NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Hasmukh
Adhia appointed as the chairman of GIFT City, GACL and GMDC: Former Union Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has
been appointed as chairman of GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec)
City. In addition to this role, he was also appointed as the Chairman and
Director of the Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd (GACL) and
the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC). He replaced Sudhir
Mankad, to take the helm of GIFT City. He has also served as
the Principal advisor to Narendra Modi when he was CM of Gujarat.
2. UNDP
partners with DAY-NULM towards empowering women entrepreneurs: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has joined
hands with India's Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NULM). Reason: To empower women to make well-informed career
choices in the field of entrepreneurship The partnership will
provide support for women looking to start and expand their own enterprises,
particularly in sectors such as the care economy, digital economy, electric
mobility, waste management, food packaging, and more
3. Retired
Allahabad HC judge Umesh Kumar appointed chairman of DERC: Former Allahabad High Court judge Umesh Kumar was appointed the
chairman of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), by the
President of India. President Droupadi Murmu has exercised the powers conferred
by Section 45(b) of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, read with sub-section 2 of Section 84 of the
Electricity Act, 2003. He served as the justice of Allahabad High Court
till July 2022.
4. Petteri
Orpo elected as new PM of Finland: Finland's parliament
elected conservative Petteri Orpo as prime minister at the head of a
four-party coalition. Parliament voted in favor of Orpo, who won the April
elections. He was formally appointed as prime minister by President Sauli
Niinisto. He took over from Sanna Marin, whose Social Democrats finished third
behind Orpo's National Coalition Party and the Finns Party. The new coalition
is made up of the smaller Swedish People's Party and Christian Democrats.
5. Agriculture
Ministry and APPPC organize workshop on Fruits Flies Management: The Asia Pacific Plant Protection Commission unanimously elected
India as chair of the Standing Committee on Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) for the biennium 2023-24 during their 32nd Session held in
Bangkok in November 2022. The APPPC Workshop on Systems Approach for the
management of fruit flies on mango has been scheduled from 19-23 June 2023
in Navi Mumbai.
The
Minister of State for Agriculture, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje inaugurated the
workshop.
6. NHAI launches ‘Knowledge Sharing Platform’ for
development of Highways: The National Highways
Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a Knowledge Sharing
Platform for inclusive development of National Highways. This initiative
will help the authority to collaborate with experts and citizens who want to
share knowledge and insights related to topics such as road design,
construction, road safety, environment sustainability and related fields. The
platform will encourage sharing of best practices from around the world and
will contribute towards holistic development of the National Highway
infrastructure in the country.
7. Cabinet approves Micron’s $2.7 bn semiconductor
packaging plant: The Indian
cabinet has given its approval to Micron Technology’s plan to invest
$2.7 billion in setting up a semiconductor testing and packaging
unit in Gujarat. The government will provide production-linked incentives worth
Rs 11,000 crore ($1.34 billion) for the semiconductor plant. This investment is
expected to boost India’s semiconductor industry and aligns with Prime Minister
Modi’s vision of making India a global hub for semiconductor production. The
new facility is anticipated to create jobs and enhance India’s capabilities in
the sector, contributing to its digital ambitions and self-reliance in advanced
technologies.
8. Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 4 National Highway projects
in Haryana: Union Minister for Road
Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the
foundation stone of 4 National Highway projects at Sonepat, Karnal, and
Ambala in Haryana. The construction of 11 flyovers on 8-lane National Highway
44 from Delhi to Panipat in Sonepat at a cost of Rs 890 crore with a total
length of 24 km will provide better connectivity to the economic nodes of
Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir. The construction of national highways,
Karnal Greenfield 35 km 6-lane Ring Road at a cost of Rs 1690 crore is not just
a road but will become the lifeline for the development and prosperity of the
region in times to come. Gadkari also Inaugurated and laid the foundation stone
of 2 NH projects worth Rs 1255 Crore in Ambala, Haryana.
9. BEL receives orders worth Rs 5900 crore for Akash
Missiles: Bharat Electronics
(BEL) has received orders worth Rs 5,900 crore, of which Rs 3,914
crore of orders are from the Akash Prime Weapon System. BEL received a work
order for 2 regiments of Improved Akash Weapon System (AWS) with upgrades from
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), another defence PSU, for a value of Rs 3,914
crores. Akash is an all-weather, point/area air-defense weapon system for defending
vulnerable points/areas against threats emanating from low, medium and high
altitudes. The system uses high-mobility vehicles for mobile application. The
improvements incorporated include high altitude operation, simultaneous
engagement of multiple threats over 360 degrees, missiles fitted with RF Seeker
and reduced footprint.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India
ranks 127 in Gender Gap Index 2023:
According to a Gender Gap Index 2023, released by World Economic
Forum, India has been ranked 127 out of 146 countries in
the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, up by 8 positions from 135 in 2022. The
report reflects an improvement of 1.4% points. India's neighboring countries
rank: Bangladesh (59), Bhutan (103), China (107), and Pakistan (142)
For the 14th year running, Iceland (91.2%) takes the top position. While Norway
ranked 2nd, followed by Finland, and Sweden.
2. India-United
States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) launched: India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS
X) was launched at an event in Washington DC, USA on
21st June 2023. The INDUS X event was co-organised by Innovations for
Defence Excellence (iDEX), the Ministry of Defence, and the US Department of
Defence (DoD) and hosted by US-India Business Council (USIBC). Joint Secretary
(Defence Industries Promotion), MoD, Anurag Bajpai led the Indian delegation in
the two-day INDUS-X event.
