Current Affairs 24 June 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 24 June 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

MoD, GSL sign contract for construction 2 Pollution Control VesselsThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) for the construction of 2 Pollution Control Vessels (PCVs) for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at a cost of about INR 583 crore. The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and built by GSL.

• The PCVs will help ICG to respond to oil spill disasters at sea and enhance Pollution Response (PR) efficiency. They will be used for pollution response requirements in Eastern and the ecologically sensitive Andaman & Nicobar Regions.
• The acquisition is taking place under ‘Buy Indian – Indigenously Designed Developed & Manufactured (Buy Indian-IDDM)’ category of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP 2020) which is the highest priority category of defence capital procurements.
• The vessels will be delivered by November 2024 and May 2025 respectively.

About Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Union Minister – Rajnath Singh (Constituency – Lucknow, UP)
Minister of State (I/C) – Shripad Yesso Naik (Constituency – North Goa, Goa)
About Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL)
CMD – Commodore B.B. Nagpal
Headquarters – Vasco Da Gama, Goa
>>Read Full News

India-Fiji inked MoU for cooperation in Agriculture and Allied sectorsi.On June 22, 2021, India and Fiji signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the field of Agriculture and allied sectors during a virtual meeting. This MoU will be executed by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) from Indian side and the Ministry of Agriculture of Fiji.
ii.It was signed by Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, MoA&FW from Indian side and Dr. Mahendra Reddy, Minister of Agriculture, Waterways & Environment of Fiji.
iii.There will also be setting up of a Joint Working Group (JWG) to set down procedures and plan and recommend programs of cooperation towards achieving its aims.
About Fiji:
Capital– Suva
Currency– Fijian dollar
Prime Minister– Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama
>>Read Full News

India, Italy & Japan launch Trilateral partnership for stability in Indo-Pacific RegionIndia, Italy & Japan launched a Trilateral partnership to establish stability and a govern-based global  order based on approval of all in the Indo-Pacific region. Experts from the 3 nations discussed various things like security issues, collaboration with third world countries, multilateralism and the socio-economic dimension.

• The Trilateral was inaugurated through a virtual meeting between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Embassies of Italy in Tokyo and New Delhi and the Japanese foreign ministry besides ambassadors of the three countries’ key stakeholders.
• The partnership was inaugurated by ambassadors of Italy in Japan and India, Mr. Giorgio Starace and Mr. Vincenzo de Luca respectively.
• It is India’s 2nd Trilateral partnership with an European power. The first one being the India, France & Australia Trilateral signed in 2020.

Background
The Indian & Pacific Ocean region are witnessing increased influence of China. So in order to counter this, India along with several countries like the US, Japan, Australia are developing partnerships to maintain global order in the region.
About Italy
Prime Minister –  Mario Draghi
Capital – Rome
Currency – Euro
About Japan
Capital – Tokyo
Currency – Japanese yen
Prime Minister – Yoshihide Suga
>>Read Full News

High-level Committee Formation for Consultations on Theatre CommandsA high-level committee consisting of representatives from the 3 services (Army, Air Force and Navy) and the Ministries concerned such as Department of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security Council Secretariat has been formed for the consultations on the creation of integrated triservice theatre commands.

• The committee will examine all issues and find a way forward before a formal note on their creation is sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security.
• It also aims to bring the paramilitary forces, which are under the Home Ministry, under the purview of the theatre commands.
• An integrated theatre command is a unified command of the three Services, under a single commander, for geographical theatres (areas) that are of strategic and security concern.

