June 2021 Daily News Current Affairs

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  1. June 30, 2021
    1. June 30 is observed annually as International Asteroid Day. It marks event anniversary of Tunguska event in 1908, when an asteroid leveled about 2,150 square kilometres forest in Siberia.
      1. June 30 is also observed as UN International Day of Parliamentarism, proclaimed in 2018.
      2. June 30 is also observed as World Social Media Day.
    2. Cabinet Approvals (June 30, 2021) -
      1. General -
        1. Approved a Reforms-based and Results-linked, Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, to improve operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of all DISCOMs/ Power Departments excluding Private DISCOMs.
          1. Under this, it is aimed to provide assistance for installation of 25 crore smart meters, 10000 feeders, 4 lakh km of LT overhead lines. Ongoing works of IPDS, DDUGJY and SAUBHAGYA will also be merged in the scheme.
          2. Outlay for the scheme is 303058 crores, out of which Central Government’s share will is 97631 crores.
        2. Approved extending date for registration of beneficiaries for availing benefit under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) for nine months, from 30th June, 2021 to 31st March, 2022. upon this extension, it is expected that 71.8 lakh employment will be generated in the formal sector as against the earlier projection of 58.5 lakh.
        3. Approved Loan Guarantee Scheme for Covid Affected Sectors (LGSCAS), enabling funding of up to 50000 crores to provide financial guarantee cover for brownfield expansion and greenfield projects related to health/ medical infrastructure.
          1. In addition, Cabinet has also approved additional funding of 150000 crores under existing Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS).
        4. Approved revised implementation strategy of BharatNet program, through Public Private Partnership mode in 16 States,to extend BharatNet upto all inhabited villages beyond Gram Panchayats in concerned States, with maximum viability gap funding of 19041 crores. Total outlay under BharatNet will now be enhanced to 61109 crores.
          1. States covered are Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. An estimated 3.61 lakh villages will be covered. 
      2. MOUs -
        1. Gambia - Cooperation in Refurbishing Personnel Administration and Governance Reforms.
        2. Myanmar - Cooperation in health research.
        3. Nepal - Cooperation in health research.
    3. General Conferences (June 21 - 30, 2021) -
      1. India and FIJI signed MoU for cooperation in field of Agriculture and allied sectors.
      2. Indian Multi Sector Firm Wipro joined World Economic Forum’s Partnership for New Work Standards initiative, aimed at establishing a healthy, resilient and equitable future of work.
      3. Home ministry operationalised national helpline 155260 and reporting platform for preventing financial loss due to cyber frauds.
      4. Odisha became only state to have all three kinds of crocodile species in its Mahanadi River, including reptile freshwater Ghadials, muggers and saltwater crocodiles.
      5. NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission concluded its first fintech cohort of AIM-iLEAP- an initiative to back tech start-ups with access to industry, markets and investors. It was organised in partnership with Startup Réseau and Visa as part of AIM-iLEAP (Innovative leadership for entrepreneurial agility and profitability) initiative.
      6. India will host 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9), in 2022.
      7. PM Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association premises in Ahmedabad (Gujarat), as part of PM’s vision of creating a Mini-Japan in Gujarat, showcasing several elements of Japanese art and culture.
      8. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) became first energy company in India to declare its Energy Compact Goals as part of UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).
        1. NTPC aims to install 60 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2032, with 10 % reduction in net energy intensity by 2032.
      9. North Eastern Region Development Minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated mega quintal capacity Seed Processing plant at Kathua District of Jammu and Kashmir, with 16 lakh seed generation and 24 lakh seed processing capacity.
      10. Justice Department launched Enforcing Contracts Portal, as a comprehensive source of information pertaining to the legislative and policy reforms being undertaken on Enforcing Contracts parameters, to improve Contract Enforcement Regime in country.
      11. Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation released Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga Basin, from its origin to foothills of Himalayas covering a catchment area of 247109 sq. km.
        1. NHP - Bhuvan (National Hydrology Project) portal of NRSC was also launched, at url  https://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in/nhp
      12. Govt launched Atmanirbhar Krishi App, to provide farmers with actionable agricultural insights and early weather alerts.
      13. President Ram Nath Kovind Laid foundation stone for Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Cultural Centre in Lucknow (UP).
      14. Sanjay Dhotre (Minister of State for Education) participated in G20 Education Ministers’ Meeting, hosted in blended mode by Italy.
    4. Visits from India (June 2021) -
      1. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Kuwait and Kenya.
        1. India and Kuwait signed MoU to bring Indian domestic workers in Kuwait within ambit of a legal framework that streamlines their recruitment and provides them with legal protection.
        2. He inaugurated renovated M K Gandhi Library at Nairobi University (Kenya).
    5. Suresh N Patel has been appointed as acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) of India in Central Vigilance Commission.
    6. Red Bull's Belgian-Dutch F1 racer Max Verstappen won Styrian Grand Prix 2021  -
      1. F1 Season 2021 -
        1. Grand Prix Winner Race date
          Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 28 March
          Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 18 April
          Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 May
          Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 9 May
          Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 23 May
          Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 6 June
          French Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 20 June
          Styrian Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 27 June
          Austrian Grand Prix   4 July
          British Grand Prix   18 July
          Hungarian Grand Prix   1 August
          Belgian Grand Prix   29 August
          Dutch Grand Prix   5 September
          Italian Grand Prix   12 September
          Russian Grand Prix   26 September
          Japanese Grand Prix   10 October
          United States Grand Prix   24 October
          Mexico City Grand Prix   31 October
          São Paulo Grand Prix   7 November
          Australian Grand Prix   21 November
          Saudi Arabian Grand Prix   5 December
          Abu Dhabi Grand Prix   12 December
    7. Portugese Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo became joint-top scoring men's international player of all time, with 109 goals in 176 matches. He is currently tied with Iran's Ali Daei, who scored 109 times in 149 matches.
    8. Robinah Nabbanja has been named as Uganda’s first female Prime Minister.
  2. June 29, 2021
    1. June 29 is observed as National Statistics Day in India.
      1. 2021 Theme is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)- 2 (End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture).
      2. It is celebrated annually on occasion of Birth anniversary of India’s eminent statistician, Late Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
      3. 2021 Awardees -
        1. Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics for lifetime achievements was conferred upon Dr. R. B. Barman (Former Chairman of National Statistical Commission).  
        2. Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics in category of in-service Official Statistician above 45 years age, was conferred upon Dr. Sitabhra Sinha (Professor at Institute of Mathematical Sciences Chennai).
        3. Prof. C.R. Rao National Award in Statistics for Young Statisticians was given to Dr. Kiranmoy Das (Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata).
      4. June 29 is also observed by UN as International Day of the Tropics, proclaimed by UN in 2016.
    2. Engineers India Limited (EIL) CMD RK Sabharwal has been honoured with highest civilian award of Mongolia, The Order of Polar Star, for outstanding contribution towards establishment of first-ever oil refinery in Mongolia.
      1. Earlier, PM Narendra Modi announced line of credit worth USD 1 billion to Mongolia, during his visit. It was later decided to use this Line of Credit for establishment of first Oil Refinery in Mongolia.
      2. EIL later secured contract for providing Project Management Consultancy (PMC) services for 1.5 MMTPA Grassroot refinery project.
    3. Noted Indian Journalist P. Sainath is named among 3 recipients of Japan’s Fukuoka Grand Prize 2021, in Grand Category.
      1. Other 2 winners are Japan's Kishimoto Mio (Academic Category) and Thailand's Prabda Yoon (Arts & Culture Category).
      2. Fukuoka Prize is established by Fukuoka City International Foundation (formerly Yokatopia Foundation),to honor outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture.
      3. There are three prize categories: Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts and Culture Prize.
    4. Recommendations by Sports federations for National Sports Awards -
      1. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) nominated names R Ashwin and Mithali Raj for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. It also recommended KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan for Arjuna Award.
      2. Hockey India nominated men's hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and former India women's hockey team player Deepika for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
    5. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana released former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran’s book Anomalies in Law and Justice.
    6. Shambhu Nath Srivastava (former judge of Allahabad High Court) has been named as chairman of Indian Federation of United Nations Associations (IFUNA).
      1. IFUNA is leading independent policy authority on the United Nations in India and an India-wide grassroots membership organisation.
    7. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added four countries - Haiti, Malta, Philippines and South Sudan, to list of jurisdiction under increased monitoring for strategic deficiencies.
      1. FATF had earlier identified 17 countries as having strategic deficiencies, taking the number now up to 21.
    8. Book Kashmiri Century: Portrait of a Society in Flux, authored by Khemlata Wakhlu has been released.
    9. Book Policymaker’s Journal: From New Delhi to Washington, DC, authored by Kaushik Basu has been released.
    10. Journalist Sundeep Mishra’s book Fiercely Female: The Dutee Chand Story has been released.
    11. Andhra Pradesh Govt started a programme to transform foundational learning in government schools, with support of 250 Million USD from World Bank, called Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation (SALT). It aims to strengthen foundation schools and provide training and skill development to teachers.
    12. World Bank approved $125 million Loan for Resilient Kerala Program, to support Kerala’s preparedness against natural disasters, climate change impacts, disease outbreaks, and pandemics.
    13. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan capital) has been named as world's most expensive city for foreign workers, as per 2021 cost-of-living survey by consultancy firm Mercer. Top 5 -
      1. Ashgabat (Turkmenistan)
      2. Hong Kong
      3. Beirut (Lebanon)
      4. Tokyo (Japan)
      5. Zurich (Switzerland)
  3. June 28, 2021
    1. June 28, 2021, is 100th Birth Anniversary of P. V. Narasimha Rao, 9th Prime Minister of India.
    2. China began operating world’s second-largest hydropower station, as 289 meter high Baihetan Hydropower Station in Southwest China, despite environmental damage concerns. It has capacity of 16000 MW.
      1. China's Three Gorges Dam is world's largest hydro power station in terms of installed capacity, with 22500 MW Capacity, built at Yangtze River.
    3. ICC confirmed Men's T20 World Cup 2021 to be hosted by UAE and Oman, shifted away from India due to COVID-19 situation.
      1. Background -
        1. Originally, It was to be held in Australia in 2020, but was postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
        2. ICC later confirmed India would host the 2020 tournament (shifted to 2021), with Australia named as host for 2022 tournament.
        3. Now, UAE and Oman have been named as hosts of 2021 Edition, due to Covid Situation in India.
    4. Goa reportedly Became first rabies-free state in India, after not reporting a single rabies case in last three years.
      1. Rabies is caused by Iyssaviruses, spread by infected animal scratches or bites. Globally, dogs are most common animal involved in spreading this disease.
    5. As per Draft National Space Transportation Policy 2020 -
      1. Indian private companies will now be allowed to establish and operate rocket launch sites, with prior permission from government.
      2. Any orbital or sub-orbital rocket launch from Indian or overseas territory can only be conducted with authorization from Indian National Space Promotion & Authorization Center (IN-SPACe), an independent body constituted by Govt.
    6. ISSF World Cup 2021 (Osijek (Croatia)) -
      1. India won 1 Gold (Rahi Sarnobat (25 Metre Women's Pistol)), 1 Silver (Manu Bhaker/Saurabh Chaudhary (Mized Team 10 Metre Air Pistol)) and 1 Bronze (Saurabh Chaudhary (10 metre air Men's pistol)).
      2. Earlier in New Delhi, India had won 31 Medals (15 Gold, 9 Silver, 7 Bronze).
      3. India is currently at top of Medal Tally -
        1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
          1  India 16 10 8 34
          2  United States 7 6 3 16
          3  Russia 6 7 1 14
          4  Italy 6 2 3 11
          5  Spain 2 2 4 8
  4. June 27, 2021
    1. Archery World Cup 2021 (Leg 3 - Paris (France)) -
      1. Medal Tally -
        1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
          1  India  7 0 1 8
          2  United States 5 5 5 15
          3  Netherlands 3 3 3 9
          4  Colombia 3 3 1 7
          5  Denmark 3 2 0 5
      2. India won 4 Gold Medals -
        1. Deepika Kumari - Gold in Women's Individual. With this, She completed her hat-trick of Gold at Archery World Cup.
        2. Komalika Bari, Ankita Bhakat, Deepika Kumari - Gold in Women's Team
        3. Deepika Kumari Atanu Das - Gold in Mixed Team
        4. Abhishek Verma - Gold in Men's Individual
      3. Earlier -
        1. In Leg 2 in Lausanne (Switzerland), India Did not win any Medal.
        2. In Leg 1 in Guatemala City, India won 3 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze.
    2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several measures to provide relief to diverse sectors affected by 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
      1. 17 measures amounting to 6,28,993 crores were announced, including two measures announced earlier - additional Subsidy for DAP & P&K fertilizers, and extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) from May to November, 2021.
