NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Important Cabinet Approvals: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime
Minister, Shri Narendra Modi held meeting on 3rd June 2020. Following are the
major approvals given during the meet:
(1) Renaming of Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad
Mookerjee Port. The Kolkata Port is the first Major Port as well as the only
riverine port of the country.
(2) Re-establish Pharmacopoeia Commission for
Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under
Ministry of AYUSH by merging into it Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian
Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL)- the two
central laboratories established at Ghaziabad since 1975.
(3) Setting up of an “Empowered Group of
Secretaries (EGoS) and Project Development Cells (PDCs) in
Ministries/Departments of Government of Indiafor attracting investments in
India”. This new mechanism will reinforce India’s vision of becoming a US$ 5
trillion economy by 2024-25.
(4) Signing the Memorandum of Understanding
between the Government of the Republic of India and the Royal Government of
Bhutan on Cooperation in the areas of Environment.
2.
Government launches Internship Program ‘TULIP’ for fresh graduates in all ULBs
across the country:
The Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank’
and MoS (I/C), Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep. S. Puri jointly
launched a first of its kind initiative `The Urban Learning Internship Program
(TULIP)’ on 04 June 2020 in New Delhi. TULIP is a program to provide internship
opportunities to fresh graduates in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart
Cities across the country. A portal has also been launched for this programme.
The programme would also facilitate practical experience to the students of
India and hence help in infusing fresh ideas and innovative thinking into the
working of Urban Local Bodies and smart cities. This programme is an initiative
of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Ministry of HRD, and
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
Note: Chairman of All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE): Anil D. Sahasrabudhe.
3.
IIT Madras Researches Uses Dredging Methodology to help triple Irrawaddy
Dolphin’s population in Odisha’s Chilika Lake: A research project undertaken
by the team of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has helped Chilika
lake in Odisha, in tripling the population of the Irrawaddy dolphins. Chilika
lake is Asia’s largest and world’s second largest brackish water body and home
to a number of threatened species of plants and animals. The researchers
developed a dredging methodology for enhancement of fishery resources and the
increase of population of Irrawaddy dolphin with minimum impact on the lake
ecosystem. Dredging is a four-part process consisting of the excavation
(loosening or dislodging) of the material from the bottom of the river,
bringing the material to the surface (together extraction), transportation and
disposal. As a result, the fish production increased 7-fold and the population
of highly threatened Irrawaddy dolphin also increased, thus promoting ecotourism
which immensely benefitted the local fishers The team carried out the
restoration work in 6 months at a cost of Rs 10 crore and the lake is now off
the threatened list.
4.
Total 20 States/UTs Included under One Nation One Card scheme till date: As per the data by the Union
Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas
Paswan, three more states namely Odisha, Sikkim and Mizoram joined the
‘Integrated Management of Public Distribution System’ (IM-PDS) on 01 June 2020.
With this, now total 20 states and UTs are included under this scheme. Other
states/UTs are: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman &
Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar
Pradesh.
It is also likely that by August 2020 three
more States namely Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Manipur will also be added to the
national cluster. Governments aim to add all the states to One Nation One
Ration Card scheme by 31st March 2021 so that the scheme will be operational
all over India. Under the IM-PDS initiative, eligible beneficiaries would be
able to avail their entitled foodgrains under the National Food Security Act
(NFSA) from any ePoS enabled Fair Price Shop of their choice anywhere in the
country, using the same ration card.
5.
Chhattisgarh Govt launches ‘Spandan Campaign’ to check suicide and fratricide
among police personnel: The Chhattisgarh Police have launched a special
campaign named ‘Spandan Campaign’ to check mental stress and depression among
their personnel. Under the campaign, authorities will be conducting interactive
programmes and arranging counselling sessions, music and yoga therapies for the
police personnels. A mobile application is also being prepared for monitoring
the problems of police personnel. The decision to launch the campaign was taken
after the state reported over 50 cases of suicide by police personnel, and a
number of incidents of policemen attacking their colleagues in the past two
years.
