NATIONAL:

Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) has been currently deployed across the Kaziranga National Park.

• The Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) has been currently deployed across the Kaziranga National Park. A first ever batch of 82 constables of a SRPF has been deployed in various parts of UNESCO World Heritage Site Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

The force consists of 74 men and 8 women who underwent 43 weeks of training. The constables assumed their duties across the national park to protect one horned rhino.

 Aim:

• This is the first time a special force that has been dedicated to keep a check on rhino poaching and related activities in the Kaziranga National Park.

•  From 2013, there was rampant rhino poaching in Kaziranga. In 2013 and 2014, 27 poaching incidents each year was reported. In the last 2 years there has been 6 cases each year. In 2019, there have been three cases so far.

About Kaziranga:

Kaziranga National Park, the prestigious national park of India, is situated in the state of Assam. It was created in 1908 and it was declared as National Park on 11 February 1974. It was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1985.

 About Rhinos in Kaziranga:

The Assam state forest department reported that there are 2,547 rhinos in Assam in its 2018 census.

• Greater One-Horned rhinoceros and the Asian One-Horned Rhinoceros falls under the IUCN list of endangered species. A report said that about 3,000 Rhinos live in the wild, and around 2000 of which are found in Kazirnaga National Park.

INTERNATIONAL:

California 1st US state to ban discrimination against natural hair.

• California has become the first state in the US to ban discrimination against people based on their natural hair. The law prohibits employers and schools from enforcing a dress code against hairstyles such as afros, braids, twists, and locks. The law especially aims to end policies that discriminate against black people.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Harish Rawat resigns as AICC General Secretary.

• AICC General Secretary in-charge of Assam, Harish Rawat tendered his resignation from his post, taking the responsibility of the party's debacle in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

About AICC :

• The All India Congress Committee is the Presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from State-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousand members.

• Location: Delhi.

 About Harish Rawat:

• Harish Chandra Singh Rawat is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2014-2017. A five-time Member of Parliament, Rawat is a leader of the Indian National Congress party.

• Previous offices: Chief minister of Uttarakhand (2016–2017).

Chelsea appoint former midfielder Frank Lampard as their new manager.

• Chelsea have appointed their former midfielder Frank Lampard as their new manager on a three-year deal. The 41-year-old succeeds Maurizio Sarri, who left Chelsea in June to take charge at Juventus. Lampard had spent 13 years at Chelsea as a player before leading Derby to the Championship play-off final in his first season as a manager.

ABOUT FRANK Lampard:

• Frank James Lampard OBE is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Premier League club Chelsea.

• Frank Lampard has the fourth-most goals scored (177) in the Premier League.

ABOUT Chelsea Foot Ball club:

• Chelsea Football Club are an English professional football club. Founded in 1905, they compete in the Premier League, the top division of English football.

• Location: Chelsea, Londo, United Kingdom

•  Chelsea has the fourth-highest home attendance record (82,905) of English football clubs.

NATIONAL:

India seeks to buy $2.2 billion warships to meet China challenge .

• India sought bids for purchase of warships and support vessels for its navy and coast guard as it ramps up security of its maritime border in the Indian Ocean region.

• The shipbuilders invited include private shipyards Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd., apart from the state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., Goa Shipyard Ltd., Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. and Cochin ShipyardNSE 0.10 % Ltd., people with knowledge of the matter said. They asked not to be identified citing rules.

INTERNATIONAL:

Zimbabwe runs out of passports amid economic crisis.

• Zimbabwe has run out of passports as the country has no adequate funds to pay for special imported paper, ink and other raw materials required to print the passports. Citizens seeking to apply for a passport face a minimum wait time of 18 months. Zimbabwe is facing its worst economic crisis in over a decade, with inflation at almost 100%.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Ola Electric invests $250million funding from SoftBank.

• SoftBank invested around $250 million in Ola Electric Mobility.

The electric vehicle unit Ola becomes the newest unicorn from India. The likes of Flipkart, Zomato, Paytm in the parent company are with the Registrar of Companies.

Ola Electric issued 4,326 fully and compulsorily convertible series B preference shares of face value of Rs 10 each having the privileges and preferences.

