1) Punjab tops performance grading index in school education
•Punjab, which has improved its showing from the 13th position it attained in 2018-19, topped the charts this time among all the states and union territories with a score of 929 out of 1,000, followed by Chandigarh (912) and Tamil Nadu (906).
•The performance grading index ranks the states on a set of 70 parameters relating to learning outcomes and quality, access, infrastructure and facilities, equity and governance processes to catalyse transformational change in the field of school education.
2) NITI Aayog recommends privatisation of Central Bank, Indian Overseas Bank
•NITI Aayog has recommended divesting government stake in the Central Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) as part of the privatisation initiative announced in the Union Budget. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech, had announced privatising two public sector banks (PSBs) and one general insurance company in 2021-22. As per the new PSE (Public Sector Enterprise) policy for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, NITI Aayog is entrusted with the task to suggest names of PSUs in strategic sectors to be merged, privatised, or made subsidiaries of other PSUs.
•The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and Department of Financial Services (DFS) will examine the proposal and discuss legislative changes needed for the privatisation of banks. The finalisation of privatisation and disinvestment of public sector enterprises is a multi-layered process. After a Core Group of Secretaries, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, clears the suggested names, the proposal will go to Alternative Mechanism (AM) for its approval and eventually to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister for a final nod.
3) World Bank approves $500 mn program to help boost India’s MSME sector
•The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a USD 500 million programs to support India’s nationwide initiative to revitalise the MSME sector, which has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. The MSME sector is the backbone of India’s economy, contributing 30% of India’s GDP and 4% of exports.
•The USD 500 million Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Performance (RAMP) Program is the World Bank’s second intervention in this sector, the first being the USD 750 million MSME Emergency Response Program, approved in July 2020 to address the immediate liquidity and credit needs of millions of viable MSMEs severely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
4) Maldivian minister Abdullah Shahid elected President of 76th UNGA
•Maldivian foreign minister, Abdullah Shahid was elected President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (PGA) with an overwhelming majority. He garnered 143 votes in favour with 48 against – that gave him victory by a three-fourths majority. The post of the UN General Assembly President rotated annually among regional groupings. The 76th session (2021-22) is the turn of the Asia-Pacific group and this is the first time Maldives will be occupying the office of the PGA.
•The PGA’s office is the highest office in the UN System and reflects the collective goodwill of the 193 Member States of the UN. Both Maldives and Afghanistan have friendly ties with India. India’s vote however went to the Maldives since New Delhi had committed support to Shahid prior to Rassoul entering the fray.
5) US to hand over three MH-60 ‘Romeo’ multi-role choppers to India
•The Indian Navy is set to receive its first set of multi-role helicopters as America is set to hand over three MH-60 Romeo helicopters to the force in the United States in July. The first batch of Indian pilots has also reached the US for training on the helicopters which would be arriving in India next year in July. India and the US had signed over-Rs 16,000 crore deal to buy 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters from Lockheed Martin in 2020 under fast track procedures on a government-to-government deal to hasten the process.
6) Arunachal Pradesh’s Water Burial bags best film National Award
•Arunachal Pradesh’s Water Burial has bagged the best film National Award on environment conservation at 67th National Films Awards 2021. The film, which is directed by independent filmmaker Shantanu Sen.Water Burial is produced by AM Television.
•Inspired by the popular Assamese novel Saba Kota Manuh, which is written by Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, Water Burial is in Monpa dialect and has an intriguing storyline around a dark ritual of a local tribe in Arunachal Pradesh.
7) Sanjeev Sahai to be new chairman of oil regulator PNGRB
•Senior administrator and former power secretary, Sanjeev Nandan Sahai is set to take over as next chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB). A search committee headed by V K Saraswat, Member (S&T), NITI Aayog, cleared the name of Sahai. Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board is a statutory body in India.
8) Hitendra Dave appointed as HSBC India CEO
•The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) announced the appointment of Hitendra Dave as Chief Executive Officer of HSBC India subject to receipt of regulatory approval. He has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer effective June 7, 2021. Dave succeeds Surendra Rosha who will be moving to Hong Kong as the co-chief executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific.
•Dave, who is formerly the head of global banking & markets of HSBC India, has almost 30 years of work experience in the Indian Financial Markets, of which the last 20 have been with HSBC. He joined HSBC India in 2001 in the Global Markets business and has risen through the ranks to his current role as head of global banking & markets business, the dominant contributor to HSBC India’s PBT over the years.
9) Assam govt names Raimona reserve forest sixth national park
•Raimona in Kokrajhar district has become Assam’s sixth national park. The 422 sq ft wildlife habitat in Kokrajhar district adjoins the western-most buffer to Manas Tiger Reserve. The five national parks that existed prior to the 422 sq. km Raimona are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Orang and Dibru-Saikhowa.
•The Pekua river defines Raimona’s southern boundary. Raimona is an integral part of the 2,837 sq. km Manas Biosphere Reserve and the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve. Such secured transboundary ecological landscape will ensure the long-term conservation of endemic species like the golden langur, the mascot of Bodoland Territorial Council and endangered species such as the Asian elephant, the Bengal tiger and varied other flora and faunal species it support
10) Oman to host inaugural FIH Hockey5s World Cup in 2024
•Oman has been named as the host of the inaugural International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey5s World Cup. The FIH said the men’s and women’s events will take place in Oman’s capital city Muscat in January 2024. The governing body said its Executive Board named Oman as host, after a recommendation from the organisation’s Events Bidding Task Force.
•The FIH Executive Board announced the launch of the Hockey5s World Cup in 2019. The launch comes as Hockey 5s becomes an increasingly popular format of the sport, played on a smaller pitch and which has featured at the last two Summer Youth Olympic Games.
