23rd-24th June, 2022

1. On the occasion of International Yoga Day, Guardian Ring programme was highlighted.
2. Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change had, in 2021, issued a Gazette notification for banning the use of ‘single-use plastic’ from July 1, 2022.
3. Assam has become the 36th state to adopt the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ program. With this, now the program is operational across India.
4. First India-Nepal Bharat Gaurav train was flagged off from Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi to Janakpur Dham station in Nepal.
5. ‘Surya Nutan’, a patented indoor solar cooking system, has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation Research and Development Centre in Faridabad.
6. iHub Drishti (Technology Innovation Hub of the IIT-Jodhpur) is developing two augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) platforms for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
7. Surrogacy Rules 2022 have been released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
8. PM Modi inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in the field of Communication Disorders at All India Institute of Speech and Hearing at Mysore.
9. Andhra Pradesh has signed an MOU with educational tech company Byju’s to impart quality education to students of class VI to X in government schools.
10. IKEA (leading Swedish home furnishing retailer) has decided to invest about Rs 3,000 crores in Karnataka to establish the largest IKEA store of India.
11. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the first-ever ‘Mango Festival’ in Brussels to create awareness among the Europeans and create a market for Indian mangoes in Europe.
12. South Korea has launched its first indigenously developed rocket named Nuri from Naro Space Center.
13. France has announced to launch UPI and Rupay Cards (NPCI’s flagship products) in the country.
14. Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of “friendship, good neighbourliness, and co-operation” with Spain with immediate effect.
15. World’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, has been caught in the Mekong River in
16. The 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Kigali, Rwanda on the theme of “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”.
17. BRICS Business Forum was organized virtually by BRICS Business Council (which was formed in 2013 in Durban, South Africa).
18. World Gold Council (London) has released the ‘Gold refining and recycling’ report.
19. Max Life Insurance Company Ltd, in partnership with Policybazaar, has launched the ‘Max Life Smart Fixed-return Digital Plan’, a non-linked, non-participating, individual life insurance savings plan.
20. Neobank Freo has launched its digital savings account Freo Save, in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank.
21. South Indian Bank has launched ‘SIB TF Online’ portal to provide a platform for trade-related payments to foreign entities remotely.
22. Bengaluru-based CARD91, a global payment company for B2B clients, has partnered with YES BANK and RuPay (of NPCI) to create a card management system that will allow companies to launch a variety of co-branded card instruments as well as maintain a real-time dashboard to provide updates.
23. RBI has extended the timeline for implementing the RBI Directions on Credit and Debit Card- Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 by 3 months till October 1, 2022.
24. RBI has incurred more cost on printing the bank notes in the denomination of ₹20, ₹50, ₹100 and ₹200 in FY22.
25. GE Steam Power (US-based company) has inked a USD 165 million agreement with state-run engineering firm BHEL to supply three nuclear steam turbines.
26. Centre’s Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) will collaborate with the State Bank of India (SBI) to create an integrated pension portal to enhance ease of living of pensioners.
27. Apollo Hospitals (HQ – Chennai) has partnered with the Imperial Hospital Ltd (IHL) to operate and manage the latter’s 375 bedded multi-specialty tertiary care hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
28. According to RBI’s data, India recorded a current account deficit (CAD) of 1.2% of GDP in 2021-22 against a surplus of 0.9% in 2020-21.
29. RBI has issued a master direction mandating that Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) cannot be loaded with the credit lines provided by NBFCs.
30. RBI has provided the data on the change in foreign exchange reserve in 2021-22.
31. Yes Bank has launched a floating repo rate-linked term deposit which will be linked to the existing repo rate.
32. PwC India has announced to acquire Bengaluru-based Venerate Solutions Private Limited, a salesforce consulting firm.
33. LeadSquared – the software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup – has become India’s latest unicorn.
34. National Securities Depository (NSDL), India’s first and biggest depository services company, is planning to raise Rs 4,500 crore through its primary stake sale.
35. Chennai-based drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has partnered with Malaysian drone solution company, HiiLSE Global SdnBhd (HiiLSE Drones) to set up its first aerospace plant in
36. AU Small Finance Bank has launched AU Bank LIT (Live-It-Today) credit card to allow customers to choose the features they want in their card and for the time period they want those features for.
37. Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj has been appointed as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
38. Lisa Sthalekar (former Australia international) is the first woman appointed president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.
39. Amazon.com Inc. has appointed Doug Herrington to run the company’s retail and logistics segment.
40. June 17 – Indian Army’s Northern Command’s 51st Raising Day
41. Summer Solstice (longest day and shortest night)
42. World Hydrography Day; Theme – “Hydrography – contributing to the United Nations Ocean Decade”
43. World Music Day; Theme – “Music on the intersections”
44. Shreya Lenka (from Odisha) has become India’s first K-pop star (means Korean pop music).
45. Anahat Singh (aged 14) has won the gold medal in the girls Under-15 category at the Asian Juniors Squash Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
46. Rahul Srivatshav (of Telangana) has become India’s 74th Grandmaster with a FIDE rating of 2500 (Elo points).
47. Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) has won the S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