Note: Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh:
Bhupesh Baghel; Governor: Anusuiya Uikey.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Brajendra Navnit appointed as India’s new Ambassador to WTO: Brajendra Navnit, a
1999 IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre has been appointed as India’s Ambassador
to the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO). He will be posted at the
Permanent Mission of India (PMI) to the WTO in Geneva for a period of three
years. Navnit succeeds JS Deepak, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh
cadre, whose tenure as India’s Ambassador to the global trade watchdog ended on
May 31. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet also approved the appointment
of Anwar Hussain Shaik for the post of Counsellor, at the PMI to WTO, Geneva.
Note: World Trade Organization
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; World Trade Organization Membership: 164
member states; World Trade Organization Founded: 1 January 1995.
2.
Rajeev Topno appointed as Senior Advisor to WB’s Executive Director: Senior bureaucrat
Rajeev Topno (1996 batch IAS officer) has been appointed as the Senior Advisor
to Executive Director (ED) of World Bank. He was presently serving as the
Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014. He is a 1996
batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. He has been appointed as the Senior Advisor
to the Executive Director (ED) of World Bank for a period of three years.
Note: WB HQ: Washington DC, USA; President
of World Bank: David Malpass.
3.
World Environment Day: 5th June: World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated
on 5 June every year to encourage awareness and action for the protection of
our environment. World Environment Day Theme 2020: “Biodiversity”. The host
nation for 2020 WED is Colombia in partnership with Germany. UN General
Assembly in 1972 established World Environment Day on the first day of the
Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment and later United Nation
Environment Programme (UNEP) was created. It was first observed in 1974 with
the theme “Only One Earth”.
4.
World Day against Speciesism: 5th June: World Day Against Speciesism is marked on
June 5 every year, to stop discrimination based on species membership. The term
“speciesism” refers to the assignment of different rights, values, or special
consideration to individuals solely on the basis of their species. World Day
against Speciesism is supported by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA), Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM), and other animal rights groups to
promote this idea among the general public.
5.
International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
Fishing: 5th June: The
International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) Fishing is organised every year on 5 June by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) to protect the fisheries sector and highlight efforts taking
place globally, regionally and nationally to combat illegal fishing. The day
was recognised by the United Nations General Assembly on 5 June 2017. The first
International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated
(IUU) Fishing was celebrated globally on 5 June 2018. UN has also declared 2022
as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, to help focus
attention on the small-scale fishermen and women who comprise 90 percent of the
world’s fisheries work force.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Government changes Definition of MSME: The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium
Enterprises has once again changed the definition of MSME. Before this, the
change in definition was made while the Finance Minister announced the
‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Package’. The definition of MSME is now based on
“Investment (Capital) And Annual Turnover”. The new and old definition of MSME
is mentioned below:
|
Category
|
New Capital
|
New Turnover
|
Old Capital
|
Old Turnover
|
|
Micro
|
1 Crore
|
5 Crore
|
25 Lakh
|
10 Lakh
|
|
Small
|
10 Crore
|
50 Crore
|
5 Crore
|
2 Crore
|
|
Medium
|
50 Crore
|
250 Crore
|
10 crore
|
5 Crore
|
The turnover with respect to exports will not
be counted in the limits of turnover for any category of MSME units whether
micro, small or medium. This will help in attracting investments and creating
more jobs in the MSME sector. The government has made the following approvals
related to MSME sector: (1) Provisioning of Rs 20,000 crore as subordinate debt
to provide equity support to the stressed MSMEs. This will benefit 2 lakh
stressed MSMEs. (2) Equity infusion of Rs. 50,000 crore for MSMEs through Fund
of Funds (FoF).
2.
