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NATIONAL NEWS

1. Tamil Nadu declared 'Tamil Yeoman' or 'Tamil Maravan' as its state butterfly 

‘Tamil Yeoman’ (Cirrochroa thais), a kind of butterfly found in Western Ghats has been declared as Tamil Nadu state butterfly. It is also known as ‘Tamil Maravan’. 
Tamil Nadu is the fifth state in the country to announce its state butterfly.
Maharashtra was the first to declare Blue Mormon (Papilio polgmnestor) as its state butterfly. It is followed by Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar banded peacock). 

2. West Bengal launches free crop insurance scheme for farmers

West Bengal Government launched a crop insurance scheme, Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) to protect farmers from losses due to natural disasters.
Their main aim is to provide a steady income in case of unstable market prices.  The scheme launched in collaboration with Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC). The crop insurance scheme is “free of cost for farmers” as the state government would pay the entire premium.
The crops include Aman and Aus paddy, jute and maize under the scheme. 

3. UGC announces new Initiative - Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE) to boost research culture in India 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a new scheme - ‘Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy’ (STRIDE). Broadly, STRIDE will provide support to research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally significant. It will strengthen research culture and innovation in colleges and Universities and help students and faculty to contribute towards India’s developing economy with help of collaborative research. The project aims to identify young talent, strengthen research culture, build capacity, promote innovation and support trans-disciplinary research for India’s developing economy and national development and to fund multi institutional network high-impact research projects in humanities and human sciences. An advisory Committee has been set up by the UGC under the chairmanship of Prof Bhushan Patwardhan, Vice Chairman to oversee the entire scheme.

4. Uttar Pradesh govt launches toll-free CM helpline 1076 

Uttar Pradesh government launched a toll-free Chief Minister helpline 1076.
This scheme will enable people from across the state to register their complaints and a time-bound action will be taken. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will personally review the complaints every month. The helpline will work 24x7 and anyone from any part of the state.

5. DASTAK Campaign to eradicate AES to be launched in UP 

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath kick started the DASTAK campaign which will run from 1st to 31st July.  Under this state-wide campaign teams will go door to door in every village of the 75 districts of the state to create awareness about the communicable diseases as well as Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).  In this massive campaign, many departments of the state especially health, rural development, primary education will work together to spread awareness about the diseases through mass media communication and will ensure availability of clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud. 

6. First UIDAI-run Aadhaar Seva Kendra operational in Delhi, Vijayawada 

The UIDAI has operationalised the first 'Aadhaar Seva Kendra' in Delhi and Vijayawada, setting in motion an ambitious plan to set up 114 such centres by the year-end. These Aadhaar centres, meant to facilitate enrolment, updation and other activities, will be UIDAI’s own and operate in addition to thousands of centres, currently being run by banks and post offices, and in government premises (offering similar Aadhaar services).

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is in the midst of setting up ‘Aadhaar Seva Kendras’ (ASKs) - similar to the concept of Passport Seva Kendras - covering 53 cities across India at an estimated project cost of Rs 300-400 crore.

As ASKs have more capacity, more requests for enrolment and updation can be processed on a daily basis compared to other centres. Besides, the new ASK model entails an online appointment management system to allow people to book a slot as per their convenience.

The UIDAI plans to complete setting up of 114 ASKs across various locations by end of 2019.

7. 75% of children with disabilities don't attend schools in India: UNESCO 

The 2019 ‘State of the Education Report for India: Children with Disabilities’ took into account the 2011 census, according to which there are 78,64,636 children with disability in India constituting 1.7 percent of the total child population. The number of girls with disabilities in schools was ‘fewer’ than boys and the number of enrolled children drops significantly with each successive level of schooling.

Three-fourths of the children with disabilities at the age of five years and one-fourth between 5-19 years do not go to any educational institution. It said only 61 percent of CWDs aged between 5 and 19 were attending an educational institution compared to the overall figure of 71 percent when all children are considered.