      2. Announced Measures are -
        1. 1.10 lakh crore Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID Affected sectors - Under this, additional credit of 1.1 lakh crore will be provided to businesses, including 50000 crores for health sector.
        2. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) -
          1. Govt has expanded Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), launched as part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package in May 2020, by Rs 1.5 lakh crores.
          2. Under expanded scheme, limit of admissible guarantee and loan amount is proposed to be increased above existing level of 20% of outstanding on each loan.
          3. Overall cap of admissible guarantee is thus raised from Rs. 3 lakh crore to Rs. 4.5 lakh crores.
        3. Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro Finance Institutions -
          1. This new scheme aims to benefit small borrowers who are served by network of Micro Finance Institutions.
          2. Guarantee will be provided to Banks for loans to new or existing NBFC-MFIs or MFIs for on lending upto Rs 1.25 lakh to approximately 25 lakh small borrowers.
          3. Loans from banks to be capped at MCLR plus 2%. Maximum loan tenure will be 3 years, and 80% of assistance to be used by MFI for incremental lending. Interest rates will be at least 2% below maximum rate prescribed by RBI.
          4. It focuses on new lending, and not on repayment of old loans.
          5. Guarantee cover will be available for funding provided by MLIs to MFIs/NBFC-MFIs till March 31, 2022 or till guarantees for an amount of 7,500 crores are issued, whichever is earlier.
          6. Guarantee will be provided upto 75% of default amount for upto 3 years through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC).
        4. Scheme for Tourists Guides/ Stakeholders -
          1. This new scheme aims at providing relief to people working in tourism sector.
          2. Working capital/loans will be provided to people in tourism sector to discharge liabilities and restart businesses, covering 10700 Regional Level Tourist Guides and about 1000 Travel and Tourism Stakeholders (TTS).
          3. TTS’s will be eligible to get a loan upto 10 lakh each while tourist guides can avail loan upto Rs 1 lakh each.
        5. Free one month tourist visa to 5 lakh tourists -
          1. This new scheme aims at boosting tourism sector, envisaging giving free Visas to first 5 lakh Tourists visiting India.
        6. Extension of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana -
          1. ANBRY, which was launched on 1st Oct, 2020, incentivizes employers for creation of new employment, restoration of loss of employment through EPFO.
          2. Under this, subsidy is provided for 2 years from registration for new employees with wages under 15000 for both Employer’s and Employee’s share of contribution (total 24% of wages) for establishments upto 1000 employees; and only employee’s share (12% of wages) in case of over 1000 eompoyees.
          3. Govt has now extended date of registration under the scheme from 30-6-2021 to 31-03-2022.
        7. Additional Subsidy for DAP & P&K fertilizers -
          1. Additional subsidy to farmers for DAP and P&K fertilizers was announced recently. Existing Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) was 27500 crores in FY 2020-21, which has been increased to 42275 crores in FY 2021-22.
        8. Free food grains under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) -
          1. Govt extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY-III) till Deepawali 2021 (Nov 4, 2021). Under it, over 80 crore people will continue to get decided amount of free food grain every month.
          2. Estimated financial implications of the scheme will Rs 93,869 crore, bringing the total cost of PMGKY to Rs 2,27,841 crores.
        9. Strengthening Public Health -
          1. 23220 crores additional support for public health with emphasis on children and paediatric care/paediatric beds.
        10. 8 Special Measures for Boosting growth and employment -
          1. Release of Climate Resilient Special Traits Varieties - ICAR has developed bio-fortified crop varieties having high nutrients. 21 such varieties of rice, peas, millet, maize, soyabean, quinoa, buckwheat, winged bean, pigeon pea & sorghum will be dedicated to the nation.
          2. Revival of North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) -
            1. NERAMAC was established in 1982 to support farmers of North-East in getting remunerative prices of agri-horticulture produces.
            2. It proposes to set up North-Eastern Centre for Organic Cultivation, facilitating equity finance to entrepreneurs.
            3. A revival package of 77.45 crores has been announced to support and revive NERAMAC.
          3. 33000 crores Boost for Project Exports through National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) -
            1. NEIA promotes Medium and Long Term project exports by providing covers to buyer’s credit, given by EXIM Bank, to less credit-worthy borrowers and supporting project exporters.
            2. It has been decided to provide additional corpus to NEIA over 5 years, enable it to underwrite additional 33000 crores of project exports.
          4. 88000 crores boost to Export Insurance Cover -
            1. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) promotes exports by providing credit insurance services.
            2. It has been decided to infuse equity in ECGC over 5 years to boost export insurance cover by Rs. 88,000 crore.
          5. 19041 crores for Broadband to each Village through BharatNet PPP Model -
            1. Out of 250000 Gram Panchayats, 156223 Gram Panchayats have been made service ready by May 2021.
            2. It is proposed to implement BharatNet in PPP model in 16 States (bundled into 9 packages), on viability gap funding basis. For this, additional 19041 crores will be provided.
            3. Total outlay under BharatNet will be enhanced to Rs. 61,109 crore.
          6. 3.03 lakh crores for Reform-Based Result-Linked Power Distribution Scheme -
            1. Revamped Reforms-Based power distribution scheme of financial assistance to DISCOMS was announced in Budget 2021-22, aiming at state specific intervention in place of “one size fits all”.
            2. Under this, it is aimed to provide assistance for installation of 25 crore smart meters, 10000 feeders, 4 lakh km of LT overhead lines. Ongoing works of IPDS, DDUGJY and SAUBHAGYA will also be merged in the scheme.
            3. Outlay for the scheme is 303058 crores, out of which Central Government’s share will is 97631 crores.
          7. Extension of Tenure of PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing -
            1. PLI scheme provides incentive of 6% to 4% on incremental sales of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India, for a period of five years.
            2. Incentives are applicable from 01.08.2020 with base year as 2019-20. However, amid pandemic, companies have been unable to achieve incremental sales condition.
            3. It has been decided to extend the tenure of the scheme launched in 2020-21 by one year i.e. till 2025-26.
          8. New streamlined process for PPP Projects and Asset Monetization -
            1. A new policy will be formulated for appraisal and approval of PPP proposals and monetization of core infrastructure assets, including through InvITs.
            2. It will ensure speedy clearance of projects, as Current process for approval of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects is long.
    3. June 27 - International MSME Day, being observed since 2017.  2021 theme is MSME 2021: key to an inclusive and sustainable recovery.
      1. On this occasion, MSME and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari called for creation of Ratings system for MSMEs and Dashboard for effective monitoring of schemes.
  5. June 26, 2021
    1. June 26 - International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Proclaimed by United Nation General Assembly in December 1987 and Observed since 1989. 2021 Theme is Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives.
      1. June 26 is also observed as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
    2. DRDO flight tested a New Generation Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P (Prime), as is a new generation advanced variant of Agni class of missiles. It is a canisterised missile with range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms.
    3. President appointed Ravi Vijaykumar Malimath as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.
    4. Indian Naval Ship Tabar commenced deployment to several Nations in Africa and Europe. Along with PASSEX Exercises with host navies, it will also participate in bilateral exercises like Ex Konkan with Royal Navy (UK), Ex Varuna with French Navy and Ex Indra with Russian Navy.
    5. Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Prakash Javadekar inaugurated NATRAX- the High Speed Track(HST) in Indore, longest such track in Asia (and world’s fifth longest).
      1. NATRAX is developed in area of 1000 acres and 11.3 km long, as one stop solution for all sorts of high speed performance tests for widest categories of vehicles from 2 wheelers to heavy tractor trailers.
    6. First-of-its-kind research initiative called Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE) has been launched by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), in collaboration with Intel India.
      1. It will increase research opportunities in space of AI/ML, platform systems, circuits & architecture, Internet of Things (IoT) etc.
      2. SERB-FIRE aims at bringing together industry and academia on a common platform to exchange ground-breaking ideas and co-promote innovative research.
  6. June 25, 2021
    1. June 25 is observed as International Day of Seafarer (DotS).
      1. June 25 is also observed as World Vitiligo Day.
    2. India, Italy and Japan launched a trilateral partnership to create stability around Indo-Pacific region, and counter threats from china.
    3. India retained its position as 2nd largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in UK, after US, in 2020.
      1. Indian companies invested in 99 projects and created 4,830 jobs in Britain.
      2. US companies in 389 projects and created 19301 new jobs in 2020-21 in UK.
    4. Maharashtra Cabinet approved an amendment to Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act 1975, to bring in concept of heritage trees.
      1. A tree with estimated age over 50 years will be defined as a heritage tree. The heritage trees will get special protection. 
      2. It also approved formation of Maharashtra Tree Authority, which will take all decisions regarding protection of trees.
    5. As per data on India Business Process Outsourcing Promotion Scheme (IBPS) launched by Govt, to facilitate expansion of several IT and BPO companies in tier-II and III cities -
      1. Top 3 states in Job Creation are - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab.
    6. National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) collaborated with Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for formulation of the world’s first exclusive green rating system for high-speed rail, to enable new high-speed rail stations to apply energy-efficient concepts during construction.
    7. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee re-launched Krishak Bandhu scheme, doubling assistance to farmer- beneficiaries to 10000 a year.
      1. Also, farm labourers having at least one katha (0.0165 acre) will now receive 4000 a year, instead of 2000 earlier.
    8. Filmmaker-writer Tahira Kashyap Khurrana's new book The 7 Sins of Being A Mother, will be released soon.
    9. Odisha Govt and UN World Food Programme (WFP) partnered, to improve household food and nutritional security by strengthening livelihood initiatives, reaching thousands of state-supported Women's Self-Help Groups (WSHGs).
    10. Denmark signed International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) and Instrument of Ratification with India, becoming first country to ratify it after amendments that went into force in January 2021. ISA is an alliance of 121 countries initiated by India.
    11. Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission (SCM), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) completed 6 years of Implementaion, on June 25, 2021. Progress so far -
      1. AMRUT -
        1. It aims at ensuring universal coverage of drinking water supply and substantial improvement in coverage and treatment capacities of sewerage and septage, along with storm water drainage, non-motorized urban transport and green spaces & parks.
        2. Overall Mission allocation is 1 lakh crore including central share of 50000 crores.
        3. So far, 105 lakh household water tap connections and 78 lakh sewer/ sepatage connections have been provided under Mission and in convergence with other schemes.
      2. Smart Cities Mission -
        1. It aims to promote cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, and application of ‘Smart’ solutions.
        2. As of now, value of tendered smart city projects is over 178500 crores, work orders have been issued for Projects worth 146125 crores and projects worth 45080 crores are fully completed and operational.
        3. On this Occasion, Govt declared -
          1. Smart City awards 2020 -
            1. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Surat (Gujarat) won the award jointly for their overall development.
            2. Among States - Uttar Pradesh (1), Madhya Pradesh (2) Tamil Nadu (3)
          2. Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 2.0 -
            1. It was launched to provide an overarching roadmap to formulate, implement and monitor urban climate actions.
            2. Top 9 cities that have been awarded 4 star rating - Surat, Indore, Ahmedabad, Pune, Vijayawada, Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Vadodara.
      3. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U) -
        1. It aims to provide pucca house to all eligible beneficiaries of Urban India by 2022, with vision of ‘Housing for All’.
        2. So far, about 1.12 crore houses have been sanctioned for its beneficiaries, out of which more than 83 lakh houses are grounded and more than 50 lakh completed.
        3. PMAY-U’s Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) -
          1. For first time, interest subsidy on home loans have been given to Middle-Income Group having annual income of upto 18 Lakh.
          2. Nearly 16 lakh beneficiaries belonging to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), Lower Income Group (LIG) and MIG have so far been brought under the fold of CLSS.
        4. Amid reverse migration taking place due to COVID-19, MoHUA launched Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs), a sub-scheme under PMAY(U) for urban migrants/ poor. 
