Weekly Current Affairs Of June 1st week

We bring you the complete and important daily Current Affairs of  April 2020 Quiz to achieve more marks in Banking, Insurance, UPSC, SSC, CLAT, Railways and all other competitive Exams. We prepare it based on our daily current affairs.Hope you like it.Current Affairs of March 2020 with Latest Current affairs March 2020 PDF for preparation of Bank Exam – PO & clerk, SSC, Railways & Insurance. Our Current Affairs of April 2020 PDF covers various sections like National March Current Affairs 2020, business & economy, Indian and International affairs 2020, defense, environment current affairs, persons and many for competitive exams preparing aspirants.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Power Minister RK Singh launched ‘#iCommit’ initiative on the occasion of WED on June 5, 2020

“#iCommit initiative” is headed by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), under the administration of the Ministry of Power.

Nitin Gadkari launches UNDP national awareness campaign on ‘Prevention of Human and Animal Mortality on Highways’

On the occasion of World Environment Day (June 05, 2020), Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) Shri Nitin Gadkari has launched the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) national awareness campaign on ‘Prevention of Human and Animal Mortality on Highways’ through a video conference with the aim to reduce or eliminate cases of death on the roads.

About Ministry of Road Transport and Highways:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Minister of State- V. K. Singh
About United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
Headquarters– New York, US
Administrator– Achim Steiner

Amritsar included in Delhi-Katra expressway; Punjab stretch to be converted into Greenfield Expressway 

A Greenfield connectivity will be developed in Punjab stretch of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway to Amritsar City from Nakodar in Jalandhar (Punjab) via five historic towns of Sultanpur Lodhi, Goindwal Sahib, Khadoor Sahib and Tarn Taran.

Army Commanders Conference 2020 held in New Delhi

DPIIT revises public procurement order to Encourage “Make in India” and enhance employment

To encourage the Make In India initiative and to increase the income and employment generation the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) revised the public procurement order

India loses 750 tigers during 2012-2019; Madhya Pradesh topped: NTCA Data

Of the total tiger mortalities, 369 were due to natural causes, 168 due to poaching, 70 deaths are under scrutiny and 42 due to unnatural reasons, including accident or conflicts events.

About Madhya Pradesh:
Capital– Bhopal
Chief Minister– Shivraj Singh Chouhan

200 “Urban forests” in 5 years: Central Govt.

The Central Govt. on June 5, the occasion of the World Environment Day 2020 (WED) announced the implementation to develop urban forests across the country over the span of 5 years; called the Nagar Van. 
Developing on the 2020 theme by the United Nation’s Environment Programme (UNEP); “Biodiversity”.

India, Australia bilateral virtual summit held; 7 agreements inked along with announcement of CSP

This was PM Narendra Modi’s first virtual bilateral summit, while Australia has held such a summit with Singapore in March, 2020.

HRD & Urban development ministries jointly launches student internship programme called “TULIP”

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Shri Hardeep S. Puri, (Minister of State (MoS) for Housing & Urban Affairs, have jointly launched The Urban Learning Internship Programme (TULIP) developed by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) with the aim to provide internship opportunities to thousands of fresh graduates and engineers of the county under the ‘Smart City’ projects.
About All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Chairman– Anil Sahasrabudhe

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Shri Hardeep S. Puri, (Minister of State (MoS) for Housing & Urban Affairs, have jointly launched The Urban Learning Internship Programme (TULIP) developed by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) with the aim to provide internship opportunities to thousands of fresh graduates and engineers of the county under the ‘Smart City’ projects.
About All India Council for Technical Education(AICTE):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Chairman– Anil Sahasrabudhe

Citizen skill mapping under Vande Bharat Mission called “SWADES” launched by Govt.

• The joint initiative by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(MSDE), Civil Aviation Ministry and External Affairs Ministry (MoCA).
• SWADES is launched in order to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM). 

About MSDE:
Minister– Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey
About MoCA:
Minister– Hardeep Singh Puri 

Union Cabinet approved MoU between India and Bhutan on Cooperation in the areas of Environment

The Union cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi approved the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) between India & Bhutan to improve cooperation in the areas of Environment.

