1st June to 30 th June AWARDS & HONOURS
The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha became Asia’s first beach to get the Blue Flag certification — tag given to environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists.
Zubeen Garg would be honoured with the Hero to Animals Award from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India for his recent appeal to end animal sacrifice at the Kamakhya Temple in Assam.
Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh was honoured with the ‘Most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare.
A. Dhiraj Ram Krishna, a young engineer from Coimbatore, won the ‘National Gopal Ratna’ award for cattle rearing and dairying.
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, was honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli was presented with the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for the best international cricketer 2016-17 and 2017-18 at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Awards held in Bengaluru. Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana were recipients of the award for best international cricketer (woman) for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, respectively.
Kendrick Lamar, an American rapper and songwriter, won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his acclaimed album ‘Damn’.
President Ram Nath Kovind presented the ‘Santokbaa Humanitarian Award’ to two noted personalities viz. Child rights activist and Noble Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, and space scientist A S Kiran Kumar, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
BUSINESS & CORPORATE
Facebook partnered with National Commission for Women to launch a digital literacy program in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF). As part of the digital literacy programme pilot, awareness training will be conducted for 60,000 women in universities across major cities in Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu over a one-year period.
Dhivya Suryadevara, an Indian-American woman, was named the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors (GM), thus becoming the first woman CFO in the auto industry.
Mahesh Kumar Jain, currently MD & CEO of IDBI Bank, was appointed as the fourth deputy governor Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years.
NTPC Ltd adopted the iconic Charminar in Hyderabad under the Swachh Iconic Places Projects of India. This is part of a special drive under the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Mission.
The Punjab government launched a “Business First Portal” to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in the state.
Tata Motors Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State.
BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES
The Maharashtra government signed a pact with Quebec province of Canada to increase economic cooperation and welfare of the tribal community.
The Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority initiated a ‘water literacy’ campaign with the involvement of 70,000 students aiming to create awareness about the importance of water conservation in the State.
The Arunachal Pradesh government signed an agreement with Andhra Pradesh-based Smart Village Movement (SVM) to facilitate technology innovations, research and development in selected villages of the north-eastern state.
The Union government added 10 new Iconic sites in 3rd phase of its flagship project of Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) under Swachh Bharat Mission. The sites are Raghavendra Swamy Temple (Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh); Hazardwari Palace (Murshidabad, West Bengal); Brahma Sarovar Temple (Kurukshetra, Haryana); Vidur Kuti (Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh); Mana village (Chamoli, Uttarakhand); Nagvasuki Temple (Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh); and Kanvashram (Uttarakhand). Besides Pangong Lake (Leh-Ladakh, J&K), ImaKeithal/market (Imphal, Manipur) and Sabarimala Temple (Kerala).
The Department of Telecom (DoT) of the Government of India launched 5,000 wifi choupals in partnership with CSC (Common Service Centres)which will provide 60,000 wifi hotspots in rural areas.
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways & Coal, launched two new mobile apps – ‘Rail Madad’ and ‘Menu on Rails’ – to ease the travelling experience of the commuters.
The Union government constituted a technical committee under the chairmanship of former chief statistician TCA Anant to bring in more transparency in jobs data calculation and presentation.
The World Bank approved Rs.6000 crore for Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The scheme is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2018-19 to 2022-23, with World Bank assistance.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, launched the Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan from 1st June to 31st July, 2018. The purpose of the scheme is to aid, assist and advice farmers on how to improve their farming techniques and raise their incomes. The Krishi Kalyan Abhiyaan will be undertaken in 25 Villages with more than 1000 population each.
The Government of India launched affordable biodegradable sanitary napkins, priced at Rs 2.50 per pad, to be sold under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) across the country. Suvidha Oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins would be retailed through more than 3,600 Jan Aushadhi stores in 33 states and UTs across the country.
India signed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) in nursing with Singapore which would allow nurses trained in seven nursing institutions across India to gain employment in the South-East Asian country.
The Odisha government launched the health insurance scheme “Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana” for working journalists in the state.
Government of India set up an executive committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spread Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy among the people at the national and international level.
ECONOMY & FINANCE
Gujarat topped the Niti Aayog's composite water management index (CWMI), while Jharkhand was adjudged as the worst performer. Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra on the index. On the other side, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are worst performing states in water management.
