NATIONAL:

Karnataka government has launched Pink Sarathi vehicles for womens safety.

• Karnataka government has launched ‘Pink Sarathi’ vehicles that are procured by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). It was launched by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. BMTC will use the vehicles to attend to the grievances of women passengers in city buses.

• MTC had received Rs.56.07 crore from the Centre under the Nirbhaya scheme. It has also taken up various measures for the safety of women passengers, including the launch of Pink Sarathi vehicles. The BMTC now has a fleet of 25 Pink Sarathi vehicles fitted with GPS and public announcement systems.  

• The safety of female passengers will be a priority. It will also take on other tasks such as manning traffic movement at bus bays making sure that drivers stop at the designated stops, taking action against bus crew when they fail to close the door once the vehicle is in motion, and ensuring that men are not occupying seats reserved for women.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

ICICI Bank launches centre for MSMEs in Bengaluru.

• ICICI Bank launched a centre in Bengaluru to provide business solutions exclusively to start-ups and MSME sector.

• ICICI Bank along with Viral Rupani, Retail Business Head South, ICICI Bank inaugurated the centre.

• The services offered include working capital loans upto ₹20 crore, business loans (based on GST returns) upto ₹1 crore, instant overdraft facility of ₹15 lakh, extensive trade solutions and cash management services, among others.

• The centre has a legal and valuation desk to assist customers in resolving challenges pertaining to collaterals offered for various loans.

About ICICI Bank

Industry: Banking, Financial services

Headquarters: ICICI Bank Towers, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai, India

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

J&K Bank Chairman removed over governance concerns.

• The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday removed J&K Bank's Chairman Parvez Ahmed due to concerns over the bank's governance and functioning. Ahmed, whose tenure was set to end in five months, is reportedly facing allegations of corruption, nepotism and favouritism. The J&K Anti Corruption Bureau raided the premises of J&K Bank's headquarters hours after his removal.

Mrutyunjay Mohapatra is appointed as IMD Chief.

• Renowned scientist and cyclone warning specialist Mrutyunjay Mohapatra was appointed as the Chief of India Meteorological Department (IMD). His is popularly known as Cyclone man. He will take charge in the month of August.

• Mohapatra and his team at the Cyclone Warning Division (CWD) of the IMD are noted for their accurate forecasts on cyclones which have enabled the authorities to ensure early evacuation of millions of people eventually saving many lives. In the past six years, the CWD has given accurate forecasts on cyclones including when Phailin in 2013), Hudhud cyclone in 2014 and Titli in 2018 that hit the eastern coast.

India Meteorological Department

Formed on: 1875

Headquarters: New Delhi

Functions under: Ministry of Earth Sciences

Minister responsible: Harsh Vardhan

Director General: K.J. Ramesh

•  The IMD is responsible for the weather and climate-related forecasts in the country. It is also mandated to issue warning to people about severe weather phenomenon like cyclones, dust storms, heavy rain and snow, cold and heat waves, among others.

Ajeya Kallam appointed principal advisor to Andhra Chief Minister.

• Former Chief Secretary Ajeya Kallam appointed as the principal advisor to Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

• It was issued by Chief Secretary LV Subrahmanyam.

• He will have cabinet rank and leading the secretaries in the Chief Minister's office.

• He will be in the position for 3 years, with a monthly salary of Rs 2.5 lakhs.

• He served as director of horticulture, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of endowments, executive officer of the TTD, and as Visakhapatnam Port Trust chairman.

SPORTS:

India beats Ireland 1-0 in the final to claim U21 four-nation title.

• Indian junior women's hockey team won Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International 4-Nations title after beating Ireland 1-0 in the final

• India ended the tournament three goals in four games, Mumtaz Khan finished as the highest goal scorer of the tournament.

• The second quarter of the game created a new record over it.

• Ireland created three PCs over the period of the final quarter was thwarted by a resolute Bichu Devi and the Indian defense to ensure that the team ended up with a clean sheet.

• Gagandeep's goal major difference between the sides, as India prevailed 1-0 and took the title.

NATIONAL:

CM Yogi Adityanath unveiled a 7 foot tall statue of Lord Rama at the Shodh Sansthan museum.

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath unveiled a 7-foot tall statue of Lord Rama at the Shodh Sansthan museum in Ayodhya on 7 June. Adityanath will also inaugurate the event to celebrate Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.

Ram Statue:

• The statue is made out of a single rosewood block statue which was from Karnataka for Rs.35 lakh from Karnataka. The statue will depict Kodamb Ram, one of the five avatars of Lord Ram.

• Kodamb Ram is worshipped in the south. The statue depicts the stage of Ram's life when Sita was kidnapped by Ravan, the demon king. The statue shows Ram alone, without Sita and Laxman.

Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan:

• The Ayodhya Shodh Sansthan museum was established in 1986. The museum is a government-funded museum. It hosts works related to the Hindu epic Ramayana.

The Dispute:

• Lord Ram is said to have been born in Ayodhya. Ayodhya is at the heart of a dispute which involves the site where the 16th-century Babri mosque stood before it was razed in 1992 by Hindu activists. It is believed that it was built on the ruins of an ancient temple marking the birthplace of Lord Ram. After the mosque demolition, 2,000 people died across the country in the riot.

• In 2018, the Uttar Pradesh State government announced a project to build a Ram statue on the banks of the Sarayu river. It is expected to measure 221 metres topping even the famed freedom movement icon Sardar Patel's Statue of Unity in Gujarat. The central government is yet to announce a date for the construction of Ram temple.

India Foreign Minister Jaishankar in Bhutan on his 1st bilateral visit.

• External Affairs Minister of India, S Jaishankar reached Bhutan on June 7 on a two-day visit.

This is his first overseas trip after assuming charge of the Foreign ministry.

• During his visit, the two countries discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including the upcoming high-level exchanges, economic development and hydro-power cooperation.

About Bhutan:

Capital: Thimphu

Currency: Bhutanese Ngultrum

King of Bhutan: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

Prime Minister: Lotay Tshering

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel Takes Oath As New CJI Of Delhi High Court.

• Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel sworn in as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

• Lt Governor Anil Baijal administered the oath of office to Justice Patel at a function held at Raj Niwas.

• Earlier, Justice Patel was posted at the Jharkhand High Court.

• Supreme Court Collegium recommended his name for the appointment as Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court

About Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel

• Justice Dhirubhai Naranbhai Patel is an Indian Judge.

• He is Chief Justice of Delhi High Court.

• He is former Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court and Judge of Gujarat High Court.

Uber COO and CMO step down a month after IPO fails.

• Uber confirmed on Friday that its Chief Operating Officer Barney Harford and Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Messina will depart the company. This comes a month after Uber's IPO failed. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who explained the departures in an email to employees, said that he wants to be even more involved in the day-to-day operations of the business.

DAYS:

World Oceans Day is celebrated on 8th June.

• World Oceans Day is celebrated on 8th June every year. The day was declared in 2008. June 8 was marked as it marks the day when it was first proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit, UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Conference supported the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

Theme 2019:

• The theme for the year 2019 is Gender and Oceans. The theme is to build greater ocean and gender literacy and to discover possible ways to promote gender equality in ocean-related activities such as marine scientific research, fisheries, labour at sea, migration by sea and human trafficking, as well as policy-making and management.

• The importance of gender equality is being recognized increasingly for the effective conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. Yet very little data and researches are available on these issues. Serious action towards gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is still needed in all ocean-related sectors to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5.

Plastic Pollution:

• María Fernanda Espinosa, the President of the General Assembly launched Play It Out which is a global campaign against plastic pollution. Decades of overuse of single-use plastics has caused a huge menace to the marine lives. 13,000,000 tonnes of plastic leak into the ocean every year which kills 100,000 marine animals annually.

• While most plastics are expected to remain intact for decades or centuries after use. These plastics erode and ends up as micro-plastics, consumed by fish and other marine wildlife, quickly making their way into the global food chain.

AWARDS:

PM Modi awarded Maldives' highest honour for foreign dignitaries.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Saturday conferred the Maldives' highest honour accorded to foreign dignitaries, 'The Most Honourable Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddeen', during his visit to the island nation. PM Modi is visiting the Maldives as part of his first diplomatic foreign visit after he assumed office for a second term.

SPORTS:

England 1st team in ODI history to score seven 300+ totals in a row.