About Bhutan:
Capital– Thimphu(the largest city of Bhutan)
Currency– Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN)

Centre approved funds for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha, Meghalaya, Assam & Bihar

• Centre approves Rs 812 crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Odisha
• Centre approves Rs 175 crore for implementation of JJM in Meghalaya
• Centre approves Rs 1,407 crore for implementation of JJM in Assam during 2020-21
• Centre allocates over Rs 1,832.66 cr for implementation of JJM in Bihar
• Arunachal Pradesh plans to provide tap connection to all rural households by March 2023
• Puducherry plans to provide tap connections to all rural households in 2020-21

R. K. Singh launches pan-India Real Time Market in electricity through VC

Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy & Minister of State (Skill Development and Entrepreneurship), R. K. Singh launched pan-India Real Team Market(RTM) in electricity through video conference in New Delhi, which has positioned Indian electricity market in the league of few electricity markets in the world, which have a RTM.

MEITY launched 3 new schemes worth Rs 50,000 cr to boost electronic manufacturing in India

These schemes will contribute in achieving a USD 1 Trillion digital economy and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025
The three schemes are:

• Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing,
• Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) 
• Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme

Expert Committees on Rationalization of Film Media Units and Review of Autonomous Bodies submitted report to MIB

Both committees were headed by Bimal Julka for rationalisation and professionalisation of film institutes.

About Ministry of Information and Broadcasting:
Union Minister– Prakash Javadekar
Secretary– Amit Khare

MoD places orders with OFB to supply 156 upgraded tanks worth of Rs 1,094 crore for Army

The Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) in Telangana’s Medak, to supply 156 BMP 2/2k Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs) worth Rs 1,094 crore for the Indian army. There are plans to induct these advanced feature vehicles into the army by 2023.

About Ministry of Defence:
Headquarters– New Delhi
Minister of State– Shripad Yesso Naik

Kisan Credit Cards campaign launched for 1.5 crore dairy farmers: Government

Government under a special drive will provide Kisan Credit Cards(KCC) to 1.5 crore dairy farmers belonging to milk unions and milk producing companies within the next two months (1st June-31st July 2020). 
The special drive is part of the Prime Minister’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat package for Farmers.

Odisha, Sikkim and Mizoram included in ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan informed that Odisha, Sikkim and Mizoram have joined the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ scheme on ‘Integrated Management of Public Distribution System’(IM-PDS) a total of 20 states/Union Territories(UTs) in the scheme.
Targets made

• All states will be added in the scheme & the scheme will be operational all over India by March 2021
• Three more States namely- Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Manipur will also be added to the national cluster by August 2020.

About Odisha
Capital– Bhubaneswar
CM– Naveen Patnaik
Governor– Ganeshi Lal

“My Life My Yoga” Video Blogging contest launched; announced by PM Modi in Mann Ki Baat

The contest being organized by the Ministry of AYUSH and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is open for participants from all countries.

About Ministry of AYUSH:
Founded– 2014
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
About ICCR:
President– Vinay Sahasrabuddhe
Headquarters– New Delhi

Ravi Shankar Prasad launched India’s national Artificial Intelligence Portal & launched “Responsible AI for Youth”

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology(IT), Law and Justice and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad launched India’s National Artificial Intelligence(AI) Portal called www.ai.gov.in

Also launched a National Program for the youth, “Responsible AI for Youth” during the occasion of the first anniversary of the second tenure of the government. 

India’s access to USD 50-60 billion worth of carbon credits can be achieved if it propagates agroecology: NITI Aayog

The National Institution for Transforming India(NITI) Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar stated that India’s access to USD 50-60 billion worth of carbon credits can be achieved if it propagates natural farming and agroecology, while suggesting adoption of innovative farming methods based on ecological principles during a virtual high-level round-table on ‘Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture’.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Virtual Global Vaccine Summit addressed by the Prime Minister Modi 

The virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was attended by more than 50 countries and their global leaders.

The PM of India, Narendra Modi addressed the session on aspects of India’s contribution and its long-standing view on global cooperation for immunization.

IISC Bangalore ranked 36, 8 Indian Institutes entered top 100 in THE Asia University Ranking

In the Times Higher Education(THE) Asia University Ranking launched on 4th June 2020, Indian became the Third most represented country with 8 institutes in the top 100.Indian Institute of Science(IISc) with 36th position on the list retains its top position in India.

