1) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression: 04 June
•International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed globally on 4th June every year. This day affirms the UN’s commitment to guard the rights of children. This day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the planet who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. The main aim of celebrating today is to spread the notice about the pain and sufferings faced by the victims as children.
2) Union Cabinet approves MoC between India-Japan on urban development
•The Union Cabinet has approved a memorandum of cooperation between India-Japan in the field of sustainable urban development. A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on Sustainable Urban Development has been signed between the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, Government of India and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Government of Japan. A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be also formed to implement the programmes on cooperation under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC). The JWG will meet once a year.
•The MoC will strengthen the technical cooperation in the field of Urban Planning, Smart Cities Development, Affordable Housing (including rental housing), Urban Flood Management, Sewerage and Waste Water Management, etc. The best practices and key learnings will be exchanged between India and Japan in the field of Sustainable Urban Development.
3) Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Indus Best Mega Food Park in Chhattisgarh
•Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, Narendra Singh Tomar virtually inaugurated the Indus Best MegaFood Park along with Bhupesh Baghel, Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, and in presence of Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries. The Mega Food Park will ensure value addition, a longer shelf life for farm produce, better price realization for farmers, excellent storage facility and will provide an alternate market for farmers in the region.
4) Kerala retains top rank in Niti Aayog’s 3rd SDG India Index 2020-21
•Kerala has retained the top rank in Niti Aayog’s 3rd edition of SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer. The Index for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) evaluates the progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters. Kerala retained its rank as the top state with a score of 75. The third rendition of India’s SDG Index was launched by Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on 3rd June.
5) Navy’s Hydrographic Survey Ship Sandhayak To Be Decommissioned
•Indian Navy’s hydrographic survey ship, Sandhayak would be decommissioned after serving the nation for 40 years. The decommissioning ceremony of INS Sandhayak will be held at naval dockyard Visakhapatnam and will be a low-key event attended only by in-station officers and sailors with strict observance of COVID-19 protocols. The ship, during its commissioned service, undertook approximately 200 major hydrographic surveys and numerous minor surveys in both east and west coasts of the country, the Andaman seas as well as in the neighbouring countries.
6) China developed a combined air defence system along LAC
•China has created a combined air defence system along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The combined air defence system has been developed with the elements of the air force and army of western theatre command. For the first time, an integrated army air defence system has been developed by china along the western borders. The combined air defence system has been developed for putting all assets of the army and air force under central control. Since 2017, China has increased the number of airbases and heliports near the LAC.
7) Wipro becomes third Indian IT firm to scale Rs 3 trillion market cap
•Wipro has touched Rs 3 trillion in market capitalisation for the first time, becoming the third Indian IT firm to achieve the milestone after Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys. The company won its largest deal ever from German retailer Metro and has seen deal wins of $7.1 billion. India has a total of 13 listed firms that have crossed the Rs 3 trillion m-cap. Wipro now ranks 14th.
•Reliance Industries is India’s most valued company with a market capitalisation of ₹14.05 trillion, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and HDFC Bank with an m-cap of ₹11.58 trillion and ₹8.33 trillion, respectively.
8) IPPB ties-up with Mahindra Rural Housing Finance for cash management solution
•Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited (MRHFL), a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Ltd, and India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) have tied up a strategic partnership for a cash management solution. As part of the tie-up, IPPB will be offering cash management and collection services to MRHFL through its access points and postal service providers.
•Mahindra Rural Housing Finance said in a statement, adding that with the cash management service, its customers will be able to repay their monthly or quarterly loan instalments at over 1.36 lakh post offices. Cash management being the lifeline of business operations, IPPB with its robust network and technology platform can help corporates to manage their receivables safely, securely and seamlessly.
9) ADB and India signed an agreement for road upgradation project in Sikkim
•The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India signed an agreement for financing road up-gradation project in Sikkim. ADB will give a $2.5 million project readiness financing (PRF) loan to support projects related to upgradation of major district roads in Sikkim. It will improve the connectivity and also boost the economic activities in the state. The project readiness nancing (PRF) will help in connecting the major district and other roads with the national and state highway network.
•In 2011, the ADB-funded North Eastern State Roads Investment Program was launched to improve road connectivity in Sikkim. The state agencies will prepare detailed engineering designs of selected sub-projects and do feasibility studies. Sikkim’s road network requires regular up-gradation due to frequent landslides and erosion.
10) FIH world rankings: Indian men’s team maintain 4th position
•In Hockey, the Indian men’s team maintained their fourth position while the women’s team held to the ninth position in the latest International Hockey Federation world rankings. Despite missing the European leg of the FIH Hockey Pro- League series in Great Britain, Spain and Germany in April and May, the Indian men’s team maintained its fourth spot.
