TNPSC Current Affairs English June 2017 Vetrii IAS Academy

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TNPSC
Current Affairs
June-2017 (English)

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TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS IRCL JUNE 2017

CONTENT
SL. NO TITLE PAGE NO

1. Important Days 1-3

2. National Affairs 4 13

3. State Affairs 14 - 20

4. International 21 -27

5. Schemes 28 - 32

6. Economy 33 - 36

7. Awards & Honours 37 - 42

8. Science & Technology 43 - 47

9. Sports 48 - 52

10. Personalities 53 - 55

11. Defence 56 - 57

12. General Knowledge 58 - 62

13. Summit 63 - 64

14. Important Index 65 67

15. Appointment 68 - 71

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TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS I JUNE 2017

IMPORTANT DAYS
01 JUNE - WORLD MILK DAY

World Milk Day is an initiative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organisation, to celebrate the contribution of the dairy industry around the globe on 1st
June.

01 JUNE - GLOBAL DAY OF PARENTS

It was designated by United Nations General Assembly


First observed in 2012

04 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF INNOCENT CHILDREN VICTIMS OF


AGGRESSION
It was designated by UN General Assembly

05 JUNE - WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

It was designated by United Nations General Assembly


First observed in 1974
Host Country: Canada

Theme: Connecting People to Nature

08 MAY - WORLD OCEAN DAY


It was designated by UN General Assembly
First Observed in 2009
Theme: Our Oceans, Our Future

12 JUNE - WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR

It was designated by International Labour Organization


First Observed in 2002
Theme: In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour

JUNE-13 - INTERNATIONAL ALBINISM AWARENESS DAY


It was designated by UN General Assembly
First observed in 2015, 13 June

NOTE
Albinism is a genetic condition resulting in little or no pigmentation in the skin,
hair, and eyes.

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14 JUNE - WORLD BLOOD DONOR DAY

It was designated by World Health Organisation


First Observed in 2004
Theme: What can you do? Give blood, Give now, Give often

15 JUNE - WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY

It was designated by UN General Assembly


Theme: Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue

First Observed in 2012

19 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR ELIMINATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN


CONFLICT

It was designated by United Nations General Assembly


Theme: Preventing Sexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence
First Observed in 2015

20 JUNE - WORLD REFUGEE DAY

It was designated by UN General Assembly


Theme: Biodiversity & Sustainable Tourism

First Observed in 2001

21 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

It was designated by UN General Assembly

Theme: Yoga for Health


First Observed in 2015

21 JUNE - WORLD MUSIC DAY

World Music Day is first incorporated into France in 1982. It is a day of national
importance which was later adopted by many countries.
Theme - Musicians gather to perform at a public place.

23 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL WIDOWS DAY


It was designated by United Nations General Assembly
First Observed in 2011

26 JUNE - INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT


TRAFFICKING

It was designated by UN General Assembly

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First Observed in 1988


Theme: Listen First - Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow
healthy and safe

29 JUNE - NATIONAL STATISTICS DAY

In order to mark the birth anniversary of Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, a renowned
and eminent statistician, this day was celebrated.
The very first observed in 29th June, 2007
IMPORTANT EVENTS:

CENTENARY YEAR CELEBRATIONS OF SABARMATI ASHRAM 17TH JUNE 1917

Centenary year (100 years) celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram have begun.


It was built in 17th june 1917.

SABARMATI ASHRAM:

Sabarmati Ashram (also known as Gandhi Ashram, Harijan Ashram, or Satyagraha


Ashram) is located in the Sabarmati suburb of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on the banks of the
River Sabarmati.

It was from his base here that Gandhi led the Dandi march also known as the Salt
Satyagraha on 12 March 1930.

Present Day about this Sabarmati Ashram:


The ashram now has a museum, the Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalaya.
This had originally been located in Hridaya Kunj, Gandhis own cottage in the ashram.
Then in 1963, having been designed by the architect Charles Correa, the museum was
built.
The Sangrahalaya was then re-located into the well-designed and well-furnished museum
building and was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India on 10 May
1963.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
PM VISITS IN THREE COUNTRIES

Portugal visit:
In the first leg of his tour, he reached Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

Over there, India and Portugal have signed eleven MOUs for cooperation in areas
including double taxation avoidance, science and technology, trade and investment,
nanotechnology, space research, administrative reforms and culture.

The USA visit:


In the second leg of his three-nation tour PM arrived in US capital Washington D.C.

India and the United States agreed to enhance cooperation in fighting the menace
of terrorism, extremism and radicalization.

The Netherlands visits:


In the final leg of his three-nation tour, PM arrived in Amsterdam, the capital of
Netherlands.

PM Modi described the Netherlands as Indias natural partner in its economic


development.

India and Netherlands also signed three MOUs on water management, cultural
cooperation and on amending social security arrangement.

NOTE :
Netherlands is host to one of the largest population of people of Indian origin in
Europe. It is home to about 220,000 Indian and Suriname Hindustani Diaspora.

INDIA BECOMES 1ST COUNTRY TO GIVE TO UN TAX FUND WITH $100000


CONTRIBUTION

India has contributed $100,000 to a United Nations fund to help developing countries

actively participate in the discussion of tax issues,india has becoming the first country to

make the contribution

NOTE : The UN Tax Committee a subsidiary body of the UN Economic and Social Council
(ESOSOC) provided guidance on current issues such as double taxation treaties, transfer
pricing (profit shifting) taxation of the extractive industries and taxation of services.

INDIA, RUSSIA IDENTIFY KEY AREAS TO BOOST COOPERATION IN SCIENCE


& TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

India and Russia have identified key areas to cooperate in the Science and Technology

sector, including Space and Marine Technologies, IT and deep ocean engineering.

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The meeting was attended by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Russian Deputy Prime
Minister Dmitryi Rogozin.

NOTE :
It is Inspired by India's 'Make in India' initiative and Moscow has launched a Do It
In Russia initiative to promote local manufacturing and technology development.

INDIA AND PORTUGAL SIGN A HISTORICAL AGREEMENT TO PROMOTE


COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF ARCHIVES

A Protocol of Cooperation was signed between the National Archives of India and the
Minister of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in the field of archives on 17th May, 2017
in Lisbon, Portugal.
As a first step under this agreement, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of
Portugal) handed over to the National Archives of India digital copies of 62 volumes of
the collection known as Moncoes do Reino (Monsoon correspondence).

NOTE :
These volumes serve as the most important primary source for the study of the
Portuguese expansion in Asia and their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European
powers as well as their relations with neighboring Kings in South Asia and East Asia

INDIA, RUSSIA AGREE TO ROADMAP FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DEFENCE


CO-OPERATION

India agreed to sign a roadmap for the development of bilateral defense cooperation.

The roadmap includes specific activities to be concluded by both sides and aims to enhance

cooperation in the field of political and military dialogue, exercises, exchange of visits,

military cooperation and training of military personnel.

NOTE :
The agreement was reached at the 17th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental
Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation held in Moscow.

CABINET APPROVES MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND KOREA FOR EXPORT


CREDIT OF USD 9 BILLION

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the

proposed MoU between Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) and Export-Import

Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for export credit of USD 9 billion.

The decision is expected to promote the countrys international exports and deepen

political and financial ties between India and South Korea.

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INDIA, MAURITIUS SIGN MOU TO INSTITUTIONALIZE COOPERATION


BETWEEN PARLIAMENT

India and Mauritius signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to institutionalize

cooperation between Parliaments of the two countries.

The MoU was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of National

Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee in Port Louis.

INDIA, PAKISTAN TO BECOME FULL SCO MEMBERS AT ASTANA SUMMIT

India and Pakistans entered to the China-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

(SCO) Astana, Kazakhstan.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) granted full membership status to Pakistan

and India during its Ufa summit held in Russia in 2015.

SCO is the political and security grouping headquartered in Beijing.

The Astana Summit will be held on 8-9 June.

INDIA AND UNOSSC LAUNCH PARTNERSHIP FUND TO PROMOTE


SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

India and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation have launched a partnership fund

to promote sustainable development projects across the developing world.

NOTE :
The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was established
with an objective to promote, coordinate and support South-South and triangular
cooperation across the world and within the United Nations system

INDIA SIGNS OECD AGREEMENT TO CHECK TAX EVASION BY MNC

India signed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development multilateral

convention that aims to check cross-border tax evasion by multinational companies.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley signed the multilateral convention in Paris, France to

implement tax treaty related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting.

The Multilateral Convention is an outcome of the OECD/G20 Project to ensure Base

Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) which is resorted to by Multi National Company's

through tax planning strategies by exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules.

UNION GOVERNMENT SIGNS LOAN OF $275 MILLION WITH ADB TO


UPGRADE 64 SMALL TOWNS OF MADHYA PRADESH
The Government of India (GOI) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed USD 275
million loans for a piped water supply project for rapidly urbanizing small towns.

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It will cover 3 lakh households in 64 small towns in Madhya Pradesh.


The Government of Madhya Pradesh will provide counterpart support of $124 million.
The project will run for almost five years with an expected completion date of June 2022.

WB CLEARS $250-MILLION LOAN TO TRAIN INDIAS JOB SEEKERS


The World Bank cleared a USD 250-million loan, referred to as Skill India Mission
Operation (SIMO) for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling.

NOTE :
SIMO will be implemented through the National Skill Development Mission and
will specifically target labor market entrants.
World Banks SIMO is a six- year program in support of the Indian Governments
National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (2017-23).

INDIA GRANTS ROAD CONTRACT


TO COMPLETE KALADAN PROJECT
IN MYANMAR
Kaladan was the first major project taken
up by India in Myanmar. $484-million
Kaladan multi-modal transport projects
will offer connectivity to Mizoram in
India.
Rs. 1,600-crore contract has been awarded
for building 109-km road connecting Paletwa river terminal to Zorinpui in Mizoram
border, under this project

NOTE :
In Myanmar
It is a multi-modal transport project having three different stretches involving
shipping, Inland Water and road transport stretches.
Being administered by Ministry of External Affairs
GoI is funding the project.
Will connect Mizoram to Bay of Bengal
Project seeks to facilitate connectivity between the mainland India and the
landlocked North Eastern States through maritime shipping, inland waterways and
roads of Myanmar
The link between landlocked north eastern states and Myanmar will lead to
Enhanced trade and commerce across the border
Enable cultural and social integration at the regional level
It was the first major project undertaken by the Indian government in Myanmar
Agreement was signed in 2008
Construction began in 2010
When completed, the KMTT will shorten the current time taken to transport goods
from Kolkata to Mizoram by three-four days, and the distance by around 950 km.
KMMT is hailed as Future gateway to South East Asia

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FILLING OF AJI DAM AT RAJKOT BY NARMADA WATER

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates filing of Aji dam with Narmada waters under Sauni Yojana.
He launched Smart Rajkot Hackathon where the urban local body will engage with young
students to find innovative solutions to improve the efficiency of various Government
departments.

INDIA TO BE CO-PARTNER COUNTRY IN ANUGA 2017

India has signed the Memorandum of Understanding for Participation in the ANUGA
Exhibition.
ANUGA 2017 is the 34th edition, which is held in Cologne, Germany.
ANUGA Background:
ANUGA an acronym for Allgemeine Nahrungs Und Genussmittel Ausstellung
(General Food and Drink Trade Fair).
ANUGA is the worlds biggest and most important trade fair for Food and beverage trade.
ANUGA offers an extensive supporting programme with Lectures, Special exhibition and
attractive industry events.

INDIA SRILANKA AGREEMENT FOR DEVELOPING RAILWAY SECTOR

Recently, India signs the 318 million US Dollar credit line agreement with Srilanka for
developing railway sector.
Note :
NITI AAYOG SELECTS CCMB AS India has already provided four
INCUBATION CENTRE FOR BIOTECH START- Lines of Credit through its EXIM
Bank amounting of USD 966
UPS million approximately. Currently,
Indian development focusses on
NITI-Aayog has chosen the CSIR -Centre for Education
Capacity building.
Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in
Improvement of
Hyderabad for hosting 10-crore Atal Incubation infrastructure
Livelihood development
Centre for biotechnology start-ups. health care

CCMB is one of the 10 organizations that have been

identified to host the Atal Incubation Centre.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog is aimed at promoting a culture of
innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
Under the scheme, Atal Incubation Centre can be established either in Publicly funded
institutions or Private sector funded institutions or in Public Private Partnership
(PPP) mode.

SUSHMA SWARAJ INAUGURATES KIP FOR YOUNG OVERSEAS INDIANS

India Programme (KIP) for young overseas Indians at a function in New Delhi.

This programme is aimed at promoting awareness on different facets of life in India and

the progress made by the country in various fields such as economic and education.

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22ND EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL (EUFF) KICKED OFF IN NEW DELHI

The 22nd European Union Film Festival (EUFF) kicked off in New Delhi which will screen

22 films from 22 European countries at Siri Fort Auditorium.

Aim:-
To improve cultural ties between India and European countries.
Inaugural session of the film festival opened with Estonian film 'Cherry Tobacco'.
Ambassador of the European Union to India - Tomasz Kozlowski.

INDIAS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2017 17TH JULY

The 15th Presidential Election of India going to be held on 17th July 2017.

The term of President Pranab Mukherjee who assumed the office in July 2012 will come
to an end on 24th July 2017.

INDIAS BIODIVERSITY RICHES GROW BY 499 SPECIES

As per the latest reports by ZSI (Zoological Survey of India) and BSI (Botanical Survey
of India), 499 new species have been discovered in last one year in the country.

Key facts:

Of these, 313 species are animal species and 186 are plants species.

Of the new animal species, 258 are invertebrates and 55 vertebrates.

Most of the new species were from the four biological hotspots of the country the
Himalayas, the northeast, the Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

WORLDS HIGHEST RAIL TRACK SURVEY TO COMMENCE AT LEH

Indian Railways will start the final location survey of the 498 km long Bilaspur-Manali-

Leh line at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.

NOTE :
The proposed new rail line will connect all important locations between Bilaspur and Leh
namely Sunder Nagar Mandi, Manali, Tandi, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi, and Karu.

