• National

31.4% of Indian children will be stunted by 2022: UN report

• The report on Food & Nutrition Security (FNS) Analysis of India developed by UN (United Nations) World Food Programme in partnership with Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) stated that 31.4% of Indian children under five years will still be stunted by 2022.
• Foodgrain yields have risen 33% over the last two decades, but are still only half of 2030 target yields.
• Unfortunately, the consumer’s access to rice, wheat and other cereals has not increased at the same rate, due to population growth, inequality, food wastage and losses, and exports.

Note:

About UN

Founded: 24 October 1945

Headquarters: New York, United States

• International

Korean Ambassador to India Bong-kil Shin signed agreement with BMVSS and launched ‘Jaipur Foot Korea’

• On June 24, 2019, South Korean Ambassador to India Bong-kil Shin launched a collaborative initiative between South Korea and Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) named ‘Jaipur Foot Korea’.
• An agreement was also signed by the Korean Ambassador with BMVSS to provide assistance in prosthetic limbs sector.
• Under this agreement, Korea will provide financial and technical assistance to further research and development collaboration in the med-tech sector specifically in the area of prosthetic limbs, bionic arms, 3-D printing-based Flat foot solution and mobility solutions, according to a release issued here.

Note:

About South Korea

President: Moon Jae-in

Capital: Seoul

Currency: South Korean won

About BMVSS:

Headquarters: Jaipur, Rajasthan

Founded: 1975

Founder: D.R. Mehta

• International

Oracle launches money laundering solution for small- and mid-sized banks

• Oracle announced Of SAML Express Edition targeted at small- and mid-sized banks.
• It provides a unified platform to efficiently detect, investigate & report suspected money laundering & terrorist financing activity to comply with evolving reg. & guidelines.
• It provides a single, unified platform to efficiently detect, investigate, and report suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activity to comply with evolving regulations and guidelines.

Note:

About Oracle

Founded: 16 June 1977

Headquarters: Redwood City, California, United States

• Economy and Business

Tech Mahindra signed a contract with Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering

• On June 20, 2019, Tech Mahindra, an information technology firm, entered into a multi-year contract with Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering.
• The contract is aimed to capitalise on the specialised skills and competencies in growing cabin engineering business over the next few years.
• Karthikeyan Natarajan, global head of engineering and IoT at Tech Mahindra, said the partnership will strengthen the company’s aerospace engineering portfolio, especially in areas like cabin engineering and customer services.

Note:

About Tech Mahindra

CEO: C. P. Gurnani (24 May 2012– Till date)

Headquarters: Pune

Founder: Anand Mahindra

• Economy and Business

Airtel Africa to price London listing at bottom of range

• Airtel Africa Ltd’s planned IPO on the London Stock Exchange is expected to price at 80 pence, the bottom end of its indicated price range.
• A unit of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, it is expected to raise 595 mn pounds.
• Airtel Africa, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, last week set a price range of 80 to 100 pence per share for its IPO, which is expected to raise 595 million pounds from the issuance of 595.2 million to 744 million new shares.

Note:

About Airtel

CEO: Gopal Vittal (1 Mar 2013–Till Date)

Headquarters: New Delhi

Founder: Sunil Bharti Mittal

Founded: 7 July 1995, India

• Sports

Sofia Kenin won the Mallorca Open Title 2019

• Sofia Kenin (20) of the United States won the Mallorca Open Title 2019 against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland with 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-4 points in the finals.
• The 4th edition of the tournament was held at Santa Ponsa Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain, from 17 June to 23 June 2019.
• The prize money of the tournament was $ 250,000.
• She struck 48 winners in the lengthy contest played in hot sunshine at the Santa Ponsa country club.

Note:

About Spain

Capital: Madrid

Currency: Euro

• Appointments

K Natarajan appointed as DG of ICG

• Krishnaswamy Natarajan, 1984 batch officer, has been appointed as new Director General (DG) of Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
• He succeeds Rajendra Singh who will be retiring on 30 June 2019.
• At present, he is serving as Additional Director General (ADG) of ICG’s Western SeaBoard.