Proposed Integration of Commands:
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat stated about the proposed integration of commands such as,
i.To integrate all air assets of the armed forces into Air Defence Command
ii.To bring in all assets of Navy, Coast Guard, coastal formations of Army and Air Force under Maritime Theatre Command
iii.On land, to convert the Army’s Northern command and Western into 2-5 theatre commands.
About Current Commands of Armed forces: 
i.The Indian armed forces currently have 17 commands. 7 commands each of the Army and the Air Force, 3 commands of the Navy.
ii.Andaman and Nicobar joint command was the 1st Tri-Service theatre command of Indian Armed Forces, created in 2001 at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.
iii.SFC (Strategic Forces Command) is the second joint command created in 2003 to look after the delivery and operational control of the country’s nuclear assets (it is not an integrated theatre command but an integrated functional command).
>>Read Full News

India to host 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable 2022India has agreed to host the 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9) 2022 after a virtual meeting between International Energy Forum (IEF) Secretary-General Joseph McMonigle and India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

• Chief executive officers of Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, in addition to senior officers from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, were also present at the meeting

Key points:
i.The decisions about global energy security in the age of change that were concluded in AMER8 in Abu Dhabi in 2018 will be further enhanced in AMER9.
ii.It has to be noted that AMER8 was co hosted by India along with Abu Dhabi.
iii.The dates for AMER9 will be announced later.
About The International Energy Forum (IEF):
The IEF is the world’s largest international organisation of energy ministers from 71 countries and includes both producing and consuming nations.
Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Establishment: 1991
Secretary-General: Joseph McMonigle

DBT issues special call to NER farmers under Biotech KISAN ProgrammeThe Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science and Technology has issued a Special Call to Farmers of North East Region (NER) under its Mission Programme ‘Biotech-Krishi Innovation Science Application Network (Biotech-KISAN)’. The objective is to understand the local problems of NER farmers and provide scientific solutions to solve them.

• Despite being a predominantly agrarian region (70% of workforce engaged in agriculture for livelihood), NER produces just 1.5% of the country’s food grains and remains a net importer of food grains.
• Through Biotech-KISAN, DBT aims to increase the income of farmers by promoting location specific crops, horticultural and plantation crops, fisheries and livestock production.
• The Biotech-KISAN hubs in NER will collaborate with top scientific institutions of India, State Agriculture Universities(SAUs)/Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and other organizations for demonstration of technologies and training of farmers.
• The main targets of the scheme will be small & marginal farmers, and women farmers.

Biotech-KISAN
It is a scientist-farmer partnership scheme launched in 2017 for agriculture innovation. It aims to  connect science laboratories with the farmers to find out innovative solutions and technologies to be applied at farm level.

• Under the scheme, 146 Biotech-KISAN Hubs have been established in all 15 agroclimatic zones and 110 Aspirational Districts of India.
• Apart from creating 200 Entrepreneurship in rural areas, the scheme has benefited over two lakhs farmers by increasing their agriculture output and income.

About Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
It was set up in 1986 under the Ministry of Science & Technology
Secretary – Dr. Renu Swarup
Headquarters  – New Delhi

NSG signs MoU with RRU to Strengthen the Competencies of the NSG

The National Security Guard (NSG), counter-terrorism unit under the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) for cooperation and collaboration for focus on strengthening the core competencies of the NSG which are counter-terrorism, counter-IEDs (Improvised Explosive Device), and anti-hijacking.

• RRU has established the Security and Scientific-Technical Research Association (SASTRA) to serve the innovation requirements of the forces.
• The MoU was signed between Prof. (Dr.) Bimal N. Patel, Vice-Chancellor, RRU, and Shri M.A. Ganapathy, IPS, Director General, NSG in presence of Dr. Akshat Mehta, University Dean, RRU; Shri Konark Rai, Managing Director, Security, and Scientific-Technical Research Association and the entire NSG echelons.

Tata Power inaugurated India’s largest solar carport at Pune

Tata Motors and Tata Power jointly inaugurated India’s largest grid-synchronized, behind-the-meter solar carport at the Tata Motors car plant in Chikhali, Pune, Maharashtra. The 6.2 MWp solar carport deployed by Tata Power will generate 86.4 lakh kWh of electricity per year and is estimated to reduce 7,000 tons of carbon emissions annually and 1.6 lakh tons over its lifecycle.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Sanjay Dhotre represented India at G20 Education Ministers,and Labour & Employment Meet 2021Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre virtually represented India in two G20 meetings – G20 Education Ministers meet 2021 & G20 Ministers for Labour & Employment meet 2021.  Minister of Public Education of Italy, Patrizio Bianchi chaired the G20 Education Ministers Meet 2021.