FIRST UNIT OF 100 MEGA WATT SAINJ HYDROPOWER PROJECT


COMMISSIONED

The first 50 MW unit of 100 MW Sainj Hydro Power project of Himachal Pradesh Power
Corporation Limited (HPPCL) commissioned with northern grid through Parvati-Kol Dam
transmission line.

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NOTE :
Sainj Hydro Power Project has been constructed on Sainj River, a tributary of Beas River.
It will generate an income of Rs 100 crore to the State Government

INDIA'S FIRST CANAL TOP SOLAR PV SYSTEM AT NTPC MOUDA

State-run power giant NTPC has energised 150 kWp canal top solar PV System on cooling
water (CW) channel inside power station premises at its 2,320 MW, Mouda Thermal Power
Project, near Nagpur in Maharashtra.

This novel Solar PV system makes use of side walls of CW channels as load bearing structure
thereby significantly decreasing cost of civil and mounting structure.

NEW BRIDGE CONSTRUCTED IN 165 DAYS ON SAVITRI RIVER RECORD TIME

An old Masonry Arch Bridge on Savitri and Kal River near Mahad in
Maharashtra constructed in 1928 collapsed due to heavy rainfall on the night of 2nd
August, 2016.

The Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin
Gadkari immediately announced to construct new bridge at this location within 6 months.

As announced by the Shri Gadkari, the project has been speedily rebuild on a record time
of 165 days before the onset of monsoon rain with a total Cost of Rs.35.77 Cr.

The Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari and
Chief Minister of Maharashtra will inaugurate the newly constructed Savitri Bridge and
throw it open for the public on 05th June, 2017.

INDIA TO HAVE ITS OWN GPS SYSTEM FROM 2018

India will be having its own GPS system. 'NavIC' will be operational early 2018.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) with an operational name of NavIC
is currently being tested for its accuracy and is most likely to be available in the market for
public use within the country early next year.

RAJASTHAN LEADS IN CHILD MARRIAGES

The report of a study conducted on child marriages by Young Lives in coordination with
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been released.
Background:
The study is based on the 2011 Census.

The study zeroes in on 70 districts spread across 13 States, which comprise more than 20%
of child marriages.

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UNION MINISTER SRIPAD NAIK ANNOUNCED PROPOSAL TO SET UP 100


AYUSH HOSPITALS

Minister of state for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik announced proposals for setting up of 100

Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) hospitals across the country.

Union government had approved posting of 4000 AYUSH doctors in primary health

centres across the country.

The Ministry has approved setting up of two 50-bedded integrated AYUSH hospitals at

Theni and Tiruvannamalai districts in Tamil Nadu.

OPERATION SWARN(GOLD)
The Indian Railways like Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express, Railways to launch Operation
Swarn (gold).
The operation is aimed at improving the services in these premium trains.
Under the initiative, Indian Railways will work towards improving 10 aspects, namely,
punctuality, cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, toilets, catering, staff behavior, security,
entertainment, housekeeping and regular feedback.

NOTE :
The Indian Railways also launched a new series of fully air-conditioned express trains
like Humsafar, Mahamana, and Gatimaan for overnight travel.

INDIAN RAILWAYS TO INTRODUCE "BOOK NOW, PAY LATER" OPTION


Railways have decided to provide the 'buy tickets now and pay later' service for any
Express trains.

IRCTC has collaborated with a Mumbai-based firm ePayLater for adding the new service
option.

Through this service, a passenger can book a ticket five days prior to the journey with a
service charge of 3.5 per cent and pay it in the next 14 days.

PM MODI GOVERNMENT WILL REPLACE UGC, AICTE SOON WITH HEERA

University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education will be
replaced with Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA).
The Modi Govt will replace these 2 education regulators with a new Higher Education
Regulator. To remove the irrelevant regulatory provisions, this decision is taken.

AADHAAR MUST FOR ATAL PENSION YOJANA AADHAAR HAS NOW BEEN
MADE MANDATORY TO GET BENEFITS OF THE ATAL PENSION YOJANA.

Those subscribing to the pension scheme will be required to submit their ID proof of Aadhaar
card to get the benefits.

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NOTE:
The Atal Pension Yojana became operational from June 1, 2015 and is available to all the
citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years.
Under the scheme, a subscriber would receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1,000 to
Rs 5,000 per month, depending upon his contribution, from the age of 60 years.

INDIA SIGNS LOAN AGREEMENT WITH THE WORLD BANK FOR THE
PROJECT ASSAM CITIZEN CENTRIC SERVICE DELIVERY

India signed a loan agreement of USD 39.2 million with the World Bank for the Assam

Citizen Centric Service Delivery Project.

The total Project worth is USD 49 million where 39.2 will be financed by the World Bank

and the remainder will be funded out of Assam State Budget.

The loan will be provided by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

(IBRD).

SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL LAUNCHES ENERGY CONSERVATION BUILDING CODE


2017

Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal Launches ECBC 2017

The updated version of ECBC provides current as well as futuristic advancements in

building technology to further reduce building energy consumption and promote low-

carbon growth.

NOTE :
ECBC 2017 was developed by BEE with technical support from United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) under the U.S.-India bilateral Partnership to
Advance Clean Energy Deployment Technical Assistance (PACE-D TA) Program.

UNION MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY CONDUCTED 22ND APEDA


ANNUAL AWARD FUNCTION

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is


an apex body of the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, conducted 22ND
APEDA Annual Award Function to promote the export of agricultural commodities and
processed food products.
This includes 2 Diamond Trophies, 33 Gold, 29 Silver and Bronze 18 for the both the
years 2014-15 and 2015-16.

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COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH (CSIR) SIGNS


AGREEMENT WITH THE METAL INDUSTRIES DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
(MIDI), ETHIOPIA

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) signed an agreement with

Europe-based Metal Industries Development Institute (MIDI) to implement a winning

program.

CSIR will enhance the capacity and capability of MIDI to enable it to contribute more

efficiently towards the development of Metals and Engineering sectors in Ethiopia.

THREE NEW SITES RECOGNISED AS BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS IN GOA

BirdLife International, a conservation organisation, has recognized three new sites in


Goa as hotspots for protection.

The sites have been added to their list of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas.

The inclusion of these ecological hotspots in a new book come after systematic data
collection by the Goa Bird Conservation Network (GBCN).

Now, seven areas in Goa have been termed important biodiversity areas by BirdLife.
Goa earlier had four recognised biodiversity areas:
Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary and Mollem National Park,
Carambolim Wetlands,
Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and
Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary.
The list has now added Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, Navelim Wetlands and Netravali Wildlife
Sanctuary.

Bird life international


BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to
conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity.
It is the worlds largest partnership of conservation organisations, with over 120 partner
organisations.
BirdLife International publishes a quarterly magazine, World Birdwatch, which contains
recent news and authoritative articles about birds, their habitats, and their conservation
around the world.
BirdLife International is the official Red List authority for birds, for the International
Union for Conservation of Nature.

Short News

India has signed a loan agreement of 36 million dollars with the World Bank for Himachal

Pradesh Public Financial Management Capacity Building Programme.

Union Government has cleared the proposal for setting up a New Airport in Jewar in Greater

Noida.

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STATE AFFAIRS
GST BILL INTRODUCED IN TAMIL NADU

Commercial Taxes Minister K.C. Veeramani introduced the Tamil Nadu Goods and
Service Taxes Bill, 2017 in the Assembly.

NOTE:-
The proposed legislation will confer power upon the State government for levying goods
and services taxes on the supply of goods or services or both which takes place within the
State.
It will simplify and harmonise the indirect tax regime in the State.
It will also provide for elaborate provisions for the smooth transition of existing tax
payers to the goods and service tax regime.

FREE EDUCATION FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS

Tamil Nadu Government has announced free education for the transgender community in
the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in Tirunelveli.

One seat in every course of all the colleges affiliated to the university has been reserved for
the transgenders.

NOTE:-
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is the first in India to offer free education to the
transgenders.

V.O. CHIDAMBARANAR PORT TRUST ORGANIZES SABKA SAATH SABKA


VIKAS SAMMELAN AT TENKASI IN TAMIL NADU

The Union Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Pon.
Radhakrishnan opened the centre has implemented various schemes like Ujwala, Jan
Dhan Yojana and Skill Development for the benefit of the weaker sections of the society.
Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sammelan organised by V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust at
Esakki Mahal in Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
The Sagarmala programme launched by the Prime Minister last year aims to increase the
capacity of Major and Non-Major Ports to 3000 Metric tonnes per annum from the present
1054.
Enayam Port Project is implemented Tamil Nadu become the first state to have four Major
Ports.

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TAMIL NADU HAS SIGNED MOU WITH CENTRE: HOSUR, NEYVELI TO HAVE
LOW-COST FLIGHT SERVICES

In the presence of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, the Tamil Nadu State Government has
signed a MoU with the Civil Aviation Ministry for the implementation the scheme.
Tamil Nadu Government will set up low-cost flight services under Ude Desh Ka Aam
Naagrik (UDAN) scheme.

BENGALURU FIRM 1ST IN INDIA TO DELIVER DIESEL AT HOME

Mypetrolpump, a one-year-old startup, conducted a soft launch with three delivery


vehicles -each with a capacity of 950 liters.
Diesel is delivered at the day's running price with a fixed delivery charge for up to 100
liters, the one-time delivery charge is Rs.99.

KOLKATA TO GET INDIA'S FIRST UNDERWATER METRO RAIL LINK SERVICE

Kolkata city will set to have an underwater Metro Rail Service under the river Hoogly.
It is the India's first underwater transportation tunnel of India.
The project connects Howrah to the west and Salt Lake to the east.
The project is expected to be completed by December 2019.

ODISHA TO HAVE FIRST AUTOMATIC COASTAL WARNING FOR DISASTERS


IN INDIA
The Odisha government is all set to commission the ambitious Early Warning
Dissemination System (EWDS) that would enable loud sirens go off simultaneously from
towers at 122 locations by July.

Odisha is the first State in India to have developed an automatic public address system
that can be activated along its entire coast.

Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh is also building up such capability to face natural


calamities.

GOVERNMENT TO IMPLEMENT INDIAS FIRST RURAL LED STREET LIGHTING


PROJECT IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Government of India, through the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the
Ministry of Power.

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This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government
of Indias Street Lighting National Project (SLNP).

This project is being funded by French Development Agency Agence Franaise de


Dveloppement (AFD).

VARANASI TO GET INDIAS 1ST FREIGHT VILLAGE

Varanasi will get the country's first 'freight village' spread over around 100 acres.

The plan to set up this project close to the upcoming multi-mode terminal along the Ganga
has attracted major players including Dubai Port World and IL&FS.

A 'Freight Village' is a specialised industrial estate which attracts companies that require
logistics services and can cluster to improve their competitiveness.

INDIAS FIRST PUBLIC BICYCLE SHARING PROJECT LAUNCHED IN MYSURU

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched Indias first public bicycle sharing (PBS)
initiative Trin Trin in Mysuru, a cultural and heritage city with a population of 12 lakh
people.

ODISHA IS THE FIRST STATE TO OPEN A BLOOD BANK FOR CATTLE

Odisha is the first state in the Country to open a Blood Bank for cattle.
The proposal has received the approval from the National Agriculture Development
Programme (NADP).
The blood bank for cattle would be set up on the premises of the Odisha University of
Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) .

E-TAXI SERVICE LAUNCHED IN HYDERABAD

An e-taxi service launched in the city of Hyderabad to mark the World Environment Day.
Hyderabad Mayor Bonthu Rammohan flagged off five e-taxis at an event organized on
Necklace Road.
The e-taxis have been launched by Green Mile, an electric vehicle infrastructure start-up
company working towards sustainable transportation.

MITS MEGA FOOD PARK AT RAYAGADA, ODISHA

The first Mega Food Park in the state of Odisha M/s MITS Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd. was
recently inaugurated at Rayagada.

This is the 7th Mega Food Park operationalized in the last 3 years by the present
government.

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NOTE:-
Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the
country.
The Scheme of Mega Food Park aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural
production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and retailers so as to
ensure maximizing value addition, minimizing wastages, increasing farmers income and
creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector.

MADHYA PRADESH GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES FARMERSDEBT RELIEF


SCHEME

Madhya Pradesh government has launched a new debt relief scheme Krishi Rin Samadhan
Yojana for farmers.
The cabinet also allocated Rs 1,000 crore for the scheme.
The interest rate on loans would be less, which would in turn also help defaulting farmers
get loans.

135TH JAGANNATH PURI CHARIOT FESTIVAL BEGINS IN ODISHA

The 135 JagannathYatra starts from June 25 and ends on July 3 is celebrated every year on
AshadhShuklaDwitiya in Odisha.
This yatra includes three majestic chariots Nandighosa (Lord Jagannath), Taladwaja
(Balabhadra) and Darpadalan (Subhadra).

NOTE:-
Sudarsan Pattnaik has carved beautiful art on RathYatra of Lord Jagannath at the Puri
beach in Odisha with message Let us all immerse in the spirit of unity & brotherhood".

GOA CHIEF MINISTER MANOHAR PARRIKAR INAUGURATES 3 DAY MODI


FEST IN PANAJI
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated the three-day MODI (Making of
Developed India Festival) Fest at Kala Academy in Panaji.
The MODI Fest showcases the progress of various policies and programs of the Central
Government and its developments in lasts three stages.

THREE DAY MODI FEST TO BE HELD IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Making of Developed India (MODI), a three-day festival has been launched in Andhra
Pradesh.
It is being celebrated to mark the successful completion of three-year rule by the Central
Government.
It will have Jan Ki Baat voice of the people stall and a survey on Namo App, with an
exhaustive list of questions.

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MUGHALSARAI RAILWAY STATION RENAMED AS RSS IDEOLOGUE PANDIT


DEENDAYAL UPADHYAYA
In Uttar Pradesh state, the Yogi Adityanath cabinet has renamed the Mughalsarai railway
station to RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. Under the chairmanship of chief
minister Adityanath Yogi, the State government has made this approval

KERALA PLANTS ONE CRORE SAPLINGS ON WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

Kerala joined the nation in observing World Environment Day with the Government taking
lead by distributing one crore saplings for planting across the state.
Schools, local self-government bodies and voluntary associations took part in the plant
sampling programs of the government under Green Kerala Mission.
A campaign titled Connecting People to Nature launched besides starting a program to cut
down trees that were harmful to the environment.