  7. June 24, 2021
    1. Tamil Nadu State Govt has set up a five-member Economic Advisory Council to the Chief Minister, in lines with PM-EAC at the central level. Its Members include -
      1. Esther Duflo (French economist and Nobel laureate)
      2. Jean Dreze (Belgian-born Indian welfare economist, social scientist and activist)
      3. Raghuram Rajan (former RBI Governor)
      4. Arvind Subramanian (Former Chief Economic Advisor to Government of India)
      5. S Narayan (Former Union finance secretary).
    2. Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce became second-fastest woman, after she completed 100 meters in 10.63 seconds at JOA/JAAA's Destiny Olympic meet in Kingston. She got fastest time in 33 years and fourth-best in history.
      1. Griffith-Joyner holds women’s 100 meters world record of 10.49, 10.61, and 10.62 seconds made in 1988 in Indianapolis.
    3. Microsoft officially launched its new Windows operating system Windows 11, to succeed Windows 10, which was launched in 2015.
      1. Windows 11 has new user interface, a new Windows Store, and improvements to performance. It will also support Android apps via Amazon’s app store.
    4. LIC launched centralized web-based workflow-based IT platform called e-PGS, to provide a centralized collection and payment accounting with high level of bank integration.
    5. National Skill Development Corporation and WhatsApp partnered to launch Digital Skill Champions Program, that aims to train India’s youth on digital skills.
    6. Noted Indian British author Ruskin Bond's new book It’s a Wonderful Life has been launched.
    7. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan unveiled Krishna Saksena’s book My Joys and Sorrows – as a Mother of a Special Child.
    8. Noted American Actor Will Smith announced his autobiography titled Will.
    9. Book Habba Khatoon written by Kajal Suri has been released.
      1. Habba Khatoon, also known as The Nightingale of Kashmir, was a Kashmiri poet and ascetic. She was wife of Yousuf Shah Chak, the last Emperor of Kashmir.
    10. SBI launched Aarogyam healthcare business loan to provide enhanced support to healthcare sector amid the pandemic. Under this, entities in healthcare ecosystem can avail loans up to 100 crores, repayable in 10 years.
    11. Finance Ministry allowed housing finance companies (HFCs) with asset size of over 100 crores to recover dues using SARFAESI law. Earlier, HFCs with assets over 500 crores were allowed to use SARFAESI law to recover dues.
    12. Bengaluru has been named among top 5 technology centres in APAC region, while Hyderabad is ranked in the Top 10 list, as per a report by Colliers titled Growth Engines of Innovation.
    13. UN endorsed a multinational project called Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Coastal Observations, Applications, Services, and Tools (CEOS COAST), co-led by ISRO (India) and NOAA (US).
      1. It aims to improve accuracy of coastal data on the basis of satellite and land-based observations.
  8. June 23, 2021
    1. June 23 - United Nations Public Service Day, proclaimed in 2003.
      1. June 23 is also observed as International Olympics Day and UN International Widows' Day.
      2. June 23 is Death Anniversary of Noted politician Syama Prasad Mukherjee, who founded Bharatiya Jana Sangh (the predecessor to Bharatiya Janata Party).
    2. Cabinet Approvals (June 23, 2021)
      1. General -
        1. Approved merger of Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited with its holding enterprise Central Warehousing Corporation, to unify similar functions of both the companies.
      2. MOUs -
        1. With Saint Vincent and The Grenadines - for Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection with respect to Taxes.
    3. As per RBI -
      1. India's external debt at end-March 2021 stood at US$ 570 billion, with increase of US$ 11.5 billion over end-March 2020.
      2. External debt to GDP ratio increased to 21.1 %, compared to 20.6 % at end-March 2020.
    4. Former Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja has been honored with Central European University (CEU) Open Society Prize 2021, given to organizations /individuals whose achievements have contributed to the creation of an open society.
    5. Japan announced USD 9.3 million worth of cold chain equipment and related assistance to India to help fight against COVID-19 pandemic.
    6. Japan ratified Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the free trade agreement between Australia, China, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Japan become 3rd member to ratify this agreement, which was signed by 15 countries in November 2020.
      1. India has not joined RCEP agreement as its key concerns were not addressed.
    7. New Zealand won First ICC World Test Championship 2019-2021, defeating India in finals at Southampton (England).
    8. TATA Group Founder Jamsetji Tata has been named biggest philanthropist globally in last century, who donated $102 billion, as per Report by Hurun and EdelGive Foundation.
      1. Wipro Founder Azim Premji is only other Indian among top 50 (at 12th position).
      2. Others in Top 5 - Bill & Melinda Gates ($74.6 billion), Henry Wellcome ($56.7 Billion), Howard Hughes ($38.6 Billion), Warren Buffett ($37.4 Billion)
    9. Gujarat Govt announced Electric Vehicle Policy 2021, as a 4 year plan with budget 870 crores, to accelerate adoption of electric vehicles and reduce CO2 emissions by 6 lakh tonnes.
      1. State Govt will provide subsidies up to 20000 on electric two-wheelers, 50,000 on three-wheelers, and 1.50 lakh on four-wheelers.
      2. Incentive of 10000 per kWh of battery capacity will be offered, as highest in country, getting past Delhi's subsidy of 5000 per kWh.
    10. Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani Launched Agricultural Diversification Scheme 2021, to benefit Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana farmers in tribal areas while making agriculture sustainable and profitable in tribal areas in Gujarat.
      1. Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana was launched in 2007, to improve quality of life of tribal people in state.
    11. Malaysia surpassed Indonesia to become India’s biggest Crude Palm Oil (CPO) exporter in 2020-21, after Indonesia imposed heavy taxes on exports of edible oil. Malaysia’s palm oil exports to India surged 238 % to 2.42 million tonnes in first seven months of 2020-21 marketing year.
  9. June 22, 2021
    1. Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched its programme in Bhutan.
      1. India has been chosen as Partner Jurisdiction and has provided the Tax Expert for this programme.
      2. in this 24 months’ duration Program, India in collaboration with UNDP and TIWB Secretariat, will aim to aid Bhutan in strengthening its tax administration.
    2. As per UNESCO, India's investment in research remains unsatisfactory, which has been stagnant at 0.7% of GDP for years.
      1. As per Report, India's research intensity has been declining since 2014.
      2. Science and Technology Policy of 2003 fixed threshold of 2% of GDP to research and development (R&D) by 2007, which was set back to 2018 in new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2013) and then again to 2022 by PM Economic Advisory Council.
    3. As per State of India’s Environment Report 2021 by CSE -
      1. India’s rank has dropped by two places from last year to 117 on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted as a part of UN's 2030 agenda.
      2. Notably, as per Niti Aayog’s SDG Index, India’s overall SDG score has improved by 6 points – from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21.
    4. As per 6th edition of UN Sustainable Development Report (2021) -
      1. India ranked 120th.
      2. Top 3 - Finland, Sweden, Denmark
      3. Neighbors - China (57), Pakistan (129), Bangladesh (109), Sri Lanka (87)
    5. IT & Communication Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad launched itat e-dwar, e-filing portal of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT),  to enable electronic filing of Appeals, Miscellaneous Applications and related documents.
    6. As per Booket The India Story -
      1. India’s installed renewable energy capacity now stands at over 141 GW, which is about 37 % of country’s total capacity. This includes solar capacity of 41.09 GW.
      2. India’s renewable energy capacity is the 4th largest in the world.
    7. International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) constituted a committee to examine global best practices in ship financing and leasing, identify opportunities and devise a roadmap to enable such activities from GIFT IFSC. It will be chaired by Vandana Aggarwal, former Senior Economic Advisor.
    8. India signed $32 Million loan with World Bank for Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project, to improve management capacity and quality of health services in Mizoram.
    9. Munishwar Nath Bhandari is named as Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.
      1. He replaces Sanjay Yadav, who retired after short tenure of 13 days.
  10. June 21, 2021
    1. June 21 - UN International Yoga Day, being Observed Since 2015. 2021 Theme is Yoga for well-being.
      1. On this occasion -
        1. PM Narendra Modi launched WHO M-Yoga App, developed by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga.
        2. Ayush Minister Kiren Rijiju launched Namaste Yoga app, to raise awareness about yoga and make it accessible.
        3. Health Minister addressed inaugural ceremony of Global Yoga Conference 2021.
        4. India Post issued a special cancellation stamp, through its 810 Head Post offices.
        5. Education Minister of State Sanjay Dhotre launched NIOS Diploma course in Yogic Science.
      2. Other Observations Made on June 21 -
        1. World Music Day
          1. First all-day musical celebration on the day of the summer solstice was celebrated in Paris in 1982.
          2. For this Observance, French integrated content,media and communications group Vivendi partnered with Grammy winner Ricky Kej for “My Earth Concert for Kids”.
        2. Summer Solstice day. Summer Solstice is longest day of year which marks official start of summer season in Northern hemisphere.
          1. International Day of Celebration of the Solstice was proclaimed by UN General Assembly in 2019.
        3. World Hydrography Day, Proclaimed by International Hydrographic Organization in 2005.
    2. India extended soft loan of USD 108.28 million to Eswatini (Swaziland) for construction of its Parliament building, through Exim Bank .
      1. India also extended a USD 100 million Line of Credit to Sri Lanka to help finance various projects in solar energy sector.
    3. RBI revoked deposit-taking status of Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL), the first financial services firm to go for bankruptcy proceedings, and has reclassified it as a non-deposit taking housing finance company, before approving Piramal group's bid to take over it.
    4. India's Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) is leading Polar-Areas Stellar-Imaging in Polarisation High-Accuracy Experiment (PASIPHAE) international collaborative sky surveying project, to study polarisation in light coming from millions of stars.
      1. Name is inspired from Pasiphae, the daughter of Greek Sun God Helios.
      2. Survey will use two high-tech optical polarimeters to observe the northern and southern skies, simultaneously, with focus on capturing starlight polarisation of very faint stars.
      3. By combining data, astronomers will perform magnetic field tomography mapping of interstellar medium of very large areas of sky using WALOP (Wide Area Linear Optical Polarimeter).
    5. Noted neurologist Ashok Panagariya's memoir Monk in a Merc, will be released soon. He passed away recently due to COVID-19.
    6. Bihar Govt announced 2 new schemes - Mukhyamantri Mahila Udyami Yojna (MMUY) and Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Yojana (MYUY), to provide more employment opportunities to youths and young women in state.
      1. State Govt would now provide 10 lakh to an unemployed woman or youth to start a new business or small industries in state.
      2. Of Rs 10 lakh, 5 lakh would be subsidy while 5 lakh would be loan.
    7. European Patent Office (EPO) honoured Indian-American chemist Sumita Mitra with European Inventor Award 2021, in Non-EPO countries category.
      1. Mitra was first to successfully integrate nanotechnology into dental materials to produce stronger and more aesthetically pleasing fillings, now used globally.
  11. June 20, 2021
    1. June 20 - UN World Refugee Day, Proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly in Dec 2000. 2021 Theme is Together we can achieve anything.
    2. Red Bull's Belgian-Dutch F1 racer Max Verstappen won French Grand Prix 2021  -
      1. F1 Season 2021 -
        1. Grand Prix Winner Race date
          Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 28 March
          Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 18 April
          Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 May
          Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 9 May
          Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 23 May
          Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 6 June
          French Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 20 June
          Styrian Grand Prix   27 June
          Austrian Grand Prix   4 July
          British Grand Prix   18 July
          Hungarian Grand Prix   1 August
          Belgian Grand Prix   29 August
          Dutch Grand Prix   5 September
          Italian Grand Prix   12 September
          Russian Grand Prix   26 September
          Japanese Grand Prix   10 October
          United States Grand Prix   24 October
          Mexico City Grand Prix   31 October
          São Paulo Grand Prix   7 November
          Australian Grand Prix   21 November
          Saudi Arabian Grand Prix   5 December
          Abu Dhabi Grand Prix   12 December
    3. As per UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2021 -
      1. FDI in India -
        1. FDI In India stood at US$ 64 billion in 2020, increase of 27 % over 2019. It makes Making India 5th largest FDI inflow receiver globally.
        2. The hike is attributed primarily to acquisitions in information and communication technology (ICT) industry.
        3. In Term of FDI Outflows, India ranks 18th, with outflows of US$ 12 billion in 2020, compared to US$ 13 billion in 2019.
