Current Affairs - June 25, 2020 Current Affairs

According to the Moody's Global Macro Outlook report for June 2020, there will be a contraction of 3.1 % in India's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 & expects a change in geographical conditions in Asia due to tensions at the border between India and China. The slight relief for India is that GDP will reach the level of 6.9% in 2021. Till then, there will be a slow recovery in the Indian economy.

According to SBI report per capita income will decline by 5.4% during 2020-21 to Rs 1.43 lakh.

Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched an initiative 'YUKTI 2.0' on 23 June 2020 in New Delhi. The initiative aims to help systematically assimilate technologies having commercial potential and information related to incubated startups in higher education institutions. YUKTI stands for Young India combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology & Innovation.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic won the controversial parliamentary election. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) won over 60% of the vote, which is around 190 seats in the 250-seat Serbian parliament.

Karnataka Bank launched a new product 'KBL Micro Mitra' for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs). This product will provide financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakhs to the Micro manufacturing and service enterprises for working capital or for investment purposes.

The Union Minister of Food Processing Industries (FPI) Harsimrat Kaur Badal has launched the Food Processing Edition of the Exclusive Investment Forum (Webinar) hosted by Invest India. The Forum, aims to conduct detailed interaction between leading global companies in the food processing sector and policy makers of the central and 6 State Governments (Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh).

India asks Pakistan to reduce High Commission staff by 50% within a week.

China has successfully launched the last Satellite of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), which is a rival for the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the US, to become a major space power. The satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch center in Sichuan Province. BDS is one of the four global navigation networks among the US's GPS, Russia's GLONASS and European Union's Galileo. A Long March 3B rocket launched the final BDS into orbit from the satellite launch center.

India has retained and consolidated its position as the third-largest economy after China and the US in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017.

Former Indian Air Rifle Shooter Pournima Zanane, an International Shooting Sport Federation(ISSF)-licensed coach who suffered from cancer for the past 2 years passed away at the age of 42 in Pune, Maharashtra. She was born in Nanded, Maharashtra.

The Union government has allocated Rs 412.19 Crore for the effective implementation of JJM in Telangana for FY 2020-21. The funding has been increased in comparison in FY19-20 when it was Rs 259.14 Cr. Thus, with an opening balance of Rs 30.89 Crore along with this year's allocation, Telangana has assured availability of Rs 443.29 Crore under JJM as Central funds.

Navigation is an essential feature in the era of smart devices and IoT ( Internet of Things), which we use in various personal and commercial applications. Navigation technology enables the nation to manage its territory, protect its borders and manage disaster response. Keeping these requirements in mind, researchers at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay led by Rajesh Zele from the Department of Electrical Engineering have created a chip named 'Dhruva' that can be mounted in smartphones and navigation devices to find places and routes within the country.

Rajasthan Government will soon launch the Indira Rasoi Yojana to fulfill the resolution of 'No one Sleeps Hungry'. The announcement was made by CM Ashok Gehlot on June 24. The scheme will offer nutritious food to poor people in the state twice a day on discounted rates. The state government will be spending Rs 100 crore on this scheme every year.

India has pledged to provide additional funding of USD 10 million to UNRWA - United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for next two years for Palestine Refugees in Near East. While several countries withdrew their funding from the UNRWA, India stepped up its funding. India also gave USD 2 million to the UN arm this year.

Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers' Welfare (DAC&FW), under Make in India initiative indigenously develop a vehicle-mounted ULV sprayer for locust control to overcome the limitation of importing equipment. Currently, vehicle-mounted sprayers were supplied by M/s Micron Sprayers, UK. GoI placed an order for 60 nos. of sprayers on the firm in February 2020.

PM Narendra Modi will be launching the employment programme for residents of Uttar Pradesh on June 26. The programme is expected to provide employment to around 1.25 crore UP residents. The programme will be launched virtually. Once launched, it will be India's largest employment generation programme.

China announced that it has decided to join the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (UN-ATT) to regulate its arms sales. The decision was made during a three-day meeting which was held from 18-20 June of the top lawmaking committee in China- Legislative Affairs Committee.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has asked Myanmar to ensure a safe and voluntary return of Rohingya Muslims in the country. In this regard, the UNHRC adopted a resolution on June 23, 2020. Myanmar has also been asked to provide media and diplomatic corps access to the cuntry and lift off the internet shutdown in Rakhine state.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) extended a special liquidity window for Rs 50,000 crores to Yes Bank for three months, to help private lenders cover for shortfall in deposits. The Yes bank was first provided with a special liquidity window for 3 months in March, which ended in June. The bank has requested for the same facility for one year, against which the RBI has extended for another 3 months.

The Ministry of Sports, government of India has decided to establish around 1000 district level Khelo India centers (KIC) all over the nation to engage the former champions in sports training and to ensure a source of income for them in the sports. To ensure sports as a viable career option for the youths and motivate parents to support athletics as a career.