Important Current Affairs for CLAT-3rd July 2022

NATO Summit 2022 Concludes in Madrid

The 2022 NATO Madrid Summit was held in Madrid, Spain, from June 28 to 30, 2022. This was the 32nd edition of the summit, since the first summit meeting held in Paris in 1957. The Summit was chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The heads of state and heads of government of NATO member and partner countries participated in the three-day Summit. NATO summit meetings is a platform for member countries to evaluate and provide strategic direction for Alliance activities.

Key points of the Summit:

During the Summit, 22 NATO members agreed to launch the NATO Innovation Fund. It is a multi-sovereign venture capital fund that will invest 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) in startups and other venture capital funds that develops emerging technologies for both civilian and military use.
NATO leaders on Wednesday agreed to strengthen the alliance’s forward defenses, enhance the bloc’s battlegroups on its eastern flank and increase the number of high readiness forces to more than 300,000.
During the Summit, NATO’s closest partners Finland and Sweden were invited to join the Alliance.

PSLV-C53 rocket carrying three Singapore satellites launched by ISRO

Three Singaporean satellites were successfully launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as part of a commercial mission for the New Space India Limited. This was the space agency’s second launch of the year; its first, had put an Indian Earth Observation Satellite in orbit. The space agency also carried six in-orbit experiments mounted on the fourth stage of the rocket on the current mission in addition to the commercial satellites.

KEY POINTS:

The nation’s workhorse rocket, PSLV-C53, launched from Sriharikota and put the three satellites into precise orbits about 18 minutes later.
The launch vehicle was deployed in the core-alone configuration, which only uses the four primary engine stages.
The 365 kg Singaporean DS-EO satellite served as the mission’s primary payload.
It is an electro-optic earth observation satellite that can deliver full-color images for land classification and disaster relief operations.
Its first small commercial satellite, weighing 155 kg, is called NeuSAR. It can transmit images in all weather conditions, day or night.
The third satellite was the 2.8 kg Scoob-1 from Nanyang Technical University, the first in a series of student satellites designed to provide practical training for the university’s satellite research centre.

About the Experiments in Fourth Stage:

Six experiments, including two from Indian start-ups Digantara and Dhruva Space, were carried by the rocket in its fourth stage in addition to the foreign payloads.
The PSLV Orbital Experiment Module (POEM) attaches solar panels, a battery, and a navigation control system to the rocket’s expanded fourth stage to use it as a platform in orbit.
Typically, the rocket stages degrade, return to Earth’s atmosphere, and burn up after placing the satellite in orbit. But they can be used for experiments if a little extra power is added to keep the stage in orbit.
The stage was used by the space agency for in-orbit experiments for the second time; the first time was in 2019 when the student group SpaceKidz India launched its KalamSat on the rocket’s PS-4 stage.
Along with the two launch flights, Isro recently launched the massive 4,180 kg GSAT-24 satellite on a vehicle from the commercial launcher Ariane Space.

About Tata Play:

Tata Play has been given a lease on the satellite, which will give DTH services coverage over all of India.

Ketanji Brown Jackson sworn in, becomes 1st Black woman on US Supreme Court

The United States made history as Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. The 51-year-old’s appointment by Democratic President Joe Biden means white men are not in the majority on the nation’s highest court for the first time in 233 years. Four of the justices on the nine-member court are now women, making it the most diverse bench in history — although they all attended the elite law schools of Harvard or Yale.

Jackson had picked up support from three Senate Republicans during a grueling and at times brutal confirmation process, delivering Biden a bipartisan 53-47 approval for his first Supreme Court nominee. Jackson’s swearing-in marks a major moment for Biden, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 1980s and ’90s, meaning he has the unprecedented distinction of both naming and overseeing the appointment of a Supreme Court justice.

Government authorised SBI to issue and en-cash electoral bonds

The government gave its approval for the 21st tranche of electoral bonds to be issued, and the bonds’ sales. In an effort to increase openness in political fundraising, electoral bonds have been proposed as a substitute for financial contributions to political parties.

Key Points:

With effect from July 1 to July 10, State Bank of India (SBI), in the 21st phase of sale, has been granted authorization to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches, according to a statement from the finance ministry.
SBI branches in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai are among those that have been authorised.
Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are scheduled to hold their assemblies this year. In this year’s March, elections were completed for five states: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Goa.

About the Bond Sales:

Bond sales for the 20th tranche were held from April 1 to April 10, 2022. 2018 March 1–10 saw the selling of the initial batch of electoral bonds.
The only bank permitted to issue electoral bonds is SBI.
A voting bond is valid for 15 days after it is issued.
If the bond is deposited after the validity time has passed, no payment will be given to any political party, according to the statement.
Electoral bonds can be used to finance registered political parties that received at least 1% of the votes cast in the most recent Lok Sabha or legislative assembly elections.

Google’s proposed equity acquisition of Bharti Airtel approved by CCI

In an investment agreement (IA) signed by Google and Airtel, the buyer offers to buy a 1.28 percent minority and non-controlling part in the company’s equity share capital. The roughly $1 billion for 1.28 percent investment in Bharti Airtel by Google was approved by the Indian Competition Commission. The proposed merger was accepted by the CCI based on the Acquirer’s amendments (Google International LLC).

KEY POINTS:

In accordance with the terms of the Investment Agreement (IA) signed by Google and Airtel, the Acquirer is planning to buy a 1.28 percent minority and non-controlling holding in the equity share capital.
Along with the IA, the acquirer and the target have also made several business arrangements through their affiliates.
The companies also want to enter into a few other commercial agreements in the future, the authority stated.
In January of this year, Google announced that it would invest up to $1 billion in Bharti Airtel, India’s No. 2 supplier of telecom services, with a 1.28 percent stock purchase for $700 million and a $300 million commercial agreement over the course of five years.
As part of the Google for India Digitization Fund, the internet search engine already invested $4.5 billion in Reliance Jio in July 2020, making it an investor in two competing telecom service companies.
As part of Google’s investment in Jio last year, JioNext, a low-cost smartphone, has already been launched in partnership with Reliance Jio. JioNext runs an optimised version of the Android operating system. The holding company of Reliance Jio, Jio Platforms, also acquired a $5.7 billion investment for a 9.99 percent ownership from Facebook, now Meta.

In The Diamond League competition, Neeraj Chopra wins the silver medal

At the renowned Diamond League competition in Stockholm , Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won his first-ever medal after breaking his own national mark twice in a month.Chopra had a tremendous throw of 89.94 metres and placed second at the Stockholm Diamond League.