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INDIAN AFFAIRS
10th Meeting of India-Australia Working Group on Counter Terrorism
On June 18, 2018, India and Australia held the 10th Meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism at New Delhi
i. It was led by Shri Mahaveer Singhvi, Joint Secretary (Counter Terrorism) while the Australian delegation was led by Mr. Paul Foley, Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism.
Key points:
i. They discussed terrorist threats in their respective regions including the problem of cross-border terrorism in the Af-Pak region.
ii. They also discussed radicalisation and violent extremism, use of internet for terror purposes, Foreign Terrorist Fighters etc. The delegations also discussed measures to combat financing of terrorism.
iii. They agreed on cooperation through regular exchange of information, capacity building efforts, mutual legal assistance, sharing of best practices on countering violent extremism and cooperating in multilateral fora such as the United Nations and the FATF.
iv. The next meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism shall be held in Australia in 2019.
Australia:
♦ Capital : Canberra.
♦ Currency: Australian Dollar.
Radha Mohan Singh meets Nepalese counterpart for new partnership in agriculture sector
On June 21, 2018, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radha Mohan Singh met Mr. Chakra Pani Khanal, Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives of Nepal in Ministerial meeting of India-Nepal “New Partnership in Agriculture” in New Delhi and assured him of India’s support to further Nepal’s agriculture sector.
i. They discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture sector such as agricultural research and education, arrangement for supply of fertilizers, mutual recognition of inspection, testing and certification system, trade facilitation measures, strengthening livestock services, veterinary research and development facilities.
ii. They also agreed on exchanges between the India Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC).
iii. Finalisation of a pilot project on organic farming and soil health for implementation by India in Nepal also happened.
iv. Initiatives like Soil Health Card, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojna, eNAM, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna etc. will be shared with Nepal for agricultural productivity.
Other commitments of Nepal:
Mr. Chakra Pani Khanal, Minister for Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives, Nepal, who is on a five day visit from June 19-23, 2018, will visit Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa and National Centre of Organic Farming, Ghaziabad.
About India and Nepal’s joint agreement:
The Prime Ministers of India and Nepal had launched the “New Partnership in Agriculture” on April 7, 2018 to increase bilateral cooperation in agricultural sector for the benefit of farmers of both the nations.
World’s first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics launched in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
On June 21, 2018, The world’s first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics was launched in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Key points:
i. The centre will provide forensics for humanitarian services in times of disaster and emergencies.
ii. It will work on proper management of dead bodies in times of emergencies and their identification.
iii. It will conduct various academic and professional programmes, training and research and also provide technical expertise to support operations in field of humanitarian sciences.
About Centre for Humanitarian Forensics:
The centre is joint venture of Regional delegation of International Committee of Red Cross (ICCR) in India, Bhutan, Nepal and Maldives and alsoGujarat Forensic Science University.
7th India Minerals and Metals forum inaugurated in New Delhi
On June 21, 2018, 7th India Minerals and Metals forum was inaugurated in New Delhi.
i. The forum seeks to come up with solutions to consolidate small players for strengthening of overall health of the industry.
ii. The government officials emphasized on utilizing low grade minerals to reduce burden on high end minerals.
iii. There needs to be quick progress in exploration of deep seated minerals due to environmental concerns and there is a lot of scope for private sector for carrying out such researches.
iv. A joint venture between three Public sector companies has been formed to acquire strategic mineral assets to source and export from abroad.
Minister of Mines:
Narendra Singh Tomar.
New national targets for off-shore wind power to be : 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030
On June 19, 2018, The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has declared medium- and long-term targets 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030 for offshore wind power capacity addition.
i. India has an onshore wind target of 60 GW and its achievement of 34 GW and solar target of 100 GW by 2022.
ii. The National Off-Shore Wind Policy was notified in October 2015.
iii. Globally, 17-18 GW of offshore wind power has been installed, led by countries such as the UK, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands and China.
About India’s renewable energy targets:
♦ The 2022 electrical power targets include achieving 175 GW of energy from renewable sources – nearly 100 GW through solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biomass power and 5GW from small hydro power.
♦ The fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.
♦ The Largest wind farm of India is in Muppandal , Tamil Nadu.
