1. The 2018 International Conference on TRIPS- CBD Linkage will be held in Geneva, Switzerland on 7-8 June 2018. The conference will bring together indigenous people/local communities in developing and developed countries, internationally acclaimed academicians working on the subject, Geneva-based negotiators and capital based experts. Resource persons, stakeholders and experts from a large number of countries, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the US, would participate in the international conference. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a multilateral agreement on sustainable development and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resource. It has membership of 196 countries.
2. The World Milk Day (WMD) is observed every year by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on June 1 to recognize 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. Interestingly, this is an event which does not follow a specific theme worldwide. Instead, different countries, governments and non-governmental organizations get to pick a theme of their own. The WMD 2018 theme in India is “Drink Move Be Strong”. Milk is enriched with nutrients like calcium, protein, vitamin B2, potassium, iodine, etc.
3. Social networking giant Facebook has partnered with National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch a digital literacy programme in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF). As part of the digital literacy programme pilot, awareness training will be conducted for 60,000 women in universities across major cities in Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu over a one-year period. These interactive sessions will provide training on safe and responsible use of the internet, social media and email and will enable trainees to differentiate between credible and questionable information. The training will be conducted in local languages.
4. Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been honoured with the ‘Most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare. Yuvraj, who was a member of India’s 2011 World Cup winning squad, was diagnosed with cancer (mediastinal seminoma) shortly after the World Cup. After successfully completing his chemotherapy cycle in the United States, Yuvraj returned to India in 2012 and made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match against New Zealand. Post his diagnosis, Yuvraj launched the YouWeCan foundation to fight Cancer by spreading awareness about the aggressive disease.
5. The first biannual Indian Air Force Commanders’ Conference was inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Air Headquarters in New Delhi on May 31, 2018. The two day conference will discuss operational, maintenance and administrative takeaways identified during the military exercise ‘Gagan Shakti-2018′ and the way ahead. The aim of the Gagan Shakti-2018, which was conducted in April 2018, was real time coordination, deployment and employment of air power in a short and intense battle scenario.
6. Assamese Singer Zubeen Garg will be honoured with the ‘Hero to Animals Award’ from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India for his recent appeal to end animal sacrifice at the Kamakhya Temple in Assam. Zubeen had expressed his anguish over the ritual of animal sacrifice and appealed for putting an end to the practice while performing at a Bihu function near the temple recently. The priests of the Kamakhya Temple had subsequently criticised Zubeen for his statement and demanded an apology from him at the earliest.
7. Pandurang Phundkar (67), the Maharashtra Agriculture Minister and senior BJP leader, has passed away in Mumbai on May 31, 2018. He was a member of 9th Lok Sabha, 10th Lok Sabha and 11th Lok Sabha from Akola (Lok Sabha constituency) from Maharashtra. He was also former president of State BJP. Pandurang was elected as the member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from Khamgaon (Vidhan Sabha constituency) in 1978 and 1980. He was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in Devendra Fadnavis government on July 8, 2016.
8. Amit Khare, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, has taken assumed charge as new Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). He succeeded Narendra Kumar Sinha. Prior to the appointment as Secretary, Khare was Additional Chief Secretary in Jharkhand government. During a career span of more than 33 years, Khare has held various field postings and has worked from grassroots to the higher levels of governance in both State and Central Governments. He has also worked as Member Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).
9. On June 1, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched an online analytical tool to facilitate closer monitoring of the flow and utilization of foreign contributions received by various organisations registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010. The web-based tool enables decision-makers in various Departments of Government to scrutinize source of foreign funds and their actual use in India. It has analytical features to conduct big data mining and data exploration. Its dashboard will be integrated with the bank accounts of the FCRA-registered entities through the Public Financial Management System for updation of transactional data on a real-time basis. There are approximately 25 thousand active organisations registered under the FCRA. Foreign Contributions worth 8,065 crores rupees were received by such organisations from foreign donors for various social, cultural, economic, educational and religious activities during financial year 2016-17.
10. The Somasila Dam is built across the Penna River near Somasila in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The reservoir impounded by the dam has a surface area of 212.28 km2 with live storage capacity of 1.994 km3.
11. The first official World Bicycle Day (WBD) is observed by United Nations (UN) on 3rd June 2018 to encourage a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation. On this occasion, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu flagged off a cycling event at Connaught Place in New Delhi Nearly five thousand cyclists participated in the 8km long event. New Delhi Municipal Council has organised the event in association with World Cycling Alliance.
12. India has recently signed Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in nursing with Singapore which would allow nurses trained in seven nursing institutions across India to gain employment in the South-East Asian country. MRAs pave the way for recognition of the professional bodies of one country by the other. Regulatory bodies of various professional services like engineering, nursing, accountancy and architecture are encouraged to enter into these pacts. These pacts are part of free trade agreements (FTAs) that India has signed with several regions, including Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Asean. India and Singapore entered into FTA in August 2005.
13. The Odisha government has launched the health insurance scheme “Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana” for working journalists in the state. It will be implemented with effect from June 1, 2018. In the first phase, as many as 3,233 working journalists will get health insurance coverage up to Rs 2 lakh a year. Under the scheme, at least five members of the journalists family will be covered. The scribes will get their health insurance card from the District Information and Public Relations Officer (DIPRO) in their respective districts.
14. Kendrick Lamar, an American rapper and songwriter, has won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his acclaimed album ‘Damn’ at Columbia University in New York. With this, Damn has created history by becoming the first non-classical and non-jazz work to earn the accolade.
15. Tata Motors Ltd. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State. The company also partnered Tata group company, Tata Power Ltd to set up of EV Charging Stations in the State. The MoU will boost the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 in accelerating the adoption of Evs in Maharashtra.
16. Dr. Dinesh Gupta, an officer of the 1983 UPSC batch, has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). He took over from N Kutumba Rao to become the 47th DG of the GSI. Gupta is an expert in mineral exploration and responsibility has been given to him to steer GSI in this field.
17. Giuseppe Conte, an academic and political novice, has been sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Italy on June 1, 2018. He succeeded the Democrat Paolo Gentiloni. Conte will head a government of ministers from the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League Party. According to many journalists and political commentators, Conte’s cabinet is the first populist government in Western Europe.
18. The Union Government has set up an executive committee, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spread Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy among the people at the national and international level. The committee comprises, senior cabinet ministers, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, renowned Gandhians, social activists and noted public figures. The panel was formed after the first meeting of the National Committee (NC) under the chairmanship of President Ram Nath Kovind to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. During the meeting, it was decided to form a sub-committee to consider policies and lay down guidelines for the celebrations. The NC has 125 members, of which 116 are from India. Other members are acclaimed foreign members.
19. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched a new Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS) to provide probabilistic weather forecasts up to the next 10 days. According to IMD, these new systems shall improve upon deterministic forecasts that are prone to high margins of error. These systems also use a higher resolution 12 km grid scale, instead of the 23 km resolution that has been in use till now. The forecast related to the intensity of the weather will also be more accurate and colour coded. The new model has been developed jointly by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting. With this new model, India joins the US with a model that predicts with a 12 km resolution. Only the ‘European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast’ has a better 9-kilometer resolution. Better forecasts lead to better management agriculture and water resources. It also helps promote tourism, solar and wind energy.
20. President Ram Nath Kovind has recently presented the ‘Santokbaa Humanitarian Award’ to two noted personalities viz. Child rights activist and Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and space scientist A S Kiran Kumar, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Surat, Gujarat. The award, instituted by Shree Ramkrishna Knowledge Foundaton (SRKKF) and led by diamond baron Govind Dholakia, includes a trophy and a prize money of Rs 1 crore each to the awardees. SRKKF confers the award every year for humanitarian contributions by individuals whose life and work are characterised by their selfless and inspiring service.
21. The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting has started in the South African city of Johannesburg on June 4, 2018. The meeting is expected to lay the foundation for 2018 annual summit of the grouping which will also be held in Johannesburg. The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is leading the Indian delegation. Beside this, Mrs Swaraj will also chair a meeting of Foreign Ministers of IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa), another bloc working to deepen coordination among the three countries on major global issues. She will also attend a series of events marking the 125th anniversary of the historic incident where a young Mahatma Gandhi was thrown out of a train compartment in Pietermaritzburg railway station in 1893. The incident proved to be a turning point in Mahatma Gandhi’s fight against racial discrimination in South Africa.
22. The 49th Conference of Governors and Lieutenant Governors has started at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 4, 2018. The 2-day conference was commenced with the inaugural address by the President Ram Nath Kovind. The important agendas listed for conference are such as Clean India mission, internal security, higher education and skill development. The conference will discuss important thematic issues in various sessions. Governors will also discuss ideas on how to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
23. Pedro Sanchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) has been officially sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Spain on June 1 after the success of a motion of no confidence against former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Being an atheist, Mr Sanchez became the first Spanish prime minister to take the oath to protect the Spanish constitution without a bible or crucifix since the country transferred to democracy in 1977. He plans to see out the remaining two years of the parliamentary term.
24. In Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been sworn-in for a second four-year term in office as the country faces major economic and security challenges. Sisi won 97% of valid votes in the March presidential election.
25. Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD), has laid the foundation stone of India’s first advanced DNA forensic laboratory “Sakhi Suraksha” in the campus of Central Forensic Science Lab of Chandigarh as part efforts to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis. It will be built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund. The state-of-the-art lab will assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children. It will contribute to address the gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country. Forensic science plays a vital role in the criminal justice delivery system by providing investigators with scientifically based information through the analysis of physical evidence.
26. On June 1, the Union Ministry of Culture has launched a new scheme called ‘Seva Bhoj Yojna’ with a total outlay of Rs. 325 Crores for Financial Years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The scheme seeks to reimburse the Central Government share of CGST and IGST so as to lessen the financial burden of such Charitable Religious Institutions who provide Food/Prasad/Langar (Community Kitchen)/Bhandara free of cost without any discrimination to Public/Devotees. The Charitable Religious Institutions such as Temples, Gurudwara, Mosque, Church, Dharmik Ashram, Matth, etc. which have been in existence for at least 5 years before applying for financial assistance/grant and who serve free food to at least 5000 people in a month and such institutions covered under Section 10 (23BBA) of the Income Tax Act or Institutions registered as Society under Societies Registration Act ( XXI of 1860) or as a Public Trust under any law for the time being in force of statuary religious bodies constituted under any Act or institutions registered under Section 12AA of Income Tax Act shall be eligible for grant under the scheme.
27. India has been ranked 113th among 175 countries in the “End of Childhood Index 2018”, issued by global child rights group “Save the Children”. The Index which is part of the report titled “The Many Faces of Exclusion” indicated that the child marriages in India have come down to 15.2% from 21.1% in 2017. It is significant to point that the child marriage data assessed does not include data on consensual unions. However, the Index shows that under five mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) was 43 which is a cause of concern. Also child stunting (children aged 0-59 months) was 38.4% and rated as high. The Index ranked countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence. Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.
28. On June 3, the Indian Navy evacuated 38 stranded Indians from Socotra Island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe Cyclonic storm Mekunu hit the area. The Navy evacuated the Indians as part of operation code name ‘NISTAR’, carried out off the coast of Socotra and embarked them at Indian Naval ship INS Sunayna to bring them back to India. The evacuated Indians were immediately provided with medical care, food, water and telephone facilities to call and reassure their families at home. The Island of Socotra is considered the jewel of biodiversity in the Arabian Sea and is recognised as a world natural heritage site by UNESCO in 2008. It is one of the most isolated landforms on Earth that a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. Notable are the dragon’s blood trees that look like flying saucers perched on trunks.
29. India is hosting the 3rd Asia Cup International Bridge Championship 2018 in Goa from June 4 and will see participation from countries including Australia, Bangladesh, China, Japan and Korea. The championship will be contested in five categories namely men, women, mixed, super-mixed and senior. Players from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand will be participating in the event. Round robin matches will be played from the June 5-8. Four top teams in each category will progress to the knock-out stage. Semi-finals will be contested on June 9 and. The finals and play-offs for 3rd place will be played on June 10. The tournament will also have a Match Point pairs contest which is an open event.
30. Timothy Pereira (75), the former international footballer who represented Tata FC, has passed away in Mumbai on June 1, 2018. He played for the country in 1967-68. Pereira also played hockey and represented Catholic Gymkhana in the local league.
31. The Ministry of Agriculture and farmers welfare in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 has launched the Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan from 1st June to 31st July, 2018. The purpose of the scheme is to aid, assist and advice farmers on how to improve their farming techniques and raise their incomes. The Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan will be undertaken in 25 Villages with more than 1000 population each in Aspirational Districts identified in consultation with Ministry of Rural Development as per directions of NITI Ayog. In districts where number of villages (with more than 1000 population) is less than 25, all villages will be covered. Farm science centres called Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will coordinate and implement the programme.
32. Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh L Mandaviya launched the ‘Jan Aushadhi Suvidha’- the Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) in New Delhi on June 4, 2018. The affordable sanitary napkins will become available at over 3600 Janaushadhi Kendras functional in 33 States/ UTs across India. Jan Aushadhi Suvidha comes with a special additive, which makes it biodegradable when it comes in contact with oxygen after being discarded. The average price of sanitary napkins available in the market today is around Rs 8 per pad, whereas the cost of SUVIDHA napkins is Rs 2.50 per pad.
33. India is the global host nation for the 43rd edition of World Environment Day (WED -2018) event, which has started on June 5, 2018. Environment Ministers, representatives from United Nations and members from various industry bodies will be among the various dignitaries who will attend the event. The day is a platform for encouraging awareness and propagating the need for protecting the environment. The 2018 theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution”. Plastic, which is rampantly polluting our water bodies, harming marine life and posing a threat to human health, has been one of the major concerns of environmental bodies this year. This day is a call for awakening of individuals to take charge of protecting their environment and to realize the severity of plastic usage in daily life.
34. On June 4, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Financial Literacy Week (FLW-2018) across the country with Customer Protection as its main theme. The event will focus on creating awareness among customers of banks about financial products and services, good financial practices and going digital. It will give out four consumer protection messages including ‘know your liability’ for unauthorised electronic banking transaction and good practices for a safe digital banking experience. Among various messages, customers will be told through banners and posters that in case of unauthorised digital transaction if bank is informed within 3 days, the liability of the account holder is zero. Resolution of complaint is to be done by the bank concerned within period not exceeding 90 days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
35. Veteran producer Pippa Harris has been appointed as the new chairperson of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for a period of 2 years. She will succeed Jane Lush. Prior to this post, she was the deputy chair of BAFTA. Harris is best known as having established Neal Street Productions, which she set up with Sam Mendes and Caro Newling in 2003 and continues to run its film and TV division with Nicolas Brown. In the past, Harris has served as the head of drama commissioning for the BBC where her commissions included “The Lost Prince”, “State of Play” and “Daniel Deronda”.
36. Leela Menon (86), the senior journalist and chief editor of Malayalam daily Janmabhumi, has passed away in Kochi, Kerala on June 3, 2018. Menon, who began her journalistic career with The Indian Express in New Delhi in 1978, shot into the limelight for her wide-range of ‘exclusive’ stories and courageous reporting. She used to write for The Hindu, Outlook, and regional dailies. In an era with very few opportunities for woman in media, she broke the glass ceiling by breaking several stories of national relevance like the rampant poverty and prostitution at Aruvacode in Malappuram district, Vypeen hooch tragedy, Suryanelli case and Thopumpaddy prostitution racket. She exposed the first high-profile case of ‘Love Jihad. Ms. Menon penned an autobiography titled ‘Nilaykatha Symphony’.
