1. Cabinet Reshuffle: 43 leaders take oath as ministers
- The Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expanded its council of ministers. The names in the cabinet reshuffle include several new entrants as well as existing ministers who will be reassigned.
- The swearing-in ceremony of 43 Ministers was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on July 7, 2021. In total, 15 Ministers were inducted into the Union Cabinet and 28 Ministers were inducted as Ministers of State. This is the first cabinet reshuffle since the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) retained power in 2019.
- The Union Cabinet can have 81 members, as per the rule. There were 53 ministers in PM Modi’s cabinet but a series of them, including Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, resigned hours before the names were announced.
Here is the list of New Cabinet ministers:
| SI. No | Minister | Ministry |
| 1 | Rajnath Singh | Minister of Defence |
| 2 | Amit Shah | Minister of Home Affairs; and Minister of Cooperation |
| 3 | Mansukh Mandaviya | Minister of Health and Family Welfare; and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 4 | Nitin Gadkari | Minister of Road Transport and Highways |
| 5 | Nirmala Sitharaman | Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs |
| 6 | Narendra Singh Tomar | Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 7 | Dr S. Jaishankar | Minister of External Affairs |
| 8 | Arjun Munda | Minister of Tribal Affairs |
| 9 | Smriti Irani | Minister of Women and Child Development |
| 10 | Piyush Goyal | Minister of Commerce and Industry; Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of Textiles |
| 11 | Dharmendra Pradhan | Minister of Education; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship |
| 12 | Pralhad Joshi | Minister of Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Coal; and Minister of Mines |
| 13 | Narayan Rane | Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 14 | Sarbananda Sonowal | Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; and Minister of AYUSH |
| 15 | Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi | Minister of Minority Affairs |
| 16 | Dr. Virendra Kumar | Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 17 | Giriraj Singh | Minister of Rural Development; and Minister of Panchayati Raj |
| 18 | Jyotiraditya M. Scindia | Minister of Civil Aviation |
| 19 | Ashwini Vaishnaw | Minister of Railways; Minister of Communications; and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology |
| 20 | Ramchandra Prasad Singh | Minister of Steel |
| 21 | Pashu Pati Kumar Paras | Minister of Food Processing Industries |
| 22 | Gajendra Singh Shekhawat | Minister of Jal Shakti |
| 23 | Kiren Rijiju | Minister of Law and Justice |
| 24 | Ra Kumar Singh | Minister of Power; and Minister of New and Renewable Energy |
| 25 | Hardeep Singh Puri | Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 26 | Bhupender Yadav | Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; and Minister of Labour and Employment |
| 27 | Mahendra Nath Pandey | Minister of Heavy Industries |
| 28 | Parshottam Rupala | Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| 29 | G. Kishan Reddy | Minister of Culture; Minister of Tourism; and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region |
| 30 | Anurag Singh Thakur | Minister of Information and Broadcasting; and Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports |
Ministers of State (Independent Charge)
| SI. No | Minister | Ministry |
| 1 | Rao Inderjit Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs |
| 2 | Dr Jitendra Singh | Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Earth Sciences; Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office; Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Minister of State in the Department of Atomic Energy; and Minister of State in the Department of Space |
Ministers of State
| SI. No | Minister | Ministry |
| 1 | Shripad Yesso Naik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways; andMinister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| 2 | Faggansingh Kulaste | Minister of State in the Ministry of Steel; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| 3 | Prahalad Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Food Processing Industries |
| 4 | Ashwini Kumar Choubey | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change |
| 5 | Arjun Ram Meghwal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| 6 | General (Retd.) V. K. Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation |
| 7 | Krishan Pal | Minister of State in the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Heavy Industries |
| 8 | Danve Raosaheb Dadarao | Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways; Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Mines |
| 9 | Ramdas Athawale | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 10 | Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti | Minister of State in the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Rural Development |
| 11 | Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Balyan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying |
| 12 | Nityanand Rai | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 13 | Pankaj Chaowdhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| 14 | Anupriya Singh Patel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 15 | Prof. S. P. Singh Baghel | Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice |
| 16 | Rajeev Chandrasekhar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology |
| 17 | Shobha Karandlaje | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 18 | Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 19 | Darshana Vikram Jardosh | Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Railways |
| 20 | V. Muraleedharan | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs |
| 21 | Meenakashi Lekhi | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Culture |
| 22 | Som Parkash | Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| 23 | Renuka Singh Saruta | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs |
| 24 | Rameswar Teli | Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Employment |