Gujarat government announces Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Policy-2018
On 20th June 2018, the Gujarat government announced ‘Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Policy-2018’ to encourage setting up of wind and solar power projects at one location.
Wind-Solar Hybrid Power Policy-2018:
i. This policy has been introduced to bring out optimal use of land and transmission infrastructure. This policy will be in act for 5 years.
ii. Projects approved under this policy are eligible for several benefits and rebates for a period of 25 years or till the life of the project.
iii. As per the policy, developers can establish wind energy units on the land currently used for solar power units.
iv. Also, a solar power project can be established on the land used for wind farms. The transmission lines for the existing power projects can be used for the proposed renewable energy project.
v. Gujarat Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, said that, as per the policy new wind-solar hybrid power producing unit could be set up.
vi. The policy aims for optimum utilisation of land and grid lines. These renewable energy sources will reduce pollution.
vii. Electricity generated from these hybrid wind and solar units will be exempted from power duty.
viii. As per the policy, 50 % exemption from electricity duty is entitled for selling the power to a third party.
ix. For hybrid captive plants, complete exemption from cross subsidy surcharge and additional surcharge, and 50 % relief in wheeling charges and distribution loss is announced.
x. New developers can decide the capacity of wind-solar hybrid unit according to the renewable power purchase agreement with the consumer.
xi. Currently, Gujarat generates nearly 7,100 MW of non-conventional energy including 5,500 MW of wind power and 1,600 MW of solar power.
Some important National Parks in Gujarat:
♦ Gir Forest National Park
♦ Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch
♦ Vansda National Park
Union Commerce Ministry to set up special turmeric cell in Nizamabad, Telengana; emphasis on improve ‘curcumin’ chemical
On June 19, 2018, The Union Commerce Ministry to set up a special cell for turmeric in Nizamabad, Telengana.
i. A one-day turmeric workshop on ‘Production and export promotion of turmeric’ in Telangana attended by farmers, scientists, elected representatives and others.
ii. The State Horticulture Mission and the Farmers Producers Groups too can join forces.
iii. This would help improve the content of ‘curcumin’, the naturally occurring chemical compound found in turmeric, which will provide better price for the crop and also enhance the export potential.
About India’s export of Turmeric (The yellow root):
i. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of turmeric in the world.
ii. India exports only 6.2% of its total production with an export volume of 80,400 tons worth Rs.778.07 crore.
iii. total area under turmeric is 1.79 lakh hectares with production of 13.02 lakh MTs.
iv. Major markets are Erode & Salem( Tamil Nadu), Sangli (Maharastra), Nizamabad and Warangal ( Telengana) and Duggirala ( Andhra Pradesh).
v. UAE is the major importer accounting for 18% of export followed by US for 8%.
Other groups created by the Union Commerce Ministry:
♦ Spice Board Development Agency in Warangal.
♦ This would work alongside turmeric cell for better yield and productivity of the spices.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir inaugurates the 2 day 19th All India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureau in Hyderabad
On June 21, 2018, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir inaugurated the 19th all India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureau in Hyderabad .
i. It will be a 2 day conference on Automatic Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), usage experience of AFIS in Maharashtra and Telangana, integration of Finger Prints with CCTNS/ICJS
Key Points:
i. Two books entitled ‘Compendium of Fingerprint equipment 2018” & ‘Award of excellence in FP identification / science competition –compilation of cases’ were released during the Conference.
ii. Candidates holding first position in the All India Examination of Finger print experts would be awarded with ‘Aziz ul Haque Trophy’ and cash prize. The competition was conducted by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
iii. NCRB, in cooperation with CMC Ltd., Secunderabad, developed the first indigenous AFIS called FACTS. This would help in matching the finger prints of more than a million individuals within seconds.
About Finger Print Bureau :
The world’s first finger print bureau was established in 1897 at Calcutta during British period. Different countries started using Finger Print as unique identity for land registration, authentication, access control and many other ways. Even today although several other biometric like iris, face, DNA are available, mainly used authoritative mechanism is the Finger Print.
