The unemployment rate (UR) in India has dropped to a six-month low in July at 6.80%,  driven by a fall in rural unemployment. It stood at 7.80% in June. The rural unemployment rate in the country saw a significant fall to 6.14% in July as against 8.03% in June. The urban unemployment rate in the month, however, has increased to 8.21% from 7.30% in June.

The joblessness rate was at its lowest before July in January this year at 6.56%.  In terms of states, Haryana saw the highest UR in July at 26.9% followed by Jammu & Kashmir at 20.2%, Rajasthan at 19.1% and Bihar at 18.8%. At the same time, the lowest UR was seen by Chhattisgarh at 0.8% followed by Odisha at 0.9%, Meghalaya at 1.5% and Madhya Pradesh at 2%.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on  Aug 4 said it has detected Customs duty evasion of nearly Rs 2,217 crore from Vivo Mobile India, a subsidiary of China’s Vivo Communication Technology.

The finance ministry, in its statement, said the searches were conducted by DRI officers at the factory premises of the Chinese tech giant, which led to the recovery of incriminating evidence indicating wilful misdeclaration in the description of certain items imported by Vivo India for use in the manufacture of mobile phones.

A sum of Rs 60 crore has been voluntarily deposited by Vivo India towards the discharge of their differential duty liability.  Recently in another set of investigations conducted by DRI, show-cause notices demanding a duty of Rs 4,403.88 crore were issued to Oppo Mobiles India.

Lately, Indian agencies have raided almost all Chinese mobile makers including Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei. The ED seized over Rs 5,551 crore worth of funds from Xiaomi tax evasion. The DRI has detected customs duty evasion of Rs 4,389 crore by Oppo India.

At the same time, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) mandated telcos to source telecom equipment for expansion or upgrade of their existing network from trusted sources. It means Chinese telecom gear makers Huawei and ZTE will not be able to sell their products to Indian telecom operators.

The government has also banned 348 Chinese mobile applications, which were collecting users’ information and transmitting them in an unauthorised manner to servers located outside the country for profiling.

Recently in another set of investigations conducted by DRI, show-cause notices demanding a duty of Rs 4,403.88 crore were issued to Oppo

Pursuing weightlifting was not easy for Lovepreet Singh, who on  Aug 4 clinched the 109kg bronze at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

It all started when he saw a few youngsters from his village, Bal Sachander in Amritsar (Punjab) lifting weights. Lovepreet, who was around 13 years old then, was so attracted to the sport that he decided to pursue it as a career. But the biggest obstacle in his way was the lack of money.

His father Kripal Singh is a tailor and owns a small shop in the village. Kripal Singh's meagre income was not enough to help his elder son pursue his dream.

Lovepreet refused to be disheartened. He started helping wholesale vegetable vendors in Amritsar mandi to earn extra bucks thereby sustaining his weightlifting dream.

Q1.  Name the mega military exercise which  India and the US will hold in Uttarakhand's Auli in October amid the fast-evolving regional security scenario ?

1. Yudh Abhyas
2. Garuda Shakti
3. Vajra Prahar
4. Mitra Shakti
5. None of These

Q2. The unemployment rate (UR) in India has dropped to a six-month low in July at

1. 8.21%
2. 7.30%
3.  6.80%
4.  6 %
5. None of These

Q3. Nagorno-Karabakh is an area of conflict between

1. Turkey and Syria
2. Iran and Iraq
3. Saudi Arab and Yemen
4. Azerbaijan and Armenia
5. None of These

Q4. The Lok Sabha  on  Aug 3 passed a bill that seeks to transform the National Rail and Transportation University into central university to be called

1. Rail Shakti Vishwavidyalaya
2. Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya
3. Rashtriya Rail Vishwavidyalaya
4. Atal Shakti Vishwavidyalaya
5. None of These 

Q5. Name the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court who is in line to become the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) ?

1. Uday Umesh Lalit
2. Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud
3. Sanjay Kishan Kaul
4. S. Abdul Nazeer (Judge)
5. None of These

Answers

1----------------------------- 1  Yudh Abhyas

2------------------------------- 3   6.80%

3-------------------------------4    Azerbaijan and Armenia

4----------------------------- 2   Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya

5------------------------------- 1   Uday Umesh Lalit 

Vigilance Commissioner Suresh N Patel was on Aug 3 sworn in as the Central Vigilance Commissioner

He made and subscribed the oath of his office before President Droupadi Murmu.

The Centre has withdrawn the mandatory condition to import coal from abroad for 10% blending in thermal power plants of the country, allowing states and UTs to decide their own blending percentages.

Punjab has already spent about Rs 275 crore and Haryana about Rs 1,650 crore after placing orders to buy imported coal. This government direction came in a letter issued on Aug 1 by the Power Ministry to the governments in states and MDs of state-owned power generating companies (Gencos) and independent power producers (IPPs).

Earlier, the All India Power Engineers Federation (AIPEF) had asked the Centre not to force states to buy imported coal due to its high cost. 

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Aug 2 . This is Solih’s third visit to India since he became President in 2018. Maldives follows an India first policy and New Delhi, too, under the Neighbourhood First policy, is the first responder to any crisis in Male.

India has been investing heavily in infrastructure projects in Maldives. “Till now India has extended $2.8 billion worth of financial aid to Maldives, which includes Letters of Credit (LOC) and currency exchange. Despite the pandemic, there was 31 per cent increase in trade between India and Maldives in 2021 ($330 million) compared to 2020,” said Munu Munawar, Indian High Commissioner to Male.

Modi and Solih jointly launched the Greater Male Connectivity Project — the largest infrastructure project in Maldives. A 6.74-km-long bridge, connecting Male to Villingli, Gulhifahlu and Thilahfushi, will be built at a cost of $500. India is funding the project.

Besides announcing an LOC worth $100 to ensure that all ongoing projects complete on time, Modi reviewed construction of 4,000 social housing units in Greater Male. The units are funded under Exim Bank of India’s buyers credit finance of $227 million.

Japan has expressed concern to China over its military drills in waters around Taiwan, the top government spokesman said  on Aug 3 as US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits the island.

Beijing has said its military exercises this week will include long-range live ammunition shooting in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the democratic island from mainland China.

Parts of Japan's southernmost island region Okinawa are close to Taiwan, as are islets at the centre of a long-running dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.

Beijing considers self-ruled Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to one day seize the island, by force if necessary.