1. Tapan Ray, the 1982 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer and currently the corporate affairs secretary, has taken additional charge as the new Economic Affairs Secretary. He succeeded Shaktikanta Das, who retired on May 31, 2017 after serving the government for 37 years in various capacities.
2. The 2nd annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be held in Jeju, South Korea from June 14-15, 2017. The purpose of the AIIB is to promote economic development of the region by supporting major infrastructure projects. From India, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will attend the meeting. AIIB is headed by Jin Liqun, the former Assistant Chinese Finance Minister. D J Pandian from India is the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of the organization.
3. Ram Shankar Katheria, a BJP MP from Agra, has been appointed as the new chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) for a period of three years. The post has been lying vacant since the retirement of the previous chairman PL Poonia in 2016. Beside this, L. Murugan has appointed as Vice-Chairman of the NCSC and K. Ramulu, Dr. Yogendra Paswan and Dr. Swaraj Vidwan as its Members. The commission is a constitutional body to safeguard interests of the dalits.
4. India's first 'freight village' will be developed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The freight village, a one-of-its-kind infrastructure platform, will attract companies that require logistics services and can cluster to improve their competitiveness. This will allow relocation of retailers, warehouse operators and logistics service providers supplying the regional FMCG market. The facility will come around the proposed multi-modal terminal adjacent to the city on the banks of the Ganga.
5. Nirupama Rao, the former Indian Ambassador to US, has been appointed as a public policy fellow to a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (WWICS) where she will work on a project on the Sino-India ties. Rao will be affiliated with the Wilson Centre's Asia program and spend 3 months in residence at the Wilson Centre from June 2017, which is a key non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues. The WWICS is the living, national memorial to President Wilson, created by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington DC. The Wilson Center provides a strictly nonpartisan space for the worlds of policymaking and scholarship to interact.
6. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 8-9, 2017. In this summit, India and Pakistan will become full members of the organization. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It is mainly aimed at military cooperation between the members and involves intelligence- sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.
7. The World Milk Day (WMD) is observed every year on June 1 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to recognise the importance of milk as a global food. The day is intended to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector. In India, the National Milk Day (NMD) is observed every year on November 26 to mark the birth anniversary of of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India's White Revolution.
8. Anita Kundu, a Haryana police sub-inspector from Hisar, has made history by becoming the first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest from the China side on May 2017. Earlier, she had scaled the Mt. Everest from Nepal side in May 2013.
9. India has ranked 137th out of 163 countries on the 2017 Global Peace Index (GPI), published by The Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP). The 2017 GPI provides a comprehensive analysis on the state of peace. It shows that amidst continuing social and political turmoil, the world continues to spend enormous resources on creating and containing violence but very little on peace. The index is topped by Iceland, followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark, whereas Syria remains the least peaceful country in the world, followed by Afghanistan, Iraq, South Sudan, and Yemen.
10. India's first automatic coastal warning for disasters will come up in Odisha from July 2017. Through alert system, Odisha will be able to warn its coastal population by pressing a single button from a control room in the Odisha capital in the event of natural disasters like tsunami or cyclone. The loud sirens will then go off simultaneously from towers at 122 spots locations including tourist destinations, fish landing centres and coastal habitations. The new system will also enable authorities to alert people in smaller pockets, depending on the severity of the disaster.
11. India has been ranked 37th out of 103 nations in the 2017 global Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), according to a new report by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative. The OPHI is an economic research centre at the Oxford University, led by Professor Sabina Alkire. The 2017 global MPI has covered 76% of the world's population, living in 103 countries. The index measures the nature and intensity of poverty, based on the profile of overlapping deprivations each poor person experiences. It aggregates these into meaningful indexes that can be used to inform targeting and resource allocation and to design policies that tackle the interlinked dimensions of poverty together.
12. The researchers at IIT Kharagpur has developed a wireless technology 'AmbuSens' for remote monitoring of patients' condition ferried in ambulances. The technology will allow doctors to monitor ECG, heart-rate, temperature and blood-pressure of patients moving in ambulances and fitted with wireless sensors. This will help doctors to advise technicians travelling with the patient to deal with the situation. The web interface of the AmbuSens system provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for doctors and paramedics alike with data visualisation tools such as real-time ECG graph. It can be accessed from internet-enabled laptops, tablets and smartphones.
13. The Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Tripura that covers an area of about 389.54 sq km. It is home to animals like elephants, sambar, buffalo, yapping deer, sarow, wild goa, etc. The sanctuary is one of the prominent sanctuaries that speck the bush clad landscapes of Tripura; this sanctuary is a sign of the common legacy of the state and affirms the various Tripura wild life and it is one of the best places of the animal visitors.
14. The World Environment Day (WED) is observed every year on June 5 to raise awareness about forests and wider issues of environmental protection. The 2017 theme is 'Connecting People to Nature'. It implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share. The host country for the WED 2017 is Canada, where the official celebrations take place.
15. Ranjit Kumar is the present Solicitor General of India, whose tenure has been extended by the Government of India (GoI). Beside this, the terms of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and five other senior law officers have also been extended. The Additional Solicitor Generals who have been given extension for an indefinite period are Pinky Anand, Maninder Singh, P S Patwalia, Tushar Mehta and P S Narsimha. The Attorney General, along with the Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor General, represents the government in various courts and tender legal advice on complex issues.
