Important Days:
International
Yoga Day: 21 June 2017
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Yoga
in India is considered to be an around 5,000-year-old mental, physical and
spiritual practice.
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The
practice has turned into a rage across the world and on 11th December 2014, the
United Nations General Assembly decided to observe one common day in the year
as International Yoga day or World Yoga Day.
World Music Day: 21 June 2017
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World Music Day 2017 (not to be
confused with International Music Day) is being celebrated today, June 21,
marking the beginning of summer solstice, i.e., the longest day of the
year.
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Initiated by France in 1982, World
Music day has been adopted by over 120 nations across the world, including
India.
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Musicians from all genres and all
ages, amateurs and experienced performers, gather together to perform at
various public places.
United Nations Public Service Day:
23 June
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The United Nations Public Service
Day is celebrated on June 23 of every year.
§
The prestigious UN Public Service
Awards are given away on this day.
§
The UN Public Service Day was
designated by the United Nations General Assembly's resolution to “celebrate
the value and virtue of public service to the community”.
§
The United Nations Economic and
Social Council established that the United Nations Public Service Awards be
bestowed on Public Service Day for contributions made to the cause of enhancing
the role, prestige, and visibility of public service.
National Events
India's
First Indigenously Built Floating Dock Goes On Stream
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The
country's first indigenously built floating dock FDN-2 for the Indian Navy, was
formally launched at the L&T Shipbuilding Yard at Kattupalli near Chennai.
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The
floating dock, awarded to Larsen and Toubro by the Ministry of Defence in May
2015, was to design and build at an order value of Rs. 468 crore.
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The
floating dock will be delivered to Indian Navy, Port Blair in the coming months
after undergoing a series of "harbour trials,"
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The
floating dock was launched by Anjali Deshpande, the wife of Vice Admiral D M
Deshpande, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition at a function.
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The
Floating Dock is an indigenously built designed and built platform with
state-of-the-art machinery and control systems capable of docking ships of upto
8,000 tonne displacement.
§
The
dock covers facilitate "repair" and "refit" activities even
in inclement weather conditions.
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The
company had invested in building state-of-the-art facilities at Kattupalli and
look keen to continue service to the Indian Navy, Larsen and Toubro
Meghalaya Govt signs two MoUs with SBI
for digital transaction
§
Meghalaya
government today signed two MoUs with the State Bank of India as a part of an
initiative towards migrating government transactions to digital mode.
§
With
implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), these MoUs are expected to
give dealers and other citizens the desired platform for conducting financial
transactions with the state government on a digital platform
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The
state government has already established a new treasury called as Cyber
Treasury, which dedicatedly handles all online transactions of government
receipts across the state centrally for a few selected departments
§
The
state government will now escalate its transactions for collection of tax and
non-tax revenue through the online system - Government Receipt Accounting
System (GRAS) covering all departments in a phased manner
§
SBI
CMP will help the state government to make its payments online and will reduce
paper work and manual reconciliation of government transactions
Punjab
Announced Free Education For Girls From Nursery To PhD
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The
Captain Amarinder Singh-led government in Punjab has announced free education
for girls in government schools and colleges from Nursery to PhD.
§
free
textbooks will be provided to all students in government schools from the next
academic session.
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Nursery
and LKG classes will be reintroduced in government schools from next year.
Fulfilling another election promise Singh also announced free Wi-FI for 13,000
primary schools and all 48 government colleges.
Government
of India and the ADB Sign $275 Million Loan for Upgrading Urban Services in 64
Small Towns in Madhya Pradesh
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The
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $275 million
loan on 19th June, 2017 for improving urban services in 64 small towns in the
State of Madhya Pradesh.
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Madhya
Pradesh needs substantial investments to keep pace with rapid urbanization.
Availability of continuous piped water supply is vital for improving the urban
infrastructure, and it will facilitate improved access to safe drinking water
for residents in the project area
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ADB's
continued support to the State's urban development, through this project, will
improve further the quality, coverage, efficiency, and sustainability of urban
service delivery, stabilize and deepen institutional capacity, and improve long
term water service management.
Indore
installs India's 1st 14-foot robot to control traffic
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In
what is being considered as a first for India, Indore has installed a
14-foot-tall robot to control traffic.
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It's
equipped with a public address system and can take photos of traffic violators
to generate e-challans when connected to police control room.
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Developed
by Shri Venkteshwar Institute of Technology, the robot reportedly took two
years and Rs.20 lakh to complete.
Bengaluru firm 1st in India to
deliver diesel at home
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The 'dieselwallah' is here.
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Bengaluru has become the country's
first city where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep, just like milk
and newspapers, only weeks after oil ministry announced that the Centre was
thinking of rolling out such a system.
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On June 15, Mypetrolpump, a
one-year-old startup, conducted a soft launch with three delivery vehicles
-each with a capacity of 950 litres.
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It has already delivered more than
5,000 litres of diesel. Diesel is delivered at the day's running price with a
fixed delivery charge.
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For up to 100 litres, the one-time
delivery charge is `99.
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Above 100 litres, one needs to pay
the diesel price plus one additional rupee per litre. The startup has got 20odd
customers, including 16 schools (which have 250-300 buses) and a few apartments.One
can place orders online, through a phone call or by downloading the free app.
First unit of 100 MW Sainj
hydropower project commissioned
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The first 50 MW unit of 100 MW Sainj
Hydro Power project of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL)
commissioned and synchronised with northern grid through Parvati-Kol Dam
transmission line.
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The impounding of water in the
reservoir was started on February 2 this year and mechanical testing was done
successfully on April 25.
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The second unit of 50 MW would also
be commissioned soon and the project would produce 322 million units of
electricity every year accruing an income of Rs 100 crore to the state
government.
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Sainj Hydro Power Project has been
constructed on Sainj River, a tributary of Beas river and its barrage has been
constructed near village Niharini while the underground power house was located
on the right bank of Sainj at Siund village.
Axis Bank and Kochi Metro Join Hands to Launch India’s First Single-Wallet Contactless, Open Loop Metro Card
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Axis Bank, India’s third largest
private sector bank in association with Kochi Metro Rail Corporation (KMRL) has
launched KMRL Axis Bank ‘Kochi1’ Card, India’s first open loop EMV contactless
metro card that would make travel a convenient and hassle free experience for
commuters in Kochi. Axis Bank has partnered with National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI) in developing this transit EMV contactless specification on
interoperable open standards.
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The prepaid card has integrated
benefits and offers a plethora of services to commuters such as:
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Shopping experience at merchant
outlets: No hassle of carrying multiple cards.
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Instant issuance of Personalized
Cards: The commuter will receive a completely personalized (with name) KMRL
Axis Bank ‘Kochi1’ Card across the counter in a matter of minutes.
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Convenience of recharge: The
commuter can easily top up the card through cash or debit or credit card.
Mumbai continues to be most
expensive city for expatriates in India
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Mumbai is the most expensive city
for expatriates in India and is ranked higher than major global cities such as
Paris, Canberra, Seattle and Vienna, says a report.
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According to Mercer's 23rd annual
Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is placed 57th on the list while New Delhi was
placed at 99. Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and Kolkata (184) were the other
Indian cities on the list.
§
Luanda, the capital of Angola, was
the costliest city, driven by cost of goods and security, followed by Hong Kong
and Tokyo at the second and third places, respectively.