      2. Global -
        1. Global FDI flows stood at US$ 1 trillion in 2020, down from US$ 1.5 trillion in 2019.
        2. Top FDI Inflow Nations - US, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India
        3. Top FDI Outflow Nations - China, Luxembourg, Japan, Hong Kong, US
    4. US Department of Energy, India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and US India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) launched a US-India Hydrogen Task Force, under US-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).
    5. SEBI reconstituted its Takeover Panel, which looks into the applications seeking exemption from the mandatory open offer that an acquirer needs to make to minority shareholders.
      1. Panel is chaired by N K Sodhi (Former chief justice of high courts of Karnataka and Kerala).
      2. Other Members - N Venkatram (MD and CEO, Deloitte India), Darius Khambata (former advocate general, Maharashtra) and Thomas Mathew T (former chairman of LIC).
    6. General Conferences (June 11 - 20, 2021) -
      1. CBSE collaborated with Microsoft to introduce coding and data science in schools.
      2. Delhi International Airport has been awarded Platinum Recognition in over 25 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category, while Hyderabad International Airport received Gold Recognition by ACI in below 25 Million MPPA category.
      3. Gujarat Govt launched e-Nirman portal and mobile application to facilitate online registration of workers from unorganised sector, to enable them to avail various welfare schemes.
      4. Rajasthan Govt launched Chief Minister Anuprati Coaching Scheme to help underprivileged students prepare for entrance examinations to civil services and professional courses.
      5. Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel launched Chief Minister's Tree Plantation Promotion Scheme which aims to protect the environment and increase income of farmers, panchayats and forest management committees.
      6. A Virtual Conference of BRICS Network Universities on theme electric mobility held at IIT Bombay.
      7. Raja Parba festival has been celebrated in Odisha, as 3-days unique festival in which onset of monsoon and earth’s womanhood is celebrated.
      8. PM Narendra Modi virtually attended 5th edition of VivaTech, a large scale digital and startup event of Europe, held in Paris every year since 2016.
      9. Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla released commemorative postage stamps to mark 70th anniversary of India-Germany diplomatic relation.
      10. IIT Bombay has set up Koita Centre for Digital Health under aegis of Koita Foundation, to focus on driving academic programmes, research and industry collaboration in Digital Health.
      11. UK and Australia signed a new Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, to boost bilateral economic ties(FTA).
      12. Twitter lost its safe harbour immunity in India over its failure of appointing statutory officers, as required by new IT rules of India. Twitter will no longer be protected under Section 79 of the IT Act.
      13. 1st edition of Arab-India Energy Forum held Virtually under co-chairship of Morocco and India
  12. June 19, 2021
    1. June 19 is observed as World Sickle Cell Day, to raise public awareness about sickle cell disease and its treatment methods. It was proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly in 2008.
      1. Sickle Cell Disease is a commonly occurring genetic disease. It is an inherited genetic abnormality of hemoglobin (oxygen-carrying protein found in red blood cells) due to which red blood cells (RBCs) causes stuck in small blood vessels and are unable to carry adequate amount of oxygen throughout body.
      2. June 19 is also observed as International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
      3. June 19 is also observed as National Reading Day, to honour father of Library Movement in Kerala, P.N. Panicker whose death anniversary falls on June 19.
    2. Indian Naval Ship Trikand participated in First ever India-European Union Joint Navel Exercise, IN – EUNAVFOR, in Gulf of Aden. European Nations Participating in Exercise are Italy, Spain and France.
    3. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik released Poetry book Beyond Here and Other Poems written by Bishnupada Sethi.
    4. Noted Jnanpith Awardee author Amitav Ghosh’s new book The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, has been released.
    5. As per Swiss National Bank (SNB), India ranks 51st in terms of Holding money in Swiss Banks during 2020, with 2.55 billion (INR 20706 Crores) Swiss Francs (CHF) of Indians' money stored in swiss banks.
      1. Top 3 - UK (CHF 377 billion), US (152 billion).
    6. Govt appointed Aashish Chandorkar as Counsellor in India’s Permanent Mission in World Trade Organisation. He is director of Bengaluru-based policy think tank Smahi Foundation of Policy and Research.
    7. Rajasthan Govt will set up a Vedic Education and Sanskar Board to revive the knowledge of Sanskrit scriptures and Vedas.
    8. Montek Singh Ahluwalia (Former Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission) has been named member of a high-level Advisory Group formed by World Bank and IMF, amid dual crisis posed by Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
      1. The group will also include India-Born Gita Gopinath (Chief Economist of International Monetary Fund).
    9. LIC Cards Services launched a contactless prepaid gift card Shagun, in collaboration with IDBI Bank on RuPay platform, to foray into market of e-gift cards.
    10. United Nations Global Compact recognised India's Sumant Sinha (ReNew Power Chairman & MD) as one of ten 2021 SDG Pioneers, for exceptional work in advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through implementation of UN Global Compact Ten Principles on human rights, environment, labor, and anti-corruption.
    11. As per SIPRI Yearbook 2021 -
      1. 9 nuclear armed states (US, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) together possessed estimated 13080 nuclear weapons at start of 2021, marking a decrease from 13400 estimation at beginning of 2020. However, number of deployed nuclear weapons increased to 3825, from 3720 last year.
      2. Nations with number of Nuclear Warheads at beginning of 2021 -
        1. US - 5550
        2. Russia - 6255
        3. UK - 225
        4. France - 290
        5. China - 350
        6. India - 156
        7. Pakistan - 165
        8. Israel - 90
    12. RBI ranked 2nd in terms of reserves transferred to government as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY 2020-21, after Turkey.
      1. RBI transferred 99122-crore surplus to government for FY21, 73% higher than 57128 crores paid in 2019-20.
    13. As per Ease of Living Index 2020 by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Bengaluru is named most liveable city in India, followed by Chennai, Shimla, Bhubaneshwar and Mumbai.
    14. Global Peace Index 2021 by Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) -
      1. India ranked 135th, compared to 139th rank last year.
      2. Top 5 - Iceland (1), New Zealand (2), Denmark (3), Portugal (4), Slovenia (5)
      3. Bottom 5 -Afghanistan (163), Yemen (162), Syria (161)
      4. Neighbors - China (100), Pakistan (150), Sri Lanka (95), Bangladesh (91)
  13. June 18, 2021
    1. Govt approved a long-pending proposal to restructure nearly 200-year-old Ordnance Factory Board that operates 41 ammunition and military equipment production facilities into seven state-owned corporate entities, to improve its accountability, efficiency and competitiveness. 7 new entities will include -
      1. Ammunition and Explosives group
      2. Vehicles Group
      3. Weapons and Equipment group
      4. Troop Comfort Items group
      5. Ancillary group
      6. Opto-Electronics group
      7. Parachute group
    2. Researchers discovered new Tardigrade species of genus Stygarctus, naming it as Stygarctus Keralensis, after Kerala state where it was found.
      1. Tardigrades are so small that high-end microscopes are required to study them. Commonly called ‘moss piglets’ and ‘water bears’.
    3. RBI granted in-principle approval to Centrum Financial Services Limited to set up a small finance bank, which will take over Troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank).
      1. As of now, 11 Small Finance Banks are Operational in India.
    4. Debswana Diamond Company discovered world’s third-largest diamond in Jwaneng mine in Botswana (South Africa), which measures 73mm long, 52mm wide, and 27mm thick, and weighs 1098 carats.
      1. At present, largest diamond ever recorded is 3106-carat Cullinan Diamond, found in South Africa in 1905.
    5. World Competitiveness Index 2021 report by Institute for Management Development (IMD) -
      1. India ranked 43rd, same as last year.
      2. Top 3 - Switzerland (1), Sweden (2), Denmark (3).
    6. June 18 is observed by UN as Sustainable Gastronomy Day.
      1. June 18 is also observed as Autistic Pride Day.
  14. June 17, 2021
    1. Ebrahim Raisi has been elected as Iran's new president.
    2. June 17 - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCDD), proclaimed in Jan 1995 by United Nations General Assembly. 2020 theme is Restoration. Land. Recovery. On this occasion -
      1. 2021 Land for Life Award has been won by Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, a unique concept that relates a tree with a family, making it a green family member.
        1. UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) organises Land for Life Award every two years to recognize excellence and innovation in efforts towards land in balance. Theme for 2021 Award is “Healthy Land, Healthy Lives”.
        2. Land for Life Award was launched at UNCCD COP 10 in 2011, and is considered world’s highest reward regarding land conservation and restoration.
      2. Environment Ministry released latest version of Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India, published by Space Application Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad. It provides state wise area of degraded lands for time frame 2018-19.
    3. IT Giant Microsoft named Its Indian-Origin CEO Satya Nadella as its new Chairman, to replace John Thompson.
  15. June 16, 2021
    1. June 16 - International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR).
    2. European Space Agency (ESA) announced new Venus Mission, named EnVision, to be launched in 2030. EnVision probe will determine how and why Venus and Earth evolved so differently, even while being in habitable zone to the Sun.
    3. Online Insurance aggregator Policybazaar received IRDAI approval to undertake insurance broking Business, to help expand its services. It will now surrender its web aggregator licence to IRDAI, to onboard new set of services.
    4. Henri Marie Dondra has been named prime minister of Central African Republic.
    5. Stock exchange BSE has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary BSE Administration & Supervision Ltd (BASL), for carrying out administration and supervision activities of all Sebi-registered investment advisors.
    6. Bank of Maharashtra emerged at top among public sector lenders in terms of loan and deposit growth during FY 2020-21.
      1. It recorded 13.45 % increase in advances at Rs 1.07 lakh crores, followed by Punjab & Sind Bank (8.39 % growth).
      2. BoM's deposits also saw 16 % growth, most among PSBs.
    7. RBI extended risk-based internal audit (RBIA) system to select housing finance companies to enhance quality of their internal audit system.
      1. RBI had earlier mandated RBIA framework for select NBFCs and urban co-operative banks by March 31, 2022.
      2. Now, RBI has extended the provisions issued for NBFCs to all deposit-taking housing finance companies (HFCs) also.
    8. Telangana government launched Telangana Artificial Intelligence Mission (T-AIM) accelerator programme Revv Up, exclusively designed for growth-stage artificial intelligence (AI) startups.
    9. Madhya Pradesh has been ranked first in Anemia Mukt Bharat Index 2020-21, followed by Odisha and Himachal Pradesh.
  16. June 15, 2021
    1. June 15 is observed as UN World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
      1. June 15 is also observed as Global Wind Day.
    2. Former Indian Cricketer Suresh Raina's autobiography Believe – What Life and Cricket Taught Me, has been released. It has been co-authored by Bharat Sundaresan.
    3. India has been ranked 14th among 114 countries in World Giving Index 2021, by Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
      1. List has been topped by Indonesia, followed by Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar and Australia.
      2. World Giving Index offers glimpse of global trends in generosity, and people from which country are most likely to engage in social activities.
    4. IIT Kanpur faculty Mukesh Sharma has been appointed as an honorary member of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Air Pollution and Health – Technical Advisory Group (GAPH-TAG).
    5. 31st Meet of 30-member NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) summit held in Brussels (Belgium).
      1. During The summit, NATO leaders declared that China poses a constant security challenge and is working to undermine global order.
  17. June 14, 2021
    1. June 14 is observed as World Blood Donor Day.
    2. Rajasthan Govt approved draft of Mukhyamantri Kisan Mitra Urja Yojana, under which agriculture power consumers will get Rs 1000 every month, with annual cost 1450 crores per annum.
    3. UAE, Brazil, Albania, Gabon and Ghana have been elected to 15 Member UN Security Council (UNSC), for 2 year term starting January 2022.
      1. The newly elected nations will replace Vietnam, Estonia, Niger, Tunisia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
      2. UNSC has 5 Members (5 Permannent and 10 Non Permanent).
        1. Permanent - China, France, Russia, US, and US.
        2. Non Permanent -
          1. India , Ireland, Kenya , Mexico, Norway, UAE, Brazil, Albania, Gabon and Ghana.
    4. 2021 French Open Tennis Title (Paris) -
      1. Men's Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia). He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece).
        1. This is 19th Grand Slam win for Novak Djokovic, and 2nd French Open.
      2. Women's Singles - Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic). She defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia).
