indian affairs - gupta classesguptaclasses.com/download-zone/others/june-indian affairs .vp.pdf ·...

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INDIAN AFFAIRS BJP leader and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher has released the stamp on the commemoration of Balwant Gargi centenary on 31st of May by the Panjab University. The Indian Railways has introduced a facility on 1st of June of Buy Now, Pay Later service for passengers to book tickets online first and make payment for the reservations within a window of 14 days. The Uttar Pradesh Government has extended the retirement age of doctors from 60 to 62 years.This move has been taken in the view of non-availability of medical practitioners across the state. ‘T-Wallet’, the official digital wallet of Telangana State was launched on June 1, 2017 by Telangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao. T Wallet is available as an ‘Any Time, Any Where’ digital payment option for everyone. During the occasion of State Formation Day , Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao has announced 6- point comprehensive plan for farmers on June 2nd 2017 in Secunderabad which includes 8 thousand rupees cash assistance per acre per annum to each farmer in the state nd 24/7 continuous electricity supply. Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has launched the Vidya-VeertaAbhiyan on 3rd of June 2017 in the state by presenting Vice Chancellors of universities with the portraits of Param Vir Chakra recipients. The three-day festival Making of Developed India (MODI) fest was launched in Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2017. It begins to celebrate the successful completion of the three-year rule by the Modi government. Post roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, 2017, Gold will be costlier, whereas biscuits, footwear up to Rs. 500/- and apparel up to Rs. 1000/- will become cheaper. Packaged and branded food items will be taxed 5%, tendu leaves at 18% and bidi at the highest rate of 28%. However, unlike cigarettes, there will be no cess on bidi. The Indian Railways is going to reduce emission by 33 per cent in the next 10-12 years. The Railways will going to involve with green initiatives undertaken by the public transporter. It will reduce emission through sustained energy efficiency measures and maximum use of clean fuel by 2030 The Aadhaar card has been made mandatory for government subsidy on purchase of kerosene and benefits of Atal Pension Yojana. It was announced by PM Modi on 4th of June, 2017 The government launched the solid waste segregation at source in the National Capital Region (NCR) on 5th of June, 2017 Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said that Women to be allowed in combat roles in Indian Army. Currently women are allowed in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army. Cabinet has approved the initial public offer of Indian Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency, enabling it to mobilise funds for the clean energy sector.Under the listing proposal, IREDA will issue fresh 13.90 crore shares, increasing the paid up share capital of the company from Rs 784 crore to Rs 923 crore. The Government of Kerala has implemented a green protocol for weddings more nature-friendly. With the implementation of the green protocol, the use of plastic and other non-degradable articles including disposable glasses, plates and thermocol decorations would be prohibited at marriage functions. Union Government has launched a Skill for Life, Save a Life Initiative on 6th of June. Its aim is to promote skill development in the health sector. Under this initiative, various courses will be initiated targeting specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2017 has cleared by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice on June 8, 2017. The bill was passed by Karnataka Legislative Assembly to exempt kambala and bullock-cart racing from the ambit of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 on February 13, 2017 The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has announced the setting up of 18 sectoral groups to ensure a smooth roll-out of the GST on 9th of June, 2017 NITI Aayog has launched ‘SATH’ program with state governments for furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism. Acronym ‘SATH’ stands for ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital’. Supreme Court has ruled that it would be mandatory for all Aadhaar holders to link the unique identity number with the PAN for filing income tax returns. The Central Council for Research in Yoga & Naturopathy (CCRYN)has initiated Yoga Awareness Drive through Mascots and Flash Mobs (YogMob).It has 1

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Page 1: INDIAN AFFAIRS - Gupta Classesguptaclasses.com/download-zone/others/JUNE-INDIAN AFFAIRS .vp.pdf · established a GST facilitation cell which will be headed ... banning the sale and

INDIAN AFFAIRS• BJP leader and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher

has released the stamp on the commemoration ofBalwant Gargi centenary on 31st of May by the PanjabUniversity.

• The Indian Railways has introduced afacility on 1st of June of Buy Now, Pay Later service forpassengers to book tickets online first and make paymentfor the reservations within a window of 14 days.

• The Uttar Pradesh Government hasextended the retirement age of doctors from 60 to 62years.This move has been taken in the view ofnon-availability of medical practitioners across the state.

• ‘T-Wallet’, the official digital wallet ofTelangana State was launched on June 1, 2017 byTelangana IT Minister K.T. Rama Rao. T Wallet isavailable as an ‘Any Time, Any Where’ digital paymentoption for everyone.

• During the occasion of State Formation Day ,Telangana Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao hasannounced 6- point comprehensive plan for farmers onJune 2nd 2017 in Secunderabad which includes 8thousand rupees cash assistance per acre per annum toeach farmer in the state nd 24/7 continuous electricitysupply.

• Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul haslaunched the Vidya-VeertaAbhiyan on 3rd of June 2017in the state by presenting Vice Chancellors of universitieswith the portraits of Param Vir Chakra recipients.

• The three-day festival Making of DevelopedIndia (MODI) fest was launched in Andhra Pradesh on 2June 2017. It begins to celebrate the successfulcompletion of the three-year rule by the Modigovernment.

• Post roll-out of Goods and Services Tax(GST) from July 1, 2017, Gold will be costlier, whereasbiscuits, footwear up to Rs. 500/- and apparel up to Rs.1000/- will become cheaper. Packaged and branded fooditems will be taxed 5%, tendu leaves at 18% and bidi atthe highest rate of 28%. However, unlike cigarettes, therewill be no cess on bidi.

• The Indian Railways is going to reduceemission by 33 per cent in the next 10-12 years. TheRailways will going to involve with green initiativesundertaken by the public transporter. It will reduceemission through sustained energy efficiency measuresand maximum use of clean fuel by 2030

• The Aadhaar card has been made mandatoryfor government subsidy on purchase of kerosene and

benefits of Atal Pension Yojana. It was announced by PMModi on 4th of June, 2017

• The government launched the solid wastesegregation at source in the National Capital Region(NCR) on 5th of June, 2017

• Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said thatWomen to be allowed in combat roles in Indian Army.Currently women are allowed in medical, legal,educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army.

• Cabinet has approved the initial public offerof Indian Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency,enabling it to mobilise funds for the clean energysector.Under the listing proposal, IREDA will issue fresh13.90 crore shares, increasing the paid up share capital ofthe company from Rs 784 crore to Rs 923 crore.

• The Government of Kerala has implementeda green protocol for weddings more nature-friendly. Withthe implementation of the green protocol, the use ofplastic and other non-degradable articles includingdisposable glasses, plates and thermocol decorationswould be prohibited at marriage functions.

• Union Government has launched a Skill forLife, Save a Life Initiative on 6th of June. Its aim is topromote skill development in the health sector. Underthis initiative, various courses will be initiated targetingspecific competencies for healthcare professionals as wellas for general public.

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(Karnataka Amendment) Bill 2017 has cleared by theUnion Ministry of Law and Justice on June 8, 2017. Thebill was passed by Karnataka Legislative Assembly toexempt kambala and bullock-cart racing from the ambitof the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 onFebruary 13, 2017

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Councilhas announced the setting up of 18 sectoral groups toensure a smooth roll-out of the GST on 9th of June, 2017

• NITI Aayog has launched ‘SATH’ programwith state governments for furthering the agenda forcooperative federalism. Acronym ‘SATH’ stands for‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital’.

• Supreme Court has ruled that it would bemandatory for all Aadhaar holders to link the uniqueidentity number with the PAN for filing income taxreturns.

• The Central Council for Research in Yoga &Naturopathy (CCRYN)has initiated Yoga AwarenessDrive through Mascots and Flash Mobs (YogMob).It has

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been launched to increase popularity of Yoga especiallyamong the youth.

• The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)has launched a 24×7 helpline – Madadgaar – atSrinagar’s Tagore Hall. The helpline is the first of its kindin Kashmir with a toll free number (14411).

• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swarajhas inaugurated Know India Programme (KIP) for youngoverseas Indians at a function in New Delhi.

• Sushma Swaraj has announced the openingof 149 new Post Office Passport Seva Kendras (POPSKs).It will be set up in the second phase.

• Pension Fund Regulatory and DevelopmentAuthority (PFRDA) the administrative authority of AtalPension Yojana (APY) has now introduced “APY@eNPS”which involves a complete digital enrolment process.

• The centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’sSabarmati Ashram in Gujarat has celebrated at theNehru Centre on

17th of June. Gopalkrishna Gandhi will inauguratetwo galleries titled 'My Life is My Message' and'Charkha.' He will also release two books titled 'Letters toGandhi' and 'Pioneers of Satyagraha.'

• The 22nd European Union Film Festival(EUFF) has opened at Siri Fort auditorium on 10th ofJune, 2017 with the screening of Estonian film CherryTobacco in New Delhi.

• The Tamil Nadu government has announcedfree education for the transgender community in all thecolleges of state's Manonmaniam SundaranarUniversity.

• The industry department has said that it hasestablished a GST facilitation cell which will be headedby Sudhansu Sekhar Das on 17th of June 2017. It hasbeen set up to address any tax issue that can come up insectors related to the DIPP.

• The Rajasthan government has raised theinsurance cover by 1 lakh to 6 lakh for farmers who availcrop loan from cooperative banks in the State. It aims tobring around 25 lakh peasants under the scheme.

• The Union Minister for Development ofNorth Eastern Region (DrJitendra Singh DoNER)hasannounced the launch of, “Hill Area DevelopmentProgramme” (HADP) for Northeast in Imphal (Manipur).The programme aims to bridge the gap between the hilland valley districts in terms of infrastructure, quality ofroads, health and education.

• In order to make legal aid easily accessible tothe marginalized communities and citizens living in ruralareas, Government of India has launched the ‘Tele-Law’pilot project on June 11, 2017.Under the first phase, the‘Tele-Law’ scheme will be launched as a pilot across 500CSCs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) councillowered rates on 66 goods and services, including Insulin,schoolbags, colouring books, construction items, pickles

and mustard sauce. In a bid to promote regional cinema,cinema tickets costing up to Rs. 100 will be taxed at 18%and ticket costing more than Rs. 100 at 28%.

• Indian Railways to induct 40,000refurbished coaches by 2023, earmarks Rs 8,000 crore.The aim is to make available 40,000 new look coaches inthe railway fleet by 2023.

• Meghalaya state assembly unanimouslypassed a resolution opposing the Centre's notificationbanning the sale and purchase of cattle at animalmarkets for slaughter and demanded its withdrawal as itwould impact the economy of the state and the food habitof its people.

• According to the Minister of state forAYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik said that the Centre hasapproved proposals for setting up of 100 Ayurveda,Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH) hospitalsacross the country.

• The Central Government will provideinterest subvention of 5% per annum to all prompt payeefarmers for short term crop loan up to one year for loan upto Rs. 3 lakhs borrowed by them during the year2017-18.The Central Government will provideapproximately 20,339 crore as interest subvention for2017-18.

• Union Cabinet has approved the proposal tointroduce a Financial Resolution and Deposit InsuranceBill, 2017.It will complement recently enacted theInsolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 for the insolvencyresolution of non- financial entities.

• Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu haslaunched Mission Retro-Fitment to enhance thepassenger experience by upgrading the existing fleet ofcoaches. Mission Retro-Fitment is a program of railwaysto upgrade the level of furnishing & facilities in thecoaches of Indian Railways. The mission aims to inductabout 40,000 coaches with upgraded interiors by 2022-23.

• 'Anuyatra’, an empowerment programme forthe differently abled launched by Kerala government. Itaimed at bringing the differently abled to the mainstreamand making the state differently abled-friendly.

• The Central Statistics Ministry is set tochange the base year of national accounts to 2017-18 from2011- 2012.It is set to change after completion of thehousehold consumer expenditure survey and labour forcedata by the end of 2018. CSO has changed the base ofIndex of Industrial Production (IIP) and Wholesale PriceIndex (WPI) to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

• Union Health Ministry has launched anIntensified Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) acrossthe country on 15th of June 2017.It has been launched toreduce child deaths due to diarrhoea. Nearly 12 crorechildren will be covered during the programme.

• NITI Aayog has shortlisted five states under‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital’(SATH) program for developing role model states in

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health and education. For Health Sector, the shortlistedstates are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Karnataka andGujarat.For Education Sector, the shortlisted states

are Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

• Shipping Corporation of India, ShippingMinistry organise “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas Sammelan”in Mumbai. The seminar was held to showcase theGovernment’s and Shipping Corporation of India’sachievements in last three years.

• The government has made Aadhaar cardmandatory for opening of bank accounts as well as for anyfinancial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above. In thisregard centre will amend the prevention of moneylaundering act.

• The Railway Ministry will launch"Operation Swarn" (swarn means gold in Hindi) toimprove services in Rajdhani and Shatabdi Expresstrains. Under the first phase, the Mumbai-DelhiRajdhani Express and

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express have beenselected for upgradation, for which the work will startfrom September 2017.

• Uttarakhand& Haryana has become thefourth Open Defecation Free (ODF) state in the countrywhich was announced Union minister Narendra SinghTomar. Earlier, Himachal Pradesh,Sikkim and Keralahad declared themselves Open Defecation Free.

• Indian Railways will start the final locationsurvey of the 498 km long Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line atLeh in Jammu and Kashmir this week. Coming up at aheight of 3,300 metres, the strategically important rail

project is touted to become the highest rail track inthe world, overtaking China’s Qinghai–Tibet Railway.

• According to the Union home ministryAadhaar is not a valid identification document forIndians travelling to Nepal and Bhutan.

• The Manipur CM Biren Singh has launcheda toll free 24/7 helpline number 181 for women in thestate. The helpline will help fight and reduce crimeagainst women in the state.

• The 135th JagannathYatra starts from June25 and ends on July 3. The JagannathYatra festival willbe held in Odisha. The RathYatra festival is related toLord Jagannath.

• On June 23, 2017, Central Governmentannounced another list of 30 cites for development assmart cities under Smart Cities Mission. Kerala capitalThiruvanathapuram topped the list, Chhattisgarh's newcapital Naya Raipur came second.

• Union Cabinet has approved Amendment ofthe bilateral Social Security Agreement (SSA) betweenIndia and the Netherlands by incorporating the “Countryof Residence” Principle into the agreement.

• Cabinet approves Constitution of IndianNaval Material Management Service (INMMS) as anOrganized Group ‘A’ Engineering Service.

• On June 22, 2017, Pune MunicipalCorporation launched India’s biggest municipal bondsprogramme. The project looks to raise Rs 2,264 crore infive years. Municipal bonds are debt instruments throughwhich a municipal corporation raises money fromindividuals or institutions.

• A commemorative postage stamp hasreleased on completion of 50 years of Passport Act on 23rdof June 2017. On 24th June,1967 the President gaveassent to the Passports Act 1967 and it marked animportant milestone in the history of passport issuance inIndia.

• Punjab Finance minister Manpreet Badalpresented a state budget of Rs 1.18 lakh crore for thefinancial year 2017-18.

• 114-year old Taj Palace (also referred to asTaj Mahal Palace) in Mumbai has become first Indianbuilding to get itself trademarked, thereby joining theelite and small club of trademarked properties in theworld which includes the Empire State Building in NewYork, the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Sydney Opera House.

• PiyushGoyal, Minister of State (IC) forPower, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mineslaunched the Energy Conservation Building Code 2017(ECBC 2017) which prescribes the energy performancestandards for new commercial buildings to be constructedacross India.

• Minister of Culture & Tourism MaheshSharma (Independent Charge) has launched theimplementation of the National Mission on CulturalMapping of India at Goverdhan Block, Mathura Districtof Uttar Pradesh on 17 June 2017. This Mission is part ofthe ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ umbrella.

• On June 23, 2017, Urban DevelopmentMinistry launched "City Liveability Index". It is a first ofits kind initiative to measure the quality of life in 116major cities including capital cities and those withpopulation over one million. Andhra Pradesh topped thelist scoring 96.06 per cent marks.

• Narmada Control Authority (NCA) hascleared the final raising of SardarSarovar Dam (SSD) inGujarat by lowering of gates and impounding of water inthe reservoir upto its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of EL138.68 mts. Lat est De vel op ments per tain ing to

Goods and Ser vices Tax (GST)

• GST will be rolled out in India from July 1,2017.