Nirmala Sitharaman Launches Startup
India Virtual Hub
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India is the world’s third largest
startup ecosystem in the world, and to further cement that position, Commerce
and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Startup India Virtual
Hub.
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The Hub is an online platform for
entrepreneurs to discover, connect and engage with each other.
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The government is claiming that the
platform will attempt to solve the problem of information asymmetry and lack of
access to knowledge, tools and experts, especially in the nascent ecosystems
across Tier-II and Tier-III towns
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Startup India Virtual Hub is an
effort to create a marketplace where all the stakeholders can interact,
exchange knowledge, and enable each other to grow.
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It will streamline the lifecycle of
existing and potential startups, helping them access the right resources at the
right time
Uttarakhand, Haryana become Open
Defecation Free states
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Uttarakhand and Haryana have become
the fourth and fifth Open Defecation Free (ODF) states of India under the
Swachh Bharat Mission
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The two states joined the league of
Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala, which were the first three states to be
declared ODF.
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Uttarakhand's 13 districts, 95
blocks, 7,256 gram panchayats and 1,5751 villages, while Haryana has 21
districts, 124 blocks, and 6,083 gram panchayats, all of which have declared
themselves as ODF in formal declarations in Dehradun and Chandigarh,
respectively.
EPFO signs MoU with HUDCO under new Housing Scheme of EPF & MP Act-1952
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Retirement fund body EPFO signed a
pact with the Housing and Urban Development Corp (HUDCO) to enable members of
its housing scheme to avail subsidy and interest subvention under the Pradhan
Mantri Awas Yojana.
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Under the housing scheme, the
Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) allows its subscribers from
societies for withdrawing up to 90 per cent of their EPFaccumulations to buy
homes.
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The agreement is regarding coverage
of EPFO subscribers under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana by providing them various
benefits like cheaper loans for buying homes.
India’s
biggest municipal bonds programme launched in Maharashtra
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To finance its 24x7 water supply
project, the Pune Municipal Corporation on Thursday launched India’s biggest
municipal bonds programme.
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The project looks to raise Rs 2,264
crore in five years.
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Pune’s bond programme is the first
since the publication of the Issue and Listing of Debt Securities by
Municipalities Regulations, 2015, by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI).
§
In its first part, the corporation
raised Rs200 crore through the Bombay Stock Exchange’s bond trading platform at
a coupon rate (a fixed security amount) of 7.59% for 10 years. The issue
received a good response with bonds being over-subscribed by six times.
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Municipal bonds are debt instruments
through which a corporation or municipality raises money from individuals or
institutions.
§
The civic body floating the bonds
returns the principal amount on a maturity date with a specific amount of
interest.
§
There are usually two kinds of bonds
– general bonds, where money is raised without mentioning the cause in
particular, and revenue bonds, where funds are raised for income-generating
projects and revenue from the projects is used to repay the buyers.
Rajdhani, Shatabdi trains set for revamping under 'Operation Swarn'
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Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express were
started to move people who could afford to pay more for a somewhat luxurious
travel.
§
But after years of service, the
trains have lost their sheen. The service has deteriorated, the cleanliness is
missing, quality of food has suffered.
§
After years of complaints by the
travelling public, the premium trains are now set for a makeover. The Railway
Ministry is to launch "Operation Swarn" to improve services in
Rajdhani and Shatabdi Expres train
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In the first phase, the Mumbai-Delhi
Rajdhani Express and Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express have been selected for
upgradation. Work will start from September 26. More trains will be identified
in a phased manner.
Centre
Launches Index To Rank 116 Cities On Quality Of Life
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The
Centre today launched a liveability
index which will rank the country's 116 major cities on the
basis of the quality of life they offer. Launching the first 'City Liveability
Index', Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu said, it will cover cities
with the population above one million, including the capital cities.
§
The
first-of-its-kind index will enable the cities know where they stand in terms
of the quality of life and the interventions required to improve it.
§
The
cities will be assessed on a comprehensive set of 79 paratmeters, including
availability of roads, education, healthcare, mobility, employment
opportunities, emergency response, grievance redressal, pollution, availability
of open and green spaces, cultural and entertainment opportunities.
§
Meanwhile,
Mr Naidu disbursed Rs. 500 crore as an incentive to 16 states that performed
well in implementing urban reforms during 2016-17.
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Andhra
Pradesh topped the list with the highest score in implementing urban schemes,
followed by Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Passport fee
reduced for applicants under age of 8 years and over 60
§
External
Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj announced that the passport application fee for
applicants under the age of eight and over the age of 60 had been reduced by 10
per cent.
§
Swaraj
also informed that from now onwards, all new passports issued will be in Hindi
and in English both.
§
It
was also decided in December, that all applicants can submit any one of the
following documents - Matriculation Certificate, PAN card, Aadhaar Card or
E-Aadhaar - that have the date of birth of the applicant.
§
Applicants
now can also provide a copy of the extract of their service record, driving
licence, Election Photo Identity Card or LIC policy bond.
Uttarakhand HC
bans state govt from buying cars, cellphones
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Taking
a stern view of the state government’s failure to provide basic minimum
amenities to children in the state-run schools, the Uttarakhand High Court
today put a ban on purchase of cars, mobile phones and other luxury items by
the government.
§
In
furtherance of the previous court orders, justices Rajiv Sharma and Alok Singh
said that the state government has miserably failed to provide bare minimum
facilities to students in the government-run schools.
§
Keeping
this in view the division bench restrained the state government from buying
items such as luxury cars, furniture, air conditioners etc. till further
orders.
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The
high court observed that the government that cannot provide basic amenities to
children has no moral right to spend money on luxuries.
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The
mandatory directions were given by the High Court on a plea by Deepak Rana.
Trivandrum tops Govt's new list of 30 Smart Cities; 20 cities to contest for remaining 10 slots
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Kerala's
capital Trivandrum has topped the government's latest list of 30 Smart Cities
selected under its Smart City mission.
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Following
Trivandrum, Naya Raipur in Chattisgarh came in at the second spot while Rajkot
in Gujarat came at the third city to be taken up for development by the
government under the Smart City mission.
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Other
cities like Amaravati, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, Pimpri Chinchwad, Dehradun,
Jammu, Jhansi, etc., have been selected in the new 30 Smart Cities list.
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With
the addition of 30 new cities, the total cities taken up for Smart Cities
Mission total to 90.
Maharashtra government to launch ‘My Plant’ mobile app on tree plantation
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Maharashtra
forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar announced that a mobile app named ‘My
Plant’, which would help in recording data about tree plantations in the state,
would be launched on July 1.
§
Using
this app, people and organisations can feed the data about the saplings they
have planted with the forest department, which would help it in creating a
database of trees.
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The
forest department has set a target of planting four crore saplings through
public participation between July 1 and 7.
Government
launches VAJRA scheme to attract Indian scientists abroad
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In
a bid to bring together the Indian scientists abroad and India-based
researchers for conducting joint researches in India, the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) launched a scheme named 'Visiting Advanced Joint
Research Faculty' (VAJRA).
§
The
endowments for faculties would be US $15,000 in the first month of residency
and US $10,000, for the remaining months, said Harsh Vardhan, adding that the
central government had been stressing upon converting brain-drain into brain-gain.