• Both meetings were held under the Chairmanship of Italy (G20 Presidency for 2021) at Catania, Italy, in a hybrid format.
• G20 Education Ministers meet 2021 is one of ministerial meetings arranged as part of the G20 Leaders Summit 2021, which will be hosted by Italy in October 2021.

i.During the Education Ministers meet 2021, the leaders reaffirmed the role of education for inclusive economic growth, equity, equality, human dignity, social inclusion, and wellbeing.
ii.During the Labour & Employment meet 2021, the leaders agreed to address the transition from education to work, a central issue for a sustainable and inclusive economic and social recovery.
G20 Countries
The G 20 countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union.
About G20
Members – 20 (19 countries + European Union)
2021 Presidency –  Italy
Established – 1999
>>Read Full News

India remains 2nd Largest source of FDI for UK in 2020: UK ReportAccording to the Inward Investment Statistics for 2020-21 released by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the Government of the United Kingdom (UK) – India retained its position as the 2nd largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the UK in 2020. The United States (US) took the top spot.

• Indian companies have invested in 99 projects and created 4, 830 jobs in the UK.
• Foreign investment has created 55, 319 new jobs across the UK in 2020.
• The US, which is the top source of FDI for the UK, has invested in 389 projects and created 19, 301 new jobs in 2020-21, which is low compared to 2019 (462 projects & 20, 131 jobs).

About United Kingdom
Prime Minister – Boris Johnson
Capital – London
Currency –  British Pound Sterling (GBP)
>>Read Full News

Wealth of India’s Super-rich decreased by 4.4% in 2020: Credit Suisse ReportAccording to the Interim Edition  of ‘Global Wealth Report 2020’ released by Credit Suisse – the overall wealth of India’s super-rich decreased by 4.4% to USD 12.83 trillion in 2020 due to fall in Rupee value.
i.The fall in value of Rupee has caused

• Number of dollar millionaires in India to fall from 7,64,000 in 2019 to 6,98,000 in 2020.
• Decline in cumulative wealth of India’s super-rich to USD 12.833 trillion in 2020, down by USD 594 billion or 4.4% compared to 2019.
• Currently, India is home to 1% of the global rich list.

ii.At the global level, Global Wealth grew by 7.4% in 2020 to USD 418.3  trillion in 2020. The number of millionaires increased by 5.2 million to 56.1 million in 2020.
iii.The Global Wealth Report is released annually. The full edition of the 2020 report will be published in the second quarter of 2021.
About Credit Suisse
CEO – Thomas Gottstein
Headquarters – Zurich, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

Govt Eased Listing Norms for Companies having M-cap over Rs 1 lakh crore After the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) approval over the amendment of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, Companies that have a market capitalization (M-cap) of more than Rs 1 lakh crore at the time of listing are now enabled to sell just 5 percent of their shares.

• The issuer companies should reach a public shareholding of 10 percent within 2 years of listing and 25 percent within 5 years of listing.
• The amendments became beneficial to the Government of India for the proposed IPO (Initial public offering) of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), as the minimum divest is reduced to 5 percent than the earlier norms of 10 percent.
• Meanwhile, under the latest amended rules, “every listed company shall maintain public shareholding of at least five per cent as a result of implementation of the resolution plan approved under section 31 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016”.

Background:
i.In March 2021, SEBI along with the Department of Economic Affairs under the finance ministry, amended the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules and eased the listing norms for large companies and enabled them to divest a minimum of 5 percent in the IPO, instead of 10 percent.
ii.It has also increased the term for raising the public float to 25 percent, to 5 years instead of 3 years. Click here to know more
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Establishment– 1992
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi

SBM Bank, Paisabazaar Launched – Step Up Credit CardPaisabazaar.com, India’s largest lending marketplace and Credit Score platform, and SBM Bank India, the youngest universal Bank, launched the ‘Step Up Credit Card’, a credit-builder product to meet the credit needs of underserved segments.

• Step Up Credit Card is a secured credit card, provided against the customers’ Fixed Deposit (FD).
• It was the 1st product that was launched under Paisabazaar’s neo-lending strategy.