A large number of children with disabilities pursue education through NIOS

The report said, a large number of children with disabilities do not go to regular schools but are enrolled at the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). A review of enrolment figures at NIOS shows a decline for most categories of disabilities between 2009 and 2015.

India has made considerable progress in terms of putting in place a robust legal framework and a range of programmes and schemes that have improved enrolment rates of children with disabilities in schools. However, further measures are needed to ensure quality education for every child to achieve the goals and targets of agenda 2030 and more specifically Sustainable Development Goal 4.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

1. US Senate passes legislative provision to give India NATO ally-like status

The US Senate has passed a legislative provision that brings India at par with America's NATO allies and countries like Israel and South Korea for increasing defence cooperation. The National Defense Authorisation Act or NDAA for the fiscal year 2020,that contained such a proposal was passed by the US Senate. Introduced by Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator John Cornyn with the support of Senate India Caucus Co-Chair Senator Mark Warner, the amendment provides for increased US-India defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean in the areas of humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, counter-piracy and maritime security. The bill would be signed into law after both the chambers of the US Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate - passes it.

2. Japan resumes commercial whaling for first time in 30 years 

Japanese fishermen have set sail to hunt whales commercially for the first time in more than three decades after Tokyo’s controversial decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission.

Although Tokyo suspended commercial whaling in 1988, Japanese whaling ships remained active in international waters hunting whales for "research purposes" leading to international criticism as cover for commercial whale hunting. IWC members are allowed to issue whaling permits for scientific purposes.

For years, Japan exploited a loophole in international rules to continue hunting whales despite being a member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) bound by the commercial whaling moratorium that went into effect in 1986. The country has now quit the IWC altogether and resumed commercial whaling.

3. New Zealand bans single-use plastic bags 

New Zealand officially banned single-use plastic shopping bags introducing hefty fines for businesses that continue to provide them.

Plastic pollution has become a growing global concern, with a million birds and more than 100,000 marine mammals injured or killed every year by becoming entangled in packaging or ingesting it through the food chain.

Companies that break New Zealand's ban will face heavy penalties, including fines of up to NZ$100,000 (US$67,000).

Under the new rules, thin plastic single-use shopping bags can no longer be supplied - but the law allows reusable carriers to continue being provided.

4. World's First Battery-Powered Cruise Ship To Sail For The Arctic 

The world's first cruise ship- Roald Amundsen propelled partially by battery power is set to head out from northern Norway on its maiden voyage.

The hybrid expedition cruise ship can take 500 passengers and is designed to sail in harsh climate waters.

The ship is named after the Norwegian explorer who navigated the Northwest Passage in 1903-1906 and was first to reach the South Pole in 1911. The ship will head for the Arctic from Tromsoe and will sail the Northwest Passage to Alaska before heading south, reaching Antarctica in October.

ECONOMY NEWS

UNION BUDGET-2019

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman (First woman full time Finance Minister) presented the General Budget 2019. The major highlights of the budget are:

• The budget has been presented with a 10-year vision in mind. The startups are being given a whole set of tax benefits.
• Fully automated GST Refund module shall be implemented, multiple tax ledgers to be replaced by one; invoice details to be captured in a central system
• Basic customs duty on certain items to be increased to promote the cherished goal of Make in India. Import of defence equipment not manufactured in India are being exempted from basic customs duty.
• The government increased customs duty on gold. Import duty will be hiked on gold and precious metals to 12.5%, from current level of 10%.
• There will be an increase in special additional excise duty and road and infrastructure cess each one by 1 rupee a litre on petrol and diesel.
• To provide further impetus to affordable housing, additional deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on interest paid on loans borrowed upto 31 March 2020 for purchase of house up to ?45 lakh.
• Additional income tax deduction of 1.5 lakh rupees on the interest paid on the loans taken to purchase electric vehicles.
• To discourage the practice of making business payments in cash, the government proposes to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ?1 crore in a year from a bank account.
• PAN and Aadhaar are now interchangeable and this allows those who don't have PAN to file returns by simply quoting Aadhar number and use it wherever they require to use PAN.
• Public sector banks to be provided 70,000 crore rupees to boost capital and improve credit.
• For purchase of high-rated pooled assets of financially sound Non Banking Finance Companies amounting to 1 lakh crore rupees during 2019-20, one-time six-month partial credit guarantee to be given to public sector banks (PSBs).
• A new series of coins of Re 1, ?2, ?5, ?10, ?20 easily identifiable to the visually impaired were released by the PM on 7th March 2019. These coins will be made available for public use shortly.
• Regulation authority over housing finance sector to be returned from National Housing Bank to RBI.
• To further encourage women entrepreneurship, Women Self Help Group(SHG) Interest Subvention Programme to be expanded to all districts in India.
• Jal Shakti Ministry will look at the mgmt of our water resources and water supply in an integrated and holistic manner and will work with states to ensure 'Har Ghar Jal', to all rural households by 2024 under 'Jal Jeevan Mission'.

