• National

Cabinet portfolios: Nirmala Sitharaman, first full-time woman finance minister

• Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to step into Arun Jaitley’s shoes as she takes charge of the finance portfolio in Modi’s Cabinet 2.0.
• She has served as the defence minister in the Modi government’s first term from September 2017 to May 2019.
• She will also be the Minister for Corporate Affairs.
• Indira Gandhi — who handled the Defence ministry in 1970-71 — as prime minister had also held additional charge of the Defence ministry.
• She took charge as the Finance Minister on Friday afternoon.

• National

Centre to bear cost of livestock vaccination

• The Centre has decided to bear the entire cost of Rs 13,343 crore under an existing scheme that seeks to control livestock diseases, especially foot and mouth disease (FMD) and brucellosis, in the next five years.
• “This is an existing vaccination scheme under which the Centre and state governments contribute funds in the ratio of 60:40.
• In a rare instance of departure, the Central government has decided to now bear the entire cost,” said I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
• FMD and brucellosis are common among the livestock.
• The scheme envisages vaccination coverage to 30 crore bovines and 20 crore sheeps/goats and 10 million pigs.

• National

Pension scheme for shopkeepers and traders

• The Centre has approved a new scheme, which assures a minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons after attaining the age of 60 years.
• The decision taken at the Union Cabinet meeting will benefit 3 crore retail traders and shopkeepers.
• Five crore traders are expected to join the scheme in the next three years, said I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar.
• “All shopkeepers and self-employed persons as well as retail traders with GST turnover below Rs 1.5 crore and aged between 18 and 40 years can enrol for the scheme,” an official statement said.
• Interested persons can enrol themselves through over 3.25 lakh common service centres spread across the country.

• International

Indore's Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport gets 'international' status

• Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport declared as an international airport.
• With this decision, the number of International airports in Indian raised to 21, including Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport.
• Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport declared as an international airport, considered as the busiest airport in Central India.
• It has been bestowed Worlds Standardization Certification by the United Kingdom.

• Economy and Business

Fitch affirms long-term ratings of SBI, BOB and PNB at 'BBB-'

• International rating agency Fitch Ratings affirmed long-term issuer default ratings (IDRs) of six banks including State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank at ‘BBB-‘, with a stable outlook.
• The agency also affirmed BBB- the rating of Bank of Baroda (New Zealand), Canara Bank and Bank of India (BOI).
• The rating of IDBI Bank’s long-term IDR was affirmed at ‘BB+’.

• Economy and Business

Govt to present 2019-20 Budget on July 5

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the full Budget for 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha on July 5.
• This will be the first full Budget of the Modi 2.0 government.
• In view of the general election, the interim Budget for the current fiscal was presented by the then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal.
• In its first meeting, the Union Cabinet approved the summoning of the 17th Lok Sabha on June 17 and subject to the exigencies of government business, the session will conclude on July 26.
• The Rajya Sabha will be convened on June 20 and subject to exigencies of government business, the session will conclude on July 26.

• Appointments

Arun Kumar given additional charge of DGCA

• Arun Kumar, a member of the prestigious IAS cadre, has been given the additional charge of DGCA.
• Kumar, who currently holds the position of an additional secretary at the aviation ministry.
• He will succeed B S Bhullar.
• Kumar would be heading the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as its Director as an additional charge for a period of three months or till the time a new incumbent is appointed by the central government, whichever is earlier.

• Appointments

Flipkart co-founder joins Ujjivan Small Finance Bank as Director

• Sachin Bansal, Flipkart ex-CEO and BAC Acquisitions co-founder, has joined Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s board as an independent director.
• He will join the bank board on June 1.
• Ujjivan aims to become a mass-market bank
• Sachin Bansal recently invested in $51 Mn round in Ather Energy

• Science and Tech

NASA plans to send equipment to Moon from 2020

• For the first time since the 1970s, NASA is planning to to send equipment to the surface of the Moon in 2020 and 2021, in anticipation of a crewed lunar mission in 2024.
• The landers will deliver up to 23 small payloads of equipment provided by NASA.
• NASA has chosen Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Orbit Beyond to send equipment to the Moon.
• Donald Trump has accelerated the timetable for putting humans back on the Moon with 2024 the new target date.

• Science and Tech

GM fungus raises hope in malaria battle

• A fungus genetically modified to produce spider toxin can rapidly kill more than 99 per cent of the mosquitoes that spread malaria, a study has found.
• WHO data says malaria affects hundreds of millions of people around the world, killing more than 400,000 annually.
• Decades of insecticide use has failed to control mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite and has led to insecticide-resistance among many mosquito strains.
• In response, scientists began genetically modifying mosquitoes and other organisms that can help eradicate mosquitoes.
• Until now, none of these transgenic approaches made it beyond laboratory testing.

• Defence

Admiral Karambir Singh took charge as new Navy Chief

• Admiral Karambir Singh took charge as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff.
• He is the 1st helicopter pilot from the Indian Navy to lead the naval armed forces.
• He has commanded missile corvette INS Vijaydurg, guided-missile destroyers INS Rana & INS Delhi.
• During his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 39 years, Adm. Singh has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments, the Navy said.