Six Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are featured in the top 100 of list along with Institute of Chemical Technology(ICT)

The most represented country was Japan with 110 institutes followed by China and India with 81 universities and 72 institutes respectively.

Tsinghua University, China Tops the List following Peking University, China in 2nd position and National University of Singapore, Singapore in 3rd position.

‘The Great Reset’ 2021: WEF Davos summit

The 51st annual World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos dual summit meeting to be held in January 2021.
ii.This summit would be virtually open for everyone across the world with more than 400 global hubs. Prince Charles of Wales and WEF Founder and Executive Klaus Schwab announced the meet during a virtual session.
About WEF
Established– 1971
WEF founder and Executive– Klaus Schwab

WHO Launched ‘COVID-19 Technology Access Pool’ for equal access to Life-saving Tech

The COVID-19 (Technology) Access Pool or C-TAP which was mooted by President Carlos Alvarado of Costa Rica has been launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) during an event co-hosted by WHO and Costa Rica on May 29, 2020 at Geneva, Switzerland.

About WHO:
Director-General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarter– Geneva, Switzerland 

About Costa Rica:
President– Carlos Alvarado Quesada
Capital– San Jose
Currency– Costa Rican colon

India ranked 23rd for world’s best startup ecosystems; US topped: StartupBlink Ecosystem Rankings 2020

Among the top 100 startup cities, only four India cities were named in “2020 Cities Global Ranking of Startup Ecosystem”.
About StartupBlink:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Eli David 
Headquarter– Zurich, Switzerland

BANKING & FINANCE

SBI launches separate FI&MM vertical for agriculture and small businesses

State Bank of India (SBI) has created a separate Financial Inclusion and Micro Market (FI&MM) vertical within the bank with an exclusive focus to provide financial services to people engaged in agriculture and allied activities and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The new wing will be headed by deputy managing director (DMD) of the bank Sanjeev Nautiyal at the national level.
About State Bank of India (SBI):
Formation– 1 July 1955
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Rajnish Kumar
Tagline– The banker to every Indian; With you- all the way; A bank of the common man; Pure banking, nothing else.

RBI creates Payments Infrastructure Development Fund with initial corpus of Rs 250 cr to boost digitization

In order to encourage the deployment of Points of Sale (PoS) infrastructure in smaller cities and towns, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has created a Rs 500-crore ($66 million) Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), in which it will start with an initial contribution of Rs 250 crore & the remaining half of the amount will be installed by card issuing banks and card networks working in the country.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Formation– 1 April 1935
Governor– Shaktikanta Das

IndusInd Bank rolls out India’s 1st mobile app based facility for opening current accounts

IndusInd Bank Limited, an Indian new generation bank, has introduced a first-of-its-kind facility for customers to open current accounts (CA) through its ‘Indus Corporate’ mobile app. 

About IndusInd Bank Limited:
Headquarters– Pune, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Sumant Kathpalia
Country Head– Consumer Banking- Mr. Soumitra Sen
Tagline– We Make You Feel Richer

Axis Bank MasterCard and Worldline launches ‘Soft POS’, first financial payments service : Transform SmartPhones for Merchant POS terminals

Axis Bank Ltd, Mastercard India &  Worldline India partnered to launch a digital point-of-sale(POS) solution ‘Soft POS’, the 1st financial payments service in India to transform everyday smartphones into merchant POS terminals. It helps offline merchants and Kirana stores accept payments using their smartphones.
ii.Through this app merchants who traditionally accept cash payments will now have a simpler and more secure way to manage transactions.
About Axis Bank:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer– Amitabh Chaudhry

DBS Bank India partners with TCIL to facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by  DBS RAPID solution

DBS Bank India partnered with Transport Corporation of India Limited (TCIL)to facilitate real time payments for truck drivers by DBS RAPID(Real Time Application Program Interface-APIs by DBS) solution to enable them to receive payments instantly. 

About DBS Group:
Headquarters– Singapore
Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Director– Piyush Gupta 
About DBS Bank India Limited:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashthra
Managing Director(MD) and CEO– Surojit Shome 
About TCIL:
Corporate Office– Gurgaon, Haryana
Chairman and MD– D P Agarwal

SEBI Extends Deadline for Power Of Attorney Norms till August 1, 2020

The decision regarding extension has been taken due to the difficulty face by the stock brokers and broker associations in implementing the provisions amid the situation arising due to COVID-19.

