28th-30th June, 2023

1. Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) has delivered the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (Suit) to the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).
2. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has launched to Nandi portal to process applications and grant non-objection certification (NOC) for veterinary drugs and vaccines in a timely manner.
3. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launched ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayyog’ – the new guidelines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
4. Ministry of Power has set up a dedicated Centre of Excellence named UTPRERAK (Unnat Takniki Pradarshan Kendra) to accelerate industry adoption of clean technologies and scale up India’s contribution to the global energy transition.
5. West Bengal government has entered into an arrangement with leading business research and analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) for the MSME sector and exporters of the state.
6. The World Bank approved a total of $391 million loan to improve access to high-quality healthcare services and boost economic opportunities for Assam and Tripura.
7. World Bank approved a $300 million loan to help expand and improve the quality of education in government-run schools in Chhattisgarh.
8. Indian Air Force carried out Exercise Ranvijay where day and night operations by combat aircraft including the Su-30s were conducted.
9. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare signed an MOU with Pixxel Space India Pvt. Limited to develop analytics models focused on crop mapping, crop stage discrimination, crop health monitoring, and soil organic carbon assessments.
10. Three multilateral development banks (MDBs) partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the Health Impact Investment Platform.
11. QS World University Rankings 2024 has been released.
12. Canara Bank has become the first Public Sector Bank in India to introduce the facility of UPI payments to merchants through RuPay Credit Card.
13. SEBI introduced Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility for trading in the secondary market.
14. Ministry of Consumer Affairs has extended the deadline for loan disbursement or project completion of ethanol production facilities by six months till September 30, 2023.
15. For the first time, the RBI has fined all four credit information bureaus – TransUnion Cibil, CRIF High Mark, Experian, and Equifax – for not maintaining accurate data.
16. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed Karnataka-based Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank, Dharwad to function only as an NBFC.
17. S&P Global Ratings forecasted India’s GDP growth forecast at 6% for FY24.
18. DBS Bank India has appointed Rajat Verma as the new Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking for India.
19. Rohit Jawa took charge as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).
20. Federal Bank appointed former NPCI MD P. Hota as its new chairman.
21. June 25 – Day of the Seafarer; Theme – MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on
22. June 25 – World Vitiligo Day
23. June 18-24 – World Allergy Week 2023
24. June 28 – National Insurance Awareness Day
25. June 29 – International Day of the Tropics
26. June 29 – National Statistics Day (Prof PC Mahalanobis’s Birthday); Theme – “Alignment of State Indicator Framework with National Indicator Framework for Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals”
27. Five exceptional young scientists from Argentina, Cameroon, China, Egypt and Serbia received the prestigious UNESCO-AI Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) during a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
28. Legendary Indian woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami and two English players in Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan have joined the MCC World Cricket Committee (WCC).
29. “Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina Hills” book has been authored by Kasturi Ray.
30. John B. Goodenough, American co-inventor of Lithium-ion batteries and a co-winner of 2019 Nobel prize for Chemistry, has passed away.

National News

1. Pune’s Inter-University Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) has delivered the Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (Suit) to the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).
   Source: India Today
2. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has launched to Nandi portal to process applications and grant non-objection certification (NOC) for veterinary drugs and vaccines in a timely manner.
   • The regulation of the import, manufacturing and marketing of veterinary drugs and vaccines comes under the purview of the Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) under the Ministry of Health.
   • NANDI – NOC Approval for New Drug and Inoculation System
   • This portal will be integrated with the SUGAM portal of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) and Drugs Controller General of India.
   • The regulatory approval process to assess and examine veterinary product proposals will be streamlined.
   • This portal will also stride towards achieving the interventions laid out as part of its Animal Pandemic Preparedness Initiative (APPI).
     Source: ET
3. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launched ‘Sagar Samajik Sahayyog’ – the new guidelines of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.
   • A port with an annual net profit of ₹100 crores or less can fix between 3% – 5% for CSR expenses.
   • Similarly, ports with a net profit between ₹100 crores to ₹500 crores annually, can fix its CSR expenses between 2% and 3% of its net profit, subject to a minimum of ₹3 crores.
   • For ports, whose annual net profit is above ₹500 crores per year, the CSR expenses can be between 0.5% and 2% of its net profit.
     Source: PIB
4. Ministry of Power has set up a dedicated Centre of Excellence named UTPRERAK (Unnat Takniki Pradarshan Kendra) to accelerate industry adoption of clean technologies and scale up India’s contribution to the global energy transition.
   • The Centre, named otherwise as Advanced Industrial Technology Demonstration Centre (AITDC), has been set up by the Bureau of Energy efficiency (BEE) at the Badarpur, New Delhi campus of the National Power Training Institute (NPTI).
   • UTPRERAK will also serve as a strategic capacity-building institution and seeks to be a one-stop solution provider for energy professionals from across India for trainings and education in energy efficiency.
     Source: PIB