Key points about Step Up Credit Card:
i.It will help the consumers with damaged credit or no credit history to build their Credit Score. The card was launched initially as a pilot program.
ii.The Card could be availed by the customers on the Paisabazaar platform through a completely digital and paperless process, with instant issuance and activation.
iii.It has a joining fee of Rs 500 and the Credit limit under the card is about 83 percent of the customer’s FD amount. It also provides a return on FD at an interest rate of 6.5 percent per annum.
About SBM Bank (India) Ltd:
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Sidharth Rath
>>Read Full News

India Ranked 2nd after Turkey in Central bank’s surplus transfers’ share: RBI ReportAs per the State of Economy report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2021, India ranked 2nd after Turkey in terms of the share of ‘Surplus Transferred from Central Banks to Governments’(as per percent of GDP). RBI has transferred 0.44 percent of GDP to the Government in FY21, in FY20 it took the 4th position with 0.29 percent.
List of Top 5 countries under Surplus Transfer:

Key Facts of the Report:
i.Due to the surplus transfer, RBI was characterised as ‘free-ranging’ and conducting independent monetary policy, i.e., independent of fiscal dominance.
ii.RBI reported India as the 5th largest reserve holding country in the world, the 12th largest foreign holder of US treasury securities and the 10th largest in terms of gold reserves.
About Reserve Bank of India(RBI):
Establishment– 1st April 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors –  Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
>>Read Full News

PhonePe launches India’s first Wallet with Auto Top-Up

Digital payments company,PhonePe launched India’s first Wallet Auto Top-up feature using UPI (Unified Payments Interface) e-mandates for its customers. The amount for Auto top-up ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

• Under this feature, when a customer will set up a UPI e-mandate the PhonePe will automatically top up the wallet balance when it drops below a minimum level.
• This feature will save a lot of time and effort as there is no need to manually top up wallet balance for every transaction.

RBI imposes ₹23 lakh fine on 3 cooperative banks

The RBI imposed penalties of ₹23 lakh on three cooperative banks, including for contravention of various norms.
A penalty of ₹12 lakh has been imposed on Mumbai based Mogaveera Co-operative Bank Limited, ₹10 lakh on Pune Indapur Urban Cooperative Bank, and ₹1 lakh on The Baramati Sahakari Bank Limited.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Moody’s Projected India’s Growth Forecast for 2021 to 9.6%, 2022 at 7%As per the report of Moody’s Investors Service, on June 24, 2021, titled “Macroeconomics India: Economic shocks from second COVID wave will not be as severe as last year’s”, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the calendar year 2021 was reduced to 9.6 percent from its earlier estimate of 13.9 percent. It also projected a 7 percent growth in 2022.

• It reported 10 states in India as hardest hit by the second wave of COVID-19 and stated them as accountable for about 60 percent of the pre-pandemic level of India’s GDP.
• The 4 states, viz, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are mentioned as the largest shares contributor of GDP among all other states in FY20.

Note – Due to the 1st wave of COVID-19, the Indian economy has contracted by 7.3(-7.3) percent in FY21 against the 4 percent growth in FY20.
About Moody’s Corporation:
Moody’s Investors Service is the operating division of Moody’s Corporation
Headquarters – New York, United States
President &CEO – Rob Fauber     

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

HDFC Bank to buy stake in ‘ERGO General Insurance ‘ & ‘Borderless Softtech’i.HDFC bank is all set for the purchase of 3,55,67,724 equity shares of Rs 10 each in group firm HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company from the parent company Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC). These shares are worth Rs 1,906.43 crore means their aggregate consideration is Rs 536 per share.
ii.Apart from above, HDFC Bank along with its subsidiary HDFC Securities will purchase 8,108 compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares (CCCPS) worth Rs 6.9 crore of face value of Rs 10 each of Borderless Softtech at a premium of Rs 606.60 for consideration of Rs 616.60 per piece.
About HDFC Bank:
Establishment-1994
Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer– Sashidhar Jagdishan
Headquarters– Mumbai,Maharashtra
Tagline– We understand your world
Chatbot– Eva
>>Read Full News

