03 Jul
IPCI Info

3 July

International News Affairs

  • Canada today celebrated the 150th anniversary of the day it officially became a country and the self-governing dominion of Britain.
    • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau launched the celebrations outside the Parliament.
    • These celebrations were joined by Prince Charles, whose mother and UK’s Queen, Elizabeth II, is Canada’s head of state.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the end of the most recent outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
    • The announcement comes 42 days (two 21-day incubation cycles of the virus) after the last confirmed Ebola patient in the affected Bas-Uélé province of DRC tested negative for the disease for the second time.

National News Affairs

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modiis going to adopt Kakrahia, a village in Varanasi under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
    • Important Points to Note :
    • Kakrahia is known for its wrestlers and wrestling arenas.
    • In the past two years, Modi has adopted Jayapur and Nagepur in his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi.
  • Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s name from the scheme Indira Priyadarshini Puruskar Yojana, given to meritorious girls of Class 10 and 12 from Rajasthan Board, has been removed.
    • From now, this scheme will be called ‘Padmakshi Puruskar Yojana‘, based on the name of Goddess ‘Saraswati’.
  • The Assam government is going to raise a new Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) for better protection of the one-horned rhinos in Assam.
    • The cadre for the force will selected from local youths hailing from the fringe areas of the Kaziranga national park.
  • The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) hastoday  announced that it will waive off the fees for transgender students, in all the courses that it offers.
  • The Goa government has today announced that it is discontinuing the Goa Yuva Samwad Yojana, a scheme through which people between 16 and 30 could avail free voice calls and internet data.
    • The decision was taken as the scheme would have resulted in an annual loss of ₹24 crore for the state government.
    • The scheme was supposed to operate till December 2019.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has appeared for the first time on the country’s currencysince taking office, with his portrait printed on a new 2,000-pound banknote that went into circulation today.
    • The note was delayed “due to the circumstances of the war” which caused Syria’s currency to plunge in value from £47/$ in 2010 to over £200/$ at present.
  • Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major ITC became the 4th Indian company to cross market capitalisation of ₹4 trillion.
    • ITC’s stock gained as much as 9.06% in intraday trade owing to the company’s positive outlook from GST.
    • Important Note : Earlier, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank have achieved this milestone with TCS being the most valued company with market capitalisation of ₹4.64 trillion.
  • Punjab National Bank (PNB)Maestro debit card holders will face card blockage if they fail to replace it with a more secure EMV chip based card by July 31.
    • New replacement cards will be provided free of cost to the customers.
    • Note : Earlier, RBI had directed all banks are to migrate to EMV chip based cards by December 31, 2018.
  • National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE), India’s first demutualised online national multi-commodities exchange will merge with Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX).
    • The merged entity will create India’s third biggest commodity exchange.
    • Important Note: The largest commodity exchange by volume is the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) followed by National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).

Awards & Honours

  • The CISF security cover at the Delhi Airport has been rated the best service in the world by quality rating agency World Quality Congress (WQC).
    • The WQC will hand over the award to CISF later this week in Mumbai.

Science & Technology

  • India successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air short range Missile (QR-SAM).
    • This was the second successful developmental trial of the state-of-the-art missile with an aerial target.
    • The first test launch of the missile was conducted in June 2017.
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developingDouble Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), the first-ever mission that will deflect a near-Earth asteroid.
    • The mission will help to test the systems that will allow mankind to protect the planet from potential cosmic body impacts in the future.

MOUs & Agreements

  • French oil and gas companyTotal S.A has signed an agreement of $4.8-billion (over ₹31,000 crore) with Iran to develop one of the world’s largest natural gas fields, Iran’s oil ministry announced today.
    • This is Iran’s biggest foreign deal since sanctions were eased last year.
    • The deal is to develop a gas field in Persian Gulf alongside China’s CNPC and Iran’s Petropars.

New Appointments

  • Syndicate Bank has today appointed Melwyn Rego as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD).
    • Rego, who assumed charge on July 1, was previously the Chief Executive Officer of Bank of India.
  • Serbian Parliament today elected Ana Brnabic as the country’s Prime Minister.
    • With this, Ana became Serbia’s first female and first openly gay Prime Minister.
  • Carrie Lam was sworn in as the 1st female Chief Executive (CE) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR),an autonomous territory of China on the Pearl River Delta.
    • The CE of Hong Kong is the head and representative of the Hong Kong and also head of the Government of Hong Kong.

Current Sports Affairs

  • Mumbai-based 18-year-old racing driver Jehan Daruvala has become the 1st Indian to win the FIA Formula 3 European Championship after winning the third race at the Nuremberg circuit today.
  • Four-time FIFA World Cup winner Germany won it’s maiden FIFA Confederation Cup Football title by defeating Copa America Champion Chile by 1-0 goals in the final match held at St Petersburg, Russia.
02 Jul
IPCI Info

2 July

International News Affairs

  • Today (2nd July) isWorld Sports Jounalists Day.
    • This day was established by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) in 1994 to mark the 70th Anniversary of it’s foundation.
  • TheUK Parliament has scrapped a requirement for male lawmakers to wear ties and jackets in the House of Commons, breaking a long-standing tradition requiring the MPs to wear ties as a part of rules governing conduct and courtesy.