IndusInd Bank Launches India’s First Mobile-based current account opening
facility: IndusInd
Bank has launched first-of-its-kind mobile app-based facility for opening
current accounts in a paperless manner. IndusInd is the first bank in India to
introduce this assisted mobile application based facility which will enable the
Bank to open current accounts for self-employed individuals and businesses
digitally, in just a few hours. The IndusInd app uses multiple ‘Application
Programme Interface’ (APIs) and enables secured validation of KYC documents
from authorised government platforms such as the Goods and Service Tax (GST),
Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL),
Import Export Code (IEC) and Aadhaar.
Note: Managing Director & CEO of
IndusInd Bank: Sumant Kathpalia; Chairman of IndusInd Bank: Arun Tiwari;
Headquarter of IndusInd Bank: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Amazon tops Brand Finance Global 500 2020 report; Tata Group top Indian brand: Brand Finance has released its
annual Brand Value Report 5000 for the year 2020. It is for the third
consecutive year that Amazon has retained the title of the world’s most valuable
brand having brand valuation of $220,791 million. It is also made history by
becoming the first brand in Brand Finance Global 500 to exceed US$200 billion
value mark. Google has jumped one place up to come second in the list at
$159,722 million. In 2019 it was at 3rd spot. Apple ($140,524M), Microsoft
($117,072M) and Samsung Group ($94,494M) makes top 5 brand in the list. Among
Indian companies, Tata Group has once again retained its position as top Indian
brand. It is the only Indian brand to feature in top 100. Globally, it is
ranked at 85th spot with brand value of USD 20 billion, becoming the first
Indian brand to cross this mark. Top 5 Indian brands in the list are:
1)
Tata
Group (Global Rank – 85, Brand Value – $20,001 million)
2)
LIC
(Rank – 238; $8,106 million)
3)
Reliance
Industries Limited (Rank – 244; $7,927 million)
4)
Infosys
(Rank – 282; $7,087 million)
5)
State
Bank of India (Rank – 323; $6,434 million)
2.
Facebook to acquire 9.9% stake in Jio Platforms via Jaadhu Holdings: Facebook has announced in April
2020 to acquire 9.9 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, at an investment of USD
5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore). As per a nee notification, Facebook will acquire
this stake in Jio Platforms via a new entity named Jaadhu Holdings LLC.
According to a submission made to the Competition Commission of India, Jaadhu
Holdings, LLC is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Facebook, Inc. Jaadhu
is a newly incorporated company formed in March 2020 under the laws of the
State of Delaware, US…Jaadhu is not engaged in any business in India or
anywhere in the world.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Kritika Pandey awarded with Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020: Indian writer
Kritika Pandey has won the coveted honour of the regional award for Asia in
Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2020. She is awarded for her unpublished work
‘The Great Indian Tee and Snakes’. The story is about a Hindu girl falling in
love with a Muslim man and how these two young people are trying to navigate
the idea of love in an era of hatred and prejudice. She has been nominated for
Pushcart Prize earlier. The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded since
2012, for the best piece of unpublished short fiction to commonwealth citizens
aged 18 and above.
OBITUARIES
1.
Renowned lyricist Anwar Sagar passes away: Renowned lyricist Anwar Sagar (70
years) passes away in Mumbai: He is known for writing various popular Songs of
80s and 90s. He wrote the lyrics of the song “Waada Raha Sanam” from 1992 film
Khiladi starring Akshay Kumar and Ayesha Jhulka. He also gave song lyrics to
films like Yaarana, Salaami, Aa Gale Lag Jaa and Vijaypath among more. He also
worked with music directors Nadeem-Shravan, Rajesh Roshan, Jatin-Lalit and Anu
Malik.
2.
Former Delhi Police Commissioner Ved Marwah passes away: Former Commissioner
of Delhi Police, Ved Marwah (87 years) passed away in Goa due to lung ailment.
He was the Police Commissioner of Delhi from 1985-88 and served as the third
director general of the National Security Guard from 1988-90. He also served as
the governor of Manipur, Jharkhand, and Mizoram. He wrote a book titled Uncivil
Wars: Pathology of Terrorism in India in 1995. Place of birth: Peshawar,
Pakistan (1932). He moved to Delhi after Independence in 1947
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