Legendary India sprinter Milkha Singh passes away
Legendary Indian sprinter, Milkha Singh has passed away due to coronavirus disease (Covid-19), at the age of 91. A former army man, Milkha Singh won several laurels for the country in track and field events across the globe.
Singh won four gold medals for India in the Asian Games, winning the 200 metre and 400-metre races in the 1958 Tokyo Asiad. He followed it up with gold medals in the 400 metre and 4×400 metre relay races in the 1962 Jakarta Asiad. He was unlucky to have missed out on an Olympic medal as he finished a close fourth in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Rome Olympics.
National Reading Day: 19 June
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) celebrates National Reading Day annually on 19 June. The Day is celebrated to honour the father of the ‘Library Movement in Kerala’, the late P.N. Panicker, whose death anniversary falls on June 19. In 2021, 26th National Reading Day is being celebrated. The week following June 19 will be observed as Reading Week and the entire month till July 18 will be observed as Reading Month.
The first Reading Day celebration was held in 1996. On June 19, 2017, Prime Minister launched the 22nd National Reading Month Celebrations and called for unity to spread the message of ‘Read and Grow’ among all the citizens of the country by 2022.
Environmental Organisation ‘Familial Forestry’ wins prestigious UN Award
The 2021 Land for Life Award has been won by Familial Forestry of Rajasthan, a unique concept that relates a tree with a family, making it a green “family member.” The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) organises the Land for Life Award every two years to recognize excellence and innovation in efforts towards land in balance.
The theme for the 2021 Award is “Healthy Land, Healthy Lives”. The Land for Life Award was launched at the UNCCD COP (Conference of Parties) 10 in 2011. and is considered as the world’s highest reward regarding land conservation and restoration.
About the Familial Forestry:
- Familial Forestry is an environment conservation concept by climate-activist Shyam Sunder Jyani, an Associate Professor for Sociology in Rajasthan, who has been campaigning for Familial Forestry for over 15 years.
- Familial Forestry means transferring the care of the tree and environment in the family so that a tree becomes a part of the family’s consciousness. More than a million families from more than 15,000 villages of desert-prone northwest Rajasthan in over 2.5 million saplings have been planted in the past 15 years, with the active participation of students and desert dwellers.”
Zambia’s first President Kenneth Kaunda passes away
Zambian politician Kenneth Kaunda, who served as the first President of Zambia, has passed away. Mr Kaunda served as the first President of independent Zambia for 27 years from 1964 to 1991. Zambia gained independence from Britain in October 1964.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Zambia Capital: Lusaka; Currency: Zambian kwacha.
India maintains 43rd rank on IMD’s World Competitiveness Index 2021
India maintained 43rd rank on an annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) that examined the impact of COVID-19 on economies around the world this year. The IMD World Competitiveness Ranking ranks 64 economies and assesses the extent to which a country promotes the prosperity of its people by measuring economic well-being through hard data and survey responses from executives.
Index
- Rank 1: Switzerland
- Rank 2: Sweden
- Rank 3: Denmark
IndusInd Bank launches a digital lending platform “IndusEasy Credit”
IndusInd Bank announced the launch of ‘IndusEasy Credit’, a comprehensive digital lending platform that enables customers to meet their financial requirements from the comfort of their homes. With this, both existing, as well as non-IndusInd Bank customer, can instantly avail of personal loans or credit cards on a single platform in a completely paperless and digital manner.
A first of its kind proposition, ‘IndusEasyCredit’ offers a fully digital end to end process that leverages the power of India’s public digital infrastructure – ‘Indiastack’ to offer personal loans and credit cards in a paperless, presence less and cashless manner.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- IndusInd Bank CEO: Sumant Kathpalia;
- IndusInd Bank Headquarters: Pune;
- IndusInd Bank Founder: S. P. Hinduja;
- IndusInd Bank Founded: April 1994, Mumbai.
Delhi CM Launches ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ Campaign
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched the ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ campaign, with the aim to vaccinate all people above 45 years against COVID-19 in Delhi within the next four weeks. There are around 57 lakhs people above 45 years in Delhi. Among them, 27 lakhs have been administered the first dose. The rest 30 lakh people still remain to be vaccinated with the first dose.
