NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 
Rohit Jawa assumed as MD and
CEO of Hindustan Unilever: Rohit Jawa has assumed charge as
the Managing Director and CEO of FMCG major Hindustan
Unilever Ltd (HUL). He
has replaced Sanjiv Mehta who retired
after the company's annual general meeting. Mehta handed over the baton to Jawa, who was appointed as an Additional
Director and CEO-Designate from April 1, 2023.
Prior to this role, Jawa was the Chief
of Transformation for Unilever in London.
He started his career with HUL as a management trainee in 1988.
2.
Govt approves price of 315 rupees per quintal
for sugarcane farmers:
The CCEA has approved the fair and remunerative price
of Rs 315 per quintal for sugarcane farmers for the season 2023-24. It will be applicable for the purchase of
sugarcane from farmers by sugar mills from
Oct 1, 2023 It will be applicable for a basic recovery rate of 10.25% A premium
of Rs.3.07 per quintal will be
provided for every 0.1% increase in recovery above 10.25% Conversely, the FRP will be reduced
by Rs 3.07 per quintal for every 0.1% decrease in recovery.
3. National Statistics Day 2023: 29th June: India observed National
Statistics Day on June 29 every year,
to celebrate the birth anniversary of statistician P.C. Mahalanobis. This day
was first celebrated in 2007 in
India. The theme of Statistics Day, 2023 is “Alignment of State Indicator Framework
with National Indicator
Framework for Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals”. Statistics Day in India is
celebrated by conducting seminars, conferences, and other interactive events.
4. 
Centre provides financial
incentives to 12 states for power sector reforms: The Centre has provided financial incentives of 66,000
crore rupees to 12 states to accelerate power sector reforms. These states include
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala,
Manipur and Andhra Pradesh. The primary objectives of granting financial
incentives for undertaking power sector reforms are to
improve operational and economic efficiency within the sector and promote a sustained
increase in paid electricity
consumption.
5. Karnataka to give money instead of 5 kg additional rice to BPL
families: The
Karnataka government has decided to
give cash instead of rice till rice is procured. It was one of the guarantees of the Siddaramaiah govt was to
provide 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household. The government has decided to pay beneficiaries cash
at the rate of ₹34 per kilo, for the additional 5kg of the foodgrain promised
under the 'Anna Bhagya' scheme.
The disbursement of money
will start on July 1.
6. Cabinet approves introduction of National Research Foundation Bill: The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of the National
Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023, in parliament. Aim: To pave the way to establish
NRF that will seed, grow and promote
research and development (R&D) and foster
a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s
universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the administrative Department of NRF.
7.
Gujarat signs MoU with US chip maker Micron for semiconductor plant: Gujarat government signed an MoU with the US-based
computer storage chip maker Micron for setting
up a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and test facility at Sanand in
Ahmedabad. It will be the first
semiconductor manufacturing facility in India and will be manufactured within
18 months. Micron will receive 50% fiscal support for the total project
cost from the Indian government and incentives representing 20% of the total project cost from the Gujarat government.
8. IndiGo becomes India's
leading airline to touch ₹1 lakh crore: InterGlobe Aviation
Ltd (Indigo) has become
India's leading airline to cross ₹1 trillion in market capitalization. The
stock hit a 52-week high of ₹2,634.25
on the BSE, with a market value of ₹1.01 trillion. Shares of IndiGo settled 3.55% higher at ₹2,619.85 apiece on the BSE, compared to the previous close of
₹2,529.95. IndiGo placed an order for 500 Airbus A320 Family aircraft in the largest order in the history of commercial aviation.
9.
DRDO organizes ‘Anusandhaan Chintan
Shivir’ 2023: The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) has organized an Anusandhaan Chintan Shivir in New Delhi aimed at promoting Defence Research and
Development in the industry and academia. At the event, a list of 75 technology priority areas was released,
encouraging indigenous innovation in defence
technologies and fostering self-reliance. The DRDO Technology Foresight 2023,
listing current and future technology
development tasks, was also unveiled. Chief of Defence Staff General
Anil Chauhan also attended
the event as the Chief Guest with
other dignitaries.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India ranked 67th on Energy Transition Index: WEF: India bagged the 67th position
globally in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) energy transition index.
WEF informed that India is the only
major economy whose energy transition accelerated across all dimensions. Top 5: Sweden,
Denmark, Norway, Finland,
and Switzerland The global energy transition has plateaued
amid the global energy crisis and geopolitical volatilities, but India is among
the countries that have made
significant improvements.