• England have become the first team in ODIs to score seven 300-plus totals in a row, achieving the feat against Bangladesh in 2019 World Cup on Saturday. England scored 386/6 in 50 overs, with Jason Roy top-scoring with 153 runs off 121 balls including 14 fours and 5 sixes. It is also England's highest ever total in World Cup history.

NATIONAL:

India-Marshall Islands tax data pact notified.

• The union government notified an agreement with the Marshall Islands a country of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, for the exchange of banking and company information for tax purposes.

• It comes under tax evasion and tax avoidance.

It is called as tax information exchange agreement (TIEA)

They allow mutual cooperation between the two countries by providing an effective framework for exchange of information in tax matters.

• The agreement (India-Marshall Islands TIEA) between the Indian government and the government of the Marshall Islands was signed on March 18, 2016, at Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

• The bilateral agreement is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables the sharing of information on request.

Gujarat topped the country with annual fish production of 7.8 lakh tonnes.

• Gujarat topped the country with annual fish production of 7.8 lakh tonnes, followed by Tamil Nadu (7.02 lakh tonnes) and Kerala (6.43 lakh tonnes) according to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI).

Tamil Nadu:

• Kanniyakumari topped in the Tamil Nadu state annual fish production.

• Ramanathapuram has emerged as the second topper in the Tamil Nadu state in annual fish production. It has recorded 1.46 lakh tonnes during 2018.

Nagapattinam stands third highest fish production district to have recorded 91,186 tonnes. Thoothukudi stands fourth by recording 70,965 tonnes followed by Cuddalore (62,525 tonnes) and Chennai (55,707 tonnes).

Report:

• The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) released the district wise marine fish landing data for the year 2018. The Fisheries Resources Assessment Division (FRAD) of CMFRI had collected random sampling data across the state and finalized the provisional figure. The data was collected by the fisheries department by employing the multi-stage cluster sampling method and the figures varied.

Fish export in 2018:

• While Cuttlefish (Cephalopods), prawns, Pomfrets, crabs, and fishes belonging to the family of Percidae were exported, the protein-rich Sardines and Anchovies were sold in the local markets.

• According to CMFRI report, the Fish production for the year 2018 was estimated at 3.49 million tonnes at the all India level.

Rajnath Singh to chair the Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is to chair the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs in the second term of the NDA government. Decisions on all the parliament matters will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

• He is also a part of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, the all-important panel on political affairs which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All important political decisions in the ruling dispensation will be taken by the panel.

• Apart from these 4 committees, he is also a member of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). In total, he is now a part of six key panels of the government.

• In the last government, Rajnath Singh headed the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan reviews status of Nipah Virus disease in New Delhi.

• Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan reviewed the status of Nipah Virus disease in New Delhi.

• A total of 316 contacts are being followed up on a daily basis.

• One positive case admitted in Ernakulam is now conscious and having a mild fever and six symptomatic contacts have been admitted in the quarantine facility at the Medical College and all the samples were found to be negative.

• A Sample from one symptomatic contact sent to NIV Lab.

• Strategic Health Operation Centre (SHOC) at NCDC has been activated and the activities are coordinated.

• 40 calls have been attended at SHOC- NCDC regarding Nipah information.

District Control Room has been set up in the Collector Office (Helpline No. 04842425200)

Joint Commissioner(Livestock Health) deployed two experts to Ernakulam, Kerala to support local Animal Husbandry Department in the investigation.

• On the basis of the epidemiological investigation, a team from NIV Pune and Animal Husbandry are investigating bats and other animals in the vicinity of his (confirmed case)residence during the possible time of transmission of infection.

About Nipah Virus

• It is a genus of RNA viruses belongs to the family Paramyxoviridae and order Mononegavirales containing five established species.

• Henipaviruses are naturally harbored by pteropid fruit bats and microbats of several species

Scientific name: Henipavirus

Rank: Genus

Higher classification: Paramyxoviridae.

INTERNATIONAL:

Taiwan proposed deal to buy tanks from the US.

• Taiwan plans to propose a deal to buy tanks and portable missiles from the U.S. This proposal by Taiwan drew an angry rebuke from China. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry requested the US for 108 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, more than 1,500 Javelin and TOW anti-tank missiles, and 250 shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles in the proposal formally.

• The U.S. government, on the other hand, has given Congress informal notification of its plan to sell the equipment in a deal worth $2 billion.

One-China policy:

• China has asked the U.S. to understand that its decision to sell arms to Taiwan might cause problems between China and Taiwan as it is expected Taiwan to abide by the One China principle.

• One-China policy says that there is only one country of China with the official name of China, despite the fact that there are two governments namely the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC).

• Despite being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, China still views Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to take the island, by force if necessary.

• If China announces war on Taiwan, the country outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower. Hence, Taiwan is in need to upgrade much of its equipment. Its current tank force consists of around 1,000 CM 11 Brave Tiger and M60A3 tanks, a technology that is increasingly obsolete.

Past Taiwan and US deal:

• The U.S. government announced plans in 2018 to sell spare parts worth $330 million to Taiwan for its U.S. made F-16 fighter jets and C-130 military transport planes. Taiwan has also submitted a formal request to Washington for new fighter jets to upgrade its air force but the US had not made any open response yet.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

RBI reduces interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent.

• The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) reduced interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.75% with immediate effect amid slowing economic growth and rising global uncertainty, for the 3rd time in a row.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced it in the second bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2019-20.

Purpose:

• The reduction is expected to bring down the EMIs on home and auto loans, and reduce the debt repayment burden on corporates.

What is repo rate?

• It is the rate at which the central bank of a country, that is RBI, lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. The monetary authorities use this to control inflation. The banks can borrow money for about 7 to 14 days from the Reserve Bank of India.

Policy rates and Reserve ratios:

Policy Repo Rate: 5.75%

Reverse Repo Rate: 5.50%

Marginal Standing Facility Rate: 6.00%

Bank Rate: 6.00%

CRR: 4%

SLR: 19.00%

HDFC Bank appoints new auditor after RBI's action against EY firm.

• HDFC Bank has cancelled the re-appointment of SR Batliboi & Co, a member firm of EY, after the RBI restricted it from auditing commercial banks for a year. India's largest bank by market value has appointed MSKA & Associates as its new statutory auditor. RBI said lapses have been identified in a statutory audit assignment carried out by SR Batliboi.

NATIONAL:

Indian football team Baichung Bhutia congratulated Chhetri becoming India's most-capped Player.

• Former India skipper Bhaichung Bhutia congratulated Sunil Chhetri and became India's most capped international player with 108 appearances.

He overtook his mentor Bhutia's record of 107 matches and captained India in the King's Cup opener against Curacao.

He scored the goal for his side in the 31st minute from a spot kick for his 69th goal.

India ranked 101.

The 82nd ranked Caribbean island nation two players associated with English Premier League and some others in European leagues.

They scored three goals in the space of 18 minutes through Roly Bonevacia, Elson Hooi and Leandro Bacuna.

India will play with the losing team of the match between Thailand and Vietnam in the third-place play-off.

About Bhaichung Bhutia

Current team: East Bengal F.C. (Forward)

Awards: Padma Shri, Arjuna Award for Football

Govt. set up a 10 member Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.

• The government set up a 10-member Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development on 5 June. The committee is one of two Cabinet committees that are set up to rise the economic growth and tackle unemployment.

Members of the committee:

The Committee will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The committee includes:

Home Minister Amit Shah

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar

Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan

Minister Skill and Entrepreneurship Mahendra Nath Pandey

Ministers of State Santosh Kumar Gangwar (Labour)

Ministers of State Hardeep Singh Puri (Housing and Urban Affairs

Reason for the formation of the committee:

The committee was set up because the Employment data for 2017-18 which was released on May 31 after the Lok Sabha elections reported that the country's unemployment rate has risen to 6.1% in the period. This is the highest in 45 years.

Fall in Gross Domestic Product (GDP):

• It is expected that the committee on economic growth will prepare a road map to bring the economy back on the growth trajectory as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell to 5.8% in the last quarter of 2018-19. It is the lowest since 2014. The GDP growth for 2018-19 was 6.8%, against the target of 7.2%.

• The fall in growth is the result of the dip in the performance of the core sectors of the economy, as the eight core sectors recorded a growth of just 2.6 % in April, compared with 4.6% in the same month in 2018. According to the government's data, the country’s economic growth saw the third straight fall in January-March quarter in 2019.

