Lankan Cabinet Okays Move to Restrict President's Powers
Sri Lankan Cabinet passed the 21st Amendment to the Constitution aimed at empowering Parliament over the executive President. It will now be tabled in Parliament. The amendment is expected to annul the 20A Amendment to the Constitution, which gives unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment that will strengthen Parliament.
The 21A aims, among other reforms, at barring dual citizens from contesting elections to hold public office.
Israeli PM Bennett to Dissolve Parliament
Israel could be headed towards its fifth parliamentary elections in less than three-and-a-half years with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his ally Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announcing to introduce a bill to dissolve the Knesset (parliament) next week.
Bennett and Lapid said that they had "exhausted options to stabilise" their coalition which had come under severe strain over unruly members threatening to dump it.
The move, if passed, will trigger snap polls - Israel's fifth in just about three years.
RBI's 'Payments Vision 2025' Aims for a Three-fold Increase in Digital Payments
The Reserve Bank's 'Payments Vision 2025' document, which seeks a three-fold jump in the number of digital payments, is progressive and aims to establish India as a powerhouse of payments globally, opined industry players.
The RBI on June 17 came out with its 'Payments Vision 2025' document which also talks about ring-fencing of domestic payment systems, including the need to mandate domestic processing of payment transactions, in view of the emerging geopolitical risks.
The core theme of the vision documents is 'E-Payments for Everyone, Everywhere, Everytime' (4Es), with an overall objective to provide every user with safe, secure, fast, convenient, accessible, and affordable e-payment options.
Fitch Upgrades 9 Indian Banks' IDRs to Stable
Fitch Ratings upgraded nine Indian institutions, including SBI, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, from negative to stable. Bank of Baroda (BOB), Bank of Baroda (New Zealand) Ltd, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), and Union Bank of India are among the other institutions to get a upgrade. Fitch Ratings has upgraded 9 India-based banks' Long-Term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to stable from negative, while upholding their IDRs.
The IDRs are based on Fitch's evaluation of the sovereign's ability and tendency to offer extraordinary support for these institutions, which takes into account Fitch's assessment of the sovereign's ability and inclination.
It takes into account the government's track record of backing systemically important banks, the lenders' relative systemic importance, and their various ownership structures.
Fitch also changed the outlook on the Export-Import Bank of India's (EXIM) Long-Term IDR from negative to stable.
SpaceX completed a hat-trick of spaceflight missions in less than two full days, amid reports of employee dissent within the company.
The latest launch took place, when a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, taking a communications satellite developed by Globalstar into orbit.
The busy launch schedule will continue in the coming months, and SpaceX hopes to send its fully reusable Starship rocket into orbit later this summer.
WI Pacer Kemar Roach Equals Michael Holding's Tally of 249 Test Wickets
West Indies pacer Kemar Roach scalped his 249th wicket and equalled the Test wicket tally of the former pacer Michael Holding.
Roach achieved this feat during the first Test against Bangladesh at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Sunday, where he scalped a total of 7 wickets in both the innings. The pacer now stands at the seventh spot on the list of highest Test wicket-takers of West Indies.
Former pacer Michael Holding stands at number six due to a better economy rate than Roach. The first on the list is Courtney Andrew Walsh, with a total of 519 wickets.
Manpreet Singh to Lead Full-strength Squad for Commonwealth Games
India named a full-strength 18-member men's hockey squad for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham with Manpreet Singh returning as captain and drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh as his deputy.
Hockey India (HI) had initially decided to send a second-string team due to the short turnaround time between the Birmingham CWG and the Hangzhou Asian Games, a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With the Asian Games now postponed due to Covid, HI decided to pick a strong team for the event which is scheduled to begin from July 28.
India has been grouped in Pool B along with England, Canada, Wales and Ghana.
Hubert Hurkacz Beats Daniil Medvedev to Win Halle Open
Hubert Hurkacz upset top-ranked Daniil Medvedev to win the Halle Open and underline his credentials as a contender for Wimbledon two years running.
The big-serving Polish player beat Medvedev 6-1, 6-4 and won his first grass-court title.
