• National

Insolvency and bankruptcy bill has passed by Loksabha

• The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill 2018.
• The Bill amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 to clarify that allottees under a real estate project should be treated as financial creditors.

• International

France’s Parliament has signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill.

• France’s Parliament has signed into law a controversial asylum and immigration bill.
• The bill is designed to accelerate asylum procedures by cutting the maximum processing time from the current 120 days to 90 days after entering France.

• Economy and Business

The government of India reported a fiscal deficit of ₹ 4.29 trillion

• The government of India reported a fiscal deficit of ₹ 4.29 trillion ($62.57 billion) for April-June, or 68.7% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year 2018-19 compared with 80.8% a year ago.
• The fiscal deficit target for the current financial year is Rs 6.24 lakh crore.

• Economy and Business

SBM Group has received Reserve Bank of India’s approval to operate in the country

• Mauritius-based SBM Group has received Reserve Bank of India’s approval to operate in the country through a wholly-owned subsidiary route.
• It is the first foreign lender to receive such a licence after local incorporation was introduced in 2013.

• Economy and Business

RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC) raised policy rates by 25 basis points to 6.5%.

• In 3rd Bi-monthly Policy Statement, the Reserve bank of India’s (RBI’s) monetary policy committee (MPC) raised policy rates by 25 basis points to 6.5% on account of inflationary pressures arising due to hike in minimum support price.
• The committee has increased the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points to 6.5%. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.25%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.75%.

• Sports

Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Savo Games .

• Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won a gold medal in the Savo Games in Lapinlahti, Finland.
• Neeraj Chopra made a throw of 85.69 metres and won the gold medal.

• Awards

ONGC bagged top honours at the Swachhta Pakwada Awards.

• Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) bagged top honours at the Swachhta Pakwada Awards.
• Swachhta Pakwada Awards is an oil ministry initiative to honour companies and individuals doing exemplary work in cleanliness.

• Awards

Parliamentary award given by President to the opposition leader of Rajya sabha

• The leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla and BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab will be conferred the Outstanding Parliamentarian award by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• Najma Heptulla will get the award for 2013, Lok Sabha member Hukumdev Yadav for 2014.

• Awards

Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen for Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award 2018

• Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi has been chosen for Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award 2018 for promoting communal harmony and peace.
• The award carries a citation and a cash award of Rs. 10 lakh.

• Appointments

Vijay Thakur Singh was named as the Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs

• Indian ambassador to Ireland Vijay Thakur Singh was named as the Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• Singh will take over as the Secretary (East), MEA with effect from October 1, after incumbent Secretary (East) in the MEA Preeti Saran.

• Science and Tech

LHC at CERN has injected and accelerated lead ‘atoms’.

• For the very first time, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN has injected and accelerated lead ‘atoms’.
• Previously, the LHC had accelerated only protons and the nuclei of atoms.

• Science and Tech

Astronomers have detected a radioactive molecule in space

• Astronomers have detected a radioactive molecule in space, believed to be from a stellar explosion that took place in the 17th century.
• The radioactive molecule was spotted with the Northern Extended Millimetre Array and the Atacama Large Millimetre/ submillimeter Array radio telescopes.

• States

The Startup India Yatra has launched in Raipur

• The Startup India Yatra has launched on July 30 2018 in Raipur.
• To promote job creation in tier 2 and tier 3 towns and cities, Startup India organizes the Startup India Yatra in one state every month.

India and Germany have signed an agreement on financial and technical cooperation

• India and Germany have signed an agreement on financial and technical cooperation focusing on sustainable urban development and renewable energy.
• The government-to-government Umbrella Agreement on Financial Cooperation and Technical Co-operation 2017 is worth about 5,000 thousand crore rupees.