 

National News Affairs

  • The Union Ministry of Science & Technology has launchedNational Biopharma Mission, a first ever Industry-Academia mission to accelerate biopharmaceutical development in India.
    • Under this mission, the ministry alsolaunched Innovate in India (i3)program to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in the sector.
  • Uttarakhandtoday banned begging, making it one of the twenty states and two union territories to have banned the practice.
    • Following a High Court order, the state issued the notification that gives the police right to arrest people begging on the streets.
  • The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inauguratedTextiles India 2017 India’s first ever mega textiles trade fair at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
    • The 3-day fair will showcase the nation as a global sourcing hub and investment destination for manufacturers world-wide.
  • The Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension has launched a new training programme titled Comprehensive Online Modified Modules on Induction Training (COMMIT) for State Government officials.
    • Objective of COMMIT: To improve the public service delivery mechanism and provide citizen centric administration through capacity building of officials who interact with the citizens on day-to-day basis.
  • Mizoram recently celebrated the 31st anniversary of the signing of the historicMizo peace accord.
    • This Accord was signed by the Mizo National Front (MNF) leader Laldenga, Mizoram Chief Secretary Lalkhama, and Union Home Secretary R D Pradhan.
    • The accord ushered in an era of peace after 20 years of violence and disturbance that hampered Mizoram.

 

New Appointments

  • Senior IPS officerR K Pachnanda took charge as the new Director General of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). 
    • Important Points to Note:
      • With this, he became the 29th Chief of the ITBP.
      • With this appointment Pachnanda became theonly IPS officer who has served in all the major central paramilitary forces and agencies – CRPF, CISF, BSF, NDRF, SPG, CBI and now the
    • Hong Kong’s new leader,Carrie Lam, was sworn in today by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a formal ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover of the territory to China by Britain.
      • Note: With this, she became Hong Kong’s first female chief executive.

About Hong Kong

♦ Government: Multi­party system

♦ Chief Executive: Carrie Lam

♦ Chief Secretary: Matthew Cheung

  • Achal Kumar Jyoti is India’s new Chief Election Commissioner
    • Election Commissioner Achal Kumar Jyoti will take charge as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India after current CEC Nasim Zaidi retires on July 6, 2017. Nasim Zaidi had taken over as the 20th CEC of India on April 19, 2015.
    • He assumed charge as Election Commissioner on May 13, 2015.
    • An Election Commissioner or a Chief Election Commissioner has tenure of six years in office or till he or she attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • Mumbai’s ‘Vikrikar Bhavan‘ was today renamed as ‘GST Bhavan‘ after the Goods and Services Tax regime was rolled out last night.
    • ‘Vikrikar Bhavan’ is the headquarters of Maharashtra government’s erstwhile Sales Tax department.
  • Indian Railwaysis set to introduce ‘Economy AC coaches‘ in trains which will have fares lower than the existing third AC class.
    • The trains with the new proposed three-tier class will be fully air-conditioned, and have the existing AC-3, AC-2 and AC-1 classes also.

 

MOUs & Agreements

  • Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA)an arm of the Indian Railways for commercial exploitation of rail land has inked MoU with National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for redevelopment of 10 railway stations across the country on global standards.
    • The identified stations to be taken up initially by NBCC, a PSU of Urban Development Ministry for redevelopment areTirupati, Nellore, Puducherry, Sarai Rohilla (Delhi), Madgaon, Lucknow, Gomtinagar, Kota, Thane (New)and Ernakulam.
    • The MoU was signed in presence of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain.
01 Jul
IPCI Info

1 July

International News Affairs

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin today signed a decree extending the embargo imposed on food products from the EU and other Western countries until the end of 2018.
    • The move comes days after the European Union formally rolled out fresh economic sanctions against Russia.

National News Affairs

  • Today (1st July 2017 is National Doctors’ Day.
    • This day is observed in India to honour the contributions of Bharat Ratna  Bidhan Chandra Roy(1st July 1882 – 1st July 1962), former West Bengal Chief Minister who was also a physician.
    • He is remembered till date for actively involving himself in starting many institutions, hospitals and was fully dedicated to the upliftment of Indian society.
    • First Doctor’s Day was celebrated in 1991.
  • India’s tallest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Delhi Airport is going to start operations by December, Airports Authority of India Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra announced today.
    • The new 101.9-metre tower, which will give controllers a 360-degree view of the airport, is the seventh tallest ATC tower in the world.
    • It has been built at a cost of ₹350 crore.

