We are here for you to provide the important current affairs June 20 2018 which have unique updates of all daily events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, India Today, Indian Express, Business Standard, all Government official websites. Our complete current affairs helps you to get more marks in Banking, insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railway and all other competitive Exams.
- Daily Current Affairs
- Try our Current Affairs Quiz 2018
- Read Our 2018 Current Affairs
Click here to try Current Affairs Quiz : June 20 2018
Click Here to Read Current Affairs June 2018
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare released the National Health Profile (NHP)-2018 and National Health Resources Repository (NHRR)
On June 20, 2018, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri J P Nadda released the National Health Profile (NHP)-2018 prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI).
i. He also launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) – Country’s first ever national healthcare facility registry of authentic, standardized and updated geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare establishments.
Objective:
It will help in monitoring the progress of the health care schemes of the government and further help in forming better laws.
About National Health Profile (NHP)-2018:
i. The National Health Profile covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health.
ii. According to the report India has shown impressive gains with 22% reduction in Maternal Mortality since 2013.
iii. Uttar Pradesh with 30% decline has topped the chart in the reduction of Maternal Deaths.
About NHRR Project:
i. It will be a robust, standardized and secured IT-enabled repository of India’s healthcare resources.
ii. Over 20 lakh healthcare establishments like hospitals, doctors, clinics, diagnostic labs, pharmacies and nursing homes would be enumerated capturing data on over 1,400 variables.
iii. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is the project technology partner .
iv. Information of both, Private and Public healthcare establishments including Railways, ESIC, Defense and Petroleum healthcare establishments.
v. It will show the distribution pattern of health facilities and services between cities and rural areas.
v. It will help in establishing new health facilities keeping in view the population density, geographic nature, health condition, distance, etc.
Implementing the Indian National Strategy for Standardization was announced in 5th National Standards Conclave in New Delhi
On June 20, 2018, To boost standardization of products, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu announced Implementing the Indian National Strategy for Standardization in the 5th National Standards Conclave in New Delhi on June 19-20 2018.
About the Conclave :
i. Commerce Secretary, Ms. Rita Teaotia and Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Sudhanshu Pandey were also present during this occasion.
ii. Two reports were also released by the Minister, Indian National Strategy for Standardization (INSS) and CII-ASL Study on TBT/SPS Notifications.
iii. This would boost both exports as well as domestic economic growth by realizing their value in arket.
About INSS
i. INSS is the result of the combined efforts of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and industry stakeholders.
ii. Objective is to achieve the highest quality standards in production and distribution of goods and services.
iii. The INSS report addresses four broad pillars of Quality Ecosystem: (i) Standards Development (ii) Conformity Assessment and Accreditation (iii) Technical Regulations and SPS Measures (iv) Awareness and Education.
Chief Ministers Subgroup Constituted to Coordinate Policy Approaches for Agriculture and MGNREGS to double farmers income by 2022.
On June 20, 2018, Government has set up a Chief Ministers Subgroup to Coordinate Policy Approaches for Agriculture and MGNREGS.
Members in the Committee :
i. It has the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as the Convener .
ii. The members in the committee are : CMs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with the Member NITI Aayog, Shri Ramesh Chand as its members.
Objective:
To work in coordination for realizing PM’s vision towards Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022.
Key points:
i. Decision taken at the 4th meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog on 17thJune,2018.
ii. It would come out with approaches with emphasis on pre-sowing and post-harvest interventions using MGNREGS to further improve the thrust on incomes, water conservation and waste to wealth.
iii. This will improve thrust on Water Conservation, individual Beneficiary Schemes, Construction of Rural Haats, Vermi-Composting etc.
iv. The Committee will submit its report within three months from its date of constitution.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme(MGNREGS):
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42, later renamed as the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act“, MGNREGA), is an Indian labour law and socialsecurity measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work‘.
