ANS : B

• With their 4-2 win over Belgium, Netherlands men finish their season four campaign on 35 points, making them champions of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022/23 season.
• Netherlands become the first team in the men’s competition to win a second title, successfully defending their first title, won in the competition last year. 
• Netherlands become the first nation to do the double in a season of the FIH Hockey Pro League with both the men’s and women’s team winning the title in the 2022/23 season. 

ANS : A

• The United States has destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons (rockets filled with GB nerve agent) stockpile, President Joe Biden confirmed, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.
• The US faced a September 30 deadline to eliminate its remaining chemical weapons under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which took effect in 1997 and was joined by 193 countries.
• Only three countries — Egypt, North Korea and South Sudan — have not signed the treaty.
• A fourth, Israel, has signed but not ratified the treaty.
• Chemical weapons were first used in modern warfare in World War I, during which they were estimated to have killed at least 100,000 people.
• They also have been used in modern warfare – notably by Iraq during its conflict with Iran in the 1980s and more recently in the Syrian war.

ANS : A

• Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari has resigned from his position.
• Having held prominent positions at renowned companies like Honeywell and McKinsey & Company, Maheshwari became a part of Microsoft in 2016.
• He is an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, and specialized in electrical and electronic engineering.
• Additionally, he obtained a Master of Science degree from BITS, Pilani.
• Furthermore, Maheshwari pursued his studies at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.

ANS : D

• Google, on 7 July 2023, celebrated the Japanese festival Tanabata with a special doodle.
• Tanabata is celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year.
• The festival is based on the ancient Chinese legend of two star-crossed lovers.
• The legend came to Japan in the 8th century BC and has been celebrated ever since.

ANS : C

• Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, has entered into a strategic partnership with Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks, to facilitate personal loans for its valued customers, adding additional convenience and enhanced benefits to its 450 million customers.
• The newly introduced personal loan service offers highly competitive loan options, granting access to amounts as high as ₹5 lakhs, allowing customers flexible repayment cycles ranging from 6 to 36 months.
• Flipkart’s introduction to personal loans demonstrates its commitment to addressing customers’ demands in today’s financial environment and leveraging the potential of digital lending.

ANS : B

• Rosneft, a Russian energy giant, has appointed Govind Kottis Satish, a former Indian Oil Corporation director, as a member of its board.
• This makes him the first Indian to be appointed to the board of the Russian oil giant.
• Rosneft has a partnership with Indian Oil Corporation in oil and gas fields in Russia.
• GK Satish, 62, retired from the post of director for business development at IOC in 2021.
• Satish has over 30 years of experience in Indian Oil in various areas including marketing operations, logistics, and international trade.

ANS : A

• Deepika Deshwal became the first and youngest Indian girl to deliver a speech at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
• She was invited by the United Nations for the third time to deliver a speech on women’s rights and human rights.
• Deshwal has already etched her name in the Guinness Book of World Records for her selfless public service during the Covid-19 pandemic.

ANS : A

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched a video contest with daily cash prizes worth ₹2.75 lakh for the participants.
• Named ‘Jan Samman’, the contest entails shooting and uploading of short videos on the schemes.
• For taking part in the contest, the people will be required to make videos of the length of 30 to 120 seconds and upload them on at least two social media platforms with the hashtag #JanSammanJaiRajasthan.
• The links for these video clips are thereafter to be submitted on a dedicated government website, from where the winners will be selected on a daily basis.
• The daily first prize under the contest will be of ₹1 lakh, while the second and third prizes will amount to ₹50,000 and ₹25,000, respectively.
• A consolation prize of ₹1,000 each will also be announced for 100 participants every day till the contest closes on August 6.

ANS : C

•  Advocate Vrinda Grover has been appointed a member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2022.
• She has been practicing as an independent lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, the High Courts and the trial courts in India since 1989, and specialises in criminal law, women’s rights and human rights.
• She was among the 100 most influential people in the world in a report by Time magazine in 2013.
• Grover will join Erik Møse (Norway) and Pablo de Greiff (Colombia) who have been serving as Chair and Commissioner of the Commission of Inquiry since March 2022.
• Grover’s appointment to the Commission was made by President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Václav Bálek (Czechia).

ANS : B

• To enhance the travelling experience of international and domestic travellers, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is all set to inaugurate its 2.1 km long dual lane Elevated Cross Taxiway on July 14, 2023.
• The inauguration of ECT will cut short the waiting time in an aircraft from 20-25 minutes to 10 minutes.
• The first-of-its-kind taxiway has made Indira Gandhi International Airport to be India’s first airport to have ECT, that will be inaugurated by Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.