Commemorative Stamp Released On 50th Anniversary Of Passport Act 1967
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The
Ministry of External Affairs celebrated the completion of 50 years of the
Passport Act 1967 as the 5th Passport Seva Divas and held a conference of
regional passport officers in New Delhi
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The
Passport Act came into effect on June 24, 1967
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Senior
officials of the Ministry of External Affairs and other government departments,
besides 38 passport officers and officials of service provider TCS, attended
the function where awards of excellence were presented to the best performing
passport officers and police officers for best passport and verification
services.
Shri Piyush Goyal launches POSOCO-IMD Weather Portal for Power Sector & Web Portal ‘MERIT’
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Shri
Piyush Goyal Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal , New & Renewable
Energy and Mines launched Weather Portal for Power Sector in association with
POSOCO and IMD at the meeting of the Forum of Regulators
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The
information available in the Portal regarding weather forecast shall help State
Discoms to take pro-active steps regarding short term and medium term
management processes and supply planning requirements and also for better
planning for infrastructure availability to ensure cost effective and reliable
supply.
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Another
portal ‘MERIT’ (Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income
and Transparency). This has been developed by Ministry of Power in association
with POSOCO and Central Electricity Authority.
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The
MERIT Web portal displays extensive array of information regarding the merit
order of Electricity procured by State(s) such as daily state-wise marginal
variable costs of all generators, daily source-wise power purchases of
respective states/UTs with source-wise fixed and variable costs, energy volumes
and purchase prices.
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The
web-portal also give information regarding reasons for deviation from merit
order such as must run conditions, transmission constraints etc.
Incubation centre for biotech start-ups to be set up at CCMB, Hyderabad
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An
incubation centre for biotechnology start-ups is to be set up at the
CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad.
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To
be supported by the NITI Aayog, it will create facilities and bring in
stakeholders to ensure the success of innovative ideas.
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The
CCMB is one of the 10 organisations identified to host the ‘Atal Incubation
Centre', according to Rakesh Mishra, its Director. Under this, the government
will release funds of Rs. 10 crore in the coming five years.
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The
Centre has set up the Atal Incubation Centre in the NITI Aayog to promote a
culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
§
The
incubation centre would engage with all the stakeholders of a biotechnology
translational journey, including intellectual property agencies, regulators,
seed funders, business developers, successful businessmen and research
institutions.
International Events
Saudi
Arabia's Mohammed bin Salman appointed Crown Prince
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Saudi
Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday appointed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin
Salman as crown prince, placing him firmly as first-in-line to the throne and
removing the country's counterterrorism czar and a figure well-known to
Washington from the royal line of succession.
§
According
to a royal decree, Mohammed bin Salman, 31, was also named deputy prime minister,
and maintains his post as minister of defence.
§
The
newly announced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman heads an economic council
tasked with overhauling the country's economy.
§
He
had previously been the second-in-line to the throne as deputy crown prince,
though royal watchers had long suspected his rise to power under his father's
reign might also accelerate his ascension to the throne.
India
and Portugal Sign A Historical agreement to promote Cooperation in The Field of
Archives
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A
Protocol of Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and
the Minister of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives
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As
a first step under this agreement, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of
Portugal) handed over to the National Archives of India digital copies of 62
volumes of the collection known as ‘Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence).
§
These
volumes were originally part of over 456 volumes that cover the period from
1568 to 1914 and form the largest of all record collections in the Goa State
Archives.
§
The
collection consists of direct correspondence from Lisbon to Goa and is
important primary source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia,
their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers and their relations
with neighbourings Kings in South Asia and East Asia.
Reliance Defence inks pact with Serbia's
Yugoimport
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Anil
Ambani Group company Reliance Defence Ammunition has entered a strategic
partnership with Serbia's state-run defence major Yugoimport
§
to
manufacture ammunition in India and target business opportunities of Rs 20,000
crore over the next 10 years.
§
Two
companies will work together in the field of ammunition amongst others, with
projected minimum requirement of Rs 20,000 crore over next 10 years from Indian
armed forces
§
There
is also an option for exporting ammunition, adding the proposal envisages
transfer of technology by the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and
indigenous manufacturing in India.
§
Yugoimport,
a state-owned enterprise, is a market leader in the field of ammunition
production and has offered a fully compliant technical solution to meet the
Make in India requirements of the Indian government, as per RDL.
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RDL
has proposed to set up a greenfield facility for the production of ammunition.
UN says world population will reach
9.8 billion in 2050
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India's population is expected to
surpass China's in about seven years and Nigeria is projected to overtake the
United States and become the third most populous country in the world shortly
before 2050, according to a U.N. report
§
The report by the Department of
Economic and Social Affairs' Population Division forecasts that the current
world population of nearly 7.6 billion will increase to 8.6 billion by 2030,
9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100.
§
The UN agency forecasts that from
now through 2050 half the world's population growth will be concentrated in
just 10 countries _ India, Nigeria, Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, United
States, Uganda and Indonesia.
Pakistan tightens business, work
visas for Chinese nationals
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Pakistan has announced new rules to
tighten visa issuance - especially business and work visas - for Chinese
nationals
§
The tightening comes in the form of
extra layers of security, through requirements like endorsed letters from
chambers of commerce, as well as through clearances required even from Chinese
authorities, in some cases.
§
Chinese nationals seeking business
visas for Pakistan would have to show an invitation from a body recognized by
Pakistani missions in China
§
That invitation has to then be
certified and endorsed by a recognised chambers of commerce and industry.
§
Further, Chinese nationals will need
a letter from commercial attaches and other designated officers of Pakistan who
are posted abroad for the promotion of business activities
§
In addition, Pakistani embassies and
missions in China would be authorised to issue only one-year multiple-entry
work visas for Chinese nationals coming to Pakistan to work on projects.
§
Even those will be issued only after
the Pakistani mission receives security clearance from Chinese authorities.
China
unveils train that runs on virtual tracks
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China has unveiled a track-less
train that runs on virtual rails in a bid to speed up public transportation in
major cities.
§
The new trains were announced on
June 2 in Zhuzhou, China's Hunan province and are said to be non-polluting
§
The transit system uses rubber
wheels on a plastic core and has new technology copyrighted by the Chinese rail
corporation.
§
It means that the trains can be
automatically guided without rails.
§
It is set to be launched in the city
of Zhuzhou in a bid to help traffic numbers in the area.
§
According to reports, the new train
is set to cost around the fifth of the price of a traditional subway system
which usually costs around 400 million yuan to 700 yuan (£45.6 - £79
million).
§
The track-less train is also said to
have a life-span of around 25 years.
Uganda
and UN to convene 'solidarity summit' amid fast-growing refugee emergency
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Facing a fast-growing refugee
crisis, Uganda is set to host in its capital, Kampala, a 'Solidarity Summit'
with the support of the United Nations, to rally international support for
refugees and host communities in the form of donations, investments and
innovative programmes.
§
The two-day Summit, which opens
Thursday, 22 June, comes as the UN estimates that in just one year, largely due
to an influx of people fleeing violence and instability in South Sudan, the
refugee population in Uganda has more than doubled – from 500,000 to more than
1.25 million – making the country host to the world's fastest growing refugee
emergency.
§
Hosted by President Yoweri Museveni
and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the event, which is expecting 30
Heads of State and international donors, looks to raise $2 billion to meet the
humanitarian needs of refugees and to support the hosting communities over the
next four years.
BIO International Convention 2017
§
San Diego Convention Center will
host the 2017 BIO International Convention featuring the latest trends,
technology, companies, and breakthrough ideas in biotech and pharma.