National News

1. On the occasion of International Yoga Day, Guardian Ring programme was highlighted.
   • Guardian Ring programme – The sun is one. It rotates from East to West. All the countries welcome the Sun with Yoga. This highlights the solidarity among countries and the connecting power of Sun and Yoga. Thus, reinstating the concept of One Sun, One Earth.
     • The programme showcases people of different nationalities coming together to celebrate Yoga at the crack of the dawn.
     • Over 80 Indian Missions and Embassies have organised Yoga Events on a grand scale at iconic locations in different countries.
     • DD India broadcasted the Yoga events organized across 80 countries.
     • Japan (the Land of Rising Sun) was the first location to organize Yoga event, as part of the Guardian Ring.
   • Prime Minister’s Awards for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga for the Year 2021 has been announced.

2. Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change had, in 2021, issued a Gazette notification for banning the use of ‘single-use plastic’ from July 1, 2022.
3. Assam has become the 36th state to adopt the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ program. With this, now the program is operational across India.
   • The implementation of ONORC was initiated in August 2019.
   • The program enables the beneficiaries to get their quota of subsidised food grains from any electronic point of sale device (ePoS)-enabled fair price shops of their choice by using their existing ration cards with biometric authentication.
   • The food grains are provided under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).
4. First India-Nepal Bharat Gaurav train was flagged off from Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi to Janakpur Dham station in Nepal.
   • This train is operating on the Ramayana Circuit.
5. ‘Surya Nutan’, a patented indoor solar cooking system, has been developed by Indian Oil Corporation Research and Development Centre in Faridabad.
6. iHub Drishti (Technology Innovation Hub of the IIT-Jodhpur) is developing two augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) platforms for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
   • In April 2020, ASI entered a partnership with Google’s arts and culture division to offer an immersive VR experience at five historical sites, including Taj Mahal in Agra, Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi, Maharashtra’s Ajanta and Ellora caves, and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh.
7. Surrogacy Rules 2022 have been released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
   • According to the rules, the couples who want to become parents through surrogacy have to buy the surrogate mother a general health insurance cover.
   • The insurance must for a tenure of 36 months.

State News

1. PM Modi inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in the field of Communication Disorders at All India Institute of Speech and Hearing at Mysore.
   • The Centre was already approved in 2013 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
2. Andhra Pradesh has signed an MOU with educational tech company Byju’s to impart quality education to students of class VI to X in government schools.
3. IKEA (leading Swedish home furnishing retailer) has decided to invest about Rs 3,000 crores in Karnataka to establish the largest IKEA store of India.

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal inaugurated the first-ever ‘Mango Festival’ in Brussels to create awareness among the Europeans and create a market for Indian mangoes in Europe.

