GK and Current Affairs Updates

NATIONAL:

Rajya Sabha passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill 2019.

• The Rajya Sabha passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on 4 June. The Bill was introduced by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. It allows for the supersession of the Medical Council of India (MCI) by a Board of Governors for a two-year period from 2018 till 2020. The Bill will also allow for the increase in the number of members in the Board of Governors to 12 from the existing seven. As the Bill has been passed by both Houses, it will replace an ordinance that was promulgated onFebruary21.

The panel of eminent professionals will run the scam-tainted Medical Council of India (MCI) so that medical education can be regulated in the best manner.

The BoG will have eminent people that includes directors of AIIMS and PGI, Chandigarh. The board will prevail until a council is constituted. The medical education can be regulated by the introduction of the BoGs in the best manner.

Tata Steel Kalinganagar included in WEF's Global Lighthouse Network.

• Tata Steel Kalinganagar (TSK) in World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Lighthouse Network a community of manufacturers showing leadership in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to drive financial and operational impact.

TSK in Odisha's Jajpur district is the first and the only Indian manufacturing plant to be included in the WEF's Lighthouse Network, it said.

The addition of 10 new factories including TSK to its Global Lighthouse Network carried out.

The factors join a network of 16 existing lighthouses across multiple geographies and industries.

US clears SoftBank's $2.25 billion investment in General Motors-backed Cruise

Amazon's Jeff Bezos finalises divorce with $38 billion settlement.

They serve as beacons to guide others to overcome challenges in upgrading systems and applying cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and 3D printing.

The factories were selected based on their success in integrating these technologies to increase efficiency and drive innovation.

About Tata Steel

Founded: 25 August 1907, Jamshedpur

Headquarters: Mumbai

CEO: T. V. Narendran

India to sell bonds overseas for 1st time to finance budget deficit.

• The government on Friday said it will sell sovereign bonds overseas for the first time to finance the fiscal deficit. Ex-RBI Governor C Rangarajan opposed the plan saying India will have to bear the exchange-rate risk if it borrows in foreign currency. The government set the fiscal deficit target at 3.3% of GDP for FY20, from 3.4% set in February.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’S:

Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Maldives for the establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea.

• The Union Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Maldives for the establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea. It was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Maldives on 8 June 2019.

Aim:

• The Ferry service would help to harness the potential opportunity in both passenger and cargo transportation by sea between the two countries. Ferry services between Maldives and Kerala is connected by Kochi with Male  and Kulhudhuffushi in Maldives by Sea route. Ferry service would contribute in a big way in promoting people to people contact and to boost bilateral trade between two nations.

• India and Maldives relation:

• India is a leading development partner of Maldives and has established many of the leading institutions of Maldives.

• Currently, India has provided $100 million Stand-by Credit Facility (SCF) to Maldives, including long-term loans and revolving credit for trade.

Maldives:

• President: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih          

• Capital: Male

• Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa

• The Maldives is a tropical nation in the Indian Ocean

• It is composed of 26 ring-shaped atolls, which are made up of more than 1,000 coral islands

• It’s known for its extensive reefs, beaches and blue lagoons.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Punjab & Sind Bank sets up centralised hub 'Cen-MARG' to process retail and MSME loans.

• Punjab & Sind Bank set up a centralized hub named "Centralised MSME & Retail Group" (Cen-MARG) for processing retail and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) loans for better efficiency of branches in business acquisition. It is headquartered in New Delhi.

It will ensure qualitative improvement in credit appraisal, improved turnaround time, uniform documentation, and efficient monitoring.

Cen-MARG linked with pan-India branches of the bank in a phased manner.

The bank is main aim to bring about much-enhanced customer satisfaction through this initiative.

The launch of Cen-MARG and retail credit will be performed at the Cen-MARG,

They will help branches focus better on lead generation for retail lending and MSME and enhanced customer service.

About Punjab & Sind Bank:

Headquarters: New Delhi 

MD & CEO: S Harisankar

Tag line: Where service is a way of life

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

BMW's 4-year CEO quits.

• German automaker BMW has announced that Harald Krüger has decided to not seek a second term as the CEO, after serving at the role for about four years. Krüger, a 27-year company veteran, served at the luxury carmaker's board for 10 years. This comes months after BMW posted its weakest quarterly earnings in about a decade for the first quarter.

Mindtree CEO, Chairman, and COO resign days after L&T takeover.

• Mindtree Co-Founders Rostow Ravanan, Krishnakumar Natarajan and NS Parthasarathy have resigned from the mid-sized IT company following the hostile takeover by engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The three serve as CEO, Executive Chairman, and Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer (COO) respectively. All of them have also asked Mindtree to declassify them as promoters.

Rohit 1st batsman in history to smash 5 hundreds in a World Cup.

