India, Pakistan Sign Permanent Indus Commission Annual Report
India and Pakistan finalised and signed the annual report of the Permanent Indus Commission for the year which ended on March 31, 2022. The report was finalised at the two-day 118th Permanent Indus Commission meeting between the two countries. The meeting was held in a cordial manner and the Commission appreciated the commitment of the two sides to interact frequently and resolve issues through bilateral discussions under the Indus Water Treaty. It was agreed to hold the next meeting of the PIC in Pakistan on mutually convenient dates.
The Indian delegation was led by AK Pal, the Commissioner for Indus Waters and the visiting Pakistan delegation was led by Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah, the Pakistan Commissioner for Indus Waters.
The Indus Water Treaty survived the wars between the two countries and the freeze in bilateral relations.
Canada Introduces Bill to Freeze Handgun Sales
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government introduced a legislation that would put a freeze on importing, buying or selling handguns. Canada already has plans to ban 1,500 types of military-style firearms and offer a mandatory buyback programme that will begin at the end of 2022. Trudeau has long had plans to enact tougher gun laws but the introduction of the new measure comes after mass shootings in Texas, and Buffalo, NY. The regulations to halt the growth of personally owned handguns are expected to be enacted this fall.
Canada has had far fewer mass shootings than the US in part because of a lack of easy access to guns, though the US population also is far larger than Canada's. Blair noted guns were often smuggled illegally from the US, which he noted has one of the largest small arms arsenals in the world.
Pakistan's Fuel Supply Threatened as Foreign Banks Refuse Financing
Amid rising subsidy allocations, the Pakistan oil industry is now facing challenges in arranging international finances for import of crude and oil products. Arrangements of oil imports were getting tough by the day as foreign banks were not providing financing against Letters of Credit (LCs) opened by oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refineries with the local banks. Except two large corporations, Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (Parco), all OMCs and refineries were struggling to arrange import of petroleum products and crude.
About six-seven cargos worth $50-75 million each ($350-500 million cumulative) depending on size and product were held up at present because of the increased risk following some critical statements from the relevant ministries about the tough fiscal and foreign exchange position.
Retired SBI Senior Executive Natarajan Sundar Joins NARCL as MD CEO
Former State Bank of India exexutive Natarajan Sundar joined National Assets Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) as managing director and CEO. Sundar is a banking veteran having served SBI for over 37 years and retired as Dy MD and Chief Credit Officer of the bank. NARCL, a the special purpose vehicle set up as a joint initiative of Public and Private Sector Banks, is expected to takeover bad loans from banks and focus on resolution and recoveries.
Malvika Sinha, retired Executive director of Reserve Babk of India ( RBI), also joined the Board of NARCL as an independent director. Sinha is a career central banker, having joined RBI in 1982 and served across Regulation, Supervision, Foreign exchange and Government and Bank Accounts in RBI.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates Sign the first Arab Free Trade Deal
Israel inked its first free trade agreement with an Arab country, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The agreement was signed in Dubai by Israel's Economy and Industry Minister Orna Barbivay and the UAE's Economy Minister Abdalla Bin Touq Al Marri. According to an official statement released by Israel's Ministry of Economy and Industry, the comprehensive, significant, and ground-breaking agreement is expected to increase bilateral trade in goods and services, increase Israeli exports to the United Arab Emirates, and provide customs exemption on 96% of trade between the countries: food, agriculture, cosmetics, medical equipment, medication, and more.
The commercial pact with Israel will usher in a new era in the Middle East. This agreement will boost economic growth and reinforce the notion that working together is the only way to build long-term, sustainable economies in a complicated environment.
Super Hygroscopic Polymer Film Can Harvest Water from Arid Air
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin developed a low-cost polymer film made of renewable biomass and hygroscopic salt that can extract atmospheric water in arid environments; these materials cost a mere $2 per kilogram, and a single kilogram can produce more than 6 liters of water per day in areas with less than 15% relative humidity and 13 liters in areas with up to 30% relative humidity.
This new work is about practical solutions that people can use to get water in the hottest, driest places on Earth. This could allow millions of people without consistent access to drinking water to have simple, water generating devices at home that they can easily operate.
French Open 2022: Rohan Bopanna Books First Grand Slam Semi-final Berth since 2015
India's Rohan Bopanna reached his first Grand Slam semifinal in seven years after he and his Dutch partner Matwe Middelkoop rallied to beat Lloyd Glasspool and Henri Heliovaara in the men's doubles quarterfinals of the French Open in Paris. The Indo-Dutch pair eked out a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (3) win over the British-Finnish combination in a hard-fought contest. The Bopanna and Middelkoop squandered the opening set but dished out a superb fightback to win the next two as emerge victories. In the decider, the Indo-Dutch pair showed tremendous mental fortitude to fightback from 3-5 down to take the match to a super tiebreak.