Women bear uneven burden of family planning through sterilisation: NHM report
On 18th June 2018, the 11th report of the Common Review Mission of the National Health Mission (NHM) was released and it has stated that, women bear uneven burden in family planning with women accounting for more than 93 per cent of sterilisations in India.
11th report of the Common Review Mission (CRM) of the National Health Mission:
i. The report also states that male sterilisation services still remain inadequately available in India.
ii. The data has been cited from the Health Management Information System (HMIS) where states upload data on different parameters of NHM.
iii. As per HMIS in 2017-18 (till October) out of the total 14,73,418 sterilisation procedures only 6.8 % were male sterilisation and 93.1 % were female sterilization.
iv.This is a very slight improvement from previous years when women accounted for 98 per cent of the total sterilisations.
v. Out of 41,41,502 sterilisations in India in 2015-16 under government programmes, 40,61,462 were tubectomies.
vi. In 2014-15, out of 40,30,409 sterilisations, 39,52,043 were tubectomies. It is said that, the reluctance of Indian men to undergo sterilisation arises from history, social taboo and logistical limitations.
vii. Vasectomy or male sterilisation involves cutting or tying the vas deferens that carries the sperm from the testes to the urethra. It is easier than female sterilisation or tubectomy that is clamping or blocking the fallopian tubes so eggs do not reach the uterus.
viii. Also, in most states sterilisation services were provided only in fixed places on fixed days. Exceptions are Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Manipur.
ix. As per the CRM, 13 years after the health mission was launched, the out of pocket spend is still high.
Nick names of some Indian cities:
♦ Nagpur, Maharashtra – City of Orange
♦ Kolhapur, Maharashtra – City of Wrestlers
♦ Ichalkaranji, Maharashtra – Manchester of Maharashtra
3 MoUs signed and 6 at an advanced stage and 31 more under ‘Adopt a Heritage’ Scheme :Culture Ministry
On June 20, 2018, Under ‘Adopt a Heritage’ Scheme, 3 MoUs have already been signed and 6 are at an advanced stage and 31 more Adarsh Monuments are enlisted for coverage under the scheme.
About Adarsh a Heritage Scheme:
i. The Ministry of Culture launched a report on Adopt a Heritage’ Scheme of the Government of India .
ii. The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India.
iii. The project primarily focuses on providing basic amenities that includes cleanliness, public conveniences, drinking water, ease of access for differently abled and senior citizens, standardized signage, illumination and advanced amenities such as surveillance system, night viewing facilities, tourism facilitation center.
iv. This will be achieved through development, operation and maintenance of world-class tourist infrastructure and amenities at ASI/ State heritage sites and other important tourist sites in India.
Visva-Bharati University setting up ‘Yoga Gram’ with central grant
On 19th June 2018, the Visva-Bharati University received Rs 5 crore central grant for setting up a ‘Yoga Gram’ in the university campus, in Kolkata.
Yoga Gram:
i. Prof Samiran Mondal, Head of Department of Yogic Art and Science, said that, small ‘yoga’ themed cottages with tiled or straw roofs will be made in the ‘Yoga Gram’. Even tourists can participate in sessions conducted there.
ii. Work for the first phase of the project has started. Work is done on 15 acres of land in the compound of the ‘Vinay Bhavan’, the Institute of Education of the university.
iii. Books and audiovisual aids will also be available on the 2000-year-old yoga culture.
iv. The first phase of the project is funded by the Ministry of Human Resources. The fund was allotted after project details were submitted before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
v. In the second phase of the ‘Yoga Gram’ project, the Dinbandhu Andrews Hospital, will be renovated. This hospital was established by Tagore to offer non-allopaethic medicine to the poor at low cost.
vi. An ayurvedic garden with medicinal plants will also be set up near the hospital.
vii. The AYUSH ministry has been approached to offer funds for the second phase of the project.