37. NTPC Ltd has adopted the iconic Charminar in Hyderabad under the Swachh Iconic Places Projects of India. This is part of a special drive under the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Mission. NTPC Ltd and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have signed an MoU for implementation of development and beautification works under the Charminar Pedestrianization Project in Hyderabad. The works includes providing battery-operated vehicles for visitors, bollards to prevent traffic, Swachh Auto Tippers (SAT) for carting garbage, mechanical sweeping vehicles and litter picking machines, decorative and halogen lighting of four arches, construction of public utilities, toilets and drinking water ATM kiosks. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, who was the fifth sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golkonda, founded the city of Hyderabad and built Charminar in 1591.
38. The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha has become the Asia’s first beach to get the Blue Flag certification — the tag given to environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists. The beach awarded the honour on World Environment Day (WED) on June 5, 2018. Apart from this, 12 more Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an Environment Ministry’s body working for the management of coastal areas, in accordance with the Blue Flag certification standards. Among them are the Chiwla and Bhogave beaches in Maharashtra and one beach each from Puducherry, Goa, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Blue Flag beach standards were established by Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in 1985. In order to get the Blue Flag tag, a beach has to be plastic-free and be equipped with a waste management system.
39. A. Dhiraj Ram Krishna, a young engineer from Coimbatore, has won the ‘National Gopal Ratna’ award from the Central Government on June 2 for cattle rearing and dairying. He received the award from the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh in New Delhi for ‘upkeep of the best dairy animals of indigenous breeds’.
40. Sanjana Ramesh has won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) award at the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018, which featured 66 campers from 16 countries from the Asia-Pacific region. Her compatriot Vaishnavi Yadav won the ‘Girls Grit Award’ in the camp. The camp got underway with the girls championship game between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. Coached on the sidelines by Ruth Riley and Sakshi Sheoran, the Lynx defeated the Liberty 20-13.
41. Mahesh Kumar Jain, who is currently MD & CEO of IDBI Bank, has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years. The post was lying vacant since the retirement of S.S. Mundra in August 2017. With more than 30 years of experience in banking, Jain has been at the helm of IDBI Bank since March 2017. As per the RBI Act, the central bank should have four deputy governors – two from within the ranks and one commercial banker and another an economist to head the monetary policy department. The other deputy governors at RBI are Viral Acharya, B.P. Kanungo and N.S. Vishwanathan.
42. Ecuadorean foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa has been elected President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a mainly ceremonial title that nonetheless carries a high profile and important procedural functions. Espinosa defeated Ambassador Mary Elizabeth Flores Flake of Honduras by 128 votes to 62, with two abstentions. Espinosa will become the fourth woman ever to hold the UNGA presidency and the first since Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, from Bahrain, in 2006-2007. Espinosa will assume the position in September at the start of the 73rd UN General Assembly. It is rare to have a contested election for the position, which is normally filled by consensus without a vote. It was the turn for Latin America and the Caribbean to nominate the assembly president based on a preset geographical rotation. The previous women leaders of the Assembly were India’s Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit in 1953; Liberia’s Angie Elisabeth Brooks in 1969 and Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain in 2006.
43. On June 6, the screening of the biopic ‘Making of the Mahatma’ in Pietermaritzburg marked the opening of a three-day series of events to commemorate the historic incident 125 years ago when Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train because the compartment he was in was reserved for whites only. On the night of June 7, 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a young lawyer then, was thrown off the train’s first class compartment at Pietermaritzburg station in South Africa for refusing to give up his seat. The incident led him to develop his Satyagraha principles of peaceful resistance and mobilise people in South Africa and in India against the discriminatory rules of the British. The film, a co-production between India and South Africa, was made in 1996, soon after Nelson Mandela ascended to the position of South Africa’s first democratically-elected President. The film was directed by Shyam Benegal based on the book ‘Apprenticeship of a Mahatma’ by late freedom activist Prof Fatima Meer.
44. The World Bank has approved Rs.6000 crore for Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The scheme is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, with World Bank assistance. The ABHY has been formulated by the Ministry to address the criticality of ground water resources in a major part of the country. The scheme proposal has already been recommended by the Expenditure Finance Committee and the Ministry will be seeking Cabinet approval for the project shortly. The purpose of the scheme is to improve ground water management in priority areas in the country through community participation. The priority areas identified under the scheme fall in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These States represent about 25% of the total number of over-exploited, critical and semi-critical blocks in terms of ground water in India.
45. The IBSA Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was held in Pretoria, South Africa on June 4, 2018. The External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India, Sushma Swaraj chaired the IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) ministerial meet and hold talks on how to deepen coordination among the three countries on major global issues. On this occasion, Ministers adopted and jointly released the IBSA Declaration on South-South Cooperation, to contribute to greater understanding of development cooperation as a common endeavor of the Global South. The Ministers also considered proposed IBSA events planned for 2018-19 to mark the fifteenth-anniversary of IBSA. The Ministers agreed to host these events in all three countries as well as on the margins of multilateral events.
46. The Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Third Asia- Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) have started in Kathmandu, Nepal on June 5, 2018. The 3 day event is hosted by the Government of Nepal (Ministry of Education, Science and Technology). Policy markers, government officials, development professional, researchers and representatives from various organisations working in early childhood development, care and education from 40 countries including India are participating in the conference.
47. Tommy Thomas, an ethnic Indian Christian lawyer, has been appointed as the new attorney general of Malaysia. He succeeded Mohamad Apandi Ali. Tommy is the first practising lawyer to be appointed directly from the Malaysian Bar to be the attorney general, and the first non-Malay and non-Muslim Malaysian to hold this post. The appointment has been approved by Malaysia’s king Sultan Muhammad V, amid protests from Islamic groups that the job must be held by a Muslim. Thus, he became the first person from a minority community to hold the post since Malaysia was formed in 1963.
48. Omar Razzaz, a Harvard-educated former senior World Bank official, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Jordan by King Abdullah II. He succeeded Hani Mulki, who recently resigned as a result of widespread protests against his government’s austerity program. Prior to this post, Razzaz served as education minister in the outgoing Mulki government.
49. On June 5, the Supreme Court has allowed the Union government to implement the reservation in promotion policy for SC/ST employees in accordance with the law but did not stay a Delhi High Court judgment that had quashed an August 1997 office memorandum issued by the Centre providing for reservation in promotions for Dalit and tribal employees. The vacation bench comprising Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ashok Bhushan allowed such reservation but added without elaboration that it should be “in accordance with law”. As per Article 16 (4A) of the Constitution, the state would have to make out a case for providing reservation in promotion to SC/ST based on quantifiable data. The provision also says that the data should be based on factors like backwardness, inadequacy of representation and overall efficiency.
50. The Kune Falls is a scenic waterfall situated near Kune village in Pune district of Maharashtra. It is a three tiered waterfalls with a total height of 200m; the highest drop being 100m. The falls attracts tourists in large numbers during the rainy season when the waterfall is in its peak form and flows down with a huge gush. It is the 14th highest waterfall in India.
51. The Union Government has constituted a group of eminent persons to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy of India. The group will be headed by Industrialist Baba Kalyani. The group will evaluate the SEZ policy, suggest measures to cater to the needs of exporters in the present economic scenario and make the SEZ policy WTO compatible. The Group has to submit its recommendation in 3 months. The SEZ Policy was implemented from 1st April, 2000. Subsequently, the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd June, 2005 and the Special Economic Zone Act was enacted. The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10th February, 2006.
52. In a bid to check loan defaults, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has considered the recommendations of YM Deosthalee-headed High Level Task Force and will set up a Public Credit Registry (PCR) in a modular and phased manner. The PCR is an information repository that collates all loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers. A credit repository will help banks distinguish between a bad and a good borrower and accordingly offer attractive interest rates to good borrowers and higher interest rates to bad borrowers. The PCR will be the single point of mandatory reporting for all material events for each loan, notwithstanding any threshold in the loan amount or type of borrower. Thereby, the PCR will serve as a registry of all credit contracts, duly verified by reporting institutions, for all lending in India and any lending by an Indian institution to a company incorporated in India.
53. The Fuego volcano is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala that has recently erupted violently and buried several villages on its southern flank. The death toll has risen to 99 in the Fuego volcano eruption. The National Forensic Sciences Agency stated that, of the 99 people, only 28 have been identified, so far. Some 200 people are still missing, amid fears of a new blowup of the 3,763-metre volcano. The volcano is only 27 miles southwest of the capital Guatemala City, and ash has reached as far as the city’s airport, forcing it to close. At its peak, the Fuego reaches 12,346 feet above sea level and it is one of the most active volcanoes in Latin America. It sits on the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile horseshoe-shaped area where several tectonic plates rub against each other, creating intense volcanic activity and earthquakes. Three quarters of the world’s active volcanoes can be found on the Ring of Fire.
54. On June 6, the 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the key policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in its second bi-monthly monetary policy review of FY19. Concurrently, the reverse repo rate adjusted to 6.0%, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.50%. This is the first time since January 2014 that RBI has announced a rate hike. Since then, RBI has either reduced the rate or maintained status quo. Repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends to banks generally against government securities while the reverse repo is the rate at which RBI borrows money from the banks. In its monetary policy statement, RBI revised CPI inflation projections for the first half (H1)of FY19 to 4.8-4.9%, and 4.7% in the second half (H2). RBI retained its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth projection for the financial year at 7.4%.
55. The National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of Tobacco Control Measures for achievement of Goals under National Health Policy (2017) has inaugurated by Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey in New Delhi on June 6, 2018. The Ministers of State also released the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 India Report, 2016-17 and guidelines for establishing tobacco cessation centres in dental colleges at the consultation and felicitated tobacco workers who have transitioned to other livelihood options. The two-day consultation will focus on capacity-building of the National Tobacco Control Progamme Nodal Officers. Among the key areas of deliberation will be multi-sectoral engagement for implementation of WHO FCTC in India and synergizing tobacco control with new health initiatives. Tobacco is responsible for 4.5 lakh Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) deaths in the country. In 2011, the total economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India for persons aged 35-69 years amounted to a staggering Rs. 1,04,500 crores.
56. On June 6, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana has received the approval of Technical Advisory Committee of the Union government in a meeting held in the Central Water Commission (CWC) in Delhi. The Kaleshwaram project, which is the biggest lift irrigation project in the country, has provision for the storage of about 148 tmc ft with plans of utilising 180 tmc ft by lifting at least 2 tmc ft water every day for 90 flood days. The project is designed to irrigate 7,38,851 hectares (over 18.47 lakh acres) uplands in the erstwhile districts of Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Warangal, Medak, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy. The expected cost of project is Rs 80,000 crore. One of the unique features of the project is the longest tunnel in Asia of 81 kms between Yellampally and Mallannasagar dams. To lift the water the project will utilise 139MW pump, the highest capacity pump to be deployed in any project in the country. The Kaleswaram project across the Godavari river is often described as a boon to the state.
57. Veteran film actor Anupam Kher will be given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement honour at the 19th edition of International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Bangkok on June 24, 2018. He will be honoured for his contribution in the field of cinema. Kher has worked in over 500 films spanning across languages along with projects both in India and abroad for over three decades.
58. Narayan Prasad Singh, the most popular lyricist of Odisha, has passed away in Bhubaneswar on June 6, 2018. He was popularly known as Rasaraj. Born on May 28, 1933 at Koeli village, Singh earned his name in the world of Odia music. He was the lyricist of several popular melodious songs in Odia cinema. He made his debut by writing songs for Akashvani and came to be known as Rasaraj in Odia film industry for penning more than a hundred of songs that touched the heart of both the urban and rural population. Some of his songs are all time hits and his philosophical and contemporary songs had a great impact on youths. Some of his soulful and melodious songs in Odia cinema are ‘Jeevan Jamuna re Juara uthere’, ‘Ratani gaja gamani’, ‘Ae ta kali kaal reeti biparita bhai re’.
59. India hosted the 11th edition of Geo-Intelligence Asia 2018 at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 04-05 June 2018. It was organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication with Directorate General of Information System as Knowledge Partners and Military Survey as Co-organisers. The theme of Seminar was ‘GeoSpatial : A Force Multiplier for Defence and Industrial Security’. The aim of the event is to provide a platform to showcase the innovative applications of the Geospatial technologies. The seminar brought together the military, security officials including BSF and Police Forces, Government and industry together to examine the latest technology solutions and on the critical role of geospatial technology in military and security applications.
60. The Mitti Dam is a concrete and earthen dam built on the Mitti River in Abdasa Taluka of Kutch District, Gujarat. The Mitti River is an intermittent stream and provides a catchment area of 468.78 sq kms for the reservoir. The dam is 4405 m long and has 17.40 million cubic metres (MCM) of gross storage, 2.68 MCM of dead storage, and 14.72 MCM of live storage capacity.
61. Andhra Pradesh will become the first Indian state to use auto-disable syringes for all clinical purposes to prevent infection. The move will be enforced from the World Hepatitis Day (WHD-2018) when the state government will declare itself as “Safety Injection Use State”. The initiative will ensure one injection will be given from one syringe by mandating universal usage of auto-disable syringes in all clinical/therapeutic cases as part of infection prevention. The move would strengthen the healthcare system by lowering the burden of infections and breaking the cycle of cross infection.
62. President Ram Nath Kovind has recently declared the ‘Queen’ variety of pineapple as the state fruit of Tripura. The famous ‘Queen’ variety is spiny, golden yellow in color and emits pleasant aroma and flavor at the ripen stage. The fruits are harvested when eyes turns yellow during mid-May to mid-July when the fruit is available. The average weight of fruit varies from 600 Grams to 800 Grams. It got the Geographical Indication (GI) in 2015 and is the best quality of pineapple in the world. Tripura is one of the largest pineapple growing states in the country and there are more than 100 commercial scale pineapple plantations in the state. Earlier, President Kovind dedicated a 73.71km stretch of National Highway 8 from Mata Tripurasundari temple in Udaipur of Gomati district to Sabroom in South Tripura.
63. Anthony Bourdain (61), the United States celebrity chef and television personality, has passed away in Strasbourg, France on June 8, 2018. He was a best-selling food, fiction and nonfiction author. He shot to fame in 2000 with a best-selling book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly”, which is known for its treatment of the professional culinary industry. The book alternates between a confessional narrative and an industry commentary, providing insightful and humorous anecdotes on the cooking trade. Though best known for his culinary achievements and television presentations, along with several books on food and cooking and travel adventures, Bourdain’s lesser-known writings include both fiction and historical nonfiction.
64. One June 7, India began their campaign at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan with a strong start by clinching four medals- – a gold, a silver and two bronze. Ashish Jakhar created a new National U-20 record to clinch the gold medal with a hammer throw of 76.86 in his second attempt while Damneet bagged the silver with a best throw of 74.08. This shattered the previous mark of 75.04 meters that he himself had set at the Junior Federation Cup in April 2018. Beside them, Triple jumper Priyadarshini Suresh and long distance runner Poonam Sonune bagged bronze medals in women’s events.
65. Indian captain Virat Kohli will receive the Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer (2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons) at the BCCI awards, to be held in Bengaluru on June 15, 2018. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are set to be maiden recipients of the award for best international cricketer (women) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons respectively. The BCCI Awards recognizes and honours the top domestic and international cricketers across all age groups.
66. Sudheesh Guruvayoor, an Indian farmer from Kerala, has set a Guinness World Record by distributing the largest number of curry tree saplings in Sharjah on 5th June 2018. He distributed 4,914 saplings of the organic curry tree and broke the record set by the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurudwara in Dubai who had distributed 2,083 saplings of three varieties of trees to students of Delhi Private School in March 2018. The saplings from his own farm in Sharjah were distributed to the students of two campuses of the Sharjah Indian High School. He achieved the new feat as part of the World Environment Day (WED-2018) celebrations in the country. With five Limca Book of Records and other awards in his kitty, Guruvayoor stated that he had been growing curry tree saplings at his farm for almost three months for this dream project. Curry leaves are used for the aroma and flavour in the cuisine of various states in India, especially in the south.
