TAAZA KHABAR
JUNE 14-16
1) APP LAUNCHED FOR THE BLOOD BANK LOCATION
Government has launched a mobile application for easy access of information regarding the nearest blood bank in the country. Prepared by the National Blood Transfusion Council, it covers all the 2760 licensed blood banks of the country.
2) ‘JURASSIC WORLD’ CREATES COLLECTION RECORD
The fourth installment in the Jurassic Park series- Jurassic World has become the first film to have collections of more than 500 million dollars at the box office on its opening weekend. It was the most popular screening in all 66 countries where it was released.
3) BRITAIN OBSERVES 800 YEARS OF MAGNA CARTA
On June 15, Britain marked the 800th anniversary of the historic charter Magna Carta.
The Magna Carta, Latin for ‘Great Charter’ that was also an inspiration for the US Constitution, is hailed as the cornerstone of parliamentary democracy. On June 15, 1215, King John had met disgruntled barons and agreed to a list of basic rights under which the foundations of parliamentary democracy, human rights and the supremacy of the law over the crown were first enshrined.
4) PHILAE WAKES UP TO SAY ‘HELLO EARTH’
The European space probe Philae woke up overnight on June 13 after seven months-long sleep as it hurtled towards the Sun on the back of a comet. “Hello Earth! Can you hear me?” the tiny robot lab tweeted under the hashtag #WakeUpPhilae.
The 100-kilogramme robot lab touched down on the comet “67P /Churyumov-Gerasimenko” on November 12, 2014, after a 10-year trek piggybacking on space ship Rosetta.
5) INSURANCE POOL FORMED FOR NUCLEAR RISKS
The Union government has launched an insurance pool of Rs. 1,500 crore, mandatory under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act to offset the financial burden on foreign nuclear suppliers in case of an accident. Under the pool, nuclear operators’ liability and suppliers’ special contingency insurance policies will be offered.
6) IDFC REPLACES THE MANAGEMENT OF DEFAULTING COMPANY
In a first ever instance of lenders seizing the company and throwing the management out after the Reserve Bank of India empowered the lenders to gain controlling stake in companies which default on payments after loan restructuring,
IDFC has thrown out the promoters of SV Power and brought in a new equity investor to revive the company that missed payment schedules
7) VEDANTA TAKES OVER ENERGY MAJOR CAIRN INDIA
India’s largest private miner Vedanta Ltd., headed by billionaire Anil Agarwal, decided to absorb oil firm Cairn India in a $2.3-billion all-share deal to create India’s largest diversified natural resources company.
8) HDFC BANK LAUNCHES CARD FREE PAYMENT APP
HDFC Bank has launched a mobile phone application, PayZapp, for online payments and money transfer. Customers would be able to make money transfers, e- shopping, buy tickets, pay utility bills and recharge their mobile and DTH connections with just one click and a single PIN entry, without using debit / credit cards.
9) WORLD’s LONGEST FREIGHT TRAIN LAUNCHED
China launched the world’s longest freight train route on June 13 linking city of Harbin in northeast China with the German city of Hamburg, via Russia’s Trans-Siberian line, covering a distance of 9820 kms passing through Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and Poland in 15 days.
10) ANDROID APP ‘SAKAAR’ LAUNCHED BY ISRO
ISRO has developed an android based augmented reality application named ‘Sakaar’ to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space during past one year.
Augmented Reality is a live direct view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated 3D models, animations, videos etc.
11) INDIA HAS GOOD NUMBER OF SUPER RICH
India is home to the fourth largest number (928) of ultra-high-net-worth households that have more than 100 million dollars in private wealth, according to The Boston Consulting Group’s ‘Global Wealth 2015 report. USA stands at number one (5201), followed by China (1037) and UK (1019).
12) TRADE DEFICIT SHRINKS TO $10.4 BILLION
India’s exports dipped by 20.19 per cent in May to USD 22.34 billion mainly due to global slowdown and dip in crude oil prices that impacted overseas shipments of petroleum products. Imports, too, declined by 16.52 per cent for the month to $32.75 billion. Trade deficit narrowed to a three month low of $10.4 billion.
13) NRIs ALLOWED TO INVEST IN CHITFUNDS
The Reserve Bank has allowed NRIs to invest in chit funds on non-repatriation basis, without any ceiling, to encourage flow of capital into the country. However, the subscription to the chit funds should be brought in through normal banking channels only.