Hurkacz was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year and seems on form again after a Halle tournament run in which he also beat defending champion Ugo Humbert, U.S. Open semi-finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime and the in-form Australian Nick Kyrgios.
New Delhi Hosts National Summit on Cyber Security and National Security
At Vigyan Bhawan in the national capital, the Ministry of Home Affairs organised a National Conference on Cyber Safety and National Security (Cyber Apradh Se Azadi, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav). Union Minister Amit Shah was the Chief Guest. The seminar was part of the country's efforts to raise public awareness about cybercrime prevention.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, held functions on Cyber Hygiene, Cyber Crime Prevention, Cyber Safety, and National Security at 75 locations across the country under the banner "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav". The Union Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Development of the North Eastern Region, G. Kishan Reddy, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Kumar Mishra, and senior officials from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Culture, and States and Union Territories, as well as representatives from various organisations, were all be present at the conference.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi remotely inaugurated the 741-km electrified Konkan Railway Corporation rail network from Bengaluru. Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje said in Udupi that the project is a step towards 100% electrification of the Indian Railway network.
Ms. Karandlaje, who is the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and also MP from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, led the celebrations at the Udupi Railway Station under KRCL.
Speaking after flagging off an electric loco-hauled freight train, the Minister said that with the complete electrification between Thokur near Mangaluru and Roha in Maharashtra, KRCL will save close to Rs.300 crore annually, apart from saving Rs.150 crore on fuel and a further Rs.120 crore on maintenance cost.
Presidential Poll: Gopalkrishna Opts Out
The Opposition was back to the drawing board on the issue of fielding a joint candidate for the July 18 presidential election with Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, opting out of the race saying a candidate for the highest office must inspire national consensus besides opposition unity.
Gopalkrishna pulled out on the eve of a key Opposition meeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar hosted to finalise the presidential election nominee of the non-BJP camp.
The TMC is now said to be mulling the name of its vice-president Yashwant Sinha as a probable candidate after Gopalkrishna and NC patron Farooq Abdullah opted out.
Indian Coast Guard Inducts Advanced Light Helicopter Mk-III in Chennai
The Indian Coast Guard Region (East) inducted the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mark-III, indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), in Chennai.
The ALH will be the first aircraft of the newly created "840 Squadron" that will be stationed in Chennai and will be the first ALH MK-III to be positioned in the Coast Guard Region East.
The aircraft was received at Coast Guard Air Station, Chennai, with a traditional water cannon salute. Inspector General A.P. Badola, Commander Coast Guard Region East, welcomed the aircraft and crew. Three more ALHs will be added to the squadron shortly.
Indian Women Soldiers Participate in 'Women Peace and Security Seminar' in Mongolia
Women soldiers of the Indian Army participated in the four-day 'Women Peace and Security Seminar' at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The four-day event was held under the auspices of Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh.
The Mongolian President said that the country will bolster the participation of women in the United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Khurelsukh made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the international conference of female peacekeepers under the theme of "Women, Peace, and Security".
To promote the UN's goal of full gender parity in peacekeeping operations, Mongolia aims to increase women's participation to at least 15 percent by 2027.
The year 2022 marked the 20th anniversary of the first deployment of Mongolian peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping operations.
Veteran photojournalist R. Raveendran passed away at the age of 69. Raveendran was the recipient of numerous photography awards and is known for his iconic photo of Rajiv Goswami setting himself on fire during the Mandal agitation in the Capital.
He has worked in AFP and ANI. He started his career as a teleprinter operator in AFP 1973 and then became a photographer. He was presently working with ANI as Photo Editor.
The International Yoga Day has been celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.
The origin of the word "yoga" is from Sanskrit, which means "to unite". Yoga has gained tremendous popularity not only in India but across the globe.
The theme for International Yoga Day 2020 was "Yoga for Humanity".
World Hydrography Day
Every year June 21 is celebrated as World Hydrography Day. The day was approved and implemented by the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).