Japanese investor paid a total of Rs 1,725.04 crore (around $250 million)

The SoftBank funding was received on Tuesday in light of a special resolution passed by the board of Ola Electric on June 25.

Tata Sons' Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount in Ola Electric.

This investment is a part of company's series-A round of funding, was in Ratan Tata's personal capacity.

Ola Electric announced raising Rs 400 crore in a funding round

This is led by Tiger Global and Matrix India.

Ola raised $300 million from South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motors along with its affiliate Kia Motors.

As part of the deal, Hyundai plans to introduce its EVs in the cab fleet of Ola by 2021.

Ola Electric is currently running several pilots to deploy electric vehicles and charging solutions.

The company claimed they would introduce a fleet of 10,000 electric vehicles over the next year.

Ola Electric initially established to enable Ola's electric mobility pilot program in Nagpur in 2017.

Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life to sell term insurance.

• India's first payments bank Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer a life term insurance plan through its extensive network of banking points across the country.

• The product, Bharti AXA Life POS (Point of Sale) Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana, is a pure life term insurance plan which is aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India. Both the partners will leverage vast network to reach deep rural pockets and serve the under-insured.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

TSSOCA chief is new ISTA vice-president.

• Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority (TSSOCA) K. Keshavulu was elected vice president of International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), the body that regulates seed certification at the global level, during the ongoing 32nd ISTA Congress being held here.

• He is not only the first Indian but also first from any Asian country to hold one of the top executive posts in ISTA. Mr. Keshavulu is also tipped to be elected as the next president of ISTA at its 33rd Congress to be held in New Zealand in 2022 as is the practice in the organisation. He will hold the vice president’s post for a three-year term.

• teve Jones of Canada, who has been the vice president till the election of the new executive body on Tuesday, has been elected president for the 2019-22 term. The new committee will also have immediate past president Craig McGill of New Zealand and eight others as members at Large representing Zimbabwe, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Philippines, Finland and Argentina.

SPORTS:

World Cup 2019: Ambati Rayudu retires from International cricket, Iceland Cricket’s special offer to Rayudu.

• Ambati Rayudu retires from International Cricket. Rayudu made the announcement after the Indian cricket team management repeatedly ignored him in the ongoing world cup. Ambati Rayudu was named as one of the five stand-bys for the Indian world cup squad but he was snubbed twice, after the Indian selectors preferred Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal over him.

NATIONAL:

India to contribute USD 5 Millions in 2019 to UN Palestine refugee agency

• India pledged USD 5 million in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency.

The agency's difficult financial situation due to voluntary contributions from a limited donor base and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for its work.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador K Nagaraj Naidu the government increased its annual financial contribution four fold to the UNRWA core budget from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2018.

They attended a meeting of the General Assembly Ad Hoc Committee for Voluntary Contributions to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

They mark of India's solidarity with the Palestine refugees.

India's support for UNRWA's work is providing assistance to about 5.4 million Palestine refugees to help them achieve their full human development potential.

As part of the Government of India's ongoing assistance programmes in Palestine to strengthen capacity-building efforts focused on institutions, services, and training personnel.

The country is providing 150 places for Palestinian professionals every year under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program. 

During the last five years, under an India-Palestine development partnership, 17 agreements signed in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women's empowerment, and media.

About Palestine

President: Mahmoud Abbas

Prime Minister: Mohammad Shtayyeh

Uttar Pradesh State government has started DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome.

• Uttar Pradesh State government has started  DASTAK campaign against communicative diseases Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease on 1 July in the State. DASTAK campaign will run from 1st to 31st July.  This campaign is part of the State’s comprehensive Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategy. The vector-borne disease sensitive states have been marked.

Aim:

The campaign was started with an aim to create awareness about  the communicable diseases JE and AES.

Under this state-wide campaign, teams will reach every village of the state to create awareness about  the communicable diseases JE and AES.

It will also ensure the availability of clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud.                                  

About AES and JE:

Japanese encephalitis (JE) a vector-borne viral disease, caused by a group B arbovirus (Flavivirus) and transmitted by Culicine mosquito.

Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) is most widely caused by Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus. Encephalitis is an inflammation or swelling and irritation of the brain. It is also called acute viral encephalitis or aseptic encephalitis.

Symptoms: The symptoms include mild flu-like symptoms such as a high fever, personality changes, convulsions (seizures), severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, confusion,  problems with speech or hearing, hallucinations, memory loss, drowsiness and coma.

Encephalitis can not be prevented, but illnesses that may lead to it can be avoided.

Why awareness is needed in India?

The incidence of AES and JE in Bihar is increasing since 2009. AES claimed 150 lives in 2019. The highest incidence reporting for AES in Bihar are from Patna, Jehenabad, Nawada, Gaya, Lakhisarai, Gopalganj, Siwan, East Champaran and West Champaran. People should be educated and awareness about the disease should be created among the people.

AES in Uttar Pradesh: After Bihar, UP is being affected with vector-borne disease. The disease hits the peak during monsoons, from July to October.

The State government has taken measures for AES disease.

The bed capacity at BRD has been increased to 428 from 272, the annual medicine budget has been raised from Rs.2.5 crore to Rs.13 crore, while 16 lakh persons are being vaccinated each year and 3.5 lakh paramedics trained to assist in treatment.

Rajya Sabha passes J&K Quota Bill, extends President’s rule.

• The Rajya Sabha passed Jammu and Kashmir reservation bill on July 1, 2019 also extends President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir. This bill provides 3% reservation for people in the State living near the international border (LOC). Home Minister Amit Shah replied to the debate on the motion and the bill that Centre government has no objection to hold Assembly elections in the State. He said security forces have raised certain concerns and he hoped that the Election Commission will take a decision at the earliest.

Lok Sabha passes teachers’ reservation Bill.

• The Lok Sabha has passed the Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill-2019 on July 2, 2019. The bill seeks to provide for the reservation of posts in appointments by direct recruitment of persons belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Educationally Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections to teachers’ cadre in Central Educational Institutions. The bill will replace the Ordinance promulgated in this regard.

INTERNATIONAL:

US Senate passes legislative provision to give India NATO ally-like status.

• The United States Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America's NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation. The National Defence Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020, was passed by the Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner. The Act provides for increased US-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security.

NATIONAL:

Aparna Kumar created history by becoming the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve the 7 Summits challenge.

• Aparna Kumar created history by becoming the first civil servant and IPS officer to achieve the incredible and rare feat of completing ‘7 Summits’ challenge'.  Kumar hoisted India's tricolour on Mount Denali in Alaska, USA. Mount Denali is the highest peak of North America standing at 20,310 ft. She scaled the summit in her third attempt.

Aparna Kumar:

• Aparna Kumar is an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Dehra Dun Frontier DIG. She is also the first woman IPS officer to reach the South Pole on January 13 after walking 111 kilometres with 35 kilograms of equipment on her back.

• In 2016, she became the first officer of the All India Services to successfully scale Antarctica’s highest peak Mount Vinson Massif followed by Mount Manaslu in Nepal in 2017.

Mount Denali:

• Mount Denali is considered the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth, after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world, Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. It is also the tallest peak outside of Asia.

• Seven Summits:

• The seven listed summits in the challenge are:

• 1) Mount Everest in Nepal/China

• 2) Aconcagua in Argentina

• 3) Denali in the US

• 4) Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

• 5) Mount Elbrus in Russia

• 6) Mount Vinson in Antarctica

• 7) Puncak Jaya and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia

Other Mountaineers in Summit Challenge:

• Canadian mountaineer Patrick Morrow was the first man to climb the Seven Summits in 1986.

• Indian Army officer Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal is the first Indian to summit the seven highest peaks spread across the seven continents. He is a recipient of India's highest adventure award, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award Jamwal is also the first officer from the Indian Army to achieve this feat.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’S:

India has signed Rs.200 crore deal with Russia to acquire Strum Ataka

• India has signed Rs.200 crore deal with Russia to acquire Strum Ataka. The anti-tank missile will be added to the fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers of Indian Air Force (IAF). This deal comes in  wake of an IAF’s attempt to keep itself battle-ready in situations like post-Balakot aerial strikes. The Strum Ataka anti-tank missile would give an added capability to Mi-35 attack choppers of IAF to take out enemy tanks and other armoured elements.