International News

1. South Korea has launched its first indigenously developed rocket named Nuri from Naro Space Center.
2. France has announced to launch UPI and Rupay Cards (NPCI’s flagship products) in the country.
   • An MOU was signed between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lyra, a France-based payment services provider.
   • UPI and Rupay Expansion – USA, Japan, Singapore, (now France also)
   • UPI Expansion – Bhutan, United Arab Emirate (UAE), Nepal, Malaysia
   • For the first time, India was recognized as the ‘Country of the Year’ for the 6th edition of Viva Technology 2022 in Paris.
3. Algeria has suspended its 20-year-old treaty of “friendship, good neighbourliness, and co-operation” with Spain with immediate effect.
   • The treaty was signed in 2002 to promote dialogue and co-operation on political, economic, financial, education and defence issues.
   • The suspension of this treaty might lead to the Western Sahara dispute, which started in 1884 with the colonisation of the region by Spain.

4. World’s largest recorded freshwater fish, a giant stingray, has been caught in the Mekong River in
   • The stingray’s height is almost 4 meters and weight is under 300 kilograms (660 pounds).
   • The previous record for a freshwater fish was a 293-kilogram (646-pound) Mekong giant catfish, discovered in Thailand in 2005.

5. The 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Kigali, Rwanda on the theme of “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”.
   • External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will attend it.
6. BRICS Business Forum was organized virtually by BRICS Business Council (which was formed in 2013 in Durban, South Africa).
   • PM Narendra Modi announced that India’s digital economy will cross $1 trillion valuation.
   • PM announced that India is expecting 7.5% growth in 2022-23, which makes it the fastest growing major economy.

Report and Indices

1. World Gold Council (London) has released the ‘Gold refining and recycling’ report.
   • China topped the global gold recycling chart as it recycled 168 tonnes of the yellow metal, followed by Italy in the second position with 80 tonnes and the US in the third rank with 78 tonnes in 2021.
   • India was ranked fourth in the list as the country recycled 75 tonnes in 2021.
   • India’s gold refining capacity has increased by 1,500 tonnes (500 per cent) in 2021 from 300 tonnes in 2013.

Banking and Economy

1. Max Life Insurance Company Ltd, in partnership with Policybazaar, has launched the ‘Max Life Smart Fixed-return Digital Plan’, a non-linked, non-participating, individual life insurance savings plan.
   • The offer helps customers meet short-term financial goals with a minimum policy tenure of five years.
2. Neobank Freo has launched its digital savings account Freo Save, in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank.
   • Freo Save will provide up to 7% interest on customers’ savings for balances between Rs 5 lakhs up to Rs 2 crores.
3. South Indian Bank has launched ‘SIB TF Online’ portal to provide a platform for trade-related payments to foreign entities remotely.
4. Bengaluru-based CARD91, a global payment company for B2B clients, has partnered with YES BANK and RuPay (of NPCI) to create a card management system that will allow companies to launch a variety of co-branded card instruments as well as maintain a real-time dashboard to provide updates.
5. RBI has extended the timeline for implementing the RBI Directions on Credit and Debit Card- Issuance and Conduct Directions, 2022 by 3 months till October 1, 2022.
6. RBI has incurred more cost on printing the bank notes in the denomination of ₹20, ₹50, ₹100 and ₹200 in FY22.
   • However, for notes in the denomination of ₹500, the prices have remained unchanged.
   • The increase in the cost of Rs 50 is the highest at 23% over the previous year.
   • Rs 20 registered the lowest increase of a little over 1%.
   • The information is given by Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd (BRBNML) in an RTI.
   • Selling price refers to the price at which printing presses supply paper currency to their sole buyer, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

   Additional Facts –

   • There are four note-printing presses, of which two are owned by the RBI through its wholly owned subsidiary, BRBNML, while the remaining two come under the ownership of the Central government, operated through its wholly owned company, Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).
   • BRBNML presses are situated in Mysuru and Salboni (West Bengal). The government-owned presses are at Nasik and Dewas (Madhya Pradesh).