§
The BIO International Convention is
scheduled to have 16,000+ attendees from 5,000+ companies which include leading
biotech and pharma companies and more than 300 academic institutions including
the major research labs and government agencies of the world.
US approves sale of 22 Guardian
drones to India
§
The US has cleared the sale of 22
unmanned Guardian drones to India a deal being termed as a “game changer” ahead
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington for his maiden meeting
with President Donald Trump.
§
The deal, estimated to be worth $2to
3 billion, has been approved by the State Department,
§
The designation of India being a
“major defence partner” was decided by the previous Obama Administration, and
formally approved by the Congress.
§
The Indian Navy had made the request
for this intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform last
year.
Qatar in landmark first Indian
football league deal
§
Qatar has made its first leap into
the growing Indian football market by announcing, on Thursday, a
"technical partnership" between Doha's Aspire Academy and Delhi
Dynamos FC.
§
The deal will allow for Aspire to
share its expertise in areas such as scouting, training and sports science with
the Indian Super League (ISL) club.
§
In return, youth players from the
Dynamos will join the "Aspire Residential Programme", which gives
young footballers the chance to train and learn at the Doha academy.
§
The tie-up brings together two of
the most ambitious "young" footballing nations, pairing the 2022
World Cup hosts with a country which has potentially one of the sport's largest
audiences in the world.
Saudi imposes family tax
§
Saudi government’s plan to introduce
an ‘expat levy’ from July 2017, with charges of up to SR800 per worker to be
phased in by 2020, is going to cost them heavily, which many of them may be
unable to bear.
§
In 2017 itself, each dependent of
expats will incur a monthly fee of Saudi Riyal (SR) 100 (about Rs 1700) from
July onwards, which will increase every year until 2020.
§
The levy on expat workers will also
be gradually revised upwards from next year, providing an additional impetus
for employers to hire more Saudis.
§
Dependents of expats will each incur
a monthly fee of SR100, from July onwards
World Bank sanctions 44 million dollars for ASPIRe
§
World Bank's Board of Executive Directors
has approved a loan assistance of 44 million dollars for the Assam State Public
Finance Institutional Reforms (ASPIRe) Project.
§
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal
expressed his gratitude towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting the
ambitious project and facilitating the approval.
§
The project aims at improving
predictability and transparency in budget execution and efficiency in tax
administration in Assam.
§
All government departments and
functionaries - specially finance, taxation and excise departments - will
benefit immensely from this project while the citizens of Assam will see
transformative benefits accruing to them through efficient processes, better
service delivery such as electronic payments and collections for
services.
§
ASPIRe project is based on three
important components that act as pillars for institutional reforms -
strengthening public finance institutional capacity, strengthening expenditure
and revenue information systems and on-project management, monitoring and
evaluation, and coordination.
Banking &
Finance
CBDT
notifies secondary adjustment transfer pricing rules
§
The
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the rules for
operationalising the provisions of secondary adjustment in the arena of
transfer pricing.
§
The
Finance Act, 2017 , had introduced the concept of secondary adjustment.
§
In
simple words, if there is an upward transfer pricing adjustment made to the
income of an Indian company that has earned such revenue through transactions
with its parent or group companies (known as related parties), then the quantum
of such addition needs to be brought back to India within a stipulated
time.
§
Else,
it will be treated as a loan given by the Indian company, which will attract a
notional interest charge and a tax on such interest income.
§
Now,
CBDT has notified Rule 10CB, which prescribes the time limit for repatriation
of the excess money from the overseas group company and the rate of interest
which would apply for failure to repatriate within the prescribed time.
Hike, Yes Bank tie up for UPI payments
§
Hike
— the Indian WhatsApp rival — will offer payment facilities to its 10 crore
users through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by partnering with Yes Bank.
§
According
to Hike CEO Kavin Bharti Mittal, the partnership will make Hike Messenger the
largest UPI-based platform in India.
§
It
will empower over 10 crore of our users to transact seamlessly on the
revolutionary UPI platform, which was launched by National Payments Corporation
of India (NPCI) to accelerate the adoption of digital payments in the country
§
This
development will revolutionise the way P2P and P2M payments are done within the
chat platform, including mobile top-ups, among others
§
Yes
Bank has been one of the early movers on the UPI platform, partnering
Flipkart's PhonePe to enable UPI payments through the latter's app.
§
As
a result, the private lender is currently responsible for close to 35% all UPI
transactions in the country, and over 80% of merchant transactions done on the
UPI ecosystem.
IDBI Federal Life partners with SunTec for GST rollout
§
IDBI
Federal Life Insurance today said it has partnered with SunTec, which will help
facilitate in computing and invoicing of debit tax and credit tax that will be
GST compliant.
§
Under
the agreement, for the debit tax mandate SunTec will help in analysing data
from various sources for computation and invoicing purposes
§
MetLife
announced the appointment of Sanjeev Kapur as senior vice-president and chief
marketing officer (CMO) of Asia.
§
Kapur
will report to Esther Lee, MetLife executive vice-president and global chief
marketing officer, and Chris Townsend, president of Asia, the company said in a
release here.
§
He
will also join the Asia leadership team of the private insurer.
Govt wants banks to deposit banned Rs 500, Rs 1000 notes at
RBI by July 20
§
The
government has permitted banks and post offices to deposit junked Rs 500 and Rs
1,000 notes with the Reserve Bank by July 20.
§
This
is the second window the government has provided to banks, post offices and
cooperative banks for depositing the junked notes with RBI.
§
RBI
will accept deposits collected by any bank or post office by December 30, 2016
or by any District Central Cooperative Bank from November 10-14, 2016 should be
deposited within 30 day
§
India
is the second-largest producer and consumer of currency notes. Circulation of
banknotes has increased to 90.27 billion pieces from 64.58 billion over the
last five years.
State Bank of India gets mandate to
take three steel companies to bankruptcy court
§
State Bank of India the country’s
biggest bank, has been authorised to refer Essar Steel Bhushan Steel and
Electrosteel to the bankruptcy court raising the possibility that some of these
companies could be merged in an effort to return them to health.
§
The three companies between them owe
banks nearly Rs 1 lakh crore. By early next week, SBI will file applications at
the National Company Law Tribunal for these three companies under the
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
§
The lenders, and the management and
promoters of these companies will have 270 days to resolve the problem after
the NCLT admits the applications.
§
The reorganisation could involve a
restructuring of the debt or a consolidation with two companies merging.
Amazon ties-up with ClearTax to make e-sellers GST ready
§
E-commerce giant Amazon has tied up
with ClearTax to help sellers on their platform make a seamless transition to
the GST regime and help them file their tax returns with ease, the company said
in a statement.
§
ClearTax Biz and Cleartax Biz+, two
softwares launched by ClearTax, will be available to the sellers free of cost
for the first two months after sign-up.
§
Subsequently, the software will be
provided at a 30 per cent discount for sellers registered with Amazon India
§
The product aims to be a one-stop
GST solution for sellers on Amazon’s marketplace through seamless integration
with the Amazon platform as well as offline channels.
§
Sellers can create GST-compliant
sales and purchase invoices from day one of the GST regime, reconcile and file
their GSTR forms, and have access to dashboards that enable better cash flow
management and maintenance of GST-compliance ratings.
Ola ties up with Jio Money to give customers more cashless options for payment
§
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has
made an entry into the app-based taxi service space.
§
Travel aggregator Ola has tied up
with India’s leading wallet Jio Money to provide customers with more cashless
options for payment.