Shri RK Singh inaugurates 1500kWP solar plant by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib
On June 21, 2018, Shri R.K Singh, Minister of State(IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy was the chief guest in the inauguration of 1500 kWP capacity solar plant developed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) at the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib.
i. The solar plant was inaugurated by Sant Balbir Singh Ji Seechewal and Baba Sewa Singh Ji.
ii. Shri Hardeep Puri,Minister of State (I/C) for Housing & Urban Affairs and Dr Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change were present in the inauguaration.
iii. It was announced that 20 cities in India are ranked among the most polluted in the world.
iv. The Government’s commitment to bring electricity to every household by 31st December, 2018 was also reannounced.
About India’s renewable energy targets:
♦ The 2022 electrical power targets include achieving 175 GW of energy from renewable sources – nearly 100 GW through solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biomass power and 5GW from small hydro power.
♦ India is the 7th largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world.
♦ The fourth largest installed wind power capacity in the world.
♦ The Largest wind farm of India is in Muppandal , Tamil Nadu.
About Solar Mission:
The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission, also known as the National Solar Mission, is an initiative of the Government of India and State Governments to promote solar power. The mission is one of the several initiatives that are part of the National Action Plan on Climate Change. The program was inaugurated by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 11 January 2010 with a target of 20GW by 2022 which was later increased to 100 GW .
India achieved 20MW of solar power by Jan31, 2018.
Kerala govt launches scheme to offer micro loans at low interest rates in the cooperative sector
On June 21, 2018, The Kerala Governement launhed an ambitious micro-finance programme in the co-operative sector .
Objective:
To help ordinary people who are being exploited by private financiers charging exorbitant interest rates for loans.
Key points:
i. The first phase would be launched in northern Palakkad district on June 29.
ii. It is a joint initiative of cooperative banks and Kudumbashree (women neighbourhood network ).
iii. They have launched the proposed scheme, titled ‘Muttathe Mulla’.
iv. Under the initiative, Cooperative banks would give away micro-finance loans to ‘Kudumbashree’ at an interest rate of 7 per cent, which members of the neighbourhood network can avail at an interest rate of 12 per cent instead of 37-72% interest for mico loans that the private lenders are giving.
National Parks in Kerala :
Eravikulam National Parks, Periyar National Park, Silent Valley National Park , Pampadum Shola National Park.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
9 nuclear countries have total 14,935 nuclear warheads: SIPRI
The annual nuclear forces data has been released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Annual nuclear forces data by SIPRI:
i. As per the report, Pakistan remains ahead of India in possessing nuclear warheads. China has double the quantity.
ii. Pakistan is said to possess 140-150 nuclear warheads this year. This is 10 more than last year.
iii. India is said to have 130-140 nuclear warheads. The report has said that, both India and Pa kistan are expanding their nuclear weapon stockpiles and creating new land-, sea- and air-based missile delivery systems.
iv. China is modernising its nuclear weapon delivery systems and is enhancing the size of its nuclear arsenal.
v. Russia and the US have more than 92 % of the total warheads. SIPRI has said that, 9 countries: US, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, had 14,465 nuclear warheads at the start of 2018. Out of this, 3,750 were deployed.
vi. At the beginning of 2017, total number of nuclear warheads was 14,935. The decrease is mainly due to the arms control commitments by the US and Russia in the 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (New START).
vii. France with 300 warheads, China – 280, Britain – 215, Pakistan – 140-150, India – 130-140, Israel – 80 and North Korea – 10-20, are either deploying or planning to deploy new nuclear weapons system.
viii. Russia and US have long-term programmes to replace and modernize their nuclear warheads, missile and aircraft delivery systems, and nuclear weapon production facilities.
ix. SIPRI has said that, even though there is a reduction in the total number of nuclear warheads, modernisation of nuclear weapons continues.
About Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI):
♦ Chairperson – Ambassador Jan Eliasson
♦ Established – 1966
♦ Based in – Sweden
5th India-Japan 2+2 Vice Ministerial Dialogue on counter-terrorism held
On June 21, 2018, During the fifth 2 plus 2 vice-ministerial level dialogue India and Japan held talks on counter-terrorism, maritime security, and peacekeeping operations among other issues
i. The meeting was co-chaired on the Indian side by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and from the Japanese side by Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori and Vice-Minister of Defence for International Affairs Ro Manabe.
ii. Both nations will work on Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy’ and India’s ‘Act East Policy’.
iii. They also discussed the issue of North Korea and the South Asian situations.
