APPOINTMENTS
Ayurveda
specialist Rajesh Kotecha appointed special secretary in Ayush ministry
- Ayurveda physician ‘Vaidya’
Rajesh Kotecha appointed as special secretary in Ayush Ministry.
- The Appointments Committee of
the Cabinet approved Kotecha’s appointment for three years on a contract
basis, according to an order issued by Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT).
- Vaidya (meaning physician)
Kotecha is the chief consultant of Chakrapani Ayurveda Clinic, Jaipur.
Jeevandas Narayan appointed as Managing Director
of Manappuram Home Finance
- Manappuram Finance announced the
appointment of Jeevandas Narayan as the Managing Director.
- Subhash Samant as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of its fully-owned home loans subsidiary, Manappuram
Home Finance.
United Nations appoints Russian Diplomat Vladimir
Voronkov as Chief of newly established Counter-Terrorism Centre
- The UN Secretary General Antonio
Guterres appointed Russian diplomat Vladimir Voronkov to head the newly
established UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT).
- The Vladimir Voronkov has been
given the rank of Under-Secretary-General.
- It is developed to oversee the
counterterrorism efforts of 36 UN-funded programs under the ambit of a
variety of UN agencies, 12 inter-agency working groups, Interpol, and the
World Customs Organisation.
Rajiv Gauba
to be next Union Home Secretary
- Rajiv Gauba, currently Union
Urban Development Secretary, will be the next Home Secretary, an official
statement said.
- The 1982-cadre IAS officer will
succeed Rajiv Mehrishi, whose tenure ends on August 30.
- Gauba, who was originally of the
Bihar cadre but transferred to Jharkhand after the state's division, is
also posted on special duty in the Home Ministry.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Indian Agri
Microbiologist given Environment Award in Japan
- Indian agricultural
microbiologist Shrihari Chandraghatgi conferred the Ministry of
Environment Award for 2017 in Japan.
- The award conferred for
developing cutting edge technologies to address burning environmental
problems.
- The Ministry of Environment
Award is the highest honor given in the environmental sector every year.
- It is jointly by the Ministry of
Environment, Japan, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES),
Japan and The Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun.
BANKING AFFAIRS
SEBI
relaxes norms for banks to take over listed companies stressed assets
- The Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) got acquisition of stressed assets of listed
companies to help the Government and the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) in
their efforts to tackle bad loans.
- SEBI’s board also approved a
proposal to tighten rules for participatory notes through the imposition
of a regulatory fee on issuers of such instruments.
- Extension of Lock-in-relaxation
to Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIF).
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Axis Bank,
Kochi Metro launches India’s first single-wallet contactless, Open Loop Metro
Card
- Axis Bank, India's third largest
private sector bank in association with Kochi Metro Rail Corporation
(KMRL) launched KMRL Axis Bank
'Kochi1' Card, India's first open loop EMV contactless metro card that
would make travel a convenient and hassle free experience for commuters in
Kochi.
- Axis Bank has partnered with
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in developing this transit
EMV contactless specification on interoperable open standards.
ONGC, UNESCO join hands to get Chilika Lake
Heritage Label
- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
Limited (ONGC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) carried out a preliminary survey for the
conservation of Chilka Lake.
- To obtain world heritage site
recognition, it should have outstanding global value in terms of
biodiversity and eco-system.
- The survey is carried out in
order to global values to obtain the biodiversity and eco systems.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
World Music
Day is celebrated on June 21
- The World Music Day 2017 is
celebrated on June 21st across the world.
- The theme of World Music Day
2017 is Musicians gather to perform at a public place.
- World Music Day is first
incorporated into France in 1982. It is a day of national importance which
was later adopted by many countries.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India,
Russia identify key areas to boost cooperation in Science & Technology
sector
- India and Russia have identified
key areas to cooperate in the Science and Technology sector, including
Space and Marine Technologies, IT and deep ocean engineering.
- The meeting was attended by
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitryi
Rogozin.
- It is inspired by India's 'Make
in India' initiative and Moscow has launched a “Do It In Russia”
initiative to promote local manufacturing and technology development.
Estonia Opening first embassy in Luxembourg
- The Estonia will be opening the
world's first-ever data embassy next year in Luxembourg, to keep backup
files of its vital information on cloud servers and double secure its data
digitally.
- Luxembourg has been chosen as
the location for the embassy since it has capabilities to provide a high
level of security for the stored data.
China launches research project to compile data
about South China Sea
- China launched a research
project to compile historical data obtained during expeditions by its
teams to the disputed the South China Sea.
- The project is one of the 14
resource investigation programs approved by the Ministry of Science and
Technology.
- It has the participation of 193
scholars from 10 domestic research institutions and universities, who
specialize in fields such as marine life, ecology, fishery, and geology.
First air
corridor between India and Afghanistan inaugurated
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani
has inaugurated the first Afghanistan-India air corridor during a ceremony
at the Kabul International Airport—a direct route that bypasses Pakistan
and is meant to improve commerce.
- Ghani said the aim of the route
is to create more opportunities and make Afghanistan an exporting nation.
- Mountain-riddled Afghanistan is
a landlocked country and all imports and exports depend on neighbouring
countries.
China
unveils world’s first train that runs on virtual tracks
- China has unveiled the world's
first 'railless' train - a train that runs on virtual tracks.
- China is also testing a bus that
can straddle the road, and allow traffic to pass under it.
- The new train is part of China's
attempts to develop "intelligent rail express system". Instead
of railway tracks, the train runs on rubber tyres.
- The train can move at a maximum
speed of 70 km/hour.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
First unit
of 100 Mega watt Sainj Hydropower Project commissioned
- The first 50 MW unit of 100 MW
Sainj Hydro Power project of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited
(HPPCL) commissioned with northern grid through Parvati-Kol Dam
transmission line.
- Sainj Hydro Power Project has
been constructed on Sainj River, a tributary of Beas River.
- It is a 6.36 km long tunnel with
3.85-meter diameter and two turbines of 50 Mega Watt installed.
- It will generate an income of Rs
100 crore to the State Government.
Indian Railways to launch Operation Swarn to
revamp Rajdhani, Shatabdi Trains
- The Indian Railways like
Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express, Railways to launch “Operation Swarn
(‘gold’).
- The operation is aimed at
improving the services in these premium trains.
- Under the initiative, Indian
Railways will work towards improving 10 aspects, namely, punctuality,
cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, toilets, catering, staff behavior,
security, entertainment, housekeeping and regular feedback.
- The Indian Railways also
launched a new series of fully air-conditioned express trains like
Humsafar, Mahamana, and Gatimaan for overnight travel.
Mumbai most expensive for expatriates in India -
Mercer's Survey
- Mumbai is the most expensive
city in India and is ranked higher than major global cities such as Paris,
Canberra, Seattle and Vienna.
- According to Mercer's 23rd
annual Cost of Living Survey, Mumbai is placed 57th on the list while New
Delhi was placed at 99. Chennai (135), Bangalore (166) and Kolkata (184)
were the other Indian cities on the list.
Indore
India’s first city to use robot to control unruly traffic
- The number one clean city of
India, Indore has got another milestone to its name. This commercial
capital of Madhya Pradesh has reportedly become the first city in India
where robot is being used on an experimental basis to control its ever
growing and unruly traffic.
- The traffic police in
association with a private engineering college of the city for the first
time has installed a metallic robot at a busy MR 9 intersection on an
experimental basis to control the chaotic traffic in the locality.