NATIONAL:

Govt initiates proposal to establish first National Police University.

• Centre today said it has initiated a proposal to establish the first National Police University in the country.

It will be dedicated to imparting education in policing and internal security.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha the Minister of State for Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy said the university will conduct undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate academic programmes in specialized subjects.

He said Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand have set up dedicated universities for conducting courses in police services and internal security.

Prasar Bharati signs MoU with IIT Kanpur for research collaboration in newly emerging technologies.

• Prasar Bharati and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for research collaboration in newly emerging technologies and broadcasting-related areas in New Delhi.

• The move is likely to boost research activities in the broadcasting field. Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Director, IIT Kanpur Abhay Karandikar were present at this juncture.

• Direct to mobile broadcasting, Convergence of 5G, Artificial Intelligence Incubation Centre by Prasar Bharati and student internship for students of IIT, Kanpur at Prasar Bharati are among the main areas in the research collaboration.

• Speaking on the occasion, Mr Vempati said, this engagement with IIT, Kanpur on Research and Development and innovation are very important as it is the onus of the largest public broadcaster to actively look to the future, develop and shape the future with emerging technologies.

The MoU will be effective from today and remain in force for a period of five years. The institutes may extend the term in writing through mutual agreement.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’S:

Homegrown VNL to build digital villages in Vietnam.

• VNL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam, to provide solutions for advancing rural connectivity by creating Digital Villages in Vietnam’s underserved areas,” the Gurugram-based company in a statement said.

• The development comes on the back of India’s efforts to provide digital connectivity in CLMV countries namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The Indian companies are eying the Southeast Asia region for their business expansion with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government sharing strategic ties for developmental initiatives with the countries.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Oriental Bank of Commerce bank cuts MCLR rate upto 10 bps.

• Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has reduced the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by up to 10 basis points (bps) for various tenors. It is effective from 11 July 2019. MCLR for overnight has been reduced to 8.20% from 8.30% and one-month loan tenor has been reduced by 10 bps from 8.35% to 8.25%.

Similarly, MCLR has been decreased by 5 bps for:

1) three-month loan to 8.45%

2) six-month loan to 8.55%

3) one-year tenor loans to 8.65%.

Previosly, the MCLR for three-month, six-month and one-year tenor loans were at 8.50% , 8.60% and 8.70%, respectively.

RBI's announcement:

The move comes after the announcement of RBI's Governor Shaktikanta Das who said that RBI expects faster transmission of the three successive repo rate cuts totalling 75 basis points.

In June the RBI announced 25 bps repo rate cut in the Monetary Policy review. It is expected to reduce still, in the next meeting of the monetary policy committee which is scheduled for 5-9 August.

Other banks reduces MCLR:

The State Bank of India had lowered its MCLR by 5 basis points across all tenors on 9 July 2019.

In June RBI announced rate cut in Monetary Policy review. After the announcement, Bank of Maharashtra, Corporation Bank and IDBI Bank had reduced their MCLR by 5-10 bps in the month of May 2019.

MCLR:

MCLR is abbreviated as Marginal Cost of funds based Lending Rate

MCLR refers to the minimum interest rate of a bank below which it cannot lend, except in some cases allowed by the RBI. MCLR is the reference rate or an internal benchmark set by and for the bank.

Oriental Bank of Commerce:

Founded on: 19 February 1943

Headquarters: Gurugram, India

MD & CEO: Mukesh Kumar Jain

Total assets: ₹237,541.54 crore

The Bank has around 2700 branches and 2621 ATMs across India.  It is one of the promising public sector banks (PSBs) in India.

DAYS:

World Population Day 11 July.

• World Population Day, which seeks to focus attention on the urgency and importance of population issues, was established by the then-Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989, an outgrowth of the interest generated by the Day of Five Billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

• This year's World Population Day calls for global attention to the unfinished business of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Twenty-five years have passed since that landmark conference, where 179 governments recognized that reproductive health and gender equality are essential for achieving sustainable development.

• In November, UNFPA, together with the governments of Kenya and Denmark, will be convening a high-level conference in Nairobi to accelerate efforts to achieve these unmet goals. On World Population Day, advocates from around the world are calling on leaders, policymakers, grassroots organizers, institutions and others to help make reproductive health and rights a reality for all.

Why Do We Mark International Days?

• International days are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the UN has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool.

AWARDS:

Smith Nephew's NAVIO Honored at the Economic Times Best Healthcare Brands 2019.

• NAVIO, a robotics-assisted surgery system from Smith & Nephew, a Global medical technology provider, has recently been felicitated at the prestigious 'The Economic Times Best Healthcare Brands 2019' at a glittering ceremony held in the capital of India recently. This coveted and one of the most prestigious awards in India honors brands which have shown robust growth by high customer satisfaction in the healthcare sector. The recognition was based of an extensive research carried out by the Economic Times, the business publication of the Times of India Group.

• NAVIO surgical system has been designed to aid Indian surgeons with implant alignment, ligament balancing and bone preparations which are the key factors for patient satisfaction. While conventional knee replacement surgery is highly successful, incidences of improperly installed replacement parts are not uncommon. To improve outcomes, Indian surgeons are now using the NAVIO robotic-assisted total knee replacement surgery and it has shown to be extremely effective for partial and total knee replacement surgery and resulting in improved functional outcomes for the patient. NAVIO enables the surgeon to fix only the damaged part of the knee to absolute perfection, saving all the other normal structures of the joint.

SPORTS:

Commonwealth C'ships: Rakhi Halder, Davinder Kaur win gold medals on second day.

• Rakhi Halder and Davinder Kaur won a gold medal each in the senior women's section as Indian weightlifters continued their impressive show on the second day of the Commonwealth Championships in Apia Samoa today.

India also won five other gold medals in the junior and youth sections.

The Commonwealth Championships are being held simultaneously together for the youth, junior and senior categories.

Kaur lifted a total of 184kg  to win the women's 59kg gold while Halder clinched the yellow metal with a combined effort of 214kg  in the  64kg category.

On the first day yesterday, India had clinched 8 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals. Former world champion Mirabai Chanu had clinched the gold in women's 49kg with a total lift of 191kg.

NATIONAL:

Shailesh Sadashiv Tinaikar resumed his office as the Force Commander of UNMISS

• Lieutenant General Shailesh Sadashiv Tinaikar has been newly appointed as the Force Commander of the UN mission in South Sudan. He assumed charge in Juba on July 6. The appointment was announced by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in May.

• Tinaikar:

Tinaikar has a long and distinguished career with the Indian Army spanning over three decades. He graduated from the Indian Military Academy in 1983.  He did his Master of Philosophy (M Phil) in Defence and Strategic Studies from The University of Madras, India. He was awarded in December 2014.

He served in the United Nations Angola Verification Mission III from 1996 to 1997. He served in the United Nations Mission in Sudan from 2008 to 2009. He has served as the Additional Director General of Military Operations at Army Headquarters from 2017 to 2018.

He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal and the Sena Medal for his Distinguished Service.  India is the second highest troop contributor to UNMISS, as of March 2019. India contributed with 2,337 troops deployed with the mission.

INTERNATIONAL:

Kyriakos Mitsotakis sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece

• Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek conservative leader, sworn in as the Prime Minister of Greece. The election result gave New Democracy an outright majority with 158 seats in the 300-member Greek parliament. He is EU's most indebted member who promised to end a decade of economic crisis.

About Kyriakos:

Kyriakos Mitsotakis,  51 years old, is a Greek politician. He was previously the Leader of the Opposition from 2016 to 2019. He served as the Minister of Administrative Reform from 2013 to 2015. Mitsotakis in his campaign promised further reforms with a focus on fewer taxes, attracting investment and improving the job market.