16. The World Bank (WB) in its latest report "Global Economic Prospects (GEP)" has projected India's GDP growth rate at 7.5% in 2018 and 7.7% in 2019. As per the report, the World Bank has also projected a strong 7.2% growth rate for India in FY 2017 against 6.8% growth in 2016, as India is recovering from the temporary adverse effects of demonetisation. However, World Bank has maintained its forecast for global growth in 2017 and 2018 unchanged at 2.7% and 2.9% respectively, as manufacturing and trade are picking up and confidence is improving.
17. India has acquired the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business at the 2017 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). The 2017 GRDI titled "The Age of Focus" ranked China at second place, followed by Malaysia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam. The 16th edition of GRDI ranked top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide and analyzed 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables to help retailers devise successful global strategies to identify emerging market investment opportunities.
18. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched its 3136 kg GSAT-19 communication satellite with its brand new and heaviest – Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III D-1 (GSLV-Mk III D-1) satellite into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on June 5, 2017. The satellite GSAT-19 has an intended life span of 10 years and is developed to improve telecommunication and broadcasting areas. The GSLV-Mk III is popularly known as "fat boy" and is developed for 15 years at a cost of around Rs 300 crore. The rocket is capable of carrying payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the GTO and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The GSLV-Mk III is a three stage rocket. Its first stage is made of two strap on motors filled with solid fuel. The second stage uses the liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic upper stage "C25", which is powered by the highly complex indigenous cryogenic engine "CE20". The number 20 denotes the 20-ton thrust it generates for the rocket to reach the intended height with the heavy mass on board.
19. The Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Fazilka District of Punjab. The formation of sanctuary relates to a unique success story of wildlife conservation in which people of Bishnoi community united themselves for protecting the Black Buck which is regarded as a sacred animal by them. It is also the State Animal of Punjab. It is home to several varieties of flora and fauna viz. Albizia lebbeck, Acacia nilotica, Azadirachata indica, A. tortilis, Wild Boar, Blue Bull, Porcupines, Hare, Jackal, etc.
20. The United Nations is hosting its first-ever World Oceans Conference at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States from June 5, 2017. The 5-day conference is co-hosted by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden with theme "Our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14". The purpose of the conference is to find solutions to some of the toughest problems facing the oceans — that includes coral bleaching, plastic pollution, overfishing and rising sea levels. It also includes measures to protect coastal and blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves, tidal marshes, seagrass, and coral reefs, and wider interconnected ecosystems, as well as enhancing sustainable fisheries management, including to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield.
21. India's first-ever Rural LED Street Lighting Project will be implemented by the Government of India (GoI) in Andhra Pradesh (AP). The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power will retrofit10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in AP. This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the GoI's Street Lighting National Project (SLNP). In the first phase, the replacement will be undertaken in gram panchayats of the districts of Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Ananthapur and Chittoor. This replacement drive in rural areas will help the gram panchayats to cumulatively save approximately 147 million units of electricity annually and lead to reduction of 12 crore tonnes of CO2. The entire upfront capital cost of this project is being funded by French Development Agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
22. India has been ranked 45th out of 63 countries in the IMD's world competitiveness rankings 2017. The list is compiled by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD)'s World Competitiveness Center (WCC). Hong Kong has topped the list, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, United States, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark. The IMD measures how well countries manage all their resources and competencies to facilitate long-term value creation.
23. The Telangana Government has become the only state government in India to launch the single-women pension scheme. Under the scheme, a financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 financial is given to single women of the state per month on humanitarian grounds. The scheme will benefit unmarried women, joginis and divorced women. About 1, 08,302 beneficiaries from 31 Districts have been identified by the officials. The single-women pension scheme is the result of petitions filed on the plight of single women deserted by their husbands and relatives.
24. The TATA Projects has launched unique "Green Thumb" initiative in India to promote green cover and to protect the environment on 2017 World Environment Day (WED). The Green Thumb 2017 is in continuation to 2016 TATA Projects' programme wherein it aimed to get 10,000 people to click (pledge) to plant a sapling on their behalf – the response received was a tremendous 23,000. Encouraged by the response, TATA Projects planted a total of over 42,000 saplings across the country in over 100 locations in the last one year (2016-17). This year, under Green Thumb initiative, the company will plants trees, citizens who wish to do their bit to save the environment, can express their support for the cause. They can do so by clicking on the banner to plant a sapling on the Green Thumb Microsite or on Facebook page, LinkedIn pagea/155507/ or on the company website www.tataprojects.com.
25. As per second bi-monthly monetary and credit policy review for 2017-18 of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) remain unchanged at 6.25%. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains at 6.0%, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains at 4% and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.50%.Though, the Central bank has cut the Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 0.5%. It has projected inflation in the range of 2% to 3.5% for first half of 2017-18 and 3.5% to 4.5% for the second half. It has also cut the growth projection for current fiscal to 7.3% from 7.4%.
26. Sachin Tendulkar has joined UNICEF's 'Super Dads' campaign that highlights the critical role played by fathers in children's early development. The campaign features stars from the world of entertainment and sport including David Beckham, Novak Djokovic, Mahershala Ali, Lewis Hamilton and Hugh Jackman. The UNICEF campaign will celebrates Father's Day and highlights the importance of love, play, protection and good nutrition for the healthy development of young children's brains. The heart-warming videos and photos of celebrity dads in the campaign will be coupled with stories of super dads from across the world, including those who are doing their best to raise their children in extremely difficult circumstances.