• It will replace 16 current levies (7 centraltaxes and 9 state taxes), consequentially creating Indiaas one market with one tax rate.

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• GST Council set tax rate on state-run lotteryat 12% and government-authorised private lottery at28%.

• GST Council has laid out a relaxed timetableand exemption from penalties and late fees to industrywhile filing GST returns in the first two months.

• Every business carrying out a taxable supplyof goods or services with turnover exceeding the thresholdlimit of Rs 20 lakh will be required to register.

• As on June 21, 2017, all the States andUnion Territories (having assemblies), except the State ofJammu & Kashmir have approved the State Goods andServices Tax (SGST) Act. Last state to pass GST bill iskerala.

• MeitY launches Web Portal for smooth GSTimplementation.The webpage can be accessed throughMinistry’s Web Portal meity.gov.in.It also enables filingof grievances in relation to implementation of GST.

• Indian Army is actively consideringrecruiting civilian staff in peace stations to do away withthe colonial- era Sahayak system, in the wake of somearmy jawans openly voicing their anger against it.

• Arunachal Pradesh government has decidedto increase the retirement age of regular stategovernment employees to 60 years from existing 58 years.It will be implemented from 1st of January 2018.

• The Delhi government has made Aadhaarcard details compulsory for those seeking subsidy on e-rickshaw registered in the city. It has been announced bythe government on 26th of June 2017.

• A“mini war room” has been set up in thefinance ministry to deal with crises related to theimplementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on28th of June 2017. Central Board of Excise and Customs(CBEC) chief Vanaja N. Sarna said that the unit will actas a quick resource centre for Central and Stategovernment officials.

• Election Commission joins hands withFacebook to Launch First Time Nationwide VoterRegistration Reminder.

• Cabinet approves 7th Pay Commissionrecommendations with 34 changes, to benefit 48 lakhemployees

• Cabinet approves development of six laningof Chakeri-Allahabad section of National Highway (NH) -2 in Uttar Pradesh. The cost is estimated to be Rs.3691.09crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement andrehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

• Union Cabinet has given ‘in principle’approval for strategic disinvestment of Air India and fiveof its subsidiaries based on the recommendations of CoreGroup of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD)

• On June 29, 2017, Dr.Jitendra Singh -Minister of State for Development of North EasternRegion, Prime Minister’s Office, Personnel, PublicGrievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space,launched a new training programme ComprehensiveOnline Modified Modules on Induction Training(COMMIT) for State Government officials.

• The Government has issued notification toall those who have Permanent Account Number(PAN)should link to their existing Aadhar card from July 1 inaccordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) ofsection 139AA . Prime Min is ter Narendra Modi

two-day visit to Gujarat

• Centenary celebrations of SabarmatiAshram in Ahmedabad on 29th June, 2017.Event to markthe 150th birth anniversary of ShrimadRajchandraji atSabarmati Ashram on 29th June, 2017.

• On June 29, 2017, at Aaji dam on theoutskirts of Rajkot city, PM launched irrigation & waterrelated initiatives.

• On June 30, 2017, PM attended aprogramme to dedicate water supply schemes based onVatrak, Mazum and Meswo Dams at Modasa in Aravallidistrict in north Gujarat.

• On June 30, 2017, afternoon PMinaugurated ‘Textiles India 2017’country’s first-evermega trade event for the textiles sector in Gandhinagar,Gujarat.

• Lastly, PM Modi inaugurated an integratedsports & entertainment 'Arena Project’ in Ahmedabad.

• On June 29, 2017, Prime Minister NarendraModi released coins and a stamp on Mahatma Gandhi'sspiritual guide, ShrimadRajchandraji, at the SabarmatiAshram in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

• On June 29, 2017, Prime Minister, NarendraModi, inaugurated the filling of Aji Dam near Rajkotunder SAUNI Yojana.

• The Maharashtra government constitutedan 11-member committee to scrutinise and recommendnames from Maharashtra for the Padma Awards 2018.The committee, comprising 10 ministers and a seniorbureaucrat, will be headed by Minister for WaterConservation Ram Shinde.

• India’s first ‘private’ railway stationHabibganj to come up near Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

A butterfly park in Asola Bhatti Wild Life Sanctuaryin south Delhi was dedicated to the public on theWorldEnvironment Day on June 5 2017.

PLACES IN NEWS

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• Union Minister of Food ProcessingIndustries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated firstMega Food Park in the state of Odisha M/s MITS MegaFood Park Pvt. Ltd. at Rayagada district.UnionGovernment of India has provided a financial assistanceof Rs. 50.00 Crore to the project.

• India’s first ‘freight village’ will be developedby the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) inVaranasi, Uttar Pradesh. The freight village, aone-of-its-kind infrastructure platform, will attractcompanies that require logistics services and can clusterto improve their competitiveness.

• Odisha to have first automatic coastalwarning for disasters in India.Early WarningDissemination System (EWDS) project for naturaldisasters will be completed by July 31 said by OdishaGovernment On May 1st. The system will be helpful incommunicating tsunami and cyclone warnings to coastalpopulation directly from the State Headquarters.

• India's first public bicycle sharing projectlaunched in Mysuru, Karnataka. A total of 450 bicyclescan be borrowed for a nominal fee from 48 automateddocking stations.

• Central government will be retrofitting 10lakh conventional street lights with energy efficient LEDlights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in AndhraPradesh. This will be India’s first rural LED StreetLighting Project.

• A national human milk bank and lactationcounseling centre known 'Vatsalya - Maatri Amrit Kosh'has opened at Lady Hardinge Medical College in NewDelhi on June 6. It will be helpful to provide breast milkto newborns and promote breastfeeding.

• Kolkata will launch an underwater Metrowhich will pass through tunnels several feet under theHooghly.The first underwater transportation tunnel ofIndia is ready with the second one nearing completion.The tunnel has been constructed 30 meters belowriverbed.

• On June 17, 2017, Prime Minister NarendraModi inaugurated Kerala's first metro line in Kochi. TheKochi Metro is the first in India to use CommunicationBased Train Control technology to maximise frequencies

and minimise errors. The project cost is estimatedat5,180 crore.

• On June 17, 2017, President PranabMukerjee inaugurated the Green Line of Phase I of‘Namma

Metro’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is the secondlongest operational metro network in India after DelhiMetro.

• Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister ofArunachal Pradesh, has demanded a separate time zonefor Arunachal Pradesh to improve work efficiency andsave electricity in the state.

• Sulabh International founder and chiefBindeshwar Pathak has announced that an opendefecation-free (ODF) village in Mewat will be namedafter the US President Donald Trump.

• Union Minister for Urban Development,Housing and Poverty Alleviation Venkaiah Naiduinagurated the ‘Homes For All’ property on 24th of June2017.The show is organized by Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation and GIHED CREDAI in Ahmedabad.

• The government has cleared a proposal forsetting up a greenfield airport in Jewar in Greater Noida,Uttar Pradesh. It is likely to be operational in the nextfive to six years.

• Indore has become the first city in Indiawhere a robot is being used on an experimental basis tocontrol its ever growing and unruly traffic. This robot hasbeen designed and manufactured by two professors of anengineering college of the city, Prof Rahul Tiwari andAniruddh Sharma.

• The Mizoram Health Minister LalThanzarahas launched the 'Test and Treat Strategy' of theMizoram state AIDS Control Society (MSACS) to improvetreatment for HIV affected people in the state.

• Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar hasinaugurated the three-day MODI (Making of DevelopedIndia Festival) Fest at Kala Academy in Panaji on 26th ofJune 2017.

• Odisha is all set to become the first state inthe country to have a blood bank for the cattle. The first ofits kind blood bank would be established on the premisesof OUAT at an estimated cost of Rs 3.25 crore.

FOREIG N VISITS PM Narendra Modi visit to Ger-

many, Spain, Rus sia and France-Over view PM Modi Visit to Ger many

India and Germany inked 12 pacts - threememorandum of understanding (MoUs) and nine jointdeclaration of intent (JDI):

Three MoUs between India andGermany:

• Agreement between the Ministry of Healthand BMG (Federal Ministry of Health) on cooperation inhealth sector.

• Agreement on collaboration between theMinistry of Skill Development and Germany's BMBF(Federal Ministry of Education and Research) tofacilitate training of Indian skill development officers andcluster managers.

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• Agreement between the AYUSH and BMG(Federal Ministry of Health) over cooperation inalternative medicine PM Modi Visit to Spain

• As a part of his four-nation tour, PM Modireached Spain on May 31, 2017. He thereby became 1stIndian PM to visit Spain in nearly 30 years after formerPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Spain in year 1988.

• India and Spain Sign Seven Agreements• After wide-ranging talks between Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Spanish PrimeMinister Mariano Rajoy at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid,Spain, India and Spain signed following agreements:

1. Pact on transfer of sentenced persons2. Pact on visa waiver for holders of diplomatic

passports3. Agreement on cooperation in organ transplantation4. Agreement on cooperation in cyber security5. Agreement on cooperation in renewable energy6. Agreement on cooperation in civil aviation7. Agreement on cooperation between India’s Foreign

Service Institute and Diplomatic Academy of Spain.

PM Modi Visit to Rus sia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended 18thIndo-Russia Annual Summit in St. Petersberg,Russia.The summit envisaged closer economic tiesbetween the Indian and Russia.

• Following the talks, India and Russia signedpact for 2 nuclear power units in Kudankulam, TamilNadu.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi andRussian President Vladimir Putin signed the StPetersburg Declaration to mark 70 years of India-Russiadiplomatic ties.

India, Russia to set up JVs to build aircrafts,automobiles - 5 MoUs signed

1. Agreement on intellectual property2. A master framework agreement on building two

units at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant3. A programme of bilateral cultural exchanges for

2017-20194. An agreement on a feasibility study for a high-

speed link between Nagpur and Secunderabad5. A memorandum on cooperation between joint

stock company ALROSA and India's Gem andJewellery Export Promotion Council.

PM Modi Visit to France

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi metnewly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron inParis, France.

• After two-hour long talks between the twoPrime Ministers, India and France vowed to worktogether for the successful implementation of thelandmark Paris climate agreement and fight thechallenge posed by terrorism. Arun Jaitely’s four days visit to

South Ko rea

• Arun Jaitley participated in the India-KoreaFinancial Dialogue and the 2nd Annual Meeting of theBoard of Governors of AIIB. The theme of this year’sannual meeting was "Sustainable Infrastructure".

• Indian and South Korea have signedagreements to establish $9 billion in concessional creditand $1 billion in Official Development Assistance (ODA)funding for infrastructure development projects in India.

• The dialogue was followed by the SigningCeremony of Economic Development Cooperation Fund

(EDCF) agreement between India and South Koreaand thereafter, an MOU was signed between EXIM Bankof India and South Korea’s KEXIM Bank.

• On 15th June 2017: Seminar on”DoingBusiness in India” hosted by the Korean Chamber ofCommerce and Industry (KCCI), FICCI and the IndianEmbassy in South Korea. De fence Min is ter ArunJaitley’s

3-day visit to Rus sia from June21-23, 2017

• On June 21, 2017, Mr. Jaitley co-chaired thefirst meeting of the India-Russia High Level Committeeon Science and Technology with the Russian DeputyPrime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

• Mr. Jaitley co-chaired the 17th meeting ofthe India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission onMilitary- Technical Cooperation in Moscow with RussianDefence Minister General Sergei Shoigu.

• India and Russia inked a protocol that laysout the roadmap to further boost bilateral defencecooperation, which ranges from joint development offuturistic weapon systems to a major upgrade ofmilitary-to-military ties. PM Narendra Modi’s for eign vis its

to Por tu gal, Neth er lands, US -Over view

• During PM Modis’ visit to Portugal, Indiaand Portugal signed 11 pacts for cooperation in variousareas including cooperation in outer space, doubletaxation avoidance, nano technology, improving culturalties, youth and sports, higher education, scientificresearch, and setting up of a Portugal-India BusinessHub and an Indian Chamber of Commerce in Portugal.

• On June 24, 2017, Indian Prime MinisterModi and Portugal Prime Minister Costa launched a

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unique startup Portal - the India-Portugal InternationalStartUp Hub (IPISH) - in Lisbon.

• On June 24, 2017, India and Portugalannounced a four million Euros joint fund to bolsterresearch in science and technology. PM Modi Visit to USA

• India, US agree to strengthen ties to ensurepeace in Afghan as they expressed concern over risinginstability in the war-torn country caused by terrorism.

• Marking 70 years of diplomatic relationsbetween India and the United States, the leaders

resolved to expand and deepen the strategic partnershipbetween the countries and advance common objectives. PM Modi Visit to Neth er lands

• During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’svisit to the Netherlands on June 27, 2017, India andNetherlands signed following three agreements:

1. MoU on water cooperation2. MoU on Cultural Cooperation3. Agreement on Amending Social Security

Arrangement

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS• President Donald Trump has announced

that he would withdraw the United States from the 2015Paris agreement to fight climate change on 1st of 2017.

• The UN General Assembly has elected CoteDIvoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Poland and Peru asthe non- permanent members of the Security Council fora two-year term. It will begin from 1st of January 2018.

• Denmark has finally repealed its334-year-old blasphemy law despite warnings that suchan act could lead

to an increase in hate crimes and terror attacks. Thelaw that has just been revoked criminalized blasphemousacts such as burning the Bible or Quran.

• On June 5, 2017, Montenegro officiallyjoined North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) andthereby became the 29th member country of NATO.

• Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and theUnited Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar in the worstdiplomatic crisis to hit Gulf Arab states in decades.According to Saudi state mediaQatar ejected from theSaudi-led coalition in Yemen over alleged support of ISISand al-Qaeda.

• The world's fastest elevator that can operateat a record breaking speed of 1,260 metres per minute isset to been installed in a skyscraper complex building inChina.

• In an effort to curb antibiotic resistance,World Health Organization (WHO) has divided the drugsinto three categories viz. ‘access’, ‘watch’ and ‘reserve’ andhas specified utilisation norms for each category. This isconsidered as the biggest revision of the antibioticssection in the 40-year history of the essential medicineslist (EML).

• On June 8, 2017, India and the UN Office forSouth- South Cooperation (UNOSSC) has launched apartnership fund for supporting sustainable developmentprojects across the world.

• Indian Government has awarded Rs. 1600crore contract for building 109-km road connectingPaletwa river terminal to Zorinpui in Mizoram border aspart of $484-million Kaladan multi-modal transport

projects in Myanmar that will offer connectivity toMizoram in India.

• On June 10, 2017, Indian Ambassador toKazakhstan Harsh Kumar Jain inaugurated IndiaPavilion at Expo 2017 at Astana, the capital city ofKazakhstan. The world class exhibition displaysrenewable and green technologies. Theme of Expo 2017 is“Future Energy”

• India and Afghanistan are set tooperationalize their first air-freight corridor. The firstflight will be operated by Ariana Afghan Airlines, whichis the Afghanistan’s national carrier

• EU and France will give a grant of 3.5million euros to three Indian cities- Nagpur, Kochi andAhmedabad. It is a part of the EU’s commitment underthe Paris Climate agreement. India has become the firstcountry to get benefits from the MYC initiative.

• China has launched world's largest floatingsolar farm consisting 160000 panels.It is a waterborneplant and is expected to generate 40 megawatts at onetime and could supply electricity for over 15,000 homes.

• Panama has established formal diplomaticties with China and broke with Taiwan on 12th of June.Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela said to mediathat Panama was upgrading its commercial ties withChina.

• On June 13, 2017, India ratified twoimportant core conventions on child labour – pertainingto minimum age for admission to employment and worstforms of child labour – at the International Labour

Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.The two coreconventions signed by India are Convention 138, whichsets minimum age for admission to employment andConvention 182, which penalises and prohibits the worstform of child labour.

• On June 15, 2017, United Nations (UN)General Assembly approved the establishment of a newoffice to help Member States implement theorganization's global counter-terrorism strategy. Thenew Office would he headed by anUnder-Secretary-General.

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• On June 15, 2017, India won re-election ToUN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).India hasbeen re- elected for a three-year term beginning January1, 2018.

• The World Taekwondo Federation haschanged its name to World Taekwondo on 25th June2017. The body was called the World TaekwondoFederation since 1973.It was headqurtered in SouthKorea

• According to UNESCO greater emissionsreductions and delivering on the Paris climate agreementare now the only opportunity to save coral reefs.Theprospects of coral reefs long-term survival was at acrossroads, with the worst-case scenario able to beavoided only if we quickly adopt the 1.5C target.