• Mi-35s are set to be replaced with Apache gunships being acquired from United States (US) and slated to be delivered from August onwards.

About Emergency clause:

• After 14 February Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, emergency powers were given to Indian Defence forces and India started increasing vigil at borders with Pakistan. Under, emergency powers given to three services, they can procure equipment of their choice within 3 month at a cost of about Rs.300 crore per case.

• IAF has emerged as front runner in terms of weapon acquisition under emergency procurement, followed by Indian Army. Under emergency provisions IAF has acquired also acquired Spice-2000 stand-off weapon system along with a number of spare and air to air mission.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

NS Vishwanathan reappointed as Deputy Governor of RBI for 1 year.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the reappointment of NS Vishwanathan as Deputy Governor of RBI for a period of one year from July 4, 2019. NS Vishwanathan's term as Deputy Governor was supposed to end on July 3, 2019. Earlier, RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya resigned citing personal circumstances.

NATIONAL:

Article 370 only temporary provision, not permanent, says Home Minister Amit Shah.

• Amit Shah, Union Home Minister stated recently that Article 370 is a temporary provision and not permanent. Amit Shah said this while participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha to extend the President's rule in Jammu and Kashmi. The Home Minister said that people who call upon Article 370 repeatedly in reference to Jammu and Kashmir forget that the article also has the word ‘temporary’ before it.

• Amit Shah reiterated that Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, is only a temporary provision in the constitution and not a permanent one. The Home Minister said this in response to Opposition’s argument that Jammu and Kashmir can't be treated like other states because Article 370 gives it a special status.

INTERNATIONAL:

NASA to send Dragonfly robot to search for life on Saturn’s moon Titan.

• NASA has planned to return to Saturn’s moon Titan with a nuclear-powered drone, Dragonfly. NASA plans to launch the drone lander mission as early as 2034 to search for life on Saturn’s largest moon. 

• Dragonfly, is expected to travel billions of kilometer to search for signs of microbial alien life on Saturn’s moon Titan, while navigating its earth-like gravity and aerodynamics in the process. The mission will succeed NASA’s Cassini probe, which ended its 13-year mission orbiting Saturn in September 2017 by diving into Saturn’s atmosphere.

NASA’s Dragonfly Mission

• Dragonfly mission is a part of NASA’s New Frontiers program, which includes a series of space exploration missions, which are being conducted with the purpose of researching several of the Solar System bodies, including the dwarf planet Pluto. The New Frontiers programme also includes Pluto probe New Horizons, Jupiter probe Juno and OSIRIS-Rex asteroid mission.

DAYS:

Statistics Day is observed on 29th June.

• Statistics Day is observed on June 29th.

Its main aim is to popularize the use of Statistics in everyday life

They plan to sensitize the public where Statistics subject helps in shaping and framing policies.

The theme of 2019 Statistics Day is Sustainable Development Goals.

The day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Prof. P C Mahalanobis for his invaluable contribution in establishing the National Statistical System.

Minister of Statistics and Program Implementation Rao Inderjit Singh chair the main function to be held in New Delhi.

The winner of Prof. C R Rao Award 2019 for notable contribution in the field of Statistics.

SPORTS:

World Cup 2019: BCCI unveils India’s away 'orange' jersey for India vs England on June 30.

• Team India’s new away 'orange' jersey for World Cup 2019 has been officially unveiled by the BCCI. The much-awaited alternate jersey is dominated by orange colour rather than the original blue. India will be seen wearing this new orange jersey for the first time in its match against England on June 30.

NATIONAL:

Buddhist pillar, dating back to third century AD, found in Prakasam dist .

• A third century A.D Buddhist relic was found on the right bank of river Gundlakamma at Anamanaluru village in Prakasam district on Wednesday.