KERALA GOVT IMPLEMENTS GREEN PROTOCOL FOR MAKING WEDDINGS


MORE NATURE-FRIENDLY
The Kerala state government has implemented Green Protocol to make weddings nature-
friendly in the state.
This protocol aims to ban the plastic and other non-degradable articles from marriage
functions.
The Administration will also give the green marriage certificate to the weddings who obey
this protocol.

HARYANAS OPEN DEFECATION - FREE VILLAGE TO BE NAMED AFTER


DONALD TRUMP

Sulabh International Founder and Chief Bindeshwar Pathak announced that an open
defecation-free (ODF) village (Dhanduka village) in Mewat will be named after the US
President Donald Trump.
The move will help draw the attention of the world towards Indias cleanliness campaign.
Pathak made the announcement at a community event organised in the suburbs of
Washington DC.

HARYANA GOVERNMENT OFFERS INSURANCE COVER FOR CROPS

The Haryana Government announced immediate implementation of the Pradhan Mantri


Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to help farmers avail of insurance cover against crop loss due
to natural calamities for 2017-18.

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Under this scheme, paddy, bajra, maize and cotton crops would be covered during the
Kharif season while wheat, gram, barley and mustard would be covered during the Rabi
season.
The farmers would have to pay only two per cent premium of the sum insured for Kharif
crops and one per cent premium of sum insured for Rabi crops.

TELANGANA GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED 'HYDERABAD CITY WI-FI' PROJECT


AROUND 1000 CITIES

The Telangana Government launched the 'Hyderabad City Wi-Fi' project,


Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) is the technical adviser to the Telangana
Government on the project, with an assured bandwidth of 5-10 Mbps offering 30 minutes
of free wi-fi.
TELANGANA GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES T-WALLET

The Telangana state government will be launching its T-Wallet as an anytime anywhere
digital payment option for everyone.
The state government also got clearance from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to launch
the e-payment facility.
The service can also be availed by those people who do not have mobile phones. The
public who do not have smartphones can use the wallet for transactions using MeeSeva
centres. The Telangana Government has tied up with Vijaya Bank for providing this
service.

VENKAIAH NAIDU INAUGURATES SAATH HAI VISWAAS HAI, HO RAHA


VIKAS HAI EXHIBITION

M. Venkaiah Naidu Minister for Information & Broadcasting has inaugurated the Saath
Hai Viswaas Hai, Ho Raha Vikas Hai Exhibition at Indira Niketan Park, Sarojini Nagar,
New Delhi.

The Exhibitions organized by DAVP is being put up across state capitals for duration of 5-7
days which would showcase the achievements of the Government in the last 3 years in
various sectors.

RAJASTHAN HIGH COURT RECOMMENDS DECLARATION OF COW AS


NATIONAL ANIMAL

The Rajasthan High Court recommended that the Centre declare the cow as a national
animal and increase the punishment for cow slaughter to life imprisonment.

In a slew of directions passed on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the court asked the State
Chief Secretary to take steps to get the suggestions implemented.

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PUNJAB GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED FREE EDUCATION FOR GIRLS FROM


NURSERY TO PHD
The Punjab Government announced free education for girls in Government Schools and
colleges from Nursery to Ph.D.
Reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already
been increased by the government from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.

PUNJAB, UNITED KINGDOM JOIN HANDS TO PROMOTE SKILL


DEVELOPMENT

The Punjab Government and the United Kingdom decided to join hands for imparting skill
training and technical education to the youths of the state in order to provide them better
employment opportunities abroad.
As per the MoU, the students who study degree courses would be provided a dual certificate
which would have International recognition.

MIZORAM LAUNCHES SCHEME FOR BETTER TREATMENT OF HIV-HIT


PEOPLE

The Mizoram Health Minister Lal Thanzara launched the Test and Treat Strategy of the
Mizoram state AIDS Control Society (MSACS) to improve treatment for HIV affected people
in the state.

NOTE:-
The Test and Treat Strategy is a new initiative of the Centre to combat the HIV/AIDS
disease.
Anti RetroviraTherapy (ART) has been found to be able to resist TB and other bacterial
diseases.

Short News:
The Haryana Cabinet has approved the extension of Metro rail from Narela (Delhi) to
Kundli (Sonepat District).
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) is planning to develop 21 new stations on its
route and double a 147-km stretch of the track.
Arunachal Pradesh Government decided to increase the retirement age of regular State
Government employees to 60 years.
Uttar Pradesh Government signed an agreement with Asian Development Bank
(ADB) for a loan of 1950 crore rupees for the strengthening of roads in the different
district.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister CM Chandrababu launches the establishment of Micro,
Small, Medium Entrepreneurs (MSME) Development Corporation at Vijayawada with a
fund of Rs.100 crore on the occasion of International MSME Day.

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INTERNATIONAL
WORLDS FIRST ATM CELEBRATED ITS 50TH BIRTHDAY

The Worlds first ATM (Automated Teller Machine) celebrated its 50th anniversary.

NOTE:-
The Worlds most important ATM machine is present at Longyearbyen, Svalbard,
Norway.
The most Southerly ATM is situated at the McMurdo station of the South Pole.

CHINA ANNOUNCED PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST TIME TRAIN THAT RUNS ON
VIRTUAL TRACKS

China announced publicly about worlds first train that runs on a virtual track making use

of sensor technology instead of metal rails.

The new trains are non-polluting as they are battery powered.

PHILIPPINES BANS PRIVATE USE OF FIRECRACKERS

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order banning the private use

of firecrackers in the country.

Health authorities recorded 350 fireworks-related injuries as the country welcomed 2017.

SWEDEN PLEDGES TO REACH NET-ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY THE YEAR


2045

Sweden pledged to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2045 in an

ambitious move to tackle climate change.

The vote makes Sweden the first country to significantly strengthen its climatic changes

since Paris Agreement 2015.

The first climate report will be presented in the second half of 2018, and first action plan

will be presented in the year of 2019.

AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCES ONLINE VISA APPLICATIONS FOR INDIANS FROM


JULY 1

The Australian Government announced that Indian Nationals can apply for a visitor visa

online starting from 1 of July 2017.

It offers benefits like 24/7 accessibility, electronic payment of the visa application.

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AUSTRALIAS VIVID SYDNEY ENTERS GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS FOR


MAXIMUM NUMBER OF LIGHT INSTALLATIONS

The Guinness World Record have given the Worlds largest festival of light, music and

ideas, Vivid Sydney installation Dreamscape the title for the Largest interactive lighting

display.

Vivid Sydney is an annual outdoor lighting festival held in Sydney city of Australia (from

the Sydney Opera House to the Sydney Harbour Bridge into one cohesive canvas of light)

WORLDS FIRST HYBRID AEROBOAT ANNOUNCED PUBLICLY

The worlds first hybrid aeroboat built by an Indo-Russian joint venture announced

publicly start-ups event organized by Russias state-run Skolkovo Foundation.

The Aeroboat is capable of traveling on land, water, snow, and sand.

The Aeroboat has been designed by International Institute For Advanced Aerospace

Technologies (IIAAT)

ESTONIA OPENING FIRST EMBASSY IN LUXEMBOURG

The Estonia will be opening the world's first-ever data embassy next year in Luxembourg,

to keep backup files of its vital information on cloud servers and double secure its data

digitally.
Luxembourg has been chosen as the location for the embassy since it has capabilities to
provide a high level of security for the stored data.

ONE MILLION DOLLAR FUND HAS ESTABLISHED FOR BRICS MEDIA

The group of Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) has established a one million


dollar fund to boost the media cooperation in five nations. The proposal aims at:
Promoting people- to-people contacts.
Financial information services
BRICS digital media

20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF BIMSTEC JUNE 6

BIMSTEC is celebrating 20th anniversary of its formation.

NOTE:-
BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation is a regional organisation which comprises of seven member
states which lie near the Bay of Bengal.
This sub-regional organisation was started on June 6, in the year 1997 through a
Bangkok Declaration.
BIMSTEC headquarters are situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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UNITED NATIONS WARNS OF CLEAN WATER SHORTAGES BY 2050

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that by 2050 global demand

for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40%.

A Quarter of the world's population will live in countries with a chronic or recurrent lack

of clean water

US ISSUES NEW VISA CRITERIA FOR SIX MUSLIM COUNTRIES

United States Of America issues New visa Criteria for visa applicants from six Muslim

countries.

The countries were Iraq, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Syria.

NOTE:-
As per the new criteria, applicants from the six Muslim-majority countries must
prove a relationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law or sibling in the United States of America.

CHINA LAUNCHES CYBERSECURITY LAW

China launched cybersecurity law to ensure its national security, amid criticism from
foreign companies.

According to the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). The law is designed to


safeguard China's cyberspace sovereignty, national security, public interest, as well as the
rights and interests of citizens, legal persons and other organisations.

CHINA LAUNCHES ITS FIRST X-RAY SPACE TELESCOPE

China successfully launched its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars
and gamma-ray bursts.
A Long March-4B rocket carried the 2.5-tonne telescope into orbit from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Centre in northwest Chinas Gobi Desert.

NOTE:-
The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), named Insight, will allow
Chinese scientists to observe magnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars and
better understand the evolution of black holes.
It will also help scientists search for gamma-ray bursts corresponding to
gravitational waves and study how to pulsars can be used for spacecraft
navigation.

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CHINA TO HAVE SECOND BIGGEST INTERNATIONAL YOGA DAY


CELEBRATIONS IN THE WORLD AFTER INDIA

The Third United Nations (UN) International Day of Yoga held in China where

thousands of Chinese would participate in scores of events organized across the country.

China also backed India's move in the UN to make June 21 as International Yoga Day,

giving a rise to hundreds of yoga clubs and organizations.

EGYPT GEARS UP TO SPREADING MESSAGE OF YOGA ON INTERNATIONAL


YOGA DAY
Egypt started to celebrate the third International Day of Yoga with several events lined up
across the country to mark the day.

The Indian embassy in collaboration of Egyptian Government has organized several events

to celebrate the UN International Day of Yoga on June 21.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION REVISES PROTOCOL FOR ANTIBIOTICS

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that

acts as a coordinating authority on international public health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) revised the protocol for antibiotics.

This revision is the biggest such revision of the antibiotics section in the 40-year history of

the Essential Medicines List (EML).


First time, with an initiative to curb antibiotic resistance, the World Health Organization
(WHO) has divided the drugs into three categories
access Commonly used antibiotics
watch slightly more potent
reserve last resort

WORLD BANK APPROVES OVER $500 MILLION FOR AFGHANISTAN TO


BOOST ECONOMY

The World Bank approved financing worth more than 500 million dollars for Afghanistan

to support a string of projects to boost the economy.

It helps improve service delivery in five cities and support Afghan refugees sent back from

Pakistan. Some 205.4 million dollars, will go toward supporting communities affected by

refugees returning from Pakistan

NEPAL AND CHINA SIGNED MEGA HYDROPOWER AGREEMENT

Recently, Nepal and China signed the agreement to develop a 1,200-megawatt


hydropower project. It is the countrys largest Hydroelectric plant in Nepal.
Chinas Gezhouba Group Corporation will develop this project.

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US EXIT FROM PARIS CLIMATE DEAL

The United States will be withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement, President
Donald Trump announced recently.
He said this move was aimed at protecting American and its citizens.
The US is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, right behind China.
The withdrawal process takes four years. But when its complete, the United States will
join a lonely club.

Just two other countries Syria and Nicaragua have rejected the nonbinding
agreement.

PANAMA DUMPS TAIWAN, SUPPORTS ONE-CHINA POLICY

Panama accepted the Chinas One China Policy and breaks ties with the Taiwan.
With this, Panama and Taiwans decades-old relationships would likely face fresh
challenges.
Over the years Beijing has tried to choke Taiwan diplomatically in a bid to force the self-
ruled island to accept itself as a part of China.

NOTE:
One-China Policy:
The policy states in diplomatic acknowledgement that there is only one Chinese
government.

Under the policy, any country that wants diplomatic relations with mainland China must
break official ties with Taipei that it considers a breakaway province.

How China has been trying to choke Taiwan in recent years?


Beijing doesnt trust present Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and her ruling party, which
advocates independence for Taiwan.

After Tsai came to power last year, China had cut official communication channels with
her government in a bid to pressure her to accept that Taiwan is part of China.

FOUR ARAB NATIONS CUT DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH QATAR AS GULF RIFT
DEEPENS

Four Arab nations cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, further deepening a rift between these
nations and that country for its support to Islamist groups.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced that they would
withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, a gas-rich nation that will host the 2022 FIFA
World Cup. Later, Yemen's internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar.

MONTENEGRO BECOMES NATOS 29TH MEMBER

Montenegro officially joined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and thereby

became the 29th member country.

Montenegro Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic submitted the official accession papers in a

ceremony at the US State Department.

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BOSPHORUS STRAIT COLOUR CHANGE

Recently, a sudden change occur in the colour of the Bosphorus Strait.


NOTE:

Where is Bosphorus Strait:

Bosphorus Strait divides the continents of Europe and Asia in Turkeys largest city
Istanbul.
It is a natural strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, thus being a very
strategic waterway.

Reason behind colour change:


Due to rapidly rise in the numbers of micro-organism level of Emiliania huxleyi, this
colour change occurred in the Strait.
Emiliania huxleyi, it is one of the most successful life forms on the planet.

Emiliania huxleyi is a single celled organism visible only under a microscope

WORLD TAEKWONDO FEDERATION CHANGES ITS NAME AS WORLD


TAEKWONDO

The World Taekwondo Federation changed its name to World Taekwondo

The launch of a new logo reflects a commitment to evolving and adapting to remain

relevant with todays modern audiences.

NOTE:-
The body was called the World Taekwondo Federation since 1973.
Its headquarters situated in South Korea

QATAR AIRWAYS WINS AIRLINE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Qatar Airways announced as the World's Best Airline at SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline

Awards.

Skytrax (originally known as Inflight Research Services) is a United Kingdombased

consultancy which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site.

