1. IAF AN-32 Aircraft went missing with 13 people in Assam
The disappearance of an Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft with 13 people onboard in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Siang district on Monday bears an uncanny resemblance to the 2009 crash of another AN-32 carrying an equal number of passengers in the same region. In June 9, 2009, an IAF AN-32 had crashed over Rinchi Hill near Heyo Village (also located near Tato) in West Siang district, killing 13 personnel. The plane’s wreckage was found about 30 km away from the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground.
2. Haryana High court declares of the entire animal kingdom as ‘legal entities’
In a unique ruling, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday accorded the status of “legal person or entity” to animals in the State, saying “they have a distinct persona with corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living person.” A Division Bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Lokpal Singh bestowed the unique status on animal kingdom while issuing a series of directions to prevent cruelty against animals. “...to protect and promote greater welfare of animals including avian and aquatic, animals are required to be conferred with the status of legal entity/ legal person,” the Bench said.
3. India ranked 95th in 129 countries in new Gender Equality Index
India ranked 95th out of 129 countries in a new index that measures global gender equality looking at aspects such as poverty, health, education, literacy, political representation and equality at the workplace. The Sustainable Development Goals Gender Index has been developed by UK-based Equal Measures 2030, a joint effort of regional and global organizations including African Women's Development and Communication Network, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and International Women's Health Coalition.
4. 14th OIC summit held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The Indian government on Monday said it was 'unacceptable' over the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) reference to Jammu and Kashmir in a communiqué adopted at its summit meeting in the Saudi Arabian city of Makkah last week. In a strong reaction, Indian foreign ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar slammed the OIC saying it should refrain from making such "unwarranted references."
5. QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) held at Bangkok
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue which is also known as Quad is an informal strategic grouping consisting of India, US, Australia, and Japan recently met in Bangkok in Thailand. Senior officials of Quad (India, US, Japan, and Australia) attended the meet in Bangkok. At the meet, countries held consultations on their collective efforts for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The consultations also underscored Quad’s intention of continuing with close coordination and collaboration among themselves in support of sustainable, private sector-led development, maritime security of the region and of good governance.
6. First UAE Permanent Residency issued in Abu Dhabi
The gold card gives permanent residency of the UAE to the holder. Yusuff Ali, the LuLu Group chairman, becomes the first of 6,800 investors with total investment exceeding $27 billion to receive the gold card. Abu Dhabi-based Indian retail tycoon M A Yusuff Ali has become the first expat to get the UAE's first gold card permanent residency. Unlike the long-term visa of 5-10 years for businessmen and talented individuals, the gold card gives permanent residency of the UAE to the holder.
7. The nilekani-led committee recommended 24×7 RTGS & NEFT, elimination of all charges
To encourage digital payments, the Nandan Nilekani committee has suggested a host of measures, including elimination of charges, round-the-clock RTGS and NEFT facility, and duty-free import of point-of-sales machines. The committee, which was appointed by the RBI, had submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das last month.
8. RBI amended its norms on banks’ exposure to large borrowers
RBI also introduced the concept of 'economic interdependence' criteria in the definition of connected counterparties. The central bank said that banks need to take into account their direct and indirect exposure to an underlying asset while calculating total exposure. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday revised its guidelines on banks’ exposure to large borrowers which had taken effect on 1 April this year.
9. GST collections crossed Rs 1 lakh crore mark for three consecutive month
India's goods and services tax (GST) revenue collections crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the third straight month in May to Rs 1,00,289 crore, despite a slowdown in the industrial activities. However, GST mop-up in May was lower than the all-time high of Rs 1.13 lakh crore in the month of April, highest ever since the indirect tax regime was rolled out on July 1, 2017. GST collections rose by 6.67 percent over the revenue of Rs 94,016 crore reported in May 2018. The revenue in May 2019 was 2.21 percent higher than the monthly average of GST revenue in the financial year 2018-19 (Rs 98,114 crore), according to a data released by the Ministry of Finance.
10. USA terminated GSP benefits from India
Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is the largest and oldest US trade preference program. India was the largest beneficiary of the program in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status. President Donald Trump has terminated India's designation as a beneficiary developing nation under the key GSP trade program after determining that it has not assured the US that it will provide "equitable and reasonable access" to its markets.
11. IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL to form a Joint Venture for Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG pipeline project
State-owned oil marketing companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd have inked a pact to form a joint venture company for the country's largest LPG pipeline project from Kandla in Gujarat to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The 2,757 km long LPG pipeline, which is expected to provide reliability in the supply chain of LPG, would cover an overall distance of 1,063 km in Gujarat, 611 km in Madhya Pradesh, and 1,083 km in Uttar Pradesh.
12. AAI (Airports Authority of India) signs technical assistance pact with Boeing
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and aerospace major Boeing on Tuesday announced the signing of a technical assistance agreement to develop an air traffic management roadmap which will improve airspace utilization and help maintain efficient aircraft operations. The comprehensive 10-year communication, navigation, and surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) modernization roadmap spread over 18 months is being undertaken with a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).
