NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates National Yoga Olympiad 2022: Education
Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has inaugurated National Yoga Olympiad 2022 and quiz
competition in New Delhi. The National Yoga Olympiad is
being organised jointly by the Ministry of Education and the National Council
of Educational Research and Training. This year about six hundred students from
26 states and UTs and Demonstration Multipurpose Schools of Regional
Institutions of Education will be participating in the forthcoming National
Yoga Olympiad. Speaking on the occasion:
a)
Mr.
Pradhan highlighted that to encourage healthier choices and bring people
closer, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suitably chosen this year’s theme as
Yoga For Humanity. The Minister said, Yoga is uniting the world in the pursuit
of good health and wellness.
b)
The
Minister stressed that NEP 2020 lays special emphasis on the physical and
emotional well-being of both students and teachers. Mr. Pradhan suggested that
NCERT include the ancient wisdom of Yoga in the school curriculum. Minister of
State for Education Subhas Sarkar said that yoga has to be popularised as a
part of the National Education Policy 2020.
2.
Purana Qila, New Delhi: Ministry of Culture and ASI hosts ‘Yoga Mahotsa’: Yoga Mahotsav was
organised by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with the Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) at Purana Qila in the national capital. The event was
held as part of the celebrations for the International Day of Yoga 2022.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the purpose of the event was to instil
the everlasting value of cultural wellbeing among the people. Key Points:
a)
Arjun
Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, and
Meenakashi Lekhi, Minister of State for Culture and External Affairs, both
attended the ceremony.
b)
The
event drew around 500 participants, including officials from the Union Culture
Ministry and foreign representatives from over 40 nations.
c)
The
event began with the Saraswati Vandana being recited, followed by a yoga
session led by instructors from the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga.
d)
Meenakashi
Lekhi, speaking at the event, stated that Yoga is the key to living a healthy
and active life. She further stated that thanks to Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s efforts, yoga has spread far and wide, even globally.
e)
She
emphasised how yoga promotes body, mind, ethos, and thought flexibility.
3.
Piyush Goyal: After several years, India able to win favourable WTO outcome: Despite a strong
global campaign against Indian farmers and fishermen, India was able to secure
a favourable outcome at the WTO after many years, commerce and industry
minister Piyush Goyal told the media after the conclusion of the 12th
ministerial conference — the WTO (World Trade Organisation)‘s highest
decision-making body. Key Points put forward by Piyush Goyal:
a)
Piyush
Goyal described the conference as a ‘outcome-oriented success’, saying the
Indian team, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was “100% successful” in
expressing the top concerns for India and the developing nations to the world.
b)
Piyush
Goyal also stated that a few countries try to launch a bogus campaign, claiming
that India is recalcitrant, preventing progress.
c)
The
concerns presented by India, on which the Prime Minister had urged to focus,
are now recognised by the entire world as the correct agenda, with India
playing a key role in achieving all answers.
d)
The
world order has not been shattered because to India’s attempts to bring members
together to debate concerns regardless of the prevailing geopolitical order.
There have been no fishing restrictions that will constrain India’s artisanal
and traditional fishermen in the future.
e)
India
has been a complete success; no conditions or limits have been imposed on India
or the government; rather, we have been effective in imposing controls on
illicit fishing, under-reporting, and outside regulation.
4. PM
releases Ram Bahadur Rai’s book ‘Bhartiya Samvidhan: Ankahi Kahani’: The Prime Minister
Narendra Modi released Ram Bahadur Rai’s book ‘Bhartiya Samvidhan: Ankahi
Kahani’. Prime Minister noted Shri Ram Bahadur Rai’s life-long quest for
searching for new ideas and desire to bring something new before the society.
He expressed the hope that the book that was released today will present the
Constitution in a comprehensive manner.
The book by Shri Rai will be in the
tradition of New India’s effort to remember the forgotten thoughts to ensure
that in the India of the future, consciousness of the past remains strong. The
book, along with the history of independence and the untold chapters of our
constitution will give a new thinking to the youth of the country.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Japan to participate in NATO summit for the first time: Japanese Prime
Minister, Fumio Kishida will attend this month’s NATO summit in Madrid,
becoming the country’s first leader to join a top meeting of the transatlantic
alliance. The June 28-30 gathering is seen as a crunch moment for the 30 North
Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, four months into Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Japan, a key U.S. ally and not a NATO member, has delivered defensive supplies
to Ukraine and imposed tough sanctions on Russia in tandem with the other Group
of Seven countries. Sweden and Finland,
which have applied to join NATO, are sending delegations to the summit, and
South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk-yeol will also be the first leader from
his country to attend.
Note: NATO Formation: 4 April 1949; NATO
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium; NATO Secretary General: Jens Stoltenberg; NATO
Total Member: 30; NATO Last member of NATO: North Macedonia.
2.
Hamza Abdi Barre appointed as PM of Somalia: Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud has appointed a former chairman of the Jubbaland state election
commission, Hamza Abdi Barre as the Prime Minister. The 48-year-old Hamza Abdi
Barre from the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland replaced Mohamed Hussein
Roble. Barre served in a number of public and political roles and from 2011 to
2017 was secretary-general of the Peace and Development Party (PDP), the
precursor to the Union for Peace and Development (UDP) now led by Mohamud.
Mohamud won the presidency for the second
time in May, having previously served from 2012 to 2017, after a long-delayed
election that took place against a backdrop of the worst drought in 40 years
and a bloody armed rebellion.
Note: Somalia Capital: Mogadishu; Somalia
Currency: Somali Shilling; Somalia President: Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
3.
