1. Clean Drinking water to all by 2024: Centre
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat however, insisted that 'water' was a state subject as per the Constitution. Shekhawat also sought collective efforts and a public movement to achieve the target. The Central government has decided to increase coverage of piped water to households from current 18 percent to 100 percent by 2024, said Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat here on Tuesday.
2. IRSDC signed a Tripartite Agreement with SNCF and AFD
Under this agreement, AFD has agreed to support capacity building for the railway station development program in India by providing in-kind grant financing up to 7,00,000 EURO, through French National Railways (SNCF)-Hubs as well as Connexions as a Technical Partner to the corporation. This will not impose any financial liability on Indian Railways or IRSDC. The agreement will help Indian Railways in positioning stations across the country as world-class transport hubs.
3. Kazakh-Indian Investment Forum held in Ahmedabad
Central Asia’s biggest and resource-rich state Kazakhstan is keen to explore trade and investment opportunities in Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat ahead of PM’s visit to Kyrgyzstan for SCO Summit. A Kazakh-Indian Investment Forum was held on June 7 in Ahmedabad to attract investments. The event was organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in India with the support of the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in the state of Gujarat, the National Company "Kazakh Invest" and Jain International Trade Organization.
4. Bancha became the first solar kitchen village in India
Bancha in Betul district is the first village in India to have zero wooden stoves and almost no use for LPG cylinders with all its 75 houses relying on solar-powered stoves to meet their cooking needs, claims social activist Mohan Nagar. "There are places in India where solar plates are used sporadically for cooking, but with the help of a team from IIT Mumbai, a special solar stove was developed. No trees are cut by the villagers now for lighting their stoves. The Central government's decision to choose Bancha has changed has set an example which can be replicated to make other villages smoke and pollution free," Nagar told ANI.
5. India ranked 113 out of 176 countries in End of Childhood Index 2019
Save the Children’s 2019 Global Childhood Report comprises End of Childhood Index that evaluates countries on the wellbeing of children. Save the Children has evaluated countries on eight indicators to determine the wellbeing of children and teenagers (0-19 years). Save the Children’s third annual End of Childhood Index compares the latest data for 176 countries – more than any other year – and assesses where the most and fewest children are missing out on childhood.
6. G20 Finance Ministers meeting and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Fukuoka, Japan
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the two-day meeting of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors in Japan on June 8 and 9, according to a government official. This will be the first overseas visit of Ms. Sitharaman as Finance Minister. Besides Ms. Sitharaman, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is also likely to attend the meeting at Fukuoka in Japan. Among other things, the meeting over the weekend is likely to focus on risks and challenges being faced by the global economy, investment in infrastructure and international taxation.
7. Gandhi peace rally held in Saudi Arabia
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia organized a "Gandhi cycle rally for peace" in Riyadh on Friday to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. More than 150 persons of different nationalities, gender, and age, including many Saudi nationals participated in the cycle rally organized in association with the Diplomatic Quarter Authority and Saudi Cycling Federation. India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, flagged off the rally and later participated in the event with his wife Farha Sayeed.
8. 2nd Global Disability Summit held at Buenos Aires, Argentina
A delegation headed by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot and comprising Secretary, DEPwD, Smt Shankutala Gamlin, Joint Secretary, DEPwD, Dr. Prabodh Seth and Shri Neeraj Semwal, Private Secretary to Union Minister is leaving for Argentina today to participate in the “2nd Global Disability Summit”t to be held at Buenos Aires, Argentina during 6-8 June 2019. The objective of the summit is to deliberate on issues across the world concerning empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to work out a mechanism for enabling them to live an independent and dignified life. The Union Minister had also attended the ‘1st Global Disability Summit’ held in London in July 2018.
9. RBI formed a committee headed by VG Kannan, IBA Chief to review ATM pricing
The decision to form a committee tp review ATM interchange fee structure was taken at the seventh bi-monthly meet of RBI's Monetary Policy Committee increase ATM deployment in areas lacking in banking facilities. The Reserve Bank of India has constituted a six-member committee to review the ATM interchange fee structure. VG Kannan, Chief Executive Officer of the Indian Banks' Association, will lead the review panel.
10. NPAs decreased to 9.30% in FY’19, below RBI estimate
Fresh NPAs in the banking sector is expected to moderate to 1.9 to 2.4 percent in FY'20, due to the aggressive recovery drive and write-offs by banks according to rating firm IcraNSE 2.92 %. Public sector banks are expected to turn profitable after four consecutive years of losses. Capital infusion by the government too will help. The rating firm has revised the outlook of six public sector banks of which five are positive revisions.
11. Imports from Pakistan to India declined by 92% in March 2019 to $2.84 million
Imports from Pakistan to India has declined by 92 percent to 2.84 million US dollars in March this year after imposition of 200 percent customs duties on all products following Pulwama terror attack. During the January-March period of 2018-19 fiscal, the imports from Pakistan declined by 47 percent to 53.65 million dollars. India's exports to Pakistan to have dipped by about 32 percent to over 171. million dollars in March. However, the exports grew by 7.4 percent to two billion dollars during 2018-19.
12. Mahindra wins Gold Award in South Africa
Mahindra has won the Gold Award in South Africa for fairing on various indicators, including the level of satisfaction among its network of dealers and the manner of allocation of vehicles to them. Mahindra, which has been in South Africa for the past 16 years, received the award on June 7 from the country's National Automobile Dealers' Association (NADA) which tests dealers' satisfaction with the way a brand supports and communicates with them. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. Amongst the various business interests of its parent group, the company is mainly involved in automobile manufacturing. It is one of the leading auto companies in India.
13. India successfully launched new Technology Demonstrator Missile in Odisha
Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Today launched a Technology Demonstrator Vehicle to prove a number of critical technologies for futuristic missions from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha. The missile was successfully launched at 1127 Hours. Various radars, telemetry stations, and electro-optical tracking sensors tracked the vehicle through its course. The data has been collected and will be analyzed to validate the critical technologies.
14. Track body IAAF to rebrand as World Athletics
MONACO (AP) — Track and field's world governing body is to change its name from the IAAF to World Athletics. The new name and logo will be introduced in October after one last edition of the world championships under the IAAF banner. The IAAF has kept the same initials since it was founded in 1912 as the International Amateur Athletic Federation but changed that to International Association of Athletics Federations in 2001 as track and field became more professionalized.
15. World Day against Child Labour 2019 celebrated on June 12
Get details about World Day against Child Labour, ILO’s 2019 theme, ILO’s Convention against Child Labour, International Labour Organization, Child Labour in India. The World Day against Child Labour is being observed across the world today, on June 12, 2019. The theme of the day this year is, 'Children should not work in fields but on dreams'. The World Day against Child Labour was established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labor and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. The day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society as well as millions of people to highlight the plight of child laborers and measures to help them.
