1) Tata, Boeing establish aerospace facility in Hyderabad

a) Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems have launched a new facility in Hyderabad for its joint venture TATA Boeing Aerospace Ltd (TBAL).

b) The joint venture aims to co-produce Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and other aerostructures, as well as to pursue integrated systems in aerospace.

c) The Hyderabad production facility will eventually be the sole producer of AH-64 fuselages globally. The Apache has been flown or selected for acquisition by the US and 15 other nations, including India.

2) ISRO launches record 20 satellites from Sriharikota

a) Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently launched a record 20 satellites in 26 minutes. The rocket blasted off from the southern spaceport of Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

b) The 20 satellites including India’s latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-2 was launched onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV C-34. The other 19 satellites were from the US, Germany, Canada and Indonesia. Two satellites were from Sathyabama University, Chennai, and the College of Engineering, Pune.

c) Most of the satellites that entered the orbit are intended to observe Earth’s atmosphere while the other will provide service for amateur radio operators.

d) With this, ISRO has broken its own record of launching 10 satellites in 2008. However, Russia leads the pack with the launch of 37 satellites in single mission in 2014.

3) Assam government launches Maitri Ek Gyan Yatra to link primary schools to colleges

a) Maitri Ek Gyan Yatra is an initiative launched to link primary schools to high schools to colleges in Assam’s Sivasagar district.

b) The programme intends to improve the quality of school students. College teachers will take up classes in high school and high schools teachers will teach in primary schools voluntarily.

c) The implementation of this programme is also to change the mindset of teachers as in some places in the state teachers of a school considered it below their dignity to teach the lower level students. It is meant to increase the synergy in education sector.

4) Scientists make world’s first 1,000-processor microchip

a) Scientists from University of California have designed the world’s first microchip that has 1,000 processors and is deemed to be the fastest chip designed in a university lab.

b) Fabricated by IBM, this chip is energy efficient and has a maximum computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second and contains 621 million transistors.

c) Named as KiloCore, it has the highest clock-rate processor and also is individually clocked which shuts down when not in use thus saving energy.

d) The KiloCore was presented at the 2016 Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits in Honolulu recently.

5) BCCI suspends Goa Cricket Association officials for misappropriation of funds

a) BCCI has suspended and issued show cause notices to the Goa Cricket Association President Chetan Desai and Secretary Vinod Phadke.

b) The two were arrested for alleged misappropriation of organisation funds (sum of Rs.3.13 crore).

c) BCCI has decided to investigate into the matter. Also, a span of 15 days (effective from 18th June 2016) has been given to the two to submit written replies to the BCCI.

6) Six Indian WW1 warriors honoured in Digital Archive of UK

a) Britain has launched a new digital archive which mentions inspiring stories of war heroes which includes six Indians. The archive is a part of UK government’s centenary celebrations to mark World War I.

b) 175 soldiers from 11 overseas countries were awarded with the highest British award for valour, the Victoria Cross (VC) during the war. This list includes six soldiers who were honoured in a commemorative plaque given in 2014 to India.

c) The six Indians to be honoured are: Risaldar Badlu Singh from Punjab, Sepoy Chatta Singh from U.P, Lance Naik Lala from Himachal Pradesh, Naik Darwan Singh Negi and Rifleman Gabar Sing Negi from present-day Uttarakhand, Lance-Dafadar Gobind Singh from Rajasthan.

d) Apart from India, the other countries to be included in the archive are: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the US, Pakistan, Nepal, Denmark, Belgium and Ukraine.

7) Maharashtra Cabinet approves minority status for Jews

a) The Maharashtra cabinet has granted minority status to the Jew community. This decision aims to benefit students from these communities to avail scholarships. It also aims to enable setting up of educational institutions.

b) The decision was made on the basis of the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission Act, 2004, which vests the government with the power to grant minority status to a community.

c) The Jewish community can now take advantage of government schemes, get their marriage registrations done with ease, set up educational institutions and practise and promote their own culture.

8) NASA discovers K2-33b, a newborn Exoplanet around a young star

a) Astronomers at NASA have detected a newborn fully-formed exoplanet, (planets that orbit stars beyond the Sun) for the first time detected around a young star.

b) The discovery was made using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and its extended K2 mission. The newfound planet named K2-33b is a bit larger than Neptune and whips tightly around its star every five days.

c) Of the 3,000 exoplanets discovered so far with their age ranging in few billion years, this planet is only five to ten million years old and will help us better understand how planets form, which is important for understanding the processes that led to the formation of the Earth.

9) Bone artefacts used by early humans discovered in Kuumbi Cave

a) Bone tools were used for hunting, and even as poison arrow tips, in eastern Africa over 13,000 years, suggests a recent study in Kuumbi Cave, Zanzibar. Kuumbi Cave is one of a group of caves that underlie a flight of marine terraces in Pleistocene limestone in eastern Zanzibar.

b) The research findings suggest that bone technology was a central element to the Kuumbi Cave’s inhabitants over 13,000 years ago. This technology was a crucial element to people from Stone Age around 60,000 years ago.

c) By analysing the artefacts with a camera and microscope, the results showed that the bone projectile points are likely to have been used for poison arrows, partly due to the slender and short nature of the arrow heads, and partly supported by a previous discovery of charcoal from the Mkunazi plant, which is known to have poisonous fruit. The research was published in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa.

10) Hamid Ansari inaugurates a two-day international conference on yoga

a) Vice President Hamid Ansari recently inaugurated a two-day conference on ‘Yoga for Body and Beyond’ organised by Ministry of AYUSH as a part of International Yoga Day celebrations.

b) The conference witnessed a participation of over 70 delegates over 35 countries. The countries include Iraq, Afghanistan, Algeria, Malaysia, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Australia, Belgium, China, Egypt, Iceland, Japan, Kuwait, Korea, Kenya, Slovenia, Uzbekistan and U.A.E.

c) The nine technical sessions of the conference will have eminent yoga gurus, exponents and experts elaborate upon various themes such as “Yoga and Physical Well Being”, “Insights from Yoga Scholars”, “Integration of Yoga in Healthcare Delivery System”, “Yoga for Mental health”, “Yoga for Body and Beyond”. There will also be a panel discussion and an open ended session on experience sharing by Foreign delegates.

11) Jaitley releases silver coin to mark Martyrdom Day of Banda Singh Bahadur

a) A commemorative silver coin to mark the 300th martyrdom day of Sikh military commander Banda Singh Bahadur was released on 21st June by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

b) Releasing the coins manufactured in association with MMTC, he mentioned the need to educate people about the rich history and tradition of Punjab including its leaders like Banda Singh Bahadur.

c) Banda Bahadur established his rule to protect honour and tradition of his people, by defeating Mughals in 1710. Later in 1716, at the age of 46 he was captured and executed by Mughals in Delhi.

12) Assam: Ambubachi Mela at Kamakhya temple to begin today

a) The four-day annual Ambubachi Mela began in the Kamakhya Temple with several lakh pilgrims already arriving from different parts of the country. The authorities are expecting over 25 lakh pilgrims in the next four days.

b) The state tourism department has mounted a massive campaign to showcase the Ambubachi Mela as a major attraction for pilgrims as well as other visitors from across the country.

c) Kamakhya is also the most important centre for practice and study of tantra and shaktism is also an added attraction.