27. Montenegro has officially become the 29th member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a ceremony in Washington, United States on June 5, 2017. The purpose of NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. The headquarters of NATO is located at Brussels, Belgium.
28. The Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is a 78.46 km2 protected area located in the western corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ootacamund hill station in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu state in the Western Ghats mountain range of South India. It is home to an array of endangered wildlife viz. royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, Nilgiri langur, Bonhote's mouse, Nilgiri tahr, etc. The park is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India's first International Biosphere Reserve.
29. The 17th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit has started in Astana, Kazakhstan from June 8, 2017. In this summit, India and Pakistan has become full members of the organization. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It is mainly aimed at military cooperation between the members and involves intelligence- sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.
30. The World Oceans Day (WOD) is observed every year on June 8 to raise global awareness of the benefits derived from the oceans and the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. This year, in 2017, the main conservation focus will be on plastic pollution prevention and cleaning the ocean of marine litter with theme "Our Oceans, Our Future". The 2017 WOD has coincided with the first-ever United Nations World Oceans Conference taking place from 5 to 9 June at UN headquarters in New York. The purpose of the conference is to mobilize action for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.
31. Nepal has recently signed a financing agreement with China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) to build 1,200-megawatt Budhi-Gandaki hydroelectric project. The estimated cost of the project is $2.5 billion. This project will be helpful for Nepal, which is facing acute power shortage.
32. Axis Bank has become the first Indian bank to launch a bio-degradable prepaid gift plastic card to offer its customers a simple way of contributing towards environment-friendly payment solutions. The plastic card is made up of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) and can decompose easily and can also be recycled. The cards will be acceptable at all domestic merchant outlets and online portals. According to a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 July 2014, the maximum validity of pre-paid gift instruments is 3 years.
33. China's state-run news agency Xinhua will set up a $1 million fund to institutionalize media cooperation among the BRICS countries including awards for journalists from the five member states. The purpose of BRICS media forum is to promote six objectives, including "balanced reporting". The proposal would also focus on joint development of BRICS digital media, financial information services and promoting people- to-people contacts. The BRICS media forum is the result of a joint initiative by Xinhua News Agency, Brazil's CMA Group, Russia's Sputnik News Agency and Radio, The Hindu group of publications from India, and South Africa's Independent Media.
34. The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (MWS) is located on the foothills of the Himalayas, between the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. It is situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It got the status of a sanctuary in 1959 to protect the Indian bison and royal Bengal tiger, which were facing the threat of extinction It is also home to very endangered birds like Rufous-necked Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill etc.
35. Muttiah Muralidaran, the most successful bowler in Tests and One Day Internationals, has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in London on Thursday. He was honoured during the innings break of the India versus Sri Lanka ICC Champions Trophy match at The Oval in London on June 8, 2017. With this, he became the first player from Sri Lanka and the 83rd overall to be inducted into the Hall of Fame when ICC CEO Dave Richardson presented him with a commemorative framed cap.
36. Vikram Limaye will be the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after he gets relieved from his duties at apex cricket body BCCI. Limaye is a member of a panel appointed by the Supreme Court to administer the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Now, Limaye will approach the Supreme Court (SC) in July when it reopens from vacation to relieve him from his duties at the committee of administrators (CoA) of BCCI. Once the Supreme Court relieves him, he will join NSE.
37. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has launched a mobile Application 'Selfie with Daughter' at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 9, 2017 to raise awareness among people about female foeticide and sex selection. The President has urged the people to take selfies with their daughters to make the campaign a huge success. The 'Selfie with Daughter' campaign was started by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 at village Bibipur in Haryana, which was praised by the President on this occasion. The aim of the campaign is to motivate society to feel proud to be parents of a girl child which will result in improving the child sex ratio.
38. Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee has been selected for France's highest civilian award "Legion of Honour" for his outstanding contribution to cinema and theatre. With this, Chatterjee has become the first Bengali actor to be chosen for the award. The honour comes almost 3 decades after the same recognition was conferred on master director Satyajit Ray in 1987. Chatterjee has acted in several of Ray's films including 'Apur Sansar', 'Debi',' Aranyer Din Ratri', 'Ghare Bairey' and 'Ganashatru'. Earlier recipients of the Legion of Honour include sitar meastro Pandit Ravi Shankar, Amitabh Bachaan, Shahrukh Khan and Kamal Hasan. Chatterjee was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2012.
39. The Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary is located in Unnao district on the Kanpur-Lucknow highway in Uttar Pradesh. In 2015, the sanctuary is renamed asShahid Chandra Shekhar Azad Bird Sanctuary. It is home to arus crane, painted stork, peafowl, white ibis, dabchick, whistling teal, open-bill stork, white-necked stork, etc. The major reptiles found in the sanctuary are cobra, viper, krait, ratsnake and water snakes. It also houses a deer park, watchtowers and boats.
40. India's first underwater metro tunnel will come up in Kolkata, West Bengal, which will pass through the Hooghly River. The tunnel has been constructed 30 metres below riverbed, just a few metres away from the famous Howrah Bridge. It will be connecting two main terminals: Howrah and Sealdah — each of which has a footfall of about 10-12 lakh passengers per day. With the cost of Rs 60 crore, the project is expected to be completed by December 2019. Notably, this is the first time in India that a tunnel has been made under a flowing river.