7. GE Steam Power (US-based company) has inked a USD 165 million agreement with state-run engineering firm BHEL to supply three nuclear steam turbines.
8. Centre’s Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) will collaborate with the State Bank of India (SBI) to create an integrated pension portal to enhance ease of living of pensioners.
9. Apollo Hospitals (HQ – Chennai) has partnered with the Imperial Hospital Ltd (IHL) to operate and manage the latter’s 375 bedded multi-specialty tertiary care hospital in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
   • The state-of-the-art facility in Chittagong built with World Bank support will be rebranded as Apollo Imperial Hospital.
10. According to RBI’s data, India recorded a current account deficit (CAD) of 1.2% of GDP in 2021-22 against a surplus of 0.9% in 2020-21.
    • The trade deficit widened to $189.5 billion in 2021-22 from $102.2 billion in 2020-21.
    • Net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows at $38.6 billion in 2021-22 were lower than $44 billion in 2020-21.
    • Net Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) recorded an outflow of $16.8 billion in 2021-22 as against an inflow of $36.1 billion a year earlier.
    • As per the data, net External Commercial Borrowings to India recorded an inflow of $7.4 billion in 2021-22 compared with $0.2 billion in 2020-21.
11. RBI has issued a master direction mandating that Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) cannot be loaded with the credit lines provided by NBFCs.
    • Implication –
      • Some Fintech companies partner with banks to issue prepaid cards/instruments. Then, these companies partner with NBFCs to provide credit access to these prepaid cards/instruments.
      • Now, the RBI has mandated to stop this second step of providing credit to the prepaid card through NBFCs.
      • However, the option of loading the prepaid cards through Debit/Credit cards issued by banks is still open.
12. RBI has provided the data on the change in foreign exchange reserve in 2021-22.
    • Foreign Exchange Reserve in 2021-22: $607.3 billion
    • Foreign Exchange Reserve in 2020-21: $576.9 billion
    • Change in forex: $30.3 billion

• The valuation loss, reflecting the appreciation of the US dollar against major currencies, amounted to US$ 17.2 billion during 2021-22 as against a valuation gain of US$ 11.9 billion during 2020-21.

13. Yes Bank has launched a floating repo rate-linked term deposit which will be linked to the existing repo rate.
14. PwC India has announced to acquire Bengaluru-based Venerate Solutions Private Limited, a salesforce consulting firm.
15. LeadSquared – the software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup – has become India’s latest unicorn.
16. National Securities Depository (NSDL), India’s first and biggest depository services company, is planning to raise Rs 4,500 crore through its primary stake sale.
17. Chennai-based drone start-up Garuda Aerospace has partnered with Malaysian drone solution company, HiiLSE Global SdnBhd (HiiLSE Drones) to set up its first aerospace plant in
18. AU Small Finance Bank has launched AU Bank LIT (Live-It-Today) credit card to allow customers to choose the features they want in their card and for the time period they want those features for.

Appointments

1. Senior diplomat Ruchira Kamboj has been appointed as India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
   • She will succeed T S Tirumurti as the Indian ambassador to the UN.

2. Lisa Sthalekar (former Australia international) is the first woman appointed president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.
3. com Inc. has appointed Doug Herrington to run the company’s retail and logistics segment.

Important Days

1. June 17 – Indian Army’s Northern Command’s 51st Raising Day
2. June 21 –
   • Summer Solstice (longest day and shortest night)
   • World Hydrography Day; Theme – “Hydrography – contributing to the United Nations Ocean Decade”
     • 2021-2030 – United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development
   • World Music Day; Theme – “Music on the intersections”
     • Sangeet Natak Akademi organized the Jyotirgamaya – a festival showcasing the talent of unsung performers in New Delhi on the occasion of World Music Day.

Awards

1. Shreya Lenka (from Odisha) has become India’s first K-pop star (means Korean pop music).
   • She has been chosen as the fifth member of the girl K-pop group called Blackswan.

Sports

1. Anahat Singh (aged 14) has won the gold medal in the girls Under-15 category at the Asian Juniors Squash Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
   • At 14, Anahat will be the youngest player to represent India at the World Juniors Squash Championships in Nancy, France later this year.

   Additional Facts –

   • So far, Anahat has won 46 national circuit titles, two national championships and eight international titles.
   • She is the only Indian girl to win the US Junior Open in any category and the British Junior Open.
2. Rahul Srivatshav (of Telangana) has become India’s 74th Grandmaster with a FIDE rating of 2500 (Elo points).
   • He achieved this rating during the 9th Cattolica Chess Festival 2022 in Italy.
3. Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) has won the S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

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