14) SHEILA KAUL: Former Union Minister, a sister-in-law of Jawaharlal Nehru and oldest surviving former parliamentarian, died after brief illness in Ghaziabad, UP. She was 100.
15) Railway Ministry has decided to run Suvidha trains from next month with dynamic fares to address the rush during peak travel seasons.
16) OMARAL-BASHIR: Sudanese President flew out of South Africa today, defying a court order for him to stay as judges weighed up whether he should be arrested for alleged war crimes and genocide.
17) Indian Railways has named Haridwar Mail running between Ahmedabad-Haridwar as Yoga Express to commemorate International Yoga Day on June 21.
18) RBI has issued the final guidelines for the 6-year and 13-year cash settled Interest Rate Futures (IRF) on government securities with residual maturity of 4-8 years and 11-15 years respectively under the Interest Rate Futures (Reserve Bank) (Amendment) Directions, 2015.
19) DR BIMAL K ROY: Director of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) was in news as he was removed from office by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on charges of indiscipline just one-and-a-half months before the end of his term.
20) Visitors to Taj Mahal will soon be able to access internet through wi-fi hotspots with launched by the BSNL from June 16. The service will be free of cost for the first 30 minutes and shall be charged Rs 30 per hour subsequently.
TAZAA KHABAR
FROM JUNE 12 TO 13
1) RBI ADDS NEW DOCUMENTS AS ADDRESS PROOF
Reserve bank of India has allowed postpaid mobile service, piped gas and water supply bills to be submitted as proof of address (not more than 2 months old) for opening bank account of low risk persons. Government has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 for providing these relaxations.
Some other documents approved as the officially valid documents (OVDs) for proof of address include Bank account or Post Office savings bank account statement; pension or family pension payment orders (PPOs), Letter of allotment of accommodation from official bodies.
2) DHONI IS RICHEST INDIAN SPORTSMAN
Cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni with earnings of over $ 31 million in 2014-15, ranks 23rd among Forbes magazine’s 100 highest-paid athletes in the world. He is the only Indian sportsman on the list that has been topped again by American boxer Floyd Mayweather with earnings of $300 million.
3) NEK CHAND SAINI: Padma Sri awardee, creator of world famous iconic ‘Rock Garden’ at Chandigarh, passed away on June 12 at the age of 90 years. He was an art wizard who used waste like broken crockery, ceramic tiles, sanitary waste, electrical fittings, glass bangles and other variety of waste items to make mosaic sculptures of men, women, animals and gods in a unique charismatic wonderland called Rock Garden.
4) CHIRIL GABURICI: Prime Minister of Moldova, a small state on the border of Ukraine, was in news as he resigned after the prosecutors questioned the authenticity of his school-leaving certificate. He became PM in February, 2015.
5) Union Cabinet meet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement.
6) Growth in the country’s industrial output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production, rose to a two-month high of 4.1 per cent in April this year, mainly lifted by the manufacturing sector.
7) Railway Ministry has decided to run Suvidha trains from next month with dynamic fares to address the rush during peak travel seasons.
8) The second border haat (rural market) was opened for common people at Kamalasagar in Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.
9) Reserve Bank of India has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit fund to encourage flow of capital into the country.
10) SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE: Legendary English actor, singer and writer passed away in London, United Kingdom. He was 93. He is remembered for his charismatic negative roles in movies such as Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond, Lord of the Rings etc.
11) Government has withdrawn the customs import duties for drugs and test kits used to treat HIV and AIDS infections.
12) A computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets has been developed by Manu Prakash, an Indian-origin scientist and his team at Stanford University, California, USA.
13) India missed a chance to take part in the 2018 FIFA World Cup as it lost to Oman in a qualifier match played in Bengaluru on June 11.
TAZAA KHABAR
JUNE 11
1) INDIA TO TOP IN GROWTH – WORLD BANK
The latest Global Economic Prospects report from World Bank says that India is expected to top the growth chart in world, growing by 7.5 per cent this year, surpassing China which is projected to grow at 7.1 per cent this year.