41. Jelena Ostapenk, a Latvian professional tennis player, has won the 2017 French Open Women's Singles Tennis Tournament by defeating Simona Halep from Romania in the final by 4–6, 6–4, 6–3. With this win, Ostapenk became the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament and the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933. She is known for her highly aggressive playing style, including powerful inside-out groundstrokes and a tendency to aim for the lines.
42. The Nalanda University has signed MoU with South Korea's Academy of Korean Studies for academic linkages and collaborations in Patna, Bihar. As per the MoU, both the universities will increase their bilateral ties through joint research programmes, faculty and student exchange, mutual sharing of data, academic research/education, joint teaching & cooperation in other areas. The MoU will be in effect for 5 years.
43. The Union Home Ministry has constituted an expert committee to examine methods to curb the misuse of free movement along the Myanmar border. The committee will be headed by Rina Mitra, the special secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The committee will examine the present rules and regulations adopted by the border States for implementation of free movement regime and submit the report within 3 months. Notably, India's 1,643-km border with Myanmar touches four states — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. It is unique in many ways as it has a visa-free movement regime for people living within 16 kms on either side of the border. They can stay up to 72 hours with effective and valid permits issued by the designated authority on either side. However, it is misused by militants and criminals who smuggle weapons, narcotics, contraband goods and fake Indian currency notes (FICN).
44. Cirrus Aircraft, the US-based aviation company, has launched the world's smallest and cheapest private jet 'Vision Jet' at Rs.12.6 Crore. The Jet can haul five adults up to 1,150 miles at 28,000 feet. It is the first Private Jet with a single engine and can be conveniently operated by a single pilot, thus keeping production and maintenance costs low for the users. The jet can fly at a speed of 345mph and has an operating altitude of 28,000 feet.
45. The world's biggest and most important trade fair for food and beverage trade "ANUGA 2017" will be held in Cologne, Germany on October 7, 2017. The acronym of ANUGA is Allgemeine Nahrungs- und Genussmittel-Ausstellung ( or General Food and Non essential Provisions Exhibition). India will be co-partner country in ANUGA 2017 and is expected that more than 200 Indian companies will participate in the food fair. ANUGA offers an extensive supporting programme with Lectures, Special exhibition and attractive industry events.
46. The Valmiki National Park (VNP) is located in the West Champaran district of Bihar. It is home to tiger, Rhinoceros, Black bear, Leopard, Wild dog, wild buffalo, wild boar etc. At present 241 bird species have been reported in the forest. Some of the interesting birds are Nepal kaleej pheasant, three-toed quail, flycatcher, grey shrike, green willow warbler and tree pipit.
47. Dr. Neeru Chadha has become the first Indian woman to be elected as the judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. She got most of the votes in Asia Pacific Group. With this election, Dr. Chadha has also become the first Indian woman to occupy a top UN position, after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994.
48. India has topped the global remittance-receiving list of 2016, as per the latest United Nations report 'One Family at a Time'. As per the report, Indians working across the globe sent home $62.7 billion US dollars in 2016, followed by China ($61 billion), Philippines ($30 billion) and Pakistan ($20 billion). The 'One Family at a Time' study by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stated that about 200 million migrants globally sent more than $445 billion dollars as remittances in 2016 to their families. Remittance flows have grown over the last decade from $296 billion in 2007 to $445 billion in 2016. It has risen at a rate averaging 4.2 per cent annually. The study is the first-ever of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the period 2007-2016. The report has made several recommendations for improving public policies and outlines proposals for partnerships with the private sector to reduce costs and create opportunities for migrants and their families to use their money more productively.
49. The 2017 G7 Environment Ministers Meetings was held in Bologna, Italy on June 11-12. The meeting was attended by the Environment Ministers of US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan and the Commissioners of the European Union for Environment and Climate. The meeting discussed various issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea. In it, the '5 year Bologna Roadmap' was adopted, which focuses on important issues such as resource efficiency indicators, citizen involvement, awareness on food waste and economic analysis of the efficient use of resources.
50. The book titled "Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji" is based on the on the social and political life of former Prime Minister of India Atal Bhihari Vajpayee. It is authored by Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank", who is the BJP MP and former Uttarakhand chief minister. Recently, Pokhriyal has officially handed over the first copy of the 450-page book to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Though, the book will be launched soon in the market for all.
51. The Telangana government has launched Pashu Bazar website for online cattle sale. The online sale or purchase of cattle through pashubazar.telangana.gov.in website will help farmers as the cattle need not be brought to shandies every time and farmers can save on transportation cost on cattle. Farmer can keep maximum five registrations for sale at any time. Thus, the online platform has been developed to help farmers to sell their animals without physically taking them to weekly markets.
52. The three state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) have signed an agreement to jointly set up the world's largest refinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of $40 billion. The IOC will hold 50% stake and HPCL & BPCL will will take 25% stake each in the new complex. The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for making petrochemical that are basic building blocks in plastic, chemical and textile industries. The refinery is expected to be completed by 2022.
53. Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (95), the former Chief Justice of India (CJI), has passed away in New Delhi on June 15,2017. Justice Bhagwati is known for introducing and pioneering Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which transformed the legal landscape in India.
