- National:
- On June 16th, 2023, Union Minister of Heavy Industries Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey launched the “Dugdh Sankalan Sathi Mobile App” at Mussorie, Uttarakhand.
- The Indian Navy has launched an outreach program called “Julley Ladakh” (Hello Ladakh) to increase awareness about the service in Ladakh and to engage with youth and civil society there.
- The government has set up an expert panel led by former law secretary T K Vishwanathan to recommend reforms in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act with an aim to reduce the burden on courts.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has collaborated with Falu, an Indian-American Grammy Award-winning singer, for a special song aimed at promoting the benefits of millet and its potential to address global hunger.
- The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS) has revised the upper ceiling amount of boarding and lodging for Indian Athletes and team officials by 66%1. This is for the athletes and officials participating only in international competitions.
- One Communications Limited (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, has introduced the Paytm UPI software development kit (SDK), a groundbreaking solution designed for merchant apps.
- Writer and activist Arundhati Roy has been awarded the 45th European Essay Prize for lifetime achievement for the French translation of her compilation of essays titled Azadi: Liberté, Fascisme, Fiction (Azadi: Freedom, Fascism, Fiction in English).
- Kiya.ai, an India-based company specializing in AI and emerging technology solutions, unveiled its version of the metaverse called Bharatmeta at the VivaTech event in Paris, making it the first of its kind from India.
- The Madhya Pradesh Government has approved the Cooperative Policy 2023 with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the state.
- The World Bank’s Board of Directors has approved a USD 150 million loan to support the Resilient Kerala programme designed to strengthen Kerala’s preparedness for natural disasters, climate change impact, and disease outbreaks.
- The concluding and fourth meeting of the G20 tourism working group and tourism ministers’ meeting began on June 19th, 2023 in Goa.
- Indian Naval Submarine ‘Vagir’, which is the latest indigenous Kalvari-class submarine of the Indian Navy, undertook an operational visit at Colombo from 19-22 Jun 2023 to commemorate the 9th edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY) under the theme of ‘Global Ocean Ring’.
- Economy:
- Textiles and apparel exports registered a 12.2% year-on-year decline in May as the industry continued to face low demand in its key overseas markets including the U.S. Textile exports shrank 11.8% from the year-earlier period and apparel exports contracted 12.7%.
- The Gross collection of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for FY 2023-24 stands at Rs 4,19,338 crore as compared to Rs 3,71,982 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, registering a growth of 12.73% over collections of FY 2022-23.
- Sports:
- The Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the men’s doubles title at the Indonesia Open defeating Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh 21-17, 21-18 to claim their first Super 1000 title.
- Chief Minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant launched the mascot for the upcoming 37th National Games on Sunday. The launch ceremony was held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Taleigao.
- Egypt has retained the World Squash Championship after beating Malaysia 2-1 in the final in Chennai. The championship was held from 13 to 17 June in Express Avenue Mall in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- The Indian men’s senior football team clinched the Intercontinental Cup with a 2-0 victory over Lebanon in the final at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
- Indian compound archer Abhishek Verma won the gold medal at the Archery World Cup 2023 stage 3 in Medellin, Colombia. He defeated the 2019 world champion James Lutz of the USA 148-146 in a close final.
- World:
- Elon Musk confirmed that a Twitter video app for smart TVs is “coming”. This move is in line with the company’s new plans to focus on growing video content on the platform.
- Thailand’s foreign ministry said it will host talks with Myanmar’s junta and neighbouring countries on Monday, aiming to find a way out of the post-coup crisis.
- President Joe Biden will announce over six hundred million dollars in climate investments to help coastal communities around the country fight climate change.
- Bangladesh will adopt the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mandated method to calculate its foreign reserves. The calculation of foreign exchange holdings of the country will now be in line with the IMF’s 6th edition of the Balance of Payment and International Investment Position Manual (BMM).
- Important Days:
- World Crocodile Day is observed on June 17th every year to spread awareness about the conservation of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world. The day encourages people to get involved in helping them.
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed on 17 June each year to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification,The theme for the 2023 Desertification and Drought Day is “Her Land. Her Rights.”.
- Appointments:
- Axis Bank has appointed former Reserve Bank deputy governor N S Vishwanathan as the non-executive chairman. The third-largest private sector bank’s board of directors approved the appointment of Vishwanathan as an independent director and non-executive (part-time) chairman for three years.
Questions:
Q.1 When is World Crocodile Day observed?a. June 17th
b. July 17th
c. August 17th
d. September 17th