§
The current payment options
available are pay in cash, by using credit/debit cards and Ola Money.
§
This means that now when you have
sufficient funds in your Jio Money wallet, you can opt to use it to pay for
your Ola rides.
§
With Jio Money, Ola riders will get
special offers and hassle free travel, giving it precedence over other payment
options available.
SBI,
Tirumala Milk Products tie up for providing loans to dairy farmers
§
State Bank of India has entered into
a tie-up with Tirumala Milk Products, a South- based company which was acquired
by Groupe Lactalis in 2014, to provide loans to dairy farmers who supply milk
to the latter.
§
France-based Groupe Lactalis, which
also acquired Indore-based Anik Dairy in 2016, wants to double the number of
dairy farmers under its fold to three lakh and ramp up the amount of milk it
procures daily to 25 lakh litres by 2020 from 14 lakh litres now.
§
Under its scheme for financing dairy
units, SBI offers loans for, among others, construction of shed, and purchase
of milch animals, milking machine, and chaff cutter.
§
Under another scheme, the bank
provides loans to dairy societies for modernisation and creation of
infrastructure such as purchase of automatic milk collection system, purchase
of transport vehicles and bulk chilling unit.
For the first time, RBI makes banks accountable for Misselling
Banks for the first time have been made
accountable for misselling third-party products like insurance policies or
mutual fund schemes. Customers can also file complaints against banks for
problems with mobile and digital banking services.
The RBI on Friday said that it has
widened the scope of its Banking Ombudsman Scheme 2006 to include deficiencies
arising out of sale of third-party investment products by lenders.
Under the amended scheme, a customer
would also be able to lodge a complaint against banks for non-adherence to the
RBI instructions with regard to mobile or electronic banking services.
Following the amendment, the pecuniary
jurisdiction of the ombudsman to pass an award has been doubled from Rs 10 lakh
to Rs 20 lakh.
The ombudsman has been empowered to
award compensation not exceeding Rs 1 lakh for loss of time, expenses incurred
and also harassment and mental anguish suffered by the complainant.
Until now, if the buyer of an insurance
policy or mutual fund was missold s/he had to seek redressal from the insurance
company or the mutual fund.
However, before filing a complaint with
the ombudsman the customer has to approach the grievance redressal department
of the bank and wait 30 days for a response.
Appointments
Ayurveda
specialist appointed special secretary in Ayush ministry
§
Ayurvedaphysician
'Vaidya' Rajesh Kotecha has been appointed as special secretary in Ayush
ministry.
§
Usually
a senior bureaucrat is appointed to such a post.
§
The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Kotecha's appointment for
three years on a contract basis
§
Vaidya
(meaning physician) Kotecha is chief consultant of Chakrapani Ayurveda Clinic,
Jaipur.
§
The
appointment is in line with the Centre's efforts to bring in specialists from
the private sector in the government.
UNICEF appoints 19-year-old Syrian
refugee as goodwill ambassador
§
The
UN children’s agency has announced the appointment of its youngest goodwill
ambassador, 19-year-old Syrian refugee and education activist Muzoon
Almellehan. UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Justin Forsyth said Monday that
Muzoon is the first goodwill envoy with official refugee status.
§
Muzoon
fled the conflict in Syria along with her family in 2013, living as refugee for
three years in Jordan before being resettled in the United Kingdom.
§
It
was during her 18 months in the Za’atari camp that she began advocating for
children’s access to education, particularly for girls.
Rajiv Gauba to be next Union home secretary
§
The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
approved a major reshuffle of top bureaucrats, with the Urban Development
Secretary, Rajiv Gauba, being named as the next home secretary.
Other Changes
§
Durga
Shanker Mishra will be the next urban development secretary.
§
Mehrishi
is likely to be appointed the next chief election commissioner
§
NK
Sinha will be the I&B secretary.
§
Ajay
Mittal will take over as the secretary, Department of Personnel & Training.
§
Aruna
Sundararajan, secretary will take over as secretary, Department of
Telecommunications in the existing vacancy.
§
Yudhvir
Singh Malik will take over as secretary, Ministry of Road Transport &
Highways.
§
Deepak
Kumar will take over as Chairman, National Highways Authority of India.
§
Avinash
K Srivastava has been appointed as the secretary, Department of Consumer
Affairs,
§
Jagdish
Prasad Meena has been moved to Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
§
Subash
C Garg has been appointed as secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,
§
Rajeev
Kapoor will be the secretary of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.
§
Sanjeevanee
Kutty will be Secretary, Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.
§
Arun
Kumar Panda will take over as secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises.
§
Ravi
Kan will take over as secretary, Ministry of Shipping.
§
Anand
Kumar will take over as secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energ
§
Ajay
Prakash Sawhney will take over as secretary, Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology.
§
Ajay
Kumar Bhalla director general, Foreign Trade, will be the next power secretary.
Manappuram Home Finance announces appointments of MD, CEO
§
Manappuram
Finance announced the appointment of Jeevandas Narayan as the Managing Director
and Subhash Samant as CEO of its fully-owned home loans subsidiary, Manappuram
Home Finance.
§
Prior
to this Narayan, who has more than 37 years of experience in the financial services
industry, was Managing Director of State Bank of Travancore
§
Kenneth
Juster to be new US ambassador to India
§
Kenneth
I Juster, a top aide of US President Donald Trump, is set to be America’s new
ambassador to India
§
Juster,
62, who is the deputy assistant to the US president for International Economic
Affairs and deputy director of his National Economic Council, would replace
Richard Verma if nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
§
The
move has been welcomed by widely respected Ashley Telis, the top India expert
in the US.
UN chief appoints Lebanese official
as head of operations in Libya
§
A Lebanese political science
professor and political advisor to the United Nations in Iraq has been
appointed as the Organization's top official in Libya.
§
UN Secretary-General António
Guterres announced the appointment of Ghassan Salamé as his Special
Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), which is
working to facilitate a Libyan-led political solution to the challenges facing
the country.
§
Mr. Salamé will succeed Martin
Kobler of Germany, whom the UN spokesperson said that Mr. Guterres is grateful
for his dedication and service, as well as for his effective leadership of
UNSMIL.
Russian diplomat appointed to lead new UN counter-terror unit
§
The United Nations has appointed
veteran Russian diplomat Vladimir Voronkov to head a newly-established
counter-terrorism division, despite growing tensions between the US and
Russia.
§
It will oversee the
counter-terrorism efforts of 36 UN-funded programmes currently housed under a
variety of UN agencies, 12 inter-agency working groups, as well as Interpol,
and the World Customs Organisation.
§
The existing Counter-Terrorism
Implementation Task Force is under the political affairs division. There are
also two related offices under the Security Council, which will remain in
place.
Subhash C Garg appointed as new DEA Secretary
§
Subhash C Garg, a 1983 batch
Rajasthan cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry.
§
This was part of the major secretary
level reshuffle and appointments announced by the Centre
§
The committee also gave its nod for
the appointment of Rajiv Gauba, a Jharkhand cadre IAS officer, as the next Home
Secretary.
§
He will take over from Rajiv
Mehrishi on August 30. Until then Gauba will serve as Officer on Special Duty
in the Home Ministry.
§
Meanwhile, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, an
Andhra Pradesh cadre IAS officer, will be the new Electronics & IT
Secretary.