54. David Grossman has become the first Israeli author to win the 2017 Man Booker International prize for his novel "A Horse Walks Into a Bar". The novel was translated by Jessica Cohen and is published in Britain by Jonathan Cape. The book is an ambitious high-wire act of a novel that shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint of sentimentality. Since 2016, the Man Booker International Prize awards both the winning author and translator £25,000. To be considered for the prize, books had to be translated into English and published in the UK between May 1, 2016 and April 30, 2017.
55. India has been ranked 60th out of 130 nations on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017. The 2017 index highlighted the continual improvement of India in terms of investment, tertiary education, quality of its publications and universities, its ICT services exports and innovation clusters. Among India's neighbors, Sri Lanka has acquired 90th spot, Nepal 109th, Pakistan 113th and Bangladesh 114th spot. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by Sweden and the Netherlands. The theme of the 2017 Index is "Innovation Feeding the World" that focuses on innovation in agriculture and food systems. The index is co-authored by Cornell University, INSEAD and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
56. India has been ranked 75th out of 102 countries in terms of the human impact on environment per person, as per latest study by UK-based financial services website "Money Super Market". Mozambique has topped the list as the greenest nation because it uses 100% green energy, followed by Ethiopia, Zambia, Latvia and Kenya. The study gave most weight to Carbon dioxide emissions, municipal solid waste and energy consumption. It highlights the individual contribution to the world's climate and also highlighted areas for improvement for each country. Trinidad and Tobago ranks last because it hardly relies on any green energy sources and have CO2 emissions on an average of 37.1 tonnes per person.
57. The third annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be held in Mumbai, India in June 2018. India is AIIB's second-largest shareholder. The AIIB is a new multilateral development bank founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. The headquarters of AIIB is located in Beijing, China. Its mission is to improve economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects. The 2nd annual meeting of the board of governors was held in Jeju, Republic of Korea in 2017.
58. Sachin Tendulkar's mother-in-law and social activist, Annabel Mehta has been conferred with the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her 40 years of service to underprivileged communities in Mumbai and the NGO "Apnalaya". The award will be presented to her at Buckingham Palace in London later this year. The Order of the British Empire (which has several ranks) was created in 1917 by King George V to recognise individuals, who have contributed valued service to their communities. MBE is a rank of the order and stands for Member of the Order of the British Empire.
59. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved the membership of Argentina, the Republic of Madagascar and the Kingdom of Tonga at its 2nd annual meeting of Board of Governors in Jeju, South Korea, June 16, 2017. The three prospective members will officially join the AIIB once they complete the required domestic processes and deposit the first installment of capital with the bank. The 2017 AIIB annual meeting was held under the theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure," seeking strategic directions of the international infrastructure bank and making major decisions on the bank's management.
60. The Jigme Dorji National Park is the second-largest National Park of Bhutan. The park provides sanctuary for 37 known species of mammals including several endangered, threatened or vulnerable species, such as the takin, snow leopard, clouded leopard, Bengal tiger, bharal or Himalayan blue sheep, etc. It is also home to the Indian leopard, serow, sambar, barking deer, goral, marmot, pika and more than 300 species of birds. It is also the only park in Bhutan where the national animal (takin), flower (blue poppy), bird (raven) and tree (cypress) exist together.
61. The iconic Taj Mahal Palace hotel of Mumbai has acquired an `image trademark' under the Trademark Act of 1999. Thus, the Palace has become the first building in India to get intellectual property rights protection for its architectural design. Now, it is will be difficult to use Taj Mahal Palace's images for commercial purposes without paying the company a licensing fee. Though, it does not prevent locals and tourists from clicking pictures of the iconic building as long as it is not sold for commercial benefits. The Trade Marks Act of 1999 is the current governing law relating to registered trademarks which replaced The Trade and Merchandise Marks Act of 1958.The act enables to deal with the precise nature of rights which a person can acquire in respect of trademarks.
62. The World Refugee Day (WRD) is observed every year on June 20 to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. This year, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has appointed Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan as its newest and youngest Goodwill Ambassador on June 20, 2017 to promote child education. The WRD 2017 has marked a key moment for the public to show support for families.
63. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has appointed Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan as new brand ambassador for Goods and Services Tax (GST). A 40-second video "GST – An initiative to create a unified national market" featuring him has already been shot and is being circulated by the Finance Ministry. In the video, Bachchan explains GST as a unifying force just like the three colours in the national flag. The GST will simplify a web of taxes, regulations and border levies by subsuming an array of central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT.
64. India has re-nominated Justice Dalveer Bhandari as its candidate for another term as judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). His current term runs through February 2018. The ICJ elections will be held in November and if elected, he will serve a term of 9 years. During his term at the ICJ, Justice Bhandari has been engaged actively in the work of the Court. He has delivered individual opinions in eleven cases covering a broad spectrum of subjects such as maritime disputes, whaling in Antarctica, crime of genocide, nuclear disarmament, financing of terrorism and violation of sovereign rights. ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations based in The Hague in the Netherlands.
65. Prof Predhiman Krishan Kaw (69), an internationally recognised plasma physicist and pioneer of thermo-nuclear fusion in India, has passed away in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on June 18, 2017. He was the founder director of the Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar and served as the Professor of Department of Science and Technology (DST) at the institute till he breathed his last. The veteran scientist was honoured with Padma Shri in 1985 for his contribution in the field of producing energy through thermonuclear fusion. He was internationally known for his outstanding contribution to the physics of non-linear collective phenomena in plasmas with special emphasis on applications to thermonuclear fusion.