About India’s ‘Act East Policy’:
i. The Objective of ”Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationship with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. This would promote the North Eastern States which is the priority region.
ii. This would develop and strengthen connectivity of Northeast with the ASEAN region through trade, culture, people-to-people contacts and physical infrastructure (road, airport, telecommunication, power, etc.).
iii. Some of the major projects include Kaladan Multi-modal Transit Transport Project, the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project, Rhi-Tiddim Road Project, Border Haats, etc.
iv. This would bring in closer partnership with concerned regional and Multilateral organisation such as ASEAN, ARF, EAS, BIMSTEC, ACD, MCG and IORA.
v. The countries include Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK), Australia, Singapore and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Conference on “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028” held in Dushanbe , Tajikistan from June 20-21 2018
On June 21, 2018, The Conference on “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028” is being held in Kokhi Somon venue, Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 20 to 21 June 2018 .
About the Conference on June 2018:
i. The Conference is organized by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in cooperation with the UNDESA, UN-Water and other partners.
ii. Representatives of UN member countries’ governments, UN institutions, international and regional organizations, international financial institutions, business communities, non-governmental organizations, civil society, as well as scientists and experts are invited to participate in the Conference.
iii. The conference program includes plenary sessions, a number of thematic and interactive sessions, an exhibition, as well as a pre-conference and side-events.
iv. The working languages of the Conference are English and Russian
Objective of the Conference:
i. The main objectives of the Conference are to discuss the ways on how the Member States, relevant UN bodies, the specialized agencies, the regional organizations of the UN as well as the private sector can contribute to the Decade in order to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
ii. The Conference will deepen the understanding of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, promote integrated water resources management
About the International decade for action “Water for Sustainable Development”:
On 21 December 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution 71/222 to declare 2018-2028 as an International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”
United States quits United Nations Human Rights Council sighting UNHRC’s hypocrisy
On June 21, 2018, Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN announced that United States has resigned UN Human Rights Council.
i. The US cited the UNHRC’s admission of nations with questionable human rights records as the reason to quit.
About UNHRC:
i. The UN set up the council in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights, which faced widespread criticism for letting countries with poor human rights records become members.
ii. A group of 47 elected countries from different global regions serve for three-year terms on the council.
iii. The UNHRC meets three times a year, and reviews the human rights records of all UN members in a special process the council says gives countries the chance to say what they have done to improve human rights, known as the Universal Periodic Review.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
India hikes import duty on 29 US products
On June 21, 2018,The finance ministry announced that India has hiked customs duty on several goods, including Bengal gram, lentils and artemia, imported from the US.
i. The move was against the duty hike by the US on certain steel and aluminium products which had tariff implication of $241 million on India.
Key points:
i. About the hiked up products:
| Products | Increased rate |
| Chickpeas and Bengal gram | 60% |
| Lentils | 30% |
| Boric Acid and binders | 7.5% |
| Domestic reagents | 10% |
| Artemia ( a kind of shrimp) | 15% |
ii. The other products on which duties have been hiked include certain kind of nuts, iron and steel products, apples, pears, flat rolled products of stainless steel, other alloy steel, tube and pipe fittings, and screws, bolts and rivets.
iii. India has excluded motorbikes above 800 cc. now additional customs duties have been imposed on 29 items.
iv. The import duty hike would be effective from August 4 2018.
PepsiCo Foundation announces $4.26 mn grant to NGO WaterAid for communities of Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala by Dec of 2020
On June 21, 2018, The PepsiCo Foundation announced a USD 4.26 million grant to an international non-profit organisation WaterAid to provide safe water access to communities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala by December 2020.
This adds to the USD 17 million that the Foundation has made in India to date.
Key points:
i. The programmes included partnerships with NGOs like Safe Water Network to set up more than 100 community Reverse Osmosis (RO) water stations in India, and Water.Org to provide access to safe water and sanitation through micro-lending.
ii. The foundation will focus on implementing solutions that will help increase access to clean water, build community and government capacity to manage water resources over the next three years in India.
iii. These solutions would help improve water security and also promote water conservation and recharge measures including rainwater harvesting.
iv. This would impact 2,00,000 people in the communities around its plants.