• Estonia to open the world's first dataembassy in Luxembourg on housing data and informationsystems between the two countries (Estonia&Luxembourg).

• China has launched a research project tocompile historical data obtained during expeditions by itsteams to the disputed South China Sea since the late1950s.

• Saudi Arabia has decided to impose a familytax of 100 riyals per dependent per month on expatriates.

• On May 17, 2017, a Protocol of Cooperationwas signed between the National Archives of India andthe Minister of Culture of the Portuguese Republic in thefield of archives in Lisbon, Portugal.

• India ratifies United Nations TransportsInternationaux Routiers(TIR) Convention,to ensure asecured supply chain and boost trade, IndianGovernment has ratified the United Nations TIR(Transports InternationauxRoutiers) Convention onJune 19, 2017.

• The Australian government has announcedthat Indian nationals can apply for a visitor visa onlinestarting from 1st of July, 2017

• China has unveiled world's first train thatoperates on a virtual track using sensor technology

instead of metal rails. This Autonomous Rail RapidTransit (ART) has been developed by China's CRRCZhuzhou Institute

• China's next generation bullet train, with amaximum speed of 400 kilometer per hour, made itsdebut on 26th of June 2017. It has been run on thecountry's busiest Beijing-Shanghai line. Fuxing is aCR400AF model which boasts a top speed of 400kilometres per hour and a consistent speed of 350kilometres an hour.

• US has designated Hizbul chief SyedSalahuddin as a global terrorist on 26th of June 2017.

• According to the annual Trafficking inPersons Report the United States has declared China asone among the world’s worst offenders on humantrafficking .The report will be presented by the Secretaryof State Rex Tillerson to the US Congress.The declarationwould place China in the same category as North Korea,Zimbabwe and Syria.

• Sharjah has been crowned with theprestigious 'the World Book Capital' for 2019 byUNESCO.

• On June 27, 2017, Trump administration setnew criteria for visa applicants from six Muslim nationsand all refugees that require a close family or business tieto the United States. Instructions issued by the US StateDepartment say that new applicants from Syria, Sudan,Somalia, Libya, Iran and Yemen must prove arelationship with a parent, spouse, child, adult son ordaughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling alreadyin the United States to be eligible.

• Germany’s parliament has voted to legalisesame-sex marriage by 393 votes to 226.

• British Prime Minister Theresa Maynarrowly won a confidence vote in parliament on 30thJune 2017.Theresa May won by 323 votes in favour and309 against in the 650-seat parliament.

SUMMITS & CONFERENCES• Rajnath Singh has inaugurated a two-day

national level conference on "Capacity Building ofSDRF-2017" on 6th of June, 2017. The conference wasorganised by the National Disaster Response Force(NDRF).

• On June 8, 2017, Minister of Railways,Suresh Prabhu inaugurated Indian Railways' 1st HRRound Table Conference in New Delhi. A. K. Mital –Chairman of Railway Board and other senior Railwayofficials were also present at the conference.

• The Ministry of AYUSH has inaugurated thesecond National Health Editors' Conference on Yoga on9June 2017 at the National Media Centre in New Delhi.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Yoga for Healthand Harmony”.

• BRICS Media Forum held in Beijing & OneMillion Dollar Fund Established for BRICS Media. Theforum was attended by the leaders of over 25 mediagroups from Brazil, Russia, India, China and SouthAfrica.

• On June 9, 2017, the Presidents of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)member-states -- China,

Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, andUzbekistan -- signed a document granting membership

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to Pakistan and India. The document was signed atAstana, Kazakhstan during the SCO Summit.2017 SCOsummit is based on the theme “Future Energy”

• The Second MI Ministerial (MI-2) is tobeheld in Beijing, China from 7-8 June 2017. MI-2 willshare knowledge and collaborate on priorities for cleanenergy innovation.

• Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan willinaugurate the 16th North East Region CommonwealthParliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference atImphal on 15th of June 2017.The conference will plannedon themes like 'North East and Look East Policy', 'Specialplan for development of railways and airways for speedyeconomic development of North East region', and 'Settingup of a chapter of Speaker's Research Initiative (SRI) inthe region'.

• The World Summit on the InformationSociety (WSIS) Forum 2017 was held from 12-16 June2017, in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Group of Seven (G7) Environment MinistersMeeting was held in Bologna, Italy on 11th and 12thJune, 2017 to discuss issues ranging from climate changeto sustainable development and litter at sea.G7Presidency for the year 2017 is held by Italy. Canada willhold the G7 presidency in 2018.

• 2017 Biotechnology InnovationOrganization (BIO) International Convention was held inthe San Diego Convention Centre, San Diego, US from19th June to 22nd June, 2017.

• Minister of State for External Affairs V KSingh attended a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of BRICScountries in Beijing, China on 18th and 19th June, 2017.

• On June 27, 2017, 6th India Myanmar JointTrade Committee (JTC) Meeting co-chaired by

Smt. NirmalaSitharaman, Minister of Commerce &Industry from India and Dr.ThanMyint, UnionCommerce Minister from Myanmar was held in NewDelhi.

RANKINGS & REPORTS• India has ranked 137th out of 163 countries

on Global Peace Index 2017 published by The Institute ofEconomics and Peace. Iceland topped the List.

• According to a new report by the OxfordPoverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)about 31% of the world’s “multidimensionally poor”children live in India.India stood 37th among 103countries.

• India has ranked 45th out of 63 countries inthe World Competitiveness Rankings 2017, compiled bythe International Institute for ManagementDevelopment's (IMD) World Competitiveness Center.Hong Kong topped the rankings for the second year.

• India has overtaken China and has rankedas the top country in the 2017 Global Retail DevelopmentIndex (GRDI) released by A.T. Kearney.2017 GRDI titled‘The Age of Focus’ has outlined that India's rapidlygrowing economy, relaxation ofForeign DirectInvestment (FDI) rules and a consumption boom

triggered by growing middle class population are thekey factors on basis of which India topped the index thisyear.

• For the first time the Indian Institute ofTechnology-Delhi (ranked 172) has replaced IndianInstitute of Science, Bangalore (ranked at 179), as thehighest-ranked Indian university in QuacquarelliSymonds (QS) World University Rankings 2018.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) topped QSWorld University Rankings for the sixth consecutiveyear.

• According to the ‘World Investment Report2017: Investment and the Digital Economy’, published byUNCTAD, US, China and India are considered as topprospective destinations for foreign direct investment

(FDI).US attracted highest, $391 billion FDI inflows in2016. US is followed by Britain with $254 billion,andChina with inflows of $134 billion.In 2016, Indiareceived $44.5 FDI, which marks a marginal 1% hike over2015.

• Elon Musk’s electric car startup Tesla(ranked 383) along with other 19 companies has featuredin Fortune magazine's annual list of America’s top 500companies for the first time.

• India places among the top five consumermarkets in Asia. It becomes an average of 6.1 per centover the next five years in retailer consumer spendinggrowth. According to BMI Research, a Fitch Groupcompany, China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India andIndonesia represent five favorite consumer markets inAsia.

• As per a report released by Child Rights andYou (CRY), Uttar Pradesh has the highest number ofchildren (250672) engaged in labour.Over 8 lakh childrenin India between the age group 5 and 6 years are engagedin child labour.

• The Forbes list of the 'World's Highest-PaidCelebrities of 2017' has been topped by American rapperand entrepreneur Sean Combs, known by his morefamous stage name 'Diddy', with earnings of 130 milliondollars. It was published on 13th of June 2017. Indiansuperstars Shahrukh Khan (65th- USD 38 million),Salman Khan (71st) and Akshay Kumar (80th) areamong Forbes' annual list of the highest-earningentertainers in the world.

• India 60th most innovative globally, Chinaat 22nd - Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017.The indexhas been co-authored by Cornell University, INSEAD andWorld Intellectual Property Organisation

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(WIPO). Switzerland has topped the index forseventh consecutive year.

• As per a report titled "Sending Money Home:Contributing to the SDGs (Sustainable DevelopmentGoals), One Family at a Time" by UN International Fundfor Agricultural Development (IFAD), India has been thetop remittance-receiving country in year 2016.Indiansworking across the globe sent home USD 62.7 billion in2016.

• India has ranked 75th in environmentalimpact survey conducted by UK-based Money SuperMarket. The survey has been topped by Southern Africancountry Mozambique as almost all its energy use comesfrom green sources.

• UNHCR has recorded 65.6 million peopledisplaced worldwide. Out of this some of them are eitherrefugees, asylum seekers or internally displaced acrossthe globe.

• Qatar Airways is voted the World’s BestAirline at the SKYTRAX 2017 World Airline Awards. TheDoha based carrier has won the prestigious Airline of theYear title for a fourth time.

• According to Mercer's 23rd Annual Cost ofLiving Survey, Mumbai is the most expensive city forexpatriates in India.Luanda, the capital of Angola, is thecostliest city, driven by cost of goods and security,followed by Hong Kong and Tokyo at the second and thirdplaces, respectively.

• According to ‘World Population Prospects -The 2017 Revision’ released by United Nations on Jun 21,2017, world’s population will surpass the 8 billion markin year 2023.India's population to surpass that of China'saround 2024

• 29.5 million people globally suffer from druguse disorders, opioids the most harmful says World DrugReport 2017.

• India has ranked 93rd among 128 countrieson 2017 Social Progress Index report launched on June21, 2017 by Social progress Imperative (SPI) withsupport from Deloitte and its strategic partners.Denmarkis the world’s top performer this year scoring 90.57 out of100, whereas Central African Republic has ranked last at128th

BANKING & FINANCERBI announces second Bi-monthly Monetary

Policy

Policy Repo Rate 6.25% Unchanged – since 4thOctober 2016

Reverse Repo Rate 6.00% Unchanged – since 6thApril 217

Marginal StandingFacility Rate

6.50% Unchanged – since 6thApril 217

Bank Rate 6.50% Unchanged – since 6thApril 217

Cash Reserve Ratio(CRR)

4.00% Unchanged – since 9thFebruary 2013

Statutory LiquidityRatio (SLR)

20.00% Cut by 0.50%. Earlier itwas 20.50%

>>RBI has projected that inflation will remain between 2 to3.5 per cent range for first half of FY 2017-18, and 3.5 to 4.5per cent range for second half.>>The RBI has lowered the economic growth projection to7.3% for the current financial year from 7.4% earlier.

• As per Government data released on May 31,2017, India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at 6.1%year-on-year in fourth quarter of financial year 2016-17i.e. during January 2017 to March 2017.

• Indian Government signed USD 36 millionloan agreement with World Bank for Himachal PradeshPublic Financial Management Capacity BuildingProgram in New Delhi.

• Markets regulator SEBI has barred CypressMoney from acting as Investment Advisor. SEBI foundguilty of providing unauthorized trading tips to investors.

• Arvind Panagariya, an economic adviser hassaid India's economic growth is expected to grow by 7.5percent in this fiscal year.

• State Bank of India (SBI) has announcedfinancing of 100 MW rooftop solar projects for privatedevelopers under a World Bank programme.The totalcost is worth Rs 400 crore.

• Under the chairmanship of Uday Kotak,Market Regulator SEBI has formed a Committee onCorporate Governance.Uday Kotak is an executive vicechairman and managing director of Kotak MahindraBank.

• According to HSBC report India’s economicgrowth is expected to remain flat at 7.1 per cent incurrent fiscal. According to official data, India’s growthrate slipped to 6.1 per cent in the January-March quarterand 7.1 per cent during 2016-17.

• As per World Bank's Global EconomicProspects (GEP) report released on June 4, 2017, theglobal economy is expected to grow at 2.7% in 2017 and2.9% in 2018. World Bank has thus maintained itsJanuary 2017 forecast. It is to be noted that, as perrecently released “India Development Report” by WorldBank, Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.2% in FY2017-18 as compared to 6.8% in 2016-17.

• On the occasion of the World EnvironmentDay, ICICI Bank has mentioned that it has commissionedover 200 solar powered ATM sites in the last one year as

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part of its efforts to reduce carbon footprint and use moreclean energy.

• An agreement for IBRD Credit of USD 39.2Million from World Bank for the project “Assam CitizenCentric Service Delivery” has been signed on 6th of June.The programme cost is 49-million dollar out of which39.2- million dollar will be financed by the Bank, and theremaining amount will be funded-out of State Budget.

• Vijaya Bank is set up to develop 100 digitalvillages in various States of the country.Its aim is topromote digital banking among the ruralpopulation.Vijaya Bank has inaugurated its 2031st ATMat Pandit Nehru Bus Station in the city of Vijayawada on6th of June, 2017.

• India’s one of the most lender State BIank ofIndia took a step to meet nearly 10,000 farmers tounderstand their credit needs and also to provide financehelp. The meeting organized at the bank's 15,500 ruraland semi-urban branches across the country on June 8,2017

• HDFC Bank on Monday informed to all of itscustomers that it will impose the new transaction chargeson all outward UPI transactions as well as the benefits ofusing UPI for transferring funds from July 10.

• Canara Bank and the New India AssuranceCompany have entered into a corporate agencyarrangement for distribution of insurance products.

• Global software major Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) has launched "BaNCS App DevelopmentKit" (ADK) on 8th of June 2017. It will enable banks tofast design and build their own apps and install it acrossdevices and desktops. "BaNCS ADK" will help banks todesign and deploy enterprise and consumer apps.

• Axis Bank has become the first bank tointroduce biodegradable gift cards in the country. Thecard has the look and feel of regular plastic cards and canbe used in PoS terminals and ATMs. The card is made upof Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG).

• The Reserve Bank has initiated PromptCorrective Action (PCA) against Bank of Maharashtra(BoM) in view of high level of bad loans and negativereturn on assets. BoM has become the sixth bank to beput under the PCA.

• On June 16, 2017, Switzerland ratified anautomatic exchange of financial account information withIndia in order to facilitate immediate sharing of detailsabout suspected black money. Swiss Federal Council saidthat the implementation of the information exchange isplanned for 2018 and that the first set of data exchangewould happen in 2019.

• On June 15, 2017, Reserve Bank of Indiasaid India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowedduring the last fiscal due to a contraction in the country'strade deficit. CAD for fiscal year 2016-17 narrowed to0.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1.1 per

cent in 2015-16 on the back of the contraction in tradedeficit.

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board ofIndia (IBBI) has notified the Fast Track InsolvencyResolution Process for Corporate Persons Regulations on16th of The process in these cases shall be completedwithin a period of 90 days, as against 180 days in othercases.

• State Bank of India has entered into a tie-upwith Tirumala Milk Products on 17th of June 2017 toprovide loans to dairy farmers who supply milk to thelatter.

• Private sector lender Yes Bank haspartnered with mobile payments switch TerraPay.Itsmain aim is to enable real time money transfer to bankaccounts in India. Terra Pay has partnered with YesBank in a Rupee Drawing Arrangement.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has placedCentral Bank of India under prompt corrective action. Itputs restricts on banking activities such as from lending,hiring and expanding branches.

RBI has triggered PCAs for four banks – IDBI Bank,UCO Bank, Dena Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

• The Board of Directors of the AsianInfrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approvedUSD 150 million equity investment to the IndiaInfrastructure Fund.

• Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), the Lead Bankfor Thiruvananthapuram district, has launched theRetail Mart, a retail lending concept, in Kerala's capitalcity.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hasannounced on 13th of June that it has issued Rs 500denomination notes with inset letter A. A new batch ofbanknotes will include the inset letter "A" in both thenumber panels and will bear the signature of Urjit RPatel the Governor of Reserve Bank of India; with theyear of printing '2017' on the reverse, are being issued.

• On June 13, 2017, Reserve Bank of Indiaidentified 12 non-performing accounts representing 25%of gross NPAs in Indian banking system, which will beimmediately taken up under the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC).The IAC followed an objectiveand non-discretionary criterion that all accounts withtotal outstanding loans greater than Rs 5,000 crore, withat least three-fifths (60%) classified as non-performing bybanks as on March 31, 2016, should be referred underIBC.