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Israel successfully tested Laser Weapon System that can shoot down Drones mid-airOn June 21, 2021, the military of Israel successfully tested an airborne high-power laser weapon system that can shoot down drones mid air. It was developed by Elbit Systems. The test was conducted over the Mediterranean Sea by mounting the weapon on a civilian plane and resulted in successful shot down of several drones within a range of about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile).The weapon system is capable of intercepting rockets, mortar shells and UAVs, is expected to be in use by end of 2024.
Technology used in Laser Weapon:
The weapon used a technology similar to C-Music, developed by Elbit Systems. C-Music is a defence system fitted to aircraft which uses a laser to blind the incoming missiles. This weapon uses the tracking feature of C-Music but will destroy targets by heating them up.
Key Points:
i.With this success, Israel has become the one of the first countries who have tried and succeeded in such inception.
ii.Israel is also planning to develop a laser weapon for ground-based systems with a range of 8-10 kilometers (5-6 miles) that can intercept rockets, mortar rounds and drones.
About Israel:
Capital– Jerusalem
Currency– Israeli Shekel
Prime Minister– Naftali Bennett

SPORTS

Indian Cricketer Shafali Verma Became the 1st Women Cricketer to Hit 3 Sixes in Test MatchIndian women cricketer Shafali Verma(17 years old), became the first women’s cricketer to hit 3 sixes in a test match. She achieved the feat during the one-off test match between India and England held in Bristol, England.
About Sahafali Verma:
i.Shafali Verma became the youngest woman, and the fourth overall, to score twin half-centuries in her debut Test match.

• Previously the record was held by Jessica Louise Jonassen of Australia.
• She also became the first Indian woman to hit a six on her Test debut.

ii.She was the youngest cricketer to represent India in T20 International.
iii.She had also equalled the record for most sixes by a woman in Test innings.
iv.She scored two sixes in Bristol, equalling Alyssa Healy and Lauren Winfield-Hill’s joint record.
v.She broke the Indian record for the highest score on women’s Test debut and overtook Chanderkanta Kaul’s tally of 75 against New Zealand in 1995.

Ireland Cricketer Kevin O’Brien Retired from ODIs

Ireland Cricketer Kevin O’Brien has announced his retirement from One-day International (ODI) Cricket after a 15-year long career.

• He played 153 ODIs and scored 3619 runs at an average of 29.42 and a strike rate of 88.79. He scored two centuries in the format with the highest score of 142 runs.
• He scored the fastest century ever in 50-over World Cup, from 50 balls against England on 2 March 2011 in M. Chinnaswamy Stadium,Bengaluru,Karnataka.

IOA ropes in MPL, Amul, JSW Group as sponsors for Tokyo Olympics 2020

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has roped in mobile gaming platform MPL Sports Foundation as the principal sponsor for 2020 Tokyo Olympics ,2022 Asian Games & Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The association is for one-and-a-half years(till December 31, 2022). As per the deal, It will pay a total of Rs eight crore to IOA.

• Amul has agreed to be a sponsor for the Tokyo Olympics with an amount of Rs 1 crore for a period till 31st december, 2021.
• Similarly, IOA also roped in JSW Group as sponsor for Tokyo Olympics with a sponsor amount of Rs 1 crore.

Australian Swimmer Kaylee McKeown Breaks 100-meter Backstroke World Record

Australian Swimmer Kaylee McKeown breaks the 100-meter backstroke world record at the South Australian Aquatic Centre with a time of 57.45 seconds, from the previous mark of 57.57 seconds set by American Regan Smith in 2019. Emily Seebohm finished 2^nd in 58.59 seconds to qualify for her 4th Olympics.
Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey sets the women’s 10,000 metres new world record of 29 minutes and 1.03 seconds at Ethiopia’s Olympic trials held in the Netherlands.

• • Gidey currently holds the new world records in the 5,000m and 10,000m track, became the first woman to hold both the world records simultaneously after Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen who hold the record from 1986-1993.