PepsiCo:
♦ Headquarters: New York ,US.
♦ CEO: Indra Nooyi.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
9 awards given to various entities for great momentum in Implementation of Projects Under ‘India Smart Cities Award’ 2018
On June 21, 2018, under the India Smart Cities Awards, which was launched on June 25, 2017 by Hon’ble Housing and Urban Affairs Minister, nine awards in three categories, i.e., Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award had been announced.
i. A technical committee of international/multilateral experts from UN Habitat, Asian Development Bank and NIUA evaluated the submissions based on Innovation, Impact, and Replicability/Scalability
Awardee of City Award:
i. The city award is being given to Surat for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
ii. The City Award was decided based on cities’ performance on their Awards Score and on Weekly Ranking score as on 2 May 2018
Awardee of Innovative Idea Award:
i. Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.
ii. It is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development.
Awardee of Project Award:
The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by April 1, 2018. They are :
| Awardee | Place | Category |
| PMC Care | Pune | Governance |
| Smart Place Making | Pune | Built Environment |
| Smart Class rooms | NDMC and Jabalpur | Social Aspects |
| Smart Campus | Visakhapatnam | |
| Lighthouse | Pune | |
| B Nest Incubation Centre | Bhopal | Culture and Economy |
| Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts | Jaipur | |
| Public Bike Sharing | Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore | Urban environment |
| Waste to Energy Plant | Jabalpur | |
| Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) | Ahmedabad and Surat | Transport and Mobility |
| Smart Water Management through SCADA | Ahmedabad | Water and Sanitation |
About the Smart Cities Award:
♦ India Smart Cities Award were launched on 25 June 2017 with an objective to reward cities, projects and innovative ideas, promoting sustainable development in cities
♦ Eligible Participants were Smart Cities only, where respective ULBs / Smart City SPVs were to submit proposals.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Emaar India appoints Prashant Gupta as CEO
Emaar India has appointed Prashant Gupta as CEO. Emaar India is a part of realty enterprise group Emaar Properties, which is based in Dubai.
Prashant Gupta – CEO of Emaar India:
i. Prashant Gupta was working with Aditya Birla group since 2011. He has been appointed as CEO of Emaar India.
ii. He also served as President and CEO of online retail business ABOF.com. In April 2018, Emaar Properties appointed Hadi Badri as managing director of India business.
About Aditya Birla group:
♦ Chairman – Kumar Mangalam Birla
♦ Headquarters – Mumbai
SBI MD B.Sriram appointed MD & CEO of IDBI Bank
On 21st June 2018, State Bank of India’s Managing Director B Sriram was appointed as the MD and CEO of IDBI Bank for a temporary term of 3 months.
B.Sriram – MD & CEO of IDBI Bank:
i. B.Sriram has been appointed in place of incumbent Mahesh Kumar Jain. Mahesh Kumar Jain was made Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently.
ii. B.Sriram has been the MD (Corporate and Global Banking) in SBI from July 2014. He was Managing Director of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur. He joined State Bank of India in 1981 as a Probationary Officer.
About IDBI Bank:
♦ Headquarters – Mumbai
♦ Tag line – Banking For All, “Aao Sochein Bada”
Armstrong Changsan appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iceland
On 20th June 2018, T. Armstrong Changsan was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iceland.
Armstrong Changsan – next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iceland:
i. T. Armstrong Changsan is an Indian Foreign Service Officer (IFS) of the 1997 batch. At present, he is Consul General, Consulate General of India, Osaka-Kobe.
ii. He has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Iceland. He will take up this assignment soon.
ICICI Prudential AMC’s Raghav Iyengar to join Indiabulls AMC as chief executive
Raghav Iyengar, who was heading the institutional and retail business at ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) has resigned from his position. He would join Indiabulls AMC as its chief executive officer (CEO).
Raghav Iyengar to join Indiabulls AMC as chief executive:
i. Raghav Iyengar will join Indiabulls Asset Management Company (AMC) in the third week of August 2018.
ii. It is also said that, Akshay Gupta, who is at present the group executive head and CEO of Indiabulls AMC, will move to Prime Securities.