Awards & Honours

  • IPS officer Mahesh Bhagwat has been given the US government’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Hero award for his 13 year-long fight against human trafficking.
  • ‘A Billion Colour Story‘, co-produced by Bollywood actor Satish Kaushik and directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy won the Audience Award at the 2017 London Indian Film Festival.
  • Technology major Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen and former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy are the two Indian-Americans among 38 individuals who will be honoured with the Great Immigrants award in the US this year.

Science & Technology

  • Jio today announced the launch of the 25,000-kilometre Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable system.
    • Jio claimed it is the longest technology-based 100 Gbps (gigabits per second) submarine cable system in the world, stretching from France to Hong Kong with 21 cable landings across Asia and Europe.

 

People in News

  • Shyam Saran Negi, independent India’s first-ever voter, turns 100 years old today.
    • Negi, who belongs to Chini village in present day Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, was the first to cast his vote in the country’s first-ever general elections held in 1951.

 

New Appointments

  • Senior lawyer KK Venugopal has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India.
    • He is going to replace Mukul Rohatgi.
    • About Attorney General of India :
      • India’s Attorney General is the first law officer of the government and acts as a top advocate for the Union Government.
      • He needs to give advice to the President and the Centre on legal matters.
      • An Attorney General has the right to speak and attend the proceedings of the Parliament, however, he/she cannot vote in the committee.

Obituary

  • Actor Minaketan Das(56), known for his roles in Odia films and television series, passed away.
    • Known for playing negative roles, ‘Balunga Toka’, ‘Jianta Bhuta’ and ‘Most Wanted’ were among Minaketan’s popular films.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • The government today launched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, effective from July 1, 2017.
    • The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first proposed 17 years ago, when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed a GST committee.
    • In the making since 2000 and claimed to be the biggest tax reform since Independence, the GST will be a unified indirect tax structure across the country.
    • The GST Council has come out with a four-rate structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
    • The maximum GST rate slab of 28% is the highest among more than 140 countries across the world that have implemented GST.
      • Argentina has the second-highest GST rate of 27%, whereas the rate stands at 20% in the UK, 20% in France and 7% in Singapore.
    • The Financial Stability Report released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said the ongoing initiatives like GST will push the economic growth to 3% in the current fiscal year in terms of gross value added (GVA).
      • Further, reforms in FDI, real estate, and revival in external demand are likely to contribute to a better growth, the report said.
    • Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is set to become the largest shareholder of Bank of Americasurpassing Vanguard Group by exercising its warrants to buy 700 million common shares.

Sports Current News

  • MS Dhoni has become India’s fourth highest run scorer in ODIs, after reaching the 15-run mark in the second ODI against Windies.
    • Top 5 in the list
      • Sachin Tendulkar – 18426 Runs
      • Sourav Ganguly – 11363 Runs
      • Rahul Dravid – 10889 Runs
      • Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 9442 Runs
      • Mohammad Azharuddin – 9378
30 Jun
IPCI Info

30 June

International News Affairs

  • Germanylegalised same-sex marriage today, with 393 parliamentarians voting to approve “marriage for everybody” and 226 voting against.
    • The reform gives gay and lesbian couples full marital rights, including child adoption.

National News Affairs

  • Railways authorities have officially changed the name ofMumbai’s biggest station from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
    • The Centre approved the change last month after the Shiv Sena demanded the addition of ‘Maharaj’ as a sign of respect to the Maratha king.

Places in News

  • TheUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named UAE’s Sharjah as the World Book Capital for 2019.
    • Note: Sharjah, the 19th city to be named World Book Capital, has previously been named Capital of Islamic Culture and Capital of Arab Culture.

Awards & Honours

  • An anti-hunger activist,Ankit Kawatra, has been awarded the Queen’s Young Leaders Award for 2017 by Queen Elizabeth II at a ceremony in London’s Buckingham Palace.
    • The 25-year-old is thefounder of Feeding India, an organisation that aims to eradicate hunger and food wastage in India.
  • Arnav Sharma, an 11-year-old Indian-origin boy in the UK has secured thetop possible score of 162 on a Mensa IQ test, two points higher than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

New Appointments

  • S. President Donald Trump has appointed an Indian-American namedKrishna R Urs as the new US Ambassador to Peru.
  • ShuttlerPV Sindhu will be appointed as a revenue divisional officer in Andhra Pradesh, after the AP State Public Service Commission approved her appointment.
    • Last month, the state legislature had passed a Bill amending an Act to appoint Sindhu as an officer in the government.
  • Saurashtra Cricket Association’s former chiefNiranjan Shah has been added as an invitee to BCCI’s Special Committee.
    • The committee was instituted to overlook the implementation of the Lodha Panel reforms, as ordered by the Supreme Court.
    • The eight-member committee’s first meeting will be held in Delhi on July 1, with Supreme Court’s hearing on the matter scheduled for July 14.