Poor handling of air pollution abatement and forest protection measures saw India slip to 177th position in green rankings this year from its 141st position two years ago. The latest global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) rankings released on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meet in Davos, Switzerland, saw India figure in the bottom five performers in a list of 180 countries. Switzerland topped the world in protecting environment and sustainable practices, followed by France, Denmark, Malta, and Sweden.
India was ranked 136th among 163 countries in Global Peace Index 2018, prepared by Sydney-based international think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace. The index is topped by Iceland, followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark.
The Union finance ministry set up a committee to examine the possibility of setting up an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) or an Asset Management Company (AMC) to fast track resolution of stressed assets. Punjab National Bank’s non executive chairman Sunil Mehta will head the panel.
The monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the repo rate (the rate at which banks borrow money from the RBI) by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent. The reverse repo rate (rate of interest offered by RBI, when banks deposit their surplus funds with the RBI for short periods) was adjusted to 6 per cent and the bank rate was kept at 6.50 per cent.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched Financial Literacy Week across the country, with ‘Customer Protection’ as its main theme.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
Abdel Fattah al Sisi was sworn-in for a second four-year term in office as the President of Egypt. The country is facing major economic and security challenges.
Anthony Bourdain, the United States celebrity chef and television personality, passed away at the age of 61. He was a best-selling food, fiction and nonfiction author.
Arvind Saxena, a 1978-batch Indian Postal Service officer, was appointed as the acting Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The Union Government constituted a group of eminent persons to study the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Policy of India. The group will be headed by Industrialist Baba Kalyani.
Dr. Dinesh Gupta, an officer of the 1983 UPSC batch, was appointed as the new Director General of the Geological Survey of India.
Dr Inder Jit Singh, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, was appointed the coal secretary in New Delhi.
Giuseppe Conte, an academic and political novice, was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Italy.
Kandaala Subrahmanya Tilak, a noted freedom fighter and member of the first Lok Sabha, passed away at the age of 98.
Leela Menon, a senior journalist and chief editor of Malayalam daily Janmabhumi, passed away at the age of 86.
Foreign minister of Ecuador, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, was elected President of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly.
Omar Razzaz, a Harvard-educated former senior World Bank official, was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Jordan.
Pedro Sanchez of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party was officially sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Spain.
Noted producer Pippa Harris was appointed as the new chairperson of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) for a period of 2 years.
Popular Kumaoni folk singer Pramendra (Pappu) Karki was killed in a car accident.
Ramchandra Bainda, a former BJP MP from Faridabad Lok Sabha constituency, passed away at the age of 72.
Eminent Odisha based lyricist Rasaraj Narayan Prasad Singh passed away at the age of 86. Singh had penned many popular songs for more than 100 Odia movies.
S Ramesh was appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Indirect taxes and Customs - the apex body for administering the levy and collection of indirect taxes of the Union of India.
S Sundari Nanda, a 1988 batch Indian Police Service officer was appointed as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of Union Territory of Puducherry.
Shahzahan Bachchu (60), a prominent Bangladeshi writer and publisher, was shot dead by unidentified attackers. He was a former district general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh.
Former Rajya Sabha MP and Goa Congress ex-chief Shantaram Naik died after suffering a heart at the age of 72. Considered the party loyalist, Naik was elected as the member of Lok Sabha in the 1984 General Election. He also pursued the demand for statehood to Goa which was fulfilled in 1987.
Former NIA (National Investigation Agency) chief Sharad Kumar, a1979-batch IPS officer of the Haryana cadre, was appointed as the new vigilance commissioner in probity watchdog Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).
Veteran journalist and Rising Kashmir editor Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside the newspaper's office in the heart of Srinagar. Bukhari was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir Valley.
Sudheesh Guruvayoor, an Indian farmer from Kerala, set a Guinness World Record by distributing the largest number of curry tree saplings in Sharjah.
SPORTS
Anu Kumar from Uttarakhand clinched gold in the men’s 800m at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan.
Ashish Jakhar created a new National U-20 record to clinch the gold medal in hammer throw at the 2018 Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Gifu, Japan.
In Women’s Cricket, Bangladesh team won the Asia Cup Twenty-20 tournament by defeating India in the finals.
The 23rd FIFA World Cup 2026 will be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will be the first to feature 48 teams, after FIFA approved expansion from the current 32 teams.
Gavit Murali Kumar of Gujarat, secured gold in men’s 10,000 metre race at the Gouden Spike meeting in Leiden, The Netherlands.
India’s national football team lifted the 2018 Intercontinental Cup football title by defeating Kenya in the finals.