§
He was earlier Additional Secretary
in the Petroleum Ministry. Yudhvir Singh Malik, a 1983 Haryana batch IAS
officer, will be the new Road Transport and Highways Secretary. He was earlier
NHAI’s Chairman.
Imran Khawaja appointed as ICC
deputy chairman
§ The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed
Chairman of Associates Imran Khawaja as its deputy chairman.
§ Khawaja, a veteran administrator from Singapore, was
unanimously elected for the post created following the constitutional change
approved at the ICC Full Council.
§ Khawaja will deputise in ICC meetings in case the chairman
Shashank Manohar is absent.
§ Khawaja was part of the five-man ICC working group, led by
Manohar, that had drafted the new constitution last year.
§ Khawaja will be one of the frontrunners for the role of ICC
chairman with Manohar's term coming to an end next June.
Dr Taraprasad Das appointed as President of Vision 2020
India
§ Dr Taraprasad Das, Vice Chair, L V Prasad Eye Institute, and
Regional Chair, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, South
East Asia (IAPB, SEA), has been elected as the President of Vision 2020
India.
§ The mission of Vision 2020 – The Right to Sight – India is
to reduce the cases of avoidable visual impairment by the year 2020.
§ It is part of a global initiative of the World Health
Organisation (WHO) and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness
(IAPB).
§ Every quarter, the board of Vision 2020 India discusses the
progress of the strategic plan and issues related to eye health.
§ Some of the other members elected on the board of Vision
2020 India are Dr Santosh Moses, Regional Manager - South Asia, Operation
Eyesight Universal (India) as Vice President; Govind Hari, Chairman,
Administration, Pushpagiri Vitreo Retina Institute as Secretary; and Dr Rahul
Ali, Country Director, India, Orbis International as Treasurer.
Indian professor named Harvard
B-school Dean
§ An India-born professor and IIT alumnus who has long
championed a pledge for organisational leaders and managers on the lines of the
Hippocratic Oath for doctors to enhance accountability in the corporate world
has been named Dean of the prestigious Harvard Business School.
§ Nitin Nohria, who is currently the Richard P. Chapman
Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School (HBS), will
become the School's 10th dean
§ Nohria is the first Indian, and indeed the first non-white,
to become the dean of the 102-year old institution that typically ranks among
the top three business-schools in the world.
§ Nohria, who will take up his new role on July 1, succeeds
Jay Light, who in December announced his plans to retire at the end of the
2009-10 academic year after five years as dean.
Reserve Bank of India expands
oversight committee
§
RBI has expanded the oversight
committee by appointing three more members to the high-level panel that will
vet the process to resolve mounting bad loans bogging down the banking
sector.
§
Former chief vigilance commissioner
Pradeep Kumar will head the now 5-member panel that will work through multiple
benches
§
Besides Kumar, the other members of
the committee are former SBI Chairman Janki Ballabh, former Canara Bank
Chairman and Managing Director M B N Rao, former Chairman and Managing of
L&T Finance Y M Deosthalee and S Raman, member Sebi.
§
Raman would be inducted into the
panel from September 7, 2017 after he completes the term at Sebi.
Science & Technology
ISRO to launch earth-observation
Cartosat-2E and 30 Nanosatellites
§
The
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch an
earth-observation satellite, named Cartosat-2E on June 23.
§
A
from the Cartosat-2E, 30 other nano satellites, both national and international
, will be transported by the PSLV as well.
§
This
comes after earlier this month, India successfully launched its heavy rocket
GSLV Mk-III which boosted ISRO’s reach to a new height.
§
This
is the 40th flight of the rocket which will carry the Cartosat-2E, a pivotal
sattelite when it comes to earth-observation and the rest 30 nano
satellites.
§
While
almost 29 of the satellites onboard are from foreign countries, the only one
nano satellites sent by India is the one which was created by the students of
Noorul Islam University of Tamil Nadu.
§
The
rest of the countries who shall use the Indian PSLV for transporting their own
nano satellites are, Austria, Belgium, Chile, the Czech Republic, Finland,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, the UK and the US.
§
Cartosat-2E
will facilitate monitoring of the earth and using its panchromatic and
multispectral cameras it shall provide regular remote sensing services.
§
Apart
from that, it shall also be useful as its name suggests, in cartographic
applications, meaning in creation of land use maps, coastal land use and
regulation, change detection to bring out geographical and man-made features
and various other land information system applications.
§
It
shall also be useful in utility management for example in road network
monitoring and water distribution.
§
Cartosat-2E
weighs 712 kilogram and along with the other 30 satellites, it will be launched
from the launchpad one of Satish Dhawan Space Centre, popularly known as
Sriharikota launch range at 9.29 am(IST).
§
The
satellites will be placed in a 505 kilometer polar sun synchronous orbit, the
report suggested.
MOM
completes 1000 Earth days
§
India's
Mars orbiter, launched in 2013, was expected to last six months or 180 days
after reaching its destination.
§
But
having completed four years and 1,000 Earth days in orbit, the spacecraft shows
no signs of fatigue, continuing to relay back a mass of images and data, each
contributing to better understanding of the red planet.
§
After
its launch on November 5, 2013 by the PSLV-C25 rocket, the spacecraft travelled
to the red planet for nine months and entered the Martian orbit on September
24, 2014 in its very first attempt.
§
1,000
Earth days correspond to 973.24 Mars Sols (Martian Solar day) and the MOM
completed 388 orbits.
§
The
long life of the spacecraft indicates two things: first, there was no fuel
leakage and second, the orbiter withstood all the rigours of the difficult
journey.
Rare extreme helium star bigger and
hotter than our Sun discovered for first time in 40 years
§
A rare example of an extreme helium
star has just been identified by astronomers. It is known as GALEX
J184559.8−413827 - or J1845−4138 for short.
§
Extreme helium stars are very rare
and mysterious, made up mostly of helium rather than hydrogen, which is the
most common element in the Universe.
§
This oddity has long puzzled
scientists, but they have also been fascinated by the fact that these stars are
supergiants much larger and hotter than the Sun.
§
Besides helium, these stars also
have significant amounts of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen. The first one ever
identified was spotted in 1942 by an astronomer called Daniel Popper.
§
Over the 30 years that followed, a
small number of extreme helium stars were discovered with the help of
spectroscopic surveys but astronomers continued arguing about how these stars
formed. Identifying them beyond doubt also proved tricky on many occasions.
Nasa launches world's lightest
satellite designed by 18-year-old TN student
§
India once again broke a global
space record by launching the world's lightest satellite weighing a mere 64
grams, called Kalamsat, designed and developed not by professional space
scientists and engineers, but by 18-year-old Tamil Nadu student Rifath Sharook
and his team.
§
The tiny satellite, named after
Abdul Kalam, was flown by a Nasa sounding rocket and the lift-off was from the
space agency's Wallop Island facility around 3pm (IST).
§
Kalam had his training in the
sounding rocket programme at Wallops Island in the '60s. Kalamsat was the only
Indian payload in the mission.
NASA tests flexible solar array on space station
§
NASA is testing for the first time
the effectiveness of a flexible solar array on space station that could one day
power satellites and spacecraft.
§
The Roll-Out Solar Array, or ROSA,
an advanced, flexible solar array that rolls out like a tape measure “can be
easily adapted to different sizes, including very large arrays, to provide
power for a variety of future spacecraft,
§
It also has the potential to make
solar arrays more compact and lighter weight for satellite radio and
television, weather forecasting, GPS and other services used on the Earth.