1. India-Russia sign Rs 200 crore anti-tank missile deal under emergency provisions 

In a bid to keep itself action-ready in situations like the ones that transpired post-Balakot strikes, India has signed a deal to acquire 'Strum Ataka' anti-tank missile from Russia for its fleet of Mi-35 attack helicopters.

Under the emergency clauses, the missiles would be supplied within three months of contract signing. The deal is reportedly worth around Rs 200 crore and would give Mi-32s an improved capability to take out enemy tanks and other armoured vehicles.

Mi-32 are existing attack helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and are set to be replaced by newly purchased Apache gunships which are slated to be commissioned in the coming months. 

India has been trying to purchase these missiles for a long time, the deal, however, has panned out under the emergency provisions after more than a decade.

The Army is in the process of acquiring the Spike anti-tank guided missile from France and Igla-S Air defence missiles from Russia under the emergency provisions. 

Under the powers given to the three services, they can buy the equipment of their choice within three months at a cost of up to Rs 300 crore per case.

The emergency powers were given to the forces within few weeks of the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, and India started increasing vigil at the borders with Pakistan.

2. India pledges USD 5 million for UN Palestinian aid agency 

A total of 20 countries, including India, announced contributions to the 2018 budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East during a meeting, as officials called for stable financing for the agency amid devastating conflicts and violence in the Middle East. India has pledged USD 5 million in assistance to the UN agency working for the welfare of Palestinian refugees to help bolster its “severe funding crisis” following US’ cut in its annual aid to UNRWA. The Trump administration in January said it would withhold USD 65 million of USD 125 million it had planned to send to UNRWA. UNRWA relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions from states and the US is the largest contributor

In March, India announced it will increase its annual contribution to the UNRWA from USD 1.5 million to USD 5 million from 2018-19 for a period of three years.

While India pledged USD 5 million, Sweden will contribute USD 250 million over four years, the UK USD 51 million and the UAE USD 50 million among other donors.

UNRWA has been providing health, education, relief and social services, as well as emergency humanitarian assistance, to some 5.3 million Palestinian refugees across its five fields of operation — Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip — for 65 years.

3. Fund transfer via RTGS, NEFT get cheaper 

Fund transfer through RTGS and NEFT systems have become cheaper after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided it will not impose any charges on such transactions. RBI had also asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers from the same day. The Real-time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers, while the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system is used for fund transfers of up to ?2 lakh.

This has been done to provide an impetus to digital funds movement. Currently, the RBI "levies minimum charges" on banks for transactions routed through its RTGS and NEFT system. Banks, in turn, levy charges on their customers. The RBI has also constituted a high-level committee under IBA Chief Executive V G Kannan to examine ATM charges and fees by banks amid demands for reviewing the levies.

The use of automated teller machines (ATMs) has been growing significantly and there have been persistent demands to change ATM charges and fees.

4. India signs Loan Agreement with the World Bank for USD 31.58 Million for Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project

The Government of India, the Government of Uttarakhand and the World Bank signed a Loan Agreement of $31.58 million for the Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project that will help improve the State’s ability to manage its Financial Systems and lead to Better Utilization of Development Resources.

The Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project will support the State Government’s initiative to build and modernize the Technical and Financial Management Capabilities of its Local Bodies and theState-owned Enterprises.

The World Bank supported Project will help the State enhance accountability in public finances and increase effectiveness of revenue management systems in Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Public Financial Management Strengthening Project is part of World Bank’s Public Financial Management Engagements at the State Level, following similar Projects in Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. It will draw on international experiences and those from other States that will help Uttarakhand in designing and implementing effective solutions. The Project will help Uttarakhand to improve its revenue base for greater availability of resources for its development needs and strengthen its Public Financial Management Systems to enhance accountability of public resources.

The $31.58 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 5year grace period, and a final maturity of 11 years.

5. SBI inks MoU with NIIF to boost capital availability for infrastructure projects 

State Bank of India (SBI) and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the availability of capital for infrastructure projects.

The scope of the MoU includes equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support and take-out finance for operating assets. The objective of this initiative is to aid in filling the gap at a time when the availability of equity and debt financing for infrastructure has moderated. In addition to focusing on take-out financing, including through the IDF (Infrastructure Development Fund) route, the partnership will also explore new avenues of financing renewable energy projects.

During the last financial year, SBI — through its specialised Project Finance & Structuring Business Unit — extended financial assistance of about ?51,000 crore to 47 infrastructure projects and for the current financial year the bank has a robust pipeline.

6. Railways speeds up 261 trains under 'Mission Raftaar' 

The Indian Railways has speeded up 261 trains, by up to 110 minutes, over different zones as part of its Mission Raftaar to provide faster travel to passengers and this will be reflected in the new time table in effect from July 1.

'Mission Raftaar' was announced in the Railway Budget 2016-17 and envisages a target of doubling average speed of freight trains and increasing the average speed of all non-suburban passenger trains by 25 kmph in the next five years. The transporter has replaced 141 short distance passenger trains, especially having reversal en route, by Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMUs) and Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DEMUs) in 2018-2019, thereby increasing the overall mobility of the system.

7. Ministry of AYUSH signed MOU between with Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Ministry of AYUSH (MOA) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have signed MOU at New Delhi for collaborating with each other for digitization of AYUSH Sector. MeitY has agreed to advise and give technical support to MOA for planning and development of AYUSH GRID Project.

In pursuance to the National Health Policy 2017 and e-governance initiative of Ministry of AYUSH aims to  digitize the entire AYUSH leading to transformation in field of health care delivery at all levels, in addition to greater research, education, delivery of various healthcare programmes and better drug regulations.

MeitY has also sponsored a number of R&D projects for development of Medical Electronics Devices and Systems such as Medical and Imaging equipment, establishing centre of excellence in medical electronics. MeitY has also launched an online information guide called Vikaspedia, a portal for the various social sectors including Health and it offers information in 23 languages.

8. India rates convention to check tax evasion 

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that India has ratified the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures (MLI) to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which will pave way for amendments to double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAA) with the countries signatories to the convention to plug revenue leakages.

On 25th June, 2019, India has deposited the instrument of ratification to OECD, Paris along with its final position in terms of Covered Tax Agreements (CTAs), reservations, options and notifications under the MLI, as a result of which MLI will enter into force for India on October 1, 2019 and its provisions will have effect on India’s DTAAs from FY20-21 onwards.

MLI will modify India’s tax treaties to curb revenue loss through treaty abuse and base erosion and profit shifting strategies by ensuring that profits are taxed where substantive economic activities generating the profits are carried out. MLI will be applied alongside existing tax treaties, modifying their application in order to implement the BEPS measures.

After the MLI takes effect, India’s DTAA will have a new Preamble and the Principal Purposes Test (PPT). The changes would also lead to curbing of artificial avoidance of Permanent Establishment (PE) status through various arrangements. Further, avoidance of PE formation through specific activity exemptions and splitting up of contracts would also be prevented, the board said.

Additionally, the new DTAAs would help governments in curbing avoidance of capital gains from alienation of shares/interests deriving value principally from immovable property. It would also plug dividend transfer transactions that are intended to lower withholding taxes payable on dividends artificially would be prevented.