Greece:

President: Prokopis Pavlopoulos

Prime Minister: Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Capital: Athens

Official language: Greek

Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

LinkedIn chooses Ashutosh Gupta as country manager for India

• LinkedIn appointed Ashutosh Gupta as its new country manager for India effective

September 2, 2019. He will replace Mahesh NarayananHe was the country manager for India from January to June 2019.

• Gupta joined LinkedIn as the head of Marketing Solutions (LMS) business in 2013.He moved to Singapore to build LMS’ Online Sales Organisation (OSO) for the Asia Pacific(APAC) and China.He will report to Olivier Legrand, LinkedIn’s Managing Director(MD) for the APAC and he will continue to lead the LMS’s OSO.

• He is an alumnus of IIM-Lucknow and IIT (BHU), Varanasi worked in organizations like Google, Cognizant, and Infosys. The two decades of experience on the internet and IT and software services industriesMicrosoft-owned LinkedIn over 630 million users globally more than 57 million members in India.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Gully Boy won NETPAC award in Bucheon film festival

• Film-maker Zoya Akhtar's directorial 'Gully Boy' won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea.

• NETPAC Jury Committee, comprised of NETPAC members and film professionals which features newer genres and varied stories of comedy, fantasy and drama

'Gully Boy', features actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, is based on the lives of street rappers.

• The film performed well in the Indian and overseas market.

It will also be screened at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Akhtar recently made the Indian film industry proud by joining the list of new members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that organizes the annual Oscar awards.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

Dravid appointed as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru

• Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the Head of Cricket at the National Cricket Academy (NCA)in Bengaluru. The appointment was announced and approved by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 8 July. He is currently the vice-president of India Cements.

Roles and Duties:

Dravid will work closely with the National Head Coaches and Cricket Coaches for India Developmental teams which includes India A, India Under 19, India Under 23 teams, in the identification of key training and development objectives.

He will monitor progress against these objectives for the developmental teams. The role expects him to provide necessary inputs on the same to the Senior Men’s and Women’s Head Coaches.

SPORTS:

MS Dhoni became the only second Indian player to reach the 350-game mark in ODI

• MS Dhoni became the only second Indian player to reach the 350-game mark in One-Day International cricket (ODI). The first Indian to set the record was Sachin Tendulkar.

• MS.Dhoni:

He has been tagged as one of the best finishers in the sport. Dhoni led India from 2007 to 2017. Under Dhoni's captaincy won its second championship in the cricket world cup. He also led India to No. 1 position in the ICC Rankings.

• He is regarded as one of the greatest captains in the world of cricket. MS Dhoni is the only skipper to have won every major ICC tournament. The former Indian captain is also the first wicketkeeper to play in 350 ODI matches.

• He is also the first captain in the world to win three different ICC trophies. Dhoni also led India to a memorable 2013 Champions Trophy triumph in England.

In his more than 14-years of international career, Dhoni has played an integral part in many of India's famous victories.

NATIONAL:

Union Budget Highlights 2019 - 2020

•  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a union budget for the financial year 2019 - 2020. The main aim is to boost investment at a time when the economy shows signs of a slowdown.

•  It is the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The key highlights of union Budget 2019 are  given below :

A 10-point Vision for the decade

1.         Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari Minimum Government Maximum Governance.

2.         To Achieve green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through a pollution-free India.

3.         Making Digital India reach every sector of the economy.

4.         Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Satellite programs.

5.         Building physical and social infrastructure.

6.         Water, water management, clean rivers.

7.         Blue Economy.

8.         Self-sufficiency and export of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables.

9.         Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, well-nourished women & children, the safety of citizens.

10.       Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and batteries, and medical devices under Make in India.

DRDO carries out three successful Nag missile tests in one day in Pokhran

• Moving closer toward the induction of the Nag anti-tank guided missiles into the Army, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Sunday carried out three successful test firings of the missiles in the Pokhran.

• Government sources said the missile is in the final stages of being inducted into the Army which will use it by mounting them on the modified armoured vehicles.

• The Defence Acquisition Council has last year approved the procurement of DRDO’s designed and developed NAG Missile System (NAMIS) at the cost of Rs 524 crore.

• The system includes a third generation Anti-Tank Guided Missile, the NAG, along with the Missile Carrier Vehicle (NAMICA). The NAG missile is a third generation anti-tank guided missile, which has top attack capabilities that can effectively engage and destroy all known enemy tanks during day and night.

• The successful induction of the NAG missile into the Army is expected to give a quantum boost to the Army’s capability against enemy armour.

• The Army and DRDO are supposed to carry out more tests of the missiles on Monday also to further validate the missile’s capabilities.

• Nag was one of the first five strategic missiles planned to be developed under the Integrated Missile Development Programme initiated in the 1980s.The other missiles developed under the project include the Agni, Prithvi and Akash and all three of them have been successfully developed and inducted into the armed forces.

• The Trishul project was shut down after being developed as a technology demonstrator.

India’s first cow sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to be privatised

• India’s first cow sanctuary, set up by the previous BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government in September 2017, will be privatised by the Congress-led government, an official said.

• Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya in Agar Malwa, 190 km north west of Bhopal, was developed by the MP Gau Samvardhan Board by spending about Rs 32 crore. Around 4,000 cows are living in the sanctuary which is spread across 472 hectares. The decision of privatisation is being taken due to financial crises. Soon, the department will issue a notification to invite interested organisations, said a higher officer of the Animal Husbandry department.

• “The issues of poor management and regular deaths of cow in the sanctuary have been raised many times. The government tried to improve the facilities but it was getting hard to manage it. Some renowned NGOs like Akshaypatra showed interest in managing the sanctuary at no profit no loss basis. But we will hand over the sanctuary according to rules,” said the official.

• According to officials in the sanctuary, in last over one year more than 600 cows died due to extreme weather condition. Akshay Patra also runs Jaipur Municipal Corporation’s Hingonia cow shelter in outskirts of the pink city.

INTERNATIONAL:

Deutsche Bank announced its exit from Global Equities and trading Business

• Deutsche Bank, the  German bank, announced that it is to pull out of global equities sales and trading, scale back investment banking. It plans to reduce adjusted costs by a quarter to 17 billion euros ($19 billion) over the next several years. The decision of the bank will cut down 18,000 jobs for a global headcount of around 74,000 employees by 2022. The move comes after the departure of the chief Garth Ritchie by mutual agreement.

Reason:

• The restructuring plan of the has been estimated with 7.4 billion euros by the end of 2022. Because of this, the German bank may report a net loss of 2.8 billion euros in the second quarter of 2019. On July 25, the bank will release its second quarter results.

• The bank plans to downsize its investment bank, revamp management and cut costs while investing in controls. Also, it expects technology could open the most promising path yet to boosting profitability after years of piecemeal changes that failed to deliver.

AGREEMENTS AND Mou’S:

Indian Army & NeGD signed MOU to develop revamped app

• Indian Army and the National eGovernance Division (NeGD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)to develop a revamped application.

They are the part of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

They will maintain the centralised database for personnel, equipment and major stores to provide management-related information to Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army).

• Anil Kapoor, Director General of Information Systems and M S Rao, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National E-governance Division signed the MOU in the presence of Shri TP Singh, Director, Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG). The Management Information Systems Organisation (MISO) of the Indian Army is the nodal agency.

• They are under the Directorate General of Information Systems (DGIS).

The development work started at Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geo-lnformatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar.

SPORTS:

Zhang Shuai first Chinese into Wimbledon last-eight since 2013

• Zhang Shuai on Monday became the first Chinese woman since Li Na in 2013 to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.World number 50 Zhang defeated Ukraine teenage Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.

• The 30-year-old will face either 15-year-old Coco Gauff or former world number one Simona Halep for a place in the semi-finals.

• Strycova beats Mertens

Czech veteran Barbora Strycova, who is pondering retirement, marched into the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on Monday beating 21st seed Belgian Elise Mertens 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.

It is the second time the unseeded 33-year-old, who beat fourth-seeded Kiki Bertens in the previous round, has reached the quarter-final stage, the previous occasion in 2014.