Bopanna last reached the semifinals of a tennis Major at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships when he had teamed up with Romania's Florin Mergea and lost in a gruelling five-setter to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau.
Elliott to Sell Italy's AC Milan Football Club to RedBird
Redbird Capital Partners reached a final agreement to buy Italy's AC Milan, the seven-time European football champion once owned by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Redbird is set to announce the purchase of the club from U.S. investment fund Elliott Management Corp. The transaction may value AC Milan at about 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
New York-based Redbird, founded by Gerald Cardinale, manages about $6 billion, according to its website. The firm is a shareholder in Fenway Sports Group Holdings LLC, the owner of English Premier League football club Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox US baseball team. It also holds a controlling stake in French football team Toulouse.
ISSF World Cup: Women on Target, Win Gold
India opened its account at ISSF World Cup with the trio of Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita and Shreya Agrawal claiming the gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle team competition in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Indian trio outplayed Denmark's Anna Nielsen, Emma Koch and Rikke Maeng Ibsen 17-5 in the gold medal contest. Poland won bronze in the event. Former world No. 1 Valarivan, Ramita and Agrawal had reached the gold medal round after two rounds of qualification
In the men's air rifle team competition, Rudrankksh Patil, Paarth Makhija and Dhanush Srikanth fell short in their bronze medal match against Croatia.
Centre Hikes Premium on Health Insurance Schemes for Poor
Centre announced a hike in the premium rates for its Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) providing health care facilities to the economically depressed. From June 1, the premium rate of PMJJBY will now be Rs. 436 instead of Rs. 330 and of Rs. 20 for PMSBY as against the present Rs. 12. No revision of premium rates was made in the last seven years since the inception of the schemes in spite of recurring losses to the insurers. Under PMSBY, claims of Rs. 2,513 crore have been paid as against collection of Rs. 1,134 crore. Under PMJJBY, Rs. 14,144 crore was paid whereas Rs. 9,737 crore was collected. Claims under both the Schemes were deposited into beneficiaries' bank accounts through the DBT route.
The government claimed that it had closely monitored the transmission of benefits through these schemes during the pandemic and several measures were taken to simplify procedures and expedite claims as well as to reach out to the people who died during Covid.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai Launched AAYU App
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai launched a new health and wellness app AAYU to address and help heal chronic diseases and lifestyle disorders through yoga. Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) collaborated to develop the App with RESET TECH, an AI-driven integrated health-tech platform that aims to deal with chronic diseases and lifestyle conditions through yoga and meditation.
The App would provide users with personalised wellness solutions and offer doctor consultations based on an individual's personal history and monitor its progress enabling them to accelerate healing and recovery. The app would provide users with customised wellness solutions and doctor consultations based on their specific histories, as well as track their progress, allowing them to heal and recover faster.
Defence Ministry Seals Deal to Buy Indigenous Missiles for IAF, Navy
To boost indigenous production of military equipment, the Ministry of Defence placed the first order for India-made air-launched missile to be fitted onto fighter jets of the Indian Air Force and Navy. A contract was signed with public sector giant Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for supply of "Astra" MK-I beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles and associated equipment for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy at a cost of Rs. 2,971 crore.
The IAF has integrated the "Astra" missile with the Sukhoi-30 MKI jet and is in the process of mating it with the Light Combat aircraft the Tejas. The Navy flies the Russian-origin MiG 29K jet and the missiles are being adapted for the same. Each plane has a separate launch mechanism.
Bhim Singh, J&K Panthers Party Founder, Passes Away
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party founder Prof Bhim Singh died after a prolonged illness. He was 82. The veteran leader was affectionately called 'Sher-e-Jammu' for raising the voice of the people of Jammu before the successive Kashmir-centric governments. He is survived by his wife and son.
In November 2020, he was expelled from the party he had founded for taking part in a meeting of the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) at the Bhatindi residence of former chief minister Farooq Abdullah. Prof Bhim had raised the Panthers Party in 1982.
Panthers Party suffered a major setback in recent times after its chairperson and former education minister Harsh Dev Singh besides former MLAs Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yash Paul Kundal quit the party and joined the AAP.