The Doha-based carrier won the Best Airline of the year title for the fourth time.

The other major awards are.

World's Best First Class: Etihad Airways;

World's Best Economy Class: Thai Airways;

World's Best Low-Cost Airline: AirAsia;

World's Best Airline Alliance: Star Alliance;

Most Improved Airline: Saudi Arabian.

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UNITED STATES TO DECLARE CHINA AMONG WORST HUMAN


TRAFFICKING OFFENDERS

USA is set to declare China as one among the Worlds Worst offenders on human

trafficking in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

The move will be Donald Trump administrations first major public rebuke of Chinas

human rights record.

The declaration would place China in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe, and

Syria.

Short news

Japan launched an H-2A rocket which carries the satellite called "Michibiki No.2" from a
space center in Tanegashima, Southern Japan, to improve the help build a high precision
geolocation system.
China has condemned the European Commission for imposing new anti-dumping duties
on its steel products. EU would levy duties of up to 35.9 percent on Chinese hot-rolled flat
steel.
The United States of America (USA) designated Pakistan-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief
Syed Salahuddin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

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SCHEMES
UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES VAJRA SCHEME TO ATTRACT INDIAN
SCIENTISTS

Union Government launches 'Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty' (VAJRA) by the

Department of Science and Technology (DST).

NOTE:-
Under this scheme, scientists or senior researchers abroad of Indian origin or
otherwise can collaborate with faculties.
The endowments for faculties would be USD 15,000 in the first month of residency
and USD 10,000, for the remaining months.

SATH PROGRAM LAUNCHED BY NITI AAYOG

NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing Sustainable Action for

Transforming Human capital with the State Governments.

Vision of SATH Program:-

To initiate transformation in the education and health sectors.

This program will be implemented by NITI along with McKinsey & Company and IPE

Global consortium in three selected states after the signing of MoUs.

AMMA AROGYA THITTAM LAUNCHED IN DINDIGUL Govt.Hospital

Minister for forests C. Srinivasan launched Amma Arogya Thittam, part of master health
check-up scheme, at Government Headquarters, Dindigul.
This master health check-up includes the following tests:
Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and Haemoglobin count, Skin test and X-ray,
Cancer test, ECG and other diseases in all government hospitals and primary health
centres free of cost.

MADHYA PRADESH STATE GOVT LAUNCHES FARMERS DEBT RELIEF SCHEME

Recently, the MP state Govt has launched the Krishi Rin Samadhan Yojana for Farmers.
The Central government has allocated Rs 1,000 crore for this scheme. Through this Krishi
Rin Samadhan Yojana scheme, the interest rate on loans would be less. And this will
ultimately help the defaulting farmers to get loans.

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HUMAN MILK BANK INAUGURATED AT LADY HARDINGE MEDICAL


COLLEGE IN NEW DELHI

Shri C K Mishra, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) inaugurated the Vatsalya

Maatri Amrit Kosh, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the

Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) in New Delhi.

This will be the largest milk bank and lactation counseling center available in the North

India.

MINISTRY OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP


PROGRAMMES SKILLS 1.17 CRORE PEOPLE

Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy confirmed that 1.17 crore

aspirants in various skills through Ministry of Skill Development Entrepreneurship

(MSME) schemes and programs of Skill India.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) launched in the year 2015 witnessed

more than 26. 5 lakh people getting trained in skills of their choice till date, of which 50

percent are women candidates.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has given training to 5.9 lakh people.

'DIGITAL MSME SCHEME',

Union Minister Mr. Kalraj Mishra launched 'Digital MSME Scheme', exchanged MoUs

with SAP India, Intel, and HMT.

NOTE:-
International Trade Centre (ITC) has celebrated the first International MSME Day on
JUNE-27 with the theme of MSME is Small business big impact.

NEW TRAINING PROGRAMME COMMIT FOR STATE GOVT. OFFICIALS

Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region Dr. Jitendra Singh launched a

new training programme Comprehensive Online Modified Modules on Induction

Training (COMMIT) for State Government officials.

Main objectives:
To improve the public service delivery mechanism and Provide citizen-centric
administration through capacity building of officials who interact with the citizens on a
day-today basis.

NOTE:-
It is cost effective and has the potential to cover about 3.3 lakh officials annually,
compared to 10,000 officials under existing 12-Day Induction Training Programme
(ITP).

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SWASTH SAARTHI ABHIYAAN (SSA)

Swasth Saarthi Abhiyaan (SSA) was recently inaugurated by the government.

NOTE:-
The SSA event is a unique initiative to address the major issues being faced by
public transport drivers, with almost all of them being users of CNG (Compressed
natural gas).
It is a two month long mega campaign focusing on providing preventive healthcare
to the auto, taxi and bus drivers of the region.
It will provide free health checkup which includes blood test, sugar test, and eye
test.
SSA is an initiative of Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL).

APP & PORTAL


ECI JOINS HANDS WITH FB TO LAUNCH FIRST TIME NATIONWIDE VOTER
REGISTRATION REMINDER

The Election Commission of India has joined hands with Facebook to launch nationwide
voter registration reminder aimed at reminding eligible Indian voters to register
themselves on the electoral rolls.
As a part of the initiative, Facebook will activate a unique Register Now button
reminding all the eligible Indian users to enrol themselves as voters.
The remainder will be made available for four days beginning July 1.

NOTE:-
Election Commission of India is a permanent body entrusted for the conduct of free
and fair elections. An independent Election Commission has been provided for in
Article 324 of the Constitution of India

INAM-PRO+ THE WEB PLATFORM

The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari launched
INAM-Pro + in New Delhi.
It is a web-based application for Infrastructure and Material Providers.
INAM-Pro+ is an upgraded version of INAM-Pro, the web portal designed by National
Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL)

MAHASWAYAM PORTAL

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launched a web portal 'Mahaswayam' that
will cater to job seekers, employers, entrepreneurs, and training institutes who can avail
details regarding skill development and employment.
Earlier three different portals are there, now been merged into 'Mahaswayam',
Maharashtra State Skill Development Society portal for Skill Development, 'Maharojgar'
for employment and 'Mahaswayamrojgar' for entrepreneurship.

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SELFIE WITH DAUGHTER' MOBILE APP

President Pranab Mukherjee launched the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application.

Aim:-

To Raise awareness about female foeticide and sex selection. The campaign was started
by Sunil Jaglan in June 2015 in village Bibipur in Haryana's Jind district.

MY PLANT APP TO CREATE DATABASE ON TREE PLANTATION

The Maharashtra Government to launch My Plant app to create a database on tree


plantation.
The app would be helpful in recording the tree plantations in the street.

NOTE:-
The forest department has planned to plant four crores samplings through public
participation between July 1 to July 7.

WEBSITE:-PASHUBAZAR.TELANGANA.GOV.IN

The Telangana government launched the website to facilitate the buying and selling of
cattle online.

The state said that the website pashubazar.telangana.gov.in would save the farmers
transportation costs, as they need not keep taking them to markets.

The website also mentions that the limit for number of animals that can be registered for
sale at one time is five.

TRAI LAUNCHES THREE NEW APPS

TRAI launched three new apps to help customers rate quality of services, speed, and
performance.
The MyCall app is an Android application for crowd sourced voice call quality
monitoring.
My Speed app will enable TRAI to obtain test-data from users in all service areas, without
any action by the users.
The DND service app will enable users to register their mobile number under DND to
avoid unsolicited commercial communication/telemarketing calls/SMS.

TCS LAUNCHES BANCS APP DEVELOPMENT KIT TO HELP BANKS CREATING


THEIR OWN APPS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced the launch of the BaNCS
app development kit that will help financial institutions develop their own apps and
deploy it across devices.

Head of TCS BaNCS Digital - Sathish Vallat.

BaNCS in Banking - Bank Assessment for Non-point source Consequences of Sediment.

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UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES TELE LAW TO PROVIDE LEGAL SUPPORT


IN RURAL AREAS VIA VIDEO CONFERENCING

The Government of India launched Tele Law service to provide legal support for the
people living in rural areas through video conferencing.
The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology to provide legal services through its Common Service Centres
(CSC) at the panchayat level, spread across the country.
In the first phase, the Tele-Law scheme will be tested as a pilot across 1000 CSCs in Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar.

CRPF LAUNCHES HELPLINE MADADGAAR FOR KASHMIRIS ACROSS


COUNTRY

The CRPF launched a toll-free helpline called 'Madadgaar' to help Kashmiri people in
distress in a bid to regain the lost trust of people in the security forces.
Madadgaar is a step to serve the citizens of Kashmir located all over the country.

POSOCO-IMD WEATHER PORTAL & WEB PORTAL MERIT

Union Minister for Power, Coal New & Renewable Energy Shri Piyush Goyal and Mines
launches Weather Portal for Power Sector
In association with POSOCO and IMD at the meeting of the Forum of Regulators.
Day to day weather variations have an impact on load demand and energy production,
transport and distribution management, as well as energy prices.
Another portal MERIT (Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income
and Transparency) launched during the same meeting.

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ECONOMY
SWITZERLAND SIGN AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION WITH
INDIA TO FLUSH BLACK MONEY

Switzerland signed an automatic exchange of financial account information with India in

order to facilitate immediate sharing of details.

According to the Swiss Federal Council, the implementation of the exchange sharing

agreement has been planned for 2018 and hence the first set of data is likely to be

exchanged in the year 2019.

Joint Declarationfor implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) was

signed between India and Switzerland in November 2016.

CSO TO CHANGE GDP BASE YEAR TO 2017-18 FROM 2011-12: GOWDA

The Statistics Ministry is set to change the base year of national accounts to 2017-18 from
2011-12 after completion of the household consumer expenditure survey and labour force
data by the end of 2018.

Earlier in 2015, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) under the Statistics Ministry had
changed the base year for tabulating the Gross Domestic Product or size of economy to
2011-12 from 2004-05.

Last month, the CSO has changed the base of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which
measures factory output, to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

Besides, the base year of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has also been changed to 2011-12
from 2004-05.

GOVT. IMPOSES ANTI-DUMPING DUTY ON CHINESE CERAMIC ITEMS


The Department of Revenue in the finance ministry issued a notification, India has imposed
anti-dumping duty on import of ceramic table and kitchenware items from China to protect
domestic industry against goods being sold at below normal value.

Through a separate notification, the government also extended by one year till June 6,
2018 the anti-dumping duty on imports of 'plain gypsum plaster boards' from China,
Indonesia, Thailand and the UAE.

SEBI SIGNED MOU WITH EUROPEAN UNION AND IRAN

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for SEBI to enter into two separate MoU with

securities market regulators of the European Union and Iran.

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In the case of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the MoU is likely to

establish cooperation arrangements as a precondition for ESMA to recognize Central

Counter Parties (CCPs).

AXIS BANK TO ISSUE BIODEGRADABLE PREPAID GIFT CARDS

Axis Bank has become the first bank to introduce biodegradable Gift cards in the country.
The card has the look and feel just like the regular plastic cards and can be used in PoS
terminals and ATMs. It can also recycle Biodegradable cards

AXIS BANK, KOCHI METRO LAUNCHES INDIAS FIRST SINGLE-WALLET


CONTACTLESS, OPEN LOOP METRO CARD

Axis Bank, India's third largest private sector bank in association with Kochi Metro Rail

Corporation (KMRL) launched KMRL Axis Bank 'Kochi1' Card,

India's first open loop EMV contactless metro card that would make travel a convenient

and hassle free experience for commuters in Kochi.

GST COUNCIL TO REVISE RATES FOR 66 ITEMS

India's most comprehensive indirect tax reform the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is

effective from July 1.

The council revised rates on 66 items such as pickles, sauces, fruit preserves, insulin,

cashew nuts, insulin, school bags, coloring books, notebooks, printers, cutlery, agar batties

and cinema tickets, following representations from industry.

GST Council is Headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. Arun Jaitley.

VIJAYA BANK PLANS TO DEVELOP 100 DIGITAL VILLAGES

Vijaya Bank started to develop as many as 100 digital villages in various States across the

country

It is the only public sector financial institution to develop digital villages.

In the Digital Villages, the bank would offer Internet, free Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile

payment facilities, ATM cards, online banking and will carry out a door-to-door campaign

to educate the villagers.

NATIONAL AVIATION UNIVERSITY SIGNS MOU WITH BIRD WORLDWIDE


FLIGHT SERVICES (INDIA)

The National Aviation University (NAU) signed a MoU with the Bird Worldwide Flight
Services (India) Private Limited on 1st of June 2017,

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To develop professional aviation and aerospace education programmes and research for
the benefit of the Indian civil aviation industry.

The focus of the skill development programmes would be on quality of skilling which is
aligned to the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).

NSE LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE AT GIFT CITY

National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched its International exchange in the Gujarat

International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

All the trades will be cleared and settled through NSE International financial services

center (IFSC) Clearing Corporations Limited.

NSE's rival BSE already operationalised its global exchange India International Exchange

(INX) at international financial services center (IFSC)

BOB, SMALL FARMERS AGRIBUSINESS CONSORTIUM INK MOU

Bank of Baroda (BoB) has entered into a MoU with Small Farmers Agribusiness
Consortium (SFAC).

Under this MoU, BoB would play an active role in providing collateral free loans to
Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) for which credit guarantee cover up to 85 percent of
the loan amount maximum up to Rs 1 crore will be made available by SFAC.

SFAC is an autonomous society promoted by Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and


Farmers' welfare.

SAMSUNG SIGNS MOU WITH MSME TO SET UP 2 MORE TECH SCHOOLS


Samsung India signed a MoU with the MSME for setting up two new Samsung Technical
Schools in Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.
As a part of Samsungs commitment to Governments Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana
campaign,
Samsung already runs 10 schools in the Sates of Rajasthan, Kerala, Bihar, Delhi and West
Bengal.

INDIAS GDP IN Q4 GROWS 6.1%

India lost its fastest-growing major economy tag in the fourth quarter of 2016-17, with GDP
growth coming in at 6.1% compared with Chinas 6.9% in the same period.

Data from the Ministry of Statistics on Wednesday showed GDP grew 7.1% in the financial
year 2016-17, slower than the 8% registered in 2015-16.

The GDP numbers were based on the new 2011-12 base year recently adopted for data
including the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI).