        1. This is Barbora Krejčíková's 1st Grand Slam win.
      3. Men's Doubles - Pierre-Hugues Herbert (France) AND Nicolas Mahut (France)
      4. Women's Doubles - Barbora Krejčíková (Czech Republic) AND Kateřina Siniaková (Czech Republic)
      5. Mixed Doubles - Desirae Krawczyk (US) AND Joe Salisbury (UK)
      6. Boys' Singles - Luca Van Assche (France)
      7. Girls' Singles Linda Nosková (Czech Republic)
      8. About -
        1. 2021 was 125th edition of French Open.
        2. Other 3 Grand Slam Tournaments are Australian Open, US Open and Wimbeldon.
    5. Assam Government will institute its own series of annual awards similar to Padma awards at central level.
      1. Asom Ratna Award, which was earlier conferred only once every three years, will now be awarded every year to one person.
      2. Three new sets of awards on the lines of Padma Awards namely- Asom Bibhushan, Asom Bhushan, and Asom Shree will be conferred.
        1. Asom Bibhushan will be presented to 3, Asom Bhushan to 2 and Asom Shree will be presented to 10 individuals every year.
        2. 5 lakh award money will be given to Asom Ratna awardee, 3 lakh to Asom Bibhushan, 2 lakh to Asom Bhushan and 1 lakh to Asom Shree awardees.
        3. Awardees will also be given benefits such as Freemedical treatment and Travel.
        4. Other Announcements -
          1. Assam will also confer a Literary pension in the name of litterateur Homen Borgohain on his birthday (December 7).
          2. Sports pension will be conferred in name of Arjun awardee Bogeswar Barua on his birthday (September 3).
          3. Will also confer the Artiste Award on January 17.
    6. Finnish Space Exploration Firm Arctic Astronautics will Launch world’s first wooden satellite into space by end of 2021, named WISA Woodsat. This wooden satellite will help scientists monitor how does wood reacts in the cold, heat, radiation, and the vacuum of space.
    7. ICC inducted 10 new cricketers into ICC Hall of Fame, including 4 special inductees.
      1. Vinoo Mankad (India) - He was first Indian to score 1000 test runs and take 100 test wickets.
      2. Aubrey Faulkner (South Africa)
      3. Learie Constantine (West Indies)
      4. Ted Dexter (England)
      5. Desmond Haynes (West Indies)
      6. Andy Flower (Zimbabwe)
      7. Special Inductees -
        1. Monty Noble (Australia)
        2. Stan McCabe (Australia)
        3. Bob Willis (England)
        4. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
  18. June 13, 2021
    1. Cabinet Approvals (June 13, 2021) -
      1. General -
        1. Approved Introducing Inland Vessels Bill 2021, to replace Inland Vessels Act 1917, and regulate safety, security and registration of inland vessels. It will propose a unified law for entire country, instead of separate rules framed by the States.
          1. Certificate of registration granted under proposed law will be deemed to be valid in all States / UTs.
          2. Bill provides for a central data base for recording the details of vessel, vessel registration, crew.
          3. It requires all mechanically propelled vessels to be mandatorily registered. All non-mechanically propelled vessels will also have to be enrolled at district, taluk or panchayat or village level.
      2. CCEA Approvals -
        1. Approved proposal of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on Deep Ocean Mission, to explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
          1. Estimated cost is 4077 crores for 5 years. Cost for first phase for 3 years (2021-2024) is 2823.4 crores.
          2. Deep Ocean Mission with be a mission mode project to support Blue Economy Initiatives.
        2. Approved fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy Rates for P&K Fertilizers for year 2021-22. Rates are as under -
          1. Per Kg Subsidy rates (in Rs.)
            N (Nitrogen) P(Phosphorus) K(Potash) S(Sulphur)
            18.789 45.323 10.116 2.374
    2. 3 Centers of Excellence (COEs) have been inaugurated in Karnataka under Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP), to use Israeli technologies in field of Horticulture.
      1. 29 Centres of Excellence (COEs) are operational across India in 12 States, implementing advanced Israeli Agro-Technology tailored to local conditions.
    3. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh attended Virtual 8th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus.
      1. It is an annual meeting of Defence Ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and 8 dialogue partners - Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia and US.
      2. Brunei is Chair of the ADMM Plus forum this year.
    4. India signed $484 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB), to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development in Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu.
      1. CKIC is part of India’s East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), which stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and connects India to production networks of South, Southeast, and East Asia.
    5. Naftali Bennett has been named new (13th) Prime Minister of Israel, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu.
    6. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched ADI PRASHIKSHAN portal, to act as a Central Repository of all training programs conducted related Agencies, which Includes Tribal Research Institutes, National Society for Education of Tribal Students, Centre of Excellences funded by Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
      1. Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda also launched tribal livelihoods initiative Sankalp Se Siddhi – Mission Van Dhan.
    7. 47th G7 summit held in Cornwall (England), Presided by UK, with theme Build Back Better.
      1. UK had invited India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa as Guest Countries for G7 Summit 2021.
      2. PM Narendra Modi Attended the Summit Virtually.
    8. June 13 is observed as International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD). 2021 Theme is Strength Beyond All Odds.
  19. June 12, 2021
    1. June 12 - World Day against Child Labour. 2021 theme Act now: end child labour. It was established by International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002.
    2. Foreign exchange reserves of India crossed $600 billion mark for the first time, making India get past Russia, to become 4th largest Forex reserve Holder. Top 3 - China, Japan, Switzerland.
    3. UN General Assembly named Costa Rica economist Rebecca Grynspan as head of United Nations Conference on Trade and development (UNCTAD). She will be the first woman and Central American to lead UNCTAD.
    4. Amartya Sen's new book Home in the World will be released in July 2021.
    5. As per Global Skills Report 2021 by Coursera -
      1. India is ranked 67th globally.
      2. Top 3 - Switzerland, Luxembourg, Austria
    6. Choguel Kokalla Maïga has been named Transitional Prime Minister of Mali.
      1. He was named Prime Minister of Transition by coup leader & newly appointed President of Transition Assimi Goïta.
    7. Film producer Ronnie Screwvala Authored Book Skill It, Kill It has been released.
    8. Vijay Gokhale Authored Book Tiananmen Square: The Making of a Protest, has been released.
  20. June 11, 2021
    1. June 11 is observed as Green Mizoram Day in Mizoram State.
    2. International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) launched a new global database named I-Familia, to identify missing individuals through family DNA and to help police solve the cold cases in member countries.
    3. Central American Nation El Salvador became first country to grant legal tender status to Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
    4. Zimbabwe Author Tsitsi Dangarembga won PEN Pinter Prize 2021, given annually to a British writer or a writer resident in Britain of outstanding literary merit.
      1. This award was launched in 2009 by English PEN in honour of late Nobel Literature Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter.
    5. Pulitzer Prize 2021 -
      1. Winners -
        1. Letters, Drama, and Music -
          1. Fiction - The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
          2. Drama -  The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall
          3. History -  Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America by Marcia Chatelain
          4. Biography or Autobiography -  The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne
          5. Poetry -   Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz
          6. Music - Stride by Tania León
          7. General Non-fiction -  Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino
        2. Journalism -
          1. Public Service -  The New York Times
          2. Breaking News Reporting - Staff of The Star Tribun
          3. Investigative Reporting - Matt Rocheleau, Vernal Coleman, Laura Crimaldi, Evan Allen and Brendan McCarthy of The Boston Globe
          4. Local Reporting -  Kathleen McGrory and Neil Bedi of The Tampa Bay Times
          5. National Reporting - Staffs of The Marshall Project, AL.com, The Indianapolis Star, and the Invisible Institute
          6. International Reporting - Megha Rajagopalan, Alison Killing and Christo Buschek of BuzzFeed News
          7. Feature Writing - Mitchell S. Jackson, freelance contributor for Runner's World AND Nadja Drost, freelance contributor for The California Sunday Magazine.
          8. Commentary - Michael Paul Williams of the Richmond Times-Dispatch
          9. Criticism - Wesley Morris of The New York Times,
          10. Editorial Writing - Robert Greene of the Los Angeles Times,
          11. Feature Photography - Emilio Morenatti of Associated Press
        3. Special Awards and Citations -
          1. A Special Citation was awarded to Darnella Frazier, For courageously recording the murder of George Floyd.
      2. About Pulitzer Prizes -
        1. Given for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in USA.
        2. Established in 1917 by provisions in will of American (Hungarian-born) Joseph Pulitzer who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher and is administered by Columbia University in New York City.
    6. Google announced building an undersea cable, that will connect US, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina, to bolster capacity of internet connection between these regions. It will be named Firminia, after a Brazilian abolitionist and author Maria Firminia dos Reis.
    7. International Olympic Committee (IOC) proposed Brisbane (Australia) as host of 2032 Summer Olympics.
      1. Note that 2024 Olympics will be held in Paris (France) and 2028 Olympics will be hosted in Los Angles (US).
    8. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (Portugal) won his 2nd 5 year term.
    9. India's Deputy Ambassador to United Nations, Nagaraj Naidu has been appointed Chef de Cabinet of President-elect of 76th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
      1. For the first time, an Indian diplomat has been made the Chef de Cabinet of UNGA.
    10. Russia Launched its first stealth naval warship, fully equipped with stealth technology making it hard to detect it by enemy vessels.
      1. The full stealth warship, Merkuriy naval corvette, is built under Project 20386.
      2. Project 20386 is Russia's newest class of corvettes being constructed by Severnaya Verf for the Russian Navy.
    11. Auckland (New Zealand) topped EIU Global Liveability Ranking 2021.
      1. Top 5 - Auckland (New Zealand), Osaka (Japan), Adelaide (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand), Tokyo (Japan)
    12. Ukhnaa Khurelsukh (Former Mongolian Prime Minister), has been elected as country’s new democratically elected president.
    13. Gujarat Maritime Board will set up India’s first international maritime services cluster at GIFT City in Ahmedabad, as a dedicated ecosystem comprising of ports, shipping, logistics services providers and pertinent government regulators.
    14. Indian actress Tillotama Shome won Best Actor award at 2021 UK Asian Film Festival (UKAFF), for her role in Raahgir. Filmmaker Goutam Ghose also won Best Director award at UKAFF.
  21. June 10, 2021
    1. General Conferences (June 1 - 10, 2021) -
      1. IIT Madras’ Centre for Memory Studies virtually hosted Asia’s first International Memory Studies Workshop.
      2. Anurag Singh Thakur (Minister of State (Finance and Corporate Affairs)) launched 6 modules of short films of Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) titled “Hisaab Ki Kitaab”.
      3. European Union and Breakthrough Energy (energy investment programme founded by Bill Gates) announced raising up to $1 billion to roll out low-carbon technologies to meet Europe's climate change goals.
      4. National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed concerned authorities to implement Vishwamitri River Action Plan, including demarcation, plantation and maintaining integrity of the river.
      5. G7 grouping (UK, US, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, Italy) reached a deal on taxing multinational companies, during finance ministers' meet in London. G7 Nations agreed to counter tax avoidance through measures in order to make firms pay in nations where they do business.
      6. Assam government renamed science and technology department as department of science, technology and climate change.
      7. India and United Kingdom launched new workstream to promote industrial energy efficiency under Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) – Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative  (IDDI) co-ordinated by UNIDO.
        1. IDDI is supported by Germany and Canada, to infuse green technologies and  stimulate demand for low-carbon industrial material.
      8. River Devika National Project in Jammu & Kashmir has been initiated with budget 190 crores, under Centrally funded National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), to rejuvenate Spiritually important Devika River.
        1. Devika river originates from hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in Udhampur district of J&K. It flows down towards western Punjab where it merges with Ravi river.
      9. Govt extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY-III) till Deepawali 2021 (Nov 4, 2021). Under it, over 80 crore people will continue to get decided amount of free food grain every month.
      10. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a seed Minikit programme by distributing high-yielding varieties of seeds of oilseeds and pulses to farmers. Mini-kits under are being provided by Central agencies NAFED, National Seeds Corporation (NCS), and Gujarat State Seeds Corporation
    2. Indian Coast Guard inducted Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Mk-III in its fleet, which are indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
      1. The helicopters are capable of undertaking embarked operations from ships which will enhance Coast Guard capabilities.