Some important dams in India:
♦ Ukai Dam – Tapi River
♦ Upper Aliyar Dam – Aliyar River
♦ Aruna Dam – Aruna River
Haryana government gives star rankings to panchayats on seven parameters
Haryana government has decided to provide star rankings to its panchayats based on 7 social parameters under Haryana’s 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme.
Haryana government gives star rankings to panchayats:
i. Nearly 1,120 villages of Haryana have obtained the rankings under Haryana’s 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme, launched in January 2018.
ii. Information regarding this was announced by Haryana Agriculture minister O P Dhankar at a State level Panchayat Performance Assessment Committee (SPPAC) meeting at Chandigarh on 19th June 2018.
iii. The panchayats will be judged based on sex ratio, education, hygiene, environment preservation, governance and social participation.
iv. The chosen villages will be honoured at an award ceremony that will be held in Panchkula, Gurugram and Rohtak in July 2018.
v. The villages will be awarded Rs 1 lakh for achieving each parameter. The villages with equal or more girl population will be awarded Rs 50,000 as bonus along with their reward money.
vi. Villages that adopt Swachhta Mission will be offered additional Rs 50,000.
vii. Also, an online portal has been created for obtaining claims of panchayats, for evaluation and verification.
viii. Ambala topped the star ranking with 407 stars. It was followed by Gurugram with 199 stars and Karnal with 75 stars.
Some National Parks in Haryana:
♦ Sultanpur National Park
♦ Kalesar National Park
KVIC adopts Jagatpur village in Delhi for Swachhata Abhiyaan
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has adopted Jagatpur village in Delhi for its Swachhata Abhiyaan.
KVIC adopts Jagatpur village in Delhi for Swachhata Abhiyaan:
i. The sanitation drive of KVIC started with a plantation drive and ended with cleanliness drive in the bank of river Yamuna.
ii. Also, KVIC is setting up 20 park benches on the bank of river Yamuna. Under KVIC’s Swachhata Mission, the next cleanliness drive will start in Juhu Beach of Mumbai.
About Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC):
♦ Chairman – Vinai Kumar Saxena
♦ Headquarters – Mumbai
Shillong (Meghalaya) gets selected as the 100th Smart City under Smart City Mission
On June 20, 2018, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation announced Shillong, capital city of Meghalaya as the 100th Smart City .
Key points:
i. With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores.
About Smart Cities:
i. Earlier 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition under the Smart Cities Mission.
ii. 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018.
About Smart Cities Mission:
Smart Cities Mission, sometimes referred to as Smart City Mission, is an urban renewal and retrofitting program by the Government of India with the mission to develop 100 cities across the country making them citizen friendly and sustainable. It was launched in 2015.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India and Russia to hold tri-service military exercise ‘Indra’ 2018
On June 20, 2018, According to a news agency , Russia would hold talks about the tri-service military exercise with India called : ‘INDRA’.
i. Indra-2018 will take place in an Indian military base in the second half 2018.
ii. Combined military Russian Eastern Military District force will participate in the exercise.
iii. The previous Indra execise was held in 2013 in Mahajan Field Firing range in Bikaner.
Russia:
♦ Capital: Moscow .
♦ Currency: Russian Ruble.
Chief of Army staff: General Bipin Rawat.
Chief of Naval Staff: Admiral Sunil Lanba.
Chief of Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos becomes world’s richest man with a net worth of $141.9 billion
On 18th June 2018, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos became the richest man in the world with a net wealth of $141.9 billion, as per the Forbes World’s Billionaires list.
Jeff Bezos becomes world’s richest man:
i. Bill Gates, the principal founder of Microsoft Corporation, is the second-richest man in the world with a net wealth of $92.9 billion.
ii. Warren Buffet, who is one of the most successful investors in the world, has secured third place with a net wealth of $82.2 billion.
iii. Jeff Bezos officially became the richest person in the world in early 2018. Amazon has become the second most valuable company in the world after Apple.
iv. As per Fortune’s last list, Amazon obtained 8th rank on the 2018 list of America’s largest companies, with revenue of $177.87 billion.
