1.
ADB inks USD 484 million loan with GoI to upgrade road network in Tamil Nadu: The Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $484 million
loan, to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development
in the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu. “The
project is key to providing seamless road connectivity across industrial
clusters, transport gateways and consumption centres, and help reduce logistics
and production costs for CKIC’s targeted industries to boost their
competitiveness.
Under the project: About 590 km of state
highways in the CKIC influence areas will be upgraded that cover 23 of the 32
districts between Chennai and Kanyakumari. CKIC is part of the East Coast
Economic Corridor (ECEC) of India, which stretches from West Bengal to Tamil
Nadu. ECEC connects India to the production networks of South, Southeast, and
East Asia. It must be noted that ADB is the lead partner of the Government of
India in developing ECEC.
Note: ADB is a regional development bank
established in 1966; ADB Members: 68 countries (49 members are from Asia
pacific region); ADB is headquartered in Mandaluyong, Philippines; President of
ADB: MasatsuguAsakawa.
2.
Central Govt launched “Project O2 for India” initiative: The government of
India has launched ‘Project O2 for India’ to step up production of medical
oxygen to meet the potential increase in demand due to further waves of the
pandemic. ‘Project O2 for India’, an initiative of the Office of Principal
Scientific Adviser, Government of India (GoI), aims to help stakeholders
working to augment the country’s ability to meet the rise in demand for medical
oxygen. Under the project, a ‘National Consortium of Oxygen’ is enabling the
supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen
plants, manufacturing compressors, final products such as oxygen plants,
concentrators, and ventilators. Besides, the consortium is also working to
strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem for long-term preparedness.
3.
Telangana AI Mission launched ‘Revv Up”: Telangana government has launched the
Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM) powered by Nasscom and as part of the T-AIM, an
accelerator programme called “Revv Up” has been launched to enable and empower
AI startups. The programme that will begin its first cohort in July is another
step towards making Telangana and Hyderabad a global destination for AI and
other emerging technologies.
About the programme:
(1) The accelerator programme, exclusively
designed for growth-stage AI startups, will cover various sectors.
(2) Telangana Industries and IT principal
secretary JayeshRanjan stated, “Telangana is committed to its vision of
positioning the State as the leader in AI.
(3) After becoming the first state in India
to launch an actionable policy framework for Artificial Intelligence in June
2020, now set in motion the first edition of the Revv Up accelerator programme
to hone innovative AI ideas under T-AIM.
Note: Telangana Capital: Hyderabad;
Telangana Governor: TamilisaiSoundararajan; Telangana Chief Minister: K.
Chandrashekar Rao.
4.
IIT Bombay Hosts Conference of BRICS Network Universities 2021: The Indian
Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) is hosting a three day virtual
“Conference of BRICS Network Universities”. This conference is being held as a
part of India’s Chairmanship of the 13th BRICS Summit in 2021. The basic
objective of BRICS Network University is enhancing educational cooperation in
general, and especially in the realm of research and innovation. The theme of
the Conference of BRICS Network Universities is “Electric Mobility”.
About the Conference: The event will see
18 experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China and S. Africa deliver keynotes on
various aspects of electric mobility like traffic management, hydrogen
technology, hybrid vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and linkage between
e-mobility and livelihoods. Around 100 students, researchers and faculty from
the BRICS Network Universities of the five-member countries will participate in
the conference. The BRICS Network University is a union of higher education
institutions of the five BRICS member countries. IIT Bombay is the lead
institution of India for the BRICS Network University.
INTERNATIONALUPDATES:
1.
NATO leaders declare China a global security challenge: NATO leaders
declared that China poses a constant security challenge and is working to
undermine global order. This is a message in sync with US President Joe Biden’s
efforts to get allies to speak out with a more unified voice against China’s
trade, military and human rights practices. The NATO leaders said that China’s
goals and ‘assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based
international order and to areas relevant to alliance security. The warning to
China comes as Biden has stepped up his effort to rally allies to put up a
unified voice about China’s human rights record. Biden has also criticised
China’s trade practices and its military’s increasingly assertive behaviour
that has unnerved US allies in the Pacific.
2.
Mukesh Sharma appointed honorary member of WHO’s Technical Advisory Group: Mukesh Sharma, a
faculty at IIT Kanpur, has been appointed as an honorary member of the World
Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Air Pollution and Health – Technical
Advisory Group (GAPH-TAG). Members of the Technical Advisory Group are selected
across the globe and appointed by the Director-General, WHO. Sharma, associated
with the civil engineering department at IIT Kanpur and an air quality expert,
has melded rigorous research with policy engagement.
3.
India ranked 14th in World Giving Index 2021: India has been
ranked at 14th spot among 114 countries in the World Giving Index 2021, by the
Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). This rank is up from its 10-year global rank of
82. The World Giving Index ranking has been topped by Indonesia, followed by
Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar and Australia in the top five respectively.
4.
World Refugee Day: 20th June: World Refugee Day is observed every year on
June 20 to respect and honour the courage and resilience of refugees across the
world. The United Nations observes this day to honour the refugees who have
been forced outside of their homes. The day aims to build understanding and
empathy for refugees building their lives in countries new to them. This year the
theme for World Refugee Day is ‘Together we heal, learn and shine’. The United
Nations has stated that the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic has made it
evident that we can only succeed by standing together. The UN has called for
the greater inclusion of refugees in the healthcare system across the world.
History of World Refugee Day: World Refugee Day
was celebrated for the first time on June 20, 2001, on the 50th anniversary of
the 1951 Refugee Convention. The United Nations General Assembly officially
designated June 20 as World Refugee Day in December 2000.
