 The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) would be operated as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture. The $210 million facility, 241km south-east of Colombo, is dubbed the “world’s emptiest airport” due to a lack of flights. India would operate the airport as a Sri Lanka-India joint venture. The joint venture would see India gain a major stake of the airport. Currently, it is running a massive loss of Rs.20 billion. |
| Source- DD News |
 The 2nd meeting of the joint working group on tourism cooperation between India and Nepal concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal. Both sides agreed to jointly promote Buddhist and Ramayana circuits and Adventure tourism. The meeting also decided to set up an industry-led India Nepal Tourism Forum. The Indian delegation was led by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Suman Billa, while Nepalese side was led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ghanshyam Upadhyaya. |
| Source- The Hindu |
 Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who retired from the Supreme Court of India has been appointed as the new Chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). He has been appointed to the position for a term of five years, as per an order issued by the personnel ministry. The post of NGT chairperson had been lying vacant for more than 6 months after the retirement of Justice Swatanter Kumar. After Justice Kumar's retirement, Justice Umesh Dattatraya Salvi was appointed as the acting chairperson of the NGT. He retired on February 13, after this, Justice Jawad Rahim was appointed as the acting chairperson. |
| Source- The Hindu |
 Commerce Secretary, Rita Teaotia, chaired the first meeting of the Task Force on e-commerce in New Delhi. The meeting deliberated upon the suggestions emerging from the sub-group meetings held in June 2018. The suggestions were on wide-ranging issues such as cross-border data flows, taxation, trade facilitation and logistics, consumer confidence, IPR and future tech, FDI and competition issues. It was decided to set up a Task Force in the first meeting of the Think Tank, on the framework for national policy on e-commerce, held in April 2018, under the chairmanship of Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 State-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) will set up a state-of-the-art Civil Aviation Research Organization (CARO) at Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport to find indigenous solutions to meet the challenges posed by the growing air traffic and for enhancing safety, capacity and efficiency of aircraft operations in the country. AAI has earmarked Rs 1,200 crore for this project that will be spent over 12 years for research and development. CARO is expected to be built in three years. Union aviation minister Suresh Prabhu laid the foundation stone for CARO which will be spread over 27 acres and cater to air navigation services and airport/engineering research. |
| Source- India Today |
 The International Day of Cooperatives is observed across the world on July 7 with an aim to promote the co-operative model, since it contains aspects of sustainable development at its core and is based on ethical values and principles. The 2018 theme of the Day is the ‘Sustainable societies through cooperation’. This year’s theme was aimed at creating the sustainable societies through cooperation. |
| Source- The United Nations |
 The Law Commission recommended that gambling and betting on sports, including cricket, be allowed as regulated activities taxable under the direct and indirect tax regimes and used as a source for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). The commission's report, 'Legal Framework: Gambling and Sports Betting including Cricket in India', recommends a number of changes in the law for regulating betting and generating tax revenues from it. In case legislation is made under Article 252, states other than the consenting states will be free to adopt the same. The commission has also recommended linking Aadhar or PAN card of an individual indulging in betting and gambling and making the transaction cashless to regulate illegal activities such as money laundering. |
| Source- DD News |
 The Finance Ministry has kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the July-September quarter. The move is aimed at matching the hardening interest rates in the banking sector. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis. |
| The Interest rates on different Small Savings schemes are as follows: |
| Sl.No. | Schemes | Interest rate (in %) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 yr Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (Paid Quarterly) | 8.3 |
| 2. | Savings Deposits | 4 |
| 3. | Public Provident Fund (PPF) | 7.6 |
| 4. | National Savings Certificate (NSC) | 7.6 |
| 5. | Kisan Vikas Patra (maturity in 11 months) | 7.3 |
| 6. | Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA) | 8.1 |
| 7. | Term Deposit (1-5 years) | 6.6-7.4 |
| Source- The Firstpost |
 The Union Ministry of Coal has launched Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and Mobile Application ‘Khan Prahari’. The CMSMS and the mobile app have been developed by CMPDI, Ranchi a Subsidiary of CIL and Bhaskarcharya Institute of Space Application and Geo-informatics (BISAG). |
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 In a first, the Uttarakhand High Court accorded the status of ‘legal person or entity’ to the animals in the state. The HC stated that "they have a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person." The unique status was bestowed upon the state’s animals by a division bench of judges comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Lokpal Singh while issuing a series of directions to prevent cruelty against animals. |
| Source- India Today |
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