Obituary

  • SingerSabita Chowdhury (72) passed away. 
    • She is the wife of late music composer Salil Chowdhury.
    • She was known for her Bengali songs like ‘Jaare jaa jaa mono paakhi’, ‘Oi jhilmil jhauer boney’, among others.

Science & Technology

  • TheJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has revealed plans to send its first astronaut to the Moon by 2030.
    • The announcement comes as India and China develop their indigenous space programmes.
  • Facebook’s drone ‘Aquila‘, asolar-powered drone to bring the internet to rural places, completed its second successful test flight in the Arizona desert.
  • TheNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully launched Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket that created colourful artificial clouds visible in the skies of the US.
    • The rocket was launched from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) today announced thatJuly 1st will be known as ‘GST Day’.
    • It will be celebrated in all offices of CBEC just like in case ofCentral Excise Day and International Customs Day, the board said.
    • This comes ahead of the launch of GST, which is scheduled for July 1.
    • The GST launch event will start today at 11 pm at the Parliament House.
    • This event will start with the national anthem, followed by remarks by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
    • It will be followed by an address by the Prime Minister and the President, after which GST will be launched.
  • The government hasprohibited dual maximum retail price (MRP) for same products including soft drinks and water bottles at multiplexes, airports, and malls.
    • Further, it has also made it mandatory for all packaged commodities to have increased font size for “best before” and “date of manufacturing”, among others.
    • These amendments will be effective from January 1, 2018.

The Malaysian Ringgit became the strongest Asian currency this quarter by climbing twice as much as the Chinese Yuan, according to Bloomberg.

29 Jun
IPCI Info

29 June

International News Affairs

  • India has voluntarily contributed $100,000to a UN fund to help developing countries actively participate in the discussion of tax issues.
    • Important Note: With this, India has become the first country to voluntarily contribute.
  • Iraqi government troops today declared an end of Islamic State’s ‘caliphate’ in the country after recapturing the Grand al-Nuri Mosque where the militants proclaimed the creation of their state.
  • PM Narendra Modi will become the 1st Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel with his three-day visit to the country starting 4th July 2017.
    • During this visit, Modi will meet his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and address the Indian community in Tel Aviv.
    • Modi’s visit is aimed at commemorating 25 years of diplomatic ties between India and Israel.
  • The Philippines‘ parliament today passed a law where singing the national anthem shall be “mandatory and must be done with fervour”.
    • Violators of the law could face up to one year in prison and fines up to $2,000.
  • The United States has dropped Iraq and Myanmar from a list of the world’s worst offenders in the use of child soldiers, despite multiple reports of continuous usage of children in armies and militias in the two countries.
    • Under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act, US must be sure that no children are in any way compelled to serve as soldiers.
  • North Korea has issued a standing order for the execution of South Korea’s former President Park Geun-Hyeover reports that Park had planned to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

 

National News Affairs

  • Today (29th June) is National Statistics Day.
    • This day is organised by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
    • This day commemorates the birth anniversary of Indian Bengali scientist and applied statistician, Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis.
    • He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure.
    • Important Note: This year observes 125th birth anniversary Mahalanobis.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the centenary celebrations of Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmadabad.
  • The Election Commission announced today that elections for the post of Vice-President will be held on August 5, and the counting will also take place on the same day.
  • The Indian Army has received itsfirst batch of modern bullet-proof helmets, two decades after initiating the process.
    • The ballistic helmets can withstand impact of ammunition fired from short range, meeting the global standard for protection among leading armed forces.
    • They provide all-round protection from head injuries, as opposed to the previous ones that protected only the forehead and the back.
  • The Election Commission of India has joined hands with the social networking giant Facebook to launch nationwide voter registration reminderaimed at reminding eligible Indian voters to register themselves on the electoral rolls.
    • As a part of the initiative, Facebook will activate a unique ‘Register Now’ buttonreminding all the eligible Indian users to enrol themselves as voters.
  • Bollywood Actress Preity Zinta has launched Kavach Safety, an emergency response service for women.
    • The “pro victim-anti perpetrator” service assures safety at the press of a button by helping in preventing incidents and assisting victims through medical services and trauma support.
  • The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has launched a web application for free Legal Services to Prisoners at the conference held at Indian Law Institute, New Delhi.
    • This system has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
  • Odisha is set to become the first state in the country to open a blood bank for cattle.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • Government issues notification for roll out of Goods and Services Tax, GST from Saturday.
    • To launch GST, the government has organised a special programme to be held in Central Hall of Parliament in the midnight of June 30th.
    • The event will see the participation of President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other Ministers and bureaucrats.
  • TheReserve Bank of India (RBI) has started printing currency notes of ₹200 denomination, the third denomination notes to be printed after demonetisation.
    • The new notes with advanced security features are unlikely to be circulated through ATM machines to avoid recalibration of machines.
    • Note: The proposal to issue ₹200 banknotes was cleared by the RBI in March.
  • The government has given in-principle approval for the disinvestment of state-run carrier Air India, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced today.
    • He further announced that a body will be set up to finalise modalities and details for disinvestment of Air India.
    • Note: Currently, Air India has a debt of over ₹50,000 crore and is surviving on a taxpayer bailout.
  • The Union Cabinet today approved the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commissionfor higher allowances, including house rent allowance (HRA).
    • The move will benefit more than 50 lakh serving and retired central government employees.

