1) Assam gets its seventh national park with Dehing Patkai
•The Assam Government has decided in its recent cabinet meeting to declare Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary as the 7th National Park of the state. The newest national park, popularly known as Dehing Patkai Rain Forest, has unique floral and faunal diversity, which was recognized by the state government in 2004 when 111.19 square kilometres of the area was notified as Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.
•The area is home to hoolock gibbon, elephant, slow loris, tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, golden cat, fishing cat, marble cat, sambar, hog deer, sloth bear, and several bird species including the endangered state bird, the white-winged wood duck. The state now has the second-highest number of national parks in the country. Madhya Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have nine national parks each.
2) Indo-Thai CORPAT Begins in Andaman Sea
•The 31st edition of the India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) kicked off on June 09, 2021, in the Andaman Sea. The three-day coordinated patrol between the Indian Navy and the Royal Thai Navy is being conducted from 09 to 11 June 2021. From the Indian side, an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Saryu, is participating and from Thailand Navy, HTMS Krabi is participating in CORPAT, along with Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both navies.
3) Centre extends LIC Chairman M R Kumar’s term till March 2022
•The appointments committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension of the tenure of MR Kumar as the Chairman of state-owned insurance company Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Now under the extended term, Mr Kumar will serve on the post till March 13, 2022. Earlier his term as LIC chairman was supposed to end on June 30, 2021.
4) Facebook names Spoorthi Priya as grievance officer for India
•Facebook has named Spoorthi Priya as its grievance officer for India, the company said on its website. This move comes close on the heels of the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, coming into force last month. According to the new government guidelines, social media companies with over 50 lakh users have to appoint a grievance officer, nodal officer and a chief compliance officer.
•All three personnel will have to be residents of India. Facebook owned messaging platform WhatsApp appointed Paresh B Lal as the grievance officer a few days ago. WhatsApp, Facebook, and Google had shared information on their compliance officer, resident grievance officer and nodal contact person with the government on May 29. Two days after the new IT rules kicked into action.
5) El Salvador becomes first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender
•El Salvador has become the first country in the world to grant legal tender status to bitcoin. The use of bitcoin as legal tender will become law in 90 days. El Salvador’s economy heavily relies on remittances and so those who are working abroad can send money back home in bitcoins. The use of bitcoin will be totally optional. It will bring financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development to the country.
6) RBI approves re-appointment of GC Chaturvedi as part-time Chairman of ICICI Bank
•Private lender, ICICI Bank, has received RBI’s approval for the re-appointment of Girish Chandra Chaturvedi as the part-time Chairman of the Bank. He will be the part-time chairman of ICICI Bank for a 3-years tenure starting July 01, 2021, on extant terms and conditions. Last year, the bank’s shareholders approved the re-appointment of Chaturvedi as non-executive (part-time) Chairman of the Bank effective from July 1, 2021.
7) Mahesh Kumar Jain gets two-year extension as RBI Deputy Governor
•The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of Mahesh Kumar Jain as the Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for two more years with effect from June 22, 2021. The three-year term of MK Jain as RBI Deputy Governor was to end on June 21, 2021. Currently, Michael Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao and Rabi Sankar are the other three serving RBI Deputy Governors.
8) QS World University Rankings 2022 released
•The London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has released the QS World University Rankings 2022 which compares and ranks Universities from across the globe on various parameters. Eight Indian universities have found a place among the best 400 global universities in the QS World University Rankings 2022, released on June 09, 2021. However, only three Universities namely the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, IIT-Delhi, and IISc Bangalore feature among the top 200.
9) BharatPe becomes ICC’s official partner till 2023
•Lending and digital payments startup, BharatPe has announced that it has inked a three-year-long deal to become an official partner with International Cricket Council (ICC). As per the agreement, BharatPe will promote the association across broadcast and digital platforms, as well as execute in-venue brand activations at all the ICC events until 2023.
•The key tournaments include the upcoming ICC World Test Championship (Southampton, UK 2021), Men’s T20 World Cup (India, 2021), Men’s T20 World Cup (Australia, 2022), Women’s World Cup (New Zealand, 2022), U19 Cricket World Cup (West Indies, 2022), Women’s T20 World Cup (South Africa, 2022), Men’s Cricket World Cup (India, 2023) and World Test Championship (2023).
10) Chris Broad to be match referee for World Test Championship final
•ICC Elite Panel match referee, Chris Broad will oversee the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and New Zealand, scheduled to commence at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton from June 18. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the officials for the match. ICC Elite Panel’s Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough will be the on-field umpires.
