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INTERNATIONAL

US President Barack Obama Signed USA Freedom Act 2015 into Law
US President Barack Obama on 2 June signed the USA FREEDOM Act 2015 in law. The USA FREEDOM stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015. With this, the National Security Agency (NSA) lost its authority to collect the phone records of millions of Americans.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim Is First Woman President of Mauritius
Ameenah Gurib-FakimProminent scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was on 5 June sworn in as President of Mauritius. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is an internationally-renowned scientist and biologist. She replaced Kailash Purryag who stepped down as country’s President on 29 May 2015.

African Leaders Signed 26 Nation Free Trade Agreement
African countries have signed a historic The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) that facilitates creation of Africa’s largest free-trade zone. This free-trade zone will cover 26 countries in an area from southernmost tip of African continent i.e. Cape Town (South Africa) to Cairo (Egypt) in the north. The agreement was signed on 10 June in Egypt.

Hwang Kyo-ahn Is The New Prime Minister of South Korea
South Korea’s Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn was on 18 June appointed as the country’s new Prime Minister.The National Assembly approved the appointment of Hwang Kyo-ahn by a vote of 156-120.

INDIA & WORLD

India and Sweden Signed Six Agreements
India and Sweden on 1 June signed six agreements, including in the field of polar research and for boosting trade. Both sides also signed a MoU for cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises. The agreements were signed in the presence of President Pranab Mukherjee and Swedan Prime Minister Stefan Lofven at Rosenbad in Stockholm, Sweden.

India – US signed Defence Framework Agreement
India and the US on 3 June signed a new strategically important 10-year defence framework agreement envisaging joint development and manufacture of defence equipment and technology including jet engines, aircraft carrier design and construction. The framework was signed by the Manohar Parrikar, India’s Defence Minister and Ashton Carter, US Secretary of Defence.

India – Bangladesh Ratify Historic Land Boundary Agreement
India and Bangladesh on 6 June signed ratification pact to operationalise the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).It was signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina.According to the agreement 111 enclaves with a total area of 17,160.63 acres from India will be transferred to Bangladesh, while 51 enclaves of area 7,110.02 acres will be transferred to India.

India – Netherlands Signed Agreements
India and the Netherlands on 5 June signed a number of agreements, including to collaborate in building dredgers in India as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative and manufacture vaccines against measles and rubella in India.The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Netherland Mark Rutte in New Delhi after the two leaders held discussions on various issues related to the region and the world.

India – Thailand Signed Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty
India and Thailand on 29 June signed the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) and exchanged instruments of ratification on the extradition treaty signed in 2013. The tax treaty provides for the framework of avoiding double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes so as to promote bilateral economic cooperation.

NATIONAL

Union Government Announced Rs 1500 crore INIP
Union Government on 13 June launched an Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool (INIP) of 1,500 crore rupees as per the mandatory provision under the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND), 2010. This pool will be the 27th such market pool globally. This insurance pool was launched to address the concerns of the clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the Right to Recourse and allow it to sue the suppliers in case of any accident. General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) is the fund operator of this Rs. 1,500 crore Indian insurance pool and it includes 11 other non-life insurers as associates of the pool.

Union Cabinet Approved Housing For All By 2022 Mission
The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval for Housing for All by 2022 Mission aimed at providing housing facilities to all eligible people in urban areas by 2022. It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and the States and Union Territories (UTs) are given greater autonomy in execution of the mission. Union Cabinet also approved increasing India’s solar power capacity target under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) to 1 Lakh Mega Watt (MW) by 2022.

Union Cabinet Approved Bureau of Indian Standards Bill 2015
The Union Cabinet on 17 June gave its approval to introduce Bureau of Indian Standards Bill, 2015 in the Parliament. It will repeal the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act, 1986.The bill is intended to improve the quality of goods, services and systems in the country.

Union Cabinet Approved Six new IIMs In India
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 approved setting up of six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in the country. These new IIMs will be located at Amritsar (Punjab), Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sambalpur (Odisha), Sirmaur (Himachal Pradesh) and Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). The Union Cabinet also gave its approval to the proposal of the Ministry of Culture for setting up of a National Memorial at Lala Ka Tola, Sitab, Diara, District Chhapra (Saran) in Bihar – the birth place of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.

