1) ICMR signs agreement to provide healthcare through solar-based solutions

a) An MoU has been signed between Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), to provide healthcare to the most remote areas in the country by reducing “uncertainty” in electricity supply through solar solutions.

b) Under the initiative ‘Initiative on Solar for Healthcare’ signed between ICMR and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW),, solar systems will be installed on a pilot basis at select Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to evaluate its impact on healthcare delivery.

c) Nearly 35 million people in rural India rely on un-electrified PHCs for basic health care. Thus, the basic aim of the collaboration is to create resilient health systems in rural India which benefits such people especially women and children.

2) Rodrigo Duterte sworn-in as Philippine President

a) Rodrigo Duterte has sworn in as the new President of Philippines. Supreme Court Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes administered Duterte’s oath of office at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in Malacanang, the presidential palace.

b) The former 71-year-old Davao city Mayor won the Philippine presidential election held on May 9 with 16,601,997 votes, a lead of almost 7 million over second-in-place Manuel Roxas.

c) The new vice-president, Leni Robredo, was sworn in at a separate ceremony in Quezon City. Both of them will serve a term of six years.

3) Ozone layer in Antarctic is healing: Study

a) The hole in the Ozone over the Antarctica, first discovered in 1950’s, has begun to shrink, as discovered by the researchers.

b) The gains in the protective layer can be credited to the long term phasing out of ozone-destroying chemicals which was adopted in the 1989 Montreal Protocol.

c) The study discovered that the ozone hole has shrunk by 1.5 million square miles (four million square kilometers) since 2000, an area about the size of India. This is considered to be a good signalling for the future.

4) Govt approves MoU with Tanzania for bilateral cooperation in water resources management

a) Union Cabinet has approved the signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Indiaand Tanzania for bilateral co-operation in water resources management and development.

b) The areas of cooperation will include techniques in water harvesting, surface and groundwater management and development and aquifer recharge. The collaboration and sharing of expertise will mutually benefit both the countries.

c) The Government will encourage the exchange of experts, organisation of training programmes, study tours and other such activities including demonstrative pilot studies, in order to build capacities in the areas mentioned above.

5) Four Indian-Americans honoured with 2016 Great Immigrants Award in US

a) Four Indian Americans, Sundar Pichai and three others are among 42 US nationals to be honoured with this year’s prestigious “Great Immigrants: The Pride of America” award for their inspiring professional accomplishments.

b) The other three Indian-Americans are Hari Sreenivasan, anchor and senior correspondent, PBS NewsHour, Vikram Malhotra Chairman of the Americas, McKinsey & Company and Bharati Mukherjee National, Book Critics Circle Award-winning author.

c) 42 immigrants have been selected that represent 30 different countries with different accomplishments.

d)Pakistani American Shaiza Rizavi partner, Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co are also in the list of awardees.

6) Railways Ministry launches NIVARAN portal for employees’ grievance redressal

a) An online system for redressal of service related grievance of serving and former railway employees, NIVARAN portal has been launched by the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.

b) Developed by CRIS, this portal facilitates the employees to lodge their grievances and also monitor their progress.

c) The system would also provide facility for lodging appeal to the higher authority in case the decision is not found satisfactory.

7) RBI publishes Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018

a) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the “Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision-2018” with a vision to build a “less-cash” society by encouraging greater use of electronic payments by all sections.

b) The RBI report says that it would frame policy that would increase access to mobile banking services even to non smartphone users in multiple languages.

c) To promote electronic transactions RBI would review guidelines relating to mobile banking, white label ATM, National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT), and prepaid instruments which include m-wallets, prepaid cards and paper vouchers.

d) The RBI initiative stems from a sharp jump in electronic transactions. Data released by RBI shows the value of mobile banking transactions rose four times to Rs 4,02,204 crore in 2015-16 over the previous year, while the value of transactions through mobile wallets stood at Rs 49,014 crore in 2015-16, more than double that of the previous year.

e) The broad contours of Vision-2018 revolve around 5Cs – Coverage, Convenience, Confidence, Convergence and Cost.

f) With increasing use of technology-based innovative payment modes, the strategic initiatives under Vision-2018 aim to to reduce paper-based instruments significantly thus accelerating growth in mobile banking and other modes of electronic payments.