 

Science & Technology

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) GSAT-17satellite was successfully launched today aboard French rocket Ariane 5, making it the third satellite launch in a month.
    • The 3,477-kg satellite is carrying payloads for communication services, apart from equipment for meteorological data relay.
    • The other launches this month were with PSLV C-38 and India’s heaviest rocket GSLV Mk III.
  • Apple launched it’s first-ever iPhone on this day (29th June) in the year 2007, after being introduced by Steve Jobs in January that year.
    • The iPhone was among the world’s first consumer devices with a multi-finger touch interface and was claimed to be “five years ahead of any other mobile phone”.
    • Note: Fifteen iPhone models have been launched since then, with iPhone 7 being the latest.

 

 Current Sports Affairs

  • The Federation International de Football Association (FIFA) is set to shift India’s Under-17 World Cup matches from Mumbai to Delhi on request of India’s sports ministry.
    • Note: The first-ever FIFA event in India will be held across six cities from October 6.
28 Jun
IPCI Info

28 June

International News Affairs

  • To combat rising pollution and climate change, China has officially started building the world’s first ‘Forest City’.
    • The Liuzhou Forest Cityis expected to absorb nearly 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and produce 900 tonnes of oxygen.
    • Set to be completed in 2020, the energy self-sufficient city will house 30,000 people, 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants.
  • US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed the support of the United States for India’s permanent membership on a reformed UN Security Council. 
    • The remarks were made following Modi and Trump’s meeting at the White House.
  • India is drafting a policy to safeguard its interests in Antarcticaand is going to present it at the winter session of the Parliament.
    • Note: Being a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty, it is important for India to have clear directives to guide its activities in the region.

MOUs & Agreements

  • India and the Netherlands have signed 3 MOUs after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.
    • The signed MOUS are :
      • MOU on Amending Social Security Arrangement
      • MOU on Cultural Cooperation
      • MOU on Water Cooperation

National News Affairs

  • In a bid to cut down air pollution in the area, Amritsar’s Golden Temple will now use solar energy to prepare ‘langar’instead of LPG and wooden sticks. T
    • Note: This is the Temple’s second eco-friendly move, after starting organic farming for grains.

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • E-commerce major Flipkart has debuted on MIT Technology Review’s 50 Smartest Companies list for 2017.
    • Important Note : Flipkart is the only Indian company on the list.
  • The World Bank has cleared a $250-million (over ₹1,610 crore) loan for making Indians more employable through re-skilling, under the government’s Skill India mission.
    • The programme is targetted at people between 15-59 years of age who are underemployed and unemployed.
    • It also mandates the provision of entrepreneurship opportunities to women and to increase their exposure to skill training.
  • Internet search giant Google was hit with a record $2.7 billion fineby European Union regulators for illegally favouring its shopping service in search results.
    • This is the biggest fine for a company in an EU antitrust case.

People in News

  • Brazilian prosecutors today filed corruption charges against President Michel Temer, accusing him of receiving over ₹97 lakh in bribes.
    • Note: Termer is the Brazil’s first serving leader to face a criminal trial.

New Appointments

  • Kaushik Basu has taken over as President of the International Economic Association (IEA).
    • He will serve a three-year term as the President.
  • Bollywood Actress Vidya Balan has been named the Ambassador of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
    • The festival, which will be held from August 10 to August 22, will showcase over 60 films.
  • Dr Manoj Soni has taken Oath of Office and Secrecy as a Member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

Science & Technology News

  • A month after WannaCry attacked systems worldwide, a new ransomware called ‘Petya‘ has hit computers in countries like Ukraine, Russia, India, and US.
    • Petya differs from typical ransomware as it doesn’t just encrypt files; it also overwrites and encrypts the information in hard disks.
    • According to a cyber security expert, the Petya ransomware attack infected as many as 5,000 systems within 10 minutes initially.
    • Petya is based on the same Windows exploit as WannaCry, but uses a strengthened method to spread itself.
    • Operations at one of the terminals of Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port, India’s largest container port, were disrupted by this ransomware, marking the first reported case of the ransomware in India.

Obituary News

  • Mustafa Dossa, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, died of a heart attack today in Mumbai,.
    • This comes a day after the CBI sought capital punishment for Dossa, claiming that his role in the blasts was more severe than that of hanged convict Yakub Memon.