Some important international airports in India:
♦ Trivandrum International Airport – Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
♦ Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport – Indore, Madhya Pradesh
♦ Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport – Mumbai, Maharashtra.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI revises priority sector lending norms for promoting PMAY
On June 20, 2018, With a view to promote the Priority Sector Lending guidelines for housing loans with the Affordable Housing Scheme, the RBI has changed the eligilibity conditions of the priority sector lending .
i. For economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups the eligibility has been changed as follows:
| Previous eligibility | Changed eligibility |
| From 28 lakh (for metropolitan cities) | To 35 lakh |
| From 20 lakh ( for other centres) | To 25 lakh |
ii. These changes are valid till the overall cost doesn’t exceed Rs. 45 lakh for metropolitan and Rs. 30 lakh for other centres.
iii. The Existing limit of family income of Rs. 2 lakh per annum has been changed to to Rs 3 lakh per annum for economically weaker group and Rs . 6 lakh for low income groups.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana :
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is an initiative by Government of India in which affordable housing will be provided to the urban poor with a target of building 20 million affordable houses by 31 March 2022.It has two components: Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) (PMAY-U) for the urban poor and Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin)(PMAY-G and also PMAY-R) for the rural poor.The slogan is “Housing for All’.
AU Small Finance Bank to raise Rs1,000 crore from Temasek to fuel growth
On June 20, 2018, AU Small Finance Bank announced that it has received shareholders approval to raise Rs 1,000 crore from Singapore-based investment firm Temasek.
Key points:
i. AU Bank’s shareholders include IFC, Warburg Pincus, Chrys Capital and Kedaara Capital.
ii.This would be its first largest primary capital infusion in the bank since its last raise in 2011-12.
Growth of AU :
AU Bank had expanded its branch network to over 500 touch points including 306 bank branches, 97 asset centers, 89 BC outlets, 23 offices and 292 ATMs.
10,000 bank branches & 8000 post offices have enrolled to Aadhaar facility : UIDAI
On June 20, 2018, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that 18,000 centres have come up for enrolment and updation of the biometric ID.
i. They are called the ‘Bank Aadhaar Kendras’.
ii. It was after the private as well as public sector banks had to set up Aadhaar facility in at least one out of 10 branches a year ago.
iii. 10,000 branches of private and public sector banks have set up Aadhaar enrolment and updation centres and 8,000 such centres have come up in post offices out of 13,000.
iv. Overall, about 26,000 centres are slated to come up at banks and post offices.
UIDAI:
Headquarters: New Delhi.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
SAIL Steel for World’s Tallest Girder Rail Bridge
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has supplied nearly 60,000 tonnes of steel material for the 111-km-long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge railway project in Manipur.
SAIL Steel for World’s Tallest Girder Rail Bridge:
i. SAIL has supplied TMT rebars and structural, HR Plates and Sheets, Plate Mill Plates for this project.
ii. SAIL has been supplying the materials manufactured in the advanced mills at Durgapur, IISCO, Rourkela and Bokaro plants. The project was taken up in 2008. It is a National Project.
iii. It consists of the construction of 111-km long broad gauge railway line that includes 9 stations at: Dolakhal, Kaimai Road, Kambiron, Thingou, Khongsang, Noney Tupul, Haochang Road and Imphal, 148 bridges & 45 tunnels.
iv. In this tunnel No. 12 is 11.55-km long. It is India’s longest tunnel. The project is carried out in two sections.
v. The first section comprises the construction of 84 km of railway line linking Jiribam to Tupul, that will be completed soon.
vi. The second section of 27 km linking Tupul to Imphal would be finished by 2019. Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is carrying out the construction of the project.
vii. Also, a bridge is being constructed near Noney that will become the tallest girder rail bridge in the world. With a height of 141 m, the bridge over river Iring will be as tall as two Qutub Minars.
About Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL):
♦ Chairman – P K Singh
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi
Nasscom launches ‘Women Wizards Rule Tech’ programme to support women techies
On June 20, 2018, NAsscom unveiled its ‘Women Wizards Rule Tech’ programme for women techies to support women in being successful and thus increasing the number of women as senior officials in the IT field.
Key points:
i. The Women Wizards Rule Tech was announced in March at the Nasscom Diversity and Inclusion Summit in Chennai as a joint initiative by the Nasscom Sector Skills Council and the Data Security Council of India.
ii. This initiative will aid women techies in core technologies like IT-Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES), Business Process Management (BPM), product and research and development (R&D) sectors.
Other announcements related to this :
A Nasscom report called “Women and IT Scorecard – India” launched earlier in 2018 for policies towards flexible work, work-from-home, parental leave, healthcare and anti-harassment which will increase the number of women in senior level at IT firms from 20 per cent to 60 per cent.’
Central Water Commission (CWC) to team up with Google for flood forecasting
Central Water Commission (CWC) has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Google for flood forecasting.
CWC teams up with Google for flood forecasting:
i. CWC is India’s top technical organization in the field of Water Resources. CWC will use latest advances made by Google in the in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and geo spatial mapping.
ii. These advances will be used for effective management of water resources in flood forecasting and spreading of flood related information to people through platforms developed by Google.
iii. This initiative will help crisis management agencies to handle extreme hydrological events in a better way.
iv. As per this Agreement, CWC and Google will exchange technical expertise in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, geospatial mapping and analysis of hydrological observation data.
v. They will collaborate on:
- improving flood prediction systems to provide location-targeted, actionable flood warnings
- high priority research project utilizing Google Earth Engine to visualize and improve flood management
- a cultural project to develop online exhibitions on India rivers
vi. Earlier, Ministry for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation had launched ‘National Hydrology Project’ (NHP) in 2016-17.
vii. NHP is a central sector scheme that covers all over India. It is assisted by World Bank.
viii. Until 2016, CWC was issuing flood levels with maximum lead time of one day. In 2017 flood season, CWC used rainfall based modelling and issued flood advisories on trial basis with a lead time of 3 days.
ix. Under collaborative arrangement, Google will use high resolution Digital Elevation Model, computational resources and its expertise in Artificial Intelligence to produce flood inundation maps using the level forecast input offered by CWC.
x. The information in the form of likely extent and depth of inundation will be issued with a lead time of up to 3 days.
xi. For 2018 flood season, inundation forecasting will be carried out on trial basis. It will be up scaled in future. This collaboration would save crores of rupees.
About Central Water Commission (CWC):
♦ Chairman – S Masood Husain
♦ Headquarters – New Delhi
Google launches training programme for journalists to create awareness against misinformation and fake news
On 19th June 2018, Google announced the launch of a training programme for journalists, to create awareness against misinformation and offering new tools against fake news.
Google News Initiative India Training Network:
i. The Google News Initiative India Training Network will offer training to 8,000 journalists in English and 6 other Indian languages in the next 1 year.
ii. The network will select 200 journalists from Indian cities. They will be provided training to enhance their skills in verification and training during five-day boot camps.
iii. The boot camps will be organised for English and 6 other Indian languages. This network of certified trainers will in turn train more journalists.
iv. The workshops will be conducted in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Kannada in various Indian cities.
v. The main focus of the training will be fact-checking, online verification and digital hygiene for journalists. The curriculum is developed by experts from First Draft, Storyful, AltNews, BoomLive, Factchecker.in, and DataLeads.
About Google:
♦ CEO – Sundar Pichai
♦ Headquarters – California, U.S.