8) Union HRD Ministry launches teacher education portal Prashikshak

a) Union Human Resource Development Ministry has recently launched a teacher education portal Prashikshak.

b) It is launched to strengthen District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) and bring quality teachers into the Indian school education system.

c) Though the Prashikshak has started only for DIETs, it will cover Block level institutes in the future and identify gaps at the bottom of the pyramid.

d) Prashikshak is thus, a first of its kind in the country, a unique IT initiative which will contain a comprehensive database of all DIETs in the country with all relevant performance indicators.

e) Prashikshak was established through joint collaboration between Ministry of Human Resource Development and Central Square Foundation.

9) Lesbians, gays and bisexuals are not third gender: Supreme Court

a) As per the recent judgement of the Supreme court, the lesbians, gays and bisexual persons does not include under the category of ‘transgenders’.

b) A bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and N.V. Ramana refused to modify the 2014 ruling on transgender rights. The bench notified that the 2014 euling clearly mentions that the gaus, lesbians and bisexuals are not third gender.

c) Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri had granted legal recognition to transgenders or eunuchs as third gender. The SC directed the Union Government and State Governments to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes.

10) CBDT notifies rules for calculating fair market value of assets

a) The Finance ministry has recently notified the rules for calculating the fair market value of the indian & global assets of the foreign company or entity and determining the income attributable to assets situated in the country.

b) The “indirect transfer” rules come after draft guidelines issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in May, provide the guidelines to compute the income arising from transfer of any share or interest in a foreign company or entity that derives its value substantially from the assets located in India.

c) If the asset is the share of a listed Indian company , it’s fair market value would be the price on the stock exchange on that day while for shares of unlisted Indian companies, the value would be determined by a merchant banker or accountant based on any internationally accepted valuation methodology.

d) FMV of an asset which is an interest in a partnership firm or an association of members, will be determined by a merchant banker or accountant. The value of other assets would be determined on how much it would fetch in the open market.

e) The FMV of all assets of a foreign company would be determined based on the market capitalisation and book value of its liabilities in case of listed firms or those of non-connected persons. In case of shares of an unlisted foreign company, the FMV would be based on the value determined by a merchant banker or accountant along with the value of its liabilities.

f) These rules will be applicable from 28th June, 2016.

11) India’s first integrated defence communication network launched

a) HCL infosystems has recently launched India’s first ever integrated defence communication network. It is the first tri-service communication and IT network of armed forces.

b) This network is fully designed and developed in India which will prove beneficial for the defence forces during both critical operations and rescue missions.

c) The HCL infosystems has worked with Indian Air force previously to deploy The Air Force Network (AFNet) and AFCEL (Air Force Cellular Network).

12) Gurpreet Singh Sandhu makes history again, becomes first Indian to feature in Europa League

a) Norwegian football club Stabaek FC has enlisted Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for thier Europa league qualifying match against Welsh Premier League side Connah’s Quay Nomads FC.

b) He is the first player from the country to play in the continental competition.

c) Sandhu previously played for Stabaek in 2014 against IK Start in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.

13) Indigenously built Tejas inducted into IAF

a) Indigenous Light combat aircraft ‘Tejas next’ in Indian Air Force.

b) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first two Tejas aircraft to IAF which will make up the ‘Flying Daggers’ 45, the name of the first squadron of the LCA.

c) Tejas will replace the MiG-21 series.

14) D K Hota assumes charge as BEML chairman

a) BEML, formerly Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. has recently appointed D K Hota as the chairman and Managing Director of BEML.

b) previously, he was serving BEML as the Director (HR) on the board of the company.

c) Mr. Hota will replace the P Dwarakanath as company CMD.