Maria Bueno, a Brazilian tennis great who won three Wimbledon singles titles and four at the U.S. Open in the 1950s and 1960s, and helped usher in modern women’s tennis, died at the age of 78.
Mithali Raj became the first Indian cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20 International Cricket. She achieved the landmark during India’s 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 at Kaula Lumpur.
New Zealand women’s cricket team posted the highest-ever total in One-Day International (ODI) cricket by scoring 490-4 against Ireland.
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish lawn tennis player, claimed his 11th French Open title when he defeated Austrian Dominic Thiem.
Indian woman boxer Saweety Boora clinched a gold medal in the middleweight category at the Umakhanov Memorial Tournament in Russia.
Shikhar Dhawan became the first-ever Indian batsman to score a century in the first session of a Test match joining the illustrious ranks of Sir Don Bradman, Victor Trumper, Majid Khan and David Warner. Dhawan hit 19 fours and 3 sixes as he reached his century in 91 balls on the opening day of the historic India-Afghanistan test match.
Simona Halep from Romania won her first Grand Slam at the 2018 French Open tennis tournament, when she defeated Sloane Stephens.
Sanjana Ramesh won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ award at the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018, which featured 66 campers from 16 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.
MISCELLANEOUS
World
The World Blood Donor Day was observed on June 14 across the globe with the theme ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life’.
The World Day against Child Labour was observed on June 12, with the theme ‘Generation Safe & Healthy’.
The 44th edition of G7 summit 2018 was hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Quebec on June 8–9.
The 18th edition of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit was held in Qingdao, China. The summit concluded with the adoption of the Qingdao declaration, which calls for implementing a three-year plan to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism.
The World Oceans Day was celebrated on June 8, like every year. The 2018 theme was “Preventing plastic pollution and encouraging solutions for a healthy ocean”.
The Fuego volcano - an active stratovolcano in Guatemala - erupted violently and buried several villages killing over 99 people.
The BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting was held in the South African city of Johannesburg. The BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The first official World Bicycle Day was observed by United Nations on 3rd June 2018.
The World Milk Day was observed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on June 1 to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. The 2018 theme in India was “Drink Move Be Strong”.
India
The 106th Indian Science Congress will be held at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab from 3rd to 7th January 2019.
The Union Cabinet approved the nomination of the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC) - a statutory body with Governors and Chief Ministers of all the eight North Eastern States as its Members.
United States government approved a deal to sell the Indian military six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for $930 million.
India hosted the 10th meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, with the theme ‘Celebrating progress towards elimination: Voices from the field on overcoming programme challenges’. Lymphatic Filariasis is spread by the Culex mosquito.
The 22nd edition of the trilateral naval exercise “Malabar 2018” was held between India, Japan and United States from June 6-15.
India will host the first military exercise of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) group focusing on counter-terrorism, in September 2018 in Pune.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development launched ‘#YogaFor9to5’, a contest focused on generating awareness regarding benefits of Yoga at Workplace for Women.
President Ram Nath Kovind declared the ‘Queen’ variety of pineapple as the state fruit of Tripura.
The Union government gave its final clearance to Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana, to be built across the river Godavari.
The biopic “The Making of the Mahatma” was screened in South Africa to commemorate the 125th year of Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha. The biopic is based on the novel ‘Apprenticeship of a Mahatma’.
India was the global host nation for the 43rd edition of World Environment Day event, which started on June 5, 2018.
India was ranked 113th among 175 countries in the “End of Childhood Index 2018”, issued by global child rights group “Save the Children”. Singapore and Slovenia were placed at the top sharing the first place in the index, and Niger was at the end of the list at 175.
The Indian Navy evacuated 38 stranded Indians from Socotra Island in Yemen where they were stranded for nearly 10 days after a severe Cyclonic storm Mekunu hit the area.
AWARDS & HONOURS
The SKOCH Group conferred the ‘Best performing Social Sector Ministry’ award on the Ministry of Women and Child Development for its significant achievements and initiatives in the last 4 years. The Skoch Group is a think tank dealing with socio-economic issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was conferred with the ‘Chief Minister of the Year’ award for her remarkable work in e-governance.
The Ministry of Shipping’s flagship programme for port-led-prosperity ‘Sagarmala’ received the ‘Gold Award’ in infrastructure sector in the recently concluded 52nd Skoch Summit 2018 in New Delhi, recognizing the programmes’s contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation and it's role in propelling fast-track growth and infrastructure development. The Sagarmala Programme also received the ‘Order of Merit’ at the Summit.