• Securities and Exchange Board of India(SEBI) has permitted commodity exchanges to launchoptions trading in commodity futures. Introduction ofoptions trading is expected to

• According to the Code Compliance Rating ofbanks done by the Banking Codes and Standards Boardof India (BCSBI) 2017, out of 26 public sector banks and 8out of 17 private sector banks got ‘high’ rating for their

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adherence to code compliance. IDBI Bank was the onlypublic sector bank that got ‘high (H)’(85 and above scoreout of 100) rating in two successive surveys.

• Emkay Global Financial Services hasentered into an exclusive pact with DBS Bank arm DBSVickers Securities (Singapore) on 13th of June. The pacthas signed for co-branding and distribution of equityresearch to the latter's global clients.

• ClearTax, India’s largest income tax returnse-filing and enterprise compliance service provider haslaunched billbook software. It is used to assist small andmedium businesses (SMEs) in the country getGST-ready.

• China and the Asia Development Bank(ADB) have launched a green financing platform to cutpollution in the smog-hit Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region on16th of June 2017. China selected five regions this weekto take part in pilot government green financing schemes.

• DCB Bank, a private sector bank haslaunched new services - India’s first Aadhaar based iriseye scan customer verification and fingerprint operatedATM in Telangana on 16th of June.

• On June 13, 2017, World Bank approvedfinancing worth more than $500 million for Afghanistanto support a various projects to boost the economy, helpimprove service delivery in five cities and support Afghanrefugees sent back from Pakistan.

• Reserve Bank of India announced names ofthe members of Overseeing Committee, OC earlier was atwo- member committee consisting of former ChiefVigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar (Chairman ofOC) and former SBI chairman Janki Ballabh.Anotherthree members have been added - former L&T FinanceHoldings Chairman YM Deosthalee, former Canara Bankchairman MBN Rao and SEBI whole time member SRaman. The OC was given an expanded mandate afterthe promulgation of the new NPA ordinance.

• The government has permitted banks andpost offices to deposit junked Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 noteswith the Reserve Bank by July 20, 2017. As on November8, 2016, the total amount of currency in circulation wasRs 17.7 lakh crore, which included specified bank notes(SBNs) of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000.

• World Bank’s Board of Executive Directorshas sanctioned a loan assistance of 44 million dollars forthe Assam State Public Finance Institutional Reforms(ASPIRe) Project.

• According to the second edition of ReserveBank of India’s (RBI's) statistical publication titled'Handbook of Statistics on States 2016-17’, total grossfiscal deficits of Indian states shot up to Rs 4,93,360 crorein fiscal 2016 from Rs 18,790 crore in FY1991. Rajasthanwith Rs 67,350 crore deficit in FY16 and Uttar

Pradesh with Rs 64,320 crore deficit in FY16accounted for the largest chunks in the total gross fiscaldeficits of Indian States.

• The World Bank and Asian InfrastructureInvestment Bank (AIIB) have granted loan to AndhraPradesh for Power Project.Total Cost of the project isUSD 570 million, out of which USD 240 million is fromWorld Bank (IBRD) and USD 160 million from AIIB. Therest will be counterpart funding from GoAP.

• IDBI initiated insolvency proceeding againstLanco, first among 12 accounts identified by RBI. Thecompany is among 12 firms identified by the central bankwith a combined debt of over Rs 1,50,000 crore, a quarterof the total NPAs, for proceedings under the newlyenacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

• IDBI Federal Life Insurance has announcedthat it has partnered with SunTec. It will help facilitatein computing and invoicing of debit tax and credit taxthat will be GST compliant.

• India and ADB Sign $275 Million Loan forUpgrading Urban Services in 64 Small Towns in MadhyaPradesh

• Hike Messenger partners with YES Bank tolaunch in-app Wallet.. Hike is the first in India to launchpayments facility on a messaging platform.

• RBI amends banking ombudsman schemeunder which banks could be penalised for mis-sellingthird-party products like insurance and mutual funds viamobile or electronic banking. As per the amendment, thepecuniary jurisdiction of the Banking Ombudsman topass an award has been doubled to 20 lakh rupees.

• According to data released by Reserve Bankof India, Banks' credit growth grew at 6.02% to Rs 76,58,212 crore in the fortnight ended June 9. 2017 from Rs72, 22,939 crore in the same period of fiscal 2016, whereasbank deposits grew at 11.19% to Rs 105, 77,947 crore fromRs 95, 13,148 crore in the fortnight ended June 10, 2016.

• Axis Bank in association with Kochi MetroRail Corporation (KMRL) has

launched KMRL Axis Bank 'Kochi1' Card, India'sfirst open loop EMV contactless metro card that wouldmake travel a convenient and hassle free experience forcommuters in Kochi.

• NCAER has revised up the country'seconomic growth to 7.6 % for the current fiscal ascompared with 7.3% on forecast of normal monsoon.

• According to Fitch Ratings India’s GDPgrowth will steadily rise from 7.4% to 7.5% in 2018-19 andto 7.6% in 2019-20.

• The World Bank has cleared a USD250-million loan, referred to as Skill India MissionOperation (SIMO) for making Indian youth moreemployable through reskilling. World Bank's SIMO is asix- year programme in support of the Indiangovernment's National Policy for Skill Development andEntrepreneurship (2017-23).

• The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB)has announced to enhance the group insurance cover forthe pilgrims and service providers from existing Rs 1 lakh

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to Rs 3 lakh. Jammu and Kashmir Governor N NVohra isthe chairman of SASB.

• India Signs Loan Agreement with the WorldBank for USD 35 Million for “Assam State PublicFinancial Institutional Reforms Project”

• The first ATM was presented by Barclays attheir Enfield branch in north London on Jun 27, 1967.Thefirst ATM machine turns to gold on 50th birthday on 28thof June. The first person to use the inaugural ATM wasactor Reg Varney.

• Union Government has notified roll out ofGoods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1, 2017. GST willreplace 16 current levies (7 central taxes and 9 statetaxes), consequentially creating India as one market withone tax rate.

• India has contributed $100,000 to UN TrustFund for International Cooperation in Tax Matters (UNTax Fund) and has thereby become the first country tomake the contribution.

• Indian funds in Swiss banks hit record low of676 mn francs as per latest data published by SwissNational Bank (SNB), money parked by Indians inSwitzerland’s banks nearly halved to 676 Million Swissfrancs (CHF) in 2016. As per current exchange rate, theapproximate amount stands at Rs. 4500 crore.

• On June 29, 2017, Asian Development Bank(ADB) committed USD 10 billion support forinfrastructure building and immediate developmentneeds of less-developed states in India.

BUSINESS• Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant

Sinha has delivered an statement India becomes theworld’s third largest aviation market with passengertraffic of over 10 crore travelers reported for 2016-17during an event on the achievements of the Ministry ofCivil Aviation on the completion of three years of theNDA government.

• Mumbai Metro has collaborated with GoogleMaps for geographic details.It has partnered with Googleto display its services in Google Maps application. It hasbeen collaborated to bring convenience for thecommuters.

• Ambani has announced on 4th of June thatRCom-Aircel merged company will be called Aircom.After the completion of the proposed deal RelianceCommunications has finally announced that the newRCom- Aircel merged entity will be called Aircom.

• National Stock Exchange (NSE) launched itsinternational exchange in the Gujarat InternationalFinance Tec- City (GIFT City) on 5th of June, 2017. NSEIFSC Ltd is the global exchange which is promoted byNSE.

• The National Thermal Power CorporationLimited (NTPC) has set up electric vehicles at Delhi andNoida, and will soon expand this to other location acrossthe NCR region. It has been launched to promote cleanenergy transportation in the country.

• Union Finance Ministry has said that theministries tasked with clearing foreign direct investment(FDI) proposals in the 12 sectors that need governmentapproval would have to take a decision within 60 days.

• State-run oil companies such as Indian OilCorporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

(HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL)will revise the prices of petrol and diesel daily from 16thJune 2017.

• In a bid to add digital experience for Airtravellers, Ministry of Civil Aviation will roll out

‘DigiYatra’ Platform.This initiative aims at bringingtogether entire industry to develop a digital ecosystemthat will deliver customers a seamless and paperlessservice experience at every stage of journey.

• India has approached World TradeOrganisation (WTO) against US for its non-compliance ofa verdict on high import duty on certain Indian steelimports. As of now, India has requested WTO disputeconsultations with the US to address US compliance withWTO ruling. If this issue remains unresolved postconsultations, India will approach WTO’s compliancepanel.

• According to the bi-annual Global PrimeOffice Occupancy Costs survey of US-based CBRE,Connaught Place in Delhi has been ranked ninth mostexpensive prime office market in the world. Hong Kong(Central) topped as world’s highest-priced office marketwith an occupancy cost of $302.51 per sq ft per annum.

• Infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group inthe second week of June 2017 has announcedcommissioning of a 50 megawatts (MW) solarphotovoltaic (PV) plant in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh.

• Amid unrest among farmers for multiplereasons in different states, the Central Government hasincreased the minimum support price (MSP) of pulses,oil-seeds and cotton for the 2017-18 crop year.

• At 22nd Agricultural and Processed FoodProducts Export Development Authority (APEDA)Annual Award Function in New Delhi on June 12, 2017,Commerce Secretary Mrs Rita Teaotia, mentioned thatIndia has emerged as 7th largest exporter ofagri-products globally.

• India has imposed an anti-dumping duty onimport of ceramic table and kitchen ware items fromChina. The government has done to protect domesticindustry against goods being sold at below normal value.

• India is to be a co-partner in a global foodand beverages trade ANUGA to be held in Cologne,

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Germany from October 7-11, 2017.The 34th edition ofANUGA is being organised by Koelnmesse GmBH and7,200 exhibitors from more than 100 countries are likelyto participate in the event.

• Tech giant Google has topped the 2017BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list with abrand value of over $245 billion.US tech giants Apple,Microsoft, and Facebook were also among the five mostvaluable brands.

• India has imposed anti-dumping duty up to118 dollar/tonne on import of hydrogen peroxide -otherthan of food and electronic grade with concentration of 90per cent and above from Bangladesh, Taiwan, Korea,Pakistan and Thailand.

• As many as 20 Indian firms have beennamed in the top 100 of Nikkei Asian Review's Asia300companies list. The list was topped by Taiwan's LarganPrecision. Indian IT service provider HCL Technologiescame in at the second place, followed by ZeeEntertainment Enterprises.

• Bengaluru has become the country's firstcity where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep.It is similar like the delivery of milk and newspapers. Ithas been annou

• The Commerce & Industry MinisterNirmalaSitharaman has launched the Startup IndiaVirtual Hub. It is an online platform for all stakeholdersof the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to discover,connect and engage with each other.

• The US has cleared the sale of 22 unmannedGuardian drones to India on 23rd of June 2017.The deal,estimated to be worth $2 to $3 billion and has beenapproved by the State Department.

• E-commerce giant Amazon has tied up withClearTax to help sellers on their platform. It can make aseamless transition to the GST regime and also help themfile their tax returns with ease.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)has notified Rule 10CB of Section 92CE under the IncomeTax Act, 1961, operationalising provisions of secondaryadjustment.

• SpiceJet has announced on 20th of June2017 to purchase 50 Q400 turboprop aircraft worth $1.7billion (over Rs 10,900 crore) from Bombardier.

• According to Jharkhand Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, a steel plant has come up at Manoharpurin West Singhbhum district on 19th June 2017. TheVedanta group and Jharkhand Mineral DevelopmentCorporation (JSMDC) would jointly set up the plant.

• Online financial services marketplaceBankBazaar has begun its operations in Malaysia tostrengthen its presence in South East Asia. BankBazaarannounced an investment of Rs 5 crore in the Malaysianmarket and an additional Rs 10 crore in its Singaporebusiness.

• Lockheed signs pact with Tata to make F-16planes in India. F-16 production in India supportsthousands of Lockheed Martin and F-16 supplier jobs inthe U.S.

• An incubation centre for biotechnologystart-ups is to be set up at the CSIR-Centre for Cellularand Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, Telangana

• The first 50 MW unit of 100 MW Sainj HydroPower project of Himachal Pradesh Power CorporationLimited (HPPCL) has commissioned with northern gridthrough Parvati-Kol Dam transmission line.

• Reliance Defence inks pact with Serbia'sYugoimport to make ammunition in India and targetbusiness opportunities of Rs 20,000 crore over the next 10years.

• Bengaluru has become the country's firstcity where one can have fuel delivered at one's doorstep.It is similar like the delivery of milk and newspapers. Ithas been annou

• The Commerce & Industry MinisterNirmalaSitharaman has launched the Startup IndiaVirtual Hub. It is an online platform for all stakeholdersof the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to discover,connect and engage with each other.

• The US has cleared the sale of 22 unmannedGuardian drones to India on 23rd of June 2017.The deal,estimated to be worth $2 to $3 billion and has beenapproved by the State Department.

• E-commerce giant Amazon has tied up withClearTax to help sellers on their platform. It can make aseamless transition to the GST regime and also help themfile their tax returns with ease.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)has notified Rule 10CB of Section 92CE under the IncomeTax Act, 1961, operationalising provisions of secondaryadjustment.

• SpiceJet has announced on 20th of June2017 to purchase 50 Q400 turboprop aircraft worth $1.7billion (over Rs 10,900 crore) from Bombardier.

• According to Jharkhand Chief MinisterRaghubar Das, a steel plant has come up at Manoharpurin West Singhbhum district on 19th June 2017. TheVedanta group and Jharkhand Mineral DevelopmentCorporation (JSMDC) would jointly set up the plant.

• Online financial services marketplaceBankBazaar has begun its operations in Malaysia tostrengthen its presence in South East Asia. BankBazaarannounced an investment of Rs 5 crore in the Malaysianmarket and an additional Rs 10 crore in its Singaporebusiness.

• Lockheed signs pact with Tata to make F-16planes in India. F-16 production in India supportsthousands of Lockheed Martin and F-16 supplier jobs inthe U.S.

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• An incubation centre for biotechnologystart-ups is to be set up at the CSIR-Centre for Cellularand Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, Telangana

• The first 50 MW unit of 100 MW Sainj HydroPower project of Himachal Pradesh Power CorporationLimited (HPPCL) has commissioned with northern gridthrough Parvati-Kol Dam transmission line.

• Reliance Defence inks pact with Serbia'sYugoimport to make ammunition in India and targetbusiness opportunities of Rs 20,000 crore over the next 10years.

• The European Union has imposed a fine of2.42 billion-euro ($2.72 billion) on internet giant Googleon 27th of June 2017. The fine has been imposed fortaking advantage of its dominance in online searches todirect customers to its own online shopping business.

• In a bid to ensure authenticity of organicfood, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India(FSSAI) has come out with a draft regulation for organicfood products.The draft regulation mandates thatlabelling of organic foods should convey full and accurateinformation on the organic status of the product.

• India’s drug price regulator, NationalPharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) announcedprovisional ceiling prices for 761 medicines, includingHIV, diabetes, anti-cancer and antibiotic.

• Andhara Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidulaunches the establishment of Micro, Small, MediumEntrepreneurs (MSME) Development Corporation at

Vijayawada with fund of Rs.100 crore on the occasion ofInternational MSME Day.

• On June 27, 2017, Petroleum MinisterDharmendra Pradhan introduced Open AcreageLicensing

Policy (OALP) - a new oil and gas block licensingpolicy and the National Data Repository. The new policyis expected to open up 8 million square kilometres ofsedimentary basins to exploration and productionactivities.

• On June 29,2017 Bharat Heavy ElectricalsLtd (BHEL) has made an agreement with KawasakiHeavy Industries Ltd (KHI) of Japan for manufacturingof stainless steel coaches and bogies for metros.

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ImplementEnergy Efficiency Programmes has Signed MoUwithEnergy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). It isworth of 5.6bn over a period of 3 years and will mark a20-fold growth.

• US Government has decided to sell one C-17transport aircraft to India, which will improve India’scapability to meet current and future strategic airliftrequirements. The proposed sale of C-17 transportaircraft by Boeing at an estimated cost of is USD 366.2million includes one missile Warning System, oneCountermeasures Dispensing System, one IdentificationFriend or Foe (IFF) Transponder and precisionnavigation equipment.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS• National Assessment and Accreditation

Council (NAAC) of India received prestigiousInternational Award of Asia Pacific Quality Network(APQN) titled “APQN Quality Award 2017 forInternational Co-operation in Quality Assurance” on May26, 2017 in Moscow, Russia.