15) SBI Digital Village launched

a) State run State Bank of India has recently launched a digital village with an aim to transform the village into the cashless economy system.

b) the scheme will work towards transforming villages into safe, healthy and vibrant digital centres.

c) On the occasion of State Bank Day on 1st July, Bank will formally launch this initiative in 21 villages. SBI plans to bring 100 villages under this initiative across the country by the end of FY 17.

16) Exercise RIPMAC 2016 begins

a) RIPMAC 2016 exercise has begun in the Hawai with 26 nations participating in the war games. These war games will be in he Hawaiian islands and southern california.

b) These exercises will run till 4th August, 2016. It will include 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft, and 25,000 military personnel.

c) RIMPAC 2016 will include an advanced submarine rescue exercise, a harpoon missile launch from a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship, disaster relief practices, maritime security operations, sea control, and complex war-fighting. Countries like Denmark, Italy and Germany are taking part in RIPMAC for the first time ever.

d) Other countries participating in the exercise are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom.

17) Indian Navy launches INS Tarasa, Follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft

a) Follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft, the INS Tarasa was recently launched by Indian Navy. It is navy’s fourth Follow-on Water Jet Fast Attack Craft.

b) The launching ceremony was held at the facilities of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd.

c) The ship of 160 feet in length and it is powered by latest MTU engines. It can attain maximum speed of 35 knots with it’s advanced machinery control system and water jets.

d) The indigenous CRN 91 Gun with Optronic Pedestal gives the ships the requisite firepower to undertake its role of patrolling at sea effectively. It features improved stealth & networking capabilities which will be useful in anti-smuggling operations, fishery protection and search and rescue.

18) President Pranab Mukherjee presents B C Roy National Awards

a) On the occasion of national doctor’s day on 1st July, president Pranab Mukherjee has conferred Dr. B C Roy National awards for 2008,2009 & 2010 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

b) The awardees are,

2008: Rajeshwar Dayal, Mammen Chandy, Neelam Mohan, Rohit V. Bhatt, Mohan Kameswaran, Harsha Jauhari, Gopal H. Badlani and Yash Gulati.

2009:H. Sancheti, Renu Saxena, Atul Kumar, A.K. Kriplani, Kanan A. Yelikar, H.S. Bhanushali, G.V. Rao, Moti Lal Singh, C.N. Purandare and C.V. Hari Narayan.

2010: Nikhil C. Munshi, O.P. Kalra, Tejinder Singh, Subash Gupta, Amrinder Jit Kanwar, Rajendra Prasad and Glory Alexander.

c) Dr. B C Roy awards were instituted in 1976 by the Medical council of India in memory of renowned physician and former West Bengal Chief Minister Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. These awards are given annually in categories like Statesmanship of the Highest Order in India, Eminent Medical Person, Medical man-cum-Statesman, Eminent person in Philosophy, Eminent person in Arts and Eminent person in Science.

19) Eminent Marathi literary scholar Ramchandra Chintaman Dhere passes away

a) Eminent Marathi writer R C Dhere has recently passed away at the age of 86.

b) He was known for his research in folk literature and Bhakti tradition of Maharashtra.

c) For his book, ‘Sri Vitthal – A Mahasamanvayak’ he received Sahitya Academy award in 1987.

d) His other works include ‘Muslim Marathi Saint Poets’, ‘Dakshinecha Lokdev Khandoba’, ‘History of Nath Sampraday’ and ‘Sri Venkateshwara’.

20) National Doctors’ Day 2016 observed

a) National Doctor’s Day 2016 was celebrated across the country on 1st July.

b) This day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. He was a highly respected physician and freedom fighter. He was also 2nd chief minister of West Bengal.

c) Dr Roy was honoured with the Bharat Ratna on 4 February 1961.

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