66. The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), Pune has been selected as the first recipient of the Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution to promotion and development of Yoga. The institute has worked to spread Yoga, internationally, over a period of four decades. Apart from this RIMYI has also published many books on Yoga and these have been translated into multiple languages. There are thousands of Iyengar Yoga teachers popularising and propagating yoga across the world. The Award was recommended by an Evaluation Committee (Jury) constituted under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary and included Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, Secretary (AYUSH) and Dr. Veerendra Heggade as its members.
67. The International Yoga Day (IYD) is celebrated every year on June 21 to highlight the fact that yoga can contribute in a holistic way to achieving an equilibrium between mind and body. The 3rd edition of IYD 2017 has celebrated world-wide from New Delhi to New York and Paris to Panama. About 5,000 events are taking place across 180 countries to mark the Yoga day. The United Nations (UN) theme of this year is "Yoga for Health". Yoga is an ancient Indian practice which is very useful for curing many diseases and health disorders.
68. India has recently signed a historical agreement with Portugal to promote cooperation in the field of archives in Lisbon, Portugal. As a part of the cooperation, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal) has handed over digital copies of 62 volumes of the collection known as 'Moncoes do Reino' (Monsoon correspondence) to the National Archives of India (NAI). These volumes serve as the most important primary source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia and their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers as well as their relations with neighboring Kings in South Asia and East Asia.
69. India's first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2) for the Indian Navy has launched at the L&T Shipbuilding Yard at Kattupalli near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Floating Dock is 185 metres long and 40 metres wide and will enable docking of all kinds of vessels, including Naval ships and submarines (excepting aircraft carriers and tankers) of up to 8,000 tonnes displacement, with draughts of up to seven metres, during both day and night. FDN-2 was designed and built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T) at a cost of Rs 468 crore.
70. The Punjab Government has recently announced free education for girls in Government Schools and colleges from Nursery to PhD for women empowerment. To promote English in schools, the state government will also launch a pilot project that will roll out from July 2017in all government schools. In addition, the free Wi-FI service will also roll-out for 13,000 primary schools and all 48 government colleges. Meanwhile, the reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already been increased by the government from 33% to 50%.
71. The Lahugala Kitulana National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka. Despite its land area, the park is an important habitat for Sri Lankan elephant and endemic birds of Sri Lanka. It is home to Endemic toque macaque, Sri Lanka leopard, Indian muntjac, Sri Lankan axis deer, Sri Lankan sambar deer, Indian pangolin, Indian hare, etc.
72. Luanda, the capital of Angola, has topped the list of most expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer's 23rd annual Cost of Living Survey. Hong Kong has acquired 2nd position, followed by Tokyo, Zurich, Singapore, Seoul and Geneva. From India, Mumbai is the most expensive city for expatriates that has ranked 57th on the list, followed by New Delhi (99), Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and Kolkata (184). The Mercer's survey includes 209 cities across five continents. The world's least expensive cities for expatriates, according to Mercer's survey, are Tunis (209), Bishkek (208) and Skopje (206). Mercer's authoritative survey is one of the world's most comprehensive, and is designed to help multinational companies and governments determine compensation allowances for their expatriate employees.
73. Narendra Kumar Sinha, the 1980 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, will be the new secretary of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry. Currently, Sinha is posted as cultural secretary. He will succeed Ajay Mittal who has been appointed as the new secretary of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The current DoPT Secretary B P Sharma will retire from the post on June 30, 2017.
74. Subhash C. Garg, a 1983 batch lAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been appointed as the new the economic affairs secretary in the Union Finance Ministry. The post fell vacant after Shaktikanta Das retired on May 31, 2017. Currently, Tapan Ray, the corporate affairs secretary, has the additional charge of the economic affairs department. Prior to this appointment, Garg was Executive Director at World Bank for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka.
75. Carla Fendi (79), the Italian luxury fashion designer, has passed away in Rome, Italy. She played a key role along with her four sisters in developing and expanding her parents' small leather workshop, transforming the business into a global luxury fashion brand.
76. The Bhawal National Park is located at Gazipur in Dhaka Division of Bangladesh.The core area of the park covers 940 hectares but extends to 5,022 ha of surrounding forest. Its purpose is to protect important habitats as well as to provide opportunities for recreation. The park has 345 plant species, including 152 different tree species, 53 shrubs, 106 herbs and 34 climber species.
77. Indore has become the India's first city where robot is being used on an experimental basis to control its ever growing and unruly traffic. The traffic police in association with a private engineering college of the city for the first time have installed a metallic robot at a busy MR 9 intersection on an experimental basis to control the chaotic traffic in the locality. This traffic controller robot has been designed by 2 professors of an engineering college of the city Prof Rahul Tiwari and Aniruddh Sharma.
78. Axis Bank has launched India's first open loop EMV contactless metro card "KMRL Axis Bank 'Kochi1' Card" in association with Kochi Metro Rail Corporation (KMRL) to 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. The prepaid card has integrated benefits and offers a plethora of services to commuters such as instant issuance of personalized cards, convenience of recharge, hassle free shopping experience, etc.
79. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will be honoured with the 2017 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for his efforts to reform India's public school system. He is among the 9 philanthropists named recipients of the 2017 Medal of Philanthropy, who are selected for their distinguished and longstanding contributions to the public good. The Carnegie institutions will award the medals during a formal ceremony in October 2017. The honorees are recognized as catalysts for good whose philanthropy has had a significant and lasting impact on a particular field, nation, or community of people.