MLI is an outcome of the OECD/G20 project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the “BEPS Project”). This project was designed to work on anti-evasion measures that could curb tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations. Such geographies have little economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid.

9. RBI sets up working group to review regulatory norms for core investment companies 

With corporate group structures becoming more complex and layered, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now set up a working group to review the regulatory and supervisory framework for core investment companies (CICs).

The six-member working group, which will be headed by Tapan Ray, Non-Executive Chairman, Central Bank of India, and former Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, will examine the current regulatory regime for CICs and suggest changes to the current approach for their registration, including the practice of multiple CICs being allowed within a group.

Additionally, it will also suggest measures to strengthen corporate governance and disclosure requirements for CICs and assess the adequacy of supervisory returns submitted by these entities.

The working group has also been tasked with recommending appropriate measures to enhance RBI’s off-sight surveillance and on-site supervision over CICs. The working group shall submit its report by October 31, 2019.

The RBI had in August 2010 introduced a separate framework for the regulation of systemically important CICs after recognising the difference in the business model of a holding company compared to other non-banking financial companies.

10. Govt ropes in IBM for pilot study on using AI, weather tech in agriculture 

The Centre inked pact with IBM India for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in one district each in three states. The pilot study will be conducted for the Kharif crop season 2019 in three districts - Bhopal, Rajkot and Nanded - in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, respectively.

IBM’s Watson Decision Platform will give solution in the field of agriculture through AI and weather technology at village level/ farm level to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information on pro bono basis to help farmers for taking decisions regarding water and crop management for better production and productivity.

11. Indian Railways commissions longest electrified tunnel between Cherlopalli-Rapuru Station 

South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel, measuring 6.6 Kms between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations and is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam new railway line.

The tunnel has been completed in a record time of 43 months.

Completion of this tunnel has enabled Railways to start freight operations on this important railway line, which has reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and hinterland areas by 60 kms. At present, the average travel time taken by goods train from Krishnapatnam Port to Obulavaripalli is 10 hrs. On the newly commissioned line, the travel time gets reduced to about 5 hours, which will result in a saving of travel time by 5 hours.

12. High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers constituted for ‘Transformation for Indian Agriculture’ 

The Prime Minister has set up a High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for ‘Transformation of Indian Agriculture’. The composition of the committee is follows:

1. Sh. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister, Maharashtra  : Convenor
2. Sh H.D. Kumaraswamy, Chief Minister, Karnataka     : Member
3. Sh. Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister, Haryana      : Member
4. Sh. Pema Khandu, Chief Minster, Arunachal Pradesh : Member
5. Sh. Vijay Rupani, Chief Minster, Gujarat                   : Member
6. Sh. Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh     : Member
7. Sh. Kamal Nath, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh       : Member
8. Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister, Agriculture
   Rural Development and Panchyati Raj, GoI               : Member
9. Sh. Ramesh Chand, Member NITI Aayog                  : Member-Secy

The committee will discuss measures for transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income and suggest modalities for adoption and time bound implementation of following reforms by States/UTs. The committee will submit its report within two months. The High Powered Committee of Chief Ministers for ‘Transformation of Indian Agriculture’ will be serviced by NITI Aayog.

AWARDS

1. Rachna Khaira wins RedInk Award for Aadhaar expose 

Rachna Khaira of The Tribune has bagged the prestigious RedInk Award for 'Journalist of the Year' for her expose during 2018 on the functioning of the UIDAI and its Aadhaar data cache. Khaira's investigation confirmed that personal data of millions of citizens was at a risk of being hacked or traded for a price. By running a series of stings, the journalist was able to raise serious doubts about the claims by the government that the Aadhar data stored in UIDAI servers was safe and secure.