• Indian-American girl Ananya Vinay wins90th Scripps National Spelling Bee competition of US.

• Bengaluru headquartered Bharat EarthMovers Limited (BEML) has won the ‘Raksha Mantri’sAward for Excellence’ under the group award category fordesign and development of 180 tonne class electrichydraulic excavator - BE1800E.

• The Ministry of Rural Development hasselected Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh as one amongthe 17 districts across the nation for the MGNREGAannual award for effective implementation of theMahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act during 2015-16.

• Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar to receiveBharat Gaurav Award by NRI community of USat theUnited Nations Hall, New York. Spiritual leader, Sri SriRavi Shankar, Late Kalpana Chawla (astronaut), Dr.Bindeshwar Pathak (founder of Sulabh International),

Acharya Lokesh Muni are other prominent personalities,who will be conferred Bharat Gaurav Award this yearalong with Madhur Bhandrkar.

• Popular writer Anand Neelakantan, Odiapoet Haraprasad Das (Literary Youth Award) and authorParamita Satpathy (Kalinga Karubaki Award) have beenannounced as winners of this year’s Kalinga LiteraryAwards.

• Adam Zagajewski, one of the mostpre-eminent contemporary Polish poets, novelists andessayists has won Spain's prestigious Princess ofAsturias Award for Literature.

• The Indian Express has got awards in twocategories at the RedInk Awards for Excellence inJournalism. RedInk Awards are hosted by the MumbaiPress Club. The Lifetime Achievement Award waspresented to T N Ninan, Chairman & Editorial Director,Business Standard the Journalist of the Year Awardwent to NDTV India’s Ravish Kumar.

• Veteran Bengali film actor SoumitraChatterjee has been conferred with the highest Frenchcivilian honour, the Legion d'Honneur.

• Kannada poet and playwright H SShivaprakash has honoured with the prestigious

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Kusumagraja Rashtriya Puraskar and Latur-basedMenka Dhumale was presented YCMOUs Baburao Bagulstory writing award for year 2016 for her book "KordaPaus".

• The Pageant for the title of the Queen ofdhwayah 2017 was held in Kerala. Syama

Sanju was declared the Queen of Dhwayah, thewinner at Kerala’s first ever beauty pageant fortransgender women.

• Vivid Sydney breaks the Guinness WorldRecord for maximum number of light installations. It isthe world's largest festival of light, music and ideas.

• The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT),Kanpur awarded the degree to P.T. Usha at its 50thconvocation in Kanpur on 16th of June 2017. The ‘GoldenGirl’ of Indian athletics now became a Doctor of Science.

• Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's"Sultan" is to be screened at the 20th ShanghaiInternational Film Festival. The gala is to be held June17-26, 2017 in Shanghai, China.

• A 12 year old Padmalaya Nanda fromOdisha has created history by becoming the youngest girlto bag the "Little Miss Universe Internet 2017" and"Little Miss Actress" crowns at the Little Miss Universe2017.This is the first time that a 12 young Indian girl haswon this beauty pageant title.

• Water conservation model, ‘Project JalSanchay’ in Nalanda district of Bihar has been selectedfor the national award for excellence in the MahatmaGandhi National Rural Employment GuaranteeProgramme (MGNREGP), by the Ministry of RuralDevelopment.

• NASA has conferred the Exceptional PublicService Medal to Michael A’Hearn. He is one of theworld’s leading comet scientists, posthumously on 12June 2017. He was awarded posthumously at the SmallBodies Assessment Group (SBAG) meeting at theGoddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

• Israeli author David Grossman has won theMan Booker International Prize for his novel "A HorseWalks Into a Bar." The award will split betweenGrossman and translator Jessica Cohen.

• Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC)Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan has been selected for theNanniyode Rajan Memorial Award.

• Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair wonthe Dorothy Arzner Directors Award at the BeverlyHilton Hotel, USA.Mira Nair won for the film Queen ofKatwe at this year’s Women in Film Crystal and LucyAwards.

• The Fifth Bhupen Hazarika National Award2017 is awarded to an eminent writer from ArunachalPradesh Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi.The award has beeninstituted by Sarhad, a Maharashtra-based organisation.

• Anti-hunger activist Ankit Kawatra hasbeen selected for prestigious Queen's Young Leaders

Award with 60 others from all 53 Commonwealthcountries.He will be honoured by Queen Elizabeth II at aceremony to be held in the Buckingham Palace, UK onJune 29, 2017.

• Actress SonamKapoor and herproducer-sister Rhea Kapoor's fashion label Rheson haswon the Compassionate Business Award from the Peoplefor the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)on 22ndJune 2017.

• The International Dublin Literary Awardhas been awarded to the Angolan writer Jose EduardoAgualusa on 21nd of June for his 14th novel, A GeneralTheory of Oblivion. The Dublin Literary Award is theworld's largest prize for a single novel published inEnglish.

• The Sports Journalists Federation of India(SJFI), at its annual general meeting on June 25, 2017,decided to confer the best Sportsperson of the Year awardon Badminton player P V Sindhu and Best Team of theYear award to Indian Junior Hockey Squad.

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik hasconferred the prestigious BijuPatnaik Award forScientific Excellence to Lalit Mohan Das for hisoutstanding contribution to science and research on 23rdof June.

• On June 19, 2017, Ministry of RuralDevelopment conducted an award function in New Delhi,during which it gave away 144 awards to states anddifferent organisations under different categories.

• Sachin Tendulkar's mother-in-law and socialactivist Annabel Mehta, a British national, has beenawarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the BritishEmpire) on 18th of June, 2017

• The 2017 Orwell Prize is the Britain's mostprestigious prize. It is for political writing and wasannounced on 15th June in London. The 2017 OrwellPrize for books was presented to John Bew. It is awardedto a book that comes closest to the George Orwell'sambition "to make political writing into an art".

• Salman Khan's Sultan wins Best ActionMovie at 20th Shanghai International Film Festival

• The West Bengal government has won theprestigious United Nations (UN) Public Service Awardfor the 'KanyashreePrakalpa' initiative aimed to combatchild marriage and ensure education to the girl child inthe state.

• The country's highest literary body theSahitya Akademi award has been presented to twoKonkani literary personalities VincyQuadros andAmeyNaik from Goa. Quadros is being awarded

Sahitya Akademi's BalSahityaPuraskar for his book'JaduchePetul' for children in Konkani.

• NishaDutt has been honoured with the“Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award at the 7th AsianAwards in London. She is a Chief Executive Officer ofHyderabad-based Intellecap.Nisha is the first Indian

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woman leader to have been conferred with thisrecognition.

• Vijaya Bank has received Skoch Awards infollowing 9 categories -- Best Bank in Public Sector; BestBank for NPA Management – Organization Category;Retail Lending; Inclusive Wallet – VPAYQWIK; DigitalInclusion; IT Security; e-Surveillance of ATMs andbranches; and 100 Digital Villages – Financial Inclusion.

• Wipro Chairman Azim Premji honouredwith Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. It considered themost prestigious prize in philanthropy. He has given theaward for his efforts to reform India's public schoolsystem.

• Indian agricultural microbiologistShrihariChandraghatgi has been conferred the Ministryof Environment Award for 2017 in Japan. Chandraghatgiis the President and CEO of EcoCycle Corporation.

• On June 25, 2017, ManushiChhillar fromHaryana won Femina Miss India 2017 title. Sana Duafrom Jammu and Kashmir is the first runner-up and thesecond runner-up is Priyanka Kumari from Bihar. Theevent was held at Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai on June25, 2017.

• Former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillaywill be conferred East Bengal football club's highesthonour that is Bharat Gaurav.

• Uttarakhand has been conferred the awardof excellence at the 2nd Global Skill Development

Summit held in Paris on June 23, 2017. Uttarakhand hasbeen awarded for innovations and extensive use of IT forskilling the state's youth.

• On June 28 2017 Liveris and Godrej werepresented with the prestigious annual award at theUSIBC's annual gala. Godrej Group Chairman AdiGodrej and Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveries bagGlobal Leadership Awards of the US-India BusinessCouncil (USIBC) for their role in integrating India in theglobal supply chain.

• SIERRA ODC building of Coimbatore-basedIT Solutions Company has been recognised as the world’ssecond highest ranking Green Building, with a score of103 out of 110 under Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design (LEED) certification..

• An 11-year-old boy ArnavSharma, who is ofIndian origin, has scored 162 which is higher in an IQ testthan Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

• Astrologer and numerologist TS VineethBhatt has been conferred with the 'Best astrologer of theworld' award at the 'Russian-Indian economic dialogue'round-table meet held in Moscow, Russia.

• Indigenously developed mobile applicationfor digitising vaccine logistics, eVIN, has won theprestigious GSMA Asia Mobile Award 2017 (AMO) on29th June 2017. The ceremony, held during the MobileWorld Congress 2017 in Shanghai.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Appointee Designation

Slovak Foreign MinisterMiroslav Lajcak

President of 72nd session ofthe UN General Assembly.

Ramachandra Guha (stepsdown)

BCCI Administrator

Vinay Dube CEO of Jet AirwaysNirupama Rao Public Policy Fellow to US

Think-TankShaktikanta Das (retires) Economic Affairs SecretaryTapan Ray Economic Affairs SecretaryAleksandar Vucic New President of SerbiaS Ganesh Kumar Executive Director of

Reserve Bank of IndiaParam Jit Mann Ambassador of India to

Republic SloveniaShashi Shekhar Vempati CEO of public broadcaster

Prasar BharatiIndian-origin Leo Varadkar Next Ireland PMBollywood actress Dia Mirza Wildlife Trust of India's

brand ambassador

Sachin Tendulkar NovalDjokovic and DavidBeckham

UNICEF initiative SuperDad highlights the criticalrole played by fathers inchildren’s earlydevelopment.

Justice CS Karnan becomes(retires)

First High Court Judge toretire while absconding

RK Sharma Administrator for SaharaIndia Life Insurance

Reenat Sandhu Head of India's diplomaticmission in Italy.

Girish Wagh CV unit head Tata MotorsGaitri Issar Kumar India's next ambassador to

Belgium.Ajit Vinayak Gupte Ambassador to Denmark.Neeru Chadha First Indian woman member

of ITLOSTCS executive RamanathanRamanan

Head Atal Mission underNITI Aayog

Kajal Singh Executive Vice President inGoods and Services TaxNetwork (GSTN)

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Yuvraj Singh Brand Ambassador ofEazyDiner

Ana Brnabic First openly gay and firstfemale Prime Minister ofSerbia

Sunil Kakar MD and CEO of IDFC BankRam Nath Kovind (resigns) Bihar GovernorKeshri Nath Tripathi Bihar Governor

MuzoonAlmellehan Youngest (19yearold)Goodwill Ambassador

Amitabh Bachchan Ambassador to promoteGoods and Services Tax

Imran Khawaja ICC Deputy Chairman.Indian origin Sikh PalbinderKaur

First turbaned judge inCanada

Jeevandas Narayan Managing director ofManappuram Home Finance

Travis Kalanick (resigns) Uber CEO and Co -Founder.Mohammed Bin Salman Crown Prince of Saudi

ArabiaRajiv Gauba Home SecretaryYudhvir Singh Malik Secretary, Road Transport

and Highways.Subhash C. Garg Secretary of Economic

Affairs.ArunaSundarajan Telecommunications

Secretary.Ajay Prakash Sawhney Electronics and Information

Technology SecretaryAvinash K. Srivastava Consumer Affairs SecretaryJagdish Prasad Meena Secretary, Food Processing

IndustriesRajiv Kapoor Secretary, Chemicals and

Petrochemicals.SanjeevaneeKutty, Secretary, Ex-Servicemen

Welfare in the DefenceMinistry.

Arun Kumar Panda Secretary, Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises,.

Ravi Kant, Secretary in the Ministry ofShipping.

Anand Kumar, Secretary, New andRenewable Energy.

Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Power SecretaryKenneth I Juster America's new ambassador

to IndiaIndian origin doctor KailashChand

Honorary VP of UK medicalbody

Russian Diplomat VladimirVoronkov

Chief of United NationsCounter Terrorism Centre

Dalveer Bhandari Re-nominated Justice as itscandidate for another term asjudge at the InternationalCourt of Justice.

J-K Governor N N Vohra President of IndiaInternational Centre (IIC)

Priyanka Chopra Ambassador forGovernment's Skill Indiacampaign

Mihai Tudose Prime-minister designate inRomania

Kaushik Basu International EconomicAssociation president.

Rajesh V. Shah National Institute of FashionTechnology(NIFT)Chairperson.

Actress VidyaBalan Ambassador of the IndianFilm Festival of Melbourne(IFFM).

Indian American Krishna R.Urs

Ambassador to Peru for US

Shamma Jain Ambassador of India toGreece

SN Subrahmanyan CEO & MD of Larsen &Toubro

K G Karmakar, GauriShankar

Directors of India PostPayments Bank (IPPB)

Hoshiar Singh Chief of Copyrights officeSher Bahadur Deuba Nepal's prime minister for

fourth timeLt Col Raja Chari First Indian American after

Kalpana Chawla to bechosen by NASA for one ofits missions from 18,000applicants at NASA’sJohnson Space Center inHouston.

B K Manjunath Part-time chairman LakshmiVilas Bank

Sushila Karki (retires) First woman Chief Justice ofNepal Supreme Court

Ruchira Kamboj High Commissioner of Indiato the Republic of SouthAfrica

Vikram Limaye MD & CEO of NationalStock Exchange

Preet Gill First female Sikh MP to beelected to the UK's Houses ofParliament

Mukul Rohatgi Country's chief law officer(14th attorney general)

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ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS• Microsoft has acquired Hexadite. It is an

Israeli startup that uses AI to identify and protectagainst attacks. This deal cost $100 million.

• New Deli based telecommunications servicescompany Bharti Airtel has received the merger approvalbetween Airtel and Telenor Communications.fromSecurities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BombayStock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange

(NSE). After merging, Airtel will gets 52.5 million usersfrom Telenor kitty.

• NHB approves merger between DewanHousing group companies Aadhar Housing Finance andDHFL Vysya Housing Finance.

• Amazon is buying USA based Whole Foodsin a deal valued at about $13.7 billion.

SCHEMES• On June 4, 2017, Telangana State

Government launched single-woman pension schemeacross the state, thereby becoming the first state in Indiato launch such scheme. Under this scheme, TelanganaState Govt. will provide 1,000 financial assistance permonth to single women. The beneficiaries would get thepension in their bank accounts every month.

• Tamil Nadu govt signs MoU with AviationMinistry for implementation of UDAN scheme to promoteregional air connectivity.

• On June 6, 2017, Punjab State governmentlaunched the “Chief Minister Scholarship Scheme” withan aim to provide cheaper and quality technicaleducation to the meritorious and poor students of thestate.

• Madhya Pradesh government has launcheda new debt relief scheme “Krishi Rin Samadhan Yojana”

for farmers. The cabinet has allocated Rs 1,000 crore forthe scheme. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan hasannounced a compensation of Rs 1 crore for the kith andthe kin of the dead farmers.

• The Department of Science and Technology(DST) has launched a scheme named 'Visiting AdvancedJoint Research Faculty' (VAJRA) on 22nd of June2017.Under the scheme the broad areas of research likeenergy, health, advance material and others would bepromoted

• The Delhi Development Authority willlaunch its new housing scheme on 30th June. The schemeis being floated under the Pradhan MantriAwasYojana tohelp a large number of people avail subsidy on interest.The cost of the flats varies from Rs 7.5 lakh to Rs 1.44crore, depending on the type and location.

MoUs• The Punjab government and the United

Kingdom join hands for imparting skill training andtechnical education to the students to provide betteremployment opportunities in abroad. Under theagreement, the UK would send skill development expertsto Punjab to impart technical education and skilldevelopment training.

• On June 3, 2017, , the technology GiantSamsung India has signed an Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises (MSME) to open two moretechnical training schools in Bengaluru and Jamshedpur.

• The National Skill DevelopmentCorporation (NSDC) has signed a pact with BirdAcademy to train 35,000 unemployed youth acrossvarious states in the aviation space. The MoU was signedon June 1, 2017 for skilling unemployed youth in theaviation and aerospace sector.

• The Central Industrial Security Force(CISF) and the National Skill Development Corporation(NSDC) has signed a MoU on 5th of June.The MoU aimsat assisting retiring, retired, serving low medicalcategory (LMC) CISF personnel to acquire additional

skills and facilitate their resettlement through a secondcareer.