ABOUT:

• The local limestone pillar is carved with half lotus medallions at the centre and the top on all the four side

• It measures to about 1’-3”x0’-9’’x8’.0” also, it is two feet below the ground level.

J&K reservation (amendment) bill 2019 passed by Lok Sabha.

• Lok Sabha has passed Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, aimed to provide reservations in educational institutions and government jobs within 10km of the International Border in the Jammu area, just like the Line of Control in Kashmir. In the favour of this bill Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that students had to stay in bunkers for several days during shelling and firing, which was why the government wanted a reservation for those living along the International Border. Moving the bill in the Lok Sabha, Shah said, "This bill is not to please anyone but for those living near the International Border."

INTERNATIONAL:

India wins trade dispute with US over solar panel incentives.

• The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled that a series of US renewable energy incentives violated international trade rules.

•  A WTO panel upheld India's claim that seven US states illegally incentivised the use of local content, thereby discriminating against Indian and other imported solar suppliers.

•  The US, however, told the panel that the ruling would have little or no impact.

AWARDS:

India-born Priya Serrao crowned Miss Universe Australia 2019.

• India-born Priya Serrao has been crowned Miss Universe Australia 2019. The 26-year-old was born in India, spent most part of her childhood in Oman and Dubai, before moving to Melbourne with her family at the age of 11. Serrao is a law graduate and works as a full-time policy adviser with the Australian government in Melbourne.

NATIONAL:

Government of Jharkhand to get $147 Million Loan from World Bank.

• Government of Jharkhand and the World Bank, signed a $147 Million Loan Agreement

They provide basic urban services to the people of Jharkhand and planned to help improve the management capacity of the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State.

The Jharkhand Municipal Development Project mainly focus on improving the municipal sector’s capacity.

It will invest in urban services such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, and urban roads; and strengthen the capacity of the Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (JUIDCO)

The ULBs planned to carry out reforms in the areas of urban finance and governance.

The main need is to establish 31 million people reside in urban areas

The population of urban population growth at nine of 24 districts in Jharkhand is above India’s overall urbanization pace of 2.7 percent.

The Loan Agreement was signed by Mr. Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Mr. Shanker Lal, Acting Country Director (India),    the World Bank, on behalf of the World Bank.

Most of these components will open to all 43 ULBs in the state to participate within an agreed framework under the project.

Over 350,000 urban residents of the participating ULBs are expected to benefit

Interventions such as piped water supply, stormwater drains, climate-friendly road construction and energy efficient street lighting will help improve urban services but also make it environmentally sustainable. 

The Work on two sub-projects namely Khunti water supply subproject and the Dhanbad roads subproject to commence shortly.

Kerala topped NITI Aayog's health index 2019 ranking

• Kerala has topped ranking state in terms of overall health performance as per the report submitted by NITI Aayog on health index. This is the second edition of its type. It measured the annual and incremental performances of states and UTs.

Larger States:

Overall performance:

Next to Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have emerged as the second and third best performers, respectively, on health parameters. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were ranked the two worst performers, respectively.

Kerala secured an overall score of 74.01, while Uttar Pradesh was the least performing state with an overall score of 28.61. The report highlighted the outbreak of encephalitis in Bihar that killed over 150 children till 24 June.

Incremental performance:

In terms of incremental performances, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Jharkhand made the maximum improvement in terms of health among larger states.

Smaller states:

Among the smaller states, Mizoram ranked first in overall performance, while Tripura and Manipur were top two states in terms of incremental performance.

Union Territories:

• Among the Union Territories, Chandigarh ranked first in overall performance, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli made the most improvement.

Report prepared by:

The report was prepared NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with technical assistance from the World Bank.

Healthy States Progressive India:

NITI Aayog's report, titled 'Healthy States Progressive India', ranked states and Union Territories (UTs) based on the Health Index. The evaluation was based on 23 indicators that covers the key aspects of health sector performance.

The first edition of the report of this kind was released in 2018. It measured the annual and incremental performances of states and UTs for period 2014-15 (as base year) to 2015-16 (as reference year).

In the 2018 report, Kerala, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu had ranked on top in terms of overall performance among bigger states. Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh topped in terms of annual incremental performance.