80. Bengaluru has become the India's first city where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep just like milk and newspapers. Mypetrolpump, a one-year-old startup, has conducted a soft launch with three delivery vehicles – each with a capacity of 950 litres. 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. For up to 100 litres, the one-time delivery charge is Rs 99. Above 100 litres, one needs to pay the diesel price plus one additional rupee per litre. The startup has got 20 odd 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.
81. The Kishtwar National Park (KNP) is located in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. is surrounded by Rinnay River in the north, Kibar Nala catchments in the southern part, the Great Himalaya in the east and Marwa River in the west. The park is located at the high altitude of 1,700 meters to 4,800 meters. It is home to brown bear, leopard, snow leopard, Himalayan musk deer, hangul, ibex, etc.
82. The International Widows day (IWD) is observed every year on June 23 as an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows that are too long invisible, uncounted and ignored. The day addresses the poverty and injustice faced by millions of widows and their dependents in many countries. The 2017 theme is "Empowering Women for Greater Achievements".
83. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully launched the world's smallest and lightest satellite "Kalamsat" built by Indian students into the space from its facility in Wallops Island on June 23, 2017. The satellite is named after the former President APJ Abdul Kalam and was designed and built by Tamil Nadu student Rifath Sharook along with six other teammates. The tiny satellite weighs around 64 grams and its structure is fully 3D-printed with reinforced carbon fiber polymer. It is equipped with a nano Geiger Muller counter which will measure radiation in space. The satellite has been designed in a way which will have a 240-minute mission in space and will operate for 12 minutes in a micro-gravity environment of space. With this launch, Rifath Sharook has become the first Indian student to have his experiment launched by NASA.
84. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently expanded the Oversight Committee (OC) from 2 to 5 for faster bad loan resolution in the banking sector. The three new members are M.B.N. Rao, Y.M. Deosthalee and S. Raman. According to the reconstituted structure, the 5-member OC will be led by a chairman and work through multiple benches to approve various cases of restructuring referred by banks. Pradeep Kumar has been appointed as the chairman of the OC. With the expanded mandate, the OC will be responsible for approving cases of restructuring under the central bank's S4A (Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets) as well as for resolving stressed cases where the aggregate exposure of the banking industry is above Rs 500 crore.
85. Bhumika Sharma from Uttarakhand has won the 2017 Miss World title in BodyBuilding Championship in Venice, Italy. She gained maximum points in three categories – individual posing, body posing and fall in that bagged her the Miss World title. The championship drew 50 competitors from different countries. Now, she is preparing for the Miss Universe title for bodybuilding, which is scheduled to be held in December 2017 by the National Amateur Body-Builders' Association (NABBA) of United Kingdom. In the event, bodybuilders from 60 countries will participate for the Miss and Mr Universe titles.
86. Manushi Chhillar from Haryana has won the 54th edition of Femina Miss India World 2017 at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai, Maharashtra on June 25, 2017. Sana Dua from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) was declared the Femina Miss India Earth 2017, while Priyanka Kumari from Bihar adjudged as Femina Miss India Grand 2017. Besides, Vinali Bhatnagar won the Miss Active crown whereas Vamika Nidhi won the special award of 'Body Beautiful'.
87. The Union ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has appointed a new nine-member committee to work on a new National Education Policy (NEP). The former ISRO chief Dr. K Kasturirangan will head the committee on NEP. The committee also includes former IAS officer KJ Alphonse and Ram Shanker Kureel, who has a wide experience in the field of agricultural sciences and management. The committee has been appointed keeping in mind that the members bring expertise related to the diverse areas of education. Significantly, the panel also reflects the diversity of the country as the members belong to different sections as well as regions.
88. Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has won the Australian Open Super Series Badminton trophy by defeating former world number one and Rio Olympics Gold medalist Chen Long in the final by 22-20, 21-16 in Sydney on June 25. 2017. With this, Srikanth has become the fifth player in the world to contest three successive Super Series finals by reaching the summit clash in Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.
89. Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath from Maharashtra has created history by becoming the first Indian to complete the 4,900-km Race Across America (RAAM) in solo 18-59 age category, which is considered to be the toughest cycle race in the world. He completed the race in 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. Not only Gokunath but another Indian from Maharashtra, Dr Amit Samarth of Nagpur, crossed the finish line at Annapolis on American east coast. Gokunath stood seventh and Samarth was a position below him among the total nine cyclists who finished the race. Christoph Strasser was the winner of the race. RAAM is not a stage based cycle race. It is a continuous cycle race that allows less than two hours of rest per day and is supposed to be finished inside 12 days. The cyclists pedal around 400 km per day.
90. The World Bank has cleared a $250-million loan to aid the Skill India mission. The loan amount would be used for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling. Under the skill development programme, adults in 15-59 years of age, underemployed or unemployed, will get the skill training. It will also include the 1.2 crore youngsters in the age group of 15-29 years who are entering the labour market every year. The programme has a mandate to provide placement and entrepreneurship opportunities to women and increase their exposure to skill training.
91. Narinder Nath Vohra, the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), has been appointed as the new President of the India International Centre (IIC), which is one of the premier cultural institutions in the country. He succeeded by Soli Sorabjee. The India International Centre (IIC) is a well known non-official organization located in New Delhi.