STATES

Maharashtra Govt Approved new Renewable Energy Policy
Maharashtra government has approved a new Renewable Energy Policy which aims at achieving 14,400 MW of installed capacity over a period of five years i.e. till 2020. The approval decision of new policy worth 4,156.43 crore rupees was taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra in Mumbai. The policy aims at achieving installed capacity of renewable energy of 21,100 MW by 2020 from current installed capacity of 6,700 MW.

World Bank Approves $ 250 million Loan For Jammu & Kashmir
Multi-lateral lender World Bank on 3 June approved 250 million US dollars loan for Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project will be funded by loan credit from International Development Association (IDA), a World Bank’s concessionary with a maturity of 25 years, including a 5 year grace period.

Haryana’s Jind, Karnal & UP’s Muzaffarnagar Included In NCR
Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on 9 June announced that Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana and Muzaffarnagar of Uttar Pradesh have been included in the National Capital Region (NCR). With this the total number of districts included in NCR has risen to 22.

Kerala Govt Declares June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’
Kerala Government has declared June 22 as ‘Snake Bird Day’ in a bid to protect the endangered species which is also known as Indian darter.

CONFERENCES

41st G7 Summit Held In Germany
G7 Summit 2015 was held at Schloss Elmau in Bavaria, Germany from 7- 8 June 2015. This was the 41st G7 summit and the theme for the summit was “Think Ahead. Act Together”. The Summit focused on the global economy as well as on key issues regarding foreign, security, environment and development policy. After the talks, the leaders of the G7 committed to raising a 100 billion US dollars fund through public and private sources to combat the rising global temperatures and agreed to implement international mechanisms to bolster global healthcare security by creating a financial instrument at the World Bank to react better to pandemics. The Summit was attended by all the seven members’ viz., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States and the European Commission (EC). EC is a permanently welcome participant in all meetings and decision-making since 1981.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Bangladesh Conferred Award of Liberation War Honour On Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was conferred Award of of Bangladesh Liberation War Honour for his active role in the country independence struggle and consolidating India friendship with the Bangladesh.Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi received this award on behalf of Former PM from Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid at a ceremony at Bangabhaban, the President house on 7 June 2015.

Historian Ramachandra Guha Selected For Japan’s Fukuoka Prize
Eminent Historian-writer Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s Fukuoka Prize 2015 in n the Academic category. Fukuoka Prize honours those who have made outstanding contributions to academia, arts and culture across Asia.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam Selected For Sangitha Kalanidhi Award 2015
Renowned Carnatic singer Sanjay Subrahmanyan was on 21 June selected for Sangita Kalanidhi award for his outstanding achievements in Carnatic music.The Sangita Kalanidhi is the highest honour given to Carnatic musicians in India.

Ravi Shankar Conferred With Colombia’s Highest Civilian Award
Indian spiritual leader, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was on 25 June conferred with the Columbia’s highest civilian award Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar en el grado de cruz Caballero (Order of the Democracy Simon Bolivar) by Columbia. The award has been given in recognition to the spiritual leader’s contribution in spreading the message of peace in society, inter-mediation in war, reducing stress and combating violence through yoga and breathing exercises.

SPORTS & GAMES

French Open Tennis Tournament – 2015 Winners
Women’s Singles :- Serena Williams of United States won French Open women’s single title on 6 June. In the final match she defeated Lucie Safarova of Czechoslovaki. This was her third French Open title (earlier she had won in 2002, 2013) and overall 20th Grand Slam title.
Men’s Singles :- Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland won his first French Open title of Tennis on 7 June. In the final clash played at Roland Garros in Paris, Wawrinka defeated Novak Djokovic of Serbia.It was his first his first French Open title second grand slam title after Australian Open 2014.

Wesley Hall Inducted into ICC cricket ‘Hall of Fame’
Former West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall was on 12 June inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He is 80th cricketer to be inducted in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and 18th from West Indies. Hall is the fourth cricketer this year to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe, who were inducted earlier this year during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Serbia Won 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup
Serbia won the FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil on 20 June at the final match held at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.

China Won 2015 Snooker’s World Cup
China won the 2015 Nongfu Spring Snooker’s World Cup on 21 June by defeating Scotland 4-1 in the final match held at Wuxi near Shanghai in China.India stood at the third position in the competition, the best finish so far for India.