• Union Cabinet has approved the proposedMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) betweenExport-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) andExport-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) for export creditof USD 9 billion.

• Union Cabinet has given its ex-post factoapproval to the Agreement between India and Cyprus onMerchant Shipping. This agreement was signed in April2017.

• Union Cabinet has approved the bilateralMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) betweenSecurities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) andSecurities and Exchange Organization (SEO), Iran inrelation to mutual cooperation on matters pertaining tosecurities markets.

• Union cabinet has given its approval forsigning and subsequent ratification of the Agreement onTransfer of sentenced persons between India andSomalia.This agreement will facilitate the Indianprisoners imprisoned in Somalia or vice-versa to be nearto their families, for serving remaining part of theirsentence and shall facilitate their social rehabilitation.

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• Cabinet approves Signing of Memorandumof Understanding between Securities and ExchangeBoard of India and European Securities and MarketsAuthority

• Union Cabinet has given its ex-post factoapproval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)between Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India andDirection Nationale De Industries (MLINDI), Republic ofMali on Standardization and Conformity Assessment.

• India and Mauritius has signed a pact toinstitutionalize cooperation between Parliaments of thetwo countries on 10th of June, 2017. The MoU that hassigned on joint framework for parliamentary support andcapacity building is a "visionary step forward".

• India signs Multilateral Agreements atParis, now common tax agreement for all investors. OnJune 7,

2017, more than 100 countries including India,signed the OECD multilateral convention in Paris thataims to curb cross border tax evasion by multinationalcompanies. This multilateral instrument (MI) is anoutcome of the OECD/G20 BEPS project.

• India has signed an agreement withSrilanka to provide fresh assistance of USD 318 millionline of credit for the development of the railway sector inthe country on 7th of June, 2017

• Nepal has signed an agreement with aChinese company to develop a 1,200 MW hydroelectricproject on 5th of June. It is the biggest hydro project inthe landlocked country that could resolve its everlastingpower crisis.

• The Council of Scientific and IndustrialResearch (CSIR) has signed an agreement withEurope-based Metal Industries Development Institute(MIDI) to implement a twinning programme. Thetwinning is one of

the largest programs between a CSIR institute and aforeign entity.

• The Human Resource Developmentdepartment of Sikkim government has signed aMoU withthe British Council on 13th of June, 2017 to enhance thequality of education in the state.

• Union Cabinet has given its ex-post factoapproval to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

between Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfareand the Ministry of Agriculture in the State of Palestineon agriculture cooperation.

• Union Cabinet was apprised about aMemorandum of Understanding which has already beensigned in April 2017, between India and Armenia forcooperation on youth matters.

• Cabinet approves signing of Memorandum ofUnderstanding between India and Bangladesh forpromoting cooperation in the field of InformationTechnology and Electronics.

• The Nalanda University has signed aMemorandum of Understanding with South Korea'sAcademy of Korean Studies for academic cooperation.

• Under the country’s flagship programmeUDAN in the presence of Chief Minister Capt. AmarinderSingh the Punjab government has signed a tripartiteagreement with the Centre and Airports Authority ofIndia(AAI).

The four airports of Bathinda, Ludhiana, Pathankotand Adampur have been connected under the schemethrough five proposals.

• Public sector oil firms IOC, BPCL and HPCLsigned an agreement to jointly set up the world's largestrefinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri districtof Maharashtra. The total cost for setting up this refineryis estimated to be $40 billion.Indian Oil Corp (IOC) willbe the lead partner with 50% stake while HindustanPetroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum CorpLtd (BPCL) will take 25% stake.

• EPFO, a retirement fund body will sign apact with the Housing and Urban Development Corp(HUDCO) on 23rd of July, 2017. The agreement isregarding coverage of EPFO subscribers under thePradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

• Cabinet approves MoU between India andthe Netherlands for bilateral Cooperation in the field ofwater resources management

• Cabinet approves Memorandum ofUnderstanding between India and Portugal onCooperation in the field of Public Administration andGovernance Reforms

• Cabinet approves MoU on cooperation in thetextiles, clothing and fashion sectors between India andAustralia

• Cabinet approves Memorandum ofUnderstanding on cooperation in the peaceful uses ofouter space between India and Armenia

• Cabinet approves Memorandum ofUnderstanding for cooperation in Traditional Systems ofMedicine and Homoeopathy between India and Sri Lanka

• Meghalaya government has signed twoMoUs with the State Bank of India. It is a part of aninitiative towards migrating government transactions todigital mode. The two MoUs are with the State Bank ofIndia for

their SBIePay and SBI CMP facilities• Kalraj Mishra launches Digital MSME

Scheme, exchanges MoUs with SAP India, Intel andHMT. Kalraj Mishra has launched the Digital MSMEScheme, exchanges MoUs with SAP India, Intel and HMTon 27th of June 2017.

• Cabinet approves MoU between India andIsrael on National Campaign for Water Conservation inIndia

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• Cabinet approves signing of a Memorandumof Cooperation between India and the United States ofAmerica on Homeland Security.

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COMMITTEE• On June 12, 2017, Union Home Minister,

Rajnath Singh decided to set up an expert committee toexamine the rules which allows free movement of Indianand Myanmarese citizens within 16 kms of the

border.The committee will be headed by the specialsecretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of HomeAffairs.

• Former Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) head KrishnaswamyKasturirangan has beenappointed by Union Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment to head the committee to draft the NationalEducation Policy.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY• The government launched ‘SPARROW-ITS’

(Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording OnlineWindow) on May 31st 2017. The purpose of above serviceis to enable the Indian Trade Service (ITS) officers to filltheir Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR)online for the year 2016-17 onwards.

• Japan has launched a new satellite on 1stJune 2017 to help build a high-precision geo-locationsystem. It will be complement the US operated GlobalPositioning System (GPS). The rocket carrying theMichibiki No. 2 satellite, H-IIA, was launched from theTanegashima space center in Kagoshima Prefecture,Southern Japan.

• Maharashtra Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis launched a web portal 'Mahaswayam' on May31st 2017. This service will provide to job seekers,employers, entrepreneurs, and training institutes whocan fetch details regarding skill development andemployment.

• National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) will launch Solar Probe missionin year 2018, which will be humanity’s first mission toSun. This mission has been renamed as Parker SolarProbe in honor of astrophysicist Eugene Parker.This isthe first time NASA has named a spacecraft for a livingindividual.

• The National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) is set to launch the world’s firstmission directly into the atmosphere of the sun in 2018.

• Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has said on1st June that the second Scorpene-class submarine isready for surface sea trials. The first Scorpene-classsubmarine INS Kalvari has already undergone varioustrials and is expected to be inducted in the Indian Navylater this year.

• The Union Minister of Road Transport andHighways Nitin Gadkari has launched INAM-Pro + webplatform in New Delhi on 1 June, 2017. INAM-Pro+ is anupgraded version of INAM-Pro.

• Indian Institute of Technology of Kharagpuron 2nd June has developed a wireless technology forremote monitoring of patients.The technology has beendeveloped in the SWAN lab of the Department of

Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) of theinstitute.

• On June 3, 2017, SpaceX successfullylaunched its first recycled supply ship to theInternational Space Station (ISS).SpaceX’s Falcon rocketlifted off carrying Dragon capsule, which was loaded withnearly 6000 pounds of scientific research and stationsupplies.

• On June 5, 2017, Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) successfully launched theGeosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III(GSLV-Mk III) – D1, along with a communicationssatellite GSAT- 19 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre atSriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.

• First university satellite of Mongolia namedafter the Mongolian Gobi bear Mazaalai. It was sent offinto space in the United States on 4th of June, 2017

• TRAI has launched a three apps My Callapp, MySpeed app and Do-not-disturb 2.0 app.It enablessubscribers to rate the quality of a phone call. Theapplication will help mobile phone users rate theirexperience about voice call quality.

• Standing Committee of the National Boardof Wildlife has given clearance for Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO’s) long-range missiletest facility at South Andamans’ Rutland Island.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD)has announced on 6th of June that it is working on aforecasting system that will give 15-day alerts on thelikelihood of a malaria or chikungunya outbreak acrossdifferent regions of the country.

• China has successfully tested a solid-fuelvariable flow ramjet engine that could enhance the realcombat ability of the country's stealth aircraft and boostfiring range of missiles on 6th of June, 2017

• The world's first hybrid "aeroboat" has beenbuilt by an Indo-Russian joint venture was unveiled inMoscow on 6th of June. It is capable of travelling on land,water, snow and sand.It is a start-ups event organised

by Russia's state-run Skolkovo Foundation.• President Pranab Mukherjee has launched

the 'Selfie with Daughter' mobile application on 9th ofJune, 2017. It aimed at raising awareness about femalefoeticide and sex selection.

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• On June 8, 2017, North Korea fired multipleground-to-ship missiles into the waters between Koreaand Japan.The missile launches on June 8, 2017 cameless than a week after the UN expanded sanctions againstNorth Korea in response to ballistic missile tests.

• China has launched a record breakingswarm of 119 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles on11th of June, 2017. The China Electronics TechnologyGroup Corporation (CETC)has said that the feat brokethe previous record of a swarm of 67 drones. China iscurrently the largest maker of drones.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)has been working on a new propulsion system known asthe Electric Propulsion (EP) system that is set to usher ina new era of cost effective satellite launches. Thistechnology was first used as a technology demonstrator inGSAT-9 or the South Asia Satellite launched on May 5,2017.

• On June 15, 2017, NASA’s Orion spacecraft,designed to take astronauts to deep space destinationssuccessfully completed a series of tests for its criticalsafety systems. This week, NASA engineers tested theabort motor for Orion's launch abort system (LAS) withsuccess.

• Scientists have revealed some of the targetsto be observed by James Webb this includes celestialobjects both inside and beyond our solar system. It willobserve Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, as well asTrappist- 1e and the massive space telescope will alsoobserve distant galaxies and asteroids.

• According to monthly analysis of globaltemperatures by NASA scientists , May 2017 was thesecond warmest May in 137 years of modernrecord-keeping.

• The World’s smallest and cheapest privatejet Vision Jet has launched in USA on 12th of June. TheVision Jet can haul five adults up to 1,150 miles at 28,000feet.It’s the only private jet to be built entirely out ofcarbon fiber.

• In Kochi Kochi1 mobile app was launched byKerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to stay connectedto all transport systems.

• A scientist comes up with cost-effective toiletthat weighs less than 500kg and that has a life of 25-30years. It can be made in-situ and even assembled in lessthan five hours. It is one of the prototypes the CSIRChennai has developed.

• The State-run power NTPC has energised150 kWp canal top solar PV System on cooling

water (CW) channel inside power station premises atits 2,320 MW, Mouda Thermal Power Project, nearNagpur in Maharashtra.

• According to the official Xinhua news agencya Long March-4B rocket has carried the 2.5-tonnetelescope into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch

Center in northwest China's Gobi Desert at 11:00 am(3:00 GMT).

The Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT),named Insight, will allow Chinese scientists to observemagnetic fields and the interiors of pulsars and betterunderstand the evolution of black holes.

• The farmers of Telangana will soon be able tosell and purchase cattle online. The state government haslaunched a website to facilitate this service.

• On June 23, 2017, Indian Space ResearchOrganisation’s (ISRO) launched Cartosat-2E satelliteand 30 nano satellites using ISRO’s Polar SatelliteLaunch Vehicle(PSL-C38) from Satish Dhawan SpaceCentre located at Srihrikota in Andhra Pradesh.

• Maharashtra forest minister SudhirMungantiwar has launched a mobile app named ‘MyPlant’ on 23rd of July 2017. The forest department has seta target of planting 4 crore saplings through publicparticipation between July 1 and 7July.

• Shri Piyush Goyal launches POSOCO-IMDWeather Portal for Power Sector & Web Portal ‘MERIT’(Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation ofIncome and Transparency). It has been developed

by Ministry of Power in association with POSOCOand Central Electricity Authority.

• NASA launches world's lightest satellitedesigned by 18-year-old Tamil Nadu student weighing 64grams called Kalamsat. Kalamsat was the only Indianpayload in the NASA mission. The satellite was designedby 18-year-old Tamil Nadu student RifathSharook andhis team.

• ISRO has made Satellite-based chip systemsto alert road users at unmanned level crossings aboutapproaching trains and also help in tracking trainmovement on a real-time basis. On a pilot basis, theMumbai and Guwahati Rajdhani trains will be equippedwith this system.

• NASA's Kepler space telescope has spotted219 new potential planets. Out of which at least 10 arenear-Earth- size with conditions suitable to host life.

• Union minister Harsh Vardhan has praisedIndian scientists' contribution to the world's biggesttelescope on 24th of June 2017. It would enableastronomers to observe the intricacies of the universefrom the comfort of the earth. Hanle in Ladakh was one ofthe sites being explored.

• Chinese scientists have developed world’smost powerful submarine detector which could findhidden metallic objects, including minerals andsubmarines.

• On June 19, 2017, India’s Mars OrbiterMission (MOM), also referred to as Mangalyaan,completed 1000 Earth days in Martian orbit and is still ingood health.The designed mission life of Mangalyaan wassix months

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• Dr.Harshvardhan Launches Mobile App“Celebrating Yoga” to connect people through Yoga forscientific healthy living

• China is planning to send mini-ecosystemswhich contain potato seeds and silkworm eggs – to theMoon in 2018.

• Over the weekend of June 17-18, 2017,National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)engineers, for the first time tested the effectiveness of aflexible solar array on space station that could be used topower satellites and spacecrafts in future.

• SpaceX has successfully launched andlanded the second Falcon 9 rocket in roughly 48 hours. Itgives SpaceX two wins in its “weekend doubleheader.” Itdelivered 10 satellites into orbit for the communicationscompany Iridium.

• The Russian military has successfullytest-fired a submarine-launched intercontinentalballistic missile. The Yuri Dolgoruky nuclear-poweredsubmarine has launched the Bulava missile on 26th 2017.The Yuri Dolgoruky is the first in a series of Borei-classsubmarines carrying the Bulava.

• Scientists have created the brightest lightever produced on the Earth, shining a billion timesstronger than the surface of the sun.

• Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO)’s latest communication satellite GSAT-17 wassuccessfully launched on board Arianespace rocket fromKourou in French Guiana on June 29, 2017.GSAT-17

with a lift- off mass of about 3477 kg carried payloads innormal C-band, extended C-band and S-band to providevarious communication services.

• On June 28, 2017, China's Navy launched itsbiggest new generation destroyer weighing 10,000 tonnesas part of its ambitious plans to become a global navalpower.\

• A new cyber attack similar to WannaCry hashit a terminal operated by AP Moller-Maersk at theJawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). It is to be notedthat JNPT is India’s biggest container port. Owing to theattack, Gateway Terminal India, can’t identify whichshipment belongs to whom.

• NASA has achieved a significant milestonein its effort to make supersonic passenger jet travel overland a real possibility by completing the preliminarydesign review (PDR) of its Quiet Supersonic Transport orQueSST aircraft design. QueSST is the initial designstage of NASA’s planned Low Boom FlightDemonstration (LBFD) experimental airplane, otherwiseknown as an X-plane.

• NASA has launched rocket in 11th attemptto form colorful cloud on 29th of June 2017 of the NASATerrier- Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocketfor the vapor release mission.

• National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)has launched a Web Application for freelegal services toprisoners and the Legal Services Management System.NALSA is entrusted with responsibility to provide legalaid inter-alia to all persons in custody.

DEFENCE• The Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO) on June 2nd successfully test-firedthe indigenously-developed nuclear-capable ballisticPrithvi-II missile in Odisha.The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, wascarried out from a mobile launcher from launchcomplex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) atChandipur near Balasore in Odisha.

• India has successfully test-fired its firstall-weather tracked-chassis Quick ReactionSurface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM) on 4th of June.The testwas carried out for validating various parameters of thesophisticated weapon system to strengthen its air defencesystem.

• Three Indian warships reached to Australiato participate in a week-long naval exercise off the

Western Australian coast. Exercise Australia India(AUSINDEX) is a regular bilateral maritime exercisewhich aimed at developing a deeper understanding andcooperation between the two navies.

• The Defence Research and DevelopmentOrganisation(DRDO) has successfully test firedanti-tank missile 'Nag' in a desert in the western sector ofRajasthan.