Eminent Singer KK Passes Away in Kolkata
Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, passed away at the age of 53. He was performing at an event in Kolkata. He was brought to the CMRI hospital and declared dead. He performed in the iconic Nazrul Mancha auditorium till 8:30 pm. He suddenly fell ill and returned to his hotel. When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the CMRI hospital in Kolkata, where he was declared dead.
KK had performed in to back-to-back shows in Kolkata in the past two days.
Global Day of Parents 2022 was on 1st June 2022 to honor parents across the world. Global Parents Day provides an opportunity to appreciate and encourage all parents in all parts of the world for their selfless commitment to children and their lifelong sacrifices towards nurturing this relationship.
"Appreciate all parents throughout the world" is the theme of global parents day 2022.
This theme is the endorsement of parents' struggles and sacrifices towards their children across the world. Also, this theme urges us to acknowledge Parents' worth & affection and to value the sacrifices they make for their children.
IAF Officer Killed in CDS Chopper Crash Awarded Shaurya Chakra
Indian Air Force pilot Group Captain Varun Singh, who died after suffering serious injuries in the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) chopper crash, was posthumously awarded Shaurya Chakra, the country's third-highest peacetime gallantry medal, by President Ram Nath Kovind for a previous act of valour. His wife Geetanjali Singh and mother Uma Singh received the award. Group Captain Varun Singh was posted to a Light Combat Aircraft squadron when on October 2020 he had taken off from Air Force Station Hindan near Delhi.
One Kirti Chakra (Posthumous) and 14 Shaurya Chakras, including eight posthumous, were awarded at a defence investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
R. J. Umar Receives the Immunisation Champion Award by UNICEF
Radio Jockey Umar Nisar (R.J. Umar) from South Kashmir, was awarded the '01 Best Content Award' and the Immunization Champion award by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) at the annual Radio4Child 2022 Awards in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The award was presented by multi-Grammy Award-winning music composer, environmentalist, and UNICEF celebrity supporter Ricky Kej, OIC UNICEF, UP Dr. Zafrin Chowdhury, chief of communications and advocacy and partnerships, UNICEF India.
The award was conferred to Umar for his work of providing awareness and countering rumours to reach audiences during the pandemic. The Radio4Child felicitated radio professionals from private FM and All India Radio from across the country for their commendable work during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as for routine vaccination. These radio professionals highlighted the importance of routine vaccination among people.
The students who lost both their parents due to Covid-19 will get a monthly stipend of Rs. 4,000 a month. The monthly stipend will be disbursed under the PM Cares for Children Scheme. If someone needs an education loan for professional courses, or for higher education, then PM cares will help in that too. The youth from 18-23 years of age will get a stipend every month and when they are 23 years old, they will get the amount of Rs. 10 lakh.
PM Cares fund also helped a lot in preparing hospitals, buying ventilators, and setting up oxygen plants during the Covid pandemic.
PM Modi Releases 11th Installment of PM-KISAN Benefits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the 11th instalment of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, worth nearly Rs. 21,000 crore, in Shimla. The amount was released at the 'Garib Kalyan Sammelan' as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. He interacted with beneficiaries of about 16 schemes spanning nine departments of the Government of India.
Events were organized at State Capitals, District Headquarters and KVK Centres all over the country wherein the scheme beneficiaries interact with Chief Ministers, Central or State Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assembly and other elected public representatives.
IIT Roorkee Joins Hand with Deloitte on Capacity Building Programme to Achieve High Level of AI Proficiency
Celebrating the 175th year of its foundation, Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee), announced a strategic collaboration with Deloitte, a leader in AI, to deliver rigorous, immersive programmes in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) that are designed to build's the next generation workforce.
This partnership aims to revolutionise the industry-academia relationship and that will help in bridging the talent gap and nurture future leaders with a high level of AI proficiency. Under this partnership, Deloitte will offer fellowships and a work-study programme for IIT Roorkee students to work on AI and Advanced Analytics.
IIT Roorkee's collaboration with Deloitte is in sync with the Digital India mission of the Government of India, which aims at boosting the AI-enabled technologies in every sector including governance, banking, education and health, etc.
A team of archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered the 2,100-year-old ruins of an agricultural farmstead in the Galilee region of Israel. They also uncovered tens of loom weights used for weaving garments, large ceramic storage vessels, and iron agricultural implements, including various picks and scythes. The ancient coins retrieved date the farmstead to the second half of the second century BCE (Hellenistic Hasmonean period).
The team also uncovered the foundations of buildings, pottery vessels, and other finds dating to the 10-9th centuries BCE (Iron Age).
More research is required to determine the identity of the inhabitants of the site.
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