Note:

•The eight core sectors are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity.

Pramila Jayapal as first Indian-American woman to preside over US House.

• Pramila Jayapal first Indian American woman to preside over US house.

She is the first elected to Congress in 2016 preside over the House and served the most diverse Congress in the nation's history.

• She presided over the House as a Temporary Speaker.

• The House Democrats rotate for the ceremonial position of presiding over the chamber.

She became the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.

• A record number of 17 Asian Americans serve in Congress with 14 in the House and three in the Senate house.

About Pramila Jayapal

• Pramila Jayapal is an American politician and activist from the State of Washington

She serves as the U.S. Representative from Washington's 7th congressional district.

•It includes most of Seattle as well as suburban areas of King County.

Nirmala Sitharaman to attend G20 Finance Ministers Meeting in Japan.

• Finance Minister Shri Nirmala Sitharaman attend the two-day meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors in Japan on June 8 and 9

• It is the first overseas visit of Sitharaman as the Finance Minister.

• She took charge as full time finance minister last week.

• The main aim is to focus on the risks and challenges of overseas trade and investment in infrastructure which are faced by our country.

• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) submit a report on taxation, urging greater cooperation among nations.

•India actively participating in the OECD-G20 efforts to create a global consensus on the taxation of the digital economy.

About G 20

Chairperson: Shinzō Abe

Founder: Group of Seven

Founded: 26 September 1999

Purpose  :  Bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.

INTERNATIONAL:

Report says sharp 10 percent decline in the approval rate of H 1B visa by the US.

• US authorities said that there was a sharp 10% decline in the approval of H-1B visas by the U.S. in 2018, which is popular among highly skilled Indian IT professionals. The experts attributed to the aggressive policies of the Trump administration to clamp down on the use of the work visa programme.

What is H-1b Visa?

• H-1B visa programme is the main vehicle through which US employers can sponsor skilled foreign workers for admission. It is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

10% decline in approval rate:

• In 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 3,35,000 H-1B visas, both new and renewable. This was 10% less than the 3,73,400 visas approved in the previous fiscal year of 2017, according to the USCIS’ annual statistical report. The approval rate of H-1B declined from 93% in 2017 to 85% in 2018.

• For the first six months of the fiscal year 2019, the overall approval rate of the H-1B visa for new and continuing visas continued to stay to 79% by the end of March, down from 85% last year.

Buy American and Hire American:

• “Buy American and Hire American” executive order which was signed by Trump in April 2017, seeks to create higher wages and employment rates for U.S. workers. It also seeks to protect their economic interests by rigorously enforcing and administering our immigration laws. • It also directed to advance policies to help ensure H-1B visas are awarded to the most-skilled or highest-paid beneficiaries.

Forbes magazine named Rihanna as the worlds richest female musician.

• Forbes magazine has named Rihanna as the world’s richest female musician. Rihanna's Fenty Beauty brand business endeavors have officially made her the richest female musician in the world. Her worth is estimated at $600m (£472m) which includes revenues made from her fashion and beauty lines in addition to those from her music career.

• Forbes reported that the French luxury brand LVMH backs Rihanna’s lucrative cosmetics company, Fenty Beauty. Fenty beauty was launched in 2017. It is worth more than £3bn, from which Rihanna has earned $570m. 

• In 2012, Rihanna founded the Clara Lionel Foundation. The trust supports health and education efforts in impoverished communities around the world. Harvard University, in February 2017, she was named humanitarian of the year.

• Top 5 in Forbes’ list of richest female musicians:

• The other singers in Forbes’s list of the top five richest female musicians are:

• Madonna stands second place ($570m)

• Céline Dion stands third ($450m)

• Beyoncé and Barbra Streisand tied in fourth ($400m)

• Taylor Swift stands sixth ($360m).

• Forbes other rankings:

• Forbes has also name Kardashian scion Kylie Jenner as America’s youngest self-made billionaire.

• It has named Jay-Z as the world’s first billionaire rapper as his worth is estimated at $1bn.

China launched a space rocket from the sea for the first time on 5 June.

• China launched a space rocket from the sea for the first time on 5 June 2019.  With this China will be the third nation to successfully demonstrate the ability to launch satellites into orbit from a floating platform following the U.S. and Russia.

In the operation, March 11, a Long rocket was launched from a ship in the Yellow Sea.

Aim:

• The first ever seaborne launch technology aims to meet the growing launch demand of low inclination satellites. It is also expected to help China provide launch services for countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative

Payloads:

• The rocket carried two experimental satellites and five commercial satellites. The experimental satellites will monitor ocean winds to set up  all-weather monitoring of ocean wind fields and improve typhoon monitoring and accuracy of the weather forecast in China. It was built by the China Academy of Space Technology in Beijing.

Experimental satellites:

1. Bufeng-1A

2. Bufeng-1B

Commercial satellites:

1. Earth-imaging cubesat - 1

2. Tianqi-3, an experimental communications satellite

3,4. China's first Ka-band communications satellites- Two satellites

5. New satellite for China's Jilin-1 remote-sensing satellite constellation

The seaborne test along with its ambitious plans for missions to the moon and beyond has made China a major space power.

China's space exploration:

• China is the first nation to land a rover on the far side of the moon. It also plans to build a research base on the lunar surface. The country also plans to send a probe to Mars and build a space station in Earth orbit.

• In 2003, China became the third nation to have the capability of launching humans into space.

China is one of the leading country in launching a number of satellites from its launch stations on land.

Russia launched first Arctic train service.

• Russia launched its first ever tourist train traveling through Russia's Arctic region to Norway set off from Saint Petersburg station with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey.

• The train named "Zarengold" ("The Tsars gold" in German) complete with two restaurant cars travel from Saint Petersburg through  Petrozavodsk, the historic town of Kem and Murmansk.

The duration of the trip will be 11 days

• The inaugural function consists of 91 tourists from seven countries including the US, Germany, Norway and Russia.

About Russia

Capital: Moscow

Currency: Russian ruble

President: Vladimir Putin

AGREEMENTS AND MOU's:

India and France to carry out Garuda, a two week long mega air exercise.

• Indian Air Force and French Air Force have planned to carry out Garuda, a two-week-long mega air exercise, beginning on July 1 in France. The aim is to boost the military-to-military ties between the two countries. A fleet of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will engage in dogfights with France’s Rafale multirole aircraft in simulated scenarios as part of the ‘Garuda’ exercise.

• Other assets include mid-air refueller will also be sent to France by the IAF. It will be one of the largest air exercises between the two strategic partners. The exercise will also provide an opportunity to a sizeable number of IAF pilots to have a close look at the Rafale jets being operated by the French Air Force.

• India had signed a government-to-government deal with France in 2016 to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of about Rs.58,000-crore. The first Rafale jet is scheduled to be delivered in September.

Disability Summit, Argentina 2019 is being held Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• The 2nd Global Disability Summit being held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 'Disability Summit, Argentina 2019', the three-day summit will be held from 6 June to 8 June 2019. India will be represented by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

Organized by:

• The Global Disability Summit is organized by International Alliance Disability (IDA), an umbrella organization focused on improving awareness and rights for individuals with disabilities around the globe which was established in 1999, and Latin American Network of Non-Governmental Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and their Families (RIADIS).

Objective:

• The summit will be focusing on deliberating issues across the world concerning empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities. The summit will also include a discussion to work out a mechanism for enabling them to live an independent and dignified life.

• The Summit brings together governments, international organizations, organizations of people with disabilities, civil society organizations,  international cooperation agencies, academia, and the private sector, with the hope of achieving real change for people with disabilities.

1st Global Disability Summit:

• The 1st Global Disability Summit was held in London on 23-24 July 2018. The summit was hosted by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), along with the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the Government of Kenya.

Aim:

• The 1st summit was in line with the principle of ‘nothing about us, without us’. 40 countries participated in the summit.

• All countries that participated in the summit signed the Charter for Change, the principal legacy document of the Global Disability Summit and committed to working in direction of economic empowerment of the persons with disabilities.

DAYS:

Maharana Pratap Jayanti observed on 6 June.

• Maharana Pratap Jayanti is observed on June 6. It is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of the brave Rajput warrior Maharana Pratap.  It was his 479th birth anniversary.

Maharana Pratap:

• Maharana Pratap was the ruler of Mewar. He is the eldest son of Maharana Udai Singh and Maharani Jaiwanta Bai. Maharana Pratap is a symbol of Rajput valour, gallantry, and diligence. He fought against Mughal supremacy to free his homeland from their control.