• On June 20, 2017, Larsen & Toubro (L&T)announced the launch of a Floating Dock (FDN-2)designed and built for the Indian Navy at the company’sshipyard at Kattupalli, near Chennai.L&T wasmandated by the Ministry of Defence to design and buildthe FDN- 2 for an order value of Rs. 468 Crore.

ENVIRONMENT• As per ‘Animal Discoveries 2016, New

Species and Records’, brought out by the ZoologicalSurvey of India and ‘Plant Discoveries 2016’, by theBotanical Survey of India, 499 new species of animals andplants (313 species of animal and 186 of plants) have beendiscovered from various areas of India last year.

• According to a study published in the journalNature the planet called KELT-9b is hotter than most

stars. KELT-9b is 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter,but only half as dense.

• Scientists have discovered a new species offlying squirrel in North America that had been hiding inplain sight for hundreds of years. It is known asHumboldt's flying squirrel, or Glaucomysoregonensis.The new flying squirrel species inhabits the Pacific Coastregion of North America.

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• The world’s oldest fossil mushroom has beendiscovered in Brazil- dating back to about 115 millionyears. The mushroom has been named GondwanagAricites Magnificus.

• Bengaluru girl, Sahithi Pingali to get planetnamed after her for research, app on lake pollution,crowd- sourced method to monitor pollution in waterbodies.

• NASA’s Opportunity Mars rover isexamining the edge of a crater on the red planet that mayonce have been a lake of liquid water.The Opportunityrover found rocks at the edge of Endeavour Crater thatwere either transported by a flood or eroded in place bywind.

• On June 26, 2017, city mayors from aroundthe world including Washington, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo and

Sydney called on G20 leaders to stick to theircommitments on tackling climate change. G 20 leaderswill gather in Hamburg, Germany on 7th and 8th July,2017.

• China is constructing for the 175 hectare theworld’s first “Forest City “ in Liuzhou and it designed byStefano BoeriArchitetti, a team that develops greenprojects all over the world. Liuzhou Forest City will besituated along the Liujiang River in the northern part ofLiuzhou. This will be planned to complete in 2020.

• A new summer variety of groundnut hasbeen developed by agro-scientists of the UGC-affiliatedChandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture TechnologyUniversity (CSA) at khanpur in Uttarpradesh.

SPORTS• The West Indies team from now on officially,

will also be called as just Windies and not West Indies aspreviously. West Indies Cricket Captain: CarlosBrathwaite

• Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinhadefeated Malaysian player Christian Didier Chin to winthe boys singles title of HCL Asian Junior TennisChampionship held at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati SportsComplex, Mahalunge - Balewadi, in Pune.

• Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer has become thefirst Indian to be nominated as a member of the Umpiresand Referees Committee (URC) by International TableTennis Federation (ITTF).

• B Sai Praneeth beat Indonesian JonatanChristie 17-21, 21-18, 21-19 to win the Thailand GrandPrix Gold on 4th of June.

• On June 4, 2017, Real Madrid retained theUEFA Champions League title (Football Competition) bydefeating Juventus in the final match at Cardiff, UK.Real Madrid has won the UEFA Champions League titlefor a record 12th time.

• Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli(89th Spot) is the only Indian sportsperson to featureamong

the world’s 100 highest paid athletes in the latestForbes list.With a total pay of $ 22 million that includes $3 million from salary and winnings and another 19million from endorsements, Virat Kohli, ranked 89th.The list has been topped by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldowith a total pay of $93 million.

• The three Indian men featured in the top-15of the world rankings released by the Badminton WorldFederation (BWF) on 8th of June 2017. Ajay Jayaram(No.13), Kidambi Srikanth (No.14) and Sai Praneeth(No.15) are the three men who achieved this high.

• Muttiah Muralitharan is the most successfulbowler in Tests and one-day internationals was inductedinto the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 8th of June, 2017.He became the first player from Sri Lanka and the 83rdoverall to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

• Mohun Bagan and Chennaiyin FC strikerJeje Lalpekhlua has been nominated as the '2016 AllIndia Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year.TheJeje Lalpekhlua from Mizoram will be presented a prizeof Rs 2.5 lakh along with a trophy.

• Indian tennis player RamkumarRamanathan has won Raymond Sarmiento of the USA inSingapore.

He wins the USD 15,000 ITF men's Futures tennistitle.

• The International Olympic Committee (IOC)has approved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games,including a number of mixed-gender competitions. Theadditions include a mixed team event for judo.

116th edition of the French Open 2017 –Overview

Category Winner Runners-upMen’s Singles Rafael Nadal

(Spain)Stan Wawrinka(Switzerland)

Women’s Singles Jelena Ostapenko(Latvia)

Simona Halep(Romania)

Men’s Doubles Ryan Harrison(US) & MichaelVenus (NewZealand)

Donald Young(US) & SantiagoGonzalez(Mexico)

Women’s Doubles BethanieMattek-Sands(US) & LucieSafarova (CzechRepublic)

Ashleigh Barty(Australia)&Casey Dellacqua(Australia)

Mixed Doubles GabrielaDabrowski(Canada) & RohanBopanna (India)

Anna-LenaGrönefeld(Germany) &Robert Farah(Colombia)

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• England’s players wonthe U-20 World Cupfinal against Venezuela in Suwon (South Korea) on 11thof June, 2017.. England beat Venezuela 1-0 to win theirfirst Under-20 World Cup title. England won after51-year for a global trophy.

• Vietnam Grand Master Nguyen DucHoa hasbagged a decisive win against Indian GM Neelotpal Dason 10th Mumbai Mayor's Cup International Open ChessTournament on 11th of June, 2017.

• Lewis Hamiltonwon the Canadian GrandPrix for the sixth time on 12th of June.

• India captain Virat Kohli has become thequickest batsman to 8000 runs in one-day internationalcricket.Yuvraj Singh will become the fifth Indian playerto play 300 ODIs at Edgbaston.He has crossed the8000-run mark in his 175th innings.

• According to the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODIPlayer Rankings Indian captain Virat Kohli hasreclaimed the world number one position in the ODIbatting rankings.Josh Hazlewood of Australia achievedthe top spot in the bowlers’ rankings.

• Rafael Nadalmoved up to No. 2 spot in theATP rankings and Novak Djokovic slides from No. 2 toNo. 4 ranking. The top position is retained by AndyMurray. Angelique Kerber retained the No. 1 positionamong women despite losing in the first round itself.

• India's Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu have wonthe gold medal in mixed team 10m air pistol event of theISSF World Cup at Gabala, Azerbaijan on 13th of June2017.

• Shashikant Kutwal has won the gold medalat the 17th World Individual Chess Championship fordifferently- abled on 11th of June. The World ChessChampionship held in Slovakia.

• Dhanya Shah and Sanmay Gandhi have wonthe Under-14 doubles title of the Asian Junior TennisChampionships on 11th of June. Asian Junior TennisChampionships heldat the Balewadi Stadium in Pune.

• According to sources in ICC, the next editionof World T2O will only be held in 2020. The main reasonis the top member nations will be busy with bilateralcommitments in 2018.

• Kolkata likely to host match between RealMadrid and Barcelona legends in the City of Joy in thethird week of September.The proposed match is likely tobe held at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium. Fed er a tion Cup Na tional Se nior

Ath let ics Cham pi on ships- Punjab.

• 21st Federation Cup National SeniorAthletics Championships was held from 1st – 4th June2017 in Patiala, Punjab.

• Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the goldin men's javelin throw (throw of 85.63m) contest on thesecond day of the Federation Cup National SeniorAthletics Championships in Patiala on June 2, 2017.

• Sarita Singh of Uttar Pradesh set a newnational record in the women's hammer throw with aneffort of 65.25m to claim the gold medal at the 21stFederation Cup National Senior Athletics Championshipin Patiala. She also became the first Indian woman tocross the 65m mark.

• Javelin thrower Anu Rani smashed her ownnational record and won the gold medal on the fourth andfinal day of the 21st Federation Cup National SeniorAthletics Championships in Patiala.

• Wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi, whoplayed for New Zealand and having earlier alsorepresented Australia, has announced his retirementfrom the international game on 22nd of June 2017.

• Top Eight teams of the world will becompeting for a winner's prize of USD 660,000 in the ICCWomen's World Cup.It will be held in the UnitedKingdom from June 24 to July 23.

• India cricket coach Anil Kumble has steppeddown from his position on 20th of June.

• Pakistan beat India by 180 runs, wins ICCChampions Trophy 2017 on 18th of July 2017. It was heldin Birminghan, London. The Man of the Match isawarded to Fakhar Zaman. Golden Bat Award for scoring338 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 goes toShikharDhawan.

• The Iranian wrestlers won 7 medals (threegold, two silver and two bronze) and 69 points to win theJunior Asian Championships title. Junior AsianWrestling Championship was held in Taichung, Taiwan,from 15th – 18th June 2017.

India bagged five medals, including a gold in the2017 Asian Junior Wrestling Championships in Taiwan.India's gold came in the women's 51kg freestyle categorythrough Puja. Besides Puja, Sonu clinched a silver medalin the 44kg category while Manu claimed a bronze in the59kg division.

Winners of Indonesia Open 2017:

Category WinnersMen’ Singles KidambiSrikanth (India)Men’s Doubles Li Junhui (China) / Liu

Yuchen (China)Women’s Singles Sayako Sato (Japan)Women’s Doubles Chen Quingchen (China) /

Jia Yifan (China)Mixed Doubles Tontowi Ahmad (Indonesia)

/ Liliyana Natsir (Indonesia)

• International Cricket Council (ICC)conferred Test match status on Ireland and Afghanistan,there by taking the number of test-playing nations to 12.

• Kuldeep Yadav has become first maleChinaman bowler to represent India in One Day

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Internationals (ODI). He made a debut in ODI againstWest Indies on June 23, 2017.

• Professional wrestler Jinder Mahal retainedWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championshipat St Louis, Missouri, US on June 18, 2017.

Jinder won WWE championship by beating RandyOrton at St Louis, Missouri, US on June 18, 2017.

• Indian Wushu team won 6 medals -- twogolds, two silvers and two bronzes -- in the Wushucompetition of the BRICS Games, which concluded onJune 19, 2017, in Guangzhou, China.

• Former Indian powerlifter and South AsianGames gold medal winner, Kavita Devi will become thefirst Indian woman to appear in WWE. It is the first-everWWE tournament for women.

• India shuttler KidambiSrikanth hasdefeated Olympic champion Chen Long to win theAustralia Open Super Series men's singles title on 25th ofJune 2017.

• Indian shooter Anish Bhanwala has won agold medal at the ISSF Junior World Championship inthe 25m Standard Pistol category in Germany on June25, 2017.

• Col Dr Srinivas Gokulnath of Nashik becamethe first Indian to complete solo Race Across

America (RAAM) cycle race of 5,000 kms on 25th ofJune 2017. Srinivas has completed the toughest cyclerace in the world in 11 days and 11 hours in the 18-49 agecategories.

• Yashaswini Singh Deswal of Chandigarhhas won Gold Medal in the Women's 10m Air Pistol at theend of day two of the International Shooting SportFederation (ISSF) Junior World ChampionshipRifle/Pistol, in Suhl, Germany.

• Bhumika Sharma, another Indian hasbecome Miss World in bodybuilding championship on26th of June 2017. The Bodybuilding championship heldin Venice, Italy.

• The fast-rising AnkushDahiya (60kg)clinched a gold medal and L Devendro Singh (52kg) got asilver medal in Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament on

26th of June 2017. The Ulaanbaatar Cup held inMongolia.

• Tennis star Leander Paes has won the AegonIlkley Challenger trophy with Canadian partnerAdilShamasdin on 25th of June 2017. Leander Paes andAdilShamasdin has defeated BrydanKlien and JoeSalisbury.

• India shooters have won a bronze medal inmen's 25m rapid fire pistol team event at the ISSF JuniorWorld Championship Pistol on 26th of June 2017. TheISSF Junior World Championship Pistol held in in Suhl,Germany.

• The Indian men's and women's throwballteams have created history by bagging a gold medal in theWorld Games. It was held at Kathmandu, Nepal and ittook place from June 15 to 18, 2017. The women's teamdefeated arch-rivals Pakistan 15-13, 15-12 to clinch thetitle.

• Roger Federer won ninth Halle Open title bydefeating Alexander Zverev in the final match played atHalle, Germany.

• FIFA is set to shift India's Under-17 WorldCup matches from Mumbai to the Delhi on 28th of June2017. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) initiallywanted Mumbai to host India's home matches.

• Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)announced the formation of a special seven-membercommittee to analyse the few contentious Lodha panelreforms which are being opposed by the Board's stateunits. The committee will be headed by Indian PremierLeague (IPL) chairman Rajeev Shukla, with BCCI actingsecretary Amitabh Chaudhary as its convener.

• Riding on his back-to-back Super Seriestriumphs, India’s top badminton playerKidambiSrikanth broke back into the top-10 at eighth inthe latest World Badminton Rankings released on June29, 2017.

• Wayde Van Niekerk breaks the WorldRecord in 300m at Golden Spike Meet. Wayden VanNiekerk ran 30.81 at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meet inthe Czech Republic to break Michael Johnson’s previousworld record in the 300m of 30.85.

OBITUARY• Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member

from Telangana PalvaiGovardhan Reddy has died on10th of June. He was 80.

• Noted historian, former ICHR chairmanBasudev Chatterji passes away in Guwahati in Assam.

• S S Khaplang, the chairman of banned rebelNaga outfit, National Socialist Council ofNagaland-Khaplang, NSCN (K), died in Myanmar onJune 9, 2017. He was 77.

• Veteran journalist T.S.V. Hari has died onJune 1, 2017. He was 62. Hari was a former IANS Bureau

Chief .He started as a crime reporter and later switchedto political reporting.

• Tamil poet S. Abdul Rahman ‘Kavikko’passes away

• Character actor Shivraj has passed away. Hewas one of the most recognizable faces in the Hindicinema of the 1950s and the 60s.

• Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, atycoon known for his lavish billionaire lifestyle andfar-reaching international connections, has died inLondon at the age of 82.

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• Mehrunnisa Dalwai, wife of prominentMuslim activist and thinker late Hamid Dalwai and theprotagonist of a reformist movement 'MuslimSatyashodhak Mandal', passed away in Pune on June 9,2017. She was 87.

• Juan Goytisolo the winner of Spain'sCervantes prize had died at the age of 86.

• Veteran Tamil politician and formerParliamentarian Era Sezhiyan has passed away on 6th ofJune. He was 95.

• John Avildsen, the Oscar-winning director ofRocky had died on 16th of June in USA.

• Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl,the architect of German reunification, passed away onJune 16, 2017.

• Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, formerPresident of the UN General Assembly, passed away. Hewas born in the United States to a Nicaraguan diplomatwho served in the administration of dictator AnastasioSomoza Garcia.

• Adam West was an actor defined and alsoconstrained by his role in the 1960s series “Batman” haddied on 9th of June in Los Angeles.

• Legendary Telugu poet and writer CNarayana Reddy passed away in Hyderabad on June 12,2017.

• Eminent playwright Ajmer Singh Aulakhpassed away passed away on June 15, 2017, at hisresidence at Mansa town of Punjab.

• Sam Beazley, who played Professor Everardin 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', has passedaway.

• Former Chief Justice of IndiaP N Bhagwatihas passed away in New Delhi on 15th of June 2017.

• Italian fashion legend Carla Fendi dies at 79.• President of Vanuatu Baldwin Lonsdale dies

aged 67.• Veteran Bollywood actor Amrit Pal passes

away in Mumbai.• Swami Atmasthanandaji, president of

Ramakrishna Mission passes away.• Scientist P K Kaw who led thermonuclear

experiments India dies at 69.• Lupin founder and Chairman DeshBandhu

Gupta passes away• Noted Malayalam filmmaker KR Mohanan

passes away• Former Bureaucrat O N Dhar passes away• Swedish actor Michael Nyqvist dies at 56• Legendary Singer Sabita Chowdhury dies at

the age of 72• Former CPI legislator N Gurusamy dead

BOOKS & AUTHORS• 'Beren and Lúthien' new book by 'Lord of the

Rings' author J.R.R. Tolkien has been published, 100years after it was first conceived.

