NATIONAL NEWS

Op SANKALP

• Indian Navy’s stealth Frigate, INS Talwar is presently deployed for “Op Sankalp” commemorating the 3rd continuous year of Indian Navy’s presence in the Gulf for protection of India’s Maritime Interests.
• In the milieu of the deteriorating security situation in the Gulf region, post attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman in June 2019, Indian Navy had commenced Maritime Security Operations, code named ‘Op SANKALP’, in the Gulf Region to ensure safe passage of Indian Flag Vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
• This operation is being progressed in close coordination with all stakeholders including Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and DG, Shipping.
• Indian Navy continues to monitor the situation in the Gulf region and is maintaining presence in the region to ensure security of our sea borne trade and the safety of Indian Flag Merchant Vessels transiting through the region.

Project NIPUN

• Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, launched an innovative project for skill training of construction workers called ‘NIPUN’ (National Initiative for Promoting Upskilling of Nirman) workers.
• The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1 lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries also.
• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the nodal agency under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, will be the Implementation Partner for the project NIPUN.
• To fulfil this mission, the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) have joined Project NIPUN as industry partners and will identify training job roles of aspirational value in the construction sector in collaboration with the SSC.

IAEA Launches New Information System

• The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a new database of the Information System on Occupational Exposure in Medicine, Industry and Research (ISEMIR) called ISEMIR-N.

• It specifically targets workers in industrial processes involving naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM).

• NORM is any naturally occurring material which contains no significant amounts of radionuclides.

Centre for Brain Research

• On 20 June 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Centre for Brain Research at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus.

• He also laid the foundation stone for Bagchi Parthasarathy Multispecialty Hospital at IISc Bengaluru.

• The Centre for Brain Research is developed as a one of its kind research facilities and focuses on conducting vital research to provide evidence based public health interventions to manage age-related brain disorders.
• It was set up at a cost of Rs 280 crore.
• The Centre for Brain Research was established as an autonomous, non-profit research organization.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Cooperation in AI and Cyber Security

• India and Bangladesh have decided to expand their strategic partnership to develop cooperation in areas of Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, startups, and fintech.

• They have also agreed to expand ties in the railways sector as well as cross-border river management and conservation.

• This was decided at the 7th Joint Consultative Commission meeting between the two foreign ministers S Jaishankar and AK Abdul Momen.
• Border management was also a key focus on the agenda of cooperation.

G20 Meeting

• Union Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizer Minister, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya virtually addressed the inaugural session at the G20 Health Ministers meeting at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

• Indonesia has hosted two Health Working Group Meetings in Yogyakarta and Lombok wherein priority issues of ‘Harmonizing Global Health Protocol Standards’ and ‘Building Global Health System Resilience’ were discussed and deliberated upon.

• Dr Mansukh Mandaviya also thanked the Indonesian Presidency for prioritizing the issue of TB and One Health in the meeting and conducting events for the same.
• India has announced to End TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global SDG target of 2030.

BANKING

Equitas SFB to Launch ENJOI

• Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited, one of the leading SFBs in the country is set to launch the kids savings account called ENJOI on the occasion of Father’s Day.

• The account will also help them take their first step towards a new age and technology-oriented banking experience.

• ENJOI will allow kids of 0-18 years to open savings account under the supervision of their parents.
• Minors aged 10 and above will also get an option for a personalised Debit Card.
• To promote higher growth in savings, the account offers 7% interest for savings balances between Rs.5 Lakhs to Rs.2 Crores.
• The account offers flexibility to choose the savings mode as Savings Account, with a balance starting as low as Rs 1,000, RD (Recurring Deposit) for Rs 500 monthly and FD (Fixed Deposit) for Rs 10,000.

ONDC Partners with NABARD

• The newly minted Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has partnered with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to activate e-commerce in the agriculture domain.

• It is one of the first initiatives to drive ONDC enablement in the domain.
• It also aims to promote development of innovative solutions that are likely to aid adoption of e-commerce in the agriculture domain.
• For the NABARD - ONDC hackathon, they have more than 400 entities registered, out of whom around 250 are agri-tech startups while 150 are non-agri tech startups.
• It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

SPORTS

2026 FIFA World Cup

• A total of 16 cities across the US, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• It will be the first-ever tournament to include 48 teams instead of the current capacity of 32.
• The US will host 60 of the 80 matches that will be played during the FIFA World Cup, while Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each.
• All knockout fixtures will be played at different venues across the US.

New Policy for Transgender Athletes

• World swimming’s governing body has adopted new rules for transgender athletes, only permitting swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events.

• FINA, World swimming's governing body members voted 71.5% in favor of the new “gender inclusion policy”.
• It will apply to all its events from 20 June 2022.
• It also created a working group to establish an "open" category for transgender athletes in some events as part of its new policy.

F1 Canadian Grand Prix

• Red bull racer, Max Verstappen from Netherlands won Formula One Canadian Grand Prix at Canada.

• This is his first Canadian victory in his career, his 6th in 2022 and the 26th of his career.

• Ferrari driver, Carlos Sainz from Spain secured second place and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from United Kingdom secured third place.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Kantar Brandz- 2022 Most Valuable Global Brands Report

• IT services and banking companies have retained top positions in the Kantar Brandz, 2022 Most Valuable Global Brands report.

• The number of Indian brands in the Global Top 100 for 2022 rose to four: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HDFC Bank, Infosys, and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

• TCS jumped 12 positions to 46th position from 58th in 2021.
• Its brand value was 61 percent.

Ookla Speedtest Global Index

• The Speedtest Global Index released by Ookla showed that India recorded 14.28 Mbps median mobile download speeds in the month of May, slightly better than 14.19 Mbps in April 2022.

• India gained three spots in the global ranking on median mobile download speed and ranked 115th in the world for mobile speeds during May 2022.

• India also improved its global ranking for overall fixed median download speeds from 76 in April to 75 in May 2022.
• According to the May Speedtest Global Index, Norway and Singapore are on the top spots for global mobile speeds (median download speed of 129.40 Mbps) and fixed broadband speeds (209.21 Mbps) respectively.

Renewable Energy Installations in 2021

• The 2022 report titled, Renewable Energy 2022: Global Status Report (GSR 2022) was published by REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century).

• India ranked third in Renewable Energy installations in 2021. India installed 15.4 gigawatts (GW) of Renewable Energy projects in 2021.

• It also ranked 4th in total solar installations.
• According to the report China secured first position followed by Russia.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President of Colombia

• Gustavo Petro, a former rebel has been elected as the Colombia’s first leftist president.

• He won against Rodolfo Hernandez and will take office in August 2022.

• Francia Marquez will become the country’s first black women Vice President.
• She won the Goldman Environment Prize in 2018 for opposing gold mining in Suarez.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Refugee Day

• World Refugee Day is celebrated every year on 20 June.
• World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe.
• It was first held globally on June 20, 2001 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
• The theme for the year 2022 is ‘Right to seek safety’.