♦ Google News Lab Lead (Asia-Pacific) – Irene Jay Liu
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Paytm announced Ex-RBI Deputy Governor R Gandhi as Advisor
On June 20, 2018, One97 Communications, which runs Paytm, has appointed former RBI Deputy Governor Rama Subramaniam Gandhi as an advisor.
i. Gandhi was a member of the first Monetary Policy Committee. He has also been the head of two regional offices of the Reserve Bank.
ii. He also held a charge as the Director of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), Hyderabad.
Sikkim government announces A R Rahman as its Brand Ambassador
Music composer A R Rahman has been named the Brand Ambassador of Sikkim government.
A R Rahman – Brand Ambassador of Sikkim government:
i. A R Rahman will promote and project Sikkim’s achievements at national and international level. A notification regarding this was issued by Chief Secretary A K Srivastava.
ii. In the beginning of 2018, Sikkim state government had made A R Rahman its Brand Ambassador of tourism and business.
Some wildlife sanctuaries in Sikkim:
♦ Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary
♦ Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary
♦ Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary
CEA Arvind Subramanian has resigned
On June 20, 2018, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the resignation of Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian for family commitments .
i. Subramanian was appointed as CEA to the finance ministry on October 16, 2014, for a period of threeyears.
ii. In 2017 his term was extended for a year.
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
Microsoft acquires video discussion platform Flipgrid which is used by 20 million teachers and students across the world
Microsoft has acquired Flipgrid, a video discussion platform, which has over 20 million teachers and students throughout the world as users.
Microsoft has acquired Flipgrid:
i. Flipgrid enables students to discuss and reply to topics with video clips. Now, Microsoft will make Flipgrid free for schools.
ii. Customers who already paid for a subscription will receive a prorated refund. Microsoft will help to develop the Flipgrid community. Flipgrid will retain its brand and team after the acquisition.
ENVIRONMENT
World’s first known manta ray nursery discovered
The juvenile manta ray habitat located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas at US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, has become the first of its kind to be described in a scientific study.
World’s first known manta ray nursery discovered:
i. Researchers have discovered the world’s first known natural manta ray nursery that allows them to observe the juvenile manta ray in their habitat.
ii. Joshua Stewart, a PhD candidate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University, spotted juvenile mantas during a research on manta population structure at Flower Garden Banks in 2016.
iii. The study has been published in the journal Marine Biology. Oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris) are known as the gentle giants of the sea.
iv. They are large, plankton-eating rays. They live in the open ocean. They can reach sizes of up to 7 metres in wingspan as adults.
Some important bird sanctuaries in India:
♦ Attiveri Bird Sanctuary – Karnataka
♦ Bankapura Peacock Sanctuary – Karnataka
♦ Bonal Bird Sanctuary – Karnataka
SPORTS
ICC announces World Test Championship, India to play first match against WI next year
On June 20, 2018, International Cricket Council (ICC) announced its Future Tours Programme (FTP) for a five-year period (2018-2023) which includes the World Test Championship and a 13-team ODI league.
i. The ICC World Test Championship will be held in July of 2019.
ii. India will play the first match against West Indies .
iii. The Test championship will involve nine teams playing three home and three away series over a two-year cycle beginning in 2019.
iv. The two top-ranked sides will then progress to the June 2021 final to decide the World Test champions which may be held in Lord’s in July 2021.
v. Every series will comprise of just three matches and it will be held from 2020 to 2022.
West Indies:
It is a region combining a group of islands like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico.
Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal gets 1-Test suspension for ball tampering
Sri Lanka cricket captain Dinesh Chandimal has been suspended from his side’s third and final Test against the West Indies as he was found guilty of ball tampering in the second day of the second Test, which ended at Gros Islet on 18th June 2018.
Dinesh Chandimal gets 1-Test suspension for ball tampering:
i. ICC Match Referee Javagal Srinath gave Dinesh Chandimal the maximum punishment under the code: two suspension points and a fine of 100 % of his match fee.
ii. Two suspension points is equal to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first. Dinesh Chandimal will not play in the day/night Barbados Test that starts on 23rd June 2018.
iii. As two suspension points is equal to four demerit points, these have been added to his disciplinary record.