About SEBI:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Indian economy likely to contract by 1.5% in FY21: RBI sponsored SPF survey

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the results of 3 survey’s namely -Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) – May 2020; Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) on Macroeconomic Indicators  (64th round) and Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH) – May 2020.

GAIL (India) Ltd & EESL signs MoU for development of Trigeneration projects in India through VC

State-owned Natural gas company GAIL (India) Ltd and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd(EESL) signed Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for development of ”trigeneration” projects in India through video conference(VC).

About GAIL:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
About EESL:
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Chairman– Rajeev Sharma

India’s GDP to contract by 4% in fiscal 2021 & downgraded its sovereign rating to ‘Baa3’ from ‘Baa2: Moody’s

Rating agency Moody’s expects India’s real Gross Domestic Product(GDP) to contract by 4% in fiscal 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures.

About Moody’s:
Headquarters– NewYork, United States
President & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Raymond W. McDaniel, Jr.

IRCON signs MoU with NIIFL & AYANA to explore and collaborate in the solar energy sector

Ircon International Ltd(IRCON), a Miniratna(Category-I) Schedule, public sector enterprise has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited(NIIFL) and Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited(AYANA), NIIF platform company to explore and collaborate on opportunities in the solar energy sector.

About IRCON:
Registered Office– New Delhi, India
Chairman & Managing Director(MD)– S.K. Chaudhary
About NIIFL:
Registered Office– New Delhi, India
MD & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Sujoy Bose
About AYANA:
Headquarters– Bangalore, Karnataka 
Chairman– S. S. Mundra 
MD & CEO– Shivanand Nimbargi 

Board of BEML approved signing of MoU with MELCO as a part of Expression of Interest (EoI)

The Board of BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited) in its 362nd meeting has given its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MELCO to study and planning for initiating a joint venture (JV) company between BEML and MELCO. This approval is on the lines of invitation of BEML regarding Expression of Interest (EoI) for Manufacturing, Partnerships under “Make in India” policy.

About BEML:
Headquarters– Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– Deepak Kumar Hota
About MELCO:
President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Takeshi Sugiyama
Headquarter– Tokyo, Japan

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS     

Mubadala to buy 1.85% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 9,093.6 crore

About Mubadala Investment Company:
It is the second-biggest state investor in Abu Dhabi after Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA)

Managing Director and Group CEO- Khaldoon Al Mubarak

CCI gives nod to Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merger

Competition Commission of India (CCI) has given its nod to the proposed merger between French car maker Peugeot S.A (PSA) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V (FCA).

Tata Power acquires 51% stake in Odisha’s TPCODL for Rs 178.5 cr

Tata Power Limited has acquired 51% stake in TP Central Odisha Distribution Ltd (TPCODL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO), for a consideration of Rs 178.5 crore. The remaining 49 % stake in TPCODL will be held by GRIDCO.
About Tata Power Limited:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO & MD- Praveer Sinha
About Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO):
Headquarters– Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Chairman-cum-Managing Director– Dr. Saurabh Garg

YES Bank picks 24.19% stake in Dish TV by invoking pledged shares

Private sector lender Yes Bank Limited has acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV India Ltd, a company providing Direct to Home (DTH) television service in India, following invocation of 44.53 crore pledged shares due to default in payment of debt by Dish TV and some other companies.
It is to be noted that as of March 31, 2019, Dish TV’s debt stood at Rs 2,758 crore.

About Yes Bank Limited:
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO– Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise.
About Dish TV India Ltd: 
Headquarters– Noida, Uttar Pradesh 
CEO– Anil Dua

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS  

Rohit Sharma signs with IIFL Finance to be their First ever brand ambassador

R.Venkataraman, Managing Director and Co-Promoter of IIFL Group announced that the Vice-Captain of Indian Cricket Team, Rohit Sharma signed and became the first brand ambassador of the IIFL Finance.
About IIFL Finance:
Chairman– S.Sridhar
Executive Director & CEO– Monu Ratra

Krishnendu Majumdar, the 1st Indian origin from UK appointed as Chair of BAFTA 

About BAFTA:
Headquarters– London, United Kingdom
President– Prince William,  Duke of Cambridge

PMO officers Rajeev Topno to be senior advisor at World Bank, Brajendra Navnit India’s permanent representative  to WTO

