Current Affairs in Short: 13 July 2021

PM Modi to meet with CMs of six states on July 16th 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the Chief Ministers of six southern states on July 16, 2021 to discuss COVID-19 related discussion in these states. 

• The Prime Minister will be meeting Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala through video conference. 

• These states have either witnessed a rise in Covid infection numbers in several districts or have not seen a dip in them like most other states.

• The Prime Minister interacted with Chief Ministers of all northeast states on July 13, 2021 to discuss the COVID-19 situation in their region. 

UP Government to give Rs 10 lakhs to each Tokyo Olympic participant from the state

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath praised the 10 players from the state who will take part in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, including shooter Saurabh Chowdhary. 

• The state government will provide Rs 10 lakhs to each player for participating in singles and team events. 

• The gold medal winners in the individual category will get Rs 6 crores from the state government, while the gold medalists in team events will receive Rs 3 crores each.

Two more Zika virus cases detected in Kerala

• The Kerala Health Minister Veena George informed on July 13, 2021 that two more people in the state have been diagnosed with the Zika virus. 

• The two new cases include a 35-year-old resident of Poonthura and a 41-year-old resident of Sasthamangalam. 

• With this, the state has a total of 21 Zika virus cases that are confirmed. 

BrahMos missile fails during testfiring

• In a rare occurrence, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile test carried out off the coast of Odisha on July 12, 2021 failed and the missile fell shortly after takeoff. 

• The extended range version of the missile was being tested that is capable of hitting targets up to 450 kilometres.

• The missile fell off very shortly after the launch. The reasons for the failure would be analysed by a joint team of scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation and BrahMos aerospace corporation.

• BrahMos missile has very rarely failed in the tests undertaken so far. 

Indian Navy receives 10th P-8I aircraft

• Indian Navy has received its tenth P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance anti-submarine aircraft from Boeing. This is the second aircraft to be delivered under the contract for four additional aircraft, which was signed by the Indian Defence Ministry in 2016.

• The Defence Ministry had initially signed a contract for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009. In 2016, it signed a contract for four additional P-8I aircraft from Boeing. The first among them was received by the Indian Navy in November 2020. 

• The P-8I aircraft is known for its unmatched maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities and it has been deployed to assist during disaster relief and humanitarian missions.