67. Dr. Sapan Kumar Murmu (58), the renowned doctor and Superintendent of VIMSAR, has passed away on June 8, 2018. Dr. Murmu started his career at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) and held various important posts. He was also Head of the Department of Paediatrics at VIMSAR. The VIMSAR is a premier government-run medical college and hospital of Odisha. It was established in 1959 in Burla, a small town on the banks of the Mahanadi River in the Sambalpur district of Western Odisha. It is one of the oldest institutes in Odisha for imparting highly specialized medical education at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
68. The Mandela-Gandhi Youth Conference was held at Pietermaritzburg in South Africa on June 8, 2018. The conference was part of a 3-day commemoration of the historic incident 125 years ago when on June 7, 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a young lawyer then, was thrown off a train compartment reserved for whites only. Delegates from a dozen countries in the Conference called for a return to Gandhian values to address global challenges threatening humanity. Diaspora youth from India, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Zambia Egypt, Malawi, Seychelles and Mozambique joined more than 120 South African youngsters to debate and share views on whether the Gandhian philosophy of Satyagraha, Ahimsa and Sarvodaya was relevant today and whether it could be used to find solutions for the problems around the world. A resolution also passed unanimously at the conference which said the youth of this world, citizens of diverse nationalities, ideologies, backgrounds, colour, creed, race and sex, embrace the ideals of the Mahatma and Madiba as apostles of peace and truth.
69. The Punjab government has launched a “Business First Portal” to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in the state. It was unveiled by Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora in Jalandhar on June 7, 2018. The online portal will facilitate the industrialists for Regulatory Clearances and Fiscal Approvals, real-time tracking of applications at common platform.
70. Mithali Raj has become the first Indian cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20 International Cricket. She achieved the landmark during India’s 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 at Kaula Lumpur on June 7, 2018. Mithali now has 2,015 runs from 75 matches. She is the seventh woman to reach 2,000 runs in T20 format. The list is headed by England cricketer Charlotte Edwards with 2,605, followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515). Interestingly, India men’s team captain Virat Kohli with 1,983 runs is the next on the list, followed by Rohit Sharma (1,852) and Suresh Raina (1,499).
71. India has been ranked 136th among 163 countries in Global Peace Index 2018 due to a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by increased law enforcement. The Index is prepared by Sydney-based international think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). The report provides a comprehensive analysis on the state of world peace. It covers 99.7% of the world’s population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators grouped into three key domains — ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarization. The index is topped by Iceland, followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark. As per the report that ranks 163 independent states and territories, Syria is the least peaceful country followed by Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia.
72. The 18th edition of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was held in Qingdao, China on June 9-10, 2018. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Qingdao declaration. The declaration calls for implementing the three-year plan to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism. It also calls for implementation of the treaty on long-term good neighbourliness, friendship and co-operation. All the heads of SCO countries held a restricted meeting before the summit. Here, China has renewed its agreement with India on sharing data on the cross-border flow of waters from the Brahmaputra River during the flood season. Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 9, the Chinese side would provide hydrological data from May 15 to October 15 — the period when the Brahmaputra is prone to floods. The Chinese side would also provide hydrological data if the water level exceeds a “mutually agreed” level during the non-flood season. Both the sides also signed an agreement on exporting non-Basmati rice to China. The two countries also set a trade target of 100 billion dollars by 2020.
73. The Union finance ministry has set up a committee to examine the possibility of setting up an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) or an Asset Management Company (AMC) to fast track resolution of stressed assets. Punjab National Bank’s non executive chairman Sunil Mehta will head the panel. The Committee will consider whether such an arrangement will be good for the banking system. If it is considered advisable, the Committee will also consider the modalities by which such an ARC / AMC should be set up. It will submit its report in two weeks.
74. Simona Halep from Romania won her first Grand Slam at the 2018 French Open tennis tournament in Paris. She defeated Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a gruelling French Open final on June 9, 2018 to won the title.
75. Middle distance runner Anu Kumar from Uttarakhand claimed gold in the men’s 800m at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan on June 9. While, Arpandeep Kaur Bajwa grabbed a bronze in the women’s discus throw. Earlier, Ashish Jakhar created a new National U-20 record to clinch the gold with a hammer throw of 76.86 and Damneet bagged the silver with a best throw of 74.08. Beside them, Triple jumper Priyadarshini Suresh and long distance runner Poonam Sonune bagged bronze medals in women’s events.With this, India’s medals tally goes to 3 gold, one silver and nine bronze medals in the tournament.
76. Kandaala Subrahmanya Tilak (98), the noted freedom fighter and member of the first Lok Sabha, has passed away in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on June 8, 2018. Tilak, who took part in India’s freedom struggle including the Salt Satyagraha, was elected to the first Lok Sabha in 1952 from Vizianagaram constituency from Socialist Party of India.
77. New Zealand women’s cricket team posted the highest-ever total in One-Day International (ODI) cricket by scoring an incredible 490-4 against Ireland in the first match in Dublin. New Zealand skipper Suzie Bates top-scored with 151 off 94 balls. The total posted by the ‘White Ferns’ is the highest ever in ODIs including men’s matches. In men’s cricket, the highest total in ODI is 444-3, made by England against Pakistan in August 2016 at Nottingham. With their incredible batting, New Zealand women team bettered their own 21-year old world record of 455 for five against Pakistan at Christchurch in January 1997. It’s only third time that a 400-plus score has been made in women’s ODIs. In men’s ODIs, a 400-plus score has been achieved 18 times by different teams.
78. Laliteshwar Prasad Shahi (98), the senior Congress leader and former Union minister, has passed away in New Delhi on June 9, 2018. Shahi, who hailed from Bihar, was a freedom fighter and a former CWC member. He was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1980 and became an MP from Muzaffarpur in Bihar in 1984.
79. Maria Bueno (78) , the legendary Brazilian tennis player, has passed away in Sao Paulo on June 9, 2018. She won three Wimbledon and four US championship singles titles. During her 11-year career in the 1950s and 1960s, she won 19 Grand Slam titles (seven in women’s singles, 11 in women’s doubles, and one in mixed doubles), making her the most successful South American female tennis player in history.
80. The World Oceans Day (WOD) is a global day of ocean celebration and collaboration for a better future. It is observed every year on June 8 to provide an opportunity to take personal and community action to conserve the ocean and its resources. The 2018 conservation action theme is “Preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean”.
81. S Ramesh has been appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs (CBIC). He will succeed Vanaja N. Sarna on July 1. The CBIC is the apex body for administering the levy and collection of indirect taxes of the Union of India viz. Central Excise duty, Customs duty and Service Tax, and for facilitating cross border movement of goods & services. It is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. It deals with the tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs & Central Excise duties and Service Tax, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics to the extent under CBEC’s purview.
82. Arvind Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, has been appointed as the acting Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He will succeed Vinay Mittal, who completes his term on June 19. Saxena will perform the duties of the post of UPSC Chairman with effect from June 20 till further orders or till completion of his tenure on August 7, 2020. Saxena joined the UPSC in May 2015 after he completed his stint in the Aviation Research Centre (ARC). Earlier, he has also worked in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) after he joined it in 1988 and specialised in the study of strategic developments in neighbouring countries.
83. Pappu Karki, the popular Kumaoni folk singer, has passed away in car accident near Haidakhan in Nainital district on June 9, 2018. Karki was famous for singing Kumaoni folk. His latest song ‘Chanchari’ was recently uploaded on YouTube and it had already garnered 16,000 views and more than 500 comments. Karki is originally from Thal in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.
84. India will have its first-ever national police museum as the Central government has decided to establish the unique facility in Lutyens’ Delhi. The museum – depicting the history, art facts, uniforms and gear of central and state police forces – will come up as an underground facility in the premises of the national police memorial in Chanakyapuri area of the national capital. As per the records, the items sought to be put in the first-ever national police museum will include brass insignia, ceremonial and operational head gears and uniforms, batons, belts, distinctive photographs of dog squads, mounted columns and old copies of the Indian Police Act. Some other items include women in policing, creation of maiden ‘mahila’ battalions, news clippings of historical significance, the very old and basic police communication and wireless equipment, flying squads and police medals and decorations. The museum is expected to be inaugurated on October 21 (Police Commemoration Day).
85. Former NIA chief Sharad Kumar, who is a1979-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, has been appointed new vigilance commissioner in probity watchdog Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) for a term of 4 years or till he attains the age of 65. The CVC is headed by a Central Vigilance Commissioner who is assisted by two Vigilance Commissioners. The current CVC is K. V. Chowdary and Vigilance Commissioner is Dr. Tejendra Mohan Bhasin. The commission was set up by the Government of India (GoI) in February 1964 on the recommendations of K. Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.
86. The 44th edition of G7 summit 2018 was hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Quebec on June 8–9. This was the 6th time since 1981 that Canada has hosted the meetings. It was the first summit for Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The summit was dubbed the “G6+1” by the French government and political commentators. This resulted from the United States withdrawing from the Iran Deal along with the Paris Agreement, rampant American protectionism, and fights with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The 45th G7 summit will be held in 2019 in Biarritz, France. The G7 Summit is an event conducted annually where world leaders from seven powerful economies of the world viz. US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Japan and Italy come together to discuss burning issues happening around the globe.They, by mutual understanding, also form policies or figure out remedies for the concerned issue.
87. In Women’s Cricket, Bangladesh team has won the Asia Cup Twenty-20 tournament by defeating India in the final by 7 wickets at Kuala Lumpur on June 10, 2018. India have won six titles since the tournament’s inception in 2004, while for Bangladesh, this was their first title.
88. Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, claimed his 11th French Open title on June 10, 2018. In the Men’s singles final in Paris, he defeated Austrian Dominic Thiem in straight sets 6-4 6-3 6-2 to win the title. By winning the French Open, Nadal tied Margaret Court‘s record for singles titles at a Grand Slam event. Court won 11 Australian Opens, but seven came when it was the Australian Championships, an amateur event. It was Nadal’s 17th Grand Slam title, just three behind great rival Roger Federer.
89. India’s football national team has lifted the 2018 Intercontinental Cup football title. In the summit clash in Mumbai, they defeated Kenya by 2-0 on June 10, 2018. Both the goals were netted by skipper Sunil Chhetri. He gave India the lead in the 8th minute before scoring the second goal in the 29th minute. Sunil Chhetri has become the joint second highest international goal scorer among active players along with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi with his 64th strike for the country against Kenya.
90. Shantaram Laxman Naik (72), the veteran Goa Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP, has passed away in Margao, Goa on June 9, 2018. Beginning his political career in 1967, Naik joined the Congress as a party worker. A multiple-time Member of Parliament (MP), Naik was one of the tallest leaders of the Congress in Goa. Naik was elected to the Lok Sabha from the South Goa constituency in the 1984 general election. He was instrumental in the passage of the Goa Statehood Bill that consequently granted statehood to Goa on May 30, 1987. He represented Goa in the Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms — 2005-2011 and 2011-2017. However, in July 2017, he lost the election to the Upper House of Parliament to BJP candidate Vinay Tendulkar. In March 2018, Naik resigned as president of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) to pave the way for the younger generation to take the reins of the party.
91. The 22nd edition of the trilateral naval exercise “Malabar 2018” has started between India, Japan and United States from June 6-15. The exercise will feature both ashore and at-sea training off the coast of Guam in the Philippine Sea. The training will focus on high-end war fighting skill sets, subject matter expert and professional exchanges, combined carrier strike group operations, maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations, surface and anti-submarine warfare, medical operations, damage control, helicopter operations and visit, board, search and seizure operations. India is being represented by the stealth frigate INS Sahyadri, stealth corvettes INS Kamorta, and the Deepak-class fleet tanker INS Shakti, IANS reported. Along with these, P-8I Neptune advanced maritime patrol/anti-submarine warfare aircraft will also participate in the wargame.
92. The Government of India (GoI) has launched 5,000 Wi-Fi Choupals in villages and delivery of rail tickets through Common Service Centres (CSCs). It was inaugurated by Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in New Delhi on June 11, 2018. The move is aimed at transforming rural Internet connectivity through BharatNet. The WiFi Choupals will enable people in rural areas with an effective Internet access for their various digital processes. CSC has also tied up with IRCTC for booking of railway tickets. As per the agreement, all 2.9 lakh CSC will be able to book both reserved and unreserved train tickets. This will enable people in rural areas/villages to book tickets through CSC rather than going to the booking centres mainly located in cities. The BharatNet is the Central Government’s rural broadband connectivity project to connect 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC).
93. India will host the first military exercise of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) group focusing on counter-terrorism in Pune on September 2018. As part of this, a conclave of the Army chiefs of all 7 member-states is being planned. The purpose of the exercise is to promote strategic alignment among the member-states and to share best practices in the area of counter-terrorism. The theme includes counter-terrorism in semi-urban terrain and cordon and search, and each side will bring in some 30 soldiers. BIMSTEC was set up in 1997 and includes India, Bangladesh, Bhutan Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
94. Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways & Coal, has launched two new mobile apps – ‘Rail Madad’ and ‘Menu on Rails’ – to ease the travelling experience of the commuters. The Rail Madad app is aimed at expediting & streamlining passenger grievance redressal while the ‘Menu on Rails’ app will allow passengers to check the list of meals and beverages served on all type of trains and their prices. The Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel) app allows passengers to lodge complaints through mobile app/web platform and enables them to check real-time feedback on the status of redressal of their complaints. The app for the first time completely digitized the Complaint management system. It integrates RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger Grievance Redressal and Management System) developed by Northern Railway (Delhi Division). Rail MADAD also displays various helpline numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc) and provides direct calling facility for immediate assistance in one easy step
95. The 2nd edition of India-US colloquium on Earth Observations and Sciences for Society and Economy was inaugurated at the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO), Dona Paula, Goa on June 11, 2018. The 3-day colloquium is being organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, CSIR-NIO and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This multi-disciplinary event will bring together 200 delegates from India and the US to address emerging ocean and earth science issues. It will help both countries to improve ocean and atmosphere observations that contribute to economic well-being of both nations through better weather, climate, and ocean prediction, as well as fisheries management.
96. On June 11, the Union government has constituted a technical committee under the chairmanship of former chief statistician TCA Anant to bring in more transparency in jobs data calculation and presentation.
97. The Assam government will soon launch an awareness programme — ‘Sanskar’– in all development blocks and panchayats. The move is taken in the wake of incidents triggered by superstition and ignorance including the lynching of two young artistes in Karbi Anglong district of the state. The Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) would be the nodal agency and the programme would involve all deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and all government departments concerned in a district. Local bodies, womens’ organisations, voluntary organizations, media persons, leading citizens, academicians, MPs and MLAs from ruling and opposition parties would be stakeholders of the programme. Social activist Birubala Rabha, who has been tirelessly fighting against witch-hunting, will also be involved in the programme.
98. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched ‘#YogaFor9to5’, a contest focused on generating awareness regarding benefits of Yoga at Workplace for Women. The contest invites self-demonstration Videos & Pictures of Yoga Asanas being practiced during office hours. For this contest, the Ministry proposes to invite entries on easy Yoga Asanas which can calm Women during her work hours. The deadline for the contest is June 21, 2018. Interested participants can submit their applications in the form of a self-demonstration video or multiple pictures and mail it to creativecorner.mwcd@gmail.
99. The World Day against Child Labour is observed every year on June 12 to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them.. The 2018 theme ‘Generation Safe & Healthy’ points a finger at the hazardous and exploitative working conditions in which millions of children are working tooth, nail and bone for a living. The day shines a spotlight on the global need to improve the safety and health of young workers and end child labour.