• The book “The Ministry of UtmostHappiness” has been authored by Arundhati Roy, whichwas release on June 5, 2017. It is fiction-based novel andwill be published by Hamish Hamilton UK and PenguinIndia.

• The President of India, Shri PranabMukherjee has received the first copies of book ‘LalanShah Fakir KeGeet’ written by Prof. Muchkund Dubeyand DVD of selected songs of Lalan Shah Fakir on 3rd ofJune 2017 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

• A book titled ‘The Crisis Within’ authored byGanesh Devy was released in June 2017.

• The book "Indira Gandhi - A life in Nature",was launched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at theIndira Gandhi Memorial. The former Union ministerJairam Ramesh, who has authored the book published bySimon & Schuster, presented the first copy of the book tothe Congress President.

• Ex-Uttarakhand CM Pokhriyal authorsbook on Vajpayee ‘Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji’. Hegives credit to Vajpayee for his debut in politics.

• President of India receives first copy of book‘Garuda Purana’ published by All India Kashiraj Trust.He appreciated the efforts made by Dr.AnantNarainSingh and All India Kashiraj Trust (which wasinaugurated by the first President, Dr.Rajendra Prasad)to preserve and propagate our ancient texts.

• Venkaiah Naidu has launched the bookwhich titled The Emergency — Indian Democracy’sDarkest Hour on 24th of June 2017. A book is written bySurya Prakash who is a chairman of PrasharBharati

• Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate anexhibition of art works at Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata.He also received the first copies of two Coffee Table books‘Images and Impressions – Profile and Persona of PranabMukherjee’ and ‘Pranab Mukherjee 100 Frames’ from theGovernor of West Bengal, Shri Keshari Nath Tripathiwho formally released these books

IMPORTANT DAYS• The Global Day of Parents has been observed

on the 1st of June every year. It was first celebrated in2013.

• World Milk Day has been observed on 1st ofJune every year.It is an initiative of the United Nations

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Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The theme ofWorld Milk Day 2017 is Raise a glass for milk.

• International Day of Innocent ChildrenVictims of Aggression was observed across the world on 4June 2017. It focuses on victims of the 1982 Lebanon War.

• World Environment Day (WED) is beingobserved on 5th June to raise global awareness for theprotection of our environment and the planet Earth.Thetheme of 2017 is “Connecting People to Nature”.

• The first World Pest Day was launched herein China on 6th of June, 2017. It aims at reduction andelimination of pest-borne diseases. The inaugural ofWorld Pest Day is initiated by the Chinese Pest ControlAssociation (CPCA).

• World Oceans Day is observed globally onJune 8th of every year to honor, help protect, andconserve the world’s oceans. 2017 theme of world oceanday is "Our Oceans, Our Future".

• UN Russian Language Day is observedannually on June 6. Alexander Pushkin is known as thefather of the modern Russian literary language as well asof modern Russian literature.

• Celebrating Father’s Day on third Sunday ofJune originated from US. After few failed attempts atestablishing a Father’s Day, in 1966, President Lyndon B.Johnson issued the first presidential proclamationhonoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in Juneas Father's Day.

• The World Day to Combat Desertificationand Drought was observed globally on 17 June 2017. TheWorld Day to Combat Desertification and Drought themeis 'Our land Our home Our Future’.

• The ASEAN Dengue Day (ADD) is observedevery year on 15th June. The 2017 ASEAN Dengue Daytheme is United Fight Against Dengue.

• World Day against Child Labour 2017 isobserved globally on 12th of June. The World Day againstChild Labour theme is In conflicts and disasters, protectchildren from child labour.

• The International Albinism Awareness Dayhas been observed on 13th of June 2017.The UnitedNations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in2013 calling for the prevention of attacks anddiscrimination against persons with albinism.

• World Blood Donar Day is observed globallyon 14th of June. World Blood Donor Day 2017, theme isWhat can you do? Give blood. Give now. Give often.

• The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day(WEAAD)observed each year on 15th June. It wasofficially recognized by the United Nations GeneralAssembly.

• The International Day of FamilyRemittances (IDFR) has celebrated on 16 June. The IDFRwas proclaimed by all 176 member states of IFAD'sGoverning Council at its 38th session in February 2015.

• The government has decided to observeanti-Emergency day on 25-26 June, 2017. Thegovernment also asked all its ministers to holdprogrammes across the country to remind people howEmergency was clamped by former Prime Minister IndiraGandhi in 1975.

• The Day of Seafarer (DotS) has observed on25th of June 2017. The theme of Seafarer Day 2017 is"Seafarers Matter".

• The International Widows day is observedon 23rd of June 2017. Theme of International WidowsDay 2017 is"Empowering Women for GreaterAchievements".

• World Public Service day is observed on 23rdof June 2017. The Theme of World Public Service Day2017 is ‘The Future is Now’.

• The International Olymic day is celebratedon 23rd of June 2017. This day was introduced in

1948 to commemorate the birth of the modernOlympic Games on 23 June 1894 at the Sorbonne in Paris.

• World Refugee Day 2017 is celebrated acrossthe world on 20th of June. World Refugee Day 2017theme is “Waterloo Region Celebrates Refugees”.

• 3rd edition of International Yoga Day wascelebrated across India on June 21, 2017 with severalgovernment and private institutions organising yogaevents for the masses.2017 International Yoga Daytheme is 'Yoga for Health'

• The RamamaniIyengar Memorial YogaInstitute of Pune has been selected as the first recipient ofthe Prime Minister's award for outstanding contributionfor promotion and development of yoga 2017.

• World Music Day 2017 not to be confusedwith International Music Day is being celebrated on 21stof June 2017.The theme of World Music Day 2017 isMusicians gather to perform at public place.

• The International Day for the Elimination ofSexual Violence in Conflict is observed on 19th of June2017.The theme of 2017 International Day for theElimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is “PreventingSexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence”.

• The 2017 International Day against DrugAbuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on 26 June2017.The theme of International Day against Drug Abuseand Illicit Trafficking is Listen First - Listening tochildren and youth is the first step to help them growhealthy and safe.

• June 29, is celebrated as National StatisticsDay in India to mark the birth anniversary ofProf.Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, a renowned andeminent statistician.

• United Nations General Assembly adoptedresolution on 14 June 2016, which declared that 29 Juneof each year is to be observed as the International Day ofthe Tropics.

• International Trade Centre (ITC) iscelebrating the first International MSME Day on June27, 2017. The theme of MSME is ‘Small business – bigimpact’

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STATIC GK - June 2017

Russia :Capital: MoscowCurrency: Russian rublePresident: Vladimir Putin

Portugal:Capital: LisbonCurrency: EuroCurrent Prime Minister: Antonio Costa

US:Capital: Washington D.C.Currency: US DollarCurrent President: Donald Trump

Netherlands:Capital: AmsterdamCurrency: EuroCurrent Prime Minister: Mark Rutte

UNHQ : New YorkPresident: Peter Thomson (Fiji)

DenmarkCapital: CopenhagenCurrency: Danish KronPrime Minister: Lars Løkke Rasmussen

Kazakhstan :Capital: AstanaCurrency: Kazakhstani tenge

Montenegro:Capital: PodgoricaCurrency: EuroCurrent President: Filip VujanovicCurrent Prime Minister: Dusko Markovic

QatarCapital: DohaCurrency: RialPrime Minister: Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al

Thani

World Health Organization(WHO):

It was established on April 7, 1948. Headquarters ofWHO is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the Director-Generl-elect of WHO

UK :Capital: LondonCurrency: Pound sterlingPrime minister: Theresa May

Shipping Corporation of India(SCI):

Formation Year: 1950Headquarters: MumbaiCurrent Chairman & Managing Director: AnoopKumar Sharma

Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE):

Bureau of Energy Efficiency is an agency of theGovernment of India, under the Ministry of Power.

It was created in March 2002 under the provisions of2001 Energy Conservation Act.

Headquarters of BEE is located in New Delhi.

China:Capital: BeijingCurrency: RenminbiPresident: Xi Jinping

Panama :Capital : Panama CityPresident: Juan Carlos VarelaVice President: Isabel Saint Malo

AIIB:Headquarters of AIIB is located in Beijing, China.Jin Liqun is the current President of AIIB.

South Korea:Capital: SeoulCurrency: South Korean WonCurrent Prime Minister: Hwang Kyo-ahn

AfghanistanCapital: KabulPresident : Ashraf Ghani

Estonia:Estonia Capital: TallinnEstonia Currency: Euro

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Luxembourg:Capital:Luxumbourg CityCurrency: Euro

Saudi ArabiaCapital: RiyadhCurrency: Riyal

Portugal :Capital: LisbonCurrency: Euro

Australia :Capital: CanberraCurrency: Australian dollar

UNESCO :Headquarters?: ? Paris, FranceFormation?: ?16 November 1945Head?: ?Irina Bokova

GermanyCapital: BerlinCurrency: EuroPresident: Frank-Walter Steinmeier

BritainNational flower of Britain is RoseNational game: cricket

Myanmar:Capital: NaypyidawCurrency: Burmese KyatCurrent President: Htin Kyaw

Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO):

SCO is a political, economic, and militaryorganisation comprising China, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

UNHCRFormed on 14 December 1950Head: Filippo Grandi

G-7:TheGroup of 7 (G7) is a group of seven major

advanced economies viz. United States, United Kingdom,Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Jap an.

Presidency for the year 2017 is held by Italy. Canadawill hold the G7 presidency in 2018.

SEBIFormed: 12th April 1988HQ: Mumbai, MaharashtraCEO: Ajay Tyagi

SBINationalized on 2 June 1956Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaChairman: Arundhati BhattacharyaMD: Dinesh Kumar Khara

ICICI Bank :CEO: Chanda KochharTagline: Hum Hai Na, Khyal ApkaHeadquarters: Mumbai

World Bank:Formation: July 1945Headquarters: Washington, D.C.U.S.President: Jim Yong Kim

Vijaya BankFounded: 1931HQ: Bengaluru IndiaFounder: Sri Attavara Balakrishna ShettyMD & CEO: Dr. Kishore Sansi

HDFC Bank :Headquarters: MumbaiCEO: Aditya Puri

Canara Bank:Formation Year: 1906Headquarters: BengaluruCurrent CEO: Rakesh Sharma

Axis Bank :CEO: Shikha SharmaHeadquarters: Mumbai

Yes Bank:CEO: Rana KapoorHeadquarters: MumbaiTagline: Experience our Expertise.

Central Bank of India:Headquarters: MumbaiTagline: Build A Better Life Around Us

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AIIB :Headquarters?: ?Beijing, ChinaPresident?: ?Jin Liqun

IOBFounded on 10 February 1937Founder: M. Ct. M. Chidambaram ChettyarHeadquarters: Chennai, Tamil NaduMD & CEO: Shri R. Subramania Kumar

IDBI Bank :Headquarters: MumbaiCEO: Mahesh Kumar Jain

DBS Bank :Headquarters: SingaporeCEO: Piyush Gupta

DCB BankHQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra India Founded : 1930Chairman: Nasser Munjee MD& CEO: Murali M.

Natrajan

Afghanistan:Capital: KabulCurrency: Afghan afghaniCurrent President: Ashraf Ghani

Switzerland:Currency: Swiss franc Capital: Bern

BOMFounded: 1935CM&MD: Ravindra Prabhakar MaratheTagline: One Family One Bank

Axis Bank :Headquarters: MumbaiTagline: Badhti ka naam zindagiCEO: Shikha Sharma

NTPC:Headquarters: New Delhi, IndiaCEO: Gurdeep Singh

Malaysia:Capital: Kuala LumpurCurrency: Malaysian ringgits

SerbiaCapital: BelgradeCurrency: Serbian DinarPresident: Aleksandar Vucic

BHEL :Headquarters: New DelhiCEO: Atul Sobti

Georgia:Capital: TbilisiCurrency: Georgian lari

Japan :Capital: TokyoCurrency: Japanese yen

Serbia:Capital: BelgradeCurrency: Dinar

Republic Slovenia :Capital: LjubljanaCurrency: Euro

Ireland :Capital: DublinCurrency: Euro

Nepal :Capital: KathmanduCurrency: Nepalese rupee

Lakshmi Vilas Bank:Headquarters: IndiaCEO: Parthasarathi Mukherjee

South Africa:Capitals: Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria

(executive), Bloemfontein (judicial)Currency: South African RandCurrent President: Jacob Zuma

NSEFounded : 1992HQ: Mumbai

UKCapital : LondonCurrency: Pound Sterling

IRDAIHQ: Hyderabad TelanganaChairman: T.S. Vijayan

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Denmark:Capital: CopenhagenCurrency: Danish krone

IDFCHQ: Mumbai MaharashtraTagline: Banking HatkeFounded on October 2015

Canada :Capital: OttawaCurrency: Canadian dollar

Saudi ArabiaCapital: RiyadhCurrency: Saudi Riyal

RomaniaCapital: BucharestPresident: Klaus LohannisPrime Minister: Sorin GrindeanuCurrency: Romanian Leu

Peru :Capital: LimaCurrency: Sol

GreeceCapital: AthensPM: Alexis TsiprasCurrency: Euro

Microsoft :CEO: Satya NadellaHeadquarters: Redmond, Washington, UnitedStates

Cyprus:Capital: NicosiaCurrency: Euro, Cypriot PoundPresident: Nicos Anastasiades

Iran:Capital: TehranCurrency: Iranian RialPresident: Hassan Rouhani

Somalia:Capital: MogadishuCurrency: Somali Shilling

President: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed

Mali:Capital: BamakoCurrency: West African CFA FrancPrime Minister: Modibo Keita

Mauritius:Capital: Port LouisPresident: Ameenah GuribCurrency : Mauritian Rupee

SrilankaCapital: Sri Jayawardenepura KottePresident: Maithripala SirisenaPrime Minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe

EthiopiaCapital: Addis AbabaPresident: Mulatu TeshomePrime Minister: Hailemariam Desalegn

Palestine :Capital: East JerusalemCurrencies: Israeli new shekel, Egyptian pound,Jordanian dinar

Armenia:Capital: YerevanCurrency: Armenian dramCurrent President: Serzh SargsyanCurrent Prime Minister: Karen Karapetyan

Bangladesh:Capital: DhakaCurrency: Bangladeshi TakaCurrent Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

South Korea :Capital: SeoulCurrency: South Korean won

Israel:Capital: JerusalemCurrency: Israeli new shekelCurrent Prime Minister: Benjamin Netanyahu

Netherlands:Capital: AmsterdamCurrency: EuroCurrent Prime Minister: Mark Rutte

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Portugal:Capital: LisbonCurrency: Euro

Myanmar :Capital: NaypyidawCurrency: Burmese kyat

Mongolia:Capital: UlaanbaatarCurrency: Mongolian tögrög

TRAIFormed: 20 February 1997Headquarters: Mahanagar DoorsancharBhawan,New DelhiChairman: R. S. Sharma

IMDIMD Director General: K.J. RameshFormed: 1875HQ: New Delhi

North Korea:Capital: PyongyangCurrency: North Korean wonSupreme Leader: Kim Jong-un

NTPCFounded on 7 November 1975Chairman & MD: Gurdeep SinghHQ: New Delhi

RussiaCapital: MoscowPresident : Vladimir PutinPM: Dmitry Medvedev

International Table TennisFederation (ITTF) :

President?: ?Thomas WeikertHeadquarters?: ?Lausanne, Switzerland

Badminton World Federation(BWF):

Headquarters?: ?Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaPresident?: ?Poul-Erik Høyer Larsen

ICC:President: Zaheer AbbasHeadquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

AIFFFounded on 23 June 1937.Headquarters?: ?Dwarka Sub CityPresident: Praful Patel

IOC:Headquarters: Lausanne, SwitzerlandFounded: 23 June 1894.

Azerbaijan :Capital: BakuCurrency: Azerbaijani manat

SlovakiaCapital: BratislavaCurrency: Euro

England:Capital: LondonCurrency: Pound sterling

MongoliaCapital: UlaanbaatarCurrency: togrogPresident: Tsakhiagiin ElbegdorjPrime Minister: Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat

FIFAHQ: Zurich SwitzerlandFormation: 21 May 1904President: Gianni Infantino

Italy :Capital: RomeCurrency: Euro

VanuatuCapital: Port VilaCurrency: Vanuatu vatu

World Taekwondo FederationHQ: South Korea

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