International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) which works on the issues of marine life was established in 1921. The Monaco-based organisation became a face for highlighting the issues related to navigation, technical standards and protection of marine life to the government. However, with time, they felt the need to increase awareness among people related to hydrography for bringing out a bigger change. In 2005, they decided to observe World Hydrography Day.
The idea of celebrating World Hydrography Day is to create awareness about the safe marine practices and navigation of the sailors in the world. The day aims to promote the importance of hydrography and highlight the work of hydrographers.
Every year, IHO chooses a new theme to celebrate the day. The theme of the World Hydrography Day 2022 was "Hydrography - contributing to the United Nations Ocean Decade".
Explore the World of Mathematics and Statistics with MIT-WPU's Prestigious Programs
MIT World Peace University (Formerly MIT Pune), one of India's leading private universities with a four-decade-long legacy in education is offering B.Sc. in Financial Mathematics and B.Sc. Applied Statistics and Data Analytics programs under the aegis of the School of Mathematics. Both the programs follow an integrated approach concentrating on core elements of financial mathematics and applied statistics through an emphasis on problem-based learning, training and relevant trends in the industry. The pedagogy followed at MIT-WPU is in line with the requirements of the financial sector and nurtures industry leaders to pursue a career in this emerging field.
PM Modi Inaugurates Centre for Brain Research in Bengaluru
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) set up at a cost of Rs. 280 crore at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) campus, the foundation stone of which was laid by him.
During the programme, the PM also laid the foundation stone for 832-bed Bagchi-Parthasarathy Multispecialty Hospital.
The CBR is developed as a one-of-its-kind research facility and focuses on conducting vital research to provide evidence-based public health interventions to manage age-related brain disorders.
Unmesh: Himachal Pradesh International Literary Festival
The Three-day literature fest 'Unmesha', which was jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Culture, Sahitya Akademi and the Himachal Pradesh Department of Language and Culture, was part of the series of events under the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'. It was held in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.
"Unmesha-Festival of Expression", saw more than 425 litterateurs from 15 countries in attendance.
Prominent personalities from the art and literature, including the winner of the 2022 Man Booker Prize Geetanjali Shree, Gulzar, Deepti Naval, Sonal Mansingh, Prasoon Joshi, Vikram Sampath, Vishal Bhardwaj and SL Bhyrappa participated in the event.
It featured discussions, paper presentations, poetry readings and story readings by eminent writers, poets and critics. There were sessions on tribal literature and LGBTQ writings and one session on Himachali folk songs too.
R. N. Bhaskar's Biography on Gautam Adani to Hit the Stands in October
The biography of billionaire industrialist Gautam Adani, Adani Group chairman and founder, will hit the stands in October, announced Penguin Random House (PRHI).
Written by journalist-author R.N. Bhaskar, "Gautam Adani: The Man Who Changed India", claims to bring to light, for the first time, the unknown aspects of one of the richest men in the world. It will be released under PRHI's 'Hamish' imprint.
PM Releases Ram Bahadur Rai's Book 'Bhartiya Samvidhan: Ankahi Kahani'
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi released Ram Bahadur Rai's book 'Bhartiya Samvidhan: Ankahi Kahani'. Prime Minister noted Ram Bahadur Rai's life-long quest for searching for new ideas and desire to bring something new before the society. He expressed the hope that the book released will present the Constitution in a comprehensive manner.
The book by Rai is in the tradition of New India's effort to remember the forgotten thoughts to ensure that in the India of the future, consciousness of the past remains strong. The book, along with the history of independence and the untold chapters of our constitution will give a new thinking to the youth of the country.
NCLT Members' Tenure: SC Refuses to Pass Interim Order, to Hear in July
The Supreme Court refused to pass an interim order in connection with the extending tenure of 23 members of company law tribunals.
The National Company Law Tribunal Bar Association has challenged the notification issued by the Central government fixing the term of 23 NCLT members appointed in 2019 as three years instead of five years.
A vacation bench of Justices C.T. Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that it will examine the locus standi of the lawyers' association, which contended that with a total sanctioned strength of 63 members across 28 benches, the tribunals would be adversely affected if more judges retire, and they may collapse if 23 of the 45 members retire by July.
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