2) 26 AFRICAN COUNTRIES SIGN FTA
African leaders have agreed to create the continent’s largest free trade zone, covering 26 countries in an area from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. The deal named as The Tripartite Free Trade Area, aims to ease the movement of goods across member countries which represent more than half the continent’s GDP.
3) US TOPS IN OIL PRODUCTION
The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer in 2014 producing 11.6 million barrels of oil per day to topple Saudi Arabia’s 11.5 million bpd production. Russia with 10.8 million bpd oil production was placed third.
4) INS VIKRANT COMPLETES FIRST PHASE
India crossed a major milestone in defence shipbuilding on June 10 when its first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was undocked on completion of structural work at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd. The ship will undergo a series of fitment and trial processes before it is ready for propulsion and inducted into the Navy.
5) PAYZAPP – MULTI USE APP FROM HDFC
HDFC Bank Ltd has launched PayZapp, a mobile app that allows you to broadly do five things—manage credit or debit card details, recharge and pay bills, use virtual card, send money through a wallet, and online shopping, all from at a single app. The app is available only for HDFC Bank customers.
6) ARMY KILLS 50 MILITANTS IN MYANMAR
On June 9, Indian Army in coordination with the Air Force carried out surgical operations (cross-border operation) inside Myanmar to target militant groups responsible for killing of 18 Indian soldiers. In this one of the first-of-its-kind cross-border operation, about 50 militants of groups namely NSCN (K) and KYKL were killed.
7) RBI ALLOWS RUPEE LINKED BONDS OVERSEAS
RBI has permitted Indian corporates, eligible to raise external commercial borrowings (ECBs), to issue rupee- linked bonds overseas. The RBI proposed that the subscription, coupon payments and redemption might be settled in foreign currency.
8) TALKS HELD WITH JAPAN, AUSTRALIA
India, Australia and Japan held trilateral talks on June 10 in New Delhi to discuss a range of issues including the security situation in the Asia Pacific as also infrastructure and developmental projects.
TAZAA KHABAR
FROM JUNE 9 TO 10
1) The 25th African Union summit was held at Pretoria, South Africa on June 7-8. The summit is being held under the theme, “Year of Women Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063.”
2) K.V. CHOWDARY: Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC)
3) VIJAI SINGH: Chief Information Commissioner (CIC)
4) Railways have entered in to a tie-up with Spice Jet and Go Air
airlines to enable the train travellers whose ticket is wait-listed to cancel the train ticket and instead get on to a flight of either airline by paying some incremental fare.
5) ASHOBAA: The cyclonic storm over east-central Arabian Sea that was expected to hit Maharashtra and Gujarat coast, moved away west ward towards Oman.
6) BANKS TO TAKEOVER LOANEE COMPANIES
The Reserve Bank has allowed banks to take control of debt-laden companies by converting loans into equity if a debt restructuring fails to revive them within a stipulated time frame. Allowing loan conversion will now be a pre-condition for all debt restructuring deals.
7) INDIA GOOD FOR INVESTMENTS
According to a World Bank report, India has figured in top five emerging economies for highest investment commitments in private sector, infrastructure sectors – energy, transport and water. The top five countries are Brazil, Turkey, Peru, Colombia and India.
8) R C TAYAL: Appointed as the new Director General of the elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG).
9) M K SHARMA: New non-executive Chairman of the Board of ICICI Bank
10) SPACE PIONEER AWARD 2015: Awarded to ISRO by the US National Space Society for its low-cost Mangalyaan Mars orbiter mission
11) Anantjeet Singh Naruka won the gold in the skeet match in the 7th International junior shotgun cup held in Orimattila, Finland
12) India’s first of its kind Tier-I Oil Spill Response Centre for Mumbai Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and ONGC near Mumbai was inaugurated on 5 June 2015.
13) Govt has decided to include Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh and the Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana as part of the urban conurbation of National Capital Region (NCR).
14) Indian Renewable Energy and Development Agency (IREDA) has been awarded the Mini Ratna (Category-I) status by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
TAZAA KHABAR
FROM JUNE 5 TO 8
1) DUTCH PRIME MINISTER VISITS INDIA
Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Netherland arrived in New Delhi on a two-day (June 5-6) visit to India. The two countries announced the setting up of a joint working group on counter terrorism and work closely in the areas such as extremism, defence, maritime and cyber security while the Dutch expressed interest in supporting the Make in India and Clean India campaign.