• Mewar is a province in modern-day Rajasthan. The province includes Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa (Jhalawar), Neemuch and Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, and some parts of Gujarat.

Some amazing facts of Maharana Pratap:

• Maharana Pratap was one of the strongest warriors in India. He is of 7 feet 5 inches in height. He carried 360 kg of weight, which included a spear weighing 80 kg, two swords weighing 208 kg and his armour was around 72 kg heavy. His own weight was more than 110 kg.

He had 11 wives, 17 sons, and 5 daughters.

• He didn't surrender to Akbar while all the other Rajput rulers surrendered and became members of his council.

• Maharana Pratap bravely fought the Haldi Ghati Battle with an army of 22,000 against the Mughal army of 80,000. But he lost the war due to treachery by his brother.

• Chetak, Maharana Pratap’s horse, is known for his loyalty to his master. The horse is said to have a tinge of blue on his coat. Chetak lost his life while jumping across a 21-feet wide river to save his master’s life.

• Ramprasad, Maharana Pratap's elephant killed 2 war elephants of the Mughal army. Ramprasad was imprisoned by Akbar and refused to eat anything or drink and lost his life on the 18th day.

• He died of an injury from the hunting accident while tightening the string of a bow with an arrow.

Appointments and resignations:

Wipro Founder Premji to retire after 53 years, son to be Chairman.

• Wipro Founder Azim Premji will retire as Executive Chairman and Managing Director effective July 30 after having led the IT services company for 53 years. His son and Chief Strategy Officer Rishad Premji will take over as Executive Chairman while CEO Abidali Neemuchwala has been appointed as MD. Premji, however, will continue to serve as non-executive director and Founder Chairman.

About Wipro:

• Wipro Limited is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. It is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. In 2013, Wipro separated its non-IT businesses into separate companies.

• Founder: M.H. Hasham Premji

• Founded: 29 December 1945, India

• Owner: Azim Premji

• Headquarters: Bengaluru

• Revenue: 847 crores USD (2019)

• Subsidiaries: Appirio, Topcoder, Designit, Yardley of London

About Azim Premji:

• Founder: M.H. Hasham Premji

• Founded: 29 December 1945, India

• Owner: Azim Premji

• Headquarters: Bengaluru

• Revenue: 847 crores USD (2019)

• Subsidiaries: Appirio, Topcoder, Designit, Yardley of London

AWARDS:

Google Sunder Pichai, Nasdaqs Friedman Receive 2019 Global Leadership Award.

• Google's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sundar Pichai and Nasdaq President Adena Friedman selected for Global Leadership Awards 2019 by business advocacy group USIBC.

They both are recognized for their companies contribution as the leading technology-driven platforms

• Washington-based US-India Business Council (USIBC) gives this award for achievements in over 30 categories for talented people who are recognized for their work by their companies.

The award will be given in 'India Ideas Summit' next week.

• Google and Nasdaq at the vanguard, bilateral trade in goods and services grew by nearly 150% over the past five years to touch $142.1 billion in 2018.

About Google

Founded: 4 September 1998

CEO: Sundar Pichai

Parent organization: Alphabet Inc.

Founders: Larry Page, Sergey Brin

About  Nasdaq

CEO: Adena Friedman

Headquarters: New York, United States

Market cap: $10 trillion.

NATIONAL:

India removes restriction on air space usage.

• Indian Air Force (IAF) removed all temporary restrictions on all air routes in the Indian airspace.

• The IAF made the announcement on Twitter.

• The IAF imposed restrictions following air strikes on a terror camp at Balakot in Pakistan on 27th February.

• India imposed restrictions which did not allow any aircraft flying over Pakistan airspace to use entry or exit points into India.

• Since February 27, flights on these sectors were taking longer routes leading to an increase in flying time by up to three hours.

About Indian Air Force (IAF)

Founded: 8 October 1932

Headquarters  : New Delhi

Commander-in-Chief : President Ram Nath Kovind

NITI Aayog suggested a National Project Management Policy Framework.

• A task force on project management, headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, has suggested the development of a National Project Management Policy Framework for the effective execution of public sector and public-private partnership infrastructure projects.

• It has also recommended the setting up of a nodal body for the certification of chartered project management professionals to create world-class infrastructure. The project management, with a view to delivering on time and within budget, is a learnable capability that can be institutionalised as demonstrated by the experiences of the U.S., the U.K., the UAE, and China.

NITI Aayog

Formed: 1 January 2015

Preceding: Planning Commission

Headquarters: Delhi

Chairman: Narendra Modi

Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar

CEO: Amitabh Kant

• NITI Aayog is a policy think tank of the Government of India.

• It is established with the aim to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach.

INTERNATIONAL:

Astronomers discovered the Forbidden Planet, NGTS- 4b in the Neptunian Desert.

• An international collaboration of astronomers with the University of Warwick, I-JK, have discovered an exoplanet, Next-Generation Transit Survey(NGTS)- 4b, the Forbidden Planet, in the Neptunian Desert.

• It is smaller than Neptune but 3 times the size of the Earth.

• The Research was led by Dr. Richard West including Professor Peter Wheatley, Dr. Daniel Bayliss and Dr. James McCormac from the Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at the University of Warwick.

• This information was published in the Journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society(MNRAS).

• The Forbidden Planet with a mass of 20 Earth masses, radius 20% smaller than Neptune and temperature of 1000 degree Celsius, orbits around the star in only 1.3 days and its atmosphere as gases.

• NGTS, situated at the European Southern Observatory Paranal Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

The US formally terminated Indias eligibility for a duty free import scheme.

• The United States on formally terminated India’s eligibility for a duty-free import scheme for developing countries on 31 May. It cited that India has not given assurances it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets to US companies as required under relevant American trade laws. The US President Donald Trump has said the country would end its preferential trade treatment for India on June 5.

India-The biggest beneficary:

• Notably, India is the biggest beneficiary of the US' Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). It sold an estimated $6.3 billion worth of goods to the United States under this program in 2018.

Background:

• President Trump had conveyed is an intention to terminate India’s eligibility for the programme, Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), to the US Congress on March 4. And the formal termination became due on May 4, after the mandatory 60-day notice period.

• But the administration held off on the proclamation as India was in the middle of elections at the time and there was pressure from US lawmakers, from both parties, to delay the termination to allow more time for negotiations. There was an expectation that India could avert the termination.

• But the Trump administration had concluded much before, according to people close to the developments, that India would not be able to deliver no matter how much additional time it was given.

What is Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)?

• The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is a U.S. trade program designed to promote economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for up to 4,800 products from 129 designated beneficiary countries and territories. GSP was instituted on January 1, 1976, by the Trade Act of 1974

• The GSP program has effective dates which are specified in relevant legislation, thereby requiring periodical reauthorization in order to remain in effect GSP expired on July 31, 2013, and was most recently reauthorized on June 29, 2015 (effective July 29, 2015) for a period of two and a half years.  The relevant legislation permits retroactive extension of GSP benefits. Recently the USA has excluded India from the list of beneficiaries of this program.

Govt extends PM-KISAN scheme, announces Rs 6,000 cash handout scheme to all farmers.

• In the first Cabinet meeting, Modi led new government decided to extend PM- KISAN scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers in the country costing Rs 87,000 crore a year and also announced over Rs 10,000 crore pension scheme for 5 crore farmers, thereby fulfilling the BJP's poll promise.

• The Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Siddhi (PMKSS - PM Kisan) was announced in the interim Budget under which the government decided to provide Rs 6,000 per year (in three equal instalments) to an estimated 12.5 crore small and marginal farmers holding land up to 2 hectares.

• Now, the revised scheme envisages to cover around 2 crore more farmers increasing the coverage of the PM- KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.

• Farmer pension scheme:

• Cabinet also approved the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana under which small and marginal farmers will get a minimum fixed pension of Rs 3,000 per month on attaining the age of 60 years.

• The scheme will cost the exchequer a total of ₹10,000 crore per annum.

• New Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers welfare - Narendra Singh Tomar

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Forex reserve rises by 1.99 billion to 419.99 billion.

• India's foreign exchange reserves increased by 1.994 billion to 419.992 billion US Dollar in the week ended 24th May 2019.

• RBI released that foreign currency assets rose by 1.991 billion to 392.188 billion US Dollar.