Strycova will play either compatriot and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or Britain’s French Open semi-finalist Johanna Konta in Tuesday’s quarter-finals.

U.S. womens national soccer team won the FIFA Womens World Cup 2019

• The U.S. women’s national soccer team (USWNT) won the FIFA Women’s World Cup for a record-extending fourth time on July 7 in Lyon, France.The team defeated the Netherlands and secured 2-0 to win the women’s World Cup.

•  This win is a record-extending fourth time for the U.S. women’s national soccer team.The dignitaries which included FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron presented the winners' medal and trophy.

The Head coach of USWNT is Jill Ellis.

The captains of the team are Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and  Megan Rapinoe. USWNT won its first World Cup in 1991 in China.

   

 Arinjeeta Dey won a silver medal for India in World Youth Cup 2019

• Karate girl, Arinjeeta Dey (Barasat, West Bengal) won a silver medal under the 12 category in the World Youth Cup 2019 .The competition was held in Umag, Croatia(from July 1 to July 5, 2019). It was organized by World Karate Federation affiliated to the International Olympic Association.

• A total of 35 countries participated in this competition. He won 3 times in national championship junior level category (2017 KAI SUB Junior National gold medalist, 2018 KAI SUB Junior National gold medalist,2019 KAI SUB Junior National Gold and Silver Medalist). She belongs from Barasat in West Bengal. She has been a student of Hanshi Premjit Sen.She is the president of Premjit Sen Martial Art Academy in West Bengal.           

NATIONAL:

Delhi police signed a MoU with SECI to set up rooftop solar energy systems

• The Delhi police has consented to an arrangement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up housetop sun based vitality frameworks in more than 200 of its structures over the city. Under the understanding, the SECI will bolster the usage of matrix associated housetop sun powered photovoltaic frameworks on the foundations of Delhi police.

• The undertaking is relied upon to be finished soon in a staged way with dynamic participation between the two offices. This MOU will be ideally utilized in the structures and buildings accessible with Delhi Police all over the city.

• Housetop sun oriented photovoltaic Project: It has been evaluated that Rooftop Solar Systems of absolute limit of around 3-4 MW will be executed crosswise over different Delhi Police structures. The undertaking will use empty tops of their structures to saddle sunlight based vitality and to cook some portion of their power request through the created environmentally friendly power vitality. The task would result in huge decrease on power charge installments of the Delhi Police.

NIRDPR has signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to supply sanitary napkins to students

• National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a public sector enterprise, on a pilot project to supply sanitary napkins to students. The project has been allocated an amount of Rs.71.82 lakh given by the BDL as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

• Under the project, sanitary napkins will be provided to 11,516 students free of cost through a team of volunteers and female teachers of 75 schools in Gandipet, Moinabad, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally and Shamshabad mandals of the Telangana State.

Aim:

The project aims to create awareness and hygiene on menstruation and menstrual hygiene among children in government schools in Telangana.

The objective includes information dissemination on safe disposal mechanism of sanitary napkins without affecting the environment.

It aims to drive them towards fruitful education without absenteeism and health hazards.

BDL has prepared a communication material in both Telugu and English, which may be useful for other women in the villages too

It is likely to be expanded to 22 more mandals in the next phases depending upon the results.

Gujarat FM presents the state's highest budget pegged at over Rs 2 lakh crore

• Finance Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel presented the Budget size of Rs 2,04,815 crore for the year 2019-20 for the state. The budget indicates the overall surplus of Rs 572 crore. An additional tax income of Rs 287 crore is added to it.

• This is the first time the State's budget crossed Rs.2 lakh crore. The budget estimates around Rs 1,54,732 crore revenue expenditure of Rs 1, 51, 858 crores for the year 2019-20.

The tap water to every household by 2022.The state government allotted Rs.4,500 crore for this purpose.

• The clean energy space, the state plans to increase installed capacity to 30,000 megawatts (Mw) by 2022, from 8885 MW at present.

INTERNATIONAL:

Ursula von der Leyen is appointed as European Commission president

• Germany's Ursula von der Leyen is selected by European Union (EU) pioneers as coalition's next Chief Executive (European Commission president).

• She will be the primary lady in history to hold the position. She will supplant Jean-Claude Juncker. She will lead the Union's most significant organization to set the alliance's strategy plan. The Union is comprised of 28 officials.

• Ms.Ursula:  Ms.Ursula, the 60-year-old gynecologist, began her political profession in her initial age of 40. In 1990 she joined Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union gathering (CDU) and labored for a long time.

• In 2009 Van der Leyen moved to the Labor Ministry, before turning into the principal female resistance serve in 2014.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana

• Airtel Payments Bankpartnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer Bharti AXA Life POS (Point of Sale).Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana, a pure life term insurance decided to plan up to Rs 5 lakhs

• The scheme is aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India.

The policy available at all the Airtel Payments Bank's 25,000 retail outlets.

It will be expanded to cover over 60,000 banking points.

• The customers are offered the option of life cover between 3-5 lakh.The scheme further extended up to Rs 25 lakh. Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the scheme Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

USISPF honors Wipro Chairman Azim Premji & Mastercard CEO and President Ajay Banga with Global Excellence Award 2019

• Indian multinational corporation Wipro's Chairman, Azim Premji, and Global Financial services company Mastercard's CEO and President, Ajaypal Singh Banga chosen for 2019 Global Excellence Award.

• The award will be given by LIS-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)for their contribution to strengthening economic ties between the US and India.

The awards will be given at the USISPF Second Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July 11, 2019.

• US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, LIS Energy Secretary Rick Perry, LIS House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republic from Arkansas and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Shringla attend the leadership summit.

• The aim is to highlight bilateral cooperation, trade, and investment, strategic energy ties, manufacturing, and innovation partnership of two countries.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

AK Misra appointed as an additional director on the Board of Directors (BOD) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank by Reserve Bank of India

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed ex-executive director RBI A.K Misra as Additional Director on the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited.

• The appointment shall be for a period of two years .The appointment will be effect from July 3, 2019 to July 2, 2021.

• The usual sitting fee and allowances are paid to other directors for attending the meetings of the Board and Committee.

SPORTS:

Hima Das won the women's 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland

• Star Indian sprinter Hima Das won the women's 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. She was timed 23.65s on her way to the 200m gold. This was Hima's first focused 200m race of the year 2019.

• other winners: The national record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor packed away a bronze with a best exertion of 19.62m.

• Vismaya completed third with an individual best time of 23.75s in the race at Poznan Asian hero.

• Muhammed Anas, the 400m national record holder, protected third in the men's 200m race with a planning of 20.75 seconds.

• K S Jeevan won the men's 400m bronze in 47.25s.

NATIONAL:

India to contribute USD 5 Millions in 2019 to UN Palestine refugee agency

• India pledged USD 5 million in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency.

The agency's difficult financial situation due to voluntary contributions from a limited donor base and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for its work.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu the government increased its annual financial contribution four fold to the UNRWA core budget from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2018.

They attended a meeting of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

They mark of India's solidarity with the Palestine refugees.

India's support for UNRWA's work is providing assistance to about 5.4 million Palestine refugees to help them achieve their full human development potential.

As part of the Government of India's ongoing assistance programmes in Palestine to strengthen capacity-building efforts focused on institutions, services, and training personnel.

The country is providing 150 places for Palestinian professionals every year under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program. 

During the last five years, under an India-Palestine development partnership, 17 agreements signed in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women's empowerment, and media.

About Palestine

President: Mahmoud Abbas

Prime Minister: Mohammad Shtayyeh

Uttar Pradesh State government has started DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.

• Uttar Pradesh State government has started  DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease on 1 July in the State. DASTAK campaign will run from 1st to 31st July.  This campaign is part of the State’s comprehensive Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategy. The vector-borne disease sensitive states have been marked.