ECONOMY

RBI lowers Repo Rate To 7.25 per cent
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its second bi-monthly policy announced on 2 June has reduced the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 25 basis points from 7.5 per cent to 7.25 per cent with immediate effect. However, the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks was kept unchanged at 4 percent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL). The reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.25 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate to 8.25 per cent.

India Joined MCAA on AEOI
India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI) on 3 June in Paris, France, alongwith Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand.Earlier, Fifty-one countries had joined MCAA on 29 October 2014, in Berlin. Switzerland became the fifty-second country on 19 November 2014. On 3 June 2015, 6 countries – India, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand joined MCAA by signing the agreement in Paris.

India Tops The World Bank Growth Chart
World Bank Group’s latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report released on 10 June puts India at the top of the growth chart of major economies. With an expected growth of 7.5 percent this year, India is, for the first time, leading the World Bank’s growth chart of major economies. According to the report China is likely to grow at 7.1 percent. The Bank expects developing countries to witness a rise in growth to 5.2 percent in 2016 and 5.4 percent in 2017.

India Placed at 61st Position In Terms Of Foreigners’ Money In Swiss Banks
India was placed at 61st position in terms of foreigners’ money in Swiss banks. This was revealed by latest data released by Swiss National Bank (SNB), the central bank of Switzerland on 21 June 2015. As per the data, India now accounts for a meagre 0.123 per cent of the total global wealth worth 1.6 trillion US dollars in Switzerland’s banking system. Indians’ money in Swiss banks declined by over 10 percent to about 1.8 billion Swiss francs (1.98 billion US dollars or 12615 crore rupees) in 2014.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Indian Researchers Successfully Complete Whole Genome Sequencing of Tulsi
Scientists at Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow succeeded in whole genome sequencing of Holy basil or Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum). CIMAP is a frontier plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).This is the first report of complete genome sequence of Tulsi, which is both used as an essential medicinal plant and revered as Vishnupriya and worshipped for over 3000 years in India.

India’s First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant Undocked
India’s first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was on 10 June successfully undocked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin district of Kerala. The ship will undergo a series of fitment and trial processes along with series of static and dynamic trials before inducting it into the Indian Navy in end-2018. With successful completion of construction of INS Vikrant India joins elite group of four nations in the world viz United States, Russia, United Kingdom and France that are capable of designing and constructing aircraft carriers.

World’s Thinnest Light Bulb Created From Graphene
Researchers have created the world’s thinnest light bulb using graphene as filament. It was created by team of scientist led by Young Duck Kim comprising members from Columbia University School of Engineering, Seoul National University and Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science.

China Produces World’s First Electric Plane
The world’s first electric passenger aircraft named BX1E was manufactured in China. The aircraft was designed by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning General Aviation Academy located in the northeastern Liaoning Province of China.

PERSONS IN NEWS

A) APPOINTMENTS

Petteri Taalas Appointed Secretary-General of WMO
Petteri Taalas, Director-General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, was on 4 June appointed as the next Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for a four-year mandate starting 1 January 2016. He succeeds Michel Jarraud (France).

K.V.Chowdary is new Central Vigilance Commissioner
K V Chowdary, former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), was on 10 June sworn in as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by President Pranab Mukherjee. Vijai Sharma, the senior most information commissioner, was also sworn in as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by the president.

B)RESIGNS

FIFA President Sepp Blatter Resigned
President of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Sepp Blatter has resigned on 2 June amid a corruption scandal which under investigation in United States. Earlier on 30 May 2015, he was re-elected as the FIFA President for a fifth term by defeating his rival candidate Prince Ali bins Al Hussein of Jordan.

C)DEATHS

Nobel Chemistry Winner Irwin Rose Died
Irwin Rose, a biochemist who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a way that cells destroy unwanted proteins the basis for developing new therapies for diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis has died on 2 June in Massachusetts.. He was 88. Rose was born on July 16, 1926 in New York, United States. He had shared this noble prize with Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko.

Chandigarh’s Iconic Rock Garden Creator Nek Chand Died
Nek Chand Saini, creator of Chandigarh’s iconic Rock Garden passed away on 12 June in Chandigarh. He was 90. His creation Rock Garden of Chandigarh was opened for public on 24 January 1976. The garden is maintained by the Nek Chand Foundation, formed in 1996. Nek Chand was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984. Born on 15 December 1924 in Shakargarh region, now in Pakistan, Chand immigrated to India with his family and settled in Chandigarh in 1950.