| 25 | Kailash Choudhary | Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare |
| 26 | Annpurna Devi | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 27 | A. Narayanaswamy | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 28 | Kaushal Kishore | Minister of State in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs |
| 29 | Ajay Bhatt | Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism |
| 30 | B. L. Verma | Minister of State in the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Cooperation |
| 31 | Ajay Kumar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs |
| 32 | Devusinh Chauhan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications |
| 33 | Bhagwanth Khuba | Minister of State in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers |
| 34 | Kapil Moreshwar Patil | Minister of State in the Ministry of Panchayati Raj |
| 35 | Pratima Bhoumik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment |
| 36 | Dr. Subhas Sarkar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 37 | Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad | Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance |
| 38 | Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh | Minister of State in the Ministry of External Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Education |
| 39 | Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar | Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare |
| 40 | Bishweswar Tudu | Minister of State in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Jal Shakti |
| 41 | Shantanu Thakur | Minister of State in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways |
| 42 | Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai | Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of AYUSH |
| 43 | John Barla | Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs |
| 44 | Dr. L. Murugan | Minister of State in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
| 45 | Nisith Pramanik | Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports |
2. Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated at his home
- Haiti President, Jovenel Moise was assassinated and his wife wounded in an attack at their home, the interim prime minister announced an act that risks further destabilizing the Caribbean nation beset by gang violence and political volatility.
- The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.
- Most recently, Joseph was supposed to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Haiti Capital: Port-au-Prince;
- Haiti Currency: Haitian gourde;
- Haiti Continent: North America.
3. N Venudhar Reddy takes charge as Director General of All India Radio
- N Venudhar Reddy, an Indian Information Service, IIS Officer of 1988 batch took charge as Director General of All India Radio. Currently Working as Principal DG of News Services Division, All India Radio, he was given additional charge of AIR, upon the approval of the Appointments Committee of the cabinet. All India Radio, officially known since 1957 as Akashvani.
- Reddy brings with him vast experience in media planning and management, administration and newsgathering. He has also served in various capacities earlier with All India Radio News and Doordarshan News.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- All India Radio Founded: 1936;
- All India Radio Headquarters: Sansad Marg, New Delhi.
4. Indian Army names firing range after Vidya Balan
- The Indian Army has named one of its firing ranges in Kashmir after Bollywood actress Vidya Balan. The Vidya Balan firing range is situated at Gulmarg in the Baramulla district of Jammu & Kashmir.
- The decision was taken in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema. Earlier in the year, the actress and her husband Siddharth Roy Kapoor had attended the Gulmarg Winter Festival organised by the Indian Army.
5. Razorpay partners with Mastercard to launch ‘MandateHQ’
- Razorpay has partnered with Mastercard to launch ‘MandateHQ’. It is a payment interface that will help card-issuing banks to enable recurring payments for their customers.
- It must be noted that the Reserve Bank of India had issued a framework for processing e-mandates on recurring online transactions. The product by Razorpay is a step in this direction.
- The MandateHQ solution can be fully integrated with any bank within seven days. Razorpay’s Mandate HQ is an API-based plug-n-play solution that reduces the go-live time for any card issuing bank that wishes to enable recurring payments for its customers.
- MandateHQ will also enable businesses, especially subscription-based businesses, to get access to a wider customer base, who use debit cards, as recurring payments were mostly supported via credit cards previously.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Razorpay Founded: 2013;
- Razorpay CEO: Harshil Mathur (May 2014–);
- Razorpay Headquarters location: Bengaluru;
- Mastercard Headquarters: New York, United States.
- Mastercard President: Michael Miebach.
6. Bajaj Allianz General ties up with Bank of India to offer insurance products
- Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bank of India have entered into a corporate agency agreement for the distribution of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance’s products through the bank’s network of 5084 branches.
- As a part of this agreement, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance will be offering a bouquet of personal lines of products such as motor insurance, health insurance, home insurance, travel insurance along with a commercial line of products like engineering insurance, marine insurance to bank’s customers.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Managing Director of Bajaj Allianz: Tapan Singhel; Headquartered: Pune, Maharashtra.
- BOI Headquarters: Mumbai; MD and Ceo of BOI: Atanu Kumar Das.
7. Government includes Retail and Wholesale Trade in MSME sector
- Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has decided to include Retail and Wholesale trade as MSMEs but only for the limited purpose of Priority Sector Lending.
- This means that these segments of businesses can now take loans under the Priority Sector Lending arrangement under the MSME category.
