NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. External Affairs Ministry signed MoU with SBI to enhance digital payment services for eMigrate portal users: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the State Bank of India (SBI) signed MoU to enhance digital payment services for users of the eMigrate portal. This MoU will become operational following the successful integration of SBI’s payment gateway, SBIePay, with the eMigrate portal. The integration of SBIePay with the eMigrate portal will allow Indian migrant workers, Recruiting Agents (RAs), and other users to make various emigration-related payments with ease. This includes transactions via UPI, credit/debit cards, and NEFT through net banking of all Indian banks, all with no transaction charges.
2. Dr Kapil Dua appointed as President of the Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons: Dr Kapil Dua has been announced as the President of the Asian Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AAHRS). The announcement was made at the 8th Annual Scientific Meeting and Surgical Workshop of AAHRS, held in China. Dr Dua, who previously served as President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) in 2022-2023 and the Association of Hair Restoration Surgeons (AHRS) India in 2016-2017, is the only Indian hair transplant surgeon to have led national, global, and now Asian organizations in hair restoration.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Two-Day India-IORA Cruise Tourism Conference Concludes in New Delhi : The two-day India-IORA Cruise Tourism Conference concluded in New Delhi. Officials and experts from the Indian Ocean Rim Association, IORA Member States including Bangladesh, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Seychelles and Tanzania participated in the Conference. The Conference provided a platform for stakeholders to share best practices and policy initiatives towards developing and strengthening the cruise tourism sector in IORA Member States. Discussions covered infrastructure development, regulatory issues, sustainable tourism, employment generation, inclusion of women and business opportunities among others.
2. Cyril Ramaphosa secures second term as South African President: Cyril Ramaphosa has secured a second term as the President of South Africa after he was elected by the South African Parliament. Cyril Ramaphosa was re-elected after a deal was signed between his African National Congress (ANC) Party and the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) and other smaller parties to form a coalition government. Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as the President of South Africa for the first time on 15 February 2018. For the first time since the implementation of the 1996 constitution, the ruling ANC party has failed to secure a majority in the South African Parliament. The ANC got only 40 per cent of the votes in the parliamentary election held on 29 May 2024.
3. Peter Pellegrini sworn in as Slovakia’s president: Peter Pellegrini was sworn in as the president of Slovakia in a ceremony that took place amid heightened security following an assassination attempt on his close ally, populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, a month ago. Pellegrini called for national unity in his speech at a special session of Parliament that took place at the seat of the Slovak philharmonic, becoming Slovakia’s sixth president since it gained independence after the disintegration of Czechoslovakia in 1993. He succeeded Zuzana Caputova, the country’s first female head of state and a staunch backer of neighbouring Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. She didn’t seek a second term in the largely ceremonial post.
4. 16 June – International Day of Family Remittances: The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) is celebrated on 16 June each year. The IDFR recognizes the crucial contribution of over 200 million migrant workers who send money to over 800 million family members in low- and middle-income countries. Theme 2024- Digital remittances towards financial inclusion and cost reduction. Over the past 20 years, remittance flows have increased five-fold. Even during economic downturns, remittances continue to flow as they bind migrants to their families back home, helping them stay afloat. In 2023, remittances to low- and middle-income countries increased by almost 4 per cent to reach US$ 669 billion.
5. 15 June – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is held on June 15th and is an annual international UN observance day on the same date each year. The day came about as a result of UN resolution 66/127. Theme 2024 – Spotlight on Older Persons in Emergencies Elder abuse is global and comes in many forms including physical, emotional, sexual and financial abuse and also neglect. Elderly people are human and deserve the same dignity and respect as people of all other age groups.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. India to host its first multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti in August: The Indian Air Force’s first multinational air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti-2024’ will be held in August. The IAF keenly looks forward to hosting the participating contingents from other countries during Tarang Shakti-2024, which is the first ever Indian multinational air exercise to be held later this year. The Indian Air Force’s first multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti-2024, will be held in August, and is likely to see the participation of ten countries, in addition to a few others acting as observers. The exercise is now scheduled to be held in two phases. The first will be held in southern India in the first two weeks of August and the second will be in the western sector from the end of August to mid-September.
SPORTS
1. Lovlina Borgohain secures Silver Medal in Grand Prix 2024 competition: Olympic medalist Indian boxer Lovlina Borgohain secured a silver medal in the Grand Prix 2024 competition held in the Czech Republic. Lovlina lost 2-3 in her third bout against Li Qian of China. Lovlina won her first bout 3-2 against England’s Chantal Reid but lost the second bout 0-5 against Cindy Ngamba of the Olympic Refugee team. Lovlina will be one of the boxers to represent the country in the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will be held from July 26 to August 11.
2. Smriti Mandhana becomes second-highest International Run-Getter in Women’s Cricket: India opener Smriti Mandhana etched her name into the history book by becoming the second-highest run-scorer for the nation. With her fighting hundred against South Africa, she went past the 7000-run mark and joined former India star Mithali Raj in the elite list. Mandhana played a fighting knock of 117 off 127 deliveries, which took her overall international tally to 7,059 runs. Her tally at the global stage is only bettered by former captain Mithali’s 10,868 runs. While India captain Harmanpreet Kaur isn’t far behind from achieving the feat. She has 6,870 runs in the international circuit across all formats and could achieve the feat in the ongoing series against South Africa.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. India’s Wholesale Prices Accelerate to 15-Month High of 2.61% in May: India’s wholesale inflation, measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), surged to a 15-month high of 2.61% in May from 1.26% in April, driven by an adverse base effect and a sharp increase in food prices. The inflation rate for food items reached 9.82%, contrasting with -3.61% in May 2023. Within food articles, pressure on the factory gate prices mainly built up on account of acceleration in the prices of vegetables (32.42 per cent), pulses (21.95 per cent), cereals (9.01 per cent), fruits (5.81 per cent) and wheat (6 per cent). Meanwhile, even as the prices of potato (64.05 per cent), onion (58.05 per cent) and paddy (11.79 per cent) decelerated during the month, they remained quite elevated.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. RBI wins ‘Risk Manager of the Year’ award: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has won the “Risk Manager of the Year Award 2024” by Central Banking, a leading publication based in London, UK.
This accolade recognizes RBI’s exemplary strides in enhancing its risk culture and awareness, affirming its pivotal role in safeguarding the stability of the Indian financial system. RBI was awarded the best risk manager for improving its risk culture and awareness. Executive Director Shri Manoranjan Mishra received the award on behalf of the RBI.
2. Shantaram, Lifetime Achievement Award for 2024 will be given to Subbiah Nallamuth: Shantaram, Lifetime Achievement Award for this year will be given to Subbiah Nallamuthu, a renowned, award-winning Wildlife filmmaker from Chennai. He filmed “Living on the Edge”, the longest running wildlife series. The award is announced by the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan at Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF 2024).
3. Murugan also attended the Opening Film at MIFF National Geographic’s documentary, ‘Billy and Molly: An Otter Love Story’. Museum in memory of Gujarat earthquake victims listed for UNESCO’s Prix Versailles Award: UNESCO has shortlisted seven most beautiful museums for the prestigious Prix Versailles Award, including the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial Museum of Bhuj.
The Smritivan Earthquake Memorial Museum in Bhuj has been listed among the 7 most beautiful museums in the world under the prestigious Prix Versailles Award, which is announced annually at UNESCO for architecture and design. An Indian Museum has received global recognition for the first time in this manner for its expression of local culture and nature conservation. It was the vision of Gujarat’s then chief minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi to build a museum in memory of those who fell victim to the devastating earthquake of 2001 as well as a tribute to the resilience of Kutch.
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