About ICC (International Cricket Council):
♦ CEO – David Richardson
♦ Headquarters – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Roger Federer Wins 98th ATP Title Ahead Of Return to No 1
On 17th June 2018, Roger Federer won his 98th ATP title by winning the Stuttgart Open, in Stuttgart, Germany.
Roger Federer wins Stuttgart Open:
i. Roger Federer defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) in the Stuttgart Cup final. Roger Federer defeated Milos Raonic for the 11th time in 14 meetings.
ii. Roger Federer will be playing for a ninth Wimbledon victory next month. Roger Federer will get back the world number one ranking.
Some important stadiums in India:
♦ Chinnaswamy Stadium – Bengaluru
♦ Sree Kanteerava Stadium – Bengaluru
♦ Mangala Stadium – Mangalore
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu receives the Book ‘Vedvigyan Alok’
On 20th June 2018, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu received the book “Vedvigyan Alok” (Maharishi Aitareya Mahidas Praneet – Aitareya Brahmina ki Vaigyanik Vyakhya) written by Acharya Agnivarat Naishthik.
Vedvigyan Alok:
i. Vedvigyan Alok is divided into 4 volumes. Vedvigyan Alok is the scriptural verse in Vedas’ prose.
ii. The Brahman textbooks were composed in Vedic Sanskrit. Vedic Sanskrit is considered extremely complicated.
Some important museums in India:
♦ Lalbhai Dalpatbhai Museum – Ahmedabad, Gujarat
♦ Kaba Gandhi No Delo – Rajkot, Gujarat
♦ Kirti Mandir – Porbandar, Gujarat
IMPORTANT DAYS
HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar launches National Digital Library on National Reading Day.
On June 20, 2018, The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched the new digital initiative of HRD Ministry ‘National Digital Library of India’ in New Delhi.
This was launched on the occasion of National Reading Day.
Key points:
i. NDL is the Single Window Platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources.
ii. It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles, videos, audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of learning media.
iii.It can be accessed by the digital library anytime and anywhere absolutely free of cost and will contribute greatly to the Government’s commitment towards “Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat”.
About ‘National Digital Library of India’ :
i. National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the aegis of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). The objective of NDL is to make digital educational resources available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage learning. National Digital Library of India is developed by IIT Kharagpur.
ii. It has 1.7 Crore content from more than 160 sources, in over 200 languages, everywhere and 30 lakh users are registered on NDL .
iii. NDL is also available on the Mobile app which has been downloaded over 6.70 lakh times. The app is available in three languages : English, Hindi, Bengali.
iv. It is a massive online library with resources covering tens and hundreds of fields, ranging from arts, music, dance, culture, theatre, science and technology to education, archaeology, literature, museums, cartography maps, e-papers and manuscripts, among others , in all possible forms collated and made available on a single online platform. This programme is a part of the National Mission on Libraries of the Ministry of Culture.
International Integration Day – 16 June
On 16th June, International Integration Day is observed all over the world every year.
International Integration Day:
i. International Integration is a financial concept in which countries have greater number of financial transactions, investments & interests outside their borders.
ii. Through financial integration countries become increasingly financially interdependent.
World Refugee Day – 20 June
On 20th June 2018, World Refugee Day was observed all over the world.
World Refugee Day:
i. World Refugee Day is observed every year on June 20th. This day honours the courage and perseverance of millions of refugees.
ii. In 2000, United Nations declared June 20 as World Refugee Day. This day marks the anniversary of the 1951 Convention Related to the Status of Refugees.
iii. The theme for World Refugee Day 2018 is: ‘Now More Than Ever, We Need to Stand with Refugees’.
About United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also known as UN Refugee Agency:
♦ Established – 14 December 1950
♦ Purpose – to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems throughout the world