                                                    OBITUARY

Pritzker Prize Laureate Gottfried Böhm dies

Gottfried Böhm, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect who was known for his strikingly sculptural concrete buildings and as a leader of a generation of German architects, passed away at 101. The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually “to honor a living architect and it was the highest award of Architect.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Dr. Vipin Gupta Wrote Two New Books Under Project VIPINIndian American author Dr. Vipin Gupta has written 2 new books around his project VIPIN(Vastly Integrated Processes Inside Nature). These two books will be his 5^th and 6^th book in this project and are titled as

• “What is Consciousness” – 5^th book
• “What is Para Consciousness” – 6^th book

He has already published 4 books, which capture the issues of divine energy and present reality namely,

• What is Divine Energy
• What is Present Reality
• Is Present Reality
• Is Divine Energy

The common subject of Project VIPIN is Nature’s “essence”.Under this project 6 more books will be published.
About Dr. Vipin Gupta :
i.Dr. Vipin Gupta has been a recipient of the coveted 2005 Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace from Society for Industrial Organization Psychologists, USA
ii.He has been a gold medalist for outstanding academic performance in the post-graduate MBA program at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
iii.He has authored about 180 journal articles and book chapters including  the Strategic Management and Business Policy: Concepts and Applications (PHI Learning, 2003 and 2005).

Ruskin Bond Authored A Book Titled “It’s a Wonderful Life”Renowned Indian British author Ruskin Bond authored a new book titled “It’s a Wonderful Life”,which is published by Aleph book company.

• This book is written in a Perceptive, uplifting,deeply moving and in a non fictional way.
• It is about the joys and positive truths to be found in the smallest of incidents that occur in our lives

About Ruskin Bond:
i.Ruskin Bond, Indian author of British descent, is one of India’s most well-known children’s writers.
ii.His first novel was ‘The Room On the Roof’. His first children’s book, ‘Angry River’, was published in the 1970s.
iii.Awards– He received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Widows’ Day 2021 – June 23 United Nations(UN) International Widows’ Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd June to create awareness about the experiences of the widows and to provide the support they need.
The day provides the opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/65/189 on 21st December 2010 and proclaimed the 23rd June of Every year as the International Widows’ Day.
ii.International Widows Day is an initiative of the Loomba Foundation, launched at the House of Lords in London on 26 May 2005.
About Loomba Foundation:
The Loomba Foundation is a registered charity in the United Kingdom (UK), India and the United States.
Founder and Chairman Trustee– Lord Raj Loomba
>>Read Full News

International Olympic Day 2021 – June 23  The International Olympic Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd June to promote the Olympic movement. The day commemorates the creation of the International Olympic Committee(IOC) on 23rd June 1894 in Paris, France.
Background:
i.The proposal for the celebration of the World Olympic Day was presented by Doctor Gruss, IOC member in Czechoslovakia during the 41st Session of the International Olympic Committee in Stockholm in 1947.
ii.The idea of an Olympic Day was approved at the 42nd Session of the International Olympic Committee(IOC) held in January 1948 in St Moritz, Switzerland.
iii.The first Olympic Day was celebrated on 23 June 1948.
About International Olympic Committee(IOC):
President– Dr. Thomas Bach(Germany)
Headquarters– Lausanne, Switzerland
>>Read Full News

United Nations Public Service Day 2021 – June 23 The United Nations Public Service Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd June to recognise the contribution of the people associated with the public service and to encourage the youngsters to take up a career in the public sector.
The day highlights the importance of public service and its role in development.

• The Division of Public Institutions and Digital Government of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), which collaborates with the Government of the UAE, will host the virtual event of the United Nations Public Service Day 2021.
• The Virtual Celebration of United Nations Public Service Day 2021 is celebrated under the theme “Innovating the Future Public Service: New Government Models for a New Era to Reach the SDGs(Sustainable Development Goals)”.

Background:
The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/57/277 on 20th December 2002 and proclaimed the 23rd June as the United Nations Public Service Day.
About UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA):
Under-Secretary-General– Liu Zhenmin
Headquarters– New York, United States
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani e-Launched Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021 for Tribal Farmers; Inaugurated ‘Command and Control Centre 2.0’On June 22, 2021, Gujarat Chief Minister(CM) Vijay Rupani e-launched the Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021 to benefit more than 1.26 lakh vanbandhu-farmers from 14 tribal districts of the state.