D)VISITORS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited Bangladesh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bangladesh on 6 – 7 June 2015. During the visit,the two sides held talks and signed 22 agreements. These includes the Land Boundary Agreement, cooperation in maritime safety and agreement to curb human trafficking and fake Indian currency. Narendra Modi along with her Bangladeshi Counterpart Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee flagged off the Dhaka-Shillong-Guwahati and Kolkata-Dhaka-Tripura bus services. Modi received the Award of Liberation of War Honour on behalf of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who emphasized on strong ties with the neighboring country.

E)MISCELLANEOUS

Bhutan Sets New Guinness Record For Tree Planting
A team of 100 volunteers in Bhutan has set a new world record by planting 49,672 trees in one hour. They smashed the previous record by almost 10,000 trees. It had been set by an Indian team three years ago.Bhutan’s planters gathered in the capital, Thimphu, for their feat, which was confirmed by Guinness World Records on 5 June 2015.

PLACES  IN  NEWS

3800 Year Old Statuettes Discovered In Peru
Researchers discovered a trio of mud statuettes inside a reed basket in a building, an important archaeological site, in the ancient city of Vichama in northern Peru. They believe that it was created about 3800 years ago by the ancient Caral civilization.

ABBREVIATIONS

CDRI – Central Drug Research Institute

ESMA –    Essential Services Maintenance Act

HDFC –    Housing Development Finance Corporation

IFFI –    International Film Festival of India

IISCO – Indian Iron and Steel Company

BOOKS IN NEWS

President Pranab Mukherjee Released ‘ Yogikaspars ‘
President Pranab Mukherjee on 8 June released Yogikasparsh, a yoga manual in braille written by Nivedita Joshi, at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Nivedita Joshi, daughter of senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, suffered from a critical ailment some 19 years ago and got fully cured with the help of Yoga.

COMMITTEES

Recommendations of Bibek Debroy Committee On Restructuring Of Indian Railways
The Bibek Debroy committee on the restructuring of Indian Railways (IR) has submitted its final report to the Union Ministry of Railways on 12 June.Union government had constituted the high-level committee in September 2014 to restructure the Railways and suggest ways for resource mobilisation. It was seven-member panel headed by eminent economist and NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy.
Recommendations of Bibek Debroy committee:-
* Establishment of an independent regulator Railway Regulatory Authority of India (RRAI) with a separate budget and to be independent of the Ministry.
* No privatisation of Indian Railway but allowed participation of private sector in the railway projects.
* Separation of activities like running of hospitals, schools, real estate development, catering, manufacturing of locomotives, coaches and wagons from the core business of running trains.
*  State governments should be asked to entirely fund the Government Railway Police (GRP).
* The recommended changes should be implemented only by Union Railways ministry in the first five years including the resolution of the social cost issue.

IMPORTANT DAYS AND DATES

First International Day of Yoga Observed Globally
The first International Day of Yoga was on 21 June 2015 observed globally. The day was celebrated across 192 nations including Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.The idea to celebrate 21 June, which is the Summer Solstice, as the International Day of Yoga was mooted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 September 2014 during his address to the UN General Assembly.Following which, the United Nations General Assembly on 11 December 2014 adopted the resolution to commemorate 21 June as the International Day of Yoga every year.This resolution was adopted under the Global Health and Foreign Policy by the General Assembly in order to provide a holistic approach to the people worldwide for their health and well-being. More than 177 countries including USA, Canada, China and Egypt supported this move including 175 nations co-sponsoring the resolution.

World Environment Day was Observed on 5 June
World Environment Day was observed globally on 5 June 2015 with theme Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care. The host country for the WED 2015 is Italy and the celebrations will be organized by Expo Milano 2015 that will run from 1 May to 31 October 2015 and will see the participation of 140 plus countries.The day is observed to raise global awareness to take positive environmental action to protect nature and the planet Earth. It is run by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).The day was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the day when Stockholm’s United Nations Conference on the Human Environment 1972 began. The first World Environment Day was hosted in 1973 and since then it is being held every year with a different theme in different cities.

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