3. Surat
has set a new Guinness World Record in the Yoga event: The city of Gujarat, Surat has set a Guinness World
Record with over 1.53 lakh people participating in a yoga event at
one place on the International Day of Yoga (IDY), organized on 21st June. Guinness
officials handed over the certificate to chief minister Bhupendra Patel at
the venue. Two 4km-long stretches of roads, each around 300 meters
wide, connecting the Y junction were covered with carpet for participants The
participants were divided into groups of 1,000 each
4. Estonia becomes 1st Baltic nation to legalize same-sex
marriage: Estonia’s parliament approved a law legalizing
same-sex marriage, making it the first central European country to do so. The
law will come into effect in 2024. The bill received 55 votes in the
101-seat parliament, from the coalition of liberal and social democratic
parties. 53 percent of the population supported same-sex marriage in a 2023
poll by the Centre for Human Rights. Same-sex marriage is legal in much of
Western Europe but not in central European countries which were once under
communist rule and members of the Moscow-led Warsaw Pact alliance but now
members of NATO and, largely, the EU.
5. Himalayan Glaciers on Track to Lose up to 75% of Ice
by 2100: Report: According to a new report,
Glaciers in Asia’s Hindu Kush Himalaya could lose up to 75
percent of their volume by the century’s end due to global warming. Global
warming is causing dangerous flooding and water shortages for the 240 million
people who live in the mountainous region. A team of international scientists
has found that ice loss in the region, home to the famous peaks of Everest and
K2, is speeding up. During the 2010s, the glaciers shed as much as 65 percent
of ice, which was faster than they had in the preceding decade, according to
the assessment by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD). The Hindu Kush Himalaya stretches 3,500 km (2,175 miles)
across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and
Pakistan. At 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2 degrees Celsius of warming above
pre-industrial temperatures, glaciers across the entire region will lose 30
percent to 50 percent of their volume by 2100.
6. Europe is world’s fastest-warming continent: climate
report: Europe should brace
for more deadly heatwaves driven by climate change, said a sweeping
report, noting the world’s fastest-warming continent was some 2.3 degrees
Celsius hotter last year. Crop-withering drought, record sea-surface
temperatures, and unprecedented glacier melt are among the consequences laid
out in a report by the WMO and the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Since
the 1980s, Europe has been warming twice the global average and witnessed its
warmest summer on record last year as countries like France, Germany, Italy,
Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom faced their warmest year on record. Since
the mid-1800s, the world has warmed at an average of around 1.2C, leading to a
devastating cascade of extreme weather, which includes more severe droughts in
a few areas, more intense heatwaves and storms which will be made more
ferocious by rising seas.
7. 22 June – World Rainforest Day: World Rainforest Day is observed every
year on 22 June. Objective – To raise awareness about the importance of
rainforests, their biodiversity and the urgent need for their preservation. Theme
2023 – Conserve Restore Regenerate. The roots of World Rainforest Day can be
traced back to 2017 when the Rainforest Partnership, a non-profit environmental
organization based in Austin, Texas, launched the global event. This initiative
was aimed at raising awareness about the importance of rainforests and their
invaluable contributions to the planet.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. India
beat Bangladesh to win the 2023 Women's Emerging Asia Cup title: The India U-23 women's team won the 2023 Women's
Emerging Asia Cup T20 title after defeating Bangladesh in the
final held at the Mission Round Ground in Hong Kong. India has scored 127 for
the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. India's Kanika Ahuja was named
the Player of the Match, who stayed not out on 30 off 23 with four fours
in the final. While India's Shreyanka Patil was named the Player
of the Series, as she was the highest-wicket taker.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Axis
Bank launches 'One-View' feature: Axis Bank has
launched its latest feature ‘One-View’, on Axis Mobile Application. It
also becomes the first private sector Bank to introduce this
new-age banking feature leveraging the Account Aggregator ecosystem. Aim: To
create a seamless banking experience for its customers It helps in managing
finances for customers, by providing them access to multiple bank accounts on a
single platform It also enables them to track their balances and spending
on a real-time basis.
2. UK's
Lloyds Banking Group to set up tech center in Hyderabad: Lloyds Banking Group, one of the UK’s largest financial services
providers, would set up a technology center in Hyderabad. The group, which
has brands such as Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland under its belt,
is planning to expand its digital capabilities through the tech center. It
won’t offer banking services in the country, rather it will focus on
using technology and digital data, and analytics capabilities to drive
innovation and end-to-end product delivery Fitch raises India's GDP forecast to
6.3%: Fitch Ratings has raised its forecast for India's economic
growth to 6.3% for the current fiscal year 2023-24 from 6%. This
is primarily because of a stronger outturn in the first quarter and
near-term momentum. The growth forecast compares with a 7.2% GDP expansion in
FY23. It estimated growth of 6.5% each for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 fiscal
years. The Fitch stated that the GDP growth in January-March was higher than
expected.
OBITUARIES
1. Amul Girl creator, Sylvester daCunha passes away: Sylvester daCunha, the man behind the iconic Amul Girl 'utterly butterly' campaign, passed away. He conceived the 'Utterly Butterly' campaign for Amul, the brand owned by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), in 1966. In 1969, daCunha solidified his legacy by establishing daCunha Communications. The 'Utterly Butterly' campaign for Amul had celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016.
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