• India opener Rohit Sharma reached the three-figure mark against Sri Lanka off 92 balls in 2019 World Cup on Saturday to become the first-ever batsman to smash five hundreds in a World Cup. Rohit overtook ex-Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara, who slammed four hundreds in the 2015 edition. Rohit also equalled Sachin Tendulkar's record for most World Cup hundreds (six).

NATIONAL:

Delhi police signed a MoU with SECI to set up rooftop solar energy systems

• The Delhi police has consented to an arrangement with Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) to set up housetop sun based vitality frameworks in more than 200 of its structures over the city. Under the understanding, the SECI will bolster the usage of matrix associated housetop sun powered photovoltaic frameworks on the foundations of Delhi police.

• The undertaking is relied upon to be finished soon in a staged way with dynamic participation between the two offices. This MOU will be ideally utilized in the structures and buildings accessible with Delhi Police all over the city.

• Housetop sun oriented photovoltaic Project: It has been evaluated that Rooftop Solar Systems of absolute limit of around 3-4 MW will be executed crosswise over different Delhi Police structures. The undertaking will use empty tops of their structures to saddle sunlight based vitality and to cook some portion of their power request through the created environmentally friendly power vitality. The task would result in huge decrease on power charge installments of the Delhi Police.

NIRDPR has signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to supply sanitary napkins to students

• National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a public sector enterprise, on a pilot project to supply sanitary napkins to students. The project has been allocated an amount of Rs.71.82 lakh given by the BDL as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

• Under the project, sanitary napkins will be provided to 11,516 students free of cost through a team of volunteers and female teachers of 75 schools in Gandipet, Moinabad, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally and Shamshabad mandals of the Telangana State.

Aim:

The project aims to create awareness and hygiene on menstruation and menstrual hygiene among children in government schools in Telangana.

The objective includes information dissemination on safe disposal mechanism of sanitary napkins without affecting the environment.

It aims to drive them towards fruitful education without absenteeism and health hazards.

BDL has prepared a communication material in both Telugu and English, which may be useful for other women in the villages too

It is likely to be expanded to 22 more mandals in the next phases depending upon the results.

Gujarat FM presents the state's highest budget pegged at over Rs 2 lakh crore

• Finance Minister of Gujarat Nitin Patel presented the Budget size of Rs 2,04,815 crore for the year 2019-20 for the state. The budget indicates the overall surplus of Rs 572 crore. An additional tax income of Rs 287 crore is added to it.

• This is the first time the State's budget crossed Rs.2 lakh crore. The budget estimates around Rs 1,54,732 crore revenue expenditure of Rs 1, 51, 858 crores for the year 2019-20.

The tap water to every household by 2022.The state government allotted Rs.4,500 crore for this purpose.

• The clean energy space, the state plans to increase installed capacity to 30,000 megawatts (Mw) by 2022, from 8885 MW at present.

INTERNATIONAL:

Ursula von der Leyen is appointed as European Commission president

• Germany's Ursula von der Leyen is selected by European Union (EU) pioneers as coalition's next Chief Executive (European Commission president).

• She will be the primary lady in history to hold the position. She will supplant Jean-Claude Juncker. She will lead the Union's most significant organization to set the alliance's strategy plan. The Union is comprised of 28 officials.

• Ms.Ursula:  Ms.Ursula, the 60-year-old gynecologist, began her political profession in her initial age of 40. In 1990 she joined Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union gathering (CDU) and labored for a long time.

• In 2009 Van der Leyen moved to the Labor Ministry, before turning into the principal female resistance serve in 2014.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY:

Airtel Payments Bank ties up with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana

• Airtel Payments Bankpartnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer Bharti AXA Life POS (Point of Sale).Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana, a pure life term insurance decided to plan up to Rs 5 lakhs

• The scheme is aimed at the under-insured and uninsured segments in India.

The policy available at all the Airtel Payments Bank's 25,000 retail outlets.

It will be expanded to cover over 60,000 banking points.

• The customers are offered the option of life cover between 3-5 lakh.The scheme further extended up to Rs 25 lakh. Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the scheme Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY)

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

USISPF honors Wipro Chairman Azim Premji & Mastercard CEO and President Ajay Banga with Global Excellence Award 2019

• Indian multinational corporation Wipro's Chairman, Azim Premji, and Global Financial services company Mastercard's CEO and President, Ajaypal Singh Banga chosen for 2019 Global Excellence Award.

• The award will be given by LIS-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)for their contribution to strengthening economic ties between the US and India.

The awards will be given at the USISPF Second Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July 11, 2019.

• US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, LIS Energy Secretary Rick Perry, LIS House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi, US Senator Dan Sullivan, a Republic from Arkansas and Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Shringla attend the leadership summit.