NITI Aayog:

Formed on: 1 January 2015

Headquarters: Delhi   

Chairman: Narendra Modi

Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar

CEO: Amitabh Kant

It replaced the Planning Commission.

The government think tank aims to achieve Sustainable Development Goals  (SDG). It also plans to enhance cooperative federalism by fostering the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

Amazon India head Amit Agarwal takes over as IAMAI Chairman.

• The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has named Amit Agarwal, the SVP and Country Manager of Amazon India, as the new Chairman of the association. Agarwal takes over the position from former Google India and South East Asia VP Rajan Anandan. Yatra CEO Dhruv Shringi was named Vice Chairman, while Times Internet Vice-Chairman Satyan Gajwani was named Treasurer.

Warner Bros gets first female CEO in studio history.

• WarnerMedia has named Ann Sarnoff as the CEO of Warner Bros. Sarnoff, currently President of BBC Studios Americas, will be the first woman to head the studio behind 'Wonder Woman' and 'Friends'. The 57-year-old will be replacing Kevin Tsujihara.

DAYS:

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on 26 June.

• The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed on 26 June every year. It is a United Nations International Day against drug abuse and the illegal drug trade. It is observed since 1989. The day was instituted by General Assembly Resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987.

2019 Theme:

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has set the theme for 2019 as 'Health for Justice. Justice for Health'. The theme highlights that justice and health are two sides of the same coin when it comes to addressing drug problems.

Effective responses to the world drug problem require inclusive and accountable institutions of criminal justice, health and social services to work hand in hand to provide integrated solutions, in line with the international drug control conventions, human rights obligations and the Sustainable Development Goals.

INTERNATIONAL:

Former General Mohamed Ould Ghazouani won presidential election of Mauritania.

• Mauritania, a country in Northwest Africa conducted election a former general and defense minister, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Union for the Republic (UPR) party won the presidential election.

He won with 52% votes.

He succeeds Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.

Anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid won second with 18.58% votes.

Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar biggest Islamist party won third with 17.87% votes.

First time in 60 years Mauritania faced elections.

They gained independence (28 November 1960) from France.

About Mauritania:

Capital: Nouakchott

Currency: Mauritanian ouguiya

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s:

NSIC signs MoU with CSC e-governance services India.

• National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) signed an MoU with Common Service Centres (CSC) e-Governance Services India to enhance new offerings for the MSME sector.

This MoU enables CSCs to utilize a plethora of NSIC offerings through the NSIC portal.

He facilitates VLEs and MSMEs through digital empowerment in accessing NSIC integrated support services encompassing Marketing, Finance, Technology.

The MoU special focus on providing services to village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) to exponential growth of Village Entrepreneurs in the country.

The MoU enable CSCs  to utilize plethora of  NSIC offerings through the NSIC portal www.msmemart.com .

About NSIC (National Small Industries Corporation Limited)

Founder: Government of India

Founded: 1955

Headquarters: New Delhi

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Maruti Suzuki inks partnership with BOB for dealer financing

• Maruti Suzuki, an Automobile producer in India marked 'Favored Financier' MoU(Memorandum of comprehension) with Indian worldwide with Bank of Baroda(BOB) so as to improve credit for business stock financing.

• The association with Bank of Baroda permits Maruti Suzuki to back chances to sellers just as clients. The financing will work in accordance with the Bank of Baroda's item program of Supply Chain Finance.

• The tight liquidity circumstance in the budgetary arrangement of the IL&FS emergency and rising awful credits incited the banks. Moneylenders presented exacting credit standards for vehicle vendors because of the rising instances of awful advances in this portion of the car business. The sellers were approached to give guarantee stretched out by banks.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya resigned.

• The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Deputy Governor Viral Acharya resigned six months before the scheduled end of his term

He returned to New York University Stern School of Business (NYU stern) as CV Starr Professor of Economics.

He submitted a letter to RBI he is unable to continue his term as a Deputy Governor of the RBI beyond July 23, 2019.

He joined RBI on January 23, 2017.