State News

1. West Bengal government has entered into an arrangement with leading business research and analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) for the MSME sector and exporters of the state.
   • Under the arrangement, D&B will assign a unique nine-digit (D-U-N-S) number to a specific MSME firm or an exporter which will encompass various financial health indicators of the business entity.
     Source: The Week
2. The World Bank approved a total of $391 million loan to improve access to high-quality healthcare services and boost economic opportunities for Assam and Tripura.
   • For Assam, the funding will help in implementing The Assam State Secondary Healthcare Initiative for Service Delivery Transformation (ASSIST) Project ($251 million).
     Source: TOI
3. World Bank approved a $300 million loan to help expand and improve the quality of education in government-run schools in Chhattisgarh.
   • The Chhattisgarh Accelerated Learning for a Knowledge Economy Operation (CHALK) aims to improve access to education across all grades, and address the growing demand for science and commerce studies at the senior secondary level.
     Source: WB

Defence News

1. Indian Air Force carried out Exercise Ranvijay where day and night operations by combat aircraft including the Su-30s were conducted.
   • The Central Air Command conducted this exercise.
   • The exercise was carried out from different air bases of the command headquartered in Prayagraj.
     Source: ANI

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare signed an MOU with Pixxel Space India Pvt. Limited to develop analytics models focused on crop mapping, crop stage discrimination, crop health monitoring, and soil organic carbon assessments.
   Source: PIB

International News

1. Three multilateral development banks (MDBs) partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the Health Impact Investment Platform.
   • MDBs are African Development Bank (AfDB), European Investment Bank (EIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) – where Malaysia and Indonesia are country members.
   • Launched at the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, the platform will provide EU 1.5 billion ($1.6 bn) in concessional loans and grants to low-income and middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs).
   • This funding aims to enhance primary healthcare (PHC) services, particularly for marginalised and underserved populations.
     Source: Asian B&F

Reports and Indices

1. QS World University Rankings 2024 has been released.
   • Top – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
   • India – IIT-Bombay at 149
     Source: QS

Banking and Economy

1. Canara Bank has become the first Public Sector Bank in India to introduce the facility of UPI payments to merchants through RuPay Credit Card.
   • Customers of the Canara Bank will now be able to make UPI payments to merchants from their RuPay Credit Cards also in addition to their bank accounts.
   • Customers can link their Canara Bank RuPay Credit Cards to their UPI IDs.
     Source: FE
2. SEBI introduced Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility for trading in the secondary market.
   • Purpose – to safeguard investors’ money from misuse and default by stock brokers
   • The new facility will become live by January 1, 2024.
   • This is similar to Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility already available for the primary market which ensures that money from an investor gets moved only when an allotment happens.
   • Under the framework, funds will remain in the account of client but will be blocked in favour of the Clearing Corporation (CC) till the expiry date of the block mandate or till block is released by the CC, or debit of the block towards obligations arising out of the trading activity of the client, whichever is earlier.
     Source: ET
3. Ministry of Consumer Affairs has extended the deadline for loan disbursement or project completion of ethanol production facilities by six months till September 30, 2023.
   • The previous timeline for loan disbursement under the schemes on ethanol projects was March 31, 2023.
     Source: BS

4. For the first time, the RBI has fined all four credit information bureaus – TransUnion Cibil, CRIF High Mark, Experian, and Equifax – for not maintaining accurate data.
   Source: TOI
5. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed Karnataka-based Mahalaxmi Cooperative Bank, Dharwad to function only as an NBFC.
   Source: LiveMint

GDP Forecasts

1. S&P Global Ratings forecasted India’s GDP growth forecast at 6% for FY24.
   • India will be the fastest growing economy among Asia Pacific nations.
   • Headline consumer inflation will soften to 5% in fiscal 2024.
     Source: The Hindu

Appointments

1. DBS Bank India has appointed Rajat Verma as the new Managing Director and Head of Institutional Banking for India.
   • Managing Director and CEO, DBS Bank India – Surojit Shome
     Source: The Hindu
2. Rohit Jawa took charge as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL).
   Source: ET
3. Federal Bank appointed former NPCI MD P. Hota as its new chairman.
   Source: The Hindu

Important Days

1. June 25 – Day of the Seafarer; Theme – MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on
   Source: IMO
2. June 25 – World Vitiligo Day
   Source: HT
3. June 18-24 – World Allergy Week 2023
   Source: Pace Hospitals
4. June 28 – National Insurance Awareness Day
   Source: LiveMint
5. June 29 – International Day of the Tropics
   Source: India Today
6. June 29 – National Statistics Day (Prof PC Mahalanobis’s Birthday); Theme – “Alignment of State Indicator Framework with National Indicator Framework for Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals”
   Source: HT

Awards

1. Five exceptional young scientists from Argentina, Cameroon, China, Egypt and Serbia received the prestigious UNESCO-AI Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) during a ceremony at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France.
   • Each laureate won a prize money of US $50,000 and a medal.
   • Dr Federico Ariel (Argentina), Professor Abdon Atangana (Cameroon), Professor Qiaomei FU (China), Dr Hesham Omran (Egypt), and Dr Jelena Vladic (Serbia).
     Source: UNESCO

Sports

1. Legendary Indian woman cricketer Jhulan Goswami and two English players in Heather Knight and Eoin Morgan have joined the MCC World Cricket Committee (WCC).
   • MCC – Melbourne Cricket Club
     Source: The Hindu

Miscellaneous

1. “Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina Hills” book has been authored by Kasturi Ray.
   Source: Telegraph India
2. John B. Goodenough, American co-inventor of Lithium-ion batteries and a co-winner of 2019 Nobel prize for Chemistry, has passed away.
   Source: HBL

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