International Affairs
The California Secretary of State's Office today announced that the state will vote to decide if the
recreational use of marijuana should be made legal, in November.
The
proposed "Adult
Use of Marijuana Act" secured the required 4,02,000 valid
signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The
November ballot can legalise private recreational use and personal cultivation
of marijuana.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today
in Delhi.
During
the meeting, Modi emphasised the importance
of adequate climate change financing for India.
The
two also discussed the progress of government initiatives like Smart Citiesand Swachh Bharat.
Note :
Kim’s visit is reportedly aimed at understanding India’s efforts in the
renewable energy and nutrition fields.
The 2nd BRICS Youth Summit will be held in Guwahati from 1st to
3rd July 2016.
National Affairs
The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday officially started functioning from the state's new capital Amaravati.
Four
departments of the state Secretariat have now shifted from Hyderabad to
Velagapudi near Vijayawada and the rest will be shifted to the new Secretariat
in phases.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is expected
to start working from the new office from 21st July 2016
For
the first time ever, he anniversary of the signing of the 1986 Mizo Peace Accord is being
celebrated across the Mizoram state today.
The state government has sanctioned ₹26 lakh for the celebrations, that are called 'Remna Ni', across Mizoram.
Note :
The resolution to celebrate the anniversary was taken at the 70th Young Mizo
Association General Conference last year.
The Union Cabinet today approved the 4 laning of three highway projects with
an estimated cost of about ₹5,965
crore.
The
projects include,
Aurangabad-Telwadi
section of NH-211 in Maharashtra,
Angul-Sambalpur
section of NH-42 (New NH-55) in Odisha,
Phagwara-Rupnagar
section of NH-344A in Punjab.
Note :
A total of 318 km will be developed under the initiative.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today
launched an e-file tracking system to
automate file, correspondence and document tracking within government offices.
The Cabinet today approved the National Mineral Exploration Policy (NMEP),
which aims at accelerating the exploration activity through enhanced private
sector participation.
Under
this, private investment will be brought through revenue sharing models.
Initially,
an amount of about ₹2,116 crore over five years would be required, over and
above planned allocations to implement the NMEP.
People in News
The North
Korean Parliament appointed Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un as the 'Chairman of the State Affairs Commission'
today, adding to his list of titles.
His
full title is now the 'Dear Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the Workers' Party of
Korea, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of DPRK and Supreme Commander
of the Korean People's Army'.
Former Indian team director Ravi Shastri has resigned from
the post of Media Representative in
the ICC cricket committee.
Shastri
has been a part of the committee for six years, of which newly-appointed India
coach Anil Kumble is the chairman.
New Appointments
Rodrigo Duterte, who is known as 'The
Enforcer' of the Philippines' murder capital Davao, was sworn in as the 16th President of the Philippines.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today took oath as
a Memberof the State Assembly, days after she won the
Anantnag seat by a margin of over 12,000 votes.
Her
oath was administered by Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta in the presence of
members of the Council of Ministers.
Note :
Mehbooba is the first woman CM of the state.
Senior bureaucrat Nand Kishore was today appointed
as Deputy Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG).
Kishore, a 1981 batch officer of
Indian Audit and Account Service, is presently Additional Deputy Comptroller
and Auditor General.
Suzuki Motor Corp today announced that its board
has appointed Toshihiro Suzuki,
son of Chairman Osamu Suzuki, as its next Chief Executive.
CPI’s V Sasi was elected Deputy Speaker of the 14th Kerala Assembly.
Science & Technology
India today test-fired a surface-to-air missile, jointly developed with Israel, from Chandipur defence base
off the coast of Odisha.
The
missile includes multi-functional surveillance and threat alert radar systems
for tracking, detection, and guidance.
ALPHA, an AI developed by American graduate Nick Ernest, has defeated a retired US Air Force
Colonel Gene Lee in an aerial combat simulator.
Note :
It could consider and coordinate the best tactical plan over 250 times faster
than human opponents could blink.
China has successfully launched its 2nd Shijian-16 series satellite for space research and
experiments.
The
first Shijian-16 satellite was launched in October 2013.
The
satellite was launched on board of Long March-4B rocket from the Jiuquan
Satellite Launch Centre in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu Province.
It
was the 231st by a Long March rocket.
Indigenously-built
heavyweight anti-submarine torpedo Varunastra has
been successfully inducted in the Indian Navy.
With
this India becomes one of the eight
countries in the world to have the capability to design and build
such anti-submarine torpedo system.
Books & Authors
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is writing his
first book titled 'Hit Refresh' that
describes his life, the company, and how technology will shape the
future.
The
book is scheduled to release in the fall of 2017 through publisher Harper
Business.
Nadella intends to give the proceeds
of the book to Microsoft Philanthropies for funding non-profits working on
public cloud projects.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau will feature on
the cover of Marvel's fifth issue of 'Civil
War II: Choosing Sides', which will be out on August 31.
Places in News
Iceland has topped this year's annual list of world's safest vacation spots released by the Global Peace Index.
Out
of the 163 nations assessed for the report, Iceland's danger score was 1.192 on
a scale of 5. Denmark (1.246), Austria (1.278), New Zealand (1.287) and
Portugal (1.356) followed Iceland on the list, which measures countries on 23
individual parameters.
Universal's Islands of Adventure in Florida,
USA has topped the list of world's
top 25 amusement parks, released by American travel website Trip Advisor.
It
was followed by Discovery Cove and Magic Kingdom (both in Florida), Europa-Park
(Germany), and Universal Studios (Florida).
Most
of the amusement parks on the list are from Florida (9), followed by California
(3) and France (2).
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, which
was established in 1847 as Thomason College of Civil Engineering, is the oldest engineering college in the
country.
The
college was converted from Thomason College of Civil Engineering to University
of Roorkee in 1948, and became an IIT in 2001.
Deaths
Renowned sculptor and painter KG Subramanyan (92) passed away.
He
was multifaceted artist credited with being one of the pioneers of Indian modern art and
was also a freedom fighter.
Business & Economy
The World Bank has signed an agreement with the India-led International Solar Alliance and
committed to lending over $1
billion for Indian solar energy projects.
This
comes after PM Narendra Modi sought climate change funds from the World Bank
President.
Note :
According to reports, this is the global lender's biggest solar aid for any
country till now.
Under
its 'My Stamp' initiative, India Post has allowed individuals and
corporate entities to get their photos or logos printed on a postage stamp for₹12 lakh.
India Post has already issued
customised 'My Stamps' to Amazon India and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Note :
Earlier, India Post only allowed customised printing next to postage stamps on
a ₹300 sheet.
Tamil Nadu has the highest fiscal deficit among all states in the country,
according to Reserve Bank of India data.
The
state's fiscal deficit of ₹31,870 crore is
higher than that of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, which occupy the second and
the third place respectively.
Note :
Fscal deficit is the difference between the state's expenditure and income.
Awards & Honors
Jeff Bezos-led online retail giant Amazon has topped MIT's
annual list of the world's smartest companies of 2016 for combining
innovative technology with an effective business model.
Chinese web services company Baidu
and the world’s largest DNA-sequencing company Illumina have been ranked second
and third respectively.
The
list also includes Tesla Motors, Alphabet, Facebook, SpaceX and Snapchat.
Sports
BCCI President Anurag
Thakur has announced that the Board will build its own
state-of-the-art cricket stadium, which will host marquee matches such as the
IPL and World Cup finals.
The
decision was taken because of hassles involved in organising matches at State
Board-owned venues.
The
stadium is likely to come up in Delhi and
will be completed in five years.
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