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- Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said that the Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty is organised to celebrate the undying spirit of the jawans. The major endeavour of this initiative is to provide one-time financial assistance to disabled soldiers who have been boarded out from service on medical grounds and are rendered non-employable due to their medical or physical conditions.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the International Yoga Day 2018 which is observed on 21st June every year, at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) campus in Dehradun. PM Modi led an estimated 50, 000 volunteers to mark the fourth anniversary of International Yoga Day. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu along with several Union Ministers are also to host part of similar events across the country.
- Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) on June 19, 2018 in New Delhi. The repository is Indias first ever national healthcare facility registry of authentic, standardised and updated geo-spatial data of all public and private healthcare establishments. The Minister also released the National Health Profile (NHP)-2018 prepared by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) on the occasion along with the E-book of the annual document. The National Health Profile covers demographic, socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in health.
- India will hold a major military exercise Indra 2018 with Russia later this year which is going to be a tri-service war game with participation of navy, air force and army. The Indian Army and the Indian Navy has been having the military exercise ‘Indra’ with Russia separately. The Indian Air Force had participated in an exercise ‘AviaIndra’ with Russian air force in 2014. But this year, it is likely to be a tri-service exercise in Russia.
- The United States announced on Tuesday that it was leaving the United Nations Human Rights Council, with Ambassador Nikki Haley calling it an organization that is not worthy of its name. The announcement came just a day after U.N. Human Rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein denounced the Trump administration for separating migrant children from their parents.
- President Ram Nath Kovind on June 20, 2018 approved the Governor’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) following the resignation of Mehbooba Mufti as Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister. The move came hours after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out of its alliance with Mehbooba Muftis Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing the critical security situation in the Valley. After BJP-PDP split, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had submitted a detailed report to the President regarding the Governors rule after receiving it from J&K Governor NN Vohra.
Protests being conducted against the immigration policy that separates children from their parents when immigrant families are caught crossing the US-Mexico border illegally. - U.S. President Donald Trump backed down on Wednesday on an immigration policy that sparked outrage at home and abroad, signing an executive order to end the separation of children from their parents when immigrant families are caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. It’s about keeping families together while at the same time making sure that we have a very powerful, very strong border, Mr. Trump said.
- Raghvendra Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Culture on June 19, 2018 told that Four Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) have been signed under ‘Adopt a Heritage scheme and six more are at an advanced stage. The scheme, implemented by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India, is reported to be making good progress. Around 31 more Adarsh Monuments have been enlisted for coverage under the scheme. The four MoUs include Mount Stok Kangri Trek Route (Ladakh), Gangotri Temple Area & Trail to Gaumukh (Uttarakhand), Red Fort (Delhi) and Gandikota Fort (Andhra Pradesh).
- To increase number of women in senior levels in Information Technology (IT) industry, Indian IT industrys apex body National Association of Software & Services Companies (NASSCOM) has launched Women Wizards Rule Tech programme. The programme was announced in March 2018 at Nasscom Diversity and Inclusion Summit in Chennai as joint initiative by Nasscom Sector Skills Council and Data Security Council of India.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 19, 2018 revised the upwards housing loan limits under Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines for housing loans with the Affordable Housing Scheme of the Union Government and to give a stimulus to low-cost housing for the economically weaker sections and low income groups. PSL loans are relatively cheaper than market interest rate. These changes have been made in alignment with the income criteria specified under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
- According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the number of nuclear warheads with nine nuclear countries has reduced from 14,935 at start of 2017 to 14,465 at start of 2018. These nine countries are United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. SIPRI is an independent think tank that uses open sources to compile such data since 1966. Russia (with 6850 nuclear warheads) and US (with 6450 warheads) hold 92% of worlds total nuclear warheads.
- Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said that he was quitting his post to return to academic research in the United States, the third high-profile hire to leave Prime Minister Narendra Modis economic administration. Subramanians departure comes at a time when the government is grappling with economic woes stemming from a soaring oil import bill, state banks saddled with a mountain of debt and sluggish private investment.
- In a crackdown on alleged corruption among bank officials, the Pune police arrested the chief executive of state-run lender Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) and his immediate predecessor as well as one executive director, apart from other officials. The police arrested six persons, including BoMs MD & CEO Ravindra Marathe and its former chairman and managing director (CMD) Sushil Muhnot, for allegedly misusing powers while extending loan to a real estate developer.
Today’s Quiz
