Weekly Current Affairs 9th June - 15th June 2021

FINANCE AND BANKING

• RBI asks banks not to delete CCTV footage from 2016 demonetisation period
  • RBI recently asked banks not to delete the CCTV recordings of their branch operations and currency chests from the 2016 demonetisation period.

• ATM cash withdrawal rule changed by RBI
  • RBI recently changed some rules regarding cash withdrawal from ATMs.
  • These ATM cash withdrawal rule changes include higher charges on transactions beyond the free permissible limit, a new free ATM transaction limit and a rise in interchange fee.

• RBI extends risk-based internal audit system to housing finance firms
  • RBI recently extended the risk-based internal audit (RBIA) system for housing finance companies (HFCs) to enhance the quality and effectiveness of their internal audit system.

ECONOMY

• Wipro IT Services approves issuance of up to USD 750 million dollar denominated notes
  • Wipro IT Services has approved issuing US dollar denominated notes of up to USD 750 million.
  • The net proceeds of the notes, which are proposed to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, are intended to be utilised for refinancing existing debt and general corporate purposes.

• World Bank projects India’s economy to grow at 8.3% in 2021 and 7.5% in 2022
  • World Bank recently projected India’s economy to grow at 8.3 per cent in 2021 and 7.5 per cent in 2022.

• World Bank approves $500 million MSME financing programme; targets support to 5.55 lakh firms
  • World Bank recently approved a $500 million programme called Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Performance (RAMP) to help the sector recover from the Covid menace.

NATIONAL

• Education Ministry releases AISHE report 2019-20
  • The Ministry of Education released All Indian Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report 2019-20.
  • This report is the 10th in the series of AISHE annually released by the Department of Higher Education.

• Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20
  • Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal released Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for schools to provide insights on the status of school education in States and UTs.
  • The PGI States/UTs for 2019-20 is the third edition of PGI that was first released in the year 2019 with the reference year 2017-18.

• ‘Namaste Yoga’ mobile App launched in curtain raiser event for 7th International Day of Yoga
  • ‘Namaste Yoga’ a mobile application was launched in the curtain raiser event for the 7th International Day of Yoga.

INTERNATIONAL

• Naftali Bennett sworn in as Israel's new Prime Minister
  • Naftali Bennett sworn in as new Prime Minister of Israel.
  • Israel’s parliament approved a new coalition government, ending the 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sending the leader into the opposition.

• Israel will become the World’s First Mask-Free Country from June 15
  • Israel will become the world’s first mask-free country in the Corona period. The rule of applying masks in closed places will end from June 15.
  • The rule of applying masks outside has already been abolished in the country.

• INTERPOL unveils I-Familia, new global database to identify missing persons
  • INTERPOL unveiled I-Familia, a groundbreaking new database officially launched that applies cutting-edge scientific research and uses the DNA of relatives to identify missing persons or unidentified human remains around the world.

STATES

• Haryana CM Inaugurates Eco- Friendly Schemes
  • On the occasion of World Environment Day, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar inaugurated several schemes.

• Assam: Raimona reserve forest named sixth national park in state
  • Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that the Raimona reserve forest in Kokrajhar district under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), bordering Bhutan, has been upgraded as the sixth national park of the state.

• Assam CM Himanta Sarma announces welfare schemes for orphans, widows
  • Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced a slew of welfare schemes for children who lost their parents to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and women who lost their husbands to the virus.

REPORTS AND INDEXES

• Global House Price Index - Q1 2021: Knight Frank
  • Knight Frank, an international property consultancy, released its latest research report - Global House Price Index - Q1 2021.
  • The Global House Price Index tracks the movement in mainstream residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide using official statistics.

• Asia University Rankings 2021
  • The Times Higher Education released Asia University Rankings 2021.
  • It assessed performance of 551 universities from 30 countries on 13 performance indicators/parameters.

• QS World University Rankings 2022
  • London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) released its World University Ranking 2022, listing world’s top 1300 universities.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• IIT Guwahati researchers develop smart window material for automatic climate control in buildings to save energy
  • IIT Guwahati researchers have developed a smart window material that can effectively control the amount of heat and light passing through it in response to an applied voltage.

• WHO names Covid-19 variants found in India as 'Kappa' and 'Delta'
  • The B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 variants of the COVID-19, first identified in India, has been named as 'Kappa' and 'Delta' respectively by WHO.

• European Space Agency’s EnVision mission to Venus
  • The European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it has selected EnVision as its next orbiter that will visit Venus sometime in the 2030s.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• India's agriculture exports jump to $ 41 billion despite pandemic disruptions
  • India's agriculture exports (including marine and plantation products) have beaten the pandemic registering a growth of 17.34 per cent to $ 41.25 billion in 2020-21.

• Government launches seed minikit programme to boost production of oilseeds, pulses
  • The Agri Ministry has launched a seed Minikit programme by distributing the high-yielding varieties of seeds of oilseeds and pulses to farmers.

• Digital India Corporation& Indian Council of Agricultural Research signs MoU
  • In order to facilitate farmers by providing location specific ‘Demand Based Tele Agriculture Advisories’, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Farmers Welfare and Digital India Corporation (DIC) have signed an MoU.

DEFENCE

• India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT)
  • The navies of India and Thailand kicked off their three-day, bi-annually India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) in the Andaman Sea. This is the 31st edition the joint exercise.

• Russia is building first fully stealth warship
  • The Russian navy is building its first fully stealth warship to make it harder to detect.

• Indian Navy inducts three ALH MK III helicopters
  • The Indian Navy has inducted three Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) MK III helicopters to boost maritime reconnaissance capabilities.

EVENTS

• 47th G7 summit
  • The 47th G7 summit was held in Cornwall in the United Kingdom while it holds the presidency of the G7.
  • The participants included the leaders of the seven G7 member states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and US) as well as representatives of the European Union.

AWARDS AND REWARDS

• UK Asian Film Festival Awards
  • Tillotama Shome won the Best Actor award at this year’s UK Asian Film Festival for her film Raahgir: The Wayfarers (2019).
  • Apart from Tillotama, filmmaker Goutam Ghose has also won the award for Best Director.

• NSG Counter-IED & Counter-Terrorism Innovator Award 2021
  • A professor from IIT Roorkee, Prof. Shailesh Ganpule, has received the ‘NSG Counter-IED & Counter-Terrorism Innovator Award 2021' for his design of a blast-resistant helmet.

• Asia Pacific Productivity Champion award
  • The Managing Director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (AMUL), R.S. Sodhi, was conferred with the regional award as Asia Pacific Productivity Champion from Asian Productivity Organization (APO), Tokyo, Japan in recognition of enhanced productivity and efficient milk supply chain.

SPORTS

• BharatPe becomes ICC’s official partner till 2023
  • Lending and digital payments startup BharatPe announced that it has inked a three-year long deal to become an official partner with International Cricket Council (ICC).

• ICC Hall of Fame
  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced a special edition intake of 10 cricket icons into the ICC Hall of Fame to celebrate the prestigious history of Test cricket, and to coincide with the first-ever ICC World Test Championship final.

• Kathryn Bryce, Mushfiqur Rahim Named ICC Players of The Month For May
  • The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced Scotland's Kathryn Bryce and Bangladesh's Mushfiqur Rahim as the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for May.