Aim:

The campaign was started with an aim to create awareness about  the communicable diseases JE and AES.

Under this state-wide campaign, teams will reach every village of the state to create awareness about  the communicable diseases JE and AES.

It will also ensure the availability of clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud.                                  

About AES and JE:

Japanese encephalitis (JE) a vector-borne viral disease, caused by a group B arbovirus (Flavivirus) and transmitted by Culicine mosquito.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is most widely caused by Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus. Encephalitis is an inflammation or swelling and irritation of the brain. It is also called acute viral encephalitis or aseptic encephalitis.

Symptoms: The symptoms include mild flu-like symptoms such as a high fever, personality changes, convulsions (seizures), severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, confusion,  problems with speech or hearing, hallucinations, memory loss, drowsiness and coma.

Encephalitis can not be prevented, but illnesses that may lead to it can be avoided.

Why awareness is needed in India?

The incidence of AES and JE in Bihar is increasing since 2009. AES claimed 150 lives in 2019. The highest incidence reporting for AES in Bihar are from Patna, Jehenabad, Nawada, Gaya, Lakhisarai, Gopalganj, Siwan, East Champaran and West Champaran. People should be educated and awareness about the disease should be created among the people.

AES in Uttar Pradesh: After Bihar, UP is being affected with vector-borne disease. The disease hits the peak during monsoons, from July to October.

The State government has taken measures for AES disease.

The bed capacity at BRD has been increased to 428 from 272, the annual medicine budget has been raised from Rs.2.5 crore to Rs.13 crore, while 16 lakh persons are being vaccinated each year and 3.5 lakh paramedics trained to assist in treatment.

Rajya Sabha passes J&K Quota Bill, extends President’s rule.

• The Rajya Sabha passed Jammu and Kashmir reservation bill on July 1, 2019 also extends President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir. This bill provides 3% reservation for people in the State living near the international border (LOC). Home Minister Amit Shah replied to the debate on the motion and the bill that Centre government has no objection to hold Assembly elections in the State. He said security forces have raised certain concerns and he hoped that the Election Commission will take a decision at the earliest.

Lok Sabha passes teachers’ reservation Bill.

• The Lok Sabha has passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill-2019 on July 2, 2019. The bill seeks to provide for the reservation of posts in appointments by direct recruitment of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Educationally Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections to teachers’ cadre in Central Educational Institutions. The bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated in this regard.

INTERNATIONAL:

US Senate passes legislative provision to give India NATO ally-like status.

• The United States Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America's NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation. The National Defence Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, was passed by the Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner. The Act provides for increased US-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security.

NATIONAL:

Indian Crypto Exchange Koinex Shuts down its operation

• India's Largest cryptocurrency exchange, Koinex terminating its digital asset trading set-vices and other crypto-related operations citing regulatory uncertainty and disruption.

It was facing problems with its payment services and gateways, along with non-crypto related transactions like payment of salaries, rent, and purchase of equipment.

It started its digital assets exchange services in August 2017

It executed over 20 million orders in trading volume on its platform so far.

The country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), barred banks from serving companies dealing in cryptocurrency exchanges.

About Koinex:

Founders: Rahul Raj, Rakesh Yadav, Aditya Naik

Sector: Digital assets

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

InMobi names Harvard professor Khanna as independent director.

• InMobi Group's Board of Directors has appointed Harvard professor Tarun Khanna as an independent director of the firm. "InMobi’s journey...being the first unicorn to becoming a successful global company to emerge out of India is an inspiration for any entrepreneur," Khanna said. A member of the faculty since 1993, Khanna is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School.

SPORTS:

Hosts England hand India their first defeat in 2019 World Cup.

• Hosts England handed India their first defeat in 2019 World Cup by beating them by 31 runs on Sunday. With the victory, England moved to the fourth spot on the points table, while Pakistan slipped one place to the fifth position. Notably, India and England have now played 100 ODIs against each other, with England emerging victorious 42 times.

Rohit 2nd Indian in history to smash 3 hundreds in a World Cup.

• Opener Rohit Sharma has become the second Indian batsman in history to smash three hundreds in a World Cup edition. The 32-year-old, who slammed 122* against South Africa and 140 against Pakistan earlier in 2019 World Cup, reached the three-figure mark in 106 balls against England today. Ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly had smashed three hundreds in the 2003 World Cup.

Kohli first captain to score five straight fifties in WC history.

• India captain Virat Kohli has become the first skipper to score five consecutive fifties in World Cup history. The 30-year-old achieved the feat after reaching the 50-run mark against England in the 2019 World Cup on Sunday. Kohli is only the second player ever to score five fifties in a row in World Cup history after Australia's Steve Smith.

NATIONAL:

India to impose retaliatory tariffs on 29 US goods

• Ministry of Commercehas announced to impose retaliatory tariffs on US goods that will be effective from June 16 onwards. The retaliatory tariffs on 29 goods imported from the U.S. The Ministry initially decided to  impose tariffs in 2018. The decision is ahead of the meeting between Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Japan.The move made by the trade ministry was approved by the Ministry of External Affairs.

• The tariffs will be applied on $220-290 million worth of goods that are imported from the US, and will have about the same impact as the tariffs imposed by Washington on India in 2018.

Ministry of Finance said that the Commerce ministry will release the official notification of the tariffs before 16 June.  

Why India is imposing tarrifs:

• In March 2018, the US imposed 25% tariff on steel and 10% import duty on aluminium. India was one of the major exporters of these items.

• Trarrifs on 29 major products ere impacted which includes Chickpeas, Bengal gram, Mansur dal, Boric acid, domestic reagents, apples, Binders for foundry moulds. India repeatedly asked for exemption from these higher tariffs, but US did not respond.

• On June 2018, India decided to retaliate by imposing duties but extended the deadline.

On 5 June 2019, the U.S. withdrew export incentives to India under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. India was the largest beneficiary of GSP.

India ranks 141 in the 2019 Global Peace Index

• Iceland topped the Global Peace Index 2019 rankings which was released by Institute for Economics & Peace.  Since 2008, Iceland holds the most peaceful country in the world. India ranked 141 among 163 countries. In 2018, India ranked at 136th among 163 countries.

• Afghanistan ranked as the least peaceful country in the world. Th has replaced Syria, which is now the second least peaceful.

Parameters:

The Australian think tank ranked countries according to their level of peacefulness.

The analysis were based on three major domains:

1) the level of societal safety and security

2) the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict

3) the degree of militarization

• Top/Bottom 5 countries:

The top five countries in the list are Iceland, New Zealand, Austria, Portugal, and Denmark.

The least 5 peaceful countries in the list are Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, Syria and Afghanistan (ranked the least) remains the world's least peaceful counties.

INTERNATIONAL:

NASA's OSIRIS REx spacecraft creates new record

• NASA's OSIRIS-REx rocket entered its second orbital stage around space rock Bennu, called Orbital B on June 12, 2019. It broke its very own reality record for the nearest circle of a planetary body.

• In the Orbital B stage, the move set the rocket in a circle 680 meters over the outside of space rock Bennu. The past record was set by OSIRIS-REx on 31 December, 2018, when the rocket flew 1.33 km over the space rock's surface during Orbital A stage.

OSIRIS-REx:

•  The OSIRIS-REx rocket was sent to consider the space rock Bennu and return an example from its surface to Earth. The rocket is on a seven-year venture. The example of a crude space rock will enable the researchers to comprehend the arrangement of the Solar System over 4.5 billion years prior. Test gathering has been booked for summer of 2020. The shuttle is relied upon to convey the example to Earth in September 2023.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

India's FDI Inflows during the five fiscal years of the Modi Govt hit to $42 billions

• India ended up being the sub district's biggest beneficiary getting remote direct ventures worth $42 billion out of 2018. The interest in India billion with solid inflows in assembling, correspondence and money related administrations.