§
In addition, the technology
conceivably could be adapted to provide solar power in remote locations.
§
NASA tested the ROSA technology in
vacuum chambers on the Earth several years ago, but this is its first test in
space.
§
Over the weekend of June 17-18,
2017, engineers on the ground remotely operated the International Space
Station’s robotic Canadarm2 to extract the Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA)
experiment from the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship.
§
The new solar array design rolls up
to form a compact cylinder for launch with significantly less mass and volume,
potentially offering substantial cost savings as well as an increase in power
for satellites
Awards & Honors’
Ramamani
lyengar Memorial to be awarded for contribution in Yoga
§
The
Ramamani lyengar Memorial Yoga Institute has been selected as the first
recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award, for outstanding contribution for
promotion and development of Yoga.
§
The
selection was done among 85 nominations out of which 15 were recommended by the
screening committee.
§
On
June 21, 2016, Prime Minister Narendra had announced the institution for the
award for its promotion and development of Yoga.
§
The
Ministry of AYUSH developed the guidelines for the awards after which two
committees were constituted namely, the Screening Committee for preliminary
evaluation and Evaluation Committee (Jury), to ensure a transparent process
while finalising the awards.
Deepika
Padukone nominated for Teen Choice Awards
§
Hindi
cinema actor Deepika Padukone has been nominated in Teen Choice Awards for her
breakthrough role in xXx: Return of Xander Cage and the actor will compete with
Wonder Woman Gal Gadot for the trophy.
§
Deepika,
31, has been nominated in the Choice Action Movie Actress category for essaying
the role of xXx agent Serena Unger, who helps Xander Cage in saving the world
in the DJ Caruso directed film.
Annabel
Mehta, renowned social activist will get MBE
§
Annabel
Mehta has been a known social activist for a long time.
§
She
is also the mother of Anjali Tendulkar, cricket great Sachin Tendulkar’s wife.
Annabel who is a British national and is married to an Indian has been
confirmed to get an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) later this
year.
§
She
will get the award in her capacity as a social worker for her tireless work
with the underprivileged in Mumbai.
Francis Spufford wins 2017 Desmond Elliot prize
§
Francis
Spufford has been awarded the 2017 Desmond Elliott Prize for his
"miraculously constructed" debut fiction, Golden Hill .
§
Set
in New York in 1746, when the Big Apple was just a small town on the island of
Manhattan, Golden Hill follows the story of Mr Smith, a mysterious young man
who steps off a boat from England with an order for a huge sum of money.
§
The
book was chosen as the best debut novel of 2017 from a shortlist which also
included acclaimed books such as, My Name is Leon by Kit de Waal, and Harmless
Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan.
§
The
Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in
English and published in the UK.
§
The
winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and
breadth with a compelling narrative.
§
The
winner receives £10,000. The prize is named in honour of the distinguished late
publisher and literary agent, Desmond Elliott.
Ferrari clinches 2017 International Engine of the Year award
§
Ferrari's
3.9-litre V8 from the 488 GTB has won the 2017 International Engine of the Year
award for the second consecutive year.
§
The
twin-turbo V8 fended off close competition from Porsche's 3.0-litre
six-cylinder turbo powering the 911 Carrera.
§
Apart
from the overall prize, the 3.9-litre V8 won top honours in the 'Performance
Engine' and the '3.0 to 4.0-litre' categories.
§
With
its win, Ferrari's V8 joins four other powertrains such as BMW M's V10, BMW's
3.0-litre twin-turbo six, Volkswagen's 1.4-litre 'Twincharged' TSI and Ford's
1.0-litre EcoBoost that have won the award at least twice.
Indian Agri Microbiologist given environment award in Japan
§
Indian
agricultural microbiologist Shrihari Chandraghatgi has been conferred the
Ministry of Environment Award for 2017 in Japan for developing cutting edge
technologies to address burning environmental problems.
§
Chandraghatgi,
who is President and CEO of EcoCycle Corporation, is the first foreigner to be
given the Ministry of Environment Award, the highest award in environmental
sector in Japan
§
Chandraghatgi,
hailing from Siddapura in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, has been
residing in Tokyo for almost two decades.
§
He
has over a dozen patents against his name. These patented technologies have
been applied over 400 sites in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, India, China and the US
Indian Anti-Hunger Activist To Be Honoured by Queen Elizabeth II
§
Anti-hunger
activist Ankit Kawatra, who has been committed to solving hunger and
malnutrition in India, is all set to receive the prestigious Queen's Young
Leaders Award with 60 others from all 53 Commonwealth countries.
§
Ankit
Kawatra, 25, will be honoured by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony to be held in
the Buckingham Palace on June 29.
§
In
2014, Mr Kawatra quit his corporate business job and founded a not for profit
organisation Feeding India that works towards solving problems of hunger,
malnutrition and food wastage, mainly by redistributing extra food from
restaurants, canteens, households, corporates etc. to help people in need.
§
He
started working for the cause after witnessing massive amount of extra food
being thrown away in a wedding and feels that his mission is to end hunger in
his lifetime.
International Dublin Literary Award goes to José Eduardo Agualusa
§
This
year's International Dublin Literary Award has been awarded to the Angolan
writer Jose Eduardo Agualusa for his 14th novel, A General Theory of Oblivion ,
translated into English by Daniel Hahn. The 100,000 prize is divided between
author and translator, with Agualusa receiving 75,000 and Hahn 25,000.
§
A
General Theory of Obliviontells the story of a traumatised woman Luanda, who
retreats from the world and history and stays in an apartment while Angola
endures a civil war and a sequence of horrors.
§
Her
isolation is shared with an albino dog Phantom, whose spirit continues to
sustain her after he dies.
§
The
Dublin Literary Award is the world's largest prize for a single novel published
in English
Awards for Bengal in rural development
§
Bengal
has received five state-level and two district-level excellence awards for
implementation of flagship programmes of the ministry of rural development
during 2016-17.
§
In
the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act, Bengal has received a gold memento and a certificate for outstanding
performance in convergence and livelihood augmentation.
§
Among
districts, Nadia was awarded for the progress made in strengthening river dam
as well as building greenhouse for cultivation of flowers and vegetables. Cooch
Behar was also awarded for implementation of Geo-MGNREGA, which comprises the
geo-tagging of assets.
Indian-origin doctor appointed honorary VP of UK medical body
§
A
veteran Indian-origin doctor in the UK has been appointed as honorary
vice-president of the country's prominent medical body, becoming the first
professional from the community to be appointed to the post.
§
Kailash
Chand, a general practitioner (GP), has been associated with the British
Medical Association (BMA), for nearly 25 years.
§
Chand
has been regularly named as being among one of Britain's top 50 most
influential GPs in the annual 'National Pulse Power' list.
World’s top 10 airlines of 2017
§
The
Skytrax World Airline Awards are generally considered to be the ‘Oscars of the
aviation industry
§
The
award winners have been ranked based on traveller-voting across the world as
part of Skytrax’s annual passenger survey.
§
Indigo
and Jet Airways were on 57th and 73rd positions respectively.
§
Qatar
Airways, the national airline of Gulf nation Qatar, has been rated the Best
Airline of 2017 by aviation website Skytrax.
§
The
airline, which topped the list for the fourth time in 10 years, was followed by
Singapore Airlines.