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SBI REDUCES INTEREST RATE ON HOME LOAN OF ABOVE RS. 75 LAKH BY 10


BPS TO 8.6%
SBI has cut the interest rate on home loans above Rs. 75 lakh by 10 basis points (bps)
to 8.55%-8.6%, with effect from June 15. The revised interest rates will be 8.55% pa for
salaried women borrowers.(For others, 8.60% pa.)

BOI CONDUCTS STAR MAHOTSAV

Bank of India conducted a mass-contact programme, Star Mahotsav, across its branch
network.

The thrust was in contacting every customer at their doorstep for recovery of bad loans,
disbursement of retail loan, including housing and vehicle loan, disbursement under
MSME and agriculture, and promotion of its products including debit/credit cards, PoS
machines, internet banking, etc

Short News;
New Delhi-based telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel received the merger
approval between Airtel and Telenor Communications from Securities Exchange Board of
India (SEBI), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Canara Bank has inked pact with the state-owned general insurer The New India
Assurance Co to sell policies through its branches.
The RBI issued a new batch of Rs 500 notes with inset letter 'A' in both the number
panels , bearing the signature of Dr. Urjit R. Patel Governor with the year of printing '2017'
on the reverse.
Messaging app Hike added payments feature with YES Bank allows its over 100 million
users to transfer money, recharge and pay mobile bills through the messaging platform.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) committed USD 10 billion to support infrastructure
building and to cater to the immediate development needs of less-developed States in
India.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) made an agreement with Kawasaki Heavy
Industries Ltd (KHI) of Japan for manufacturing of stainless steel coaches and bogies for
metros.

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AWARDS & HONOURS


MAN BOOKER PRIZE DAVID GROSSMAN FOR A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR
Israeli author David Grossman has won the Man Booker International Prize for his
novel `A Horse Walks Into a Bar.
This is the first time Israeli author won this Man Booker International Prize

SIERRA ODC BUILDING IN COIMBATORE RECEIVES WORLDS SECOND HIGHEST


GREEN RATING

SIERRA ODC building is recognised as the worlds second highest ranking Green
Building.

NOTE:-
Green Buildings are designed and operated to reduce the overall impact of the built
environment on human health and the natural environment.
The green buildings efficiently use energy, water, and other resources, protects
occupant health, improves employee productivity, and reduces waste, pollution and
environmental degradation.

MANUSHI CHHILLAR FROM HARYANA WINS THE TITLE OF MISS INDIA 2017

The 54th Femina Miss India World 2017 Title winner is Manushi Chhillar from Haryana.
The first runner-up is Sana Dua from Jammu and Kashmir.
Vinali Bhatnagar won the Miss Active crown.
Vamika Nidhi won the special award of Body Beautiful.
Reita Faria was the first Miss India ever to win any international beauty pageant.

BHUMIKA SHARMA WINS MISS WORLD TITLE IN BODYBUILDING CHAMPIONSHIP

Bhumika Sharma Indian became Miss World in Body Building Championship.

NOTE:-
She gained points in three categories individual posing, body posing and bagged her
the Miss World title and the gold medal at the world championship in Venice, Italy.

UNESCO NAMES SHARJAH AS WORLD BOOK CAPITAL 2019

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named
Sharjah as World Book Captial.
Sharjah is the 19th city to become World Book Capital.

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NOTE:-
World Book Capital is a special name given to the city by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to recognize the quality
and progress of a citys activity in books and instruments.
It is a World Book and Copyright Year from April 23 to April 22 next year.
The Sharjah is the first in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and third in the Arab
world and the Middle East received this recognition.

Other World Book Capital:

Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005),
Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos
Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014), Incheon (2015),
Wroclaw (2016), Conakry (2017) and Athens (2018).

WEST BENGAL HONOURED WITH UN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received the highest prize in United Nations
Public Service Award for the State Governments Kanyashree Prakalpa (Girl Child)
scheme in The Hague, Netherlands.

NOTE:-
Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme of West Bengal came first among the 552 project
nominations received by the UN from 62 countries.
West Bengal has been awarded in the Asia-Pacific group for the category is
'Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and
Participation.

UTTARAKHAND AND HARYANA DECLARED AS OPEN DEFECATION FREE STATES

The Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G), rural Uttarakhand and rural
Haryana declared as the 4th and 5th Open Defecation Free (ODF) the States of India.

NOTE:- Already, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and Kerala declared as ODF

INDIAN AGRI MICROBIOLOGIST GIVEN ENVIRONMENT AWARD IN JAPAN

Indian agricultural microbiologist Shrihari Chandraghatgi conferred the Ministry of


Environment Award for 2017 in Japan.

NOTE:-
The Ministry of Environment Award is the highest honor given in the
environmental sector every year.
It is jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, National Institute for
Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan and The Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun.

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114-YEAR-OLD TAJ PALACE, FIRST INDIAN BUILDING TO GET TRADEMARK

The Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai has got trademarked under the Trademark Act 1999, for
its architectural design.

This is the first time in India, the place, 114-year-old building in the country to get such a
registration.

This trademarks list includes the Empire State Building in New York, the Eiffel Tower in
Paris and Sydney Opera House.

NOTE:-
Trademark Act 1999:
An Act to amend and consolidate the law relating to trade marks, to provide for
registration and better protection of trade marks for goods and services and for
the prevention of the use of fraudulent marks.
Usually, logos, brand names, combination of colours, numerals and even sounds
are trademarked but the registration of an architectural design has never been
attempted since the Trademark Act came into force in 1999.
Taj Mahal Palace:
The Taj Mahal Palace which was built in 1903 even before the Gateway of India.
With IHCL trademarking the building, nobody can now use Taj Mahal Palaces
images for commercial purposes without paying the company a licensing fee.

NALANDA MODEL OF WATER CONSERVATION CHOSEN FOR NATIONAL AWARD

A model of water conservation adopted successfully by the authorities in Nalanda district


of south central Bihar, has been selected for the national award for excellence in the
Mahatma Gandhi national rural employment guarantee programme (MGNREGP), by the
ministry of rural development.

The award for excellence will be conferred on Project Jal Sanchay, the water conservation
model developed in chief minister Nitish Kumars native district.

NOTE:- Project Jal Sanchay:


Project jal sanchay was launched under MGRNREGP, to offer farmers a wide
spectrum of solutions to water crisis.
Under this, check dams were created and traditional Aahar-Pyne irrigation system
and traditional water bodies were desilted and renovated, accompanied by
campaigns to create awareness about rainwater harvesting.
The water conservation project has not only improved the availability of water
but has also positively impacted farm production in the areas covered by the
project

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DR KATE RECEIVES 2017 SICKLE CELL ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR AWARD

Dr Sudam Kate received the prestigious 2017 Sickle Cell Advocate of the Year award.
He is first Indian to receive this International award.

NOTE:-
The award is presented to the doctor for his extraordinary work in sickle cell
screening and research.
He has screened more than two lakh people for sickle cell and identified over 3,000
patients in the tribal community from Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

BENGALI ACTOR SOUMITRA CHATTERJEE SELECTED FOR LEGION OF HONOUR


AWARD
Bengali actor, Soumitra Chatterjee conferred with the France's highest civilian
honor, the Legion of Honour.
The award will be presented by the Ambassador of France to India Alexandre Ziegler.
After 30 years of Satyajit Ray got the same honor by the French President Francois
Mitterrand in 1987.

INDIAN-AMERICAN RAJA CHARI GOT A PLACE AMONG 12 NASA ASTRONAUT


CANDIDATES
NASA has finally has chosen 12 astronaut candidates among 18,000 applications. Indian-
American Raja Chari, a Lieutenant Colonel with the US Air Force got a place in this list.
If everything goes well, Chari will become the third person of Indian origin from the US
after the late Kalpana Chawla and current NASA astronaut Sunita Suni Williams to fly to
space.

INDIAN ANTI HUNGER ACTIVIST TO BE HONOURED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II

Anti-hunger activist Ankit Kawatra selected for prestigious Queens Young Leaders
Award with 60 others from all 53 Commonwealth countries.

NOTE:-
The Queens Young Leader Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional people aged
18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities
and using their skills to transform lives.

NAAC RECEIVES ASIA PACIFIC QUALITY NETWORK AWARD 2017

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of India received prestigious


International Award of Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) titled APQN Quality
Award 2017 for International Co-operation in Quality Assurance.
APQN Quality Award is among the most prestigious International Awards in quality
assurance of higher education.

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POET HARAPRASAD DAS GETS KALINGA LITERARY AWARD

Poet and essayist Haraprasad Das conferred with Kalinga Literary Award for his work
and contribution to literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF).
This year the KLF introduced two new awards namely the Kalinga International Literary
Award, Kalinga Karubaki Award.
The Kalinga International Literary Award was received by Anand Neelakantan for his
contribution towards literature, and the Kalinga Karubaki Award was given to Paramita
Satpathy for her contribution to Odia poetry.

LONGEST YOGA CHAIN BY KARNATAKA STUDENTS

As many as 8,387 schoolchildren formed the longest yoga chain in front of the iconic
Mysuru palace eyeing the Guinness World Records.

The previous record is held by 3,849 students of Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, who
created a yoga chain in 2014

FORBES WORLD'S HIGHEST-PAID CELEBRITIES LIST

Popular Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are among
the Worlds Highest-Paid Celebrities list.
Shah Rukh Khan at the 65th spot
Salman Khan at the 71st spot
Akshay Kumar at the 80th spot
Top three names in the list are-
Sean Combs with the pay of $130 Million (Musicians),
Beyonce Knowles with the pay of $105 Million (Musicians),
J.K. Rowling with the pay of $95 Million (Authors).

WOMEN IN FILM AWARDS : MIRA NAIR

Mira Nair won Directors Award at Women in Film Awards.


Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair won the Dorothy Arzner Directors Award for the
film Queen of Katwe at this years Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards

BHUPEN HAZARIKA AWARD CONFERRED TO YESHE DORJEE THONGSHI

The Fifth Bhupen Hazarika National Award 2017 awarded to an eminent writer from
Arunachal Pradesh Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi.
The award has been instituted by Sarhad, a Maharashtra-based organisation.

NOTE:-
His famous novel includes Mauna Onth Mukhar Hriday (Silent lips, murmuring
hearts) which won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2005.

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INDIAN GIRL BAGS LITTLE MISS UNIVERSE INTERNET 2017 CROWN

12 year old Padmalaya Nanda from Odisha has created history by becoming the youngest
girl to bag the Little Miss Universe Internet 2017 and Little Miss Actress crowns at the
Little Miss Universe 2017 at port city of Batumi in Georgia.

RAMAMANI IYENGAR MEMORIAL YOGA INSTITUTE BAGS PMS YOGA AWARD

Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune become the first recipient of the Prime
Ministers Award for outstanding contribution to promotion and development of Yoga.

NOTE:-
Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute worked to spread Yoga both
domestically and internationally over a period of four decades

UTTARKHAND GETS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE AT INTERNATIONAL MEET

Uttarkhand state conferred the award of excellence at the 2nd Global Skill Development
Summit held in Paris.
It has been awarded for innovations and extensive use of IT for skill developments the
states youth.

NOTE:-
Uttarakhand Skill Development Committee was also running International
language training programmes for the states youth to strengthen the prospects of
their employability by foreign companies

OXFORD POET HONOURED BY INDIAN PRESIDENT FOR HINDI WORKS

An Oxford poet Dr Padmesh Gupta, has been honoured with a Padmabhushan Moturi
Satyanarayana Award by the Indian Government for promoting Hindi literature abroad.

Short news
Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri has been announced as the recipient of the 2017
PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story.
Former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay honored with East Bengal football clubs
highest honor that is Bharat Gaurav.
Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej and Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveries won
the Global Leadership Awards of the United States-India Business Council (USIBC) for
their role in integrating India into the global supply chain.

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SCIENCE & TECH


NASA LAUNCHES WORLDS LIGHTEST SATELLITE DESIGNED BY 18-YEAR-
OLD TAMIL NADU STUDENT

India launched the worlds lightest satellite weighing 64 grams called Kalamsat.

It is the only Indian payload in the NASA

NOTE:-
The satellite was designed by 18-year-old Tamil Nadu student Rifath Sharook and
his team.
It is Equipped with nano Geiger-Muller counter for measuring the radiation in
space, the satellite is built with reinforced carbon fiber polymer

ISRO TO LAUNCH GSAT-17 SATELLITE

The ISRO GSAT-17 communication Satellite onboard the Ariane-5 launch vehicle from the

Guiana Space Center at French Guiana.

It will be placed in the Geostationary orbit which has a mission life of 15 years.

NOTE:-
It is the 21st Indian launch for the Arianespace.
Its upcoming GSAT- 11 which also be launched by Arianespace

ISRO TO LAUNCH EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE

The ISRO is all set to launch an Earth-Observation Satellite, named Cartosat-2E.

Cartosat-2 series weighing 712 kg and 30 nano-satellites using PSLV.

NOTE:-
Out of the 30 nano-satellites, 29 will be of foreign origin and one will be of India.
The 29 nano-satellites will be from 14 countries such as Austria, Belgium, Britain,
Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania,
Slovakia, and the US.
This will be the seventeenth flight of PSLV in XL configuration

BENGALURU GIRL SAHITHI PINGALI TO GET A PLANET IN MILKY WAY


NAMED AFTER HER

Sahithi Pingali, a twelfth grader from Bengaluru will get a minor planet in Milky

Way named after her as a reward for developing an integrated mobile phone app and lake

monitoring kit to monitor pollution in water bodies.

Sahithi Pingali had presented her paper titled An Innovative Crowdsourcing Approach to

Monitoring Freshwater Bodies at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

(ISEF).

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NASA TESTS ROSA ON SPACE STATION FOR FIRST TIME

NASA testing the effectiveness of a flexible solar array, the Roll-Out Solar Array (ROSA) on

the space station for the very first time.

NOTE:-
It is an advanced, flexible solar array that rolls out like a tape measure.
ROSA is smaller and lighter than the traditional panels and has a center wing
build of a flexible material containing photovoltaic cells to convert light into
electricity.

NASA RECORDS MAY 2017 AS SECOND-HOTTEST MONTH IN 137 YEARS

According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), May 2017 was the

second hottest month in a span of 137 years.