92. India has been ranked 93rd out of 128 countries in the 2017 Social Progress Index (SPI). The list is topped by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The SPI is an aggregate index of social and environmental indicators that capture three dimensions of social progress: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. The 2017 SPI includes data from 128 countries on 50 indicators. The index is published by the nonprofit Social Progress Imperative, and is based on the writings of Amartya Sen, Douglass North, and Joseph Stiglitz.
93. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has constituted a special 7-member committee to study contentious issues in implementing Lodha panel reforms which are being opposed by the state units. The committee's mandate is to identify the few critical points in respect of the said judgement for the General Body of the BCCI to consider before its submission to the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The other members of the committee include former India captain Sourav Ganguly, T.C. Mathew (Kerala Cricket), Naba Bhattacharjee (North East representative), Jay Shah (Gujarat Cricket Association), BCCI Treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary. The four contentious Lodha panel recommendations that are delaying the implementation process are one-state, one vote, age cap of 70 for office-bearers, cooling-off period for office-bearers and size of the national selection panel.
94. Kaushik Basu, an Indian economist, has taken over as new President of the International Economic Association (IEA) on June 23, 2017 and will serve the post for 3-years. The IEA is a leading organization founded in 1950 for professional economists that seeks to shape global economic policy and research. He has also served as senior vice-president and chief economist at the World Bank from 2012 to 2016 and as the chief economic adviser to the government of India from 2009 to 2012. Currently, Basu is the C. Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell University.
95. Sharjah, the city of United Arab Emirates (UAE), has been designated as the UNESCO World Book Capital 2019 by Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, at the Headquarters of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) at La Haye. The honour is in recognition of the Emirate's pioneering role in supporting and expanding the local and regional publishing industries, promoting reading to become an intrinsic cultural practice, as well as embracing inter-cultural, knowledge-based dialogue. Sharjah was the first emirate in UAE to establish a formal school and a library. It was also the first emirate to house many cultural institutions like the Emirates Publishers Association and the Emirates' writers Union. Sharjah is the 19th city to become World Book Capital. It is preceded by Conakry in 2017 and Athens in 2018.
96. The Dudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 490.3 km2, with a buffer zone of 190 km2 (73 sq mi). It is home to swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, tiger, Indian rhinoceros, sloth bear, ratel, jackal, civets, jungle cat, fishing cat, etc. The park is home to one of the finest forests in India, some of these trees are more than 150 years old and over 70 ft tall.
97. China has officially started building the world's first forest city in the north of Liuzhou, Guangxi Province to fight against pollution and climate change, which is set to be completed in 2020. It is designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, a team that develops green projects all around the world. The Liuzhou Forest City is expected to absorb nearly 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly and produce 900 tonnes of oxygen. The energy self-sufficient city will house 30,000 people, 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants. As a result, the forest city will help to decrease the average air temperature, improve local air quality, create noise barriers, generate habitats, and improve local biodiversity in the region.
98. The 12th edition of G20 summit will be held on July 7–8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies with the aim of studying, reviewing and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
99. The Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has been appointed as the brand ambassador by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the government's flagship Skill India campaign. Priyanka will use her celebrity status to motivate youngsters to hone their abilities through a media campaign. The Skill India campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2015. The aim of the Government of India (GoI) is to train 40 crore people by 2022 through its skilling initiatives. Earlier, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Shabana Azmi and singer Mohit Chauhan had also become goodwill envoys for Skill India.
100. Vidya Balan, the famous Bollywood film actress, has become the ambassador of the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which is supported by the Victorian Government. The 2017 theme of the fest is "Diversity" with a special focus on films by female directors and is scheduled to be held from August 10-22, 2017. It will showcase over 60 films, Indie and short included, in 20 different languages.
101. Odisha will become the India's first state to set up blood bank for cattle. The first of its kind blood bank would be established on the premises of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.25 crore. The project will have a 60:40 sharing between the Centre and the state government. The cattle farmers will provide blood voluntarily. The blood bank will also go and collect blood from centres. Blood transfusion facility for cattle blood will also be done at the proposed blood bank. This will prevent death of cattle during deliveries and other ailments.
102. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the Indian Delegation at the 12th edition of G20 Summit, which is scheduled to be held at Hamburg in Germany on July 7-8, 2017. The theme of the summit this year is "Shaping an interconnected world". The summit will be organized around three pillars- Stability, Sustainability and Responsibility. The topics such as free trade, environment, terrorism, sustainable development, development in Africa, digitalization, migrations, instability are expected to dominate the discussions during the summit.
103. India has donated $1 lakh (Rs 64.49 lakh) to the UN Trust Fund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Fund) that helps developing countries actively participate in the discussion of tax issues. With this, India has become the first country to make a voluntary contribution to UN Tax fund, which are currently unfunded. The UN Tax Committee is a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC) that provide guidance on current issues such as double taxation treaties, transfer pricing (profit shifting) taxation of the extractive industries and taxation of services.. The purpose of the UN Tax Trust Fund is to support the work of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters (the UN Tax Committee).
104. Achal Kumar Jyoti, a retired 1975-batch IAS Officer of Gujarat Cadre, has been appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for one year, when he will turn 65. He will succeed Nasim Zaidi, who will retire on July 6, 2017. Currently, A K Jyoti is the Election Commissioner of India along with O P Rawat. An EC or a CEC has tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
