India has ranked 21st this time around among the 26 Asian countries surveyed, managing a place at the bottom of the “medium” category.

• India is listed as the 126th country on the list which is far behind few of her neighbours such as Bhutan (17), Maldives (23), Nepal (79), China (80), Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (107), Myanmar (145) & Pakistan (146) are listed behind India.

ANS : D 

• Telangana police ties up with IIT-K to fight cyber crime.
• The police in this southern State will use a cybercrime investigation tool developed by the C3iHub at IIT-K.
• Though the aid is yet to be christened, it plays the role of a virtual investigation and helps and guides the police in their probe of crimes pertaining to the cyber world.
• The tool automatically classifies the type of crime such as phishing, vishing, investment frauds and loan app fraud.

ANS : A 

• Triveni Continental Kings were crowned champions of inaugural Global Chess League after Danish Grandmaster Jonas Bjerre defeated upGrad Mumba Masters’ Javokhir Sindarov in a sudden death match.
• The winner was decided through three stages of tie-breaks.
• After two rounds of rapid ending in a draw, another two rounds of blitz were played, but still finished with draws.
• The champion was ultimately decided in a series of sudden-death blitz games where the decisive outcome came in the fourth game.

ANS : B 

• The UAE-India Economic Summit, themed “Fostering Synergies – Uniting the Falcon and Tiger Economies,” took place on July 3, 2023, at the ADGM Auditorium in Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.
• The event, jointly hosted by SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAPS) and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), brought together industry leaders from India and the UAE, and marked the official opening of SBICAPS ADGM Branch Office.
• During the  summit, Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir  highlighted the successful implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the UAE and India.
• This landmark agreement, the first-ever CEPA for the UAE and India’s first with any Middle Eastern country, has reinforced trade relations between the two nations.