May 2016 is the hottest on record with 0.93 degrees Celsius warmer than the May 2017

mean temperature.

NOTE:-
NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) does the monthly analysis of
global temperature by analysing the publicly available data acquired by about
6,300 meteorological stations around the world

NASAS PARKER SOLAR PROBE TO EXPLORE SUNS ATMOSPHERE

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Parker Solar Probe launched

in the summer of 2018 to explore the suns atmosphere.

The satellite is named as the Parker Solar Probe in honour of astrophysicist Eugene Parker.

The 10-feet high Parker Solar Probe will fly within 6.4 million km of the suns surface right

into the solar atmosphere.

This will be NASAs first mission to the sun and its outermost atmosphere corona.

WORLDS LARGEST FLOATING SOLAR FARM LAUNCHED IN CHINA

China launched worlds largest floating solar farm in in Huainan City, Anhui province.

The 40-megawatt power plant has 160,000 panels resting on a lake.

NOTE:-
As per the Reports, China has been the world's largest investor in clean energy
since 2012, spending $88 billion on the wind and solar power in 2016.

2D MAGNET CREATED

Researchers at the University of Washington and the Massachusetts Institute of


Technology have created a 2D magnet that is just one atom thick for the very first time.

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NOTE:-
As per the Reports, China has been the world's largest investor in clean energy since
These 2D magnets will contribute to new openings in Information Technologies.
The scientists used chromium tri-iodide, or CrI3 to show that it has magnetic
properties in its monolayer form.
Previously, the scientists found CrI3 in its multi layered, 3D, and bulk crystal form
is ferromagnetic and it has some magnetic properties.
A special type of microscopy was used to detect magnetic properties in Crl3.
New study found magnetic properties in monolayer Crl3 flakes, in two layers it
disappeared and again reappeared in three-layer Crl3.

NASA TO LAUNCH MISSION TO STUDY NEUTRON STARS

NASA is going to launch the worlds first mission to studying rapidly spinning neutron
stars, the densest objects in the universe.

The US space agency plans to launch the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer, or
NICER, into the SpaceX CRS-11, a cargo resupply mission to the International Space
Station

MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES TO LAUNCH DEEP OCEAN MISSION BY


JANUARY 2018

The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) planned to launch Deep Ocean Mission by

January 2018.

Deep Ocean Mission will improve Indias position in ocean research field.

India designated an area of 75,000 square km for deep sea exploration. This area has an

estimated resource of about 100 million tonnes of strategic metals such Copper, Nickel,

Cobalt besides Manganese and Iron.

US BASED AVIATION COMPANY CIRRUS AIRCRAFT

United States-based aviation company Cirrus Aircraft launched the world's smallest and

most affordable private jet called 'Vision Jet' for 12.62 crores.

It has a maximum operating altitude of 28,000 feet and takes off from just 620 meters of

runway.

INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES 1ST ALL WEATHER TRACKED-CHASSIS


QR-SAM
India has successfully test-fired its first all-weather tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-
to-Air Missile (QR-SAM) from a mobile launcher at Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in
Odisha.

The QR-SAM was jointly developed by the DRDO and Bharat Electronics Limited.

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SPACE X LAUNCHES 1ST RECYCLED CARGO SHIP

Space X launched its first recycled cargo ship to the International Space Station.

An unnamed Falcon rocket lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center with a Dragon

capsule that made a station delivery nearly three years ago.

This is Space X's 11 mission under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration

(NASA) contract.

ISRO LAUNCHES INDIAS HEAVIEST ROCKET

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the countrys
heaviest rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III)
along with a communications satellite GSAT-19.
GSAT-19 communications satellite is the heaviest to be lifted by an Indian rocket till date
to an altitude of around 179km above the Earth.

NOTE:-
The GSLV Mark III D1 is a three-stage vehicle with indigenous cryogenic upper
stage engine.
It is designed to carry heavier communication satellites into the Geosynchronous
Transfer Orbit (GTO).
The rockets main and bigger cryogenic engine has been developed by space
scientists indigenously.
It will help India get a greater share of the multi-billion dollar global space market
and reduce dependency on international launching vehicles.

QUESST

NASA has completed the preliminary design review of its Quiet Supersonic Transport or
QueSST aircraft design.

QueSST is the initial design stage of the agencys planned Low Boom Flight
Demonstration (LBFD) experimental airplane, otherwise known as an X-plane.

GENEXPERT

It is a device released recently by the WHO which can be used to diagnose TB and HIV
infections, and quantitatively measure HIV and hepatitis C viral loads.
The WHO is recommending use of these state-of-the-art portable machines the size of a
microwave oven, which can run molecular tests.

DEPLOYBOT

Scientists from South Korea have designed the first foldable walking robot that opens up
when deployed.
And it could be used for future space missions as well as seabed exploration on Earth.

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It is named as DeployBot, in their folded state, the modules lie flat, and after they are
deployed they pop up into roughly a square shape.

ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER A GIANT PLANET HOTTER THAN MOST STARS

A team of Astronomers discovered the hottest planet ever known, with a dayside

temperature of more than 4,300 degrees Celsius.

The new hottest giant planet KELT-9b is a planet that is hotter than most stars.

KELT-9b is a hybrid planet-star.

It has the mass of Planet and an atmosphere like a star.

DGCA SUSPENDS AIR CARNIVALS FLYING PERMIT

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the flying

license of Coimbatore-based carrier Air Carnival, which has not operated a single flight

since early April.

Air Carnival has become the third regional carrier, after Air Pegasus and Air Costa,

NOTE:-
DGCA is the regulatory body governing the safety aspects of civil aviation in India.

NALSA LAUNCHED WEB APPLICATION FOR LEGAL SERVICES TO PRISONERS

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) launched a web application for free Legal

Services to Prisoners at the conference held at Indian Law Institute, New Delhi.

The Legal Services Management System is developed by the National Informatics Centre

(NIC).

The software will also help in generating reports showing the total number of inmates, the

number of inmates unrepresented, the number of inmates represented by legal services

lawyers and the number of inmates represented by private lawyers

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SPORTS
KAVITA DEVI BECOMES FIRST INDIAN WOMAN WRESTLER TO COMPETE IN
WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT (WWE)

Former Indian powerlifter and South Asian Games gold medal winner, Kavita
Devi became the first Indian woman to appear in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
NOTE:
The May Young Classic (July 13-14) in Orlando, Florida.will feature 32 of the top female
competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament.

ANISH BHANWALA SET A JUNIOR WORLD RECORD AT WORLD


CHAMPIONSHIP

Anish Bhanwala won 25-metre standard pistol gold with a World Junior Record in the
Junior World Shooting Championship in Suhl, Germany.
NOTE:
He defeated Florian Peter of Germany.
International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) Junior World Championship Rifle/Pistol
in Germany

SRINIVAS GOKULNATH BECOMES FIRST INDIAN TO SOLO FINISH RACE


ACROSS AMERICA
Nashiks army doctor Srinivas Gokulnath and Nagpurs doctor Amit Samarth created
history by becoming the first Indians to complete the 4,900-km Race Across America
(RAAM) in the solo 18-59 age category.

NOTE:-
RAAM is considered as the toughest cycle race in the world. It is about 30 percent
longer than the Tour de France and the riders have to pedal over 400 km a day to finish
the race in 12 days.

INDIAN MENS AND WOMENS THROWBALL TEAMS WON THE WORLD


GAMES
The Indian mens and womens throwball teams created a history by defeated the
Bangladesh team and won a gold medal each in the ISC World Games, held at Kathmandu,
Nepal.
The womens team defeated Pakistan team in the finals and won the gold medal.

NOTE:-
The World Games, organised by the International Sports Council (ISC) (Canada), saw
participation from 11 countries, competing in 42 different categories.

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MUMBAI GIRL AHANA WINS BRONZE AT JUNIOR CHESS MEET IN UNITED


KINGDOM
Mumbai girl Ahana Shah won a bronze medal Under-7 category of the 2017 Kenilworth
Junior Open Rapid Chess Tournament in the United Kingdom.

NOTE:-
She also won a bronze medal in the Under-6 category of the National Age group chess
championships category in Singapore.

IOC APPROVES 15 NEW EVENTS FOR 2020 TOKYO GAMES

The International Olympic Committees Executive Board added 15 new events for the 2020
Olympics to be held in Tokyo.
Tokyo Games would include 321 events, up from 306 at Rio 2016.
Important Person:- IOC sports director - Kit McConnell

KUTWAL WINS GOLD AT WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR DIFFERENTLY-


ABLED

Shashikant Kutwal, a railway employee with Pune Division, has won the gold medal at the
17th World Individual Chess Championship for differently-abled, held in Slovakia from
May 27 to June 6, 2017.

WEST INDIES CRICKET TEAM OFFICIALLY RENAMED AS WINDIES

The West Indies cricket team has been officially renamed as WINDIES while the West
Indies Cricket Board has rebranded itself as Cricket West Indies on its 90th anniversary.
The new name will apply to all teams representing the Board and will be used on all team
playing shirts.

SHUTTLE PLAYER SAI PRANEETH WON THAILAND GRAND PRIX GOLD TITLE

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth defeated Indonesian Jonatan Christie in the mens singles
final of the Thailand Open series.
He won the Thailand Grand Prix Gold title by this victory.
This is Praneeths second consecutive title win, following the Singapore Open victory.

BOPANNA-DABROWSKI CLINCH FRENCH OPEN MIXED-DOUBLES TITLE

Rohan Bopanna (Playing only his second Grand Slam final) lifted his maiden Grand Slam
title by winning the French Open mixed doubles trophy with Canadian partner Gabriela
Dabrowski, becoming only the fourth Indian ever to clinch a Grand Slam.
,

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ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION'S PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2016 AWARDS

India and Mohun Bagan striker Jeje Lalpekhlua received the All India Football
Federation's (AIFF) inaugural player of the year 2016 award.
Sasmita Malik was adjudged the 2016 AIFF Women's player of the year.

RAFAEL NADAL WINS 10TH FRENCH OPEN TITLE


Spain's Rafael Nadal won the 10th French men's Tennis Open title.
He defeated Stan Wawrinka in the Paris final.
He becomes the first person to win a Grand Slam tournament 10 times.

NOTE:-
Australia's Margaret Court won a single Grand Slam tournament, with 11 Australian
Open wins between 1960 and 1973.
Roger Federer won ninth Halle Open title
Roger Federer won the ninth Halle Open title recently.
He defeated Alexander Zverev from Germany.
He won the Cup for the first time in his career, one tournament nine times

INDIA WON 6 MEDALS IN WUSHU KUNG FU

The Indian wushu team won six medals, including two gold, at the BRICS Games.
Taijiquan/Taijijian event:
M Gyandas - gold medal,
M Bidheswari Devi - silver
L Sanatgombhi Chanu - bronze.
Changquan event:
Anjul Namdev - gold medal (changquan overall event)
Ng. Toshibala - silver (womens changquan event)
Sajan Lama - bronze medal (nanquan allround event).

NOTE:-
Wushu is a martial art and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial
arts. It is also known as Kung Fu.

ANKUSH WON GOLD AND DEVENDRO WON SILVER AT MONGOLIA


BOXING TOURNAMENT

Ankush Dahiya (60kg) won a gold medal and L Devendro Singh (52kg) won
a silver medal on the final day of the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament in Mongolia.
The 19-year-old Ankush, who is a former Asian youth silver medallist, defeated Korean
Man Choe Chol.

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JITU RAI, HEENA SIDHU WIN GOLD AT ISSF SHOOTING WORLD CUP

Indian shooting pair of Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu outclassed their Russian counterparts in the
mixed team air pistol final event to win a gold medal at the International Shooting Sport
Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Azerbaijan.

KIDAMBI SRIKANTH WON INDONESIAN OPEN SUPER SERIES TITLE

Kidambi Srikanth won his first ever Indonesia Open Superseries title by defeating Japans
Kazumasa Sakai in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He defeated world no 1 Son Wan Ho of South Korea in the semifinals.

NOTE:-
The first Indian to win a Super Series Premier Mens title.

French Open 2017

Title Winner Runner-up

Men's Singles Rafael Nadal (Spain) Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland)

Women's Singles Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) Simona Halep (Romania)

Mens's Doubles Ryan Harrison (USA) and Michael Venus Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico)
(New Zealand) and Donald Young (USA)

Women's Bethanie Mattek-Sands (U.S.A.) and Lucie Ashleigh Barty (Australia)


Doubles Safarova (Czech Republic) and Casey Dellacqua
(Australia)

Mixed Doubles Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) and Rohan Anna-Lena Gronefeld


Bopanna (Germany) and Robert Farah
(India) (Colombia)

Note: Rafael Nadal has won his 10th French Open title (highest number of French Open singles
titles).

YUVRAJ SINGH FIFTH INDIAN TO PLAY 300 ONE DAY INTERNATIONALS

Yuvraj Singh became the Fifth Indian cricket player to feature in 300 One Day
Internationals (ODI).
After Mohammed Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid
Yuvaraj obtained the pride.

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Short news
Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth won the men's singles title at the Thailand Open Grand Prix
Title.
Sudha Singh won a gold medal in the women's 3000 m steeplechase at 21 St Federation
Cup National Senior Athletics Championship.
Indian Tennis player Ramkumar Ramanathan won The International Tennis Federation
(ITF) men's Future's Tennis title.
Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan was admitted into the International Cricket
Council's (ICC) Hall of Fame.
England won the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) under-20 World
Cup final at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
Jelena Ostapenko won her first Grand Slam title in the womens final of the French
Open 2017.
Vietnam Grand Master Nguyen DucHoa won 10th Mumbai Mayors Cup International
Open Chess Tournament.
Indias Skipper Virat Kohli created a record by becoming the quickest batsman to score
8000 runs in One-Day International Cricket (ODI).

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PERSONALITIES
BIHAR GOVERNOR RAM NATH KOVIND RESIGNED ON 20TH JUNE 2017

Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind resigned from his post on 20th June 2017.

Subsequently, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi was assigned the
responsibility to serve as the Bihar Governor along with his own duties.