- According to the Retailers Association of India (RAI), this will give retail micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the support they need to survive, revive and thrive.
- These Retail and Wholesale traders can now register on Udyam Registration Portal. It is a portal by the Government of India for the registration of MSMEs.
The registration will be allowed under three categories:
- Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
- Wholesale trade except for motor vehicles and motorcycles.
- Retail trade except for motor vehicles and motorcycles.
8. Fitch Ratings projects India GDP growth for FY22 at 10%
- Fitch Ratings has revised its GDP growth projection for India in 2021-22 (FY22) to 10%. Earlier it has projected the same at 12.8%.
- The reason for this cut is the slow recovery post-second wave of COVID-19. Fitch believes that rapid vaccination could support a sustainable revival in business and consumer confidence; however, without it, economic recovery would remain vulnerable to further waves and lockdowns.
9. Indian Army Inaugurates War Memorial of Capt Gurjinder Singh Suri
- On the occasion of the birthday of Captain Gurjinder Singh Suri, who died during the operation “Birsa Munda” in 1999, the Indian Army inaugurated a war memorial in memory of Captain in Gulmarg near the Line of Control (LOC).
- Lieutenant Colonel (Col), Tej Prakash Singh Suri (Retd), father of Captain Gurjinder Singh Suri, MVC (Posthumous) was also present on the occasion. Gurjinder Singh Suri was later awarded Maha Vir Chakra (Posthumous).
- Operation Birsa Munda was a punitive raid conducted against a Pakistani post by a Bihar battalion of the Indian Army, in the month of November 1999.
- This was the time when Operation Vijay had drawn to a close, but the Line of Control was still active with sporadic incidents of trans Line of Control violence. In a swift and meticulously planned operation, the entire Pakistani post was destroyed, killing 17 Pakistani soldiers.
10. Kaushik Basu awarded prestigious Humboldt Research Award
- Indian economist Kaushik Basu has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award for Economics. The award was conferred on him by Professor Dr Hans-Bernd Schäfer of Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany.
- A former chief economist of the World Bank, Basu is currently a professor of Economics at Cornell University. He also served as the Government of India’s chief economic advisor from 2009 to 2012. Basu is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India.
- The prestigious award is sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and awarded to as many as 100 recipients each year.
- The Humboldt Research Award honours scientists and economists from across the world for their work. The award entails prize money of 60,000 euros and an offer to carry out research projects at a scientific institution in Germany for up to 12 months.
11. Mumbai, Pune to host 2022 women’s Asian Cup
- Women’s Asian Cup in India will be held in Mumbai and Pune after the Asian Football Confederation dropped Bhubaneswar and Ahemdabad as venues to minimise the travelling time for participants and ensure an “optimum environment” for a bio-secure bubble.
- The Mumbai Football Arena at the Andheri Sports Complex and the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune have been chosen as the new venues.
- The decision was taken after considering the existing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and as part of efforts to minimise the travelling time for teams and officials between the venues, whilst ensuring the optimum environment to implement the biomedical bubble for the benefit of all stakeholders.
12. Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh passes away
- Senior Congress leader and former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, has passed away. The veteran politician was the 4th and longest-serving Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.
- He served as the Chief Minister of the state six times, from April 8, 1983, to March 5, 1990, December 3, 1993, to March 23, 1998, March 6, 2003, to December 29, 2007, and then for the sixth time from December 25, 2012, to December 26, 2017.
- Apart from this, Singh also served as union deputy minister in Tourism and Civil Aviation, Minister of State for Industries, Union Minister of Steel and Union Minister of micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME).
13. Olympic gold-winning hockey legend Keshav Datt passes away
- Two-time Olympic gold medallist in hockey, Keshav Datt passed away. He was part of India’s historic feat at the 1948 Olympics where they beat home team Britain 4-0 at the Wembley Stadium in London to win the first gold post Independence.
- Before the 1948 Olympics, Datt had toured East Africa under the leadership of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand in 1947. An integral part of the Indian team, Datt also captained the Mohun Bagan hockey squad from 1951-1953 and again in 1957-1958.
14. DMRC launches India’s first UPI-based cashless parking
- Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has launched India’s first FASTag or Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based parking facility to reduce the time for entry and payment.
- The facility was launched at the Kashmere Gate metro station. As part of the Multi-Model Integration (MMI) initiative, dedicated Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) lanes for autos, taxis and r-Rickshaws were also inaugurated at the station.
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