Tag lines of some banks:
♦ Bank of Baroda – India’s International Bank
♦ Bank of India – Relationships beyond Banking
♦ Bank of Maharashtra – One Family One Bank
SPORTS
ICC Test rankings: Shikhar Dhawan reaches career-best 24 spot, Murali Vijay & Ravindra Jadeja move up too
Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has improved 10 places and reached his career-best 24th spot.
ICC Test rankings:
i. Indian cricketers Murali Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja have also climbed up in the latest ICC Test rankings.
ii. Murali Vijay has climbed up 6 spots and reached the 23rd spot. Ravindra Jadeja has improved one spot and secured 3rd spot. Ishant Sharma has improved 2 spots and reached 25th spot. Umesh Yadav has improved 2 places and has secured 26th position.
iii. Afghanistan batsman Hashmatuallah Shahidi has obtained 111th position and captain Asghar Stanikzai with 136th position have entered the rankings.
iv. Yamin Ahmadzai is in 94th spot, Mujeeb ur Rehman is in 114th position and Rashid Khan is in 119th position.
v. Rashid Khan is at present ranked at the top in T20Is and second in ODIs. India remains in the top spot in the ICC Test Team Rankings.
About Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI):
♦ CEO – Rahul Johri
♦ Headquarters – Mumbai
OBITUARY
Australian golfer Peter Thomson also called “the thinking man’s golfer” dies at 88
On 20th June 2018, Australian golfer Peter Thomson, passed away after fighting Parkinson’s disease, at his residence in Melbourne, Australia.
Death of Peter Thomson:
i. Peter Thomson was 88 years old. He was the first Australian to win the British Open. He won the British Open five times also including three consecutive wins.
ii. He was president of the Australian PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) for 32 years. He was patron of the Australian Golf Writers Association.
iii. The World Golf Hall of Fame named him “the thinking man’s golfer”. He won the Victorian Amateur Championship in 1949.
iv. He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979. He became an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001.
Some important stadiums in India:
♦ Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium – Raipur, Chhattisgarh
♦ International Hockey Stadium – Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Music Day – June 21
On 21st June 2018, World Music Day was celebrated all over the world.
World Music Day:
i. World Music Day is also known as Fête de la Musique or Make Music Day.
ii.It is celebrated every year on 21 June. On Music Day people play music in public areas. Free concerts are also organized.
iii. These celebrations were initiated by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, and by Maurice Fleuret. It was first celebrated in Paris in 1982. This day is celebrated in 120 countries throughout the world.
Some important temples in India:
♦ Mahakaleshwar Temple – Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh
♦ Kamakhya Temple – Guwahati, Assam
♦ Bhimashankar Temple – Pune, Maharashtra
4th International Yoga Day – June 21
On 21st June 2018, 4th International Yoga Day was celebrated all over the world.
International Yoga Day:
i. The main event of 4th International Yoga Day celebrations (IDY-2018) was held at Forest Research Institute in Dehradun, Uttrakhand.
ii. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the event at Dehradun. Nearly 50,000 people took part in the activities there.
iii. The first International Day of Yoga was celebrated in 2015. The idea of International Day of Yoga was first proposed by Narendra Modi during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 27 September 2014.
iv. The theme for International Yoga Day 2018 is: “Yoga for peace”. Yoga demonstrations were also held in several foreign countries.
v. India’s Permanent Mission to the UN celebrated International Yoga Day at the North Lawn in the UN Headquarters in New York.
vi. In Sri Lanka, an event was organized by Indian High commission in Colombo and consulates located at Jaffna, Hambantota and Kandy.
vii. In Nepal, monks and local citizens did Yoga exercises at 12,500 feet in Muktinath.
viii. In China, Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale took part in an event in Beijing. Celebrations were also done in South Korea, Croatia and Finland.
ix. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a three-nation visit took part in the Yoga Day celebration in Paramaribo, Suriname, along with Suriname President Desire Delano Bouterse.
Some important dams in India:
♦ Lakhwar Dam – Yamuna River
♦ Idukki Dam – Periyar River
♦ Bhakra Dam – Satluj River