2. IIT Bombay ranks 149th in the QS world ranking 2024: The Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT), Bombay emerged as
India’s highest-ranked educational institute, according to QS World Rankings
2024. Globally, it was ranked 149th and was the only such Indian institute
in the top
150. However, it is the highest rank the institute has ever attained. IIT Bombay showed an improvement from last year’s QS world rankings when it took the 172nd spot. It was followed by IIT Delhi (ranked 197th globally), slipping from 174th last year. These were the only
two institutes in the top 200 on the
list. At the third spot was the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, ranked 225th globally. It
slipped sharply from 155th place last year. While in the overall ranking, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), United States topped the rankings
for the twelfth consecutive year. UK’s
Cambridge University ranked second
followed by Oxford University. The rankings were based on nine indicators, including citations per faculty, employment outcomes, employer reputation, academic reputation, faculty-student ratio, sustainability, international research network, international faculty ratio, and international
student ratio. India is the seventh most represented country globally, with 45 universities ranked.
3.
India beats China with
world’s second-largest road network: India becomes the second- largest country with the biggest road network after beating
China. While the United States remains
in the number one position. The report says India successfully reserved the
position by spreading 1.45-lakh km of
road connectivity over the last 8 years India had 91,287 km of road network
only. During his tenure, the minister gripped
on NHAI, which
has constructed, fixed
and improved highways
and expressways. NHAI has constructed more than 30,000 km of highways and expressways nationwide.
4. 
Vishesh Chandiok appointed
initiated into ICAEW: CEO of Grant Thornton Bharat, Vishesh C. Chandiok has been appointed as the first Indian council member
of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) residing overseas. This recognition honors Chandiok’s significant contributions to the global accounting profession. His appointment highlights the influence of Indian professionals in accounting
and finance globally. Founded in 1880,
ICAEW has played a pivotal role in shaping the accounting industry and works
with governments, regulators and business leaders
globally. Its commitment to upholding the highest
professional standards and promoting ethical practices has made it the most
influential accountancy organisation in Europe.
5. 29 June – International Day of the Tropic: International Day of the
Tropic is observed every year on 29
June. Objective – To spread awareness about conservation strategies and promote tropical
regions on Earth. James Cook University of Australia, alongside
11 other research
institutions, released an inaugural State of the Tropics Report on June
29, 2014. The report specifically mentioned
that the population present in the Tropical region
is expected to rise from 40 percent to 50 percent by the year
2050. It looked into various environmental, social, and economic factors to acknowledge the quality of life in
tropical regions. The Tropics account for
36 percent of the Earth’s landmass. It includes the Equator and parts of North
and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Jhulan Goswami, Heather Knight, Eoin Morgan join MCC World Cricket Committee: Indian woman cricketer Jhulan
Goswami has joined
England women’s team captain Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan to
become a member of the MCC
World Cricket Committee
(WCC). This committee is an independent body that
consists of current and former international cricketers, umpires, and officials from various countries. Jhulan Goswami
retired from international cricket in
2022. Throughout her impressive two-decade-long career, Goswami took over 300
wickets in white-ball cricket across
272 appearances and secured 44 wickets in 12 Test matches. Heather Knight has been leading the England
cricket team since 2016. Under her captaincy, England won the ICC Women’s World Cup at Lord’s in
2017, just a year after she took over. Eoin Morgan, one of England’s greatest
run-scorers in ODI cricket, has amassed just under 7,000
runs in his career. He
captained the English team to their historic victory in the ICC Men’s World Cup
in 2019, which culminated in an unforgettable final against New Zealand.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. 
Tata AIA partners with
WhatsApp, Pay U to introduce premium payment feature: Tata AIA has partnered with WhatsApp and PayU to
make payments through Unified Payment Interfaces (UPI) for their consumers more efficient. This feature provides
an instant premium payment facility
through WhatsApp and UPI-enabled payment options. The company has enabled the renewal of premium collections via
multiple Digital modes and enhanced its language capability to 5 Languages–English, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati, and Bengali.
2. RBI cancels Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank Dharwad’s banking license: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the banking
license of the Karnataka-based Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank, Dharwad, and allowed function only as a non-banking
institution. This makes it obligatory on
the part of Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank Ltd., Dharwad, Karnataka to stop
conducting the business of ‘banking’
within the meaning of section 5(b) of the Act ibid, including acceptance of deposits from non-members with immediate effect. RBI has also been instructed
to repay unpaid and unclaimed
deposits of non-members held by it, whenever demanded, even after being notified
as a non-banking Institution.
3. AP Hota appoints as part-time Chairman of Federal Bank: The Reserve Bank of India
has given its approval to the Federal
Bank for the appointment of AP Hota as part-time chairman, with effect from June 29, 2023, till
January 14, 2026. AP Hota has banking experience of over 27 years in the Reserve Bank, mostly in
technology and payment systems, from 1982- 2009. While at Reserve Bank of
India, he served as nominee director to the Board of Vijaya Bank and subsequently Andhra Bank. He was the architect of NPCI and served as its Managing
Director
and
Chief Executive Officer between 2009- 2017. In 2018, he was appointed
as an Independent Director
of Federal Bank Limited.