 

Recent Committees in News

  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has constituted a special 7-member committee to analyse the few contentious Lodha panel reformswhich are being opposed by the state units.
    • Head of this Committee : Rajeev Shukla
    • Members :
      • Sourav Ganguly
      • C. Mathew
      • Naba Bhattacharjee
      • Jay Shah
      • Anirudh Chaudhary
      • Amitabh Choudhary

Current Sports News

  • Indian origin cricketer (Telangana) Sindhuja Reddy is set to be a part of the USA women’s cricket team in the World Twenty20 Qualifiers in Scotland.
  • Kerala’s traditional snake boat racing, which is held during Onam, is set to become an IPL-like league-based sport with the inaugural edition of the Kerala Boat Race League scheduled to start in August this year.
    • The league, comprising nine races, will feature snake boats, which are usually 100-foot long and require around a hundred rowers to ride.
27 Jun
IPCI Info

27 June

International News Affairs

  • PM Narendra Modi, during his recent visit to Portugal, launched the India-Portugal International Startup Hub with his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa.
    • It will strengthen the connection between the startup ecosystem of the two countries and will be accessible through an app.
    • It will also give information on subjects including government initiatives, policy, tax system and visa process.
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi had One-on-One and delegation level talks with US President Donald Trump.
    • Bilateral cooperation, counter-terrorism and defence partnership were the focused issues.
    • In a joint statement issued after their meeting, both leaders “called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks on other countries.”
    • They also called on Pakistan to “expeditiously” bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 and Pathankot attacks, among other cross-border attacks.
    • Trump has accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India.
    • Modi separately invited Trump’s daughter Ivanka to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in India.
  • UK PM Theresa May has signed a ‘confidence and supply’ deal with the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party, allowing her to officially form a minority government.
    • The deal, which came after over two weeks of talks, is worth over £1 billion.
    • It will reportedly deliver tangible benefits for Northern Ireland in terms of jobs and investment in health and education.
  • The United States is going to declare China as one among the world’s worst offenders on human trafficking in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
    • The declaration would place China in the same category as North Korea, Zimbabwe and Syria.

 

People in News

  • Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been released from prison on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.
    • He was arrested in 2008 for penning a pro-democracy manifesto calling for an end to one-party rule and improvements in human rights.
  • Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, the United States designated Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’.
    • Threatening to turn the Kashmir Valley “into a graveyard for Indian forces”, Salahuddin had earlier vowed to block any peaceful resolution to the Kashmir conflict.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • India is going to shift to a January to December financial year from 2018, thereby ending the 150-year-old tradition of an April to March fiscal.
    • Accordingly, the next Union Budget could be presented by the Narendra Modi-led government in November this year.
  • The World Bank has cleared a USD 250-million loan to aid the Skill India mission.
    • The loan amount would be used for making Indian youth more employable through reskilling.

 

Recent Committees in News

  • The HRD ministry has constituted a 9-member panel to frame a new National Education Policy (NEP).
    • This committee consists chosen experts and educationists from wide-ranging backgrounds.
    • Head of this Committee : K Kasturirangan  (space scientist)

New Appointments

  • Canadian soldier Megan Couto has become the first female officer to captain troops guarding UK’s Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in 180 years.
  • Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has appointed outgoing economy minister Mihai Tudoseas Prime Minister.

 

Current Sports News

  • Indian Men’s and Women’s throw ball teams won Gold at the World Games in Kathmandu.
    • Note: This was the first time that the Indian teams had participated in World Games, which took place from June 15 to 18.
  • Indian shooters Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Anish Bhanwala has bagged gold in the Women’s 10m Air Pistol and Men’s 25m Standard Pistol competition respectively in the ISSF Junior World Championship held in Germany.
26 Jun
IPCI Info

26 June

International  News Affairs

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump to have One-on-One and delegation level talks in Washington tonight.
    • Focus to be on bilateral cooperation, counter-terrorism and defence partnership.
    • Note: This will be the first meeting between the two leaders.
  • On the last leg of his three-nation tour, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit The Netherlands 
    • During this visit, he will meet Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
    • The discussions between both leaders will cover whole gamut of bilateral issues including investments & trade, scientific & technical collaborations, and cultural exchanges.
  • The Indian government has increased the visa fee for the foreign nationals visiting India by up to 50% across categories.