• Under the scheme the tribal farmers will be benefited through the fertilizer-seed assistance of Rs 31 crores, under which 45 kg of urea, 50 kg of NPK and 50 kg of ammonium sulphate will be provided to them.
• Seeds of crops such as maize, Bitter Melon (karela), Calabash (dudhi), tomato, millet, etc. will be provided through the scheme.

Vijay Rupani Inaugurated the ‘Command and Control Centre 2.0’:
CM Vijay Rupani also inaugurated the ‘Command and Control Centre(CCC) 2.0’ for monitoring activities in 54,000 schools, covering over 3 lakh teachers and 1 crore students across the state to predict and stop the dropping out from school.
About Gujarat:
i.National Parks – Gir Wildlife Sanctuary & National Park, Blackbuck National Park, Marine National Park, and Vansda National Park
ii.Bird Sanctuary – NalSarovar Bird Sanctuary
iii.Wildlife Sanctuary – Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kutch Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, Wild Ass Sanctuary
>>Read Full News

Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari Appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High CourtPresident of India,Ramnath Govind has appointed Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari as the acting Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court with effect from 26^th June,2021.

• He will succeed Sanjay Yadav,who is due to retire on June 25,2021.
• He was appointed by the exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India.

About Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari:
i.Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari is currently serving as the Judge of the Allahabad High Court.
ii.Earlier he has practised in the Rajasthan High Court at Jodhpur and Jaipur, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Jaipur.
iii.He also practised in the Supreme Court where he handled Constitutional, Civil, Service, Labour, Criminal and Arbitration matters and specialised in Constitutional, Service, Labour and Arbitration matters.
Note:
Chief Justices and Judges of the high courts retire at the age of 62. The retirement age of the chief justice of India and judges of the Supreme Court is 65 years.
About Allahabad High Court:
Allahabad High Court was established in 1866 as the High Court of Judicature for the North-Western Provinces and was changed to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad from 11 March 1919.

• It is the fourth oldest High Court in India after Calcutta,Madras and Bombay High Courts.
• It is the highest judicial body of Uttar Pradesh and it has a bench in Lucknow

Maharashtra Cabinet Approved the Amendments for Protection of “Heritage Trees”The Cabinet of Maharashtra approved the amendment to the Maharashtra(Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act 1975 to introduce the concept of “Heritage Trees”.
The amendment is set to come into force by way of ordinance.
The Cabinet has also approved the formation of the Maharashtra Tree Authority, which will be responsible for all the decisions regarding the protection and conservation of trees, including “heritage trees”.
Heritage Trees: According to the cabinet, a tree with an estimated age of 50 years or more is defined as a Heritage Tree.
Note:
i.In October 2020 the implementation of the Act was transferred from the state urban development department to the environment and climate change department headed by Aaditya Thackeray.
ii.The Department of Environment in consultation with the Department of Forest will issue the guidelines to determine the age of the tree.
Highlights of the amendments:
i.The party cutting down the Heritage trees should compensate by planting trees and ensure the survival of the plant for at least 7 years along with geotagging of the trees.
ii.If the compensatory plantation is not possible the party must pay compensation for the economic valuation of the felled trees.
iii.The proposal to cut down more than 200 trees of over 5 years or more should be referred to the Maharashtra Tree Authority and the proposal for cutting down the trees of less than 5 years old shall be referred to the local civic bodies.

Tamil Nadu’s Economic Advisory Council Includes Esther Duflo, Raghuram Rajan

Tamil Nadu government has constituted an “Economic advisory council to the chief minister”. Its members include:

• Esther Duflo – Nobel laureate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA
• Raghuram Rajan – Former Reserve Bank of India governor
• Arvind Subramanian – Former chief economic advisor to central government
• Jean Dreze – Development economist and
• S Narayan – Former Union finance secretary.

On the basis of recommendations of this council, the government will revitalise the economy in the state and ensure that benefits of economic growth reach all segments of society.
This was revealed by Governor Banwarilal Purohit during his address to the 16th State Assembly.

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