• As indicated by the report, FDI inflows have expanded by 3.5% to $54 billion. India pulled in over 77% of the all out remote direct speculations eventually arrived up toward the South Asian district. The development in India in cross-fringe merger and acquisitions (M&As) came to $33 billion of every 2018 from $23 billion per year back. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka rose to a record level, to $3.6 billion and USD 1.6 billion, individually, while Pakistan saw a 27% decrease in venture to USD 2.4 billion, the report read.

• A few nations received arrangement measures to advance and encourage venture with India To revise the model concession concurrence on open private associations in the port area.

•  The report featured that of the 5,400 extraordinary financial zones (SEZs) on the planet, more than 4,000 are in creating nations in Asia. China bested the rundown at 2,543 pursued by Philippines (528), India with 373, Turkey - 102, Thailand - 74 Korea 47, Malaysia - 45.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

Narasimhan has been appointed as CEO of Reckitt Benckiser

• PepsiCo executive Laxman Narasimhan has been delegated as the CEO of the British shopper products goliath Reckitt Benckiser. He will succeed Rakesh Kapoor.

• Narasimhan will join Reckitt as CEO-assign and be designated to the board on July 16. He will continue his office and become bunch CEO on September 1. Narasimhan's underlying needs will be to concentrate on conveying outperformance particularly in the wellbeing specialty unit, and to drive the Lysol creator's arrangement to part the firm into two specialty units under a similar organization.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Akshaya Patra was awarded the BBC World Service Global Champion Award

• The Bengaluru-based NGO Akshaya Patra has been granted the BBC World Service Global Champion Award for the program. The honor is exhibited at the BBC Food and Farming Awards in Bristol, London.

•  The honor perceives an undertaking or individual who is changing the way the world produces, forms, expends or considers sustenance to improve things.

• Akshaya Patra was chosen by a global board of judges from selections sent in by the World Service group of spectators around the globe. Different activities on the waitlist included UK philanthropy WRAP, and Food 4 Education.

OBITUARIES:

Poet and lyricist Pazhavila Ramesan passed away on 13 June

• Poet and lyricist Pazhavila Ramesan passed away on 13 June 2019 at Thiruvananthapuram. He was 83. He was debilitated for quite a while.

• Pazhavila Ramesan: Ramesan had gotten the 2017 Kerala Sahithya Akademi grant for generally speaking commitments. He composed verses for Malayalam motion pictures, for example, Njattadi, Aashamsakalode, Uncle Bun, Malootty, and Vasudha.

• He was co-manager of K. Balakrishnan's Kaumudi Weekly in the sixties. He worked at the State Institute of Languages in different limits till 1993.

• He is a beneficiary of different honors, Ramesan brought out verse accumulations, for example, Mazhayude Jalakam, Njan Ente Kadukalelikku, and Pazhavila Ramesante Kavithakal, other than accumulations of his compositions, for example, Ormayude Varthamanam, Mayatha Varakal, and Nervara.

SPORTS:

Peter Gilchrist won the 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship

• Peter Gilchrist won the 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship at the Yarraville Club in Melbourne, Australia. Peter Gilchrist defeated Kolkata cueist Kothari who had been on a roll winning the International Reventon Classic Snooker championship, a triple crown event of Australia and thereafter went on to display some outstanding billiards en-route the final.

Peter Gilchrist:

• Peter Gilchrist is an English-born Singaporean English billiards player. He has won the WPBSA World Championships in 1994, 2001 and in 2013.

• He has also represented Singapore in the SEA Games in 2009, where he won Gold for English Billiards Singles, and Bronze for the doubles.

• He also set the world record for highest break in billiards (1346) under modern rules, at the New Zealand Open Billiards Championships.

• In 2014, he scored his second 1000 break at the World Billiards Irish Open. He is the only player of the modern era who scored more than one 1000 points in tournament break.

NATIONAL:

ISRO unveiled plan to set up its own space station in seven years

• ISRO disclosed arrangement to set up its own space station in seven years. ISRO is to set up a little and a different space station. It won't be a piece of the International Space Station (ISS). The venture will be an augmentation of the Gaganyaan mission, which intends to send an Indian team to space in 2022.

• The heaviness of the space station will associate with 20 tons. ISRO's proposition will be sent to the legislature for endorsement by 2022 after the first Gaganyaan mission. the mission is taking a gander at 5-7 years to execute the program. The expense of the proposed space station was not unveiled.

• The International Space Station (ISS) is an association between European Space Agency, the United States (NASA), Japan (JAXA), Canada (CSA) and Russia (Roscosmos). It is the world's biggest global helpful program in science and technology.hina likewise plans to construct its very own space station.

YSRs Tammineni Sitaram took charge as Speaker of Andhra Pradesh Assembly

• The principal session of the fifteenth Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly as the senior chief of YSR Congress Party Tammineni Sitaram consistently chose as the Speaker of the Assembly. Boss Minister Y. S.

• Jagan Mohan Reddy praised Tammineni spoke to secure the parliamentary majority rules system.

• The fifteenth Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly's first session favored by the administration with chose lawmakers being controlled the promise of confirmation Protem Speaker S. Appala Naidu led the race for the arrangement of the Speaker which was proposed by 30 MLAs of YSRCP. Boss Minister experienced 23 MLA's and 3 MPs to surrender from YSRCP to the decision TDP.

About Tammineni Sitaram :

She is the fourth speaker of the gathering from Srikakulam area. Sitaram began his political vocation from TDP a six-time MLA from Srikakulam region's Amadalavalasa.

INTERNATIONAL:

New app to help students wishing to study in U.S

• EducationUSA launched an app in collaboration with the United States India Educational FoundationThe app is available on both Android and iOS platforms for free.The US embassy launched a mobile application that gives comprehensive and latest information about studying in the United States.

• The main aim is at students who may not be geographically centred in India

It helps students with information about studying in the country.The app EducationUSA launched in collaboration with the United States India Educational Foundation

• It is available on both Android and iOS platforms for free.

• The app act as the first point of information for students, parents, school counsellors and other interested users.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Author Amitav Ghosh was conferred the 54th Jnanpith Award

• Author Amitav Ghosh was presented the 54th Jnanpith Award. He was granted for his commitment to the improvement of Indian writing in English at a service. The honor was introduced by the previous legislative leader of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi in New Delhi on 13 June. Amitav Ghosh is the principal English essayist to get this lofty Jnanpith Award

• Amitav Ghosh:  Amitav Ghosh is an Indian author. He is best known for his work in English fiction. In 2007, the administration of India granted him the regular citizen respect of Padma Shri. He likewise got the Israeli Dan David Prize, together with Margaret Atwood.

• His works and grants:  His book, The Circle of Reason won the Prix Médicis étranger which is France's top scholarly honors. His work 'The Calcutta Chromosome' won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for 1997. Additionally, his work 'Ocean of Poppies' was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. The book 'Stream of Smoke' was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2011.

Priyanka Chopra to be honoured with humanitarian award by UNICEF

• Indian actress Priyanka Chopra with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)Snowflake Ball in the month of December.

• The event will be held on December 3 in New York.She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.She visited Ethiopia last month.She is known for her contribution to social causes .She will raise her voice for children’s education.

• India to raise awareness against child welfare.She is also to improve the education, health and safety of girl child in India.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

SEBI introduced enhanced disclosure guidelines for credit rating agencies

• The business sectors controller Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) presented upgraded revelation rules for FICO score offices (CRA). SEBI asked the rating organizations to reveal the likelihood of default for the backers they rate, agitated by the raters' reputation of distinguishing defaults or close defaults.

•  Explanation behind the move: Since the worldwide money related emergency in 2008, the validity of the rating organizations has been disintegrating a direct result of the irreconcilable circumstance that emerges from the way that they are paid by the guarantors to rate their protections and for their inability to minimization beset firms until they are very nearly chapter 11.

