1) World Refugee Day: 20 June
•This year, World Refugee Day also marks a key moment for the public to show support for families forced to flee.
2) 5th National Standards Conclave Held In New Delhi
•Two reports were also released by Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Indian National Strategy for Standardization (INSS) and CII-ASL Study on TBT/SPS Notifications. INSS is the result of the combined efforts of Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and industry stakeholders.
3) HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar Launched National Digital Library Of India
•Users can register for free on the National Digital Library from Google Play store. The library can be accessed atndl.iitkgp.ac.in. The library is an integrated platform for schools, colleges, universities, teachers, and students. Over 35 lakh e-books in more than 200 languages are available in the library.
4) Punjab Government Launched Mobile App- 'I-Hariyali'
•The 'i-Hariyali' app, under ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’ can be downloaded from the app store for free. The users can book a sapling of their choice, a maximum of 25 per person, from a nearby government nursery.
5) Inter-Governmental Ministerial Meeting On Anti-Doping Held In Colombo
•The 15th annual Asia and Oceania Region Inter-Governmental Ministerial meeting on anti-doping was held in Colombo with representatives from 29 countries including India. The 15th such annual gathering is also being attended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to discuss important anti-doping issues that will help in the fight for clean sport.
•The two-day meeting will discuss how to make the most of government engagement, ensure compliance with the world anti-doping code, support capacity building and a range of other topics.
6) World's Most Powerful Supercomputer 'Summit' Unveiled By US
•US scientists have unveiled the world's most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer named 'Summit' that can complete over 200,000 trillion calculations per second - providing unprecedented computing power for research in energy, advanced materials and artificial intelligence (AI).
•The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)supercomputer called Summit will be eight times more powerful than its previous top-ranked system, Titan.
7) US Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council
•Nikki Haley, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations announced the withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), accusing the council of bias against US ally Israel. Ms Haley also accused the council of maintaining a “disproportionate focus and unending hostility towards Israel" that shows it is "motivated by political bias, not by human rights".
•The US withdrawal from the council marks the first time that a member has voluntarily left the UNHRC. A sitting member of the Council has never dropped out in its 12-year history, though Libya was thrown out after a vote from the General Assembly in 2011.
8) RBI Alters ‘Relative’ Definition To Check Outward Remittances
•Concerned over funds sent abroad under the ‘maintenance of close relative’ category of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has narrowed the definition of relatives to check the flow of funds. Hence, funds under the ‘maintenance of close relative’ category can be sent only to immediate relatives such as parents, spouses, children and their spouses.
•This has brought about by defining ‘relatives’ under the Companies Act, 2013 instead of the same act of 1956. Outward remittances under maintenance of close relatives shot up to almost $3 billion in 2017-18 from a mere $174 million in 2013-14. In fact, funds sent under this category have more than doubled since 2015-16.
9) Anukreethy Vas Crowned Femina Miss India 2018
•Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old Tamil Nadu college student, has been crowned Femina Miss India 2018 in a grand ceremony in Mumbai hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Ayushmann Kurrana.
•Anukreethy Vas had beaten 30 contestants to bag the top honour in front of a judges panel that included Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, who awarded Anukreethy Vas her crown. Meenakshi Chaudhary from Haryana was the first runner-up while Shreya Rao Kamavarapu from Andhra Pradesh secured the second runner-up position.