100. The Dassam Falls is a waterfall located near Taimara village in Bundu police station of Ranchi district of Jharkhand. It is a natural cascade across the Kanchi River, a tributary of the Subarnarekha River. The water falls from a height of 44 metres. The sound of water echoes all around the place. The Dassam Falls is an example of a nick point caused by rejuvenation. Knick point, also called a nick point or simply nick, represents breaks in slopes in the longitudinal profile of a river caused by rejuvenation. The break in channel gradient allows water to fall vertically giving rise to a waterfall.
101. India hosted the 10th meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in New Delhi with theme ‘Celebrating progress towards elimination: Voices from the field on overcoming programme challenges’ on June 13, 2018. On this occasion, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda released the Accelerated Plan for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (APELF) 2018 for India. GAELF is an alliance of partners from 72 LF endemic national country programmes that assists WHO’s Global Programme to Eliminate LF. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) or commonly known as Elephantiasis is one of the oldest and most debilitating neglected disease, which is currently endemic in 73 countries of the world, including India. LF disease is caused mainly by Wuchereria Bancrofti and spread by Culex mosquito. This mosquito grows in dirty accumulated water. The disease affects the poorest population in society, particularly those living in areas with poor water, sanitation and hygiene. LF does not kill the affected people, but may cause permanent disfigurement, reduced productivity and social stigma.
102. Shahzahan Bachchu (60), a prominent Bangladeshi writer and publisher, was shot dead by unidentified attackers in his ancestral village Kakaldi in Munshiganj district of central Bangladesh on June 12, 2018. He was an outspoken proponent of secular principles and owner of a publishing house ‘Bishaka Prokashoni’ that specialized in publishing poetry. He was a former district general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh. Bangladesh has been hit by a spate of attacks against religious minorities, bloggers, foreigners, LGBT activists and other intellectuals since 2013. Several bloggers have also been targeted. In 2015, blogger Niloy Neel, who espoused atheist views, was hacked to death in his home in Dhaka. Avijit’s publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was also hacked to death on October 31 the same year. Militant groups have claimed responsibility for most of the killings.
103. Gavit Murali Kumar clinched gold in men’s 10,000 metre race at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, The Netherlands on June 9, 2018. The 21-year-old Kumar, hailing from Gujarat, clocked a personal best of 28 minutes 43.34 seconds. It was the best by an Indian in the ongoing season. It was also the second fastest time by an Indian ever in the distance race, just short of long-distance coach Surendra Singh’s national record of 28 minutes 02.89 seconds set at Vigo, Spain in 2008. The Gouden Spike is one of the top meetings in The Netherlands. Its current European Athletics status is Outdoor Meetings with National Permit. Meanwhile, Indian athletes continued their preparations by taking part in various competitions during their training-cum-exposure tour of Europe.
104. Ramchandra Bainda (72), the former BJP MP from Faridabad Lok Sabha constituency, has passed away in New Delhi on June 12, 2018. Born on February 7, 1946 in village Khabra Kalan of district Hisar, Bainda was elected from the Faridabad parliamentary constituency for the 11th, 12th as well as the 13th Lok Sabha between 1996 and 2004.
105. Indian woman boxer Saweety Boora claimed a gold medal in the middleweight category at the Umakhanov Memorial Tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia on June 12, 2018. She beat home favourite Anna Anfinogenova in the final to finish on top in the 75 kilogram category. Saweety was the only Indian among women to make it to the Final. She is also a former world championship silver-medallist. However, in the men’s draw, Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Virender Kumar (91kg) lost their respective summit clashes to end with silver medals. Earlier, World youth champion Shashi Chopra in 57 kg division, former Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra in 51 kgs and Pavitra in 60 kgs had, lost their semifinal bouts to settle for Bronze medals.
106. The International Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal from June 17. The theme of two day conference is “Sustainable Development Goals for Smart Society ”. The conference is organised by the Federation of Computer Association Nepal (CAN). According to organisers around 500 delegates, including ICT users, trainers, professionals, experts, and researchers from Japan, China, Korea, India and Nepal will attend the event. The conference will provide a common platform to participants to exchange their knowledge and discover new insides. The purpose of the conference is to bring government and private sector together for developing a plan of action using sustainable ICT applications. It also seeks to unleash the prospects of SMART Nepal by 2030.
107. The Union government has added 10 new Iconic sites in 3rd phase of its flagship project of Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) under Swachh Bharat Mission. The 3rd phase of SIP was launched at Mana village which is situated close to the Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand. The sites are Raghavendra Swamy Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh); Hazardwari Palace (Murshidabad, West Bengal); Brahma Sarovar Temple (Kurukshetra, Haryana); Vidur Kuti (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh); Mana village (Chamoli, Uttarakhand); Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh); and Kanvashram (Uttarakhand). Besides Pangong Lake (Leh-Ladakh, J&K), ImaKeithal/market (Imphal, Manipur) and Sabarimala Temple (Kerala). The project envisioned by the Prime Minister is being coordinated by Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation with the support of State governments and local administration.
108. Mulubha Jadeja (88), a right-handed batsman, has passed away in Rajkot, Gujarat on June 12, 2018. He represented Saurashtra and Railways between 1945 and 1964. He played 31 first-class matches, scoring 1,373 runs with an average of 26.92.
109. The 23rd FIFA World Cup 2026 will be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico. To host the tournament, the two official bids were submitted to FIFA: a joint bid by Canada, Mexico and the United States, and a bid by Morocco. On 13th June 2018, the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, Canada, Mexico and the United States won the final vote. The United Bid received 134 votes, Morocco received 65 votes while one country voted for neither. The tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, after FIFA approved expansion from 32 teams.
110. The Ethipothala Falls is a famous waterfall formed by the mountain streams which falls from a height of approximately 70 feet into a lagoon. It is located on the Chandravanka River, a tributary of River Krishna, in Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh. There is a crocodile breeding center in the pond formed by the water fall and is managed by the Forest Department of Andhra Pradesh where one can see the crocodiles from close distance. There are two temples at the foot of the waterfall, dedicated to Ranganadha Swami and Dattatreya Swami. Adjacent to the waterfall, there is a group of caves which are believed to extend till Srisailam. Ethipothala Waterfall is also a great place for mild trekking and camping along with refreshing nature sightseeing.
111. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently approved the final extension of tenure of the Commission constituted to examine the issue of Sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Central List. Earlier, it was mandated to present the report to the President upto 20th June 2018. Now, it is extended till 31st July, 2018. As per Article 340 of the Constitution, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed a Commission on 2nd October 2017. Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini is the head of the commission. The commission will work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such OBCs. It will also take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories.
112. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the nomination of the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC). The NEC is a statutory body with Governors and Chief Ministers of all the eight North Eastern States as its Member. The Cabinet also approved that Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER would serve as Vice Chairman of the Council. As per new arrangement, NEC will provide a forum for discussing inter-state matters more comprehensively and also consider common approaches to be taken in future. NEC can now also perform the tasks undertaken by the various Zonal Councils to discuss such inter-State issues as drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and ammunition, boundary disputes etc. This re-positioning of NEC will help it to become a more effective body for the North Eastern Region.
113. Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, has been honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination. The award was given under ‘Culture and Community’ category at the 23rd Nikkei Asia Prize in Tokyo on June 13, 2018. He received the award for the invention of two-pit pour-flush ecological compost toilets that help provide low-cost environment friendly toilets to millions in the developing world. The other two winners of the award are Ma Jun (Economic and Business Innovation), a Chinese environmentalist — for using the power of the internet to promote cleaner industry, and Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem (Science and Technology), a Vietnamese doctor — for bringing cutting-edge medicine for children. Launched in 1996, the award honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community.
114. Dr Inder Jit Singh, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, has been appointed the coal secretary in New Delhi. He succeeded Susheel Kumar. Prior to his appointment as Coal Secretary, he, was posted as Secretary (Coordination) in Cabinet Secretariat. Dr Singh is a Ph.D in Economics from Punjab University.
115. The Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority has initiated a ‘water literacy’ campaign with the involvement of 70,000 students aiming to create awareness about the importance of water conservation in the State. As per the campaign, every student will take classes about water conservation for 15 families in their locality. Approx 10 lakh people will be benefited from the campaign, which is scheduled to be held from June 20 to September 20. The purpose of the campaign is to improvising the knowledge of students as well as people regarding importance of water, prevention of water pollution, water conservation and laws related to water management.
116. The Arunachal Pradesh government has inked an agreement with Andhra Pradesh-based Smart Village Movement (SVM) to facilitate technology innovations, research and development in selected villages of the north-eastern state. The man behind the Smart Village Movement, Solomon Darwin, will be the adviser to the project’s core team. The SVM’s open innovation approach will integrate technology and indigenous rural practices to generate sustainable revenue for constituents, and hence it will increase overall standard of living and quality of life. The project will focus on solving “pain-points” or challenges in rural segments by developing platforms driven by “open innovation” approaches. The project would offer a digital platform, highlighting the challenges of the villages, which will be accessed by universities and research institutes across the globe for suggesting solutions. The solutions would be made available to corporate houses or start-ups, who would then offer a technology to solve the challenges.
117. India has been ranked 177th among 180 nations at the 2018 Global Environment Performance Index (EPI) rankings. As per State of India’s Environment (SoE) 2018 in Figures, India scored 5.75 out of 100 in air quality. The SoE in Figures is an annual compendium of environmental statistics put together by Down To Earth magazine, which Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) helps publish. The SoE in Figures 2018 covers diverse subjects ranging from air pollution to environmental crimes & sanitation to energy security. The 2018 EPI provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analyzing, and understanding environmental performance for 180 countries. Low scores on the EPI are indicative of the need for national sustainability efforts on a number of fronts, especially cleaning up air quality, protecting biodiversity, and reducing GHG emissions. The top five countries in terms of green rankings are Switzerland, France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden.
118. On 14th June 2018, Shikhar Dhawan has become the first-ever Indian batsman to score a century in the first session of a Test match joining the illustrious ranks of Sir Don Bradman, Victor Trumper, Majid Khan, David Warner. Dhawan hammered 19 fours and 3 sixes as he reached his century in 91 balls on the opening day of the historic India-Afghanistan test match at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru. He became the sixth player in the world to score a century before lunch. In 2017, Australia’s dashing opener David Warner scored 100 not out before lunch against Pakistan. Other 4 players who achieved this milestone in the past are Victor Trumper (103 not out before lunch) against England in 1902, Charlie Macartney (112 not out) against England in 1926, Bradman (105 not out) against England in 1930, Majid Khan (108 not out) against New Zealand in 1976.
119. On June 12, the United States government has approved a deal to sell the Indian military six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for $930 million. The agreement has been passed to the US Congress for approval and if no US lawmaker raises an objection, the contract will go ahead. Boeing and Indian partner Tata have begun to produce Apache fuselages at a plant in India, but the latest approval concerns a direct sale of finished products from the US manufacturers. In addition to aircraft, the contract includes night vision sensors, GPS guidance and hundreds of Hellfire anti-armour and Stinger air-to-air missiles. The lead contractors are US arms, aviations and engineering giants Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Raytheon.
120. The World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is observed every year on June 14 across the globe to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood. The day also strongly encourages more people to donate blood so that the donor population does not decline and patients requiring transfusion have timely access to safe blood. The 2018 theme is ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life’.
121. The 106th Indian Science Congress (ISC-2019) will be held at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab from 3rd to 7th January 2019. The theme of the 5-day science congress is ‘Future India: Science & Technology’. Approx 15,000 delegates, including 300 top scientists and Nobel Laureates from across world are expected to attend the congress. The science congress will have 18 plenary sessions, including those of medical, chemical, environmental and other science domains. There will also be four parallel mega events, including the children’s science conference; women’s science conference; science communicators’ meet; and, science exhibition. The exhibition will see participation from the national and international science companies, especially from the US, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.
122. India will host the 23rd European Union Film Festival (EUFF-2018) at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi from 18 – 24 June. The festival will improve cultural ties between India and European countries. Approx 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries will be screened. The festival is organized by Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, partnering with the delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States.
123. The Maharashtra government has signed pact with Quebec province of Canada to increase economic cooperation and welfare of the tribal community. The key areas of focus are information technology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and welfare of the tribal community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is on a week-long tour to the US and Canada, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on June 13, 2018.
124. Shujaat Bukhari (50), the veteran journalist and editor of Srinagar based Rising Kashmir newspaper, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his office in the Press Enclave area of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on June 14, 2018. Apart from Bukhari, his two personal security officers (PSOs) Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan were also killed outside the newspaper’s office. Bukhari was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir Valley. He was also part of the Track II process with Pakistan.
125. Dhivya Suryadevara, an Indian-American woman, has been named the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors (GM). With this, she will become the first woman CFO in the auto industry. Currently, she is the vice president of corporate finance and will succeed Chuck Stevens on 1st September 2018. She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra who has been head of the automaker since 2014.
126. S Sundari Nanda, a 1988 AGMU cadre Indian Police Service officer in the rank of ADGP, has been posted as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of Union Territory of Puducherry. DGP Sunil Kumar Gautam has been transferred from Puducherry to the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) in place of Ms. Nanda. Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer of the country, is the Lt Governor of the Union Territory.
127. Anil Kumar from Madhya Pradesh has clinched the gold in the 10m Air Rifle event at the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship 2018 in the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on June 14, 2018. Anil scored 246.7 to finish on top while Air Force’s Manoj Dalal scored 245.2 to take silver and his teammate Deepak Kumar finished with bronze with a score of 224.6. In the 10M Air Rifle Youth Men category, Sahu Mane of Maharashtra clinched gold with a 251.1 score, while Aishwarya Tomar of Madhya Pradesh scored 249.9 to clinch silver. Rajasthan’s Yashwardan settled for bronze with a 229.9.
128. On June 14, the Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari released Niti Aayog’s composite water management index report in New Delhi. Gujarat topped the list while Jharkhand was adjudged as the worst performer. Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In the northeastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged as the top state in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam. Niti Aayog has ranked the states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects. The report predicted that by 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.
129. The Kodiveri Dam is located on the Bhavani river near Gobichettipalayam in Tamil Nadu. The dam irrigates an area of 24,504 acres. The Bhavani river is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu and a major tributary of the Kaveri River.
130. The National Institute of Yoga is an autonomous and non profit making institute, which is established by the Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The institute is also known as the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). It acts as the nodal agency for the development and promotion of yoga culture across the country. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
131. As per latest report “Global Economic Outlook”, Fitch Ratings has raised India’s growth forecast for 2018-19 to 7.4% from 7.3%, but cited higher financing costs and rising oil prices as risks to growth. It also said that the rupee has been among the worst performers vis-a-vis Asian currencies this year. For FY20, it estimated the country to grow at 7.5%. However, higher financing costs (stemming from monetary tightening and higher market premiums) and rising oil prices should limit the upside to growth.
132. Smriti Mandhana, an Indian Women’s Cricket team opener, will become the first Indian player to appear in the Kia Super League, the women’s cricket super league in England. The League will begin from July 22, 2018. Smriti was signed by Western Storm and will represent the side in the upcoming edition of the tournament that features six teams. She has appeared in 40 T20Is so far and has a highest score of 76. In May 2018, she captained IPL Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge, which took place ahead of IPL Qualifier one. Smriti has also featured in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat.
133. Russia has successfully launched a Glonass- M positioning satellite by using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center on June 17, 2018. The Glonass network provides real-time positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe, at an accuracy reportedly at par with the U.S. Global Positioning System.
134. The conference on implementation of National Pension System (NPS) by the Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs) was held in New Delhi. It was organized by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The prime objective of the conference was to provide a forum to all the CABs, where the progress in the implementation of NPS with respect to compliance of timelines in various NPS related activities could be brought to the fore and a way forward could be provided.