In the previous week, the reserves had declined by 2.05 billion to end at 417.99 billion US Dollar. 

• Gold reserves remained stable at 23.021 billion US Dollar. India's special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund went by 0.8 million to 1.445 billion US Dollar, while the country's reserve position also increased by 2 million to 3.336 billion US Dollar.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Yoga Instructor, Namrata Menon appointed as brand ambassador to promote yoga in Goa.

• State Health Department of Goa announced the appointment of Panaji-based, Namrata Menon, Yoga Instructor, and fitness expert, as brand ambassador to promote yoga in Goa.

• She is appointed to promote the ancient system of physical and mental practices to raise awareness about the benefits of yoga so that people follow it on a daily basis.

• She is practicing yoga for 17 years.

• The main objective of this initiative is to increase awareness about the benefits of yoga and encourage people to inculcate a healthy lifestyle.

• The Panaji-based expert has been practicing yoga since the last 17 years and has been instrumental in inspiring many people to take up the ancient practice that involves a range of postures (asanas).

Anita Bhatia appointed as Deputy Executive Director in UN Women.

• Indian-origin Anita Bhatia, a veteran in strategic partnerships, resource mobilization, and management, has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for Resource Management, Sustainability, and Partnerships. The agency focussed on women empowerment and gender equality.

• The key appointment comes less than a week after Guterres appointed decorated Indian Army officer Lieutenant General Shailesh Tinaikar as his new Force Commander of the UN Mission in South Sudan.

Anita Bhatia:

• Bhatia holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Calcutta University, a Master of Arts in Political Science from Yale University and a Juris Doctor in Law from Georgetown University.

Bhatia served for several years as Director of Global Partnerships for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group's private sector arm.

• Bhatia has led diverse teams, including as Global Head of Knowledge Management, Head of Business Process Improvement and Head of Change Management. In addition to Latin America, she has worked in Africa, Europe, Central Asia and South and East Asia.

AWARDS:

Former Indian President of India Pratibha Patil conferred the Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca award.

• Former Indian President Pratibha Patil has been conferred the "Orden Mexicana del Aguila Azteca" (Order of the Aztec Eagle), the highest civilian award of Mexico given to foreigners, on 1 June 2019.

• The Ambassador of Mexico to India, Melba Pria, conferred the award on Patil, who created history as this country's first woman President (2007-2012), at a special ceremony held in the MCCIA Bhavan, Pune.

Recognized for:

• Mexico's highest distinction for foreigners is in recognition of their outstanding services to the Mexican nation or humanity, significant contributions to strengthening the bilateral relations between Mexico and other countries.

Other India Awardees:

• Ms. Patil, 85, becomes only the second Indian head of state to get the award. Earlier, the late President S. Radhakrishna had been conferred this honour.

• Other Indian recipients in various categories include Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, renowned artist Satish Gujral, industrialist Raghupati Singhania, Consul-General of Mexico in Mumbai Rajju Shroff and others.

Order of the Aztec Eagle Award:

• The royal eagle is Mexico's national animal, sacred to the ancient Aztecs and it is present on the National Emblem of the Mexican flag. It is an essential symbol that links their Aztec past with the modern nation.

• It is of gold and turquoise and is given to express the respect and admiration of the Mexican people.

• The award was created by a decree in 1993 by the then President of Mexico, Abelardo L. Rodriguez, it is awarded to prominent heads of state or government, ambassadors after they have served in Mexico, important personalities who have made a major contribution in various fields, service to the country or its people.

• The award comes in five degrees namely Collar, Sash of Special Category, Sash, Plaque, Venera and Insignia.

NATIONAL:

Tenth National Science Film Festival of India to be held in Agartala, Tripura in 2020.

• 10th National Science Film Festival of India(NSFFl) will be in Agartala, Tripura in January-February 2020.

• This is for the second time the event will be held in a North-Eastern city.

• It will be jointly hosted by Vigyan Prasar of the Central Government, State Government, and Tripura Central University.

Chief Minister of the State Biplab Kumar Deb had requested the Union Science and Technology Ministerto hold the NSFF in Tripura.

• Minimum 10 countries will participate in the upcoming event and it will include the films produced by UNICEF, UNESCO and filmmakers from different countries.

• In NSFFI, the maximum length of the films will be 40 minutes and Vigyan Prasar will raise awareness on science and environment to the society through cinemas.

NSFFI was first held in Chennai in 2011.

• Since then, all the regions of the nation have been covered including Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Guwahati and Mohali.

• Besides the NSFFI, The Tripura Government has plans to host 'Destination Tripura', a special competitive film production initiative.

• It will focus on upholding tourism and rich biodiversity of Tripura like the flora and fauna, wildlife sanctuaries, water bodies, rubber and bamboo plantations

About National Science Film Festival of India(NSFFl)

• The festival is an initiative of Vigyan Prasar and the Government of India to promote science films in India.

• Science filmmaking is not a developed field in India compared to many other developed countries.

Mohana Singh becomes 1st woman fighter pilot to fly Hawk jet.

• Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh has become the first woman fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions by day on Hawk advanced jet aircraft, an official statement said. Her training involved flying both air-to-air combat and air-to-ground missions. She has a total of over 500 hours of incident-free flying of which 380 hours are on the Hawk Mk 132 jet.

About Mohana Singh:

• Mohana Singh Jitarwal is one of the first female pilots of India. She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Bhawana Kanth, and Avani Chaturvedi. All three women pilots were inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron in June 2016.

INTERNATIONAL:

For the first time in 92 years, 6 Indian-origin kids among 8 won the National Spelling Bee Contest.

• For the first time in 92 years, 6 Indian-origin kids were among the 8 who won the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee Contest.

• They were awarded the cash of $50,000 and prizes.

• The competition, broadcasted in ESPN, was held at Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland, US.

• Erin Howard aged 14 of Alabama, Rishik Gandhasri aged 13 of California, Saketh Sundar aged 13 of Maryland, Shruthika Padhy aged 13 of New Jersey, Sohum Sukhatankar aged 13 of Texas, Abhijay Kodali aged 12 of Texas, Christopher Serrao aged 13 of New Jersey and Rohan Raja aged 13 of Texas were the winners of the competition.

• There were 565 contestants aged between 7 and 14 who have not passed 8th grade from US, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, Bahamas, Germany, South Korea and other countries.

• The winners correctly spelt the final 47 words accurately over 5 consecutive rounds with words like Omphalopsychite, Geeldikkop, auftaktigkeit and many more.

The winner of the year 2018 was Karthik Nemmani, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Texas.

• Balu Natarajan became the first Indian-origin child to win in the year 1985.

National Spelling Bee Contest is a high profile, a high-pressure endurance test of exotic words.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Gautam Sawang takes charge as new DGP of Andhra Pradesh.

• Damodar Gautam Sawang, a 1986-batch IPS officer, on Saturday took charge as new Director General of Andhra Pradesh Police. His predecessor RP Thakur was transferred to the Printing and Stationery Department as Commissioner by state's CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on his first day in office. Sawang has also worked as SP and DIG of Police of Maoist-hit Warangal district.

About Gautam Sawang:

• Damodar Gautam Sawang is the present Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh who was appointed in 31 May 2019. Sawang is a Regular Recruit of the Indian Police Service belonging to the 1986 batch and allocated to the Andhra Pradesh Police cadre.

• Born: 10 July 1963 (age 55 years)

• Service years: 1986-present

• Status: Commissioner of Police, Vijayawada

• Department: Andhra Pradesh Police

• Award: President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service

• Rank: Director general of police

DAYS:

World Milk Day is observed on 1 June.

• World Milk Day is a day established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. It has been observed on June 1 each year since 2001.

The day is intended to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.

• Objective of the day:

- To provide information about the need and importance of milk in a human being's life.

- Various activities are organised on this day to raise awareness about milk and milk products.

- To celebrate the contribution of milk and dairy products in several industries, the economy and people's lives.

- To educate people about the nutrients that are present in the milk like calcium, protein, vitamin B2, potassium, iodine, etc.

- Several promotional activities about milk and its importance are launched by the International Dairy Federation on its website online.

Milk:

Milk contains valuable nutrients and offers a range of health benefits. It is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals.

Milk is not only consumed by growing children but also by the people of all age groups. It is an important part of our daily diet. It has great nourishing value and a rich source of calcium, protein, fat and vitamin C. Mainly we get milk from cows, buffaloes and from other animals like sheep, goat and camel.

