Private trains to begin plying by March 2023: Railways Ministry

1.India attends third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meet

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting.The meet was presided over by Saudi Arabia.During the first meeting, India shared its G20 Action plan in response to COVID-19 that was endorsed by all the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.During the third meet, India shared global economic outlook amid the evolving COVID-19 crisis.

2.BlackRock malware steals password, credit card details from 337 Android apps

A new Android malware has been discovered that steals data such as password and credit card details from 337 apps including some of the popular ones like Gmail, Amazon, Netflix, Uber, and more.The malware that goes by the name BlackRock comes with data theft capabilities, a report from ZDNet stated.The publication was the first to report about malware and was discovered by mobile security firm ThreatFabric.BlackRock malware functions just like any other Android malware.The BlackRock malware is based on the leaked source code of another malware strain Xerxes which in turn is based on other malware strains.The new malware is enhanced with more features related to stealing passwords and credit card details.

3.Private trains to begin plying by March 2023: Railways Ministry

The Railway Ministry has said that the private trains are slated to run from March 2023.The Ministry has issued the clarification regarding timeline of introduction of private trains, as some section of the media had mentioned that the private trains project will start in March 2024.The Railways said the tenders will be finalised by March 2021 and trains will operate from March 2023.

4.Amit Shah, Prakash Javadekar commemorate freedom fighter Mangal Pandey on his birth anniversary

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar remembered freedom fighter Mangal Pandey on his birth anniversary.Mangal Pandey was the forerunner of the 1857 revolution and his patriotism and sacrifice inspired millions of countrymen to participate in the freedom struggle.29 March 1857, Mangal Pandey attempted to incite his fellow sepoys to rise up against their British officers, attacked two of those officers. He was soon tried and sentenced to death.His execution was set for April 18, but British authorities, fearing the outbreak of a large-scale revolt if they waited until then, moved the date up to April 8.Resistance to the use of Enfield cartridges later that month in Meerut led to the outbreak of a revolt there in May and the start of the larger insurrection.

5.Various important events including Captain Sourabh Kalia Cup cancelled in Kargil due to COVID- 19

Though Kargil Ladakh is slowly getting back to normalcy with relaxations in the Lockdown after unlock 2.However many important events and programmes are being cancelled due to the threat of Spread of Covid 19.The pandemic has also affected the celebration of this year 21st Kargil Vijay Diwas both from the Indian Army Side as well as from the Local Level as no event has been organised.The most popular Captain Sourabh Kalia cricket Cup has also been postponed due to the pandemic in Kargil.

6.India Business Council to host 2020 India Ideas Summit on July 22

India Business Council will host the 2020 India Ideas Summit on July 22nd.The Summit convenes business and government leaders for discussions on the future of the U.S.-India Partnership and the trends shaping globalization, trade and investment, and the future of work in the COVID-era and beyond.The Summit will feature a high-powered lineup of both public and private sector speakers.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver the keynote addresses.Among others, External Affairs minister Dr. S. Jaishankar will address the summit

7.CBSE ties up with IBM to integrate AI curriculum

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has integrated a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) course for class XI and XII in the current academic year (2020-2021).The curriculum was developed in collaboration with IBM (International Business Machines Corporation).The IBM AI curriculum is a part of CBSE’s Social Empowerment through Work Education and Action (SEWA) program.This curriculum will be launched in around 200 schools across Delhi-NCR, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab (13 states of India).The IBM AI curriculum is structured around a course framework for students consisting of base strands of knowledge (basics, history, applications), skills (design thinking, computational thinking, data fluency, critical thinking) and values (ethical decision making, bias) in AI.

8.Top Indian mathematician CS Seshadri passes away in Chennai

India’s renowned mathematician and Padma Bhushan awardee Conjeevaram Srirangachari Seshadri passed away in Chennai on July 17. He was 88.CS Seshadri founded the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) as part of the SPIC Science Foundation in 1989 and was its director-emeritus until his demise.The mathematician was known for his work in algebraic geometry, the Seshadri Constant, which is named after him.Among his notable works are the Narasimhan–Seshadri theorem, proved together with fellow Mathematician MS Narasimhan in 1965.

9.Former Australian captain Barry Jarman dies aged 84

Former Australian skipper and wicketkeeper-batsman Barry Jarman has recently passed away. He was 84-year-old.Born on February 17 in 1936, Jarman made his international debut, in the absence of an injured Wally Grout, for Australia with a Test match against India at Green Park in 1959.Jarman made just one and zero and took just two catches during his debut match before he was once again named as reserve keeper following the return of Grout for the tour to England in 1961.He became a first-choice wicketkeeper for Australia only after the retirement of Grout in 1966.

10.John Lewis, civil rights icon and US congressman, dies aged 80

John Lewis, a pioneer of the civil rights movement and longtime member of the United States House of Representatives, died.Lewis was a protege of Martin Luther King Jr, whom he met after writing to him when Lewis was just 18.He was the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, having stood beside King when he made his “I Have a Dream” speech.Lewis kept up the fight for civil rights and human rights until the end of his life, inspiring others with calls to make the documentary Good Trouble.