The World Bank to continue the support to Andhra Pradesh with over $1 Billion program:

• The World Bank dropped a loan proposal for Amaravati project continues to support Andhra Pradesh with an over one billion USD program.
• The program mainly covers the health, agriculture, energy and disaster management sectors. 

Aim: 

• The main aim is to improve the living standards of citizens in tune with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Features:

• This includes a new $328 million support to the state`s health sector
• The World Bank`s statement dropped a 300 million USD loan proposal for the Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project. 
• The Government of India (GoI) withdrew its request to the World Bank for financing the proposed Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project. 
• The World Bank`s Board of Executive Directors informed that the proposed project is no longer under preparation following the government`s decision.
• The government seeks World Bank assistance for funding the flagship Navaratnalu program.

China Congratulates India for Chandrayaan-2, Wants to Work Together in Space Explorations:

• China congratulated India after the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-2. China decided to work with India for upcoming outer space programs.
• China launched its five lunar exploration missions to the Moon.
• They made history landing on the far side of the Moon. 
• They looked for a launch of its own Mars mission by 2020. 

China - Moon - History:

• China is the first spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon.
• This is the lunar surface known as the dark side of the moon.
• The main aim is to explore lunar surroundings rover Yutu-2 then rolled off the lander.Chang`e-4 of China the first spacecraft that landed on the far side of the Moon on January 2019.
• It is the lunar mission to Change3, first spacecraft landing on the Moon. 
• The main objective of landing on the dark side of the Moon to explore the surface of the Moon .
• It is used to collect samples that are still unexplored. 

Chang`e 6 mission:

• Chang`e 6 mission is expected to launch in 2023 or 2024 
• The Chang’e 7 and 8 will be launched in 2023 and 2027 respectively. 
• The Chang’e 8 will carry a lander, a rover, a flying detector, and a 3D Printer to build a small structure on the lunar surface. 
• They may conduct a brief ecosystem experiment on the Moon.

New India-UK bilateral scheme launched on Pilot basis:

• New India-UK bilateral scheme launched on Pilot. 
• The UKEIRI Mobility Programme launched on a pilot basis to support Britain`s universities to collaborate with Indian partners to facilitate the United Kingdom (UK) students to visit India during their studies. 
• UKERI stands for `UK-India Education Research Initiative`. 

About UKEIRI Mobility Programme:

• It is an initiative of Universities UK International (UUKI) and British Council India. Objective: To fund students from UK to visit India. 
• Aim: To generate up to 200 opportunities for undergraduate students at UK universities to visit India by March 2021. 
• Study in India programme will support national as well as institutional-level objectives to increase levels of outward student mobility from the UK to 13% by 2020.
• This target is set out in UUKi`s Go International: Stand Out campaign.

Priti Patel has been appointed as the Britains first Indian origin home secretary:

Priti Patel has been appointed as the Britain`s first Indian-origin home secretary which is a part of Prime Minister Boris Johnson`s top team on 25 July. She will replace Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid. He has been transferred to the Treasury department as the first ethnic minority Chancellor of the Exchequer.

About Priti Patel:

Patel was a prominent member from the Conservative Party leadership. She was a member of the Back Boris campaign. Since 24 July 2019, she has been Secretary of State for the Home Department. Also, a Member of Parliament for Witham in Essex since 2010. She was previously International Development Secretary from 2016 to 2017. 

Patel has also served as a junior Treasury minister. She has released a report on the British economy arguing for lower taxes and for a new Bank of England mandate more focused on asset price inflation and financial imbalances.

Iran is to restart the activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, western Iran:

Iran is to restart the activities at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, western Iran. The anouncement was made by Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. Heavy water are used in reactors to produce plutonium. Plutonium is a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

Iran`s meeting with the European countries:

Regarding this US Sanctions on Tehran, a meeting was conducted between Iranian officials and the UK, France and Germany, in Vienna. In the meeting Iran persuaded the European states to provided more effective relief from US sanctions. 

The move is after the US`s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and the introduction of sanctions on Tehran, Iran stopped complying with some commitments in the 2015 nuclear deal.

India and China review progress made in effective implementation of various CBMs:

India and China reviewed progress made in the implementation of various confidence building to maintain peace and tranquility along their common borders in the run-up to a summit of the leaders of the two countries. The review was done at the 14th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China Border Affairs in Beijing. The Indian delegation was led by Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary (East Asia), Ministry of External Affairs, and the Chinese side was led by Hong Liang, Director General, Department of Boundary and Oceanic Affairs, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the statement issued by the Indian embassy in Beijing.

The two sides also reviewed the progress made ineffective implementation of various confidence-building measures (CBMs) to further enhance mutual trust and understanding. 

The WMCC was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the management of India - China border areas, as well as to exchange views on strengthening communication and cooperation, including between the border security personnel of the two sides. The two countries have held many rounds of talks including 21 at the level of special representatives nominated by the leaders of the two countries without results. Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a 73-day long face-off seen as their most serious in years. The leaders of the two countries met in Wuhan in April 2018 and gave “strategic guidance" to their armed forces.

China

China is officially called the People`s Republic of China . It is a country in East Asia and the world`s most populous country with a population of around 1.404 billion. It is covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers, it is the fourth largest country by total area.

PM of Nepal KP Oli inaugurates India-Nepal Logistics Summit in Kathmandu:

India-Nepal Logistics Summit was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli in Kathmandu, Nepal. The theme of the summit was “Transforming Logistics Landscape”. It was attended by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri, Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India N. Sivasailam, Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) V. Kalyana Rama and Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) President Bhawani Rana.

Key Points:

i. Nepal and India have a significant volume of trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people movement for which smooth and quality logistics is essential.

ii. Connectivity was the main agenda in bilateral cooperation and many initiatives were taken on crucial components of road, rail, inland waterways and air connectivity.