Milk day in India:

• The World Milk Day event does not follow a specific theme in the world. Different countries, governments, and non-governmental organisations decide their own theme.

• The theme for World Milk Day 2019 in India is "Drink Milk: Today & Everyday".

Various campaigns are organised in India at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and focuses on safe, hygiene milk production and consumption.

NATIONAL

Gujarat traffic police to use laser guns to curb overspeeding

• The Gujarat governmenthas decided to equip the traffic police with 'laser guns'for detection of over-speeding by vehicles. The state police's traffic branch has purchased 39 such high-tech guns at a cost of Rs.3.9 crore.

• Five of these US-made devices will be given to the Ahmedabad city police, and every district police force will also be provided one of these guns.

A three-day workshop was organised recently at the Karai Police Academy here to impart training to over 200 traffic policemen on operating the device.

• Laser gun:The gun uses laser technology to detect the speed of a vehicle. It can record the speed of three vehiclessimultaneously in a second, even if the vehicles are a km away.The device is equipped to record speeds from 0-320 kilometre per hour.

• The speed gun is an online device which can send an e-memo to the owner with a photo of the vehicle. If required, the speed gun can also generate and print the challan offline on the spot.

It is also capable of recording videos of the over- speeding vehicles which will serve as proof if the vehicle owner confronts the police.

SC extends tenure of NCDRCs judicial member by one year

• Supreme Court May 29 extended the tenure of Justice V K Jain, a judicial member of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), which was expiring.

• A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose said the extension of tenure would be for one year or till the process of fresh appointment is completed.The bench was dealing with an application seeking an extension of Justice Jain's tenure.

• He had joined the Delhi Judicial Service on May 20, 1977, and was later appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on May 14, 2009.

He had demitted the office on May 14, 2014, after which he was appointed as a judicial member of the NCDRC.

Mississippi River flood becomes the longest-lasting in over 90 years

• Flooding in theMississippi River is on the record for being the longest-lasting in more than 90 years since the "Great Flood" of 1927.

It is due to relentless, record-breaking spring rainfall. In the month of June also, Mississippi River will continue to rise as runoff from snowmelt upstream in combination with rainfall runoff moves through the river system.

• Along several parts of the river, water levels have been at flood stage for nearly 4 months. It is the longest stretch of time since the Great Flood.

• The reason for this drastic flood is climate change, as planet is getting warmer which is resulting in rise of heavy downpours.

About the Mississippi River:

• It is the second-longest river and Chief River of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent.

Source: Lake Itasca, Minnesota, United States

Mouth: Gulf of Mexico

INTERNATIONAL

Goldman Sachs to invest USD250 mn to construct one of its largest global workspaces in Bengaluru

• New York-based investment and financial services major Goldman Sachs have pumped in $250 million to construct one of its largest global workspaces in Bengaluru.

• Bengaluru workspace:Bengaluru, with 2,500 techies, is the second-largest engineering talent base of Goldman Sachs after New York. Goldman Sachs Service, Bengaluru has become one of the firm’s global centres of innovation focused on the development and application of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to help solve business problems for our worldwide network.

• The investment bank has seen significant technology value-addition from Bengaluru during the past one-and-a-half decades, and software solutions developed in the city have been used in many business verticals. It has also undertaken automation of key services such as client onboarding.

ISS spacewalk successfully carried out for the 217th time by 2 cosmonauts

• Two Russian space agency Roscosmos' cosmonauts have successfully carried out the 217th spacewalk for International Space Station's support, maintenance and upgrade. The spacewalk, fourth for 2019, was done by Expedition 59 Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin and lasted six hours and one minute.

• This was Commander Kononenko's fifth spacewalk and the first-ever for Ovchinin.The cosmonauts retrieved science experiments, install handrails on the Russian segment of the complex, and conduct maintenance on the orbiting laboratory.

• Roscosmos State Space Corporation:

Formation: 25 February 1992

Headquarters: Moscow, Russia

Administrator: Dmitry Rogozin

Parent organization: The Russian government

• It is responsible for the wide range and types of space flights and cosmonautics programs for the Russian Federation.

APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION

Former Flipkart Executive Sandeep Patil appointed as India Managing Director of Truecaller

• Former Flipkart Executive Sandeep Patil appointed as India Managing Director of Truecaller. He served as the head of consumer and commercial lending vertical at Flipkart until his new appointment with Truecaller.

Sandeep Patil will be leading business strategies to expand the company and increase its revenue.

• He will be supervising the teams based in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

India is the largest market for Truecaller with 60-70% of global revenue and user base.

It has 100 million daily active users in the country.

About Truecaller

Headquarters: Stockholm

Founded: 2009

Founders: Nami Zarringhalam and Alan Mamedi

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa received baton of Chairman COSC

• Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa received the baton of Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee from outgoing Chairman COSC and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba,

• Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will be the Chairman COSC with effect from May 31, 2019, consequent to relinquishment of charge by Admiral Sunil Lanba upon superannuation.

• Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, an alumnus of Rashtriya Indian Military College and the National Defence Academy, was commissioned in the Flying Branch of Indian Air Force in June 1978.  He is an experienced fighter pilot and a qualified CAT ‘A’ Flying Instructor with over 3000 hours of flying experience to his credit.

• The Air Chief Marshal has mainly flown the MiG-21 aircraft with flying experience across the entire spectrum of fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

Admiral Sunil Lanba is proceeding on retirement on May 31, 2019, after a distinguished career spanning over four decades.

BANKS AND ECONOMY

NCLT approved the the resolution plan of Tata Steel to acquire Bhushan Energy Ltd.

• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the resolution plan of Tata Steel to acquire debt-ridden Bhushan Energy Ltd. for about Rs.800 crore on 30 May. The principal bench of NCLT-Delhi also rejected objections from Bhushan Energy’s former promoter Neeraj Singal opposing Tata Steels’ bid.

• Resolution plan:Under the resolution plan, Tata Steel will offer an upfront payment of Rs.730 crore. It would also pay Rs.50 crore additionally to operational creditors of the company. Besides, Tata Steel would also infuse Rs.367 crore into the company as a part of equity infusion. A detailed order is still awaited in this matter.

• Acquisition of Bhushan Steel Ltd.:Bhushan Energy was a subsidiary of Bhushan Steel Ltd., which was also taken over by Tata Steel last May and later renamed as Tata Steel BSL Ltd.Tata Steel had offered Rs.35,200 crore in cash to acquire Bhushan Steel besides Rs.1,200 crore to creditors and convert the remaining debt owed to banks to equity.

• Earlier in June 2018, in this matter, NCLT had extended the insolvency resolution period for 90 days after the creditors failed to find a suitable buyer within the initial period of 180 days as mandated under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

NATIONAL:

Madhya Pradesh to tentatively have new UNESCO heritage site

• Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh has a historical site with the Bundela dynasty architectural style.

• The Archaeological Survey of India included that heritage town of Orchha in a tentative list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world heritage sites. It was included in the proposal sent by the ASI to the UN body in April 2019.

• UNESCO’s rules state that to be a part of the World Heritage sites, the heritage or historical site must first be on the tentative list.

• After making it to that list, yet another proposal is sent to the UNESCO.

Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma launched a new project to boost medicinal plant cultivation

• Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma launched a new project to boost medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation named "Aroma Mission".

• "Aroma Mission" a project of Rs.18 crore launched to give importance for agriculture and allied sectors so that farmers earn the benefits from it.

• CM inaugurated a processing unit of essential oils and insisted institutions like CSIR-CIMAP to undertake more researches in this field.

• Broomsticks and bay leaves were categorized as 'Agro Forestry' items.

• Cultivation of lemon grass and citronella plant will be undertaken on 50-acre plots in every district of the state.

• Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) is a plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)

Telangana to set up countrys first 'Blockchain District' in Hyderabad

• Telangana released a draft blockchain policy to set up country's first 'Blockchain District' in Hyderabad. Telangana released a draft blockchain policy to set up country's first 'Blockchain District' in Hyderabad.

• It is aimed to create an ecosystem for major blockchain companies, start-ups for promoting research, innovation and industry collaboration. Telangana Government signed an agreement with Tech Mahindra to set up the Blockchain district in 2018.

• The draft was released by Information Technology, Electronics and Communications (IT E&C) Department. The main focus will be given to the sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, government institutions and departments, logistics and supply chains.

