International
Affairs
Today
(21st June) is World Music Day(Fête de la Musique)
This
day is celebrated in an attempt to promote peace and spread goodwill
through melodies.
The
day is originated in France in 1982 and is now observed in over 120
countries.
Aim
of this day : To encourage free and accessible
concerts or events for the public.
The
Chinese government has elaborated a plan to reduce meat consumption
by citizens by 50%.
The
plan, outlined by the Chinese health ministry, recommended that people should
consume between 40g and 75g of meat per person each day.
Important
Note : Should these guidelines be
followed, China's carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from livestock could
reduce by 1 billion tonnes by 2030.
According
to a study by UK-based organisation Global Witness, 2015 was the deadliest
year for environmental activists, with at least 185 being killed.
This
number is reportedly a 60% increase from the previous year's figures.
Brazil
had the highest number of killings, with 50.
Philippines
was second with 33 killings.
Note
: India is also on the list,
with six killings.
The
European Union today agreed to extend sanctions against Russia by
another six months, till January 2017, over its 2014 annexation of the Crimean
peninsula.
Sanctions
were first imposed against Russia in this regard in July 2014 and have
continued since.
The
action received the unanimous approval of the 28 member states and will now be
approved by EU ministers.
MOUs &
Agreements
The
Madhya Pradesh government today signed an MoU with Chinese heavy
machinery manufacturing firm Sany Group for working on investment
proposals worth $1 billion.
Sany
Group reportedly expressed interest in investing in the state's energy sector
and industrial infrastructure.
India
and Thailand have signed two
agreements in culture and educational sectors to boost bilateral
ties.
They
are,
Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) between India’s Nagaland University and Thailand’s
Chiang Mai University
Agreement
for to extension of the Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between both
countries for 2016-19
Note
: These agreements were signed in
New Delhi during the three day official state visit of Thailand Prime Minister
General Prayut Chan-o-cha to Indian.
National
Affairs
2nd
International Yoga Day is being celebrated today with participation of
Crores of people in 192 countries.
This
day was declared by theUnited Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December
11, 2014.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in his UN Address suggested the date of 21st June to
celebrate this day, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern
Hemisphere and shares special significance in many parts of the world.
2016
Theme : “Connect the Youth”.
Highlights
:
This
year’s observance seeks to highlight the important role healthy living plays in
the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which were adopted
by all 193 UN member states in 2015.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced one national and another international award
for excellent contribution in the field of yoga.
The
awards will be presented on the International Yoga Day on June 21, starting
next year.
Nearly
2,000 pregnant women set a new world record by performing yoga in Rajkot,
Gujarat, on the occasion of International Yoga Day.
This
breaks the previous record in prenatal yoga that had 940 pregnant women in
China participate in the activity.
8,000
children in Gujarat set a world record by making a human chain.
To
celebrate the 2nd International Day of Yoga, the United Nations (UN)
headquarters in New York lit up with the projections of a woman
doing yoga.
The
first-ever National Yoga Olympiad was held in Delhi from June
18-20.
Organised
by the NCERT, the olympiad saw participation from 321 children from 21
states and union territories.
Former
Chhattisgarh CM Ajit Jogi, who recently quit Congress, today named his
new political party as 'Chhattisgarh Janta Congress'.
Note
: He had resigned from Congress
after his removal from the Congress Working Committee over his son's alleged
involvement in fixing a by-poll.
The
Environment Ministry has released the draft National Forest Policy,
which if enforced, will replace the current 1988 policy.
It
seeks to levy a green tax for facilitating ecologically responsible behaviour
and has proposed to establish National and State Boards of Forestry.
However,
the policy has done away with the existing target of two-thirds forest cover
for the hilly areas.
The
Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) today banned the use ofPotassium
bromate as a food additive following reports that it could cause
cancer.
Earlier,
FSSAI recommended the ban after a study found the additive in 84% of 38 common
brands of bread.
Note
: Potassium bromate is banned and
labelled "hazardous" for public health in many countries.
Recent
Committees in News
The
Mizoram government has constituted a 'District Re-organisation
Committee'.
The
ten-member committee will examine boundaries of the existing districts and
sub-divisions in the state and give suggestions for the creation of new
districts.
Note
: Three new districts were created in 2008 by the then government, but they
were never officially implemented.
This
committee will be headed by :
Chief Secretary Pu Lalmalsawma
Business
& Economy
The
Income Tax (I-T) Department has announced that it will block the PAN
of wilful tax defaulters in a bid to check their activities.
Further,
the LPG subsidies to the defaulters were also proposed to be withdrawn along
with blocking the sanction of loans or overdraft facility from public sector
banks.
Odisha
government today approved
investment worth over ₹1,000
crore in two projects which are likely to
generate employment for about 1,000 people.
The
proposals include a Steel processing unit and a Logistics park.
The
government on Monday changed the norms for Public Provident Fund (PPF)
deposits, allowing the subscribers of the scheme to prematurely close their
accounts and withdraw the complete amount after five years. However, the
withdrawal will be allowed for expenditure towards higher education or medical
treatment. Currently, the lock-in period for complete withdrawal from PPF
accounts is 15 years.
People in
News
Soft
Bank today announced that its President
& COO Nikesh Arora has resigned from his post to pursue a different
path.
Awards
& Honors
Britain’s
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has launched a new digital
archive telling the inspiring stories of war heroes, including Six
Indians, as part of the UK government’s centenary celebrations to mark
World War I.
Important
Points to Note :
As
many as 175 men from 11 overseas countries were awarded Britain’s highest award
for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC), during the war.
These
included six soldiers from undivided India who fought in the war as part of the
British Indian Army and honoured in a commemorative plaque presented to India
back in 2014.
Apple
has topped LinkedIn's 'Top
Attractors' list of the most sought-after companies by professionals
across the world.
Cloud
computing company Salesforce and social media platform Facebook have been
ranked second and third respectively.
The
list, which was released today, featured a total of 40 companies including
Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Uber.
Online
retailer Flipkart has topped LinkedIn's 'Top Attractors' list of the
most sought-after companies by professionals across India.
Amazon
and Capgemini have been ranked second and third respectively.
The
list, released today, featured a total of 25 companies including Google, Adobe,
Ola, Snapdeal, Microsoft and Zomato among others.
Science
& Technology
ISRO
(Indian Space Research Organisation)
is going to launch PSLVC34 rocketcarrying 20 satellites
including 17 foreign payloads tomorrow.
Russia
today unveiled the world's biggest
nuclear-powered icebreaker 'Arktika'.
The
twin-reactor icebreaker vessel is 586 feet long and can smash through 10 feet
thick and 13 feet deep ice.
The
giant vessel is a part of Russia's $1.9 billion 'Project 22220'.
When
completed, 'Arktika' will conduct year-round navigation in the Arctic and
process nearly 150 tonnes of water.
Sports
Swedish
national football team captain Zlatan Ibrahimović today announced that
hewill retire from international football after the Euro 2016.
The
International Boxing Federation (IBF) today announced that professional
boxers who compete at the Rio Olympics will be stripped off their titles, and
non-title-holders barred from its ratings.
The
IBF has criticized the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) move to
allow pro boxers to compete in Rio, saying that there is a safety risk involved
in professionals fighting amateurs.
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