World Refugee Day: 20th June: World Refugee Day is celebrated every year
on 20 June. World Refugee Day was designated as an International Day by the UN
(United Nations). The day is being celebrated to honour the refugees around the
world. Refugees are people who are being forced to leave their homeland due to
terror, conflicts, wars, prosecutions, or any other crises.
World Refugee Day History: The United
Nations General Assembly had decided on the date – June 20 to observe World
Refugee Day, while adopting Resolution 55/76, on December 4, 2000. For the
first time in history, on June 20, 2001, World Refugee Day was celebrated. In
2001, the event marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention
which talks about the protection of refugees.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. PM
Modi launches torch relay for 44th Chess Olympiad: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has launched the historic torch relay for the 44th Chess Olympiad
at Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi. This year, for the very first time,
International Chess Federation, FIDE, has instituted the Chess Olympiad Torch,
a part of the Olympic tradition. India is the first country to have the Chess
Olympiad Torch Relay.
FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich handed
over the torch to Prime Minister, who in turn handed it over to Grandmaster
Vishwanathan Anand. This torch will be taken to 75 cities in a span of 40 days
before the final culmination at Mahabalipuram near Chennai. At every location,
chess grandmasters of the state will receive the torch. The 44th Chess Olympiad
will be held in Chennai from 28th July to 10th August, 2022.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
RBI raises limit of e-mandates for transactions up to Rs 15,000: The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has raised the Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) limit
from Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 per transaction for e-mandates on cards, Prepaid
Payment Instruments (PPIs) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for recurring
transactions. It implies, additional authentication will not be need for
payment of Rs 15,000 per transaction.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, over
the past decade, put in place various safety and security measures for card
payments, including the requirement of AFA, especially for ‘card-not-present’
transactions. Under e-mandate, an individual can give standing instruction to
the bank to debit a specific amount automatically on recurring basis.
2.
Canara HSBC Life rebrands due to PNB exit: Canara HSBC OBC Life has renamed
itself as Canara HSBC Life following its third partner Punjab National Bank’s
(PNB’s) decision to exit. PNB had acquired a stake in the company following the
amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC). Currently, Canara Bank holds
51% in the insurance arm, HSBC holds 26% and PNB 23%. Following PNB’s decision
to exit, the stake is likely to be acquired by existing shareholders.
Announcing the rebranding of the company,
Canara HSBC Life MD Anuj Mathur said that the company has turned in a profit
despite Rs 500 crore of additional claims due to Covid-19. The strategy was to
diversify business beyond bancassurance.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Ministerial meeting on GST rationalisation fails to reach agreement: According to
insiders, a group of state ministers working on GST rate rationalisation was
unable to achieve an agreement because some members were opposed to
modifications to tax slabs and rates. They stated that the Group of Ministers
will provide a status report to the GST Council on the consensus reached at the
Group of Minister’s previous meeting on November 20, 2021.
Key Points:
a)
They
added that the GoM will seek an extension to deliver its final report, and that
tax rate problems will be discussed at the forthcoming Council meeting later
this month.
b)
The
GST Council, which is chaired by Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, will
meet in Srinagar on June 28 and 29.
c)
Last
year, the Council convened a seven-member council of state ministers, led by
Karnataka Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai, to recommend measures to
increase revenue by lowering tax rates.
d)
The
GoM has been tasked with reviewing items with an inverted duty structure in
order to reduce rebate payouts and reviewing the GST exempt list in order to
broaden the tax base and avoid ITC chain breaks.
e)
A
four-tier structure under GST exempts or taxes basic commodities at a low rate
of 5%, while autos and demerit goods are taxed at a peak rate of 28%. The other
two tax brackets are 12 and 18 percent.
2.
47th meeting of GST Council to be held in Srinagar: The 47th meeting
of the GST Council will be held on June 28 and 29, 2022 in Srinagar. The GST
Council is chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is the second
time that the GST Council meeting is being held in Srinagar. Before the launch
of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017, the 14th meeting of the
Coun cil was held on May 18 and 19 in the city. The Council had last year set
up a seven-member panel of state ministers, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister
Basavaraj Bommai, to suggest ways to augment revenue by rationalising tax rates.
The GoM had last met in November 2021. Key points to be discuss in the
meeting:
a)
The
47th GST Council meeting assumes significance as it is expected to discuss the
report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation and also the tax
rate on casinos, race courses and online gaming.
b)
The
Group of Ministers (GoM) is likely to discuss possible changes in tax slabs,
the sources said, adding that the final report of the panel would take some
more time.
c)
The
Council may also consider some modification in summary return and monthly tax
payment form GSTR-3B with a view to check fake input tax credit claims and
expedite settlement of genuine ones.
d)
According
to sources, the modified form will provide clarity with regard to gross input
tax credit due to taxpayer, the amount claimed in a particular month and the
net amount left in the taxpayer’s ledger.
3.
Zomato tie-up with Jio-bp to accelerate EV adoption: Zomato and Jio-bp
have entered into an agreement to support Zomato’s commitment towards “The
Climate Group’s EV100 initiative of 100 per cent EV fleet by 2030.” The
collaboration is poised to accelerate EV adoption in the rapidly growing Indian
delivery and transportation segment. Jio-bp, the fuel and mobility joint
venture between Reliance Industries Ltd and bp, will provide EV mobility
services to Zomato and access to ‘Jio-bp pulse’ battery swapping stations for
last-mile delivery.
As per reports, Jio-bp constructed and
launched India’s two largest EV charging hubs last year. The company has been
teaming up with construction firms and EV companies to enhance the battery
charging ecosystem, as per reports. Its pulse mobile app enables customers to
find nearby charging stations and charge their EVs.
Note: Headquarters of Zomato: Gurugram, Haryana; CEO of Zomato: Deepinder Goyal.
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