• The incentives like access to investments, subsidies, tax credits will be rolled out to attract enterprises, Small and Medium Enterprises and startups. Other incentives include 25% subsidy on lease rentals up to 5 lakh per annum for the first three years of operations.

• 100% reimbursement of State Goods and Services Tax (SGST ) for the first three years for startups with revenue less than 5 crore and along with one-time grant of Rs.l0 lakh, 75% subsidy in travel fare when the founders attend global conferences and 25% reimbursement on Internet charges would be provided.

INTERNATIONAL:

India, Sri Lanka and Japan signed a deal to develop container terminal at Colombo

• Sri Lanka, Japan, and India signed an agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port on 28th May. The joint initiative is estimated to cost between $500 million and $700 million.

• The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC)is significant, given that the countries had been negotiating the deal since last year with little success.

As per the agreement, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) retains 100% ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT), while the Terminal Operations Company is jointly owned. Sri Lanka will hold a51% stake in the project and the joint venture partners will retain 49%.

• Aim: The ECT development project aimed at neutralizing the growing influence of China, which has poured money into the South Asian island nation under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure plan. The ECT is located some three km away from the China-backed international financial city, known popularly as port city.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

Alapan Bandyopadhyay appointed as new Home Secretary for West Bengal

• Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee appointed Alapan Bandyopadhyay, an IAS officer of the 1987 batch, as the new Home Secretary for West Bengal. He succeeds Atri Bhattacharya .

• Alapan Bandyopadhyay was in charge of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME) Department with additional charge of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises Department.

• Ajit Ranjan Bardhan as the new principal secretary of the North Bengal Development Department (NBDD)Bardhan was earlier in charge of Youth Services and Sports department.

• Barun Kumar Ray, who was in charge of the NBDD with an additional charge of Jalpaiguri Commissioner was transferred as the Commissioner of Malda.

Choten D Lama, Secretary of the Panchayat & Rural Development Department (P&RD) was shifted to the Backward Classes Welfare Department with an additional charge of the Tribal department.

• Gyanwant Singh was appointed as the new ADGP (Law and Order).

Jayanta Kumar Basu was appointed as the director of the directorate of economic offences.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

RBI extended time window for using the RTGS for customer transactions

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that the time-window for using theReal Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) for customer transactions will be extended from 4:30 pm to 6 pm on all working days. It will be effective from June 1, 2019.

• The current RTGS service window for customer transactions is available to banks from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on a working day.

Transactions will now take place under three windows:

1.8 am to 11 am

2.11 am to 1 pm

3.1 pm to 6pm

• Charges for the transactions:

• There shall be no charge for transactions between 8 am and 11 am.

• A charge of Rs.2 will be levied on every transaction conducted between 11 am and 1 pm.

Rs.5 shall be charged for every transaction between 1pm and 6pm.

Standard Chartered launched Trade A1 Engine in partnership with IBM

• Standard Charteredlaunched Trade A1 Engine in partnership with IBM Standard Chartered in partnership with IBM has launched the Trade A1 Engine which will automate the high risk process of trade documentation.

• It will enhance client experience through increased operational efficiency and strengthened operational control.This newly launched Trade A1 Engine will replace the Traditional documentary trade consisting of millions of data elements in paper-based that to be reviewed through a largely manual process.

About Trade A1 Engine

• Conversion of non-digital shipping documents into machine-readable format enabled by Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

•The Identification and classification of document types from an initial pre-defined database.

• The Continuous Machine learning (ML) based on user re-classification / re-defining of data elements to further Improve accuracy.

• Natural Language Processing (NLP) capabilities to read and capture context from data in the documents.

Srei Equipment Finance ties up with Oriental Bank of Commerce to offer loans for purchase of equipment under a co-lending arrangement

• Srei Equipment Financetied up with Oriental Bank of Commerce to offer loans for the purchase of equipment under a co-lending arrangement.Srei Equipment Finance is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance.

• The funds for the project will be sourced through a platform named iQuippo, a unique digital market place of Kanoria Foundation.It will help in loan origination, loan dues collection, auction of equipment, valuation of equipment and other facilities.

• The co-lending arrangement will include financing of construction, mining and allied equipment, medical equipment, commercial vehicles and farm equipment.

Motila Oswal AMC become the first Indian fund house to introduce WhatsApp transaction platform

• Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company (AMC) become the first Indian fund house to launch WhatsApp transaction platform for mutual fund transactions for new as well as existing investors.This enables investors to use WhatsApp to invest in any scheme from Motilal Oswal AMC.Investors can either invest lump sum or through SIPS.

• The platform works:

• An investor should add Motilal Oswal AMC number (+91 9372205812) to his/her contact list. Then on WhatsApp, type 'Hi' on the above number.

• After sharing the PAN details, the investor should share his/her mode of investment, fund, amount. Finally, authorize payment for the transaction through the payment link sent

DAYS:

Veer Savarkar was observed on 28 May

• Swatantryaveer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar's birth anniversary was celebrated on 28 May 2019. On this occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tributes to VD Savarkar. He said that the nation will always remember sacrifices made by Veer Savarkar during the freedom struggle.

SPORTS:

Ivo Karlovic-Oldest Man to win a match at the French Open 2019 for 46 years

• Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic became the oldest man to win a match at the French Open 2019 for 46 years on 28 May. He beat Spain’s fellow veteran Feliciano Lopez in a first-round duel.

• Forty-year-old Ivo Karlovic became the oldest player to win a match at Roland Garros and defeated 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez to secure 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-7(7), 7-5 in three hours and six minutes to reach the second round at the clay-court Grand Slam for the sixth time.

• This was the oldest men’s match in combined age at Roland Garros during the Open Era, and the seventh-oldest match at a Grand Slam. Karlovic hit 35 aces and saved five of the six break points he faced to win his first match since Indian Wells.

INTERNATIONAL:

US, Japan, South Korea, Australia Hold 1st Naval Drills In Western Pacific.

• US State Department approved to sell air-defense missiles for worth of more than USD 600 million to Japan and South Korea.

This approval was result of rising tension with North Korea when a pair of missile was tested by North Korea last week.

The US government has approved sale of 94 SM-2 missiles used by ships against air threats along with 12 guidance systems for a total cost of USD 313.9 million.

About South Korea

Capital: Seoul

Currency: South Korean Won

President: Moon Jae-in

About Japan

Capital: Tokyo

Currency: Japanese Yen

Prime Minister. Shinzo Abe

About USA

Capital: Washington D.C.

Currency: United States Dollar

President: Donald Trump

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Jagan Mohan Reddy To Be Sworn In As CM of Andhra Pradesh.

• YSR Congress Chief Jagan Mohan Reddy sworn in as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh on 30th of May at Vijayawada.

• Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy announced this following his party achieving inching towards a landslide victory in the legislative elections for Andhra Pradesh Legislative assembly.

He will replace N Chandrababu Naidu who resides as Andhra Pradesh CM

About YSR Congress Party

President: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy

Founded:12 March 2011

Odisha Cong chief resigns after party's defeat in LS polls.

• Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Niranjan Patnaik on Friday announced his resignation after the party's defeat in the state. "I've sent my resignation to Congress President (Rahul Gandhi) owning moral responsibility for party's poor show in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in (Odisha)," he said. "While Congress faced defeat in the state, I too lost at the hustings," Patnaik added.

About Niranjan Patnaik:

• Niranjan Patnaik is an Indian politician, from Orissa. He is currently state president of Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee and former minister of Orissa State.

• Born: 22 February 1948 (age 71 years), Anandapur

• Party: Indian National Congress

• Residence: Bhubaneswar

• Education: Utkal University (1962)

• Siblings: Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, Chittaranjan Patnaik

• Children: Navajyoti Patnaik

YSRCP wins Andhra Assembly polls, Jagan Reddy to become CM.

• YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) has won the Assembly election in Andhra Pradesh, with victory in 151 of the 175 constituencies in the state. The previous ruling party Telugu Desam Party (TDP) managed to win 23 seats. Meanwhile, YSRCP leader Ummareddy Venkateswarlu has announced that party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will take oath as the Chief Minister on May 30.