135. Omar al-Razzaz, the former World Bank Economist, has been sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Jordan after King Abdullah issued a decree approving the new government. He succeeded Hani al-Mulki, who resigned following mass protests over price hikes and other government economic policies. Omar, who studied at Harvard University, was tasked with reviewing the country’s disputed tax system.
136. Flying Officer Meghana Shanbough MR, an engineering graduate, has become the sixth female fighter pilot to join the ranks of Indian Air Force (IAF). She is the first from Karnataka and South India. She graduates from the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal. The other fighter pilots: Avani Chaturvedi from Madhya Pradesh, Bhawana Kanth from Bihar and Mohana Singh from Rajasthan have already scripted history by becoming the first-ever women to undergo fighter pilot training in IAF at Hakimpet Air Force station in Hyderabad.
137. The International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD) is celebrated every year across the world on June 16 to assert the rights of this vast but hidden workforce. On this day in 2011, IDWD was declared to commemorate the adoption of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention C189. C189 set labour standards for domestic workers such as rest hours, wages, min age, and living arrangements. So far, 25 countries ratified the convention, recognizing millions of domestic workers and giving them a voice to advocate for their rights. According to the ILO, there are around 53 million domestic workers worldwide, 83% of whom are women. In India, 3 out of 5 domestic workers are women.
138. Adiraju Venkateswara Rao (80), the veteran journalist and author, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on June 15, 2018. Popularly known as Adiraju, Venkateswara Rao was born in 1938 at Panditapuram village in Khammam district. In a career spanning over five-and-a-half decades, he worked for several Telugu and English dailies and news agencies including Andhra Jyothi, Udayam, Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, Himachal Times and Hindustan Samachar at Hyderabad and Delhi.
139. The Jawai dam is built across the Jawai river, a tributary of Luni river, and is situated near Sumerpur town in Pali District of Rajasthan. The dam was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur. This is the biggest dam in the western Rajasthan. The dam has capacity of 7887.5 million cubic feet and covers an area of 102,315 acres of cultivable command area. Its height is about 61.25 feet. Sei dam and Kalibor dam are the feeder dams of the Jawai dam.
140. Manu S. Pillai has authored the book ” The Ivory Throne : Chronicles of the House of Travancore” , a critically acclaimed 700-page history of Kerala focused on the last woman Maharajah of Travancore. It won him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017. Pillai’s retelling of this sprawling saga focuses on the remarkable life and work of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last – and forgotten – queen of the House of Travancore. The Ivory Throne conjures up a dramatic world of political intrigues and factions, black magic and conspiracies, crafty ceremonies and splendorous temple treasures, all harnessed in a tragic contest for power and authority in the age of empire.
141. The Assumption Island is a small island in the Outer Islands of Seychelles north of Madagascar, with a distance of 1,135 km southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. It is in news recently because the deal for an Indian military base in the Island was declared as ‘dead’ by Seychelles President Danny Faure. He said that Seychelles would develop military facilities at the island on its own. Mr. Faure made it clear that he would have no further discussions on the subject with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he visited India on June 25 and 26, 2018. The plans for an Indian military base in Seychelles stirred up public protests by activists who believe that the islands must stay away from the brewing India-China regional conflict. The decision by the Seychelles President to drop the deal in the face of protests over a perceived loss of sovereignty is a blow to the Indian government’s “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region) programme, announced by Mr. Modi during a visit to Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries in March 2015.
142. Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore has sanctioned a special financial assistance of Rs.5 lakhs to former International Archer & Arjun Awardee Limba Ram. Limba Ram, who is suffering from neuro generative disease or neurological illness, is undergoing treatment at Jaipur. He is working for the State Government of Rajasthan and is in receipt of salary beyond the ceiling of Rs.4 lakhs fixed under the scheme of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund for Sportspersons. The Minister in his capacity as Chairperson of the Fund, has relaxed the condition and by invoking the discretionary clause sanctioned Rs.5 Lakhs considering that his widowed mother, widowed sister and her children, widowed mother-in-law and unemployed brother are dependent on him.
143. On June 18, the annual Asia and Oceania Region Inter-Governmental Ministerial meeting on anti-doping has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka with representatives from 29 countries including India. The 15th such annual gathering is also being attended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to discuss important anti-doping issues that will help in the fight for clean sport. It is chaired by Faiszer Musthapha, Sri Lanka’s Minister for Provincial Councils, Local Government and Sports. The two-day meeting will discuss how to make the most of government engagement, ensure compliance with the world anti-doping code, support capacity building and a range of other topics.
144. The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD) is observed every year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. The day is a unique moment to remind everyone that land degradation neutrality is achievable through problem-solving, strong community involvement and co-operation at all levels. The 2018 WDCD urges you to move away from unsustainable land use and make a difference by investing in the future of land under the theme “Land has true value — invest in it”.
145. The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) will soon launch a Social Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) to fund approx 80 enterprises across the 8-member states annually. As part of SDF social window, the SEDP will be implemented in all the SAARC member states (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) with an objective of identifying and building social enterprises by using a mix of grants and concessional returnable capital. The SDF is organising a two-day SDF partnership conclave in New Delhi from July 2. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant would deliver the key note address. SDF, whose Secretariat at Thimphu in Bhutan, was established by the heads of the 8 SAARC member states in April 2010 and its governing council comprises finance ministers of these eight countries.
146. The Goa Revolution Day (GRD) has celebrated on 18th June 2018 to pay tributes to the martyrs of the state’s liberation struggle. On this day in 1946, freedom fighter Dr Ram Manohar Lohia gave a clarion call to the people of the state to unite and fight against the Portuguese colonial regime. The revolutionary call provided a spark to Goa’s freedom struggle and the state was finally liberated on 19th December 1961. Goa was ruled by the Portuguese for 451 years, before the State was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961.
147. To negotiate the text of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), the meeting between the team of specialists from United States and with their counterparts on the Indian side has started in Delhi from June 18-20, 2018. The meeting is a part of preparations for the 2+2 dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers of India and the US in Washington in July 2018. So far, India has signed only one of the foundational agreements, called the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) and COMCASA are the two remaining pacts that were not signed due to severe criticism from within the government. The COMCASA is a “foundational” military communications agreement. It essentially provides a legal framework for the transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India that would facilitate interoperability between Indian and US forces — and potentially with other militaries that use US-origin systems for secure data links.
148. Ivan Duque Marquez , the Conservative political newcomer, has been elected as the new President of Colombia and will assume office on August 7, 2018. He won the 2018 presidential election by 54% of the vote on June 17, 2018. His running mate, Marta Lucía Ramirez, will become first female Vice-President of the country.
149. The 840MW Hasdeo Thermal Power Station (HTPS) is a coal-fired power station at Korba in Chhattisgarh. The power station is owned and operated by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company, a publicly owned generation utility formed in 2009 following the restructuring of the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board.
150. Col Rajyavardhan Rathore, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), has inaugurated the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on June 18, 2018. The purpose of the festival is to improve cultural ties between India and European countries. As per official release, 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries will be screened during the festival. The film festival will traverse through eleven cities in the country including, New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa till 31st of August. The festival is being organized by Directorate of Film Festivals under Ministry of I&B, partnering with the delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States.
151. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has set up a 10-member committee to review norms related to Insurance Marketing Firms (IMF) with an aim to increase insurance penetration in the country. The committee, headed by Suresh Mathur (ED-IMF, IRDAI), has been asked to revisit the IRDAI (Registration of Insurance Marketing Firms) Regulations, 2015.The new distribution channel of IMF was introduced in 2015 by IRDAI, with the objective of increasing insurance penetration through an area-wise registration approach. Among other things, the panel has also been asked to provide recommendations for issuing guidelines on the areas on which the regulations are silent. The committee will submit its recommendations by end-July.
152. To honour soldiers who have been disabled in line of duty, the Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the “Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty”. The primary focus is towards alleviating the sufferings of these soldiers, who have done their duty with utmost dedication to the Nation and have been disabled for the life. The endeavour this year is to provide a one-time financial assistance to disabled soldiers who have been boarded out from service on medical grounds and are rendered non-employable due to their medical or physical conditions. Indian Army plans to create awareness on organizational support available to soldiers and their dependents with respect to medical, rehabilitation, various beneficiary schemes of Central and State Governments, vocational opportunities and assistance for their placement. Army also plans to showcase talent of disabled soldiers by organizing sports and physical activities, cultural events and their art exhibitions.
153. With the monsoon under way, the Union Water Resources Ministry has teamed up with Google to generate flood warnings. If there are signs of an imminent flood, a Google Maps user will be able to see what regions are likely to see water logging first and if their neighbourhood is under threat. As per agreement, the CWC and Google will share technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, geospatial mapping and analysis of hydrological observation data to collaborate on (i) improving flood prediction systems, which will help provide location-targeted, actionable flood warnings, (ii) high priority research project utilizing Google Earth Engine to help visualize and improve flood management and (iii) a cultural project to build online exhibitions on the Rivers of India. Currently, the Central Water Commission (CWC) warns of floods based on the rising water levels in reservoirs and if these are nearing a dam’s ‘danger marks’.
154. Perumal Murugan, the noted Tamil poet and author, has authored the novel ‘Kazhimugam’, which deals with effect of modern gadgets on life of middle class. He is known for his controversial novel ‘Madhurobhagan (translated as ‘One Part Woman’)’, which narrates the story of a childless couple ‘Ponna and Kali’ and the impact of childlessness on them. The book raises several issues about gender, patriarchy and masculinity – all of which converge in a worldview mandated by narrow social conventions that describe a childless marriage as incomplete. The controversy erupted in 2014 after local caste-based and religious Hindu groups objected to the fictional portrayal of traditions at the Ardhanareeswarar Temple in Tiruchengode. Then, on July 2016, the Madras High Court dismissed the case under citing Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India, ruled that there was no binding force or obligation that forced the author to apologize and withdraw the books.
155. US golfer Brooks Koepka has won the 118th edition of the US Open golf championship at the Shinnecock Hills course in New York on June 17, 2018. Koepka has created history by becoming the first man since Curtis Strange in 1989 to successfully defend his U.S. Open title.
156. The Telangana police have launched a mobile-based messenger application “COP CONNECT’ to provide real time information to over 60,000 police officers across the State. The app will also support the police department in improving quality of service delivered to public. The app has been developed based on police’s internal communication strategy, which will enable the entire workforce to pro-actively engage and pass real time information in seconds.Unlike WhatsApp groups which are restricted to only 256 participants, in Cop Connect, one can add any number of groups in a single group. Apart from the text, the internal messaging app will enable to share images, audio, video files and documents. One can also share their current location in the app. It also has an iMeeting option, which will help in creating and scheduling department meeting and setting reminders. The app can be used both offline and online and one can transfer unlimited data.
157. The World Sustainable Gastronomy Day (WSGD) is observed every year on June 18 to focus the world’s attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play. The day also reaffirms that all cultures and civilizations are contributors and crucial enablers of sustainable development. The UN General Assembly (UNGA) designated 18 June as Sustainable Gastronomy Day by adopting its resolution A/RES/71/246 on 21 December 2016. The decision acknowledges gastronomy as a cultural expression related to the natural and cultural diversity of the world.
158. The high-level Conference on “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028” will be held in Tajikistan from June 20, 2018. The two-day conference is being organized by the United Nations and Government of Tajikistan to discuss key water-related issues of sustainable development goals adopted by UN member countries. India will be represented by Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. In it, Mr. Gadkari will share the initiatives, solutions and best practices that Government of India (GoI) is taking in the field of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Water Resource Assessment, Resource Distribution, Management, Conservation and Harvesting. He will outline key policy initiatives and flagship programs of the Government of India including rejuvenation of river Ganga.
159. On June 18, the 2018 National Yoga Olympiad has organized by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at in CIET in New Delhi to create awareness about a scientific and holistic way of living. Approx 500 students from 26 States and 4 RIEs are participating in the 3-day Olympiad. The purpose of the Olympiad is to create positive attitude among all human beings and promote peaceful living in the society. It was inaugurated by Mr. Eric Falt, Director and UNESCO Representative of the New Delhi Cluster Office for India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The NCERT is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India that was established on 1st September 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies’ Registration Act (Act XXI of 1860). Dr. Hrushikesh Senapaty is director of the NCERT since September 2015.
160. Technology giant Google has recently announced the launch of a training programme for journalists with an aim to raise awareness against misinformation and providing new tools to the fourth estate against fake news. The Google News Initiative India Training Network will provide training to 8,000 journalists in English and six other Indian languages in the next one year. The network will select 200 journalists from cities across India, who will hone their skills in verification and training during five-day boot camps that will be organised for English and Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada. The focus of the training will be fact-checking, online verification and digital hygiene for journalists, using a curriculum built by experts.
161. The world’s first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics was launched at Gandhinagar in Gujarat on June 20, 2018. It is a joint venture of the Regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in India, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives and also Gujarat Forensic Science University. This is a centre of excellence which will use forensics for humanitarian services. The purpose of this Centre is to provide service to the nation and to the entire world when the need arises. The launch of the Centre was followed by an International Symposium on Humanitarian Forensics. Over the next two days, international experts will participate in the symposium and discuss issues in the area of humanitarian forensics. Speakers from India, Ireland, Germany and Sri Lanka will speak at the symposium.
162. Anukreethy Vas from Tamil Nadu has been crowned fbb Colors Femina Miss India World 2018 at a function held in Mumbai on June 19, 2018. Anukreethy, who beat 30 contestants to bag the honour, will now represent India at this year’s Miss World. While Haryana’s Meenakshi Chaudhary was announced the first runner-up, Shreya Rao Kamavarapu of Andhra Pradesh was adjudged the second runner-up in the beauty competition. The ceremony was hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana. The judges panel included 2017 Miss World Manushi Chhillar, cricketers Irfan Pathan and Lokesh Rahul and actors Malaika Arora, Bobby Deol and Kunal Kapoor.
163. On June 19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened norms for Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) by making quoting of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory even for transactions below $25,000. Under the LRS, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to 2,50,000 US dollar per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both. Earlier, a system for daily reporting of individual transactions under the LRS by banks was been put in place. This system enables the banks to view the remittances already sent by an individual during the financial year, thus improving monitoring and ensuring compliance with the LRS limits.
164. The Parliament of Canada has passed a landmark law that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. The Cannabis Act (or Bill C-45) passed its final hurdle on June 20 in a 52-29 vote in the Senate. The bill controls and regulates how the drug can be grown, distributed and sold. Canadians will be able to buy and consume the drug legally as early as September 2018. The new law allows adults to possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis in public, but the minimum legal age to buy and consume the drug has been set federally at 18. It makes Canada the first G7 country to legalise the drug’s recreational use and the second to have a nationwide, legal marijuana market, after Uruguay. The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant intended for medical or recreational use.
165. A R Rahman, the renowned music composer, has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador of the Sikkim government. He will promote and project the state’s achievements nationally and globally. Sikkim, with its natural and pristine beauty, has over the last two decades emerged as a world famous eco-tourism destination, besides attaining a distinct identity as the first fully organic farming state of the country. Earlier, in 2018, the state government made Rahman its Brand Ambassador of tourism and business.
166. The conference “National Consultation on Making Agriculture Sustainable and Profitable’ will be inaugurated by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu in Pune, Maharashtra on June 21, 2018. The 2-day conference is being organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) in the context of the ongoing debate and efforts at various levels to double farmers’ incomes by 2022. Naidu, as Vice-President is chairman of the IIPA institute. Agriculture experts and agri-economists at the conference will deliberate upon creating an enabling policy framework, agricultural trade policy, transfer of technology from labs to land and agricultural credit and insurance. The conference on farm sector issues is the second in the Swarajya to Surajya’ series of national consultations initiated by the IIPA on the behest of vice president. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan, economist Ashok Gulati, farm scientists, representatives of farmers unions, CII, FICCI and other stakeholders will also attend the event.