SEBI rearranges its Commodity derivatives advisory committee

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) rearranged the Commodity derivatives advisory committee and appointed Ashok Dalwani, Retired IAS officer as the chairman of the 17-member committee.
About SEBI:
Chairman– Ajay Tyagi
Head Office– Mumbai, Maharashtra

Former Miss World Manushi Chhillar joins Rohit, Hima as brand ambassador of Adidas

On Menstrual Hygiene Day Former Miss World Manushi Chhillar joins UNICEF’s “Red Dot Challenge”

On Menstrual Hygiene Day, 28th May 2020, 23-year-old, former Miss World Manushi Chhillar collaborated in the global initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the “Red Dot Challenge” to create awareness and to educate the girls about menstrual hygiene and construction of sanitation facilities and access to hygiene products.
About UNICEF:
President– Rabab Fatima(Bangladesh)
Executive Director– Henrietta H. Fore
Headquarters– New York, United States. 

Uday Kotak Take over from Vikram Kirloskar as the new CII President 

The Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) announced its new office bearers for 2020-2021. Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank succeeds Vikram Kirloskar, Chairman and Managing Director of Kirloskar System and vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor as the new President of CII.
About CII:

HQ- New DelhiPresident- Uday Kotak
Vice President- Sanjiv Bajaj

Virendra Nath Datt took additional charge as CMD of National Fertilizers Limited

Shri Virendra Nath Datt has taken over the additional charge as chairman and managing director (CMD) of National Fertilizers Limited (NFL). He has been director (marketing) of the company since October 2018.

About National Fertilizers Limited (NFL):
Headquarters– Noida,Uttar Pradesh

       

PM Modi appoints committee for MSME loan implementation headed by Rajnath Singh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed a committee headed by Rajnath Singh to solve the difficulties in the implementation of Rs.3 Lakh crore collateral-free loan forMicro, Small & Medium Enterprises(MSME).

About MSME Ministry:
Minister- Nitin Jairam Gadkari
Minister of State- Pratap Chandra Sarangi

Reserve Bank approves Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s MD and CEO, Subramanian Sundar extension

About Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB):
Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Tagline– The changing face of prosperity. 

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS     

Hyderabad International Airport receives Platinum Recognition in ACI Asia-Pacific Green Airports recognition 2020

On 5th June 2020, World Environment Day, In Asia-Pacific Annual Green Airport Recognition 2020 Airports Council International(ACI) awarded the highest Platinum Recognition to GMR led Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport(RGHIA)

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon named EY World Entrepreneur 2020 in a virtual ceremony

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw(67 years old), Executive Chairperson of India-based Biocon Limited was named as EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 

About Biocon:
Headquarters– Bangalore, India

Akshay Kumar ranked 52nd, the only Indian on the list, Kylie Jenner tops: Forbes 100  world’s highest-paid celebrities 2020

According to the Forbes 100 world’s highest-paid celebrities 2020, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar(52 years old)  ranked 52nd with an estimated earnings of USD 48.5 million(M) & is the only indian featured on the list. 

The list is topped by 22 years old Kylie Jenner, model who earned USD 590M & also topped in the women category.
About Forbes:
Headquarters- New york, United States
Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Michael Federle

South African Quarraisha Abdool Karim wins 2020 Christophe Mérieux Prize

Indian writer Kritika Pandey wins regional award for Asia in 2020 Commonwealth short story prize

Kritika Pandey, a 29-year-old Indian Writer from Ranchi, was announced as the winner of regional award for Asia in 2020 Commonwealth short story prize for her story “The Great Indian Tee and Snakes”.

SEEDS, an Indian NGO wins ‘World No Tobacco Day Award 2020’: WHO

The World Health Organization(WHO) has accorded the World No Tobacco Day Award 2020 to Socio-Economic and Educational Development Society(SEEDS), an Indian non-governmental organization(NGO).

About SEEDS:
Head Office– New Delhi, India
Regional Office– Patna, Bihar
About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare:
Union Minister– Harsh Vardhan
Minister of State– Ashwini KumarChoubey

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

For the comfort of PPE Wearers DRDO Develops “SUMERU-PACS”

Defence Research Development Organisation(DRDO) developed “SUMERU-PACS”, a personal air circulation system to provide comfort for the doctors and healthcare workers who wear Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) for more than 6 hours and suffer due to sweating.