• The ongoing Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd's (IL&FS) liquidity emergency among non-bank loan specialists in India has concentrated consideration again using a credit card rating offices.

DAYS:

World Blood Donor Day is observed on June 14

• The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank blood donors. The theme is - Blood Donation and Universal Access to Safe Blood Transfusion

• The main aim is to use as a component of achieving universal health coverage. The theme encourages more people all over the world to become blood donors and donate blood regularly. It is an important occasion for all governments, national health authorities and national blood services to provide adequate infrastructures to increase collection of blood from regular unpaid blood donors.

• It helps to mobilize support at national, regional and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programmes. Blood is treating the wounded during emergencies like natural disasters, accidents and armed conflicts.

It is essential, life-saving role in maternal care.

About World Blood Donor Day

•  Countries around the world celebrate World Blood Donor Day on June 14.

•  Date: Friday, 14 June 2019

•  Observed by: All member states of the World Health Organization

SPORTS:

Indian team for Senior Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships announced

• Gymnastics Federation of India declared the Indian group for the Senior Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships It is to be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from June 19 to 22.

• The four men and four ladies senior gymnasts chose for the esteemed competition after Sports Authority of India (SAI) consented to GFI's proposition of holding open preliminaries at IG Stadium. Men group includes Rakesh Kumar Patra (rings and parallel bars), Yogeshwar Singh (floor and vault), Debang Dey (wallop pony) and Arik Dey (level bar).

• Pranati Nayak (vault and pillar), Shraddha Talekar (uneven bars), Pranati Das (shaft) and Papiya Das (floor) are the ladies' cooperative individuals,. The Championships will be International introduction for Debang Dey in men's classification Papiya Das in ladies' area classification.

• This challenge likewise be critical introduction to the Gymnasts preceding the 2019 World Championships. It is the fitting the bill for the 2020 Olympics.

NATIONAL:

GST council to introduce new GST return system.

• GST Council decided to introduce a new GST return system to facilitate taxpayers.

The new plan is worked out to ease the transition to the new return system.

•  A prototype of the offline tool has already been shared on the common portal to give the look and feel of the tool to the users.

The tool is the same as that of the online portal.

There are three main components to the new return

one main return (FORM GST RET-1) and two annexures (FORM GST ANX-1 and FORM GST ANX-2).

The new return system (ANX-1 & ANX-2 only) will be available for trial for taxpayers to make themselves familiar.

About GST Council

•  GST Council decided to introduce a new GST return system to facilitate taxpayers.

A plan has been worked out to ease the transition to the new return system.

A prototype of the offline tool already shared on the common portal to give the look and feel of the tool to the users.

Cabinet approved the setting up of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO).

• The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of Defence Space Research Agency (DSRO), a new agency, which will develop sophisticated weapon systems. The approval aimed to To enhance the capabilities of the armed forces to fight wars in space.

Members of DSRO:

The agency will be headed by a Joint Secretary-level scientist. DSRO would constitute a team of scientists which would be working in close coordination with the tri-services integrated Defence staff officers.

Functions of DSRO:

DSRO will be entrusted with the task of creating space warfare weapon systems and technologies.

It would provide the research and development support to the Defence Space Agency (DSA).

About DSA:

Defence Space Agency (DSA)will constitute of members from the three services. The aim of setting up of DSA is to help the country fight wars in the space.

DSA is being set up under an Air Vice Marshal-rank officer in Bengaluru. It will be gradually taking over the space-related capabilities of the three forces.

ICAT released India’s 1st BS VI Certificate in Two Wheeler Segment.

• International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) released India’s first Type Approval Certificate (TAC) for Bharat Stage - VI (BS – VI) norms for the two-wheeler segment in New Delhi.

The certificate released and handed over by Director ICAT, Dinesh Tyagi to top officials of the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers). India’s first certification in the two-wheeler segment for the BS – VI

• They are the latest emission norms as notified by the Government of India.

• Norms of the ICAT - India’s 1st BS – VI Certificate in Two Wheeler Segment

The ICAT drive through many steps in providing assistance and support to the automotive industry for the development, optimization and calibration of engines and vehicles for complying with these upcoming emission norms.Bharat Stage norms are the automotive emission norms which the automotive manufacturers have to comply to sell their vehicles in India.

The norms are applicable to all two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers.

The Government of India decided to leapfrog from the exiting BS – IV norms to the BS- VI, thereby skipping the BS – V norms.

They are to be effective from 1st April 2020.

The vehicles will be sold and registered in India from 1st April 2020 onwards which comply to these norms. The norms are stringent and at par with global standards.I issued the approval for BS –VI norms to M/s Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles for the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment. It is the first in its segment in India.

About ICAT

It is the testing agency authorized by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for providing testing and certification services to vehicle and the components vehicles in India.

It has the latest equipment, facilities, and capabilities to develop, validate, test and certify the engines and vehicles for the latest norms in the field of emission and many other facilities like crash lab, NVH lab, EMC lab and test tracks.

INTERNATIONAL:

Amazon clinches top spot in the world's most valuable brand ranking.

• Amazon clinched the world’s most valuable brand in cloud computing, consumer tech and movie production.

It is founded by the world’s richest man Jeff Bezos.

According to the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings, Amazon online retailer set its brand value quintuple in the past five years to reach $315.5billion.

It is undertaken annually by advertising holding company WPP.

The detailed study of Brand Z reveals firms financial data and draws on an extensive consumer survey to reach its conclusions.

Amazon expanded into grocery, healthcare, food delivery and, with its Alexa devices, even voice recognition. Amazon jumped from third to first place to eclipse Google.The brand of Amazon from 52 percent to $315 billion.

The company jumped from third place to first place and got the third position to topmost by replacing Google.

About Financial Market

• There are two online shopping namely Alibaba and JD.com Chinese website which are down its Chinese e-commerce operation. Huawei company got a sudden break down of telecom network equipment and smartphone maker poses security and spying risks. Huawei added 8 percent to its brand value in the past year to reach $26.9bn.Netflix was third among the global market and they obtained 65% to obtain its brand value of 34.3 billion.

About Amazon

Founder: Jeff Bezos

Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Services: Amazon.com, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Appstore, Amazon MusicAmazon PrimeAmazon Video

Revenue: US$232.887 billion - 2018

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

NDMA conducts training programme for CBRN emergencies at Kandla Port.

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is conducting a basic training programme at the Deendayal  Port Trust in Kandla, Gujarat. The five-day training programme, aimed at increasing the awareness and enhancing the preparedness of Seaport Emergency Handlers (SEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the seaports, started on June 10, 2019.

• This is the fourth in a series of such programmes that will be conducted at various seaports across the country to enable SEHs to respond suitably till the arrival of specialised response teams. Earlier this year, three batches of SEHs were trained at Mangalore, Kochi and Navi Mumbai.

• CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) threats emanate at seaports due to arrival, storage and transportation of a large amount of chemical, petrochemical and other CBRN agents.

• The training programme is being conducted in collaboration with the Indian Ports Association (IPA), Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). This training programme will improve the CBRN safety at our seaports by enabling the SEHs to handle any CBRN emergency.

• The programme consists of lectures as well as field training, including live demonstrations of detection and decontamination including use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and mock exercises. Besides equipping the SEHs to handle CBRN emergencies, the training programme will also enable them to provide medical first aid and initial psycho-social support.

• Experts from stakeholder departments such as Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will train the participants.

• Around 50 participants representing various agencies responsible for operation and maintenance of the seaport are being trained on various aspects of CBRN emergencies. Another 200 working level staff will be sensitized on the subject in a half-day programme.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

RBI to infuse Rs.15,000 crore into financial system through the purchase of government bonds.

• The Reserve Bank of India is to infuse Rs.15,000 crore into the financial system through bond purchases on June 13.