2. NALCO To Get President’s Award For Excellent CSR In Recognition of Nalco Ki Ladli Scheme 

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna CPSE under Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, has been selected for the prestigious President’s Award for Excellent CSR. The  Corporate Affairs Department, Govt of India, has selected NALCO for this award at the national level for introducing and implementing schemes like Nalco ki Ladli. The Scheme, provides adoption of poor girl students to enable them to study and settle in life. At present, NALCO has adopted 416 poor girl students from 66 villages Angul and Damanjodi sectors in 45 schools. Under this scheme, which was launched in the year 2015, NALCO took great care to handpick meritorious girl children belonging to Below Poverty Line families located in periphery area of NALCO’s pants in Damanjodi, Angul and Pottangi in Odisha. Apart from financially supporting the children from 8th standard to 10th standard, NALCO  has gone beyond the script to empower the child. To ensure a holistic approach to education, beneficiaries are exposed to various programmes and co-curricular activities organized by NALCO from time to time, including sports activities, workshops, seminars and celebration of various events. NALCO has plans to scale up the scheme at Pan India level covering poor girl children of Odisha, aspirational districts of the country and NALCO’s peripheral villages. The scheme will immensely contribute for girl child education & women empowerment.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES

1. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation launches India’s SDG dashboard 

In a bid to effectively track the progress on Agenda 2030, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoPSI) launched India’s first Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) dashboard.

The dashboard is a national platform that pulls together reliable data from over 100 different data sets, portals and sectors on to one an easy-to-use, intuitive platform, to power better informed decision making on the SDGs. It has been developed in partnership with the UN in India, DFID India and Social Cops. The dashboard will be India’s official data repository of the National Indicator Framework on SDGs, the country’s largest monitoring framework with 306 statistical indicators.

It provides an aggregated overview of all goals, maps data for over 130 indicators, measures all targets against national benchmarks with state and district filters, and leverages data-driven insights to roll out targeted development plans.

The dashboard can help fast-track this journey by helping state governments contextualize, visualize, track and measure their progress towards the goals more effectively.

2. I&B Minister reviews National Film Heritage Mission Project 

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar reviewed National Film Heritage Mission Project in a meeting held at National Film Archives in Pune.  The government has allotted budget of 600 crore rupees for this project.   The assessment part of the project is now over, conservation part will start soon and after that Digitisation work will start. After the restoration work is over, this treasure of Indian Films can be made available to Film Lovers all over the world with the help of Information Technology. For the storage of this National Treasure, there was a need of space. The Film Institute has given 3-acre land to create a new volt where films can be stored safely.

3. Jal Shakti Abhiyan for Water Conservation Launched 

Union Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat announced the commencement of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security. The campaign will run through citizen participation during the monsoon season, from 1st July, 2019 to 15th September, 2019. An additional Phase 2 will be run from 1st October, 2019 to 30th November, 2019 for States receiving the North East retreating monsoons. The focus of the campaign will be on water stressed districts and blocks.

Officers from the central government will visit and work with district administration in 1592 water stressed blocks in 256 districts, to ensure five important water conservation interventions. These will be water conservation and rainwater harvesting, renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks, reuse, bore well recharge structures, watershed development and intensive afforestation.  These water conservation efforts will also be supplemented with special interventions including the development of Block and District Water Conservation Plans, promotion of efficient water use for irrigation and better choice of crops through Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

A large-scale communications campaign has also been planned alongside the JSA involving mass mobilisation of different groups including school students, college students, swachhagrahis, Self Help Groups, Panchayati Raj Institution members, youth groups (NSS/NYKS/NCC), defence personnel, ex-servicemen and pensioners, among various others.

EVENTS

1. Abu Dhabi to host first ISA's joint security exercise ISALEX19 beginning 

Representatives of 50 law enforcement agencies of the International Security Alliance are taking part in the first joint security exercise in Abu Dhabi. 
The participants include representatives from tactical teams, rapid intervention units, communications, civil defence, and explosive ordnance disposal, teams. The International Security Alliance, launched in 2017 in Abu Dhabi, is an international working group to confront organised, transnational and extremist crimes.  The alliance now comprises nine countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, France, Italy, Spain, Senegal, Singapore, and the Slovak Republic. 

