National
Nine European countries have given recognition to the Covishield vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.
- The EU member-states that have recognised Covishield include Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain.
- Estonia has confirmed that it would recognise all the vaccines authorised by the Government of India for travel of Indians.
- And Switzerland, not a EU member, allows Covishield as Schengen state.
- Earlier European Union (EU) started the “Green Pass” facility, which will allow only people vaccinated with Pfizer, Moderna, Astrazenca and Johnson and Johnson.
- The nine countries’ move is a “national” move by them and not by the EU, headquartered in Brussels.
According to Education Ministry, In the academic year that ended with school closures due to COVID-19, only 22% of schools in India had Internet facilities.
- Among government schools, less than 12% had Internet in 2019-20, while less than 30% had functional computer facilities. This affected the kind of digital education options available to schools during the pandemic, as well as plans for hybrid learning in the days ahead.
- In States such as Chhattisgarh (83%) and Jharkhand (73%), installation of computer facilities in most government schools paid off, while in others such as Tamil Nadu (77%), Gujarat (74%) and Maharashtra (71%), private schools had higher levels of computer availability than in government schools.
- In States such as Assam (13%), Madhya Pradesh (13%), Bihar (14%), West Bengal (14%), Tripura (15%) and Uttar Pradesh (18%), less than one in five schools had working computers. The situation is worse in government schools, with less than 5% of U.P.’s government schools having the facility.
- The connectivity divide is even starker. Only three States — Kerala (88%), Delhi (86%) and Gujarat (71%) — have Internet facilities in more than half their schools.
State NEWS
Indian Railways’ first movable freshwater tunnel aquarium opened at Bengaluru Railway Station.
- The aquarium is a one-of-its-kind aquatic park based on the Amazon River concept
International
China’s ruling Communist Party on July 1 marked its centenary with a massive parade in Beijing and a warning from leader Xi Jinping to “any foreign forces” that China would not be “bullied”.
The Pakistan Army has formally inducted the first batch of the China-made VT-4 battle tanks into its armoury.
- Pakistan is the third country to have bought these tanks from China after Thailand and Nigeria.
Business NEWS
PMI survey shows manufacturing shrank in June
- India’s manufacturing industry slid back to a decline in June, as per the IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which fell to 48.1 in June from 50.8 in May, marking the first time since July 2020 that the index fell below the no-change mark of 50.
- Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) above 50 shows expansion and below 50 shows contraction of the economy.
Health
Zydus Cadila, the Ahmedabad-headquartered pharmaceutical company, has approached India’s top drug regulator for restricted emergency approval for ZyCov-D, its three-dose Covid-19 vaccine.
- If approved for use, this would be the world’s first DNA vaccine against Covid-19.
Science
Pixxel, a domestic space-technology firm that proposes to build and operate nanosatellites to collect, monitor and analyse data through imagery, said it would launch a series of satellite constellations that would contain a total of 36 hyperspectral satellites by end of 2023.
- Pixxel would be launching its first satellite, ‘Anand’ in October this year in association with Indian Space Research Organisation from Sriharikota.
Appointments
- Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari took over as Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
- Sanjeev Kumar Sharma assumed office as Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (Strategy).
- Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American Shalina D. Kumar as federal judge.