    3. As per Govt data related to Agriculture Trade -
      1. Exports - USD 41.25 billion in 2020-21, compared to USD 35.16 billion in 2019-20 (17.34 % Increase).
      2. Imports - USD 20.67 billion in 2020-21 , compared to USD 20.64 billion in 2019-20 (.002 % Increase).
      3. Balance of Agri. Trade (Exports -Imports), improved from USD 14.51 billion in 2019-20 to USD 20.58 billion in 2020-21.
    4. UN Development Programme (UNDP) Presented an Independent report on performance of India's Aspirational Districts Programme, launched in 2018 -
      1. It has been depicted as a very successful model of local area development, serving as a best practice for other countries.
      2. UNDP’s analysis spans across 5 key sectors of ADP—health and nutrition; education; agriculture and water resources; basic infrastructure; and skill development and financial inclusion.
  22. June 09, 2021
    1. Kuwait's Husain Al-Musallam has been elected President of International Swimming Federation (FINA). Also, Virendra Nanavati became First Indian to be elected as a member of FINA Bureau.
    2. QS World University Rankings 2022 -
      1. Top 5 -
        1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
        2. University of Oxford (UK)
        3. Stanford University (US)
        4. University of Cambridge (UK)
        5. Harvard University (US)
      2. Indian Universities in List -
        1. IIT Bombay (177), IIT Delhi (185) and IISC Bangalore (186) are top 3 Indian Universities.
        2. Total 35 Indian Indian Universities have been included in List.
    3. Cabinet Approvals (June 09, 2021) -
      1. General -
        1. Approved allotment allotment of 5 MHz Spectrum in 700 MHz frequency band to Indian Railways for public safety and security services at stations and in trains. With this, Railways has envisaged to provide LTE (Long Term Evolution) based Mobile Train Radio Communication on its route, with investment over 25000 Crores. The project will be completed in 5 years.
      2. CCEA Approvals -
        1. Approved proposal of Department of Fertilizers for extension of applicability of New Investment Policy (NIP)-2012 read with its amendment dated 7th Oct 2014 for Ramagundam Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited (RFCL).
          1. RFCL is a JV consisting of National Fertilizers, Engineers India Limited and Fertilizers Corporation of India.
          2. RFCL is reviving erstwhile Ramagundam Unit of FCIL by setting up a new gas based green field neem coated Urea Plant with installed capacity of 12.7 Lakh Metric Ton per annum, with cost 6165 crores.
        2. Approved increase in Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Kharif crops for marketing season 2021-22.
          1. Highest increase in MSP over previous year has been recommended for sesamum (452 per quintal) followed by tur and urad (300 per quintal each).
          2. Increase in MSP for Kharif Crops for marketing season 2021-22 is in line with Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production (CoP).
          3. Expected returns to farmers are estimated to be highest in case of Bajra (85%) followed by urad (65%) and tur (62%).
    4. Anup Chandra Pandey has been named as new Election Commissioner (EC) of India.
      1. Election Commission of India consists of a Chief Election Commissioner (Sushil Chandra Currently) and 2 Election Commissioners (Rajiv Kumar and now Anup Chandra Pandey).
    5. Govt re-appointed Mahesh Kumar Jain as RBI Deputy Governor, for 2 years.
      1. Other Current RBI Governors are T. Rabi Sankar, M. Rajeshwar Rao and M. D. Patra.
    6. June 9 is observed as World Accreditation Day.
      1. June 9 is also observed as Coral Triangle Day, to raise awareness of ocean conservation and protection, especially on Coral Triangle, which are world's epicenter of marine biodiversity.
  23. June 08, 2021
    1. French novelist David Diop won International Booker Prize 2021 for English Translation of his book Frere d’ ame, translated into english as At Night All Blood is Black, by Anna Moschovakis.
      1. He is first French winner of Booker prize, which is awarded for a book translated into English and published in UK or Ireland.
      2. International Booker Prize (formerly Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in UK, given Since 2016 to a single book translated into English and published in UK / Ireland, with £50,000 prize shared equally between author and translator.
      3. It is sepeate from Booker Prize, Earlier Booker–McConnell Prize (1969–2001) and Man Booker Prize (2002–2019). It is a literary prize awarded each year for best novel written in English and published in UK / Ireland.
    2. June 8 - World Oceans Day. 2021 theme is ‘The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’.
    3. National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) announced 2 new scientific missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030, named DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) and VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy).
      1. DAVINCI+ will measure composition of dense Venusian atmosphere and will seek to improve understanding of how it evolved. It will also consist of a fly-by spacecraft and an atmospheric descent probe. It will return high-resolution images of unique geological characteristics on Venus called ‘tesserae’.
      2. VERITAS will map surface of Venus from orbit to help determine its geological history and why it was developed so differently from Earth.
    4. Vivek Ram Chaudhari is named as New Vice Chief of Indian Air Force. Also, Ballabha Radha Krishna will head Western Command and RJ Duckworth will head Central Air Command.
    5. New book 1232 km: The Long Journey Home by filmmaker Vinod Kapri has been released, which depicts journey of seven migrant workers from Bihar, who journeyed back home on their bicycles, during COVID-19 Lockdown.
    6. Red Bull's Mexican F1 racer Sergio Pérez won Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2021 -
      1. F1 Season 2021 -
        1. Grand Prix Winner Race date
          Bahrain Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 28 March
          Emilia Romagna Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 18 April
          Portuguese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 2 May
          Spanish Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton (UK) 9 May
          Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Belgian-Dutch) 23 May
          Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 6 June
          French Grand Prix   20 June
          Styrian Grand Prix   27 June
          Austrian Grand Prix   4 July
          British Grand Prix   18 July
          Hungarian Grand Prix   1 August
          Belgian Grand Prix   29 August
          Dutch Grand Prix   5 September
          Italian Grand Prix   12 September
          Russian Grand Prix   26 September
          Japanese Grand Prix   10 October
          United States Grand Prix   24 October
          Mexico City Grand Prix   31 October
          São Paulo Grand Prix   7 November
          Australian Grand Prix   21 November
          Saudi Arabian Grand Prix   5 December
          Abu Dhabi Grand Prix   12 December
    7. Misc. / Industrial Awards (June 2021) -
      1. Kerala-origin Canadian Photographer Thomas Vijayan won 2021 Nature TTL Photography Award, for his photo of an Orangutan clinging to a tree, titled The World is Going Upside Down.
      2. Cochin International Airport won Airport Council International (ACI) Director General’s Roll of Excellence honour in Airport Service Quality.
    8. Ranjitsinh Disale has been appointed as World Bank Education advisor, upto June 2024.
      1. Disale, who was first Indian to have been awarded Global Teacher Award in 2020, will now work on Coach Project, launched by World Bank in March 2021.
      2. It aims to help countries accelerate learning by improving teacher professional development.
    9. 23 nations, including India, collectively launched a bold new plan called Mission Innovation 2.0,  during Innovating to Net Zero Summit hosted by Chile.
      1. It aims to spearhead a decade of innovation for global investment in clean energy research and development.
      2. It is 2nd phase of global Mission Innovation initiative, launched alongside Paris Agreement at 2015 COP21 conference.
  24. June 07, 2021
    1. June 7 is observed as World World Food Safety Day, with 2021 theme - ‘Food Safety, everyone’s business’. It was First Observed in 2019, facilitated by World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations (UN).
    2. Kerala government launched Knowledge Economy Mission, to bring ongoing efforts to provide employment to educated and support ‘knowledge workers’ under a single programme.
      1. Considered a sub-mission of the Kudumbasree Mission, the project entailed training its workers as well as executives of K-DISC and Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP).
    3. Punjab ranked at tp in National performance grading index of school education for 2019-20 improving from 13th position in 2018-19. It was followed by Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
    4. Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2021 -
      1. Top 5 -
        1. Tsinghua University (China)
        2. Peking University (China)
        3. National University of Singapore (Singapore)
        4. University of Hong Kong
        5. Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
      2. Indian Universities in List -
        1. Total 63 Universities named in List.
        2. Top 3 Indian Universities -
          1. IISC Bangalore (37)
          2. IIT Ropar (55)
          3. IIT Indore (78)
    5. NITI Aayog recommended divesting government stake in Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) as part of privatisation initiatives announced in Union Budget.
    6. Raimona in Kokrajhar district became Assam’s sixth national park.
      1. Also, Eastern Assam’s Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, under stress for unregulated coal mining is in process of becoming 7th national park in Assam.
      2. Earlier 5 national parks are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
    7. Sanjeev Nandan Sahai is named as chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
    8. Denmark Parliament approved building a 20 billion-kroner ($3.3 billion) artificial island in Copenhagen, to house over 35000 people.
    9. Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur launched YounTab Scheme for students, distributing 12300 tablets to students in remote areas.
  25. June 06, 2021
    1. June 6 is observed as UN Russian Language Day, established by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010.
      1. June 6 is also observed as World Pest Day or World Pest Awareness Day.
    2. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to formalize Russia's exit from Open Skies treaty, after US President Joe Biden informed that US will not rejoin Open Skies Treaty.
      1. Earlier, Former US President Donald Trump pulled US out of Open Skies Treaty, claiming that Russia had violated the agreement that allows the two nations and their allies to monitor each another's airspace. US formally withdrew in November 2020.
    3. India has been elected to UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of six main organs of United Nations, for 2022-24 term.
    4. World Bank approved USD 500 million Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Performance (RAMP) Program, to help boost India’s MSME sector, targeting improvements in performance of 5.5 lakh MSMEs.
    5. Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid has been elected as President of 76th session of UN General Assembly (UNGA).
      1. He will succeed Turkey's Volkan Bozkir, who was President of 75th session of UNGA.
  26. June 05, 2021
    1. June 5 - World Environment Day, designated by United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in 1972. It was first celebrated in 1974. 
      1. 2021 Theme is Ecosystem Restoration. It is hosted in Pakistan in 2021. India was host Nation in 2018.
      2. On this occasion -
        1. UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 has been launched, which was proposed by El Salvador in 2019.
        2. Films Division presented Oasis of Hope online festival, to mark WED.
        3. A New product category of Green Room Air Conditioners has been launched on Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
        4. NTPC become a signatory to UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate, joining coveted league of companies that focus on efficient water management.
        5. PM Narendra Modi released Report of the Expert Committee on Road Map for ethanol blending in India 2020-2025. Govt has reset target to achieve 20 % ethanol blending in petrol by 2025, compared to target of 2030 earlier.
        6. Haryana Govt announced creating a 80 acres of Oxi-van in Karnal district, consisting 10 types of forests.
      3. June 5 is also observed as International Day for the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, observed by UN Food and Agriculture Organization since 2018.
    2. GST revenue collected in May 2021 is 1.03 Lakh crores (CGST 17592 crores, SGST 22653 Crores, IGST 53199 crores and Cess 9265 crores.
    3. Rajesh Pendharkar has been appointed as Director General Naval Operations in Indian Navy.
    4. NHPC limited formed joint venture company with Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC), called Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited for implementation of 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Project, holding equity of 51% and 49% respectively.
      1. 5284 Crores Budget Ratle Hydoelectric Project is a Run of River Scheme on River Chenab in Kishtwar district (J&K).
      2. A tripartite MoU was signed In Feb 2019 amongst JKSPDC, NHPC and erstwhile Government of Jammu & Kashmir, for the same.
    5. Competition Commission of India Approvals (June 2021) -
      1. Approved combination relating to BYJU’S (Think & Learn Private Limited)'s acquisition of Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL).
        1. Edtech Startup Byju's had earlier acquired tutorial chain Aakash Educational Services (AESL) for $950 million.
      2. Approved acquisition of 51% equity share capital in each of 3 Electricity Supply Companies of Odisha - Western Electricity Supply Company of Odisha, Southern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha and Central Electricity Supply Company of Odisha, by Tata Power Company.
        1. It relates to acquisition of 51% of equity share capital in each utility by TPCL from Grid Corporation of Odisha Limited (GRIDCO).
      3. Approved acquisition of Zuarinagar plant of Zuari Agro Chemicals by Paradeep Phosphates Limited.
    6. Misc. MOUs (June 2021) -
      1. EESL Subsidiary Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) signed MoU with Administration of UT of Ladakh, to Promote clean and green energy.
      2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Digital India Corporation signed MoU to facilitate farmers by providing location specific ‘Demand Based Tele Agriculture Advisories’.
      3. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Culture signed MoU for Cooperation in Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal (Gujarat).