 

National  News Affairs

  • Eid-ul-Fitr celebrated with religious fervour and enthusiasm in various parts of the country.
  • India is going to build the world’s highest railway line connecting Leh in Jammu & Kashmirto parts of Himachal Pradesh including Manali.
    • Important Points to Note :
      • The 498-km-long line, to be built at an altitude of 3,300 metres will overtake the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
      • It will also help boost India’s defence against China at the Sino-Indian border.
    • Delhi Metro Rail Corporation‘s first automated driverless metro trains are set to start operations from October this year on new Magenta Line from Janakpuri West to Botanical Garden.
    • About 88 square km of land, almost the size of New Delhi, will be needed for waste disposal at landfills by 2050, according to a joint report by Assocham and PwC.
      • The study further recommended that the country’s waste management sector be given industry status to ensure that it is regulated and monitored.
    • The annual Rath Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath began on Sunday in Odisha’s Puri.
      • The 5000-year-old festival marks the return of Lord Jagannath to Vrindavan with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra to the temple of Devi Gundicha, their aunt.

 

Awards & Honours

  • Miss Haryana Manushi Chhillar was crowned as the 54th Femina Miss India World 2017 
    • Miss Jammu & Kashmir Sana Dua was crowned the first runner-up while Miss Bihar Priyanka Kumari was crowned the second runner-up.

Science & Technology

  • Elon Musk-led startup SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched 10 communication satellites into orbit.
    • The satellites belonged to American company Iridium Communications, which is replacing its orbiting fleet with next-generation satellites.
    • The rocket’s 14-storey-high core that contains the main engines and most of the fuel landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Banking, Business & Economic News

  • India’s holdings in American government securities increased by $7 billion in April to reach $124.1 billion, the highest level since July 2016.
    • Important Points to Note :
    • Among the BRICS nations, India had the third largest exposure to the US government securities after China and Brazil.
    • Japan had the maximum holding of $1.106 trillion at the end of April.
  • Italy has decided to wind up two failing regional banks at a cost of up to $19 billion in its biggest rescue plan.
    • The “good” assets of the two lenders will be purchased by the country’s largest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo for €1 (₹72).
    • Note : Last year, Italy had set-up a $22 billion fund to support its struggling banking sector.
  • Public sector banks cannot be held responsible in case of theft of valuables from lockers, RBI declared today.
    • Banks have contended that the relationship they have with customers with regard to lockers is that of a lessee (landlord) and lessor (tenant), in which lessors are responsible for their valuables kept in lockers owned by banks.

Obituary

  • Dr Desh Bandhu Gupta(79), Founder and Chairman of pharmaceutical giant Lupin, passed away.
    • Gupta founded Lupin in 1968 and had been its Executive Chairman since 2003.
    • Note: Lupin has now become the fourth largest generics pharmaceutical firm by market capitalisation in the world.
  • Malayalam filmmaker KR Mohanan (69) passed away.
  • Some of his well known films include Ashwathama (1978), Purushartham (1987) and Swaroopam (1992).

 

Current Sports Affairs

  • Indian tennis player Leander Paes along with his Canadian partner Adil Shamasdin clinched the Men’s doubles title at the Aegon Ilkley Challenger Trophy in Ilkley, England.
    • Note : Earlier in April, Paes and Shamasdin won the Leon Challenger tournament in Mexico.
  • Swiss tennis player Roger Federer registered his career’s 100th title, winning the Halle Openin Germany today.
    • The victory was Federer’s 16th grass court and 92nd singles title, his fourth this year, after wins at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami Open.
    • The 18-time Grand Slam champion is the 10th to reach the landmark of 100 career titles.
  • Indian boxer Ankush Dahiya clinched Gold Medal at the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournamentin Mongolia today.
  • Srinivas Gokulnath from Maharashtra created history by becoming 1st Indian to complete toughest cycle race in world 4,900-km RAAM in solo category.
25 Jun
IPCI Info

25 June

International  News Affairs

  • Today (25th June) is the Day of the Seafarer.
    • Seafarer means “person who travels by sea”
    • This day is observed as an expression of thanks to the seafarers for their contribution to the economy and civil society of the world.
    • The observance of the day also acknowledges the risks and personal costs endured by seafarers while being in their jobs.
    • Day of the Seafarer (DotS) Theme 2017: “Seafarers Matter”.
  • PM Narendra Modi presented the Overseas Citizen of India card to Portugal’s Indian-origin PM Antonio Costa during his visit to Lisbon yesterday.
    • Important Note: During a visit to India in January, Costa was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President.
  • Pakistan has issued its 1st third-gender passportto a transgender activist.

 

MOUs & Agreements

  • India and Portugal have signed 11 agreementsafter in-depth talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa.
    • Note: This is the first-ever bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Portugal.
    • Both countries agreed to set up a joint Science and Technology fund of four million euros.
    • The agreements signed by them are :
      • MoU on Nano Technology
      • MoU on Biotechnology
      • MoU on Collaborative Research
      • MoU on Public Administration & Governance Reforms
      • MoU on Cultural Cooperation
      • MoU on Youth & Sports
      • MoU between Portugal India Business Hub & Indian Chamber of Commerce
      • MoU on Cooperation in the fields of Higher Education and Scientific Research
      • MoU for the creation of an India Portugal Space Alliance for advancing collaborative research.
      • Protocol amending the Double Taxation Aviodance Agreement
      • MoU between Portugal India Business Hub & AICEP Portugal Global

 

National Current News

  • For the first time in the history of Manipur, Chief Minister Biren Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has launched a toll-free 24/7 helpline number ‘181‘ for women.
    • This helpline will help fight and reduce crime against women in the state.