The booth level officers (BLO) are being trained for this purpose. The BLOs will reach every home and enquire about people above 45 years. These officials will inform about the slots for vaccination at the nearest booth. If a person refuses to go to the vaccination centres, the BLOs will request him and try to convince him in this regard.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal; Lieutenant Governor of Delhi: Anil Baijal.
LTI Awarded Snowflake Global Innovation Partner of the Year
Larsen & Toubro Infotech, a global technology consulting and digital solutions company has been recognized as the Global Innovation Partner of the Year by Snowflake, the Data Cloud Company. LTI received this prestigious recognition during Snowflake Virtual Partner Summit.
The award represents a key milestone for the strategic partnership between LTI and Snowflake and will strengthen collaboration between the companies to empower enterprises with innovative solutions and services.
Mufti Faiz-ul-Waheed, who first translated Quran into Gojri language, passes away
Renowned Jammu-based Islamic scholar Mufti Faiz-ul-Waheed, who first translated Quran into Gojri language, has passed away in a Jammu. The scholar had also authored several booklets including ‘Siraj-um-Muneera’, ‘Ahkam-e-Mayyat’ and ‘Namaz Kae Masayil Quran-o-Hadees Ki Roshni Mei’.
About the Gojri language:
Gurjari – also known as Gujari, Gujri, Gojari, or Gojri – is a variety of Indo-Aryan spoken by the Gurjars and other tribes of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. The language is mainly spoken in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Delhi and other parts of India.
ReNew Power CMD Sumant Sinha recognised as SDG Pioneers by UNGC
United Nations Global Compact has recognised Sumant Sinha, Chairman & MD of ReNew Power, as one of the ten SDG Pioneers 2021, for his work to advance access to clean and affordable energy. SDG Pioneers are business leaders selected by the UN Global Compact for doing an exceptional job to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This honour comes in recognition of Sumant ‘s work to advance access to clean and affordable energy (SDG 7). As the leader of India’s leading renewable energy company, ReNew Power, Sumant has set an example by building the core business of ReNew Power around the targets of SDG 7.
PM Modi launches crash course to train one lakh ‘Covid warriors’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a crash course to train more than one lakh “Covid warriors” as he called on the country to be prepared for challenges the coronavirus pandemic may pose in the future. The programme will be to be carried out from 111 training centres spread across 26 states. Amid all these efforts, skilled manpower is critical. For this and to support the current force of coronavirus warriors, one lakh youths are being trained. This training should be over in 2-3 months.
The training will be imparted to Covid warriors in six customised job roles — Home Care Support, Basic Care Support, Advanced Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Sample Collection Support, and Medical Equipment Support. This will include fresh skilling as well as upskilling of those who have some training in this type of work.
Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien Announces Retirement From ODIs
Ireland all-rounder Kevin O’Brien has announced his retirement from one-day internationals. The 37-year-old Dubliner, who remains available for Test and T20 cricket, won 153 caps in the 50-over format, scoring over 3,000 runs and taking a national record 114 wickets in the format with his lively medium pace.
But he is best known for a blistering World Cup hundred that saw Ireland beat England by three wickets in Bangalore during the 2011 edition. His 50-ball hundred remains the quickest in World Cup history, with O’Brien hammering an England attack that featured James Anderson, Stuart Broad, and off-spinner Graeme Swann.
Centrum gets RBI’s in-principle nod to take over PMC Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given “in-principle” approval to Centrum Financial Services Ltd (CFSL) to set up a small finance bank (SFB), which will take over the beleaguered Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank). It will get 120 days to commence operations. The amalgamation with PMC Bank is a separate process that would involve notification of the scheme by the government.
The first year the partners would put in Rs 900 crore, which will be used for starting the business and acquiring PMC Bank. The second round of equity funding of Rs 900 crore will happen in the following year.
The “in-principle” approval has been given to Centrum in accordance with the offer it made in response to the expression of interest (EoI) to take over PMC Bank. The consortium of Centrum and BharatPe had expressed an interest in taking over PMC Bank. According to reports, both Centrum and BharatPe will hold 50 per cent in the small finance bank and the assets and liabilities of the multistate cooperative bank will be transferred to it.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- The Administrator Of PMC Bank: AK Dixit.
- PMC Bank Founded: 1984.
- PMC Bank Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra.