• The aim is to highlight bilateral cooperation, trade, and investment, strategic energy ties, manufacturing, and innovation partnership of two countries.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION:

AK Misra appointed as an additional director on the Board of Directors (BOD) of Jammu and Kashmir Bank by Reserve Bank of India

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed ex-executive director RBI A.K Misra as Additional Director on the Board of Directors (BOD) of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank Limited.

• The appointment shall be for a period of two years .The appointment will be effect from July 3, 2019 to July 2, 2021.

• The usual sitting fee and allowances are paid to other directors for attending the meetings of the Board and Committee.

SPORTS:

Hima Das won the women's 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland

• Star Indian sprinter Hima Das won the women's 200m gold in the Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. She was timed 23.65s on her way to the 200m gold. This was Hima's first focused 200m race of the year 2019.

• other winners: The national record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor packed away a bronze with a best exertion of 19.62m.

• Vismaya completed third with an individual best time of 23.75s in the race at Poznan Asian hero.

• Muhammed Anas, the 400m national record holder, protected third in the men's 200m race with a planning of 20.75 seconds.

• K S Jeevan won the men's 400m bronze in 47.25s.

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:

Indian Crypto Exchange Koinex Shuts down its operation

• India's Largest cryptocurrency exchange, Koinex terminating its digital asset trading set-vices and other crypto-related operations citing regulatory uncertainty and disruption.

It was facing problems with its payment services and gateways, along with non-crypto related transactions like payment of salaries, rent, and purchase of equipment.

It started its digital assets exchange services in August 2017

It executed over 20 million orders in trading volume on its platform so far.

The country's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), barred banks from serving companies dealing in cryptocurrency exchanges.

About Koinex:

Founders: Rahul Raj, Rakesh Yadav, Aditya Naik

Sector: Digital assets

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS:

InMobi names Harvard professor Khanna as independent director.

• InMobi Group's Board of Directors has appointed Harvard professor Tarun Khanna as an independent director of the firm. "InMobi’s journey...being the first unicorn to becoming a successful global company to emerge out of India is an inspiration for any entrepreneur," Khanna said. A member of the faculty since 1993, Khanna is the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School.

SPORTS:

Hosts England hand India their first defeat in 2019 World Cup.

• Hosts England handed India their first defeat in 2019 World Cup by beating them by 31 runs on Sunday. With the victory, England moved to the fourth spot on the points table, while Pakistan slipped one place to the fifth position. Notably, India and England have now played 100 ODIs against each other, with England emerging victorious 42 times.

Rohit 2nd Indian in history to smash 3 hundreds in a World Cup.

• Opener Rohit Sharma has become the second Indian batsman in history to smash three hundreds in a World Cup edition. The 32-year-old, who slammed 122* against South Africa and 140 against Pakistan earlier in 2019 World Cup, reached the three-figure mark in 106 balls against England today. Ex-India captain Sourav Ganguly had smashed three hundreds in the 2003 World Cup.

Kohli first captain to score five straight fifties in WC history.

• India captain Virat Kohli has become the first skipper to score five consecutive fifties in World Cup history. The 30-year-old achieved the feat after reaching the 50-run mark against England in the 2019 World Cup on Sunday. Kohli is only the second player ever to score five fifties in a row in World Cup history after Australia's Steve Smith.

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.

BANKS AND ECONOMICS:

Max Bupa partners with MobiKwik for health insurance.

• Max Bupa, an independent wellbeing back up plan went into a vital association with MobiKwik, a fintech stage to advance moderate and helpful chomp measured gathering medical coverage items for MobiKwik's 107 Million clients the nation over.

• Max Bupa think of a huge number of creative contributions, including a Cancer spread at an ostensible premium

• A HospiCash item for MobiKwik's immense client base.

• Max Bupa's HospiCash item accommodates a pre-characterized day by day stipend based on number of long periods of hospitalization regardless of the real cost acquired by the client.

• Hospi Cash will offer ₹500 every day clinic remittance for as long as 30 days in a year.

• The primary mean to empower monetary incorporation by making pocket-estimate medical coverage arrangements accessible through the Mobikwik stage

• The arrangement to obtain 1 million Mobikwik clients throughout the following 3-4 years.

DAYS:

Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises Day is celebrated on 27 June.

• United Nations observe 27 June as the Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises Day.

Micro, small and Medium-sized businesses celebrated this day in recognition of their work in local and global economies.

These enterprises, which generally employ fewer than 250 persons are the backbone of most economies worldwide.

International Trade Center, United Nations launch its flagship report: “The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2019: Big money for small businesses”.

The General Assembly invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations.

It includes non-governmental organizations, academia, individuals and other relevant stakeholders to observe the Day in an appropriate manner and in accordance with national priorities.