FATHER OF INDIAS NUCLEAR FUSION PREDHIMAN KRISHAN KAW PASSED


AWAY

The father of Indias nuclear fusion reactor research programme, Padma Shri Prof.
Predhiman Krishan Kaw, passed away.

NOTE:-
Predhiman Krishan Kaw was an Indian plasma physicist.
He had been the founding director of the Institute for Plasma Research and served
the institute as the director from 1986 to 2012.
Kaw was the first chairman of the ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory
Committee and led the committees deliberations from 2007 to 2009.
He was named the 2015 laureate of the Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Prize for
outstanding contributions in the field of plasma physics.

KAVIKKO ABDUL RAHMAN PASSED AWAY


Kavikko Abdul Rahman passed away in Chennai.

About him:
Abdul Rahman was aTamil poet from Tamil Nadu, India.
He was known by the title Kaviko.
Abdul Rahman was born in Madurai in 1937 and died on 2nd june 2017.
He was a professor of Tamil for 29 years at Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi.
In 1999, his poetry collection Aalapanai won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Tamil.
And also he received the Umaru Pulavar award in 2008.

PARLIAMENTARIAN ERA SEZHIYAN PASSED AWAY


Veteran Parliamentarian Era Sezhiyan Passed Away in Vellore.

About him:
Era Sezhiyan or Rajagopal Seziyan was an Indian writer and politician.
As parliament member, he highly reminded for his recommendation of the abolition of the
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).
He was the younger brother of late Navalar V.R. Nedunchezhian and both of them were
the founding members of the DMK.
He jointly edited the Magazine Manram with his brother.

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FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA PN BHAGWATI PASSED AWAY

Former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati (July 1985 and December 1986, as the 17th
Chief Justice of India) passed away in New Delhi.

NOTE:-
As a Supreme Court judge, Bhagwati introduced the Public Interest Litigations (PIL)
concepts and absolute liability in the Indian judicial system

RAJYA SABHA MEMBER PALVAI GOVARDHAN REDDY PASSED AWAY

Veteran Cong (I) leader and Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, Palvai Govardhan
Reddy, died of cardiac arrest in Kulu, Himachal Pradesh.

Palvai was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1967 from Munugodu constitutency
in Nalgonda district in the United Andhra Pradesh.

JNANPITH AWARD WINNER C NARAYANA REDDY PASSED AWAY

Telugu poet and writer Cingireddi Narayana Reddy passed away.


He is Jnanpith awardee and also the countrys third-highest civilian honor, Padma
Vibhushan.
He also served as Vice-Chancellor of Telugu University and held important academic and
administrative positions in the state.

RAMAKRISHNA MISSION CHIEF SWAMI ATMASTHANANDA PASSED AWAY


ON 18TH JUNE 2017

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission President Swami Atmasthananda passed


away on 18th June 2017 after a prolonged illness.

He was elected as the President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission on
3rd December 2007.

Books & Authors

The Emergency-Indian Democracys Darkest Hour

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu launched the book which titled 'The Emergency - Indian
Democracys Darkest Hour'.
A book is written by Surya Prakash who is a chairman of Prasar Bharati.
The book was launched to honor all those who fought for the restoration of democracy in
the country in the mid-1970s.

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GARUDA PURANA PUBLISHED BY ALL INDIA KASHIRAJ TRUST

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copy of book Garuda
Purana (Critical Edition) published by All India Kashiraj Trust at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

NOTE:-
All India Kashiraj Trust, which was inaugurated by the first President, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad to preserve and propagate our ancient texts

PRESIDENT RECEIVES FIRST COPIES OF BOOK LALAN SHAH FAKIR KE GEET

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copies of book Lalan Shah
Fakir Ke Geet written by Prof. Muchkund Dubey and DVD of selected songs of Lalan Shah
Fakir at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS ARUNDHATI ROY NOVEL


Arundhati Roys eagerly-awaited second novel Ministry of Utmost Happiness is now
available for sale. Arundathi Roy has become the first Indian woman to win the prestigious
Booker Prize with her 1997 work

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DEFENCE
INDIAN ARMY GETS MODERN BULLET PROOF HELMETS

The Indian Army finally received its first batch of bullet-proof helmets.
The helmets were manufactured by Kanpur-based MKU Industries at the cost of Rs 180
crore.

NOTE:-
The new bullet-proof helmets are capable of withstanding the impact of 9mm fired
shots from a short range.
The helmets match global standards of equipment for armed forces.

SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TEST OF ATGM NAG

The Anti-Tank Guided Missile Nag was successfully flight tested in the desert ranges of
Rajasthan.
About Nag:
Nag is a third-generation, fire-and-forget, anti-tank guided missile developed by Indias
state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to support both
mechanized infantry and airborne forces of the Indian Army.
It is designed to destroy modern main battle tanks and other heavily armoured targets.
Nag can be launched from land and air-based platforms.

PRITHVI-II MISSILE SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II


missile from a test range in Odisha as part of a user trial by the Army.
The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried
out using a mobile launcher of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha.

INDIAN ARMY TEAM CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST WITHOUT USING OXYGEN


CYLINDERS

A team of four Indian Army personnel successfully climbed Mount Everest without
using oxygen cylinders.
They have become the first team to scale the worlds highest peak without supplementary
oxygen.
More than 4,000 people have so far climbed the 8,848-metre peak, of which only 187 people
have done this without oxygen on individual basis.

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INDIA-AUSTRALIA NAVAL EXERCISE AUSINDEX 17 BEGINS

Navies of India and Australia are participating in bilateral maritime exercise AUSINDEX-
17 with an aim to enhancing interoperability and cooperation between the two forces.
Indian naval ships Jyoti, Shivalik and Kamorta are on a port visit to Freemantle, Australia
from June 13 to 17 to join the exercise.

INDIAN ARMY RETHINKING ON SAHAYAK SYSTEM AND APPOINTS


CIVILIANS IN PEACE STATIONS

Indian Army is actively now considering the recruiting civilian staff in peace stations with
the colonial-era Sahayak system.
Sahayaks are soldiers and their duties include protecting the officers, maintaining their
weapons and equipment and also helping them in carrying out their responsibilities.
They will employ in main areas and keys stations in Sahayaks.

RUSSIAN NAVY TEST-FIRES SUBMARINE-LAUNCHED MISSILE


The Russian military has successfully test-fired a submarine-launched Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (IBM).
The Yuri Dolgoruky is the first in a series of Borei-class submarines carrying the Bulava.

CHINA LAUNCHED ITS BIGGEST NAVAL DESTROYER


China launched its most powerful naval destroyer, the Type 055, at the Shanghai port.
It is one among the largest warships in the world.

NOTE:-
The Type 055 vessels will weigh more than 12,000 tonnes and are larger more
powerful than Indias latest Project- 15B Visakhapatnam class destroyers.

US TO SELL C-17 GLOBEMASTER TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT TO INDIA

The United States of America (USA) decided to sell one Boeing C-17 transport aircraft to
India.

NOTE:-
It also includes one Missile Warning System, one Countermeasures Dispensing
System, one Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Transponder and precision navigation
equipment.
The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III military airlift aircraft is one of the most flexible
cargo aircraft of the US Air Force fleet.

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GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Important Latitudes
Latitude Position Countries Through Which It Passes
Tropic of Cancer 23 26' N Mexico, The Bahamas, Mauritania, Mali, Algeria,
Niger, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, India,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and Taiwan
Tropic of Capricon 23 26' S Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique,
Madagascar, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay,
Brazil, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Fiji and
Cook Islands
Arctic Circle 66 33' N Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, USA (Alaska),
Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland
Antarctic Circle 66 33' S Territories on Antarctic claimed by Australia, France,
New Zealand, Argentina, Chile and UK
Equator 0 Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome e Prncipe,
Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia and Indonesia

Important Longitudes

Longitude Position Countries through which it passes


Prime Meridian 0 longitude UK, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Tongo and
Ghana

International Date Line 180 E/W Mid-Pacific Ocean


longitude

States in India through which Tropic of Cancer and 82.5 longitude


passes

23 26' Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West


Tropic of Cancer
N Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram

Indian Standard Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra
82.5 E
Time Pradesh

First train in India was started by Lord Dalhousie on April 16, 1853 from Bombay to thane (34
Kms).
Indian Railways was nationalised in 1950 and presently, it is the largest Railway Network in
Asia and second largest in the world.
In the above list of the Major Railways Zones in India that will help the aspirants to attune and
equipped for examinations like UPSC, IAS, SSC, CDS, NDA, Railways etc.

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Railway zones

S.NO NAME OF THE RAILWAY ZONE ZONAL HEADQUARTER

1 Central Railway Mumbai


2 Eastern Railway Kolkata
3 Northern Railway New Delhi
4 North Eastern Railway Gorakhpur

5 Northeast Frontier Railway Guwahati


6 Southern Railway Chennai
7 South Central Railway Secunderabad
8 South Eastern Railway Kolkata
9 Western Railway Mumbai
10 East Central Railway Hajipur

11 East Coast Railway Bhubaneswar


12 North Central Railway Allahabad
13 North Western Railway Jaipur
14 South East Central Railway Bilaspur
15 South Western Railway Hubli
16 West Central Railway Jabalpur

Railway Manufacturing Units

NAME OF THE UNIT LOCATION


1. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works Chittaranjan, West Bengal
2. Central Organisation for Railway Electrification Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
3. Diesel Locomotive Works Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
4. Diesel Loco Modernisation Works Patiala, Punjab
5. Integral Coach Factory Chennai, Tamil Nadu
6. Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala, Punjab
7. Rail Wheel Factory (Wheel and Axle Plant) Bangalore, Karnataka
8. Modern Coach Factory Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh
9. Rail Wheel Plant Chhapra, Bihar
10. Diesel Component Factory Dankuni, West Bengal

Some facts about River

The longest flowing river in India is the Ganges or Ganga followed by Godavari, Yamuna,
Krishna and Narmada.

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The Ganges is also known as the Bhagirathi since King Bhagirath was responsible for
bringing it from the heavens to the earth. The part of the River Ganga which flows into
Bangladesh is known as Padma.

Most of the Indian rivers flow into the Bay of Bengal but some like Narmada,Tapti and
Periyar flow into the Arabian Sea.

The Brahmaputra is known as Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet and as Dihang in Arunachal


Pradesh. The Brahmaputra river is known as Jomuna in Bangladesh.

There are three Trans-Himalayan rivers which originate in the high Tibetan Plateau and cut
across the mighty Himalayan ranges. Indus, Brahmaputra, and Sutlej.

Luni, Machhu, Banas, Rupen, Saraswati and Ghagghar are examples of rivers with inland
water drainage, i.e. they do not empty into the ocean but get lost into the sand.

Subarnarekha, Vamsadhara, Nagavali, Vaigai, Netravati and Sharavati are examples of


coastal rivers.

The longest flowing river in India is the Ganges or Ganga followed by Godavari, Yamuna,
Krishna and Narmada.

The river known as Singi Khamban (Lion's mouth) in Tibet River Indus
The river known as Bengals sorrow is River Damodar
River Tributaries
Ganga 1. Gomti 2. Ghaghra 3. Gandak 4. Kosi 5. Yamuna 6. Son 7. Hoogly
Yamuna 1. Chambal 2. Sindh 3. Betwa 4. Ken 5. Tons 6. Hindon
Godavari 1. Indravati 2. Manjira 3. Bindusara 4. Sarbari 5. Penganga 6.Pranahita
Krishna 1. Tungabhadra 2. Ghataprabha 3. Malaprabha 4. Bhima 5. Vedavati 6. Koyna
Cauvery 1. Kabini 2. Hemavathi 3. Simsha 4. Arkavati 5. Bhavani
Narmada 1. Amaravati 2. Bhukhi 3. Tawa 4. Banger
Indus 1. Sutlej 2. Dras 3. Zanskar 4. Shyok 5.Gilgit 6. Suru
Brahmaputra 1. Dibang 2. Lohit 3. Jia Bhoreli (Kameng) 4. Dikhow 5. Subansiri 6. Manas
Damodar 1. Barakar 2. Konar
Ravi 1. Budhil 2. Nai or Dhona 3. Seul 4. Ujh
Mahanadi 1. Seonath 2. Hasdeo 3. Jonk 4. Mand 5. Ib 6. Ong 7. Tel
Chambal 1. Banas 2. Kali Sindh 3. Shipra 4. Parbati 5. Mej

Indian cities / towns situated on the bank of river

Town River
Agra Yamuna
Ahmedabad Sabarmat
Allahabad Ganga, Yamuna

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Ayodhya Saryu
Badarinath Ganga
Calcutta Hooglhly
Cuttack Mahanadi
Delhi Yamuna
Dibrugarh Brahmaputra
Ferozepur Sutlej
Gauhati Brahmaputra
Haridwar Ganga
Hyderabad Musi
Jabalpur Narmada
Kanpur Ganga
Kota Chambal
Leh Indus
Lucknow Gomti
Ludhiana Sutlej
Nasik Godavari
Panchiharpur Bhima
Patna Ganges
Srinagar Jhelum
Surat Tapti
Tiruchirapalli Cauvery
Varanasi Ganga
Vijayawada Krishna

Wetlands in India

The Ramsar List is a list of wetlands all over the world. The list was established in response
to an article of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971). The following is the list
of major wetlands in India in descending order of area.

Wetland State

Vembanad-Kol Wetland Kerala


Chilika Lake Orissa
Kolleru Lake Andhra Pradesh
Bhitarkanika Mangroves Orissa
Ashtamudi Wetland Kerala
Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary Tamilnadu
Loktak Lake Manipur
Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch) Uttar Pradesh
Sambhar Lake Rajasthan
Wular Lake Jammu and Kashmir
Pong Dam Lake Himachal Pradesh

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Name of the Islands Location


Sriharikota Island Pulicat lake (Andhra Pradesh)

Abdul Kalam Island Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Odisha


Sivasamudram Island Kaveri river
Cattle Island Mahanadi river, Odisha
Sagar Island Bay of Bengal, West Bengal
Havelock Island Andamans
Barren Island Andaman islands
Kachchatheevu Palk Strait
Majuli Island Brahmaputra river
Salsette Island Arabian Sea

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SUMMIT
1ST INDIAN RAILWAYS HUMAN RESOURCES ROUND TABLE CONFERENCE

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated Indian Railways' 1st HR
Round Table Conference.