167. Nerella Venu Madhav (85), the world-renowned Mimicry artist, has passed away in Hanmakonda in Telangana on June 19, 2018. He is often regarded as father of Indian Mimicry and is also hailed as the pioneer and maestro of mimicry in India. Born in Warangal in 1932, Venu Madhav began his passion – mimicry at the age of 15 in 1947. He was nominated as MLC by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1971. He rose to international fame after his enthralling performance at United Nations. He was conferred Kala Prapurna title by the Andhra University in 1978 and was awarded Padma Sri by the Central Government in 2001. He was instrumental in introduction of a course in mimicry in several institutions including the Telugu University.
168. The Central Government has constituted a Chief Ministers Subgroup to coordinate policy approaches for Agriculture and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In it, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is the convener and Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with Member, NITI Aayog, Ramesh Chand are the members. The terms of reference of the sub-group include suggesting a wider choice of state specific interventions both for pre-sowing and post-harvest to further improve the thrust on incomes, water conservation and waste to wealth. The move comes in the backdrop of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards doubling farmers’ income by 2022. It comes close on the heels of unanimous decision taken at the 4th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog on June 17, 2018. The Sub-Group will submit its report within 3 months from its date of constitution.
169. The Haryana Government has launched 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme to give star rankings to its panchayats on the basis of 7 social parameters. The panchayats will be judged on sex ratio, education, hygiene, environment preservation, governance and social participation. Under the scheme, approx 1,120 villages of Haryana has achieved star ranking since its launch in January 2018. The Ambala district topped the star ranking with 407 stars followed by Gurugram with 199 stars and Karnal with 75 stars. The selected villages will be honoured at an award ceremony to be held in Panchkula, Gurugram and Rohtak in July 2018. The villages would be rewarded Rs one lakh for achieving each parameter. The villages having equal or more girl population will be given Rs 50,000 as bonus with their reward money. Similarly, the villages which adopt Swachhta Mission will be given additional Rs 50,000 as reward.
170. The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar launched the new digital initiative of HRD Ministry ‘National Digital Library of India (NDLI)’on the occasion of National Reading Day (NRD) in New Delhi on June 19, 2018. It is a project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) under the aegis of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). The purpose of NDL is to make digital educational resources available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage learning. The NDLI, which is developed by IIT Kharagpur, is the single window platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources. It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles, videos, audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of learning media.
171. In the 4th edition of International Yoga Day (IYD-2018), the Guinness World Record (GWR) for largest number of people performing yoga at one place at the same time has been set up in Kota, Rajasthan. At the State level yoga function in Kota, around one lakh 60 thousand people performed yoga at one place at a same time on 21st June. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev led the people at RAC Ground, where 30 lakh squre feet area was prepared for performing yoga. The representatives of Guinness World Record (GWR) handed over the certificate of world record to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Swami RamDev. In 2017, 55 thousand people of Mysore had set a world record performing yoga at one place at the same time.
172. On June 19, the United States has withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and condemned alleged hypocrisy of its members and bias against Israel. The announcement came after the top UN human rights official criticised Washington for separating migrant children from their parents who are seeking asylum after crossing into the country from Mexico. It must be noted that Washington’s withdrawal is the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. It’s not first time that the US has opted to stay out of the UNHRC. When the Council was established in 2006, the administration of George W. Bush withheld its membership over similar concerns. The U.S. joined the body only in 2009 under President Barack Obama. The UNHRC is composed of 47 members — and this is the first time a sitting member country has voluntarily decided to leave. Though, Libya was suspended in 2011 after a government crackdown on unarmed protesters.
173. Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, has been selected as 100th Smart City of India by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs after evaluating the proposal the proposal submitted by it. With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores. Till now, 99 smart cities have been selected in four rounds of competition and with this announcement; selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission. Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and nine cities in January this year. The Smart Cities Mission was launched on June 25, 2015 with the objective of strengthening urban infrastructure through application of smart solutions and give a decent quality of life to citizens.
174. Under ‘India Smart Cities Award’ 2018, Surat Smart City has been selected for ‘City Award’ for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development. Beside this, Bhopal and Ahmedabad were selected in the ‘Innovative Idea’ category for their transformative approach towards sustainable integrated development. While 9 smart cities, including NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council), bagged ‘Project’ awards for innovative and successful projects in 7 categories. Under ‘Social Aspects’ category, NDMC and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) bagged the award for implementation of ‘Smart Classrooms’ project, while Visakhapatnam was selected for its smart campus project and Pune for ‘lighthouse project’ under which underprivileged youths of the city get a chance to explore possibilities for enhancing their skills and pursuing a meaningful career.
175. Peter Thomson (88), one of Australia’s greatest golfers and a five-time Open Championship winner, has passed away in Melbourne on June 20, 2018. In 1954, he became the first Australian to claim the Open Championship in Britain. Among numerous accolades, Thomson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001. The World Golf Hall of Fame called him “the thinking man’s golfer”. Only American Tom Watson in the modern era has matched the feat.
176. Vishwas Mandalik (from Nasik) and The Yoga Institute (in Mumbai) have been selected as recipients of the Prime Minister’s award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga for the year 2018. The selection was done from among 186 nominations received under different categories. The winners would be felicitated with a trophy, certificate and a cash award of Rs 25 lakh each. The Yoga Institute, established in 1918 by Shri Yogendraji, completed its 100 years serving the society. It has produced more than 50 thousand yoga teachers and has over 500 publications to its credit. While Vishwas Mandalik acquired in-depth knowledge of authentic Patanjali & Hatha Yoga, Bhagwad Gita and Upnishad by study and research of ancient scriptures for over last 55 years. In 1978, he set up first branch of Yoga Vidya Dham, and as of today there are 160 centres in India. He has written 42 books and developed 300 CDs to cover various training courses.
177. The Punjab Government has launched a smartphone application ‘i-Hariyali’, which aims to inspire people to plant more saplings to save the environment from pollution. It will ensure clean, green, healthy and robust Punjab with the active participation of people. The app would enable the users to order free plant saplings. The users can book a sapling of their choice, a maximum of 25 per person, from a nearby government nursery. Once the booking is done, the contact number of the concerned employee of the nursery or the forest guard will be displayed on the mobile phone of the person. The ‘i-Hariyali’ app, under ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’ can be downloaded from the app store for free.
178. The 7th edition of India Minerals and Metals forum was inaugurated in New Delhi on June 21, 2018. The forum seeks to come up with solutions to leverage in the sector with the changing global scenario. The deliberations took cognizance on the need to consolidate small players for strengthening of overall health of the industry. The government officials emphasized on utilizing low grade minerals to reduce burden on high end minerals. It was expressed that India has been conservative in exploration of deep seated minerals due to environmental concerns but it needs quick progress and there is a lot of scope for private sector for carrying out such researches.
179. The 19th all India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureaux 2018 has been inaugurated by Hansraj Gangaram Ahir , the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, in Hyderabad on June 21. It was hosted by Telangana Police. The purpose of 2-day conference is to discuss and deliberate the challenging issues faced by fingerprint fraternity. It is a forum to evolve better solutions for the problems faced by FP experts in the course of their duty. During the conference, participants will deliberate on latest Automatic Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), usage experience of AFIS in Maharashtra and Telangana, integration of Finger Prints with CCTNS/ICJS. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in cooperation with CMC Ltd., Secunderabad, developed the first indigenous AFIS called FACTS. Now this technology has improved a lot and within seconds it is possible to match the finger prints of more than a million individuals. Incidentally, the world’s first finger print bureau was established in 1897 at Calcutta during British period.
180. The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed every year on June 19 to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes. The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on June 19, 2008 of UN Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the 15-nation council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peace-building. The 2018 Theme is “The Plight and Rights of Children Born of War”.
181. The International Yoga Day (IYD) is celebrated every year on June 21 to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness. Yoga is an ancient Indian practice which is very useful for curing many diseases and health disorders. The theme for the 2018 celebration, organized by the Permanent Mission of India to the U.N. is “Yoga for Peace”. In India, the main event of 4th IDY-2018 was held at the Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The importance of 21st June is that it is the summer solstice – the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.
182. India will host the 3rd annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Mumbai on June 25-26, 2018. It will be jointly hosted by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and AIIB. The theme for 2018 meeting is “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration” that will see leaders from varied organizations and levels of government to share ideas and experiences for creating a sustainable future through sound infrastructure investment. The meeting will witness the presence of top policy makers, Ministers from AIIB members, participants from partner institutions, the private sector and civil society organizations.
183. Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi (94), the renowned Urdu satirist and humourist of the Indian subcontinent, has passed away in Karachi, Pakistan on June 20, 2018. He was widely admired in the literary circles for his unique way of writing and subtle satire. Born in Jaipur (Rajasthan ) in 1923 and educated at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Yousafi migrated to Pakistan in 1956 and became a career banker. Some of his most popular works include Chiragh Talay, Khakam-ba-dahan, Zarguzasht, Aab-E-gum and Sham-e-Shair-e-Yaaraan. In recognition of his contributions to Urdu literature, the Government of Pakistan conferred upon him two highest literary awards Sitara-i-Imtiaz and Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 1999 and 2002, respectively. The Hilal-i-Imtiaz is the highest literary honour given by the Pakistan government to civilians.
184. Kidambi Srikanth , who is the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games gold-medal winning shuttler, has been adjudged as the Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson Of The Year award for 2017 in New Delhi. Beside this, renowned hockey player Dhanraj Pillay was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other winners included the women’s cricket team, which bagged the ‘Team of the Year’ award while the national football team coach Stephen Constantine clinched the ‘Coach of the Year’ title. Tennis veteran Leander Paes was awarded ‘Outstanding contribution to Sport’ while I-League side Aizawl FC were named Editor’s Choice for Excellence (Team) and Commonwealth gold medallist Jitu Rai―Editor’s Choice for Excellence (Male). Young paddler Manav Thakkar and golfer Shubhankar Sharma were named ‘Young Sportsperson of the Year’ and ‘Gamechanger of the Year’ respectively.
185. Charles Krauthammer (68), the Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and political commentator, has passed away on June 21, 2018. He received acclaim for his writing on foreign policy, among other matters. He lived his life telling others exactly what he thought. Krauthammer was best known for his nightly appearance as a panelist on Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier” and as a commentator on various Fox news shows. He came to be known as the dean of conservative commentators.
186. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has banned the Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Afghanistan-based Islamic State in Khorasan Province (or ISIS Wilayat Khorasan) under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA). The outfit, which has now been banned, considers India and Indian interests as its targets and is engaged in activities of radicalising and recruiting Indian youth for terror activities. The main purpose of anti-terror law is to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. It has strict penal provisions to deal with banned organisations and their members. There are 39 banned outfits under UAPA, including the Islamic State, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and others.
187. On 22nd June 2018, the annual Ambubachi Mela has started at Nilachall hillock where the Kamakhya temple is situated in Assam. The temple will remain close from this evening and re-opened for public in the morning of 26th this month. Over 10 lakh devotees are expected to attend the mela. Temporary camps have been set up in and around the temple. Special thrust is being given in maintaining cleanliness. Around three thousand security personnel have been deployed. 80 buses have been pressed into services by the Assam State Transport Corporation to ferry passengers.
188. Prabhakar Choubey (83), the veteran journalist and litterateur, has passed away in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on June 21, 2018.
189. The World Music Day (WMD) is observed on June 21 every year across the world to sheds light on the importance of music. The day is also known as ‘Fete de la Musique’ after a music festival that began in France in 1982. Several singers enthrall listeners by playing their instruments in public or recreational areas. On this day, the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks. Free concerts are also organized, where musicians play for fun and not for payment.
190. The SKOCH Group has conferred the ‘Best performing Social Sector Ministry’ award on the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) for its significant achievements and initiatives from the last 4 years. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi received the award on behalf of the Ministry in an event held in New Delhi on June 22, 2018. The excerpts of the achievements of the Ministry are as follows: 6 months maternity leave, Sexual Harassment at Work Place Act, She-box, One stop centres, Universal Women help line (181) and 33% reservation in police. The Skoch Group is a think tank dealing with socio-economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997. The Skoch Awards are based on the philosophy of spearheading positive socio-economic changes through recognising persons who have contributed immensely to salutary transformations in society and governance by displaying exemplary leadership abilities.
191. Researchers at the University of Michigan (UM) in the US have developed the world’s smallest computer “Michigan Micro Mote”. It measures just 0.3 mm and could help find new ways to monitor and treat cancer. In addition to the RAM and photovoltaics, the new micro computing device has processors and wireless transmitters and receivers. Since they are too small to have conventional radio antennae, they receive and transmit data with visible light. A base station provides light for power and programming, and it receives the data. Designed as a precision temperature sensor, the computer can report temperatures in minuscule regions – such as a cluster of cells – with an error of about 0.1 degrees Celsius. The system is very flexible and could be re-imagined for a variety of purposes. The device can help in oncology research. The study was presented at the 2018 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits on June 21.
192. Gautam Kanjilal (68), who was one of the pioneers in rock climbing in India and veteran mountaineer, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on June 22, 2018. An engineer by profession and a member of city-based mountaineering club Himalayan Association, Kanjilal began his outward bound activities way back in 1970 when he attended a rock climbing course at Susunia Hills. Subsequently he underwent training at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute in Darjeeling and took part in the expedition to hitherto unclimbed Sudarshan in 1978. He also acted as an instructor and course commandant in various rock climbing and adventure courses till a few years back. A keen rock climber, Kanjilal explored quite a few rock routes in the hills of Bankura and Purulia districts and one of them is named after him ( Kanjimal ) which he pioneered along with three other rock climbers during late 1970s.
193. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has launched the Rs 870-crore pilot project of Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) where farmers can generate electricity using solar energy and sell the surplus to the electric grid. The SKY Yojana is for farmers who are existing consumers of power companies. As per the new scheme, a farmer signing up for it will have to spend only 5 % amount of the total expenditure for installing the solar project (including solar panels and inverters). The central and state governments will bear 60% of share of total cost of the project and 35% share will be repaid by farmers in 7 years period. In it, farmer can also earn by selling the generated power. Farmers under SKY feeder will get 12 hours power in daylight without low voltage problem. The SKY Yojana is expected to cover, through solar power generation, 12,400 farmers in 33 districts through 137 feeders.
194. Kim Jong-pil (92), the founder of South Korea’s spy agency, has passed away in Seoul, South Korea on June 23, 2018. The spy agency is widely-known as the “perennial No. 2 man” in modern Korean politics. He also served as prime minister twice from 1971–1975 and from 1998–2000. A retired lieutenant colonel, Kim was a key member of a 1961 coup that put army, Maj. Gen. Park Chung-hee in power until his 1979 assassination. After Park seized power, Kim created and headed the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, a predecessor of the current National Intelligence Service.
195. Indian swimmer Sandeep Sejwal clinched the gold medal in men’s 50 meter breaststroke event at the Singapore National Swimming Championships in Singapore on June 23, 2018. Besides, Virdhawal Khade grabbed a creditable silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle event with a timing of 22.68 seconds. Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Arvind Mani also found a spot on the podium, grabbing the bronze in the men’s 50m backstroke event. Sandeep broke the Singapore meet record with a timing of 27:59 seconds to win the gold. He bettered his own time of 27.68 seconds in the semi-final by 0.09 seconds.