Note:

About Indian Coast Guard

Motto: वयम् रक्षामः (Sanskrit); Vayam Rakṣāmaḥ (IAST);

Headquarters: New Delhi

Helicopter: HAL Chetak, HAL Dhruv

Founder: Parliament of India

• Appointments

Arvind Kumar appointed new IB chief, Samant Kumar Goel to head RAW

• IPS officers Arvind Kumar & Samant Kumar Goel were appointed chiefs of the IB & RAW respectively .
• Arvind Kumar will take the charge of the IB from Rajiv Jain, while Goel will succeed Anil K Dhasmana as the chief of RAW.
• Kumar is considered an expert on Kashmir, with specialisation in counter-terrorism and is said to have been closely involved in tackling Left-wing extremism at the IB.
• He also holds charge as the special director of Kashmir in the intelligence agency.
• Kumar will replace Rajiv Jain as IB chief, who completed his tenure of two and half years.

Note:

About IB

Headquarters: New Delhi

Founded: 1887

Motto: जागृतं अहर्निशं (English: Always Alert)

• Important Days

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture observed on 26, June 2019

• On June 26, 2019, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture observed all over the world to remind people that human torture is not only unacceptable – it is also a crime.
• These mechanisms exist to help ensure justice is done and rehabilitation provided, they said, emphasizing that victims should be at the centre of the process.

• Important Days

World Hydrography day 2019 observed on June 21

• World Hydrography Day (WHD) 2019 was observed on June 21.
• It is observed to publicise the work of hydrographers and the importance of hydrography.
• It aims to increase awareness about the protection of safe navigation and marine life protection.
• The theme for WHD 2019 is “Hydrographic information driving marine knowledge”.

Note:

About hydrography: Science that measures and describes the physical features of the navigable portion of the Earth’s surface and adjoining coastal areas.

• Important Days

International MSME Day, celebrated on 27th June

• The Ministry of MSME is organizing an international convention on the theme “Indian MSMEs, Global Aspirations” in New Delhi to observe the International MSME Day.
• It will be inaugurated by Shri Nitin Gadkari, UM for MSME & Road Transport & Highways.
• According to the data provided by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), formal and informal Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90% of all firms and account on average for 60-70% of total employment and 50% of GDP.

Note:

About MSME

MSME: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

Headquarters: New Delhi

• Science and Tech

NASA’s Curiosity rover detects high amounts of methane on Mars

• On June 25, 2019, The US (United States) space agency, NASA’s ( National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Curiosity rover has discovered the high amounts of methane gas on Mars that indicates life on the red planet.
• The finding came from the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) tunable laser spectrometer.
• It is exciting because microbial life is an important source of methane on Earth, but methane can also be created through interactions between rocks and water, NASA said in a statement.

Note:

About NASA

Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States

Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Founded: 29 July 1958, United States

• Obituaries

Swami Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj, a renowned seer, passed away at Dehradun in Uttarakhand

• On June 25, 2019, A renowned seer, Swami Satyamitranand Giri Maharaj (Swami Satyamitranand), aged 87, passed away at Dehradun in Uttarakhand after a prolonged illness.
• The 87-year-old head of Bharat Mata Janhit Trust was undergoing treatment for some time at a hospital.
• President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have condoled the demise of the spiritual leader.

Note:

About Uttrakhand

Chief Minister: Trivendra Singh Rawat

Capital: Dehradun

• States

Seed Testing Association to hold 32nd Congress in Hyderabad

• The ISTA will hold its 32nd Congress in Hyderabad.
• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Telangana government are jointly hosting the 8-day conference, to be attended by stakeholders from across the globe.

Note:

About ISTA

ISTA: International Seed Testing Association

Foundation: 1924

• Miscellaneous

Adani Power to acquire GMR Chhattisgarh Energy

• Adani Power will acquire GCEL as the consortium of lenders has approved its resolution plan.
• The consortium of lenders, led by Axis Bank, to GCEL, has approved Adani Power’s resolution plan to acquire controlling equity stake & restructure debt in GCEL.
• GCEL owns an operational 1.370 megawatt (MW) supercritical thermal power plant in Raikheda, Raipur district, Chhattisgarh.
• The plant consists of 2 units of 685 MW each, commissioned in June 2015 and April 2016 respectively.

Note:

About Adani Power

CEO: Vneet Jaain (14 May 2012–)

Headquarters: Ahmedabad

Founder: Gautam Adani