About Jagan Mohan:

• Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy, is an Indian politician from Andhra Pradesh, who is the founder and leader of YSR Congress Party, and Leader of opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly since 16 May 2014. He is the son of the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

• Born: 21 December 1972 (age 46 years), Pulivendula

• Party: YSR Congress Party

• Spouse: Y S Bharati (m. 1996)

• Education: Nizam College, The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet

• Siblings: Y. S. Sharmila

• Children: Harsha Reddy, Varsha Reddy

About YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

• YSR Congress Party is a regional political party in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India. Currently, its president is Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the son of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Both YSR and Jaganmohan Reddy had been members of the Indian National Congress.

• President: Y. S. Vijayamma

• Leader: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy

• Founder: Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy

• Founded: 12 March 2011

• Wings: YSR Congress Trade Union, YSR Congress Mahila Wing, YSR Congress Student Wing, YSR Congress Youth Wing

• Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Theresa May to resign as the Prime Minister of UK on June 7.

• Theresa May on Friday said she will step down as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on June 7. This comes as May faced backlash by her own MPs against her latest Brexit plan. Since January, the UK Parliament has rejected the withdrawal agreement that May negotiated with the European Union (EU) three times.

About Theresa may:

• Theresa Mary May is a British politician who serves as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 until 2019. May was first elected Member of Parliament for Maidenhead in 1997, and served as Home Secretary from 2010 to 2016.

• Born: 1 October 1956 (age 62 years), Eastbourne, United Kingdom

• Party: Conservative Party

• Previous offices: Home Secretary of the United Kingdom (2010–2016),

• Education: St Hugh's College, Oxford (1974–1977), University of Oxford.

About United Kingdom:

• The United Kingdom, made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England – birthplace of Shakespeare and The Beatles – is home to the capital, London, a globally influential centre of finance and culture. England is also site of Neolithic Stonehenge, Bath’s Roman spa and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge.

BJD wins 112 seats in Odisha, Patnaik set to be CM for 5th time in row.

• BJD won 112 seats out of 146 in 2019 Odisha Assembly polls, with party President Naveen Patnaik set for a fifth consecutive term as CM. Patnaik becomes only the third CM after Sikkim’s Pawan Chamling and West Bengal’s Jyoti Basu to achieve the feat. BJP won 23 seats, Congress 9, and CPI(M) and an independent candidate won one seat each.

About Naveen Patnaik:

• Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician who is the current and 14th Chief Minister of Odisha. He is also the president of the Biju Janata Dal, a writer and has published four books.

• Born: 16 October 1946 (age 72 years), Cuttack

• Party: Biju Janata Dal

• Education: The Doon School, Welham Boys' School, University of Delhi, St Stephen's College, Kirori Mal College Hostel

• Siblings: Gita Mehta, Prem Patnaik.

• Parents: Biju Patnaik, Gyan Patnaik.

NATIONAL

Govt plans introducing artificial intelligence system in MCA 21 portal

• The union governmentplans to introduce artificial intelligence system in the MCA 21 portal as it seeks to make the compliance process easier as well as ensure routine enforcement activities are done round-the-clock on autopilot basis.

MCA 21 is the electronic backbone for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders, including the regulator, corporates and investors.

• All filings under the companies law are submitted to the ministry through this portal.

• Ministry of Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas has said the ministry would like to introduce Artificial Intelligence in MCA 21 when version 3 of the portal is rolled out in about a year's time.

India sets Guinness World Records of largest laundry lesson with the participation of 400 young men

• India achieved a Guinness World Records of ‘largest laundry lesson’ with the participation of 400 young Indian men.

The event was a part of #sharetheload campaign.

• It was done to share the responsibility of cleaning clothes at home along with the female members of the family

The event was initiated by Ariel India.

• It was hosted by Mandira Bedi and Indian Actor Anil Kapoor also joined the function.Earlier, the largest laundry lesson was achieved by Lion NANOX Team (Japan) at Lion Hirai Research Laboratory in Edogawa, Tokyo, Japan on November 29, 2017. It had 318 people.

Kerala became first state to list Masala Bond in overseas market

• Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).

• The masala bond has tenor of 5-year and a 9.723% coupon

Kerala’s state finance minister Thomas Issac executed this move.

• The main objective of this initiative was to tap masala bond market and to rebuild the infrastructure in Kerala from the proceeds of masala bond.

AGREEMENTS

BSNL partnered with Google for expanding WiFi footprint

• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) partnered with Google on the occasion of World Telecom Day.

• The main objective is to expand BSNL Wifi footprint in the country.

Currently, there are around 38,000 BSNL Wifi hotspot locations working across the country and one can use these after buying the Wi-Fi vouchers worth of Rs 19 and more.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS

HDFC Capital Advisors launched an initiative termed as HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Programme (HeART).

• HDFC Capital Advisors, (a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd) launched an initiative termed astHDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Programme (HeART), the objective of which is to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies which produce innovative products that aim at lowering costs and creating efficiencies in every stage of the development cycle of the affordable housing system.

• Due to the upcoming technology disruptions, all processes like land approvals, planning and design, construction, project management, sales and facilities management would undergo a drastic change.

• HDFC Capital will also be collaborating with leading academic institutions, industry platforms and accelerators which would aid in creating an ecosystem that supports various components in the development of affordable housing.

Panel submits report on digital payments to RB

• A Reserve Bank of India-appointed committee on ‘suggestions on promoting digital payment’. It was headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has submitted its suggestions on promoting Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 - 2021, digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das.

• The five-member panel was encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation.

RBI will examine the recommendations of the committee and will link the action points, wherever necessary, in its Payment Systems Vision 2021 for implementation.

• Panel Members: Besides Nandan Nilekani (Infosys co-founder), H R Khan (former RBI deputy governor), Kishore Sonsi (former MD and CEO of Vijaya Bank), Aruna Sharma (former secretary in ministries of IT and steel) and Sanjay Jain (chief innovation officer, Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (Cll E), 11M Ahmedabad).

RECOGNITION

Nancy Pelosi honoured with 2019 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage Award

• The USA's House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was honoured with 2019 John F Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. She was recognized for putting national interest above her party's interest, for her efforts to pass former President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law(Obama Care) and also for helping Democrats reclaim control of U.S. House during 2018 elections.

• She has served in House of Representatives since 1987.

• Previous Honorees of the award includes former Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford, and prominent lawmakers Rep. John Lewis and late Sen. John McCain.

About JFK Profile in Courage Award:

It is an annual award that was created in 1989 by members of President J.F. Kennedy’s family.

It seeks to honor J.F. Kennedy and to recognize and celebrate the quality of political courage which he admired most. The award recognizes a public official (or officials) at the local, federal or state level whose actions speaks of qualities of politically courageous leadership.

OBITUARIES

I M Pei The Master Architect Passes Away

• I M Pei, a dominant figure in American architecture for more than three decades who designed the Louvre’s crystal pyramid, has passed away.

• Pei’s more than 50 projects included the Musee d’Art Moderne in Luxembourg (2006) and the 72-story Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong (1989).

• He was honored with the American Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal in 1979; the Grande Medaille d’Or from the Academie d’Architecture de France; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the USA.

SPORTS

PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal to spearhead Indian challenge at Sudirman Cup in China

• Sudirman Cup tournament will begin at the Guangxi Sports Center Gymnasium in Nanning, China .

• The Top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will spearhead the Indian challenge at this prestigious tournament.

• The Indian team will begin their campaign tomorrow against Malaysia in Group 1-D.India reached the quarterfinals twice in the 2011 and 2017 editions but failed to cross the last eight stage.

Sudirman Cup is a mixed team Badminton Championship held every two years.

• There are 12 elite teams that will take part in the tournament. Each group comprises of three teams, with the top two qualifyings for the quarterfinals.

Rafael Nadal claimed the Italian Open 2019 title

• Rafael Nadal has won a record 34th ATP Masters 1000 title by defeating Novak Djokovic in the Italian Open final 2019. This is his ninth Rome title. 

• Nadal dominated in a 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 win broke a tie with his longtime rival Djokovic. For his victory, Nadal received 1,000 ATP Ranking points and earned ₹7.5 crore. Djokovic produced an error-strewn performance in his 54th meeting with Nadal.

• After three semi-final defeats in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, Nadal has returned to his best form ahead of Roland Garros and clinched his first title of the season.

Result of Italian Open 2019:

Men's Singles:

Spain Rafael Nadal

Women's Singles:

Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková

Men's Doubles:

Colombia Juan Sebastián Cabal / Colombia Robert Farah

Women's Doubles:

Belarus Victoria Azarenka / Australia Ashleigh Barty.