2) IMPORT PRICE HIKED FOR ARECA NUTS
The government has decided to increase the Minimum Import Price, MIP on import of Areca nuts from existing Rs 110 per kilogram to Rs 162 with immediate effect in order to protect local growers from the cheaper imports.
3) G-7 SUMMIT HELD IN GERMANY
The leaders of G-7 countries held their 41st summit at Schloss Elmau, southern Germany on June 7-8. Russia is no more a member of this elite group as it has been accused of forced annexation of Crimea. G-7 is a group of seven most industrialized nations of the world and includes European Union also.
4) MODI VISITS BANGLADESH
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Dhaka on June 6 on a two-day visit to Bangladesh. Some 22 agreements were signed between two countries during the visit and a credit line of $2 billion was announced for the neighbouring country.
Mr Modi also received the “Bangladesh Liberation War Honour” on behalf of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in recognition of his role in Bangladesh Liberation War.
The Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala (466+152 kms) bus service and Guwahati – Dhaka (496 kms) bus services have been started.
5) S KOREA SUFFERS ATTACK OF MERS
Hundreds of schools were closed in South Korea as officials struggled to ease growing panic over an outbreak of the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) virus that has infected 35 people, killed two.
MERS has now infected 1,161 people globally, with 436 deaths in more than 20 countries, with most cases in Saudi Arabia. The virus found in Arabian Dromedary camels, has no known cure or vaccine and thus is considered a deadly disease.
6) FRENCH OPEN TENNIS CUP CONCLUDES IN PARIS
Serena Williams of USA won the women’s singles title of French Open at Paris, France by beating Czech Lucie Safarova. Men’s title was won by Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland by beating world champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia. The event is popularly known as Rolland Garros tournament and is famous for its red clay courts.
7) YANGTZE: The Eastern Star, a cruise ship carrying 456 people, capsized on the Yangtze River in China on the night of June 1 in high winds and heavy rain. Only 14 persons survived the tragedy, leaving remaining as missing or dead.
8) ACCRA: Capital of Ghana was in news as at least 150 people died there in a fire at a petrol station. President of Ghana announced three days of national mourning for the dead.
9) CHANDEL: District in Manipur was in news it witnessed on June 4 one of the worst attacks by insurgents on the Indian Army in two decades, when they ambushed a military convoy near Tengnoupal in the Moltuk valley, killing at least 20 army personnel and injuring 11 others.
10) The Department of Post (India Post) has signed a deal with CMS Info Systems to personalise over 15 million debit cards for its savings account holders.
11) R. SESHASAYEE: Appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of IT giant Infosys Ltd.
12) IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards announced at Kualalumpur, Malaysia on June 7
Best Picture: Queen by Vikas Bahl
Best Actress Kangana Ranaut for Queen
Best Actor: Shahid Kapoor for Haider
Best Direction: Rajkumar Hirani for PK
13) Former captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed coach of the India A and Under-19 cricket teams
14) Barcelona lifted the UEFA Champions League Football trophy for the fifth time by beating Juventus at Berlin, Germany on June 7.
Defending world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, Canada beating his rival Nico Rosberg.
15) Ministry for water resources launched a Jal Kranti Abhiyan from Jaipur on June 6 aimed at turning at least one water stressed village in each district of the country into a water surplus village.
16) State Bank of India has selected 100 highly qualified candidates for its 13-month fellowship programme `Youth for India’. These candidates will work with one of the seven NGOs that have a partnership with the bank to work in rural areas.
17) Conflict Resolution in Multicultural Societies — The Indian Experience by Jhumpa Mukherjee;
18) Chaos of the Senses by Ahlem Mosteghanemi,
19) Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
TAZAA KHABAR
JUNE 3 – 4
1) RBI LOWERS REPO RATE TO 7.25%
Reserve Bank of India on May 2 cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25 per cent from 7.5% in its first monetary policy review. The Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) was kept unchanged at 4%.
This is the third reduction of rate during this year aimed at boosting investment and growth. It is expected that now the banks may lower the interest rate on loans, leading to reduction in amount of EMIs.