‘IPledgefor9′ Achievers Awards were given to individuals and teams of doctors from the private sector and States for their exemplary services, outstanding support of institutions and commitment from support partners in achieving PMSMA’s (Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan) objectives of safe motherhood to every woman in the country.
Surat Smart City was selected for ‘City Award’ for showing great momentum in Implementation of Projects Under ‘India Smart Cities Award’ 2018. Bhopal and Ahmedabad were selected for ‘Innovative Idea’ Award for their Transformative Approach Towards Sustainable Integrated Development.
The International Indian Film Academy Awards 2018 were held in Bangkok. Following are the winners for popular categories:
Best Film : Tumhari Sulu
Best Director : Saket Chaudhary for Hindi Medium
Best Actor in a Leading Role : Irrfan Khan for Hindi Medium
Best Actress in a Leading Role : Sridevi for Mom
Outstanding Achievement by an Actor : Anupam Kher
Bollywood Actress Kalki Koechlin was conferred with the French distinction of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) for her contribution in enhancing Indo-French ties in cinema.
The Madhya Pradesh government was awarded for reducing maternal mortality under Prime Minister’s Safe Motherhood Campaign.
Vishwas Mandalik from Nasik and the Yoga Institute in Mumbai were selected as the recipients of the prime minister's award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga.
The 2018 World Food Prize will be awarded to Dr. Lawrence Haddad and Dr. David Nabarro - two men who have dedicated their careers to improving the availability of nutritious food for pregnant women and children in an effort to reduce the effects of malnutrition in developing countries.
BUSINESS & CORPORATE
With the monsoon under way, the Union Water Resources Ministry teamed up with Google to generate flood warnings.
Technology giant Google announced the launch of a training programme for journalists, aimed at raising awareness against misinformation and providing new tools to the fourth estate against fake news.
BILLS / ACTS / COMMITTEES / SCHEMES / POLICIES
On the occasion of the UN Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, June 27, 2018, the President of India launched the Solar Charkha Mission covering artisans in 50 identified clusters. The mission will provide a subsidy of Rs 550 crore in the initial two years for 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000 artisans.
The Maharashtra government announced a new scheme called 'Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana', wherein farmers families where girl children are born, will be given saplings for plantation.
The Punjab government launched a new scheme ‘Paani Bachao, Paise Kamao’ to check depletion of underground water. Under this scheme, farmers will get monetary benefit for less use of tube well.
The Gujarat government launched a solar power scheme for farmers- Suryashakti Kisan Yojana (SKY) enabling them to generate electricity for their captive consumption as well as sell the surplus power to the grid and earn an extra buck. As per the scheme, farmers having existing electricity connection will be given solar panels as per their load requirements. The State and Central governments will give 60 per cent subsidy on the cost of project. The farmer is required to take 5 per cent cost, while 35 per cent will be provided to him as an affordable loan with interest rates of 4.5-6 per cent.The scheme duration is 25 years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Mohanpura Irrigation Project in Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh. The Rs 3,866-crore project will benefit 727 villages in the state and would irrigate 1.25 lakh hectares of land.
The Haryana Government launched 7-Star Gram Panchayat Rainbow scheme to give star rankings to its panchayats on the basis of 7 social parameters- sex ratio, education, hygiene, environment preservation, governance and social participation.
The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Prakash Javadekar launched the new digital initiative of HRD Ministry ‘National Digital Library of India (NDLI), developed by IIT Kharagpur. It is a project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) under the aegis of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT). The purpose of NDL is to make digital educational resources available to all citizens of the country.
ECONOMY & FINANCE
Gujarat's Dahod district topped the first Delta ranking released by NITI Aayog that captures incremental improvements of aspirational districts on health, education and other development parameters. Other districts that have shown marked improvement on five developmental parameters in the months of April and May 2018 are West Sikkim (Sikkim), Ramanathapuram (Tamil Nadu), Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh), YSR Kadapa district (Andhra Pradesh).
India moved up one place to claim the 35th spot (out of 100 countries) on JLL's Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) aided by improvement in market fundamentals, policy reforms, and liberalisation of FDI.
In a bid to boost environmental protection around the world, India announced to increase its grant from $12 million to $15 million to the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s new four-year investment cycle, known as GEF-7.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (a multilateral development bank headquartered in Beijing, China) approved a $200 million equity investment into the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India.
Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, was selected as the 100th Smart City of India by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores.