Why the infusion:

RBI made the decision after assessing of prevailing liquidity conditions and also of the durable liquidity needs that are going forward.

RBI uses Open Market Operations (OMO) for injecting liquidity into the system through the purchase of government bonds (G-sec). Therefore, RBI is to conduct the purchase of  six G-sec under OMOs through multi-security auction using multiple price method.

What is G-Sec?

A government security (G-Sec) is a debt obligation of the Indian government to fund their fiscal deficit. The securities are tradable. G-sec is  issued either by the central or the state government. They are offered for short term as well as long term.

Multiple price-auction

In a multiple price-auction each successful bidder should pay the price stated bu the player himself. But, in case of uniform price auctions, all successful bidders should pay the cut-off price, that is, the same price at which the market clears the issue.

Open Market Operations:

Open market operations (OMO) refers to the buying and selling of government securities by the central bank, RBI in case of India, in the open market in order to contract or expand the amount of money in the banking system. The purchase of the securities will inject money into the banking system and stimulate growth, while sales of securities do the opposite and contract the economy.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

IV Subba Rao continues as secretary to Vice President.

• IV Subba Rao continues as secretary to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu as per an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the continuation of Rao

He is a retired IAS officer

He serves as secretary to the vice president on a contract basis

More about IV Subba Rao

He is a 1979 batch IAS officer

He belongs to Andhra Pradesh, Rao

He is retired from service in August 2015.

Tokayev sworn in as the President of Kazakhstan.

• Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sworn in as the President of Kazakhstan. He was the interim president and hand-picked successor of Nursultan Nazarbayev. He won the election, which was held on 9 June, with 70.96% of the vote which was contested against six government-approved candidates.

Tokayev presidency aims to continue Nazarbayev’s policies aimed at improving the well-being of the people. He succeeded Nursultan Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation in March after 30 years in power.

This is the first time Kazakhstan gets its new president since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

BJP MP Virendra Kumar to be pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha.

• Virendra Kumar, a seven-time MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh chosen as the pro tem speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha.

• He was MoS in the ministry of women and child development He was also in the minority affairs ministry in the previous government.

• He is likely to be administered the oath of office at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 17, the day where newly elected Lok Sabha commences its first session.

• On the first two days, the new MPs will take the oath.

• The election for the speaker will be on June 19.

• He was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996.

• He became a member of the Standing Committee on Labour and Welfare.

• He served as a member and chairman of various committees.

• He studied a Ph.D. started his political career in 1977

• He became the convener of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Sagar district, Madhya Pradesh.

• He served a prison sentence of 16 months under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in protest against the imposition of Emergency when he was associated with RSS.

• He was a minister of state in the previous Modi government.

 Definition of Pro Term Speaker:

• After the general election and formation of a new government, a list of senior Lok Sabha members prepared by the Legislative Section is submitted to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

• He who selects a pro tem speaker.

• The appointment should be approved by the President.

Mekathoti Sucharitha appointed as the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

• Sucharitha, A Dalit Women was inducted into the Congress by the late Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy (YSR) spotted her during his historic ‘padayatra’ in 2003.

• Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy appointed Mekathoti Sucharita as the state home minister

• She is one among five ministers to be selected from SC community

• Her native is Poondla village near Bapatla and completed her studies at Phirangipuram, where her father was practising as a doctor.

• She vowed to maintain the highest standards of integrity and honesty in public life and thanked Chief Minister for reposing faith in her and promised that she would live up to the expectations.

About Y S Gagan Mohan Reddy

• Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy, is an Indian politician

• He is serving as the 17th and current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

• Party: YSR Congress Party

About Andhra Pradesh

• Chief Minister: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy (YSR Congress Party)

• Governor: E. S. L. Narasimhan

DAYS:

International Day Against Child Labour observed on June 12.

• International Labour Organization (ILO) started to celebrate World Day Against Child Labour in 2002

Aim: To focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it.

The 2019 theme is Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!

The day brings government employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in 2015 to include a renewed global commitment to ending child labour.

Sustainable Development Goals and effective measures are take-ups in order to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour includes use of child labours by the year 2025 and to end child labour in all its forms.

ILO celebrates 100 years of advancing social justice.

The protection of children embedded in the ILO’s Constitution (Preamble). One of the first Conventions adopted by the ILO was on Minimum Age in Industry (No. 5, 1919).

8.7 target set by the international community calling for an end to child labour in all its forms by 2025.

About World Day Against Child Labour

Observances: UN, International Labour Organization

Frequency: annual

Called as: WDACL

Observed by: UN Members

SPORTS:

International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) re-branded as World Athletics.

• The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the international governing body for the sport of athletics, changed it name from IAAF to World Athletics. The members of IAAF council have approved the rebranding at an IAAF Council meeting held in Monaco on 8th June. The process to rebrand IAAF began on January 2018.

Purpose:

The new name and logo has been designed to represent the modern and positive face for athletics. Also, it aims to attract theyounger audience.

It will see the organisation take on its new name and a re-designed logo after the 2019 World Athletics Championship in Doha in October.

From the Origin:

IAAF was formed in 17 July 1912. When it was founded the name it had was International Amateur Athletic Federation. It was then changed to International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001.

The headquarters of IAAF is located in Monaco. IAAF has 215 member federations. The Current President of IAAF is Sebastian Coe. The CEO of IAAF is Jon Ridgeon.

NATIONAL:

MoSPI has proposed to set up a National Data Warehouse to leverage big data analytical tools.

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has proposed to set up a National Data Warehouse with an aim to leveraging big data analytical tools. This move is to further improve the quality of macro-economic aggregates. MoSPI also plans to introduce a legislative framework so that the National Statistical Commission (NSC) can function with independence and give holistic guidance for improving the national statistical system.

Significance:

• The move also lends its support to the system reforms that are currently ongoing. It will also ensure the responsiveness to the changing needs of society that are necessary.

• This proposed set up is necessary as there are increasing demands on the statistical system for the production of relevant and quality statistics.

National Data Warehouse for macro-economic aggregate:

• The Ministry also proposed to establish a National Data Warehouse on Official Statistics. Here, the technology will be leveraged for using big data analytical tools for further improving the quality of macro-economic aggregates.

• MoSPI has been criticized in some sections for the quality of macro-economic data.

Merger of merger of CSO and NSSO:

• Regarding this the government has recently merged the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to streamline and strengthen the statistical system. The merger leveraged the strengths of the two organisations so that it can meet the increasing demands.

• The government use the statistical data to revise the GDP estimate would require concomitant changes in the sectoral data flows and associated regulatory framework in the data source agencies to facilitate the use of more macro modelling techniques.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI):

Established on: 15 October 1999

Minister responsible: Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge)

It has 2 wings:

1)Department of Statistics

2)Department of Programme Implementation

• It is responsible for the development of the statistical system and maintains norms and standards in the field of statistics that involves concepts and definitions, methodology of data collection, processing of data and dissemination of results.

• MoSPI is concerned with coverage and quality aspects of statistics.

ASI declares Chaukhandi Stupa as of national important monument.

• A Monument and protected area of national importance by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Chaukhandi Stupa:

• Chaukhandi Stupa is a lofty mound of brick whose square edifice is surrounded by an octagonal tower. It was built to mark the place where Lord Buddha met his first disciples as he traveled from Bodhgaya to Sarnath.

• The Chaukhandi Stupa is said to be originally a terraced temple during the Gupta period, that • 4th to 6th Century.

• Govardhan,the son of Raja Todarmal gave the present shape to the Chaukhandi Stupa.He built an octagonal tower to commemorate the visit of Humayun,the great Mughal ruler.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI):

• ASI was formed on 1861, headquartered at New Delhi, India. ASI is the premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage in India. It functions under the Ministry of Culture.

• ASI is responsible for the regulation of all archaeological activities in the country as per the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Antiquities and Art Treasure Act,1972.