Aim of the Conference:-


Improving the productivity of the human resources through inter-change of ideas with
various stakeholders and HR practitioners and academics.
Themes:-
The Conference was organized around three themes i.e.
1. Stakeholders Expectations from HR;
2. The Future of Work HR Role;
3. Creativity Within Constraints.

UN HOLDS FIRST OCEAN CONFERENCE

The United Nations has held its first ever summit on protecting the world's seas and
waterways.
Member nations are using the Ocean Conference to renew their commitment to combatting
rising sea levels, pollution, and harmful fishing practices.
It was co-hosted by the Governments of Fiji and Sweden.

G7 ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS MEETING HELD IN BOLOGNA, ITALY

G7 Environment Ministers and high representatives, and European Commissioners


responsible for environment and climate, met in Bologna on 11-12 June 2017.
It was attended by heads and senior officials of International Organizations and by
representatives of universities and firms.
It was aimed to discuss issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development
and litter at sea.
Italy holds the G7 presidency for 2017.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY APPROVES CREATION OF NEW UN OFFICE OF


COUNTER TERRORISM

The United Nations General Assembly approved the establishment of a new United
Nations office of counter-terrorism to help Member States implement UNs global counter-
terrorism strategy.
The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force Office (CTITF) and the UN Counter-
Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) currently under the DPA will be transferred to the new office
together with existing staff and associated budgetary resources.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Russian diplomat Vladimir
Voronkov to head UNCCT

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SIXTH JOINT TRADE COMMITTEE MEETING BETWEEN INDIA AND


MYANMAR HELD IN NEW DELHI

The Sixth India - Myanmar Joint Trade Committee (JTC)

Meeting co-chaired by :
Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Commerce & Industry - India
Dr Than Myint, Union Commerce Minister from Myanmar was held in New Delhi.

NOTE:-
The JTC plays a key role related to the enhancement of the bilateral economic
partnership between the two countries.
Myanmar shares a long land border of over 1600 Kms with India as well as a
maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

INDIA BECOMES 71ST COUNTRY TO SIGN UN INTERNATIONAL


CONVENTION ON ROAD TRANSPORTS

India became the 71st country to sign the United Nations International Convention on
Road Transports (TIR).
TIR will help India to integrate with Myanmar and Thailand as well as Bangladesh,
Bhutan, and Nepal.

NOTE:-
TIR is managed and developed by IRU - The world road transport organization

COMMITTE:

K. KASTURIRANGAN PANEL TO FRAME NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY

The Human Resource Ministry constituted a new nine-member panel headed by space
scientist K Kasturirangan to frame a new National Education Policy (NEP).

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IMPORTANT INDEX
INDIA SECURES TOP POSITION IN GLOBAL RETAIL DEVELOPMENT INDEX

The 2017 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) titled The Age of Focus placed India
at the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business in the retail
sector.
This is the 16th edition of the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI).
China in second place.

INDIA SLIPS TO 45TH SPOT IN IMD'S WORLD COMPETITIVENESS LIST

India ranked 45th down from last year, in terms of competitiveness in the annual rankings
compiled by the International Institute for Management Development's (IMD) World
Competitiveness Center.
It has been publishing the rankings every year since 1989.
This year's list comprises 63 countries with Cyprus and Saudi Arabia making their first
appearance

INDIA 60TH MOST INNOVATIVE GLOBALLY, CHINA AT 22ND GLOBAL


INNOVATION INDEX (GII) 2017

India ranked 60 on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017.


The index has been co-Published by Cornell University, European Institute of Business
Administration (INSEAD) and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The top five positions are obtained by the following countries.
The First place is got by Singapore.
The second place is got by Sweden.
The third place is got by Netherlands.
The Fourth Place is got by the United States of America.
The fifth place is got by the United Kingdom.

QS WORLD UNIVERSITIES RANKING 2018: IIT DELHI, IISC BANGALORE MAKE


IT TO TOP 200

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, IIT-Delhi and Indian Institute of Science


(IISc), Bengaluru got a place in the top 200 global universities list.
For the first time in the history, three prestigious Indian institutions have featured in the
list of the top 200 universities

INDIA RANKS 75TH IN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SURVEY

India has ranked 75 in environmental impact survey conducted by UK-based Money Super
Market.
The survey has been topped by Southern African country Mozambique as almost all its
energy use comes from green sources.
South Africa ranked at 95 in the Environmental survey.

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GLOBAL PEACE INDEX - INDIA 137TH

India is positioned 137 out of 163.Iceland has been named the worlds most peaceful
nation, besting the Global Peace Index for the tenth back to back year.
New Zealand and Portugal have finished the top three, while Syria has been named the
slightest peaceful.

INDIA TOP REMITTANCE-RECEIVING COUNTRY IN 2016: UN REPORT

India has become the top remittance-receiving country surpassing China in 2016.
80% of remittances are received by 23 countries, led by India, China, the Philippines,
Mexico and Pakistan.
India was the top receiving country for remittances in 2016 at $62.7 billion, followed by
China ($61 billion), the Philippines ($30 billion) and Pakistan ($20 billion).

NOTE:-
The report of the One Family at a Time study by the UN International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been released.
This report is about the foreign remittances.
The study is the first-ever of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over
the period 2007-2016.

INDIA AMONG TOP FIVE CONSUMER MARKETS IN ASIA

India is among the top five consumer markets in Asia offering retailers consumer spending
growth of an average of 6.1 percent over the next five years.
The other four countries are China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia.
BMI Research was founded in 1984 Business Monitor International and later in 2014 was
acquired by Fitch Group.
The firm performs industry and financial market analysis in 24 Industries and 200 Global
markets.

INDIA HAS 31% OF WORLDS POOR KIDS

About 31% of the worlds multi dimensionally poor children live in India, according
to a new report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
OPHI is an economic research centre at the Oxford University and the study is based on a
survey conducted among 103 countries.

NOTE:-
In terms of countries, fully 31% of the 689 million poor children live in India,
followed by Nigeria (8%), Ethiopia (7%) and Pakistan (6%).
In terms of the number of multi dimensionally poor children as a proportion of the
total population, India stood 37th among 103 countries.
Out of Indias 217 million (21.7 crore) children, 49.9% were multi dimensionally poor.

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INDIA HAS SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF OBESE CHILDREN IN WORLD

India has the second highest number of obese children in the world after China.
According to the recent study, 14.4 million kids in the country have excess weight.
Global Scenerio:
Globally, over two billion children and adults suffer from health problems related to being
obese, and an increasing number die from these conditions.
Among the 20 most populous countries, the highest level of obesity among kids and young
adults was in the US at nearly 13%;
Egypt topped the list for adult obesity at about 35%.
Lowest rates were in Bangladesh and Vietnam, respectively, at 1%.
China with 15.3 million and India with 14.4 million had the highest numbers of obese
children.

MUMBAI MOST EXPENSIVE FOR EXPATRIATES IN INDIA - MERCER'S SURVEY

According to Mercer's 23rd annual Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is placed 57th on the
list while New Delhi was placed at 99. Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and Kolkata (184)
were the other Indian cities on the list.

UNION GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES INDEX TO RANK 116 CITIES

Urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu launched its first liveability index which
will rank the countrys 116 major cities on the basis of the quality of life.
The index named City Liveability Index will cover cities with a population above one
million, including the capital cities.
He distributed Rs 500 crore as an incentive to 16 states that have performed well in
implementing urban reforms during 2016-17.

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APPOINTMENT
PALBINDER KAUR SHERGILL BECOMES FIRST TURBANED SIKH WOMAN
APPOINTED AS JUDGE IN CANADA SUPREME COURT

Palbinder Kaur Shergill becomes the first turbaned Sikh woman to be appointed as
Canadas Supreme Court Judge.
NOTE:
The announcement was made by the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada
Jody Wilson-Raybould.

UNICEF APPOINTS 19-YEAR-OLD EDUCATION ACTIVIST AND SYRIAN


REFUGEE AS GOODWILL AMBASSADOR

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) appoints Muzoon Almellehan as Goodwill
Ambassador for Refugees.
She is the first person with an official refugee status to become an Ambassador for the
United Nations agency.

NOTE:-
According to UNICEF data, an estimated 25 million children of primary and secondary
school are out of school in conflict zones around the world.

SAUDI ARABIA'S MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN APPOINTED CROWN PRINCE

Saudi Arabia's King Salman appointed his son, Mohammed bin Salman shuffle, and as
the predecessor.

NOTE:-
The newly-announced crown prince was also named Deputy Prime Minister and
maintained his post as defense minister.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS APPOINTED AMBASSADORS TO THREE EUROPEAN


COUNTRIES, ITALY, DENMARK AND BELGIUM

Gaitri Issar Kumar has been appointed as India's next ambassador to Belgium.
While Reenat Sandhu, will head India's diplomatic mission in Italy, Ajit Vinayak Gupte has
been appointed as ambassador to Denmark.

STAMP ON NOTED PLAYWRIGHT BALWANT GARGI RELEASED

A stamp on noted playwright and theatre director late Balwant Gargi was released.
Gargi was the founder-director of the Indian Theatre Department, Punjab University,
Chandigarh.
Gargi, who was born in 1916 in Bathinda, was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award, the
highest Indian literary award, in 1962 for his book Rang Manch. This was followed by the
Padma Shri (1972), and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Punjabi Playwriting in 1998.

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SACHIN TENDULKAR JOINS UN CAMPAIGN ON FATHERS

Sachin Tendulkar joined Beckham, Djokovic and Lewis Hamilton for The United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) Chief Super Dad Campaign.
Super Dads initiative forms a part of UNICEF's Early Moments Matter Campaign, aims to
drive understanding of children's environments and experiences in early childhood can
shape their future.

HOSHIAR SINGH APPOINTED AS CHIEF OF COPYRIGHTS OFFICE

Hoshiar Singh a 1994 batch officer of the Indian Telecom Service appointed as Registrar of
Copyrights.

NOTE:-
His period of five years as per the recent order issued by the Department of
Personnel and Training (DoPT).
The Copyright Office is under the immediate control of a Registrar of Copyrights,
who acts under the superintendence and directions of the Central Government

PAYTM VICE-PRESIDENT AMIT SINHA APPOINTED AS CHIEF OPERATING


OFFICER (COO)

Amit Sinha, the Vice President of Business and Human Resources at Paytm's Parent
Company One97 Communications appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of Paytm
Mall.

NOTE:-
Paytm recently demerged its e-commerce business into a separate entity called
Paytm E-Commerce Private Limited which runs Paytm Mall.a

NEERU CHADHA BECOMES FIRST INDIAN WOMAN TO BE JUDGE AT ITLOS

International law expert Neeru Chadha has been elected and appointed as judge in ITLOS
Tribunal.
Neeru Chadha, an eminent lawyer and the first Indian woman to become the chief legal
adviser in the ministry of external affairs, is elected for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026.
Chadha is only the second woman to be judge of ITLOS in its two decades of existence,
where there have been a total of 40 judges.

NOTE:- ITLOS:
The Hamburg, Germany based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS),
established in 1996.
It is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of
the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994.

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EAZYDINER APPOINTS YUVRAJ SINGH AS BRAND AMBASSADOR

EazyDiner appointed cricketer Yuvraj Singh as Global Brand Ambassador.


EazyDiner is an online restaurant reservation platform.

KAUSHIK BASU APPOINTED AS PRESIDENT OF IEA

Kaushik Basu appointed as President of International Economic Association (IEA).

He also served as senior vice-president and chief economist at the World Bank from 2012
to 2016.

NOTE:
The International Economic Association (IEA) is one of the key organisations of
professional economists and has been significant in determining global economic
policy and Research.

J&K GOVERNOR N VOHRA APPOINTED AS PRESIDENT OF IIC

J&K Governor N Vohra appointed as the President of the India International Centre (IIC)
one of the premier cultural institutions in the country.

NOTE:
He is succeeded by Soli Sorabjee, former President of IIC.
The India International Centre (IIC) is a well known non-official organization located
in New Delhi, India.

IMRAN KHAWAJA APPOINTED AS ICC DEPUTY CHAIRMAN

Imran Khawaja appointed as International Cricket Council (ICC) as Deputy Chairman.


He is a senior lawyer and serving in the ICC Board for several years.
NOTE:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the international governing body of cricket was
founded in 1909 as the Imperial Cricket Conference.

Short news

Donald Trump appointed Indian-American Krishna R as the new United States


Ambassador to Peru.
Reserve Bank of India appointed S. Ganesh Kumar as Executive Director.
Dr.Manoj Soni takes oath as Member of Union Public Service Commission .
The Union Government (Ministry of Textiles) appointed Shri Rajesh V. Shah as
Chairperson on the Board of Governors of the National Institute of Fashion Technology
(NIFT).

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Nirupama Rao appointed as the Public Policy Fellow at a top American think tank based
in Washington.
The UN General Assembly today elected Slovak foreign minister Miroslav Lajcak to be the
next president of the 193-member powerful body.
Mr. Param Jit Mann, presently Ambassador of India to the Slovak Republic, has been
appointed as the country's next Ambassador to Slovenia.
Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer, the only assigned competition manager of International Table
Tennis Federation (ITTF), has become the first Indian to be nominated as a member of the
Umpires and Referees Committee (URC).
Dr. Sharad Kumar Jain has assumed the additional charge of Director General, National
Water Development Agency (NWDA) under Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Shashi Shekar Vempati appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prasar Bharati.
Leo Varadkar is become the Republic of Ireland's Prime Minister
Ruchira Kamboj has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the
Republic of South Africa.
Ruchira Kamboj (IFS: 1987) has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to
the Republic of South Africa.
Under the Niti Aayog, Ramanathan Ramanan appointed as the Mission Director of the
Atal Innovation Mission.
Ayurveda physician Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha appointed as special secretary in Ayush
Ministry.
Kenneth I Juster is set to become Americas new Ambassador to India.
The Uttar Pradesh government appointed Rajiv Kumar as the new Chief Secretary of the
state.
Bollywood actress Vidya named as the Ambassador of Indian Film Festival of
Melbourne.

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