The RBI tightened norms for Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) by making quoting of permanent account number (PAN) mandatory even for transactions below $25,000.
Fitch Ratings raised India growth forecast for 2018-19 to 7.4 per cent from 7.3 per cent, but cited higher financing costs and rising oil prices as risks to growth. For 2019-20, it estimated the country to grow at 7.5 per cent.
PEOPLE IN NEWS
A R Rahman, the renowned music composer, was appointed as the Brand Ambassador of the Sikkim government.
Adiraju Venkateswara Rao, a veteran journalist and author, passed away at the age of 80.
Anant Barua was appointed as a whole time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Barua, at present, executive director in the market regulator, was appointed to the post for three years.
Anukreethy Vas from Tamil Nadu has been crowned fbb Colors Femina Miss India World 2018.
B Sujatha Devi, a well-known poetess, environmental activist and travel writer, passed away at the age of 72.
Charles Krauthammer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning American columnist and political commentator, passed away at the age of 68.
Dharampal, the Sarpanch of Godikan village panchayat in Haryana, passed a ‘No Toilet No Bride’ resolution to ensure the safety and well-being of its womenfolk.
Award-winning American poet and writer Donald Hall died at the age of 89. Over the course of a career that spanned more than seven decades, he wrote more than 40 books, half of which were works of poetry. He was the United States Poet Laureate for 2007-’08, and received the Robert Frost Medal in 1991 and the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honour for artists, in 2010.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal of setting up of a committee to lay down standards for metro rail systems in the country. The committee will be headed by E Sreedharan, popularly known as the ‘Metro Man’.
Gautam Kanjilal, one of the pioneers in rock climbing in India and a veteran mountaineer, passed away at the age of 68.
Ivan Duque Marquez, the Conservative political newcomer, was elected as the new President of Colombia.
Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore sanctioned a special financial assistance of Rs.5 lakhs to former International Archer & Arjun Awardee Limba Ram. Limba Ram, who is suffering from neuro generative disease or neurological illness, is undergoing treatment at Jaipur.
Mushtaq Ahmed Yousufi, celebrated Urdu satirist and humourist of the Indian subcontinent, died at the age of 94. Yousufi was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1999 and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2002 the highest literary honour given by the Pakistan government to civilians.
Renowned mimicry and ventriloquism artist Nerella Venumadhav passed away at the age of 85. Hailed as the pioneer and maestro of mimicry, Mr Venumadhav was the first Indian mimicry and ventriloquism artist to have performed at the UN headquarters. He was honoured with the Padma Shri award in 2001.
Omar al Razzaz, a former World Bank Economist, was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Jordan.
Pallavi Durua, who belongs to Odisha's Koraput district, was crowned as the first Tribal Queen. Supported by the SC & ST Department, Government of Odisha and the State Tourism Department, the contest saw participants from different parts of the country represent their tribe in the final round, wherein the girls dressed up in their traditional attire and walked the ramp.
Prabhakar Choubey, a veteran journalist and litterateur, passed away in Raipur, Chhattisgarh at the age of 83.
The Maharashtra government constituted a committee to study issues related to the development of a 1,000-MW floating solar power plant at Ujani dam in Solapur district. The committee will be headed by Satish Chavan, the Director (Commercial) of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) set up a 10-member committee to review norms related to Insurance Marketing Firms (IMF) with an aim to increase insurance penetration in the country. The committee will be headed by Suresh Mathur.
Yousaf Saleem, who belongs to Lahore, was sworn-in as the first-ever visually impaired judge of Pakistan.
SPORTS
US golfer Brooks Koepka won the 118th edition of the US Open golf championship in New York.
The 58th National Interstate Senior Athletics Championships 2018 started in Guwahati, Assam on June 26.
Jinson Johnson, representing Kerala, broke the legendary Sriram Singh’s four-decade-old 800m National record at the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships in Guwahati. He clocked one minute and 45.65 seconds to clinch the gold in men’s 800m title and to better the earlier record of 1:45.77 in the name of Sriram set during the 1976 Olympic Games.
Kidambi Srikanth, an Indian badminton player, was awarded the Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson Of The Year award for 2017.
Lewis Hamilton, a British racing driver, won the 2018 Formula One French Grand Prix tournament.
Peter Thomson, one of Australia’s greatest golfers and a five-time Open Championship winner, passed away at the age of 88.