About DRDO:
Chairman– Satheesh Reddy
Formed– 1958

SANSA & NASA collaborates to support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond

The South African National Space Agency(SANSA) has partnered with National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) to host a deep-space ground station to support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. 

South Africa became the 4th country(4th site)after the United States of America, Spain and Australia to host a deep space ground station.

About NASA:
Headquarters– Washington, United States.
Administrator– James Frederick “Jim” Bridenstine 
About SANSA:
Headquarters– Gauteng, South Africa
Chief Executive Officer– Valanathan Munsami

Rare ‘first of its kind’ Trojan asteroids called 2019 LD2 detected near Jupiter’s Orbit by astronomers at the “ATLAS” Institute of Astronomy 

Astronomers at Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii’s discovered a rare space object.

About Project ATLAS
ATLAS is an asteroid impact early warning system being developed by the University of Hawaii and funded by NASA. It consists of two telescopes, 100 miles apart, which automatically scan the whole sky several times every night looking for moving objects.  
Project Head– Dr John Tonry

PM Modi Launches ‘CHAMPIONS’ portal to empower MSMEs

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has launched CHAMPIONS (Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength) to help the smaller MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) by resolving their grievances and the complaints received on the portal will also be redressed within the prescribed limit.
About Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Union Minister– Nitin Gadkari

DRDO develops ‘Ultra Swachh’ to disinfect PPE and other materials

Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Science(INMAS) Delhi based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed “Ultra Swachh” a disinfection unit to disinfect Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), electronic items, fabrics and other materials.

Swiz launches world’s first app “SwissCovid” with Exposure Notification API of Apple and Google

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne(Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne – EPFL) and ETH Zurich (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) developed the “SwissCovid” based on a decentralized approach to track the spread of coronavirus.

NASA astronauts dock SpaceX spacecraft with ISS 

NASA astronauts Robrt Behnken and Douglas Hurley docked the SpaceX with the International Space Station(ISS) on 31st May 2020 at 10.16 am EDT (7.59 p.m India), over the border of China and Mongolia before the ISS started travelling above the Earth’s night side.
Spacex was launched on 30th May at 3.22 pm (1.50 am Sunday India).

About SpaceX:

Founder & CEO- Elon Musk
President & COO- Gwynne Shotwell
Founded- 2002
Headquarters- Hawthorne, California, United States of America

Karnataka launches COVID-19 tracking platform built by NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies(NASSCOM) announced that it has delivered an end-to-end coronavirus tracking platform for Karnataka, called the Karnataka Listening Dashboard for COVID-19. 

About Karnataka:
Capital city– Bengaluru
Chief Minister– B.S Yeddyurappa
Governor– Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
About NASSCOM:
Headquarters- Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Chairman– UB Pravin Rao
President– Debjani Ghosh 

ENVIRONMENT

ASI team discovers 1100-year-old Shiva lingam in Vietnam during temple excavation

A 4-member team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a 1100-year-old monolithic sandstone Shiva lingam, a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva, at the Cham Temple Complex located in My Son Sanctuary of Quang Nam Province, Vietnam.
About Archaeological Survey of India (ASI):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Director General– Smt. V Vidyavathi

Researchers of CMFRI have found a rare bandtail scorpionfish in Gulf of Mannar

Researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Institute (CMFRI) found a rare bandtail scorpionfish from Sethukarai coast in the Gulf of Mannar. 
This was the first time that the particular species was found alive in Indian waters during the exploratory survey of the seagrass ecosystem.

Millipede-like creature, Kampecaris obanensis is the world’s oldest-known land animal: Research

According to the research published in the journal Historical Biology, fossilized millipede-like Silurian Period creature called as Kampecaris obanensis(approximately 450 million years old) is unearthed on the island of Kerrera in the Scottish Inner Hebrides(Scotland), which is likely to be  the world’s oldest-known land animal. 

About Scotland:
Capital– Edinburgh
Currency– Pound Sterling

SPORTS

India to host AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022

Asian Football Confederation(AFC) granted the hosting rights of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 to India for the 1st time since 1979. The tournament is likely to be held in the 2nd half of the year. 