SPORTS NEWS

1. Virat Kohli 1st captain to score five successive World Cup fifties 

Virat Kohli registered his 54th ODI fifty against England in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 meeting at Edgbaston in Birmingham. This was Kohli's 5th consecutive ODI half-century in World Cup 2019. With this fifty, Kohli became the first captain to score five consecutive World Cup fifties. During his innings, Virat Kohli also went past Rahul Dravid to become the highest run-getter in England in ODIs, amongst the Indian batsmen. Rahul Dravid had scored 1238 runs in England. Overall Kohli equaled Australia's Steve Smith to become only the second player ever to score five half-centuries on the trot in the World Cup. Steve Smith had notched up five consecutive fifties in 2015 World Cup as Australia went onto clinch their 5th CWC title. In the same match, Mohammed Shami peppered his name in the record books as he became the sixth bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in Cricket World Cup 2019. Shami achieved the feat by dismissing Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes.

2. Veer Chotrani crowned Asian U-19 champion 

Veer Chotrani won the Asian junior Individual squash championship in the U-19 category with a win over Yash Fadte in an all-India final in Macau.

Veer is now the third Indian to win this prestigious title after Ravi Dixit and Velavan Senthilkumar. India ended the championship with one gold, three silver and three bronze medals.

3. Girish Koushik becomes India's 63rd GM and Karnataka's third. 

22-year-old Girish A. Koushik of Mysore, Karnataka became India’s 63rd Grandmaster (GM) at the 37th Balaton International Chess Festival in Hungary. He completed his second GM norm at the 8th Llucmajor Open in Mallorca, Spain in May 2019 and third norm in Budapest. The first GM norm was achieved in 2011 at the World Juniors. He became the third Grandmaster from Karnataka, after Thejkumar M S and Stany G A.  Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is generally held for life, though exceptionally it may be revoked for cheating. The abbreviation IGM for International Grandmaster is also sometimes used, particularly in older literature

RANKINGS   

1. Maharashtra ranked first in NITI Aayog’s AMFFR Index

Maharashtra achieved first rank in NITI Aayog launched “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)”. The index ranks states based on the degree of reforms they have undertaken in agricultural marketing. AMFFRI has a score that can have minimum value “0” implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas.

NITI Aayog has identified three key areas for reform and is now persuading states to undertake the reforms. The areas identified for immediate reforms are Agricultural market reforms,  Land lease reforms and Reforms related to forestry on private land – felling and transit of trees. Meghalaya is the worst performing state.

2. List of best police stations in India released by Home Ministry for 2019

The Home ministry has released the list of Best Police Stations in India according to its performance in crime prevention, investigation and disposal of cases, crime detection, community policing and maintenance of law and order. Kalu Police Station in Bikaner district, Rajasthan has topped the list followed by the Campbell Bay Police Station in Nicobar district, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The shortlisting of the police stations was done on the basis of data uploaded by them on crime and criminal tracking network and system. They were evaluated on the basis of crime against women and SC/STs as well as property offences. The total score was calculated depending on the number of FIRs registered, FIRs charge sheeted and FIRs charge sheeted within 60 days.

PEOPLE IN NEWS

1. Qu Dongyu became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization 

Qu Dongyu became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, clinching the post in the first round of voting. Qu, a biologist by training, won 108 votes, followed by Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France with 71 votes and Georgia's Davit Kirvalidze with 12.

2. Ursula Von der Leyen elected as European Union Commission’s chief 

Ursula Von der Leyen would be the European Commission's first female president. She is Germany’s Defense Minister and will be replacing Jean-Claude Juncker.

3. Christine Lagarde nominated as president of European Central Bank

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde was nominated as the president of the European Central Bank, following which she announced to temporarily relinquish her responsibilities as head of IMF.

1. The nomination means Lagarde will step down two years before the end of her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF.

Lagarde would succeed Mario Draghi, whose term ends on October 31.

4. IMF Names American Economist David Lipton as Interim Leader, Replacing Christine Lagarde 

American economist David Lipton will serve as interim leader of the International Monetary Fund, replacing Christine Lagarde who was nominated to head the European Central Bank.