Indian swimmer Sandeep Sejwal clinched the gold medal in men’s 50 meter breaststroke event at the Singapore National Swimming Championships in Singapore. Besides, Virdhawal Khade got a silver medal in the 50 meter freestyle event.
Smriti Mandhana, Indian Women’s Cricket team opener, will become the first Indian player to appear in the Kia Super League, the women’s cricket super league in England. The League will begin from July 22, 2018.
The 2018 ICC Women’s World T20 championship will be held in the West Indies from November 9 to 24.
MISCELLANEOUS
World
UN Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day was celebrated on June 27. The first such day was celebrated on June 27, 2017.
Mercer, a global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and careers, released its 2018 Cost of Living Survey. According to the report Hong Kong leads as the world’s costliest city to live. Within India, Mumbai continues to be the most expensive city for expatriates.
The United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture was observed on June 26, like every year, to speak out against the crime of torture.
The 26th edition of the world’s largest multilateral naval exercise ‘Rim of the Pacific, started on June 27 off Hawaii in the Western Pacific Ocean. Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri reached the Pearl Harbour in Hawaii to participate in the 2-month long biennial exercise.
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed on June 26, like every year, with the theme: “Listen First – Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe”.
The anti-doping sports conference titled ‘Clean Sport=Fair Outcome’ was held at Oslo in Norway to address the issue of doping menace.
Researchers at the University of Michigan in the US developed the world’s smallest computer “Michigan Micro Mote”. It measures just 0.3 mm and could help find new ways to monitor and treat cancer.
The International Widows’ Day was observed on June 23, like every year, to give special recognition to the situation of widows of all ages and across regions and cultures.
The International Yoga Day was celebrated on June 21, like every year, with the “Yoga for Peace”.
The World Music Day was observed on June 21, like every year. The day is also known as ‘Fete de la Musique’ after a music festival that began in France in 1982.
The United States withdrew from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and condemned alleged hypocrisy of its members and bias against Israel.
The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict was observed on June 19, like every year, with the theme “The Plight and Rights of Children Born of War”.
The world’s first International Centre for Humanitarian Forensics was launched at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. It is a joint venture of the Regional delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in India, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives and also Gujarat Forensic Science University.
Canada's parliament passed a law legalising the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. The country is the second worldwide to legalise the drug's recreational use. Uruguay became the first country to legalise the sale of cannabis for recreational use in December 2013.
The World Sustainable Gastronomy Day was observed on June 18, like every year, to focus the world’s attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD) was observed on June 17 to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification.
The International Domestic Workers Day was celebrated across the world on June 16, like every year, to assert the rights of this vast but hidden workforce.
India
The theme for the 12 th Statistics Day, celebrated on June 29, 2018, was ‘‘Quality Assurance in Official Statistics’’.
A Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) technique — Direct to Slide — for screening cervical cancer was launched in India in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a two-day ‘Kabir Mahotsav’ at Maghar in Sant Kabir district of Uttar Pradesh, to mark the 500th death anniversary of Kabir Das.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare restricted the manufacture of Oxytocin formulations for domestic use to public sector only from 1st July 2018. It also banned the import of Oxytocin and its formulations. Only Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL), a public sector company, would be manufacturing this drug for domestic use from 1st July 2018.
India extended a $100 million line of credit to Seychelles to allow it to build its defense capabilities and purchase weapons from India.
The naval forces of India and Bangladesh conducted the joint patrol exercise “Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT)” in the Bay of Bengal for three days.
The 22nd edition of Sindhu Darshan Festival was held on the bank of Indus River in Leh district of Ladakh region, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
The Ministry of Home Affairs banned the Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Afghanistan- based Islamic State in Khorasan Province (or ISIS Wilayat Khorasan) under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA).
In the 4th edition of International Yoga Day , the Guinness World Record for largest number of people performing yoga at one place at the same time was set up in Kota, Rajasthan.
Punjab State government launched a smartphone application ‘i-Hariyali’ to increase green cover across the state.
The Central Government constituted a Chief Ministers Subgroup to coordinate policy approaches for Agriculture and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In it, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is the convener and Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with Member, NITI Aayog, Ramesh Chand are the members.
To honour soldiers who have been disabled in line of duty, the Indian Army is observing the year 2018 as the “Year of Disabled Soldiers in Line of Duty”.
The Telangana police launched a mobile-based messenger application “COP CONNECT’ to provide real time information to over 60,000 police officers across the State.
To negotiate the text of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), a meeting between representatives from United States and their counterparts on the Indian side was held in Delhi.