Kiren Rijiju launches 25 day Khelo India Community Coach Development programme

SAI in collaboration with NSF launches India’s 1st online coaching programme ‘Khelo India e-Pathshala‘

Sports Authority of India (SAI), the apex national sports body of India, in association with National Sports Federations (NSF) has launched India’s 1st -ever national-level open online coaching and education programme called “Khelo India e-Pathshala” to grassroots players.

About Sports Authority of India (SAI):
Headquarters– New Delhi
Director General- Sandip Pradhan

OBITUARY

National awardee and Veteran filmmaker Basu Chatterjee passed away at 90

Former Pakistan’s First-class cricketer Riaz Sheikh passed away at 51 due to COVID-19

Former International Archer and coach Jayanti Lal Nanoma passed away at 34

J&K: Former Union Minister, Congress leader P Namgyal passes away at 83

Bollywood Music Director Wajid Khan passes away at 42

American Sprinter Bobby Morrow passed away at 84

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Pest Day 2020: June 6

UN Russian Language Day 2020 – June 6

International Day for the Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 2020 – June 5

World Environment Day 2020 – June 5

International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression 2020 – June 4

International Sex Workers Day 2020 – June 2

Every year June 2nd is celebrated as the International Sex Workers Day ensure that the sex workers enjoy the same rights as all the other human beings and tackle the abuse and trafficking problems.

World Bicycle Day 2020 – June 3

Global Day of Parents 2020: June 1

20th Anniversary of World Milk Day: June 1, 2020

Theme for the year 2020: 20th Anniversary of World Milk Day.

About Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO):

Headquarters– Rome, Italy.
Director-General– Qu-Dongyu.

World No Tobacco Day 2020, May 31

The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2020 is “Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use”

International Everest Day May 29

About Mt. Everest:
Named after George Everest, former British Surveyor General of India.
Height- 8,850 meters (29,035 feet)

International Day of Action for Women’s Health observed on May 28, 2020

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Luke Coutinho’s new book “The Dry Fasting Miracle: From Deprive to Thrive” on benefits of ‘dry fasting diet’

A 92-page e-booklet called ‘One Year of Modi 2.0 – Towards A Self-Reliant India’ on the key achievements of the Modi government during its second term was released on June 1, 2020, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).

‘One Year of Modi 2.0 – Towards A Self-Reliant India’ e-book released by Ministry of I&B

STATE NEWS

UP introduces MoU Monitoring Mechanism for implementation of investment proposals and tracking of MoU

Uttar Pradesh introduces a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU Monitoring Mechanism to achieve efficient implementation of investment proposals by guiding interested investors and to track the signed MoUs.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Governor– Anandiben Mafatbhai Patel
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Chief Secretary– Rajendra Kumar Tiwari
Capital– Lucknow

HDFC Bank launches a campaign “summer treats”

The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited(HDFC) Bank, a Mumbai based private sector bank has launched a special campaign ‘Summer Treats’ with offers to meet the changing needs of merchants as well as salaried and self-employed customers.

Severe cyclonic storm “Nisarga”: India’s west coast

Cyclone Nisarga, which intensified into a severe cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea, expected to hit the coasts of Gujarat, Maharashtra.Over coastal Maharashtra  weakened into a Cyclonic Storm, dropped heavy rains and winds gusting up to 120km (75 miles) per hour as a category 4 cyclone near the coastal city of Alibag(Maharashtra).The name Nisarga was suggested by Bangladesh.

Kerala announces K-FON to provide free internet by December 2020, first state to declare internet as a fundamental right 

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on a Rs.1500 crore Kerala Fiber Optic Network(K-FON) project executed by the association of  Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL), RailTel Corporation(Public sector companies) andSRIT and LS Cables(Private sector companies) to provide free internet access for the poor by December 2020 and become the first state to declare the internet as a fundamental right of the citizen.
About Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL):
Chairman & MD- M V Gowtama
Established- 1954
Headquarters- Bangalore, Karnataka
About RailTel:
Chairman & MD- Puneet Chawla
Established- 2000
Headquarters- New Delhi

Kondapochamma Sagar project inaugurated by Telangana CM 

About Telanga
Capital– Hyderabad 
Governor– Tamilisai Soundararajan 

Nitin Patel presented Rs 2.17 lakh crore Gujarat budget for 2020-21

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Nitin Patel presented a Rs 2,17,287 crore budget for the financial year 2020-21