India's First Dinosaur Museum Park inaugurated in Gujarat

• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated India's first Dinosaur-Museum-cum-Park in the Mahisagar district.

• It is set to give visitors a Jurassic Park kind of feel.

The museum is located in Raiyoli area in Balasinor exhibit remains of various dinosaurs and fossil records.

• Dinosaur Museum cum Park is the first park in the country and the world's third park.

Raiyoli area is the third largest dinosaur fossil site in the world and it is also the second largest dinosaur hatchery in the world, where thousands of eggs had been found.

About Dinosaur-Museum-cum-Park

• It is equipped with modern technology like 3D projection, virtual reality presentations, interactive kiosks and life-size dinosaur replicas.

• It has a total land area of 2.63 hectares. It is famous for displaying the evolution of dinosaurs on earth and probable reasons for their extinction.

It is a world-class tourism spot and prove useful to students as well as experts.

About Gujarat

Capital: Gandhinagar

Governor: Om Prakash Kohli

Chief Minister: Vijay Rupani

INTERNATIONAL:

Canada to ban single use plastics from 2021.

• Canada ban single-use plastics from the year 2021

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau planned to ban plastic bottles, straws and plastic bags clogging the world's oceans.

• Canada to lead to fighting against plastic pollution as the country with the world's longest coastline.

• Currently, 10 percent of plastics are recycled.

• A  million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals worldwide suffer injury or death through the food chain.

• Plastic Straws, plastic bags, cutlery, plates among the items.

Around 180 countries reached a deal to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in the world's oceans.

• Marine animals can become entangled in larger plastics - particularly cord, nets, and ropes from fishing.

Canadian government planned to decide single-use plastic products included ban of plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates and stir sticks.

•  Around 3m tonnes of plastic waste thrown away each year at Canada.

About Canada

Capital: Ottawa

Governor General: Julie Payette

Prime Minister: Justin Trudeau

Singapore topped the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking 2019.

• Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking 2019 said Singapore has dethroned the US to become the most competitive economy in the world. Hong Kong stands second spot in the list. USA stands third followed by Switzerland and UAEand fourth and fifth respectively.

• Qatar entered the top 10. India ranked 43, one position higher compared to 2018.

Parameters considered:

• The ranking process considers a wide range of hard statistics such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment and government spending on health and education. IMD also used the soft data from an Executive Opinion Survey which covers other parameters such as social cohesion, globalization and corruption.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

PM Narendra Modi to meet Putin and Xi Jinping in sidelines to SCO summit.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. The announcement was made by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Its a reiteration:

• Prime Minister Modi is to reiterate his invite to President Xi to visit India for an informal summit in 2019. The first informal summit was held in Wuhan in 2018.

• The Ministry did not approve to hold a separate meeting between the Prime Minister with his counterpart from Pakistan, Imran Khan.

SCO Summit 2019:

• The SCO summit is to be held on June 14 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic. It will be the first multilateral meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after his re-election in the Lok Sabha election.

• The group will discuss issues related to terrorism, Afghanistan, regional security, multilateral dialogue and global scenario.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

State Bank of India introduces Repo Rate-Linked Home Loan.

• State Bank of India introduced repo rate-linked home loans.

SBI, the country's largest bank by assets home loans linked to the repo rate from July 1, 2019.

• There are 10 key new facts, repo rate-linked SBI home loan:

Key interest rate reduced to 5.75

Repo rate-linked home loan will make changes in the key interest rate by the central bank would be passed on directly to the customers.

Interest rates applicable to regular home loans are decided by the commercial banks on a time basis.

The Reserve Bank of India on several occasions in the past few months urged the commercial banks to transmit the rate cuts to the public.

State Bank of India benefit from the latest reduction in the repo rate has been passed fully to cash credit account and overdraft customers with limits of over Rs. 1 lakh.

After the move, the effective repo-linked lending rate (RLLR) for a cash credit and overdraft customers will be 8 percent. These changes will also take effect on July 1.

• The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)lowered the repo rate by 25 basis points and switched to an "accommodative" stance from "neutral".

• The decision by the RBI to ease the monetary policy follows official data last month showing India lost its status as the fastest growing major economy to China.

RBI reduced the repo rate each in its policy reviews in February and April.

SBI has a share of around 35 percent in home loans and auto loans.

SPORTS:

Haryana, Maharashtra dominate third day of Youth men's & women's national boxing championship.

• Haryana and Maharashtra participated in the  third day of the 3rd Youth men's and women's national boxing championship in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand

Four boxers from Maharashtra entered the quarterfinals

Ankit Narwal-led Haryana boxers reached the last-eight stage.

Narwal, the 2018 Youth Asian Championship bronze winner in men's 60kg category

Haryana's Akshay Kumar won the game in the same way.

In the women's category, Haryana's Bharti and Poonam and  Bharti registered a hard-fought 3-2 win over Ekta Saroj of Punjab in which went down to the wire, while Poonam got the better of Assamese boxer Kimpa Boro.

Women's boxing between Manipur's Babyrojisana Chanu and Kerala's Aishwarya Raj PT 51kg category.

About Women's national boxing championship

AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships was held at KD Jadav Indoor Stadium at New Delhi, India

The event took place between 15 and 24 November 2018.

In the finals Mary Kom of India beat Ukrainian boxer Hana Okhota to win the gold,

She is the first woman boxer to win six gold medals in the AIBA World Boxing Championships

India debut flag in #WorldRaftingChampionship.

• India is making debut in the adventurous game of Rafting.

Former Prime Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports team played in World Rafting Championship which is taking place in Tuncelli.

There are 20 teams from 20 countries are challenging for the title.

President of Turkish Rafting Federation Fikret Yadimei expressed his excitement over hosting the World Rafting Championship.

The championship commenced on June 8 and will conclude on June 13.

About  International Rafting Federation

•It is the official umbrella International Sports Federation for national rafting organizations worldwide and administers all aspects of rafting sport worldwide.

•World Rafting Championships (WRC), European Rafting Championships (ERC), Pan American Rafting Championships, and the Euro Cup rafting series are governed by the IRF.

• It works closely with national organizations and government bodies by offering the only raft guide certification program accepted worldwide

Lewis Hamilton Won Canadian Grand Prix 2019.

• Lewis Hamilton won Canadian Grand Prix , the world of Formula One championship title 2019.

Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica and Daniel Ricciardo players who played various matches in championship and considered as star players.

• Hamilton won 78th career win in Formula One .

• He also fifth out of the seven races contested this season

• He secured seventh win at the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix and defeated Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

About Canadian Grand Prix

Canadian Grand Prix is an annual auto race held in Canada since 1961.It is a part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967

First held :1961

Number of times held: 56

Most wins : Germany Michael Schumacher , Lewis Hamilton

About Lewis Hamilton

Nationality: United Kingdom

Entries: 236

Championships: 5 (2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018)

Win: 78

Rafael Nadal clinched the 12th French Open title by defeating Dominic Thiem.

• World number two Rafael Nadal clinched the 12th French Open title in 15 years in men's single category held in Roland Garros Stadium, France.

• He defeated world number four Dominic Thiem in the men's singles. The Spaniard won the match with a scoreline of 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. The 33-year-old has now won 18 Grand Slam titles, two fewer than world number three Roger Federer.

• The champions of the 2019 French Open

• Men's Singles: Spain Rafael Nadal

• Women's Singles: Australia Ashleigh Barty

• Men's Doubles: Germany Kevin Krawietz / Germany Andreas Mies

• Women's Doubles: Hungary Tímea Babos / France Kristina Mladenovic

• Mixed Doubles: Chinese Taipei Latisha Chan / Croatia Ivan Dodig

2019 French Open:

• The 2019 French Open was held from 26th May-9th June

• Edition: 123rd

• Category: Grand Slam tournament

• Prize money: €42,661,000

• Surface: Clay

• Held at: Roland Garros Stadium, France.