196. The 22nd edition of Sindhu Darshan Festival (SDF) has started on the bank of Indus River in Leh district of Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on June 24, 2018. The 3-day annual fest is organised by Sindhu Darshan Yatra Samiti and Ladakh Phandey Tsogspa (Leh). It will be inaugurated by RSS General Secretary Bhaiya Ji Joshi. The programme is focused at national integration, communal harmony and national pride. It will be marked by holy dip in the Indus River, hosting of national flag and cultural programme of different areas of the country. The festival was started by the former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in 1997. The fest is a celebration of River Sindhu, also known as the Indus. The main reason behind the celebration of the festival is to endorse the Indus River as an icon of the communal harmony and unity of India.
197. The International Widows’ Day (IWD) is observed every year on June 23 to give special recognition to the situation of widows of all ages and across regions and cultures. The day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows – too long invisible, uncounted and ignored. Empowering widows through access to adequate healthcare, education, decent work, full participation in decision-making and public life, and lives free of violence and abuse, would give them a chance to build a secure life after bereavement. Importantly, creating opportunities for widows can also help to protect their children and avoid the cycle of inter-generational poverty and deprivation.
198. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has been conferred with the ‘Chief Minister of the Year’ award for her remarkable work in e-governance. The award was given at the 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 held in New Delhi.
199. On June 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mohanpura Irrigation Project in Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh. The Rs 3,866-crore project includes a dam and a canal system. This project will facilitate irrigation of agricultural land in Rajgarh district. It will also provide drinking water to villages in the area. It will benefit 727 villages in the state and would irrigate 1.25 lakh hectares of land.
200. B Sujatha Devi (72), the well-known poetess, environmental activist and travel writer, has passed away in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on June 23, 2018. Sujatha Devi had served as English professor in various government colleges in the state, including the Maharaja’s college in Kochi. She had won the Kerala Sahithya Academy award for the best travelogue for her work ‘Kaadinte Thaalam Thedi’. She wrote poems under the pseudonym Devi. Her poems have been collected under the title ‘Mrnmayi’. Daughter of freedom fighter Bodheswaran and Prof. Karthyayini Amma, she had played a leading role in the anti-Silent Valley Project struggle in the late 1970s and was active subsequently too in several environmental battles in the State and elsewhere.
201. “Tumhari Sulu”, a movie about a housewife who lands a job as a radio jockey, won the Best Picture Award at the International Indian Film Academy Awards 2018 in Bangkok. Irfan Khan was adjudged the Best Actor for his role of a father trying to get his child admitted in a posh English medium school in Delhi in the film “Hindi Medium”. The Best Director trophy was won by Saket Chowdhary for his film “Hindi Medium”. Sridevi was posthumously awarded the Best Female Actor for “Mom”. Arijit Singh was announced as the Best Playback Singer (Male) for the song “Hawayein” from “Jab Harry Met Sejal”, while Meghna Mishra won the Best Playback Singer (Female) Award for the track “Main Kaun Hoon” from “Secret Superstar”.
202. The 4th National Review and Consultation on Swachh Iconic Places has started in Hyderabad on June 25, 2018 to review the progress relating to maintenance and cleanliness of Iconic Places. The two-day consultation and review was inaugurated by Akshay Rout, the Director General Special projects under the Ministry of Drinking Water Supply. Here, the list of historic and heritage monuments and structures for the third phase of the Swachh Iconic Places initiative announced. It includes the Hazardwari Palace (Murshidabad, West Bengal), VidurKuti (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh), Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh), Sabarimala Temple (Kerala), Mana village (Chamoli, Uttarakhand), Sri Raghavendra Swamy Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh), etc. The purpose behind Swachh Iconic Places project is to achieve inter-ministerial efforts and coordination higher level of sanitation at the identified places.
203. In Archery, Deepika Kumari clinched a gold medal in the women’s recurve event at stage three of World Cup in Salt Lake City of US on June 25, 2018. She defeated Michelle Kroppen of Germany 7-3. With the win, the four-time World Cup final silver medalist has automatically qualified for the Archery World Cup Final to be held in Samsun of Turkey later this year. Beside her, Abhishek Verma secured an individual silver and a mixed team bronze medal in compound events. In the medal standings, India finished fourth behind US, Colombia and Chinese Taipei with a gold, silver and bronze each in the penultimate stage of the World Cup. India’s Asian Games-bound archery squad will now head to Berlin to take part in fourth stage of World Cup from 16th to 22nd of next month.
204. On 25th June 2018, the anti-doping sports conference titled Clean Sport=Fair Outcome?’ was held at Oslo in Norway to address the issue of doping menace. The conference is a joint initiative of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), Anti-Doping Norway and FairSport to propose a substantial agenda for action, enabling it to have an impact on the ongoing anti-doping reforms and policy framework. The conference will not only address various governance issues in sports but also celebrate role models by announcing the winner of the 2018 Ethics in Sports Award.The Anti-Doping in Sports conference is a continuation of WFEB’s conference series on Ethics in Sports’. Earlier editions were held at the FIFA headquarters (2014, 2016) and at the stadium of Germany’s soccer club, Union Berlin (2015).
205. Dharampal, the Sarpanch of Godikan village panchayat in Haryana, has passed a ‘No Toilet No Bride’ resolution to ensure the safety and well-being of its womenfolk. The move is aimed at ensuring the security of their daughters in addition to hygiene. With this move, the Godikan panchayat has become the first panchayat in the country to marry off girls only to families who have a toilet in their house. The village apparently was inspired by the super hit Hindi movie starring Akshay Kumar – ‘Toilet-Ek Prem Katha’. Godikan panchayat has already been declared an Outdoor Defecation Free (ODF) panchayat.
206. Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal of setting up of a committee to lay down standards for metro rail systems in the country. The committee will be headed by E Sreedharan, who is also known as the ‘Metro Man’. The aim of this move is to cut costs in the construction and operation of metro rail systems in the country and bring them under the Make in India umbrella. Besides recommending standardisation norms for various components, the Sreedharan committee will also suggest ways to indigenize metro components that are currently imported. The standards, once finalised by the committee, will be mandatory for all metro projects coming up with central assistance. Elattuvalapil Sreedharan is a retired Indian Engineering Service (IES) officer who has served as the managing director of Delhi Metro from 1995 to 2012. Currently, metro projects with a total length of 370km are operational in eight cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi and Mumbai.
207. On June 24, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a $200 million equity investment into the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India and the first tranche of $100 million has already been approved by the bank’s Board. The second tranche of $100 million will be invested by AIIB on call. This was announced by AIIB before its 3rd annual meeting in Mumbai on June 25 and 26. This is the first time that AIIB is holding its meeting in India. The AIIB mega event will see the participation of 86 member countries. The theme for 2018 meeting is “Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration” that will see leaders from varied organizations and levels of government to share ideas and experiences for creating a sustainable future through sound infrastructure investment.
208. The naval forces of India and Bangladesh will conduct the joint patrol exercise “Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)” in the Bay of Bengal from June 27. The first edition of 3-day naval exercise will be inaugurated by Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the naval staff (CNS) of India, who is visiting Bangladesh from June 24. The purpose of the Lanba’s visit is to consolidate bilateral defence relations between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation. In the CORPAT exercise, four maritime patrol aircraft, two from the Bangladesh Navy and two from the Indian navy, and four frigates, two from the Bangladesh Navy (BNS Abu Bakar and BNS Dhaleswari) and two from the Indian navy (INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt) will participate.
209. The Punjab government has launched a new scheme ‘Paani Bachao, Paise Kamao’ to check depletion of underground water. Under this scheme, farmers will get monetary benefit for less use of tube well. The purpose of the scheme was to ensure that farmers use the power with restraint to pump out water from earth. They said every detail regarding the usage of power and the money transferred into account of farmer would be given to him on phone. Initially farmers for Bambiwal, Khusropur, Kukar Pind, Aladinpur and Kot Khurd village of Bambiwal feeder and Malsian, Dabri, Lasuri, Nawajipur, Mullewal Khaira and Mulewal Gharnian under Nawajipur feeder were entitled for this scheme.
210. The Getalsud Dam is an artificial reservoir situated at Ormanjhi in Ranchi, Jharkhand. It was constructed across the Subarnarekha River and was opened in 1971. It is a popular picnic spot for the residents of Ranchi and Ramgarh District. The dam provides a small-scale fishing opportunity to the local people of Rukka. The main purpose of the dam is to fulfill the drinking water requirements of the residents of Ranchi. Apart from that, it is also used for industrial purposes and generating electricity.
211. The 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 championship will be held in the West Indies from November 9 to 24. This is the first standalone ICC women’s event in the shortest format of the game. India will begin their campaign against New Zealand on the opening day. The 10-team tournament, featuring three-time champions Australia and reigning winners England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and defending champions the West Indies, plus two qualifiers, will be played across three venues in the Caribbean. The finalists of the World T20 Qualifier in the Netherlands from July 7 to 14 will add to the line-up of the November tournament. The teams participating in the Qualifying event are Bangladesh, Ireland, the Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Thailand, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates.
212. The 58th National Interstate Senior Athletics Championships 2018 has started in Guwahati, Assam on June 26. The event was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal. Over 800 players are taking part in the 4-day event. The Indian athletics team for the upcoming Asian Games 2018 to be held at Jakarta will be selected from this meet. Competitions will be held in a total of 42 categories, 21 in men and 21 in women.
213. Pallavi Durua, who belongs to Odisha’s Koraput district, has been crowned as the India’s first “Tribal Queen” at the Adi Rani Kalinga Tribal Queen competition held at Utkal Mandap on June 26, 2018. Panchami Majhi of Titlagarh and Rashmirekha Hansdah of Mayurbhanj were declared as the first and second runners-up of the beauty pageant respectively. The trio will now feature in a short movie on tribal culture, to be produced by a Mumbai-based producer. Besides that, special awards were also given in seven different categories including tribal attire, photogenic face, best skin, best personality, the best presentation of ornaments, the best presentation of own culture and best in talent. The jury included a pool of guests from national and state-level, headed by Padma Shri Tulasi Munda, who is also the ambassador of the event. The prime objective of the event was to promote tribal art and culture.
214. Bollywood Actress Kalki Koechlin has been conferred with the French distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) for her contribution in enhancing Indo-French ties in cinema on June 22, 2018. The award was presented by the Ambassador of France to India, Alexandre Ziegler. The honour comes in recognition of an actor, who has interpreted striking roles in the Indian film industry, experimented with various forms of films as well as shown an abiding commitment to important social issues. Kalki, who has French roots, has done films such as Dev.D, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Shanghai and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
215. Lewis Hamilton, a British racing driver who races in Formula One for Mercedes AMG Petronas, has won the 2018 Formula One French Grand Prix tournament at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France on June 24.
216. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in collaboration with Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and UNESCO, is organising training workshop on cybercrime targeting children in New Delhi on June 26, 2018. The purpose of a two-day workshop is to provide professional training to the investigators designated to tackle crime against children. Police investigators from all states are participating in the workshop. Considering the rising menace of cyber crimes targeting children, NCPCR has opened-up POCSO e-box earlier to handle children specific cybercrime viz. cyber bullying, cyber stalking, morphing of images and child pornography. Complaints can be filed by via the e-box button at the Commission’s website, ncpcr.gov.in or emailing pocsoebox-ncpcr@gov.
217. The UN Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day is observed every year on June 27 to recognize the importance of MSME in achieving sustainable development goals and in promoting innovation, creativity and sustainable work for all. On this day, in 2018, the Government of India (GoI) will organize a National Conclave (Udyam Sangam) to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of the MSME ecosystem and for promoting innovation and knowledge sharing on MSME related issues.
218. India has extended a $100 million line of credit to Seychelles to allow it to build its defense capabilities and purchase weapons from India. The two nations also signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), including in the area of infrastructure development in Seychelles, cyber security and white-shipping arrangement that would enable the two countries to exchange data regarding identity and movement of non-military commercial vessels. As promised by PM Modi during his visit there in 2015, India also gifted the 2nd Dornier aircraft to Seychelles ahead of its National Day on June 29, 2018. Both the nations agreed to work together on the Assumption Island project based on each other’s interests. It comes with a good note for India because the deal for an Indian military base in the Island was recently declared as ‘dead’ by Seychelles President Danny Faure.
219. The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed every year on June 26 to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society. The theme for 2018 is: “Listen First – Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe”. It is an initiative to increase support for prevention of drug use that is based on science and is thus an effective investment in the well-being of children and youth, their families and their communities. It is marked to raise awareness against drug abuse and illegal drug trade. According to the UNODC, nearly 200 million people are using illicit drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, opiates and sedative hypnotics worldwide.
220. The Tipaimukh Dam is a proposed embankment dam on the river Barak in Manipur, which was first commissioned in 1983. The purpose of the dam is flood control and hydroelectric power generation. It has been subject to repeated delays as the project developed, as there has been controversy between India and Bangladesh over water rights, in addition to questions of environmental effects of the huge project, as well as the need to relocate Meitei people to make way for a vast reservoir. In 2013, both the governments announced up to a 2-year delay, to allow Bangladesh to complete additional environmental studies.
221. The 26th edition of the world’s largest multilateral naval exercise ‘Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC-2018)’ has started on June 27 off Hawaii in the Western Pacific Ocean. The 2-month long biennial exercise is likely to be attended by navies of 26 countries including India. Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri has already reached the Pearl Harbour in Hawaii to participate in the RIMPAC exercise. The Indian Navy in statement said INS Sahyadri, commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, is a state-of-the-art indigenously built guided missile stealth frigate which is a part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command. India’s participation in the exercise provides a platform for increased interoperability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
222. Anant Barua, who is at present executive director in the market regulator, has been appointed as a Whole-time Member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). The post of WTM fell vacant after S Raman retired. Barua has been appointed to the post for 3 years on the pay as admissible to additional secretary to the central government or a consolidated salary of Rs 4 lakh per month. Currently, the SEBI board consists of Ajay Tyagi (Chairman); G Mahalingam and Madhabi Puri Buch (both Whole-time members); besides Subhash Chandra Garg, Injeti Srinivas, NS Vishwanathan and Arun P Sathe as part-time members. Besides the Chairman, SEBI can have three Whole-time Members.
223. The 2018 World Food Prize will be awarded to two men who have dedicated their careers to improving the availability of nutritious food for pregnant women and children in an effort to reduce the effects of malnutrition in developing countries. These are Dr. Lawrence Haddad and Dr. David Nabarro. Both will split the $250,000 award that goes with the prize. The laureates will be recognized at a ceremony in the Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines on Oct 18, 2018. Dr. Haddad is a British economist and food policy researcher, whereas Dr. Nabarro has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) on health and hunger issues.
224. The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched report titled ‘Women in Prisons’ which aims to build an understanding of the various entitlements of women in prisons, the various issues faced by them and possible methods for resolution of the same. The report contains a comprehensive list of 134 recommendations for improving the lives of women under incarceration, addressing a wide range of issues pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth in prison, mental health, legal aid, reintegration in society and their care giving responsibilities among others. The report proposes that bail should be granted to those under-trial women who have spent one-third of their maximum possible sentence in detention, by making necessary changes in Section 436A of the CrPC which provides for release after half of the maximum sentence has been served.
225. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has restricted the manufacture of Oxytocin formulations for domestic use to public sector only from 1st July 2018. It has also banned the import of Oxytocin and its formulations. Only Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL), a public sector company, would be manufacturing this drug for domestic use from 1st July 2018. The Oxytocin formulations meant for domestic consumption will be supplied by the manufacturer, i.e. KAPL, to the registered hospitals and clinics in public and private sector directly. Oxytocin in any form or name will not be allowed to be sold through retail Chemist. Oxytocin is a naturally-occurring hormone that causes uterine contractions during labour and helps new mothers lactate. But, its misuse is widespread in the dairy industry, where livestock are injected with oxytocin to make them release milk at a time convenient to farmers. The hormone is also used to increase the size of vegetables and fruits such as pumpkins, watermelons, brinjals, gourds and cucumbers.