He leave the central bank on December 10, 2018

He is in charge of the Financial Stability Unit, Monetary Policy Department, Department of Economic and Policy Research, Financial Markets Operation Department.

About Reserve Bank of India

Established:1 April 1935

Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Governor: Shaktikanta Das

SPORTS:

Lewis Hamilton won French Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes won the French Grand Prix .It is held in Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France.They verified 187 points. The United Kingdom got an eighth straight success in the year 2019 .It was the 6th success of the period.It is 79th of his vocation. He crushed Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (Finland) verified 151. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari (Monaco) got third Max Verstappen of Red Bull (Belgium) fourth.

NATIONAL:

India’s first iron ore mine discovered in Bangladesh

• Iron ore mine discovered at Isabpur village in Dinajpur.

This announcement was made by the Geological Survey of Bangladesh.

After the effect of extensive drilling over two months in the area. A 400-foot thick iron layer was found in Bangladesh after the result of the Geological Survey.

• Around 1,750 feet beneath the surface stretched over an area of 6-10 square kilometer.

The percentage of iron in the mine around 65.

It indicates the high quality of the ore. The other countries like Canada, China, Brazil, Sweden, and Australia have the percentage of iron ore is below the level of 50.

• Other minerals such as gold, copper, nickel, and chromium also found at various levels of the mining.

The discovery of the iron mine opened up economic prospects for the country.

The iron concentration in the magnetite ore is 65 percent.

Indian Navy launches Operation Sankalp in Gulf of Oman

• Indian Navy launched ‘Operation Sankalp’ in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.Their main aim is to reassure safe passage of Indian flagged vessels transiting through the area.

• This deployment depends on the following recent maritime incidents in the region. INS Chennai and INS Sunayna deployed in the region to undertake maritime security operations.

• An aerial surveillance in the area done by IN aircraft.

Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) of Indian Navy watch over the movement of ships in Gulf region.

INTERNATIONAL:

Saudi Arabia became the first Arab country to get FATF membership

• Saudi Arabia turned into the principal Arab nation to get participation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

• The quantity of perpetual individuals from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is 39. The enrollment conceded into the worldwide illegal tax avoidance after the Annual General Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

• FATF commended their 30th commemoration of its first gathering .Saudi Arabia got a welcome from FATF in 2015 and they joined as an "onlooker part'.

Mexico became the first country to ratify the trade deal to replace NAFTA

• Mexico turned into the main nation to endorse the economic accord to supplant 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

• The exchange accord is known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

• The USMCA (NAFTA 2.0) adjusted for automakers, stricter work, and ecological guidelines, licensed innovation assurances, and advanced exchange arrangements.

• US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico's and President Enrique Pena Nieto marked the arrangement in November 2018 need to sanctioned by every one of the three governments.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Cricket Australia signs a multi-year partnership with HCL

• Indian multinational information technology service HCL Technologies(Hindustan Computers Limited, HCL) signed a multi-year deal with Cricket Australia (CA), the administrative body of Australian Cricket.

India's third largest sports deal, Accenture was working with Cricket Australia

A five-year deal from November 2013.

• HCL becomes the digital technology partner of Australia (CA)

The company will help CA more fans, cricketers, fans, employees, and volunteers through digital experience around the world. 

• HCL build CA's digital products such as Cricket Australia Live App, cricket.com.

Cricket Australia's fan following gradually increased upto 20 million per year.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Dr Gaurav Nigam, an educationist, pediatrician and author, honoured with 'Innovative Research Excellence Award 2019'

• Dr Gaurav Nigam deliberated with 'Inventive Research Excellence Award 2019' .The honor was given by Lyonpo Ugyen Dorji, Minister for Labor and Human Resources of Bhutan at the Asian Leadership Summit .

• The capacity is held at Thimphu, Bhutan. The occasion sorted out by the Global Leaders Foundation.

• He won this honor for his magnificence in school training of extraordinary commitment towards the imaginative improvement look into exercises in the field of school instruction in South Asian Region.

• He is the author of iCare. He is the writer of the book titled 'Villain Inside My Mind'.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

Shefali Juneja appointed as India's representative in the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

• India's Pranati Nayak won a bronze decoration at the Senior Asian Artistic Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She is from West Bengal .