 

Science & Technology

  • China has developed world’s most powerful magnetic detectorwhich can find hidden metallic objects, including minerals and submarines.
    • The device is different from conventional designs because it uses a large number of probes and a superconductive computer chip cooled by liquid nitrogen which increases its signal sensitivity, reports said.

 

Current Sports Affairs

  • India’s Kidambi Srikanth has won the Australian Open Superseries title today by beating Rio Olympics champion China’s Chen Long.
    • This is the second consecutive Superseries title for world number 11 Srikanth, who won the Indonesia Open last week.
    • This is Srikanth’s first win over Long, having lost to the world number six in all of their five earlier meetings.
  • Haryana’s Anish Bhanwala set a junior world record to win the Gold medal in the 25-metre standard pistol at the ISSF Junior Shooting World Championship in Germany today.
    • The 15-year-old registered a score of 579, going past the previous record of 574 set in 2002.
    • Note : India also bagged the team silver, moving to second place in the medals tally.
  • The World Taekwondo Federation has changed its name to World Taekwondo after its acronym ‘WTF’ was found to have “negative connotations”.
  • India opened their ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 campaign with a 35-run win over hosts England in a match which saw Indian captain Mithali Raj break two world records. 
    • Raj scored her career’s 47th fifty, overtaking England’s Charlotte Edwards to record most fifties in women’s ODI cricket.
    • Raj also became the only woman player to score seven consecutive ODI fifties.
24 Jun
IPCI Info

24 June

International  News Affairs

  • PM Narendra Modi will become the 1st foreign dignitary to have dinner at the White House with US President Donald Trump. 
    • Modi, who is on a three-day US visit, will have a working dinner with Trump on Monday, after a one-on-one interaction followed by bilateral meetings.
    • Note: Modi is on a three-nation tour to USA, Portugal and Netherlands.
  • The Pakistan government has tasked the country’s National Council of Arts with the responsibility to rearrange the musical rendition of its national anthem ‘Qaumi Taranah‘ using a world class orchestra in order to represent cultural diversity.
    • The anthem, which is also called ‘Pak Sarzamin‘, was written by Hafeez Jullundhri in 1952 and was officially adopted in 1954.
  • Egypt‘s parliament has approved President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s proposal to extend the state of emergency in the country for three more months. 
    • An emergency has been declared in Egypt since April after Islamic State-affiliated militant groups began targeting Coptic Christians, following which the government launched a crackdown on the attackers.

 

National  News affairs

  • The urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has today launched ‘City Liveability Index’, the 1st Liveability index which will rank the country’s 116 major cities on the basis of the quality of life.
    • This index will cover cities with a population above one million, including the capital cities.
    • The rankings based on the index would be released in 2018.
  • Telangana Cabinet has approved an ordinance which will make online rummy illegal in the state.
    • The ordinance, which will now need Governor E S L Narasimhan’s approval, amends the Gaming Act to include and ban online gambling.

New Appointments

  • Palbinder Kaur Shergill has become the 1st turbaned Sikh woman to be appointed a Judgeof Canada’s Supreme Court of British Columbia today.
    • She is going to replace Justice EA Arnold-Bailey, who retired on May 31.
  • Anantha P Chandrakasan, an India-born professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been named Dean of the University’s School of Engineering.
  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Imran Khawaja as its Deputy Chairman.

 

 

Science & Technology

  • The European Space Agency has approved €1.05-billion Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission that will search for minute ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.
  • Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal has launched Weather Portal for Power Sector & Web Portal titled ‘MERIT’ (Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income and Transparency).

 

BANKING, BUSINESS & ECONOMIC NEWS

  • The Indian government has today approved the proposal for setting up a Greenfield airport in Jewar (Greater Noida).
    • This airport is likely to be operational in the next five-six years.
  • The United States of America (USA) has approved the sale of 22 Guardian drones India had sought for its navy.
    • The deal, estimated to be worth $2-3 billion, is one of the key defence agreements that the US has approved ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s maiden meeting with President Donald Trump in the US next week.

 

AWARDS & HONORS

  • The United Nations today honoured West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee with the highest public service award for her girl empowerment initiative Kanyashree Prakalpa.
  • The Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer ‘Sultan‘ won the Best Action Movie award at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival.
  • Nisha Dutt, Chief Executive Officer of Intellecap has received the “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award at The 7th Asian Awards in London.
    • With this, she became the 1st Indian woman leader to have been honoured with this award.