The new rates are as under:
Repo Rate………………………7.25%
Reverse Repo…………………6.25%
Marginal Standing Facility…8.25%
Bank Rate…………………………8.25%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio…..21.5%
Cash Reserve Ratio……………4.0%
2) RBI LOWERS GDP GROWTH TO 7.6%
The Reserve Bank on June 2 lowered the economic growth forecast for the year 2015-16 to 7.6 per cent from 7.8 per cent projected in April, citing various risks, including poor monsoon and rising crude oil prices. Both, lower than average monsoon and higher food inflation would lead to reduction in demand and hamper growth.
3) PAYMENT NORMS FOR BANK DIRECTORS
The Reserve Bank has capped the remuneration on non-executive director of private banks to Rs 10 lakhs per annum while the compensation of non-executive part-time chairman will require a prior approval from the RBI. Banks will have to disclose the remuneration paid to the directors on an annual basis in their annual financial statements.
4) NSFR GUIDELINES ISSUED BY RBI
The Reserve Bank has issued the draft guidelines on the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) under Basel III framework on liquidity standards for banks and sought comments from all stakeholders by June 26.
The NSFR is defined as the amount of available stable funding relative to the amount of required stable funding.
5) PROJECT LAUNCHED TO DEVELOP WATERWAYS
The ‘Jal Marg Vikas’ (National Waterway-1) project on River Ganges, which envisages developing a 1620 kms water way between Allahabad and Haldia stretch, has taken off with a $3.5 million funding from the World Bank.
6) INDIA MAY GROW BY 8 %: NOMURA
Global brokerage firm Nomura said in a research note that lower inflation, easier financial conditions, policy efforts and rising profit margins are expected to back up a cyclical recovery in Indian economy that may grow by 8 per cent this fiscal. However, key risks to this assumption are a bad monsoon and weak global demand.
7) INDIA STILL LOW IN COMPETITIVENESS
India was ranked at 44th rank in the annual global competitiveness report by a Switzerland-based business school which cited problems like high corporate taxes and existence of a parallel economy for the low ranking. USA ranked number one in the study.
8) INDIA SIGNS GLOBAL TAX TREATY
On June 3 India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information by signing the pact in Paris. This will enable India to access data related to bank accounts from across the world, including tax havens that were earlier refusing to cooperate.
54 countries have already joined the MCAA. India is among six countries that signed the pact, taking the number to 60. The target is to reach 94 countries by 2017.
9) LIPULEKH PASS OPENED FOR BUSINESS
The 17,500-feet high Lipulekh Pass in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand was opened on June 1 for this year’s India-China trade and Kailash Mansarovar Yatra. The route will remain open till October 31.
10) DEFENCE AGREEMENT SIGNED WITH USA
India and US have signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement setting the stage for co-development of defence equipment manufacturing and technology.
11) World Bank has approved $250 million loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project for reconstruction of flood-affected public infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir.
12) SEPP BLATTER: President of world’s top football body – FIFA was in news as he resigned on June 2 after a US criminal investigation report levied charges of corruption on him in the functioning of sports body.
13) INDIA, BELARUS SIGN SIX AGREEMENTS
During the visit of Indian President, Belarus govt signed six agreements in fields such as textiles, double taxation, media etc. The State University of Belarus conferred the Professor Honoris Causa degree on President. India extended a USD 100 million line of credit to Belarus.
14) IRWIN ROSE: Noted biochemist from America who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry passed away at the age of 88 on June 2.
15) HEALTH PHONE PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) in collaboration with Ministry of Women and Child Development launched the IAP Health Phone programme, the world’s largest digital mass education programme to address malnutrition in women and children.
16) EDWARD SNOWDEN: Former US security contractor and electronic surveillance whistleblower was in news as he was awarded a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression (also known as Bjornson Prize)
17) Bangladesh has granted permission to Life insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to do business in the country
18) World Bank granted a $400-million loan for the Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project to improve services in urban local bodies.
19) Star athlete Inderjeet Singh bagged the gold medal in the men’s shot put event at the 21st Asian Athletics Championships at Wuhan, China. Tintu Luka won the gold in women’s 800m race. Lalita Babar bagged a gold in 3000m steeplechase race while Vikas Gowda won the gold for discuss throw.
China topped the medal tally with 41 medaals while India stood third with 13 medals.
20) OECD PUTS INDIA’s GROWTH AT 7.3%
Paris-based think tank Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said that India’s economic growth is projected to remain “strong and stable” at 7.3% in 2015 on the back of revival in investments even as more reforms are needed to reduce uncertainties over taxation norms.