Radio Mirchi bags Gold at 2017 NYF
Radio Awards
§
New York Festivals International
Radio Program Awards announced this year’s award-winning programmes at the
annual Radio Awards gala last week at New York City’s Manhattan
Penthouse.
§
India won nine metals (one Gold,
four Silver and four Bronze) and bagged 22 finalist certificates.
§
Radio Mirchi bagged a Gold Radio for
‘Five years of Nirbhaya,’under the Public Service Announcement Promotion
category. The player also bagged a Bronze Radio for ‘Ha ja ba ra la’ under the
Best Audio Book Fiction category.
§
Reliance Broadcast Network Limited
(RBNL) won two Silver Radio and seven finalist certificates.
'Baahubali
2' to be screened at Moscow Int'l Film Festival
§
Yet another feather in the cap of
'Baahubali 2: The Conclusion.
§ The blockbuster movie will be screened at the 39th edition
of the Moscow International Film Festival.
§
The special screening at the film
festival is part of a series of events to celebrate the 70 years of bilateral
relations between India and Russia.
§
The festival, which is to be held
from June 22 to June 29, will also include screening of films like 'Badman', 'A
Death In the Gunj', 'BeyYaar', 'U Turn' and 'Kothandi',
Sahitya awards for 2 Goan writers
§
Two Konkani literary personalities —
Vincy Quadros and Amey Naik — from Goa have been chosen for awards by the the
country's highest literary body - the Sahitya Akademi.
§
While Quadros is being awarded
Sahitya Akademi's Bal Sahitya Puraskar for his book 'Jaduche Petul' for
children in Konkani, Amey Naik has been selected for Yuva Puraskar 2017 for his
Konkani poetry collection 'Mog Dot Com'.
Sonam
Kapoor's fashion label Rheson wins PETA award
§
Actress Sonam Kapoor and her
producer-sister Rhea Kapoor's fashion label -- Rheson has bagged the
Compassionate Business Award from the People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) India for a line of bags made exclusively of vegan
materials.
§
This is not the first time that
Sonam, who was crowned PETA's Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity of 2016, has stood
for animals.
CM
Naveen Patnaik confers Biju Patnaik Award on scientist Lalit Mohan Das
§ The prestigious Biju Patnaik Award for Scientific
Excellence, 2014 was conferred on scientist Lalit Mohan Das for his outstanding
contribution to science.
§ Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik gave away the award to Das at
a function organised by Odisha Bigyan Academy (OBA) here. The award carries a
cash prize of `2 lakh.
§ Similarly, the CM awarded scientists Pradeep Kumar Chand,
Swati Mohanty and Ajay Parida with the Samanta Chandra Sekhar Award. The award
carries a cash prize of `1 lakh.
§ Biswaranjan Paital, Sasmita Mohapatra, Milan Kumar Biswal
and Swarup Kumar Parida were awarded in the young scientist category which
carries a cash prize of `25,000. Besides, the CM felicitated Jibanananda
Mohanty, Khageswar Pradhan and Dhruba Raj Nayak as senior scientists.
Intellecap CEO Nisha Dutt gets
social entrepreneur of year award
§ Nisha Dutt, Chief Executive Officer of Hyderabad-based
Intellecap has been honoured with the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award
at The 7th Asian Awards in London.
§ She is the first Indian woman leader to have been conferred
with this recognition.
§ This award has been presented to her for leading Intellecap
to become a globally known enterprise that focuses on social capital and
impacts the under served communities.
§ The Asian Awards function held recently is an annual awards
ceremony, was founded by businessman and philanthropist Paul Sagoo through his
Lemon Group Company. The awards is presented in 14 categories.
§ Earlier winners from India include Ratan Tata, Amitabh
Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and singers Asha Bhosle and Zayn Malik to name a few.
In the Social Entrepreneur category, personalities such as Professor Muhammad
Yunus, Masa Kogure and Vikram Patel have been honored over the years.
§ As CEO, Nisha guides the global positioning of Intellecap
business. Her key contribution has been integrating technology with challenges
of healthcare, financial services, incubation and conceptualising programs such
as Innovations Labs and Credit-tree
Azim Premji honoured with Carnegie
Medal of Philanthropy
§ Wipro Chairman Azim Premji is among the honorees of this
years Carnegie Medal, considered the most prestigious prize in Philanthropy,
for his efforts to reform Indias public school system.
§ Premji, 70, who founded the Azim Premji Foundation, is among
the nine philanthropists named recipients of the 2017 Carnegie Medal of
Philanthropy in "recognition of their outstanding and innovative
leadership in philanthropy."
§ The foundation went on to establish the Azim Premji
University in 2011, with a focus on school education and related fields of
human development.
§ Forty-six per cent of the university's student body comes
from villages and small towns, with a majority committing to work in the social
sector after graduation.
UN honours Mamata Banerjee with
highest public service award for girl child project Kanyashree
§ In a major boost to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's pet
project 'Kanyashree', the United Nations today accorded its highest award for
public service to the West Bengal government for the scheme initiated to
empower the girl child with education.
§ The project was launched in 2011 soon after Mamata Banerjee
came to power and has helped more than 40 lakh female students in the state.
§ 'Kanyashree' was ranked the best among 552 such social
sector schemes from across 62 countries that were nominated for the coveted
award. The award was presented at the World Public Service Forum by UN Assistant
Secretary General at a ceremony in Hague in Netherlands.
§
Kanyashree Prakalpa' is a targeted
conditional cash transfer scheme aimed at retaining girls in schools and other
educational and skill development institutions along with preventing child marriage.
Sports
Luke Ronchi announces international retirement
§
New
Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi has announced his retirement from
international cricket.
§
The
36-year-old started his career at the highest stage with Australia in 2008, featuring
in four ODIs and three T20Is, before moving backing to the country of his birth
- New Zealand in 2012.
§
In
a year, he earned a spot in the national side there and ended up featuring in
four Tests, 81 ODIs and 29 T20Is for them.
§
Ronchi's
last outing in New Zealand colours came in the recently-concluded Champions
Trophy.
Kuldeep
1st male Chinaman bowler to represent India in ODIs
Kuldeep
Yadav became the first male Chinaman bowler to represent India in ODIs, making
his debut in the first ODI against West Indies.
Yadav,
who made his Test debut against Australia in March this year, is the 217th ODI
cricketer to represent India. The 22-year-old was part of the Indian team at
the 2014 ICC U-19 World Cup.
ICC
announces two new Test nations
Ireland
and Afghanistan were awarded Test match status taking the number of countries
playing at the pinnacle of cricket from 10 to 12 in a decision described as
"fantastic" and "remarkable".
Both
countries were confirmed as full members after a unanimous vote at an International
Cricket Council (ICC) meeting during its annual conference in London.
Now
the Ireland and Afghanistan's men's teams will be eligible to play five-day
Test cricket, widely regarded as the sport's supreme format.
Afghanistan
and Ireland have joined an exclusive club that also includes founder members
Australia and England, who played the first Test match at Melbourne in 1877,
South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and
Zimbabwe.
Kavita
Devi becomes first Indian woman wrestler to compete in WWE
Former
competitive powerlifter Kavita Devi will become the first Indian woman to
compete in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) when she takes part in the
company’s first ever tournament for women next month
The
South Asian Games gold medal winner, who was a part of the WWE Dubai tryout
earlier this year, will be among the 32 participants who will compete at the
Mae Young Classic tournament.
The
May Young Classic (July 13-14) will feature 32 of the top female competitors
from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament.
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