226. The “Statistics Day” is celebrated every year on June 29 at the National level in India to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. The day also acknowledges the notable contribution of Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning. The 2018 theme is “Quality Assurance in Official Statistics”, which is chosen to underscore the importance of compliance with essential parameters of quality in statistical systems and products.
227. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is organizing a two-day National Seminar on “Conservation of Particularly Vulnerable Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar Islands” in New Delhi from June 27, 2018. The purpose of the seminar is to decide how to preserve the habitat and culture of these tribal groups. This Seminar is being organized in collaboration with Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) and its theme is ‘The Way Forward’. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to the most primitive tribal groups: Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompens. Some of these tribal groups are on the verge of extinction. It is important to understand the challenges they face and to preserve them. With these objectives in view, the NCST, a Constitutional body set up under Article 338(A) of the Constitution to protect the interests of Scheduled Tribes, is organizing for the first time a two-day Seminar.
228. Screenwriter Supriya Kelkar has authored the book “Ahimsa”, which will be published in India in August 2018. Her debut novel will sheds light on the Indian freedom movement, which is inspired by her great-grandmother’s experience working with Mahatma Gandhi. In 1942, after Gandhi ji asked one member of each family to join the non-violent freedom movement, 10-year-old Anjali was devastated to think that her father will risk his life for the country. But he’s not the one joining. Anjali’s mother was. As the family got more and more involved in the cause, Anjali gives up her privileges and confronts her prejudices to ensure her little contribution to the movement is complete. “Ahimsa”, published by Scholastic India, is essentially about female empowerment and overcoming one’s internal struggles and giving up one’s biases.
229. The Gangrel Dam is built across the Mahanadi River in Dhamtari district of Chhattisgarh. It is also known as the R.S. Sagar Dam and is the longest dam in Chhattisgarh. This dam supplies year round irrigation, allowing farmers to harvest two crops per year. The dam also supplies 10 MW of hydro-electric power capacity.
230. Donald Hall, the award-winning American poet and writer, has passed away in New Hampshire, United States on June 23, 2018. Hall began writing when he was just 12 years old. Over the course of a career that spanned more than seven decades, he wrote more than 40 books, half of which were works of poetry. He was the United States Poet Laureate for 2007-08. He received the Robert Frost Medal in 1991 and the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honour for artists, in 2010.
231. According to data on language released by the Union government as part of Census 2011, Hindi is the most spoken language in India. As per data, the percentage of Indian population with Hindi as their mother tongue has risen to 43.63% from 41.03% in 2001. Bengali has taken the second spot, followed by Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati. Urdu is the 7th most spoken language in India, while Sanskrit was the least spoken of the country’s 22 scheduled languages. Out of unscheduled languages, the most spoken language was Bhili or Bhilodi, native to Rajasthan with 1.04 crore speakers and is followed by Gondi with 29 lakh speakers. According to Census authorities, mother tongue is defined as the language spoken in childhood by the person’s mother to the person or, where the mother has died in the person’s infancy, the language mainly spoken in the person’s household during childhood.
232. Yousaf Saleem, who belongs to Lahore, has been sworn-in as the first-ever visually impaired judge of Pakistan. He was among 21 judges who took the oath to be sworn in as a civil judges on June 26, 2018. Yousaf is the son of a charted accountant and is visually impaired by birth. He has four sisters and two of them are also visually impaired. His sister Saima Saleem became first visually impaired civil servant in 2007 and is currently serving with Prime Minister Secretariat while the other sister is a university lecturer.
233. Jinson Johnson, representing Kerala, has broken the legendary Sriram Singh’s four-decade-old 800m National record at the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships in Guwahati on June 27, 2018. He clocked one minute and 45.65 seconds to clinch the gold in men’s 800m title and to better the earlier record of 1:45.77 in the name of Sriram set during the 1976 Olympic Games. He also booked a ticket for the Asian Games as the qualification mark is 1:47.50.
234. The Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programme for port-led-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi. The award recognizes the programmes’s contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation and it’s role in propelling fast-track growth and infrastructure development. The Sagarmala Programme also received the ‘Order of Merit’ at the Summit. The Skoch Awards recognize leadership and excellence in accelerating socio-economic changes. These awards have become a benchmark of best practices in India in the fields of governance, infrastructure, finance, banking, technology, corporate citizenship, economics and inclusive growth.
235. For screening cervical cancer, a new Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) technique — Direct to Slide — has launched in Tamil Nadu. The LBC technique would help in detecting cervical cancer during the pre-cancerous stages. In LBC, a soft brush is used to touch the cervix and take cells from the neck of the uterus. This is transferred into a bottle containing a preservative and sent for laboratory analysis. The cell contents are processed on a slide. In the conventional method, the total number of cells collected may not get transferred onto the slide, while in LBC, whatever sample is taken gets transferred onto the slide.
236. In a bid to boost environmental protection around the world, India will increase its grant from $12 million to $15 million to the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s new four-year investment cycle, known as GEF-7. It was announced by India’s representative to GEF Council Aparna Subramani, during a meeting of the GEF Council in Da Nang, Vietnam. The meeting was part of a 4-day-long conference scheduled to conclude on June 28. Apart from her home country, Subramani also represents Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the GEF Council. India, which is both a donor and a recipient of GEF, is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. The GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, which is a multilateral financial mechanism to provide grants for environmental projects.
237. The Maharashtra government has announced a new scheme called ‘Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana’, wherein farmers families where girl children are born, will be given saplings for plantation. The purpose of the scheme is to empower women and promoting tree plantation. The farmer family blessed with a girl child between April 1 and March 31 can make an application with the Gram Panchayat after which they will get 10 saplings free of cost from the forest department. The saplings will be of different varieties, including teakwood, mango, jackfruit, black plum and tamarind. The scheme will be applicable for maximum two girls. The beneficiaries will also be helped under the horticulture scheme. It is expected that at least two lakh farmers families will benefit from the scheme every year.
238. The Maharashtra government has constituted a committee to study issues related to the development of a 1,000-MW floating solar power plant at Ujani dam in Solapur district. The committee will be headed by Satish Chavan, the Director (Commercial) of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL). Beside this, the committee will also study the environmental impact of the project and monitor the month-wise water level of the dam. Ujani dam is an earthfill cum Masonry gravity dam located near Ujjani village of Madha Taluk in Solapur district. The dam is on the Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River, and has a total capacity of 110 TMC.
239. To mark the 500th death anniversary of mystic poet and saint Kabir Das, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the two-day ‘Kabir Mahotsav’ at Maghar in Sant Kabir Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh on June 28, 2018. The festival, organised by the Union Culture Ministry, will feature folk music, dance performances and musical theatre in which artistes from all over the country will participate. Mr Modi also visited the Sant Kabir cave and unveils a plaque to mark the laying of foundation stone of the Kabir Academy, which will highlight the great saint’s teachings and philosophy.
240. The Raja Lakhamagouda dam is situated at Hidkal village in Hukkeri Taluk of Belagavi district in North Karnataka. It is build across the Ghataprabha River in the Krishna River basin. The dam with the height of 62.48 m and 10 Vertical Crest Gates, impounds a large reservoir with a gross surface area of 63.38 Sq Km, and storage capacity of 51.16 Tmcft. The dam is named after Raja Lakhamagouda Sardesai, philanthropist and Zamindar of Vantamuri.
241. The NITI Aayog released the First Delta Ranking (incremental progress) of the Aspirational Districts Programme in New Delhi on June 29, 2018. The ranking measured the incremental progress made by districts between 31st of March and 31st of May, 2018. The Dahod district of Gujarat with 19.8 points ranked first in the Delta ranking, while West Sikkim district in Sikkim stood second with 18.9 points. The districts have been ranked in a transparent basis on parameters across Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure through 49 key performance indicators. The purpose of this ranking is to spur a sense of competition among the dynamic teams in the districts. The knowledge partners of NITI Aayog – Tata Trusts, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (ID Insights) – are expected to provide data on 13 survey indicators and have validated values for 29 data-points. The next ranking will take into account these inputs and will be released soon thereafter.
242. The Madhya Pradesh government has been awarded for reducing maternal mortality under Prime Minister’s Safe Motherhood Campaign. The award ceremony was held in New Delhi on June 29, 2018. As per the report of the Registrar General of India, Madhya Pradesh has been registered an unprecedented 48-digit decline in maternal deaths from 2014 to 2016. The maternal mortality rate was 221 in the year 2011-13, which has now dropped down further to just 173. There has been a significant decline of 22% in the last 3 years in the state. The results of the various awareness programmes like institutional delivery, ANM, Anganwadi workers, knock-out campaigns etc. have now started showing fruitful result. The State government official claimed that this decline will be more noticeable in the coming years.
243. Forward Rani Rampal has been named as the captain of India’s 18-member squad for the prestigious 2018 women’s hockey World Cup tournament, which is slated to begin in London on July 21. Indian team has been placed in Pool B alongside hosts and world no.2 England, world no.7 USA and world no.16 Ireland. India’s defence will consist of Sunita Lakra, Deep Grace Ekka, Deepika, drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur and Reena Khokhar. In the midfield, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz, Monika, Neha Goyal, Navjot Kaur and Nikki Pradhan will hold fort.
244. India has been ranked 35th in the 2018 Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI), according to a report by real estate advisory firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL). The ranking is expected to improve further in the GRETI 2020 survey, on the back of several government initiatives such as Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA), GST and Benami Transactions Act. In it, India’s real estate market is currently placed in the ‘semi-transparent’ zone. According to the survey, UK is at the top position followed by Australia and the US. France, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland and Sweden are in top 10 in the list of 100 countries. Sri Lanka is at the 66th position and Pakistan at 75th among south Asian countries. Venezuela is the least transparent market with 100th rank. The index measures transparency based on factors such as data availability, authenticity and accuracy; governance of public agencies as well as stakeholders of the realty sector; transaction processes and costs associated with those; and the regulatory and legal environment.
245. The 12th National Statistics Day (NSD-2018) is celebrated on June 29 at the National level in India with theme “Quality Assurance in Official Statistics” to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation, and to acknowledge the contribution of Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis. Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) jointly celebrated 12th Statistics Day and the closing ceremony of the 125th Birth Anniversary of Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis on 29th June 2018 at Kolkata. On the occasion, Vice President of India released a commemorative coin of Rs 125 and circulation coin of Rs 5 denomination as a mark of respect to Prof. Mahalanobis. The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Kolkata, set up by Prof. Mahalanobis in 1931, and was declared an autonomous “Institute of National Importance” through an act of Parliament in 1959.
246. On June 29, Suresh Prabhu, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, launched a mobile application “ReUnite” in New Delhi to track and trace missing and abandoned children in India. The app is multiuser where parents and citizens can upload pictures of children, and provide detailed description like name, birth mark, address, report to the police station, search and identify missing kids. The photographs will not be saved in the mobile phone’s physical memory. Amazon Rekognition, web facial recognition service, is being used to identify missing kids. The app is available for both Android and iOS.
247. According to Mercer’s 24th annual Cost of Living Survey 2018, Mumbai (55) is India’s most expensive city, followed by New Delhi (103) and Chennai (144). Kolkata (182) and Bengaluru (170) are the least expensive Indian cities ranked. As per survey, the factors like instability of housing markets, low inflation, and fluctuating prices for goods and services are impacting the cost of doing business in various cities around the world. This year, Hong Kong is emerged as the most expensive city for expatriates both in Asia and globally as a consequence of Luanda’s drop in the ranking due in part to the downward trend in the city’s housing market. Hong Kong is followed by Tokyo (2), Singapore (4), Seoul (5), Shanghai (7), and Beijing (9).
248. The United Nations’ (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is observed every year on June 26 to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world. The day is an opportunity to call on all stakeholders including UN Member States, civil society and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.
249. The book “Vedvigyan Alok” (Maharishi Aitareya Mahidas Praneet – Aitareya Brahmina ki Vaigyanik Vyakhya) has been authored by Acharya Agnivarat Naishthik. It is recently received by M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice President of India. The book is the scriptural verse in Vedas’ prose. The Brahman textbooks are placed second in order of preference of Vedic literature. These texts were composed only by the Brahmin community; hence their names are called “Brahmins”. Their language is Vedic Sanskrit which has been considered extremely complicated. All these are written according to the Vedas that means all the four Vedas get different Brahmins.
250. The Raneh Falls is a natural water fall located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Ken River. It is situated about 20 km away from world famous heritage site Khajuraho. The waterfall is also close to Panna Tiger Reserve and Ken crocodile sanctuary. It was awarded the Best Holiday Award for 2017.Tourists from all over the country and abroad come here every year to enjoy the natural beauty. The Ken River here runs through a narrow gorge of igneous rocks rich in Granite and Dolomite. The Pandav Falls in Panna National Park is also located nearby.
251. United Nations has designated June 27 as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day through its resolution 71/279. The first such day was observed in 2017 while 2nd UN Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day has been celebrated on June 27, 2018.
252. On occasion of 2nd UN Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, 2018, President of India Ram Nath Kovind launched the Solar Charkha Mission covering artisans in 50 identified clusters. The mission will provide a subsidy of Rs 550 crore in the initial two years for 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans. Objective is to link 5 crore women to this initiative. The mission will generate employment in rural areas and contribute to the green economy.
253. Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana is a new scheme of Maharashtra government in which farmers families where girl children are born, will be given saplings for plantation. The saplings will be of different varieties, including teakwood, mango, jackfruit, black plum and tamarind. The scheme will be applicable for maximum two girls. Income from these trees will safeguard future of gril child.
254. Currently, Maharashtra has total five Unesco World Heritage Sites and this number is highest among all states and UTs in India. The sites include Ajanta Caves, Ellora Caves, Elephanta Caves, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco buildings of South Mumbai. The last one was included on 30 June, 2018.
255. In June 2018, Odisha government entered into a collaboration with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), an intergovernmental body under United Nations. RIMES has 48 member nations among Asia Pacific and Africa Region and is aimed at automating risk management, advisory generation and dissemination. This body had evolved in the aftermath of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami due to efforts of African and Asian Countries.
256. Gujarat’s Dahod district topped the first Delta ranking released today by NITI Aayog that captures incremental improvements of Aspirational districts on health, education and other development parameters. Transformation of Aspirational District’s programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for quickly and effectively transforming some of the most underdeveloped districts of the country. In the recent list, Dahod district of Gujarat improved 19.8 points to rank first. West Sikkim district in Sikkim stood second with 18.9 points.
257. ‘IPledgefor9′ Achievers Awards were given recently to individuals and teams of doctors from the private sector and States for their exemplary services, outstanding support of institutions and commitment from support partners in achieving PMSMA’s objectives of safe motherhood to every woman in the country. These awards were established to celebrate individual and team achievements and acknowledge voluntary contributions for PMSMA in states and districts across India.
258. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu has launched a mobile application called ReUnite; helps to track and trace missing and abandoned children in India. It also uses Amazon Rekognition, web facial recognition service to identify missing kids.
259. The theme selected for the Statistics Day this year is ‘‘Quality Assurance in Official Statistics’ for focused discussions and efforts throughout the year, aimed at bringing about improvements in the selected area.
260. India has moved up one place from 36 in 2016 to 35th spot in 2018 on JLL’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) aided by improvement in market fundamentals, policy reforms, and liberalization of FDI. The report covers 100 markets and is based on 186 indicators divided into six areas –performance measurement, market fundamentals, governance of listed vehicles, regulatory & legal frameworks, transaction process and environmental sustainability.
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