1) World Accreditation Day 2021 celebrated on 9th June
•World Accreditation Day (WAD) is celebrated every year on 9 June to promote the role of accreditation in trade & the economy. The theme for WAD 2021 is “Accreditation: Supporting the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. It provides the opportunity for ILAC and IAF members to share examples with stakeholders, regulators and consumers of how accreditation may be applied to meet objectives such as increasing trade, addressing environment and health and safety concerns, and improving the general overall quality of output in an economy.
•WAD is a global initiative, jointly established by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), to raise awareness of the importance of accreditation.
2) G7 deal on Minimum Global Corporate Tax
•Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies signed a landmark deal on taxing multinational companies. As per the deal, the minimum global tax rate would be at least 15 per cent. The agreement was signed by finance ministers of the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Canada, France, Italy and Japan. It opens the way for levies on multinational companies in countries where they operate rather than just where they are headquartered.
•The old system of global taxation was being criticized over the years as it allowed big companies to save billions of dollars in tax bills by shifting their jurisdictions. Major digital companies were making money in multiple countries and paying taxes only in their home country. Thus, this proposal was made which would impose an additional tax on several multinational companies and technology giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google to pay taxes to countries based on where their goods or services are sold irrespective of their physical presence there. The deal seeks to modernize the century-old international tax code.
3) Haryana CM announces creating ‘Oxi-van’ in Karnal
Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, announced to create of 80 acres of ‘Oxi-van’ (a forest) in the Karnal district. It was announced on the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, 2021. Oxi-van will consist of 10 types of forests. On the occasion, highlighting the importance of trees and encouraging promotion, protection, planting of trees Haryana Government launched four important schemes:
•Pran Vayu Devta Pension Scheme:
Under this scheme, a pension amount of Rs 2500 will be provided in name of Pran Vayu Devta to maintain trees above 75 years. This pension would increase each year on the line of old age Samman pension.
•Panchavati Plantation in Haryana:
Under this initiative, the plantation will be done in name of Panchvati across the villages in Haryana. It will promote the process of getting natural oxygen from trees. Agroforestry will also be promoted on vacant land under the initiative. Thus, it will increase the income of Panchayats in rural areas.
•Oxy-Van in Karnal:
Oxy Forest was launched on Forest Department land in Mughal Canal, Karnal. Panchavati, trees of Bel, Amla, Ashoka, Banyan and Peepal were planted. It will be built on 80 acres area.
•Oxy-Van in Panchkula:
It will be established in Bir Ghaggar on the area of one hundred acres in a bid to create Mother Nature’s green lungs, for residents of Panchkula, to get in fresh oxygen. Rs One crore has been sanctioned for this initiative.
4) India elected as member of UN Economic and Social Council for 2022-24
•India has been elected as a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six main organs of the United Nations, for three-year terms of 2022-24. India was elected to the 54-member ECOSOC, by the UNGA on June 7, 2021, in the Asia-Pacific States category, along with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Oman.
•ECOSOC serves as the central platform for discussing international economic, social and environmental issues and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.
5) India’s first International Maritime Cluster to come up at GIFT City
•Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) will set up the country’s first international maritime services cluster at GIFT City. The maritime cluster will be developed as a dedicated ecosystem comprising ports, shipping, logistics services providers and government regulators, all present in the same geographic vicinity — GIFT City. GIFT City is India’s first operational smart city and international financial services.
6) Indian Navy inducted three ALH MK III advanced light helicopters
•The Indian Navy inducted three indigenously-built advanced light helicopters ALH MK-III in their fleet. These helicopters are built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at the Indian Naval Station (INS) Dega in Visakhapatnam will be used for maritime reconnaissance and coastal security.
•These helicopters are equipped with modern surveillance radar and electro-optical equipment. It enables them in doing search and rescue operations even at the night. It is also fitted with a removable medical intensive care unit (ICU) to airlift critically ill patients. It can also undertake constabulary missions.
7) Crisil Projects India’s GDP Growth for FY22 to 9.5%
•The domestic credit rating agency Crisil has revised the GDP growth estimate for India in FY22 (2021-22) to 9.5 percent, from the earlier estimate of 11 percent. As per CRISIL, the economy had contracted by 7.3 percent in FY21. The downward revision is basically due to the hit to private consumption and investments following the second wave of COVID-19.
8) Anup Chandra Pandey appointed as election commissioner
•The Union government has appointed Anup Chandra Pandey, a retired IAS officer of the 1984 batch, Uttar Pradesh cadre, as Election Commissioner. In the Election Commission, Pandey will have a little under three years in office and will retire in February 2024.
•Pandey has been appointed to the position left vacant by former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora’s retirement on April 12. Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar are the other two members of the panel. This restores the three-member commission to its full strength, which will now oversee the next set of crucial assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand next year.
9) Rhea Chakraborty topped ‘The Times 50 Most Desirable Women 2020’
•The Times 50 Most Desirable Women 2020 list has been unveiled, and it features women under 40 across various fields. Rhea Chakraborty has bagged the number 1 spot on Times Most Desirable Women 2020 list. She was in the news for most of last year due to the sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput and the controversy around his death.
•Miss Universe 2020, 3rd runner-up Adline Castelino bagged the second spot in the list. Actress Disha Patani, Kiara Advani and Deepika Padukone were on the third, fourth and fifth spot respectively.
10) Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar assumes Charge as DG Naval Operations
•Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar, AVSM, VSM has assumed charge as Director General Naval Operations. The Flag Officer is a specialist in Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and has served on frontline warships of the Navy as ASW Officer and later as the Executive Officer and Principal Warfare Officer of Guided Destroyer INS Mysore. He has commanded the missile corvette INS Kora, the missile frigate INS Shivalik and the aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
11) Himachal jumps to third spot in Anemia Mukt Bharat Index
•Himachal Pradesh has climbed to the third spot in the Anemia Mukt Bharat Index 2020-21 national ranking with a score of 57.1. Himachal Pradesh was at rank 18 in the year 2018-19, but with consistent efforts of the government and the field functionaries, the state was able to achieve the third spot. Madhya Pradesh is in the first position with a score of 64.1 followed by Odisha with a score of 59.3. The prevalence of soil-transmitted helminths had decreased from 29% to 0.3% in a short span of three years.