5.
International Day of Yoga: 21st June: United Nations celebrates International
Day of Yoga globally on 21 June every year to raise awareness worldwide of the
many benefits of practising yoga. Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and
spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from
Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and
consciousness. Recognizing this important role of Yoga, this year’s
commemoration of the International Day of Yoga focuses on “Yoga for well-being”
– how the practice of Yoga can promote the holistic health of every individual.
History International Day of Yoga: India
proposed the draft resolution establish the International Day of Yoga and the
proposal was endorsed by a record 175 member states. Recognizing its universal
appeal, on 11 December 2014, the United Nations proclaimed 21 June as the
International Day of Yoga by resolution 69/131.
6.
International Day of the Celebration of the Solstice:21st June: International Day
of the Celebration of the Solstice is observed globally on 21st June. This day
bring awareness about solstices and equinoxes and their significance for
several religions and ethnic cultures. The International Day of the Celebration
of the Solstice was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th
June 2019 within Resolution A/RES/73/300.
7.
World Music Day: 21st June: World Music Day is observed globally on 21st June
every year. This day is celebrated to honour amateur and professional
musicians. Over 120 countries celebrate World Music Day by organizing free
public concerts in parks, streets, stations, museums and other such public
places. The aim of celebrating World Music Day is to provide free music to
everyone, and also to encourage amateur musicians to showcase their work to the
world. World Music Day was founded by France’s Minister of Culture, Jack Lang
and also Maurice Fleuret, a French composer, music journalist, radio producer, arts
administrator, and festival organiser, on the day of the summer solstice in
Paris in 1982.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Sports Minister KirenRijiju Launches Centralised Athlete Injury Management
System: Sports
Minister KirenRijiju launched an ambitious initiative to provide world class
treatment and rehabilitation to elite athletes injured during competition or
training. The Centralised Athlete Injury Management System (CAIMS) aims to
provide inputs on prevention, diagnosis and high quality treatment and
rehabilitation to athletes on time and maintain records for mapping their
injury via an Online Athlete Management System. This system, to be run by the
Sports Authority of India (SAI) in collaboration with the leading medical experts
of the country, will be applied initially to the developmental group of
athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics and will broaden to others later on.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Policybazaar gets insurance broking licence: Policybazaar has got approval from
regulator IRDAI to undertake insurance broking, a development that will help
the company augment business and expand its bouquet of services. With this
development, the company will surrender its web aggregator licence to the Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and undertake business
including insurance aggregation under the broking umbrella. The broking licence
will allow the company to venture into segments which it could not do in the
past like claims assistance, offline services, and establish Points of Presence
network. Policybazaar has a market share of 25 per cent in the life insurance
segment while 10 per cent in health insurance.
Note: Policybazaar CEO: YashishDahiya;
Policybazaar Founded: June 2008; Policybazaar HQ: Gurugram, Haryana.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Facebook launches ‘Report it, Don’t share it!’ initiative: Social media giant
Facebook has launched a new initiative ‘Report it, Don’t share it!’ that
encourages people to report child abuse content on its platforms and not to
share it. The initiative ‘Report it, don’t share it’ is in collaboration with
civil society organisations like Aarambh India Initiative, Cyber Peace
Foundation and Arpan.About the initiative:
(1) The initiative was rolled out with an
animated video that visually communicates the negative impact that the
circulation of child abuse content could have on the child who’s the subject of
such content, even if it’s about condemning the act.
(2) To report content where a child is at
risk, call 1098 and report it to the Childline India Foundation. If the content
exists on Facebook’s family of apps, it can be reported on
fb.me/onlinechildprotection.
(3) The company also added the option to
choose “involves a child” under the “Nudity and Sexual Activity” category of
reporting in more places on Facebook and Instagram to make it easier to report
content for violating its child exploitation policies.
(4) Facebook also partnered with Bollywood
actress Neha Dhupia who runs a community ‘Freedom to Feed’ on Instagram, which
is a safe space for women to speak about breastfeeding and have an open
dialogue about the challenges surrounding it. But the community has evolved to
become a space for discussing diverse aspects of parenting too.
Note: Chief Executive Officer of Facebook:
Mark Zuckerberg; Facebook Headquarters: California, US.
2.
Microsoft names CEO Satya Nadella as chairman: Microsoft Corp,
named Chief Executive Officer, Satya Nadella as its new chairman. He took over
as the software giant’s CEO in 2014, succeeding Steve Ballmer. He is credited with bringing new energy to
the company, founded in 1975. The company also appointed former chairman John
Thompson as a lead independent director. The top-level executive change comes
just over a year after Gates stepped down from the board, saying he would focus
on philanthropic works of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the
world’s biggest charities.
Note: Microsoft CEO: Satya Nadella;
Microsoft Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States.
DEFENCE
1. Rajnath Singh approves new policy for declassification of war history: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a policy on archiving, declassification, compilation and publication of war and operations histories by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). However, declassification of older wars like the 1962 war is not automatic and will be taken upon a case by case basis by a committee to be constituted under the new policy. According to the policy, records should ordinarily be declassified in 25 years. Records older than 25 years should be transferred to the National Archives of India once the war/operations histories have been compiled. However, first, it should be evaluated by archival experts. However, declassification of older wars like the Henderson Brooks report on the 1962 war with China and the Operation Bluestar of 1984 is not automatic. It is taken up on a case-by-case basis by a committee to be constituted under the policy.
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