21) Jaipur Metro, touted as one of the fastest built metro systems in the country, was thrown open to public on June 3.
22) The US Senate passed the USA Freedom Act on June 3, making it the first time in over thirty years that both houses of Congress have approved a bill placing real restrictions and oversight on the National Security Agency’s surveillance powers.
23) RAVI SHASTRI: Re-appointed as Director of Indian cricket team.
24) SYED ASIF IBRAHIM: Appointed as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Countering Terrorism and Extremism
25) World Milk Day: June 1
TAZAA KHABAR
29 MAY TO JUNE 02
1) GDP GROWS BY 7.3% IN 2014-15
According to the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on May 29, the Indian economy grew at 7.3 per cent in 2014-15 (base year 2011-12) due to improvement in the performance of both services as well as manufacturing sectors. It was 6.9 per cent in 2013-14. The fourth quarter (January-March) of last fiscal saw the economy grow at 7.5 per cent.
2) NEW INCOME TAX RETURN FORMS
Union Finance Ministry has introduced two new forms for filing income tax returns (ITR) for the year 2014-15 – ITR-2 and ITR-2A. Form ITR-2 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) having income from more than one house property and capital gains. Form ITR-2A is for individuals who have income from more than one residen
Individuals having income only from salary / interest will fill Form ITR-1 (Sahaj) and those having income from business will fill Form ITR-4S (Sugam).
3) INDIA HOME TO 24% OF WORLD’S HUNGRY
India is home to the highest number of hungry people in the world, at 194 million, surpassing China, according to United Nations annual hunger report – ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015′ by FAO. India accounts for over 24 per cent of the total 795 million hungry people in the world.
4) WEBSITE LAUNCHED FOR ‘MISSING CHILDREN’
The Women and Child Development Ministry has launched a new website – www.khoyapaya.gov.in to serve as a platform for people to not only report a missing child but also track the efforts towards his or her recovery. The website will answer all queries as to what action is to be taken when a child goes missing.
5) OPCW DESTROYS 90% CHEMICAL WEAPONS
The world’s chemical watchdog, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has declared that it has succeeded in destroying 90 per cent of the global chemical weapons stockpile, calling it a “major milestone”. The stockpiles included caches containing chemicals needed to make deadly nerve agents like Sarin.
6) PRESIDENT VISITS SWEDEN
President of India visited Sweden on May 31 on his five day visit to the country and Belarus. This is first ever visit by an Indian President to Sweden. Several agreements were signed with Sweden to boost ties and to find ways for investment in India’s defence sector under the ambitious ‘Make in India’ initiative.
7) More than 100 US cities will organise a Yogathon on the first International Yoga Day to be celebrated on June 21, organisers of the event have said.
8) China plans to form a huge gold investment fund of about 100 billion Yuan (over $16 billion) aiming to bolster Beijing’s role in global gold trade.
9) Shrinking for the second straight month, output of the country’s eight core sector industries contracted by 0.4 per cent in April this year, on poor performance of most sectors.
10) Indian wrestlers won nine medals, including eight gold in Men’s Freestyle event in the International Wrestling tournament in Sassari City, Italy
11) Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari clinched the bronze medal in the women’s individual Recurve event of the World Cup at Antalya, Turkey
12) Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest: The prestigious spelling contest of USA was won by Indian origin American children – Vanya Shivashankar, 13, and Gokul Venkatachalam, 14.
13) Star cricketers Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman joined the BCCI in a newly-constituted advisory panel to guide the board in all matters related to the game.
14) Chinese researchers have successfully developed the first ATM with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of frauds related to ATMs.
15) GEORGE YEO: Former Foreign Minister of Singapore has been appointed as the new Chancellor of Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar.
16) AMEENAH GURIB-FAKIM: First woman President of Mauritius.
17) PAWAN MUNJAL: has taken over as Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, world’s no one two wheeler company.
18) VIJAI SHARMA: New Chief Information Commissioner
19) K V CHOWDARY: New Central Vigilance Commissioner
NEW BOOKS
20) Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit.
21) The Crown Prince, the Gladiator and the Hope: Battle for Change by Ashutosh.
22) Super Economies: America, India, China and the Future of the World by Raghav Bahl.