      4. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Ministry of Civil Aviation signed MoU for Development of Sea Plane Services in India.
      5. MoU signed between NHPC and Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation, for Implementation of 130 MW Dagmara HE Project in Supaul District, as largest hydropower project of Bihar.
      6. India and Kuwait signed MoU to bring Indian domestic workers in Gulf nation within a legal framework, to provide them with protection of law and streamlines their recruitment.
      7. India and Bhutan signed MoU for developing cooperation in area of environment.
      8. Assam Govt signed MoU with Survey of India,for implementing Svamitva Scheme in state, aimed at providing an integrated property validation solution for rural areas.
      9. MOU signed between Indian Navy and Bharat Electronics Limited for creation of a joint Technology Incubation Forum (TIF), for boosting innovation and fostering development of Emerging Technologies.
    7. Covid-19 Pandemic Updates (June 2021) -
      1. NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation launched Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyaan in 112 Aspirational Districts, under Aspirational Districts Collaborative, to assist district administrations in providing home-care support to Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms.
      2. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) devised an online tracking portal Bal Swaraj (COVID-Care link) for children in need of care and protection, during Covid-19 Pandemic.
      3. As per International Labour Organisation report World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2021, global unemployment rate will be 5.7% in 2022, 6.3% in 2021 & there will no recovery in global jobs until 2023.
      4. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launched CM Sishu Seva Scheme, to help children orphaned due to COVID-19. State government would give 3500 per month per child including Central government support of 2000.
      5. Govt launched 'Project O2 for India' to step up production of medical oxygen to meet the potential increase in demand due to further expected waves of pandemic.
      6. Madhya Pradesh Govt launched Yuva Shakti Corona Mukti Abhiyan to make people aware of COVID-19 pandemic, to avoid its spread.
      7. Israel became first mask-free country in COVID-19 period, by ending rule of applying masks in Public places, after majority of population has been vaccinated.
      8. IDFC FIRST Bank launched Ghar Ghar Ration Program, an employee-funded program for its low-income customers whose livelihoods are affected by COVID-19.
      9. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), World Health Organisation (WHO), and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) announced a joint platform to help nations plug gaps in accessing COVID-19 vaccines, technologies, and treatments.
      10. World Health Organization (WHO) announced to set up a hub in South Africa to give companies from poor and middle-income countries the know-how and the licenses to produce Coronavirus Vaccines.
      11. Delhi Govt launched Mukhyamantri Covid-19 Pariwar Aarthik Sahayata Yojana, to provide financial assistance to families who lost their members to Covid-19. Under it, 50000 ex-gratia will be given to families that lost a member to Covid-19 and an additional 2500 per month will be given if the deceased was only earner.
      12. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announced new scheme Ashirbad, for education, health and maintenance of Children orphaned due to COVID-19. Under it, 2500 per month will be deposited in bank accounts of family members who have taken responsibility for children after death of parents.
  27. June 04, 2021
    1. Centre for World University Rankings 2021-22 -
      1. Top 5 - Harvard University (US), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Stanford University (US), University of Cambridge (UK), and Oxford University (UK).
      2. India -
        1. 68 Indian institutes have made it to the list of top 2000 higher education institutes across world, led by IIM-Ahmedabad (415th) and Indian Institute of Science (459th).
    2. Microsoft launched its 1st Asia Pacific Public Sector Cyber Security Executive Council, which consists of policymakers and influencers from Brunei, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
      1. It aims to accelerate public-private partnerships in cybersecurity and share threat intelligence.
    3. 2nd UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference will be held in October 2021 in Beijing (China), to focus on opportunities, challenges and solutions towards achieving sustainable transport worldwide.
      1. 1st Global Sustainable Transport Conference was held in 2016 in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).
    4. Patrick Amoth (Kenya) has been appointed as Chairman of World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board, for 1 year. He will replace Harsh Vardhan (India's Health Minister).
    5. Wipro Became 3rd Indian IT firm to achieve INR 3 trillion market capitalisation, after Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys.
      1. Reliance Industries is India’s most valued company, with market cap of 14.05 trillion, followed by TCS (11.58) and HDFC Bank (8.33).
    6. Indian Navy’s oldest hydrographic survey ship INS Sandhayak has been decommissioned, after serving for 40 years.
    7. June 4 is observed as International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
    8. Thaawarchand Gehlot (Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment) launched SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) initiative and SAGE portal for elderly persons, as a one-stop access of elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
    9. RBI announced a separate on-tap liquidity window of Rs 15,000 crores, to help ailing businesses in contact intensive sectors. It has been opened till March 31, 2022, with tenors up to 3 years at repo rate.
    10. 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open Tennis (Italy) -
      1. Men's Singles - Sebastian Korda (US). He defeated Marco Cecchinato (Italy)
      2. Women's Singles - Coco Gauff (US). She defeated Wang Qiang (China)
      3. Men's Doubles - Simone Bolelli (Italy) AND Máximo González (Argentina)
      4. Women's Doubles - Coco Gauff (US) AND Caty McNally (US)
    11. Misc. Sports News /Events (June 2021) -
      1. Atletico Madrid won Spanish Soccer Lealgue La Liga 2020-21 Season.
      2. Indian Footballer Sunil Chhetri became second-highest active international goal scorer, overtaking Argentina’s Lionel Messi, in preliminary round match for FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 Joint Qualifiers.
      3. Oman has been named as host of inaugural International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey5s World Cup, to be held in 2024.
      4. Former Cricketer Virender Sehwag launched AI-Based Cricket learning portal CRICURU.
      5. Indian Female Wrestler Vinesh Phogat won Gold in 53 kg Women's Freestyle, in Poland Open Wrestling 2021. Also, India's Ravi Kumar Dahiya won Silver in 61 kg.
      6. Social Justice and Empowerment ministry will establish 5 Divyangta Khel Kendras across country.
      7. Ireland Cricketer Kevin O’Brien announced his retirement from one-day internationals.
      8. Filipino Female Golfer Yuka Saso won U.S. Women’s Open Golf 2021.
      9. Indian Female Cricketer Shafali Verma became youngest Indian cricketer to make debut across all formats, at 17 years age.
      10. Jharkhand State Cricket Association signed MoU with SAIL Bokaro Steel Plant, for construction of an International Cricket Stadium in Bokaro city.
    12. New Book All Roads Lead North: Nepal’s Turn To China, written by Amish Raj Mulmi has been released.
    13. Misc. Science News / Events (June 2021) -
      1. Jayanti became 12th subgenus of cricket identified under genus Arachnomimus Saussure, 1897. It was Found in Kurra caves of Chhattisgarh, and was named after Noted Cave Explorer Jayant Biswas.
      2. Germany-based HeidelbergCement (world's second-largest cement maker), will turn its Swedish factory in Slite into world's first CO2-neutral cement plant by 2030, via carbon capture technology.
      3. IIT Ropar developed a device ‘Jivan Vayu’ which can be used as a substitute of CPAP machine. It is India’s first such device which functions even without electricity and is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units - O2 cylinders and oxygen pipelines in hospitals.
      4. China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) generated a plasma temperature of 126 million Fahrenheit (120 million C) for 101 seconds, also cranking up device to achieve 160 million Celcius for 20 seconds. The previous record for a maintained plasma temperature was 180 million F (100 million C) for 100 seconds.
      5. Researchers from Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) consortium sequenced first truly complete human reference genome, which can possibly be largest improvement to human reference genome, since its initial release approx 20 years ago.
        1. Celera Genomics and International Human Genome Sequencing, in 2001, published first drafts of human genome and revolutionized genomics.
      6. Israeli researchers discovered remains belonging to a new type of early human who was previously unknown, near city of Ramla.
      7. A newly discovered spider species from Thane-Kalyan region has been named Icius Tukarami, after Tukaram Omble, Mumbai Cop who laid down his life to help capture terrorist Ajmal Kasab during 26/11 terror attacks.
    14. H K Dwivedi has been named new chief secretary of West Bengal.
    15. Goa govt approved constitution of Goa Institution for Future Transformation (GIFT), in line with Niti Aayog at Centre, to assist in policy making and formulation under chairmanship of chief minister.
      1. It will guide government towards achieving sustainable development goals and Vision 2030, and will also work at doubling per capita income by 2025.
    16. 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)-
      1. Medal Table -
        1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
          1  Kazakhstan 3 2 1 6
          2  Turkey 2 3 1 6
          3  Uzbekistan 2 2 1 5
          4  Armenia 2 1 0 3
          5  Indonesia 2 0 0 2
      2. India ranked 17th (Jointly with Belgium), by winning 1 Silver Medal (won by Achinta Sheuli (Men's 73 KG)).
    17. 2021 Belgrade Open Men' Tennis (Serbia) -
      1. Singles - Novak Djokovic (Serbia). He Defeated Alex Molčan (Slovakia)
      2. Doubles - Jonathan Erlich (Israel) AND Andrei Vasilevski (Belarus)
    18. Govt brought forward target date for achieving 20 % ethanol-blending with petrol by 2 years to 2023 (from 2025 earlier), to help reduce India's dependence on costly oil imports.
    19. ICICI Bank tied up with SWIFT to help overseas partner banks to send instant remittances on behalf of their customers to beneficiary in India. This makes ICICI Bank first bank in Asia-Pacific and 2nd globally to offer the facility, called ‘SWIFT gpi Instant’, for cross border inward payments.
    20. Book Transformation in Times of Crisis, authored by Nitin Rakesh and Jerry Wind, won UK's International Business Book of Year Award 2021.
  28. June 03, 2021
    1. June 3 - World Bicycle Day, declared by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2018. It promotes use of Bicycle for its environmental and health benefits.
    2. Issac Herzog has been named as new (11th) President of Israel, succeding Reuven Rivlin.
    3. Former SC judge Arun Kumar Mishra has been named as Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
    4. ICC (International Cricket Council) announced Format Changes for upcoming global events -
      1. Men's ODI World Cup in 2027 and 2031 will be a 14-team event.
      2. Men's T20 World Cup will now be expanded to include 20 teams from 2024 onwards.
    5. New Zealand signed US-led Artemis Accords with NASA, an international agreement to cooperate with NASA on peaceful, safe, sustainable, and transparent space exploration.
      1. Other Nations who have signed - Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg, Ukraine, UAE, UK, US.
      2. Artemis Accords is a US led effort to return humans to Moon by 2024, and to expand and deepen space exploration.
    6. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) elected T V Narendran (CEO & MD of Tata Steel) as its new President for 2021-22.
    7. African Union suspended membership of Republic of Mali, after second military coup detention of a president and prime minister in nine months.
      1. Military coup leader Colonel Goita had ordered arrest of country’s interim President N’Daw and Prime Minister Ouane recently, causing global outrage.
    8. RBI Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy statement -
      1. RBI has cut its real GDP growth forecast for FY 22 (2021-22) to 9.5 %. It predicts economy to grow at 18.5 % in Q1, 7.9 % in Q2, 7.2 % in Q3 and 6.6 % in Q4.
      2. Policy rates have been kept unchanged at -
        1. Repo Rate : 4.00%
        2. Reverse Repo Rate : 3.35%
        3. Marginal Standing Facility Rate : 4.25%
        4. Bank Rate : 4.25%
        5. CRR : 4.00%
        6. SLR : 18.00%
    9. President Ram Nath Kovind nominated Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani and re-nominated former journalist Swapan Dasgupta to Rajya Sabha.
      1. Rajya Sabha may have up to 250 members - 238 members representing States / UTs and 12 nominated by President.
    10. Indian IT Firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) opened its first European innovation centre in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), under TCS Pace Ports Network, to bring universities, startups and government together and help use technology to solve sustainability challenges.
    11. Book on life of Veer Savarkar titled Savarkar: A contested Legacy (1924-1966), written by Vikram Sampath has been released.
    12. Former Cricketer and Coach Ravi Shastri's First Book Stargazing: The Players in My Life will be released soon.
    13. Misc. Corporate News / Events (June 2021) -
      1. e-pharmacy PharmEasy acquired Medlife, to make PharmEasy largest player in domestic online pharmacy sector.
      2. India Post Payments Bank and Mahindra Rural Housing Finance partnered for cash management solutions, enabling IPPB to offer cash management and collection services to MRHFL through its access points and postal service providers.