• She got equipped for finals.She verified 6th spot and concocted a score of 13.384 to win the bronze decoration.

• She scored 13.400 and 13.367 in the first and second vault score as of late.

Justice V Ramasubramanian appointed as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court

• Justice V Ramasubramanian designated as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

• He succeeded Chief Justice Surya Kant. The function was managed by Governor Acharya Devvrat.

• He filled in as an Additional Judge of the Madras High Court .

• He joined as changeless Judge from November 9, 2009.

Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan appointed as the second Chief Justice of Telangana High Court

• Raghvendra Singh Chauhan named as the second Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in Hyderabad.

• He succeeded Chief Justice T.B. Radhakrishnan in April, 2019 .He has a place with Rajasthan .

• He made vow before Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan. Boss Secretary S.K. Joshi started swearing-in service .

• The Registrar General of Telangana High Court A. Venkateswar Reddy read out the warrant

SPORTS:

Indian Gymnast, Pranati Nayak won bronze at 2019 Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championship held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

• India's Pranati Nayak won a bronze decoration at the Senior Asian Artistic Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. She is from West Bengal .

• She got equipped for finals .She verified 6th spot and concocted a score of 13.384 to win the bronze decoration. She scored 13.400 and 13.367 in the first and second vault score as of late.

NATIONAL:

Namma Kolhapuri chappal got GI tag.

• The controller general of patents, designs and trademarks has granted the GI (Geographical Indications) tag to Kolhapuri chappal from Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara and Solapur districts of Maharashtra and Dharwad, Belgaum, Bagalkot and Bijapur of Karnataka.

Getting GI tag for Kolhapuri means that footwear produced only in these 8 districts will qualify to carry tag of being Kolhapuris.

History:

• According to the GI application made by the two states, Kolhapuris can be traced back to the 12th century when King Bijjal ruled Bidar in Karnataka and his prime minister Vishwaguru Basavanna wanted to create a casteless society and remove the stigma associated with the cobbler community. The community embraced Lingayat faith and used its creative skills to start producing footwear known equally for its ruggedness and regal bearing.

Brand Kolhapuri came into being only in the beginning of 20th century when the footwear began to be traded in 20th century when the footwear began to be traded in Kolhapur. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj (1874-1922) of Kolhapur encouraged its production and 29 tanning centres were opened during his rule in Kolhapur.

About Geographical Indications (GI) tag:

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin.

Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004-05, since then by october 2018, 321 had been added to the list.

The GI tag is valid for a period of 10 years. Further it can be renewed.

India’s first solar cruise vessel will debut in Kerala.

• India’s first solar-powered ferry in 2016, Kerala is gearing up for the launch of the country’s premier solar-powered cruise boat.

The initiative comes from the State Water Transport Department (SWTD), whose solar ferry Aditya in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route proved to be a success.

The Rs. 3-crore cruise boat can carry 100 passengers is under construction at a boatyard in Aroor and comes from the stable of the builders of Aditya.

It will be rolled out in Alappuzha in December.

The hybrid vessel will be powered by a motor that can source energy from solar panels, battery, and generator.

Its battery will have 80 KWh (kilowatt hour) power backup, as compared to 50 KWh backup in Aditya.

About Low Energy Force

Aditya incurs a rock-bottom energy expense of ₹200 a day compared to the approximately Rs. 8,000 needed for diesel-powered ferries.

Solar vessels do not create air and noise pollution.

The double-deck, double-engine catamaran-type vessel adheres to norms specified by the Indian Registry of Shipping (IRS).

The vessel will have an air-conditioned lower deck and pushback seats, he said.

The upper deck, which is non-air conditioned, can be used for dining and to get a better view of the backwaters.

INTERNATIONAL:

Mauritania holds election for 1st time since independence 60yrs ago.

• Mauritania went to polls for the first time on Saturday since the African nation gained independence from France nearly 60 years ago. President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who seized power in a coup in 2008, agreed to step down and abide by the maximum two five-year elected terms. Non-elected military governments have mostly ruled the country following independence.