Q1. Name the country’s second-largest IT services company  which has signed a deal with one of its existing clients to provide artificial intelligence (AI) and automation development, modernisation and maintenance services valued at $2 billion ?

1. Wipro Limited
2. HCL Technologies
3. Infosys
4. Tata Consultancy Services
5. None of These 

Q2. Name the former Intel India country head  who has joined as the Managing Director and CEO of Invest India on July 12 ?

1. Rajesh Kumar Singh
2. Nivruti Rai
3. Manmeet K Nanda
4. Deepak Bagla
5. None of These 

Q3. The income Tata Sons, the parent company of India’s largest conglomerate Tata Group, is all set to establish a global battery cell gigafactory  with an investment of over 4 billion pounds in the

1. United Kingdom
2. Canada                          
3. US
4. France
5. None of These 

Q4. Name the Indian-origin businesswoman  who will be the new CEO of Tubi --Fox Corporation's free ad-supported TV streaming service-- succeeding its Founder and CEO, Farhad Massoudi ?

1. Juvansinh Chauhan
2. Archana Bhargava
3. Anjali Sud
4. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
5. None of These 

Q5. Name the cooperative leader and director of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers' Union, the country's oldest dairy union best known as Amul Dairy, who has  returned to the Congress fold on  JUL 18 ?

1. Juvansinh Chauhan
2. Shaktisinh Gohil
3. Vipul Patel
4. Tribhuvandas Patel
5. None of These 

Answers

1------------------------3   Infosys

2------------------------2   Nivruti Rai

3------------------------1    United Kingdom

4------------------------3    Anjali Sud

5------------------------1   Juvansinh Chauhan

In a bid to cool the skyrocketing retail price of protein-rich pulses, especially tur dal (pigeon pea), the Centre  has decided to sell chana dal (chickpea) directly to consumers at Rs 60 per kg. Union minister for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Piyush Goyal launched the subsidised sale under the brand name Bharat Dal.

The subsidised price of chana dal is Rs 60 per kg for a 1-kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for a 30-kg bag. The milling and packaging of the chana dal is undertaken by NAFED for distribution through its retail outlets in Delhi-NCR and also through the outlets of NCCF, Kendriya Bhandar and Safal.

Under this arrangement, chana dal is also made available to state governments. The government believes that, unlike other commodities, pulses are interchangeable. However, traders say the government has no other option as it has stocked around 4 million tonnes of chana dal but has insufficient stock of other pulses to intervene in the market.

Veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has passed away. Chandy, 79, who was undergoing cancer treatment at a Bengaluru hospital for some time, breathed his last at around 4.25 am.

A two-time chief minister, Chandy was the longest-serving MLA in the Kerala legislative assembly. Known as the man of masses and a champion of developmental initiatives, Oommen Chandy shared close relations with leaders irrespective of political affiliations.

He has represented the Puthuppally constituency in the assembly for more than five decades. He was elected from here a record 12 times, from 1970 to 2021. He has served as the chief minister for seven years. Chandy has also served as minister holding a slew of different portfolios including Home, finance and labour. He has also served as the Leader of Opposition in the assembly. Currently, he’s the AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh and a member of the Congress Working Committee.

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after meeting with BJP National President JP Nadda and Union Minister Amit Shah.

Paswan had been in talks with the BJP for finalising his party's share of Lok Sabha seats in Bihar for 2024 and the meeting is being seen as part of that exercise.

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's State Visit to the US, a total of 105 antiquities, spanning a period from 2nd-3rd Century CE to 18th-19th Century CE, are being repatriated to India by American authorities.

Some of the valuable Indian antiquities were handed over by the US on  July 17  at a special repatriation ceremony held at the Consulate General of India in New York in the presence of India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Consul General Randhir Jaiswal and officials from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

The 105 artifacts represent a wide geographical spread in terms of their origin in India - with 47 from Eastern India, 27 from Southern India, 22 from Central India, 6 from Northern India and 3 from Western India

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travels to Saudi Arabia on Jul 17  in a three-stop tour of Persian Gulf states to seek trade and investment opportunities for Turkey’s floundering economy.

Erdogan will arrive in Jeddah accompanied by an entourage of some 200 businesspeople . He is expected to meet King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Business forums have been arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during Erdogan’s three-day trip.

The visit comes as Turks are hit with sales and fuel tax hikes that Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has said are necessary to restore fiscal discipline and bring inflation down.

The official annual inflation rate stood at 38% last month, down from a high of 85% in October. Independent economists, however, maintain that the actual rate was around 108% in June.

Turkey’s current account deficit reached record levels this year – $37.7 billion in the first five months — and Erdogan is hoping the oil- and gas-rich Gulf states will help plug the gap.

His Gulf tour was preceded by Turkish officials including Simsek, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and central bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan holding talks in all three countries.

Ankara has recently repaired ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE following a decade-long rift. The split arose following the 2011 Arab Spring and Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood, considered a threat by some Gulf monarchies.

Worsening relations were exacerbated by a boycott of Turkish ally Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. The 2018 murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul led to a further souring of ties with Riyadh.

Since Erdogan launched a diplomatic re-engagement with previously estranged regional powers two years ago, funding from the Gulf has helped relieve pressure on the economy.

Tamil Nadu  is ranked as the top state in Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2022. With an overall score of 80.89, the state topped the third edition of the rankings, piping Maharashtra (78.20) and Karnataka (76.36). Gujarat, which was the topper in the first two editions, was relegated to fourth position with 73.22 points.

The index assesses the readiness of states in terms of their export potential and performance. Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T R B Rajaas hailed the rankings and said the state securing the number one spot reinforces the state’s top rank in ease of doing business.

It was ranked fourth in the financial year 2022 and moved to the top spot in 2023. Companies like Tata Electronics and Pegatron starting production have helped Tamil Nadu overtake Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra to become India’s top exporter of electronic goods.

The Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index is also aimed at promoting competition among all states (coastal, landlocked, Himalayan and UTs) to bring about favourable policies, ease the regulatory framework, create necessary infrastructure and assist in identifying strategic recommendations for improving export competitiveness. The ranking is based on four main pillars: policy, business ecosystem, export ecosystem and export performance.

Largest private sector lender HDFC Bank reported a 29.13 per cent jump in consolidated net profit for the June quarter at Rs 12,370.38 crore.

The bank, which recently merged mortgage financier parent HDFC into itself, had reported a net profit of Rs 9,579.11 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 12,594.47 crore in the preceding March quarter.

Its total income for the quarter under review rose to Rs 61,021 crore, as against Rs 44,202 crore in the year-ago period.

Operating expenses rose to Rs 15,177 crore during the quarter under review, from Rs 11,355 crore in the year-ago period, as per a regulatory filing.

The gross non-performing assets ratio came at 1.17 per cent as of June 30, 2023, as against 1.12 per cent at the end of March and 1.28 per cent in the year-ago period.