      3. RBI imposed penalty of 2 crore on Punjab National Bank and 4 crores on Bank of India, for non-compliance with certain RBI Norms.
      4. DBS Bank has been named by Forbes at top, out of 30 domestic and international banks in India for 2nd consecutive year.
      5. HDFC Bank announced its plans to become carbon-neutral by 2031-32.
      6. SBI launched collateral-free Kavach Personal Loan, to enable customers to meet medical expenses for Covid treatment. Under it, customers can avail loans up to 5 lakhs at effective interest rate of 8.5 % per annum.
      7. Payments services provider BharatPe acquired multi-brand loyalty platform PAYBACK India.
      8. IndusInd Bank launched Easy Credit digital lending platform to enable customers to meet financial requirements, from their homes.
      9. ICICI Bank launched ICICI STACK for Corporates, as a comprehensive set of digital banking solutions for corporates and their entire ecosystem.
      10. As per Bank for International Settlements, Indian banks' credit-to-GDP ratio rose to 5 year high of 56% in 2020, having total outstanding bank at $1.52 trillion in India. Higher credit-to-GDP ratio indicates aggressive and active participation of the banking sector in real economy.
      11. SBI Card partnered with Fabindia, a retail platform for a wide range of handcrafted products by artisans, to launch an exclusive co-branded contactless credit card.
      12. Paisabazaar.com and SBM Bank India Jointly launched Step Up Credit Card, a credit builder product designed for consumers with limited access to formal credit, due to ineligible credit score.
      13. Bharti Airtel partnered with Tata group's TCS, for implementing 5G network solutions for India.
      14. Fertiliser cooperative IFFCO will set up a nano urea liquid manufacturing plant in Argentina, in partnership with Instituto Nacional de Asociativismoy Economia Social (INAES) and Cooperative Confederation of Argentina 'Cooperar'.
    14. CBDT Member Jagannath Bidyadhar Mohapatra has been given additional charge as chairman of Central Board of direct taxes (CBDT), for three months, upon completion of Pramod Chandra Mody's tenure.
  29. June 02, 2021
    1. Cabinet Approvals (June 2, 2021) -
      1. General -
        1. Approved Model Tenancy Act for circulation to all States / UTs for adaptation by way of enacting fresh legislation or amending existing rental laws suitably. It will help overhaul legal framework with respect to rental housing across country.
          1. Model Tenancy Act aims at creating a vibrant, sustainable and inclusive rental housing market in the country.
          2. It will enable creation of adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing issue of homelessness.
      2. MOUs -
        1. Argentina - Cooperation in field of Mineral Resources.
        2. Approved Signing and Ratification of an Agreement on Cooperation in field of Mass Media between all Member States of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
        3. Maldives, Japan - Cooperation in sustainable urban development.
    2. Obituaries (June 2021) -
      1. Anerood Jugnauth - Former President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was conferred Second Highest Civilian Award Padma Vibhushan by Indiam Government in 2020.
      2. Poul Schlueter - Former Denmark prime minister.
      3. T.M. Kalliannan Gounder - the last surviving former member of Indian Constituent Assembly. He was reportedly youngest member in Constituent Assembly then and also a member of India’s first provisional parliament.
      4. Lakshmi Nandan Bora - Noted Assamese Litterateur and Padma Shri Awardee.
      5. Prof Radhamohan - Noted Economist, Environmentalist and Organic Agriculture Proponent.
      6. Ashok Panagariya - Noted Indian Neurologist and Recepient of several notable awards including Padma Shri, Dr. B. C. Roy Award and UNESCO Award.
      7. Siddalingaia - Noted Kannada writer.
      8. Dingko Singh - Noted Indian boxer, who won gold medal at 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok, and was a Padma Shri Awardee.
      9. Buddhadeb Dasgupta - Noted Bengali poet and filmmaker.
      10. Surat Mathur - Indian long-distance runner. He competed in marathon at 1952 Summer Olympics.
      11. Sanchari Vijay - National Award-winning Kannada actor.
      12. Gottfried Bohm - First German architect to be awarded Pritzker Prize.
      13. Nirmal Milkha Kaur - Former Indian volleyball Player and wife of sprint legend Milkha Singh (Flying Sikh).
      14. Kenneth David Kaunda - First president of Zambia, who was at forefront of struggle for independence from British rule.
      15. Guruprasad Mohapatra - Incumbent secretary in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
      16. Milkha Singh - Noted Athlete, also known as The Flying Sikh. He is the only athlete to win gold at 400 metres at Asian Games as well as Commonwealth Games. He was awarded Padma Shri.
      17. Markis Kido - Noted Indonesian badminton player and Olympic gold medallist.
      18. KV Sampath Kumar - Noted Journalist and editor for Sanskrit newspaper "Sudharma" from Mysuru. He was also a Padma Shri Awardee.
      19. Sivan - Noted Malayalam cinematographer and director, and National Film Awardee.
    3. India signed $2.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan with Asian Development Bank, to support project preparation and design activities to upgrade major district roads in Sikkim.
    4. Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated Indus Best Mega Food Park at Raipur (Chhattisgarh), set up at cost 145.5 crores. It will provide employment to 5000 persons and will benefit about 25000 farmers.
    5. Ministry of Labour & Employment Government constituted an Expert Group to provide technical inputs and recommendations on fixation of Minimum Wages and National Floor Minimum Wages, chaired by Ajit Mishra (Director of Institute of Economic Growth).
    6. June 2 is Statehood Day of Telangana, which was formed in 2014 as India's 29th State.
    7. Misc. Defence News (June 2021) -
      1. Indian Army observed 100th anniversary of raising of Army Educational Corps (AEC) on 01 June 2021.
      2. Iran's largest navy ship The Kharg, sank after catching fire in Gulf of Oman.
      3. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) organized Steadfast Defender 21 war games military exercises.
      4. 31st edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between Indian and Thai Navies has been conducted.
      5. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved policy on archiving, declassification, and compilation, publication of war and operations histories. Under this, each organisation under Ministry will transfer records such as war diaries and letters of proceedings to History Division, for proper archival.
      6. Ministry of Defence signed contract with Goa Shipyard Ltd, for construction of two Pollution Control Vessels (PCVs) for Indian Coast Guard (ICG), at cost of 583 crores. These are scheduled for delivery by November 2024 and May 2025 respectively. At present, ICG has three PCVs in its fleet at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Porbander.
      7. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed progress of construction of first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, at Kochi. IAC will be commissioned as INS Vikrant in 2022.
      8. Ukraine and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) launched Joint Sea Breeze Drills in Black Sea, despite Russian Protest.
      9. A integrated bilateral exercise between Indian and US Forces in Indian Ocean Region has been concluded. Indian Navy along with Indian Air Force participated with US Navy Carrier Strike Group.
      10. Turkey and Azerbaijan held joint military drills Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 2021 in Baku.
    8. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under Chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, approved issue of RFP for construction of 6 Conventional Submarines under Project P 75 (I), under Strategic Partnership Model, at cost 43000 Crores.
      1. It is first case processed under Strategic Partnership model, and will be one of largest ‘Make in India’ projects.
      2. DAC also approved proposals concerning Capital Acquisitions of various equipment, amounting approx 6000 crores.
    9. RDSO (Research Design & Standards Organization) of Indian Railways became First Institution to be declared Standard Developing Organization (SDO) under One Nation One Standard mission on BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards).
      1. To attain, One Nation One Standard ” vision of Govt, BIS had launched a scheme which provides for Recognition of SDO.
    10. 3rd edition of SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 released by NITI Aayog, as comprehense measure of progress made by States and UTs towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
      1. 3rd edition covers 16 Goals on 115 quantitative indicators, with qualitative assessment on Goal 17, compared to covering 13 Goals with 62 indicators in first edition in 2018.
      2. States and Union Territories are classified based on their SDG India Index score -
        1. Aspirant: 0–49
        2. Performer: 50–64
        3. Front-Runner: 65–99
        4. Achiever: 100
      3. Top Performing -
        1. Kerala (75), Best Performing State
        2. Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (74)
        3. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Uttarakhand (72)
        4. Sikkim (71)
        5. Maharashtra (70)
      4. Bottom States -
        1. Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Odisha (61)
        2. Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (60)
        3. Assam (57)
        4. Jharkhand (56)
        5. Bihar (52), Worst Performing State
      5. Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are top gainers in 2020–21, in terms of improvement in score from 2019, with an increase of 12, 10 and 8 points, respectively.
      6. All States / UTs -
        1. Aspirant (0-49) - NIL
        2. Performer (50 - 64) -
          1. States - Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Bihar
          2. UTs - Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
        3. Front Runner -
          1. States - Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Mizoram, Punjab Haryana, Tripura
          2. UTs - Chandigarh, Delhi Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, J&K, Ladakh
        4. Achiever (100) - NIL
  30. June 01, 2021
    1. June 1 - World Milk Day. It has been marked by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), observed since 2001.
      1. Nov 26 is observed as National Milk Day In India, to commemorate birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, father of India’s White Revolution. India is top Milk Producer Nation, followed by US.
      2. June 1 is also observed by United Nations as Global Day of Parents.
    2. Ravneet Singh has been named as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff.
      1. Note that this Position is different from Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, which is currently held by G. Ashok Kumar.
    3. Ajai Singh has been named as new Commander-in-Chief of Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN), the only tri-service theatre command of Armed Forces.
    4. Pradeep Chandran Nair has been named as new (21st) Director General of Assam Rifles (known as Sentinels of North-East).
      1. Assam Rifles is oldest paramilitary force of India, dating back to 1835 under British Raj, raised under name Cachar Levy. Ppresent name Assam Rifles has been used since 1917.
    5. Misc. Appointments (June 2021) -
      1. Dinesh K Tripathi has been named as Indian Navy's Chief of Personnel.
      2. Kapil Mohan Dhir has been named as Joint Secretary (Navy &Defence Staff) in Department of Military Affairs. He is first Armed Forces officer to be given this role.
      3. International Dairy Federation (IDF) elected R S Sodhi (MD of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (AMUL)) , to its board.
      4. Vinay K Nandicoori has been appointed as Director at Hyderabad based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB).
      5. Indian Broadcasting Foundation appointed former SC judge Vikramjit Sen as Chairman of its newly formed self-regulatory body Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC).
      6. Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) named Hitendra Dave as CEO of Its India Operations (HSBC India).
        1. Notably, HSBC recently announced exiting loss-making US retail banking business.
      7. RBI approved re-appointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as MD and CEO of RBL Bank.
      8. US President Joe Biden nominated Indian-American Arun Venkataraman for Director-General of US and Foreign Commercial Service.
      9. India’s Nagraj Adiga has been elected as Asia-Oceania Representative of International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU).
      10. RBI approved re-appointment of Chandra Shekhar Ghosh as MD and CEO of Bandhan Bank.
      11. Facebook named Spoorthi Priya as its grievance officer for India, while Twitter named Jeremy Kessel as Its new Grievance Officer for India.
        1. However, Twitter's appointment of Kessel is not in line with new IT rules guidelines, which mandate that grievance redressal officer should be a resident of India.
      12. Govt extended tenure of MR Kumar as Chairman of LIC by 1 year.
      13. RBI Approved re-appointment of Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as part-time Chairman of ICICI Bank.
      14. England’s Football Association named Debbie Hewitt as its first woman chair.
      15. Internet and Mobile Association of India Named former SC Judge Arjan Kumar Sikri to chair Grievance Redressal Board (GRB).
      16. Bharti Airtel COO Ajai Puri has been re-elected as Chairman of Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) for 2021-22.
      17. Apollo Hospitals Director Upasana Kamineni has been named as Ambassador of Forest Frontline Heroes by World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India).
      18. Delhi government appointed former Olympic medalist weightlifter Karnam Malleswari as first Vice Chancellor of Delhi Sports University.
      19. British lawyer Karim Khan has been appointed as chief prosecutor for The Hague (Netherlands) based International Criminal Court.
      20. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma has been named as Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy).
      21. Govt Named Praveen Sinha as Special Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), replacing Rakesh Asthana.
    6. K.P. Krishnan Committee has submitted its report on feasibility of Variable Capital Companies in International Financial Services Centres, to International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
      1. IFSCA had set up this Committee to explore potential for allowing another legal structure – popularly known as a variable capital company (VCC) – as an additional option through which asset managers could pool investors’ funds.

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