VISION

1)  World Vitiligo Day: 25 June

•World Vitiligo Day is observed on June 25 to build global awareness about vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin disorder leading to loss of colour in the skin creating a variety of patterns on the skin from loss of pigment. Vitiligo is often called a disease instead of a disorder and that can have a significant negative social or psychological impact on patients. The first World Vitiligo Day was observed on June 25, 2011.

2)  Day of the Seafarer: 25 June

•The International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates the annual Day of the Seafarer (DoS) on June 25 each year to pay respect to Seafarers and sailors who help the entire world function by conducting sea transport. 2021 marks the 11th anniversary of DoS. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, seafarers found themselves both on the front line of the global response and subject to difficult working conditions surrounding uncertainties and difficulties around port access, re-supply, crew changeovers, repatriation, etc.

•The theme of the 2021 campaign is “Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future”.

•The day was proposed by International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2010 to celebrate the contribution of the seafarer to the world economy and civil society. This special day has been celebrated since 2011.

3)  India successfully test fires subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay off Odisha coast

•The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the subsonic cruise missile ‘Nirbhay’ on June 24, 2021, from an Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha’s Balasore. This was the eighth test flight of the missile. The first test flight of Nirbhay was held on 12 March 2013.

4)  India- USA Navy Passage Exercise in Indian Ocean Region

•The Indian Navy and the Air Force began a two-day passage exercise with U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group (CSG) Ronald Reagan during its transit through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The exercise aims to strengthen the bilateral relationship and cooperation by demonstrating the ability to integrate and coordinate comprehensively in maritime operations.

5)  9 Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable to be hosted by India

•International Energy Forum (IEF) announced that India has agreed to host the 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9). The 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable will be held in 2022. Dates of this conference will be announced later and it will take forward the understandings reached in the previous meeting in Abu Dhabi during 2018.

6)   ISRO, NOAA-led multinational project endorsed by UN body

•UN body has endorsed a multinational project called “Committee on Earth Observation Satellites Coastal Observations, Applications, Services, and Tools (CEOS COAST)”. CEOS COAST programme is co-led by ISRO and NOAA from the US. This programme aims to improve the accuracy of coastal data on the basis of satellite and land-based observations. Its pilot projects are uniquely capable of using Earth Observation technologies to meet several of the 17 UN-designated sustainable development goals for the Ocean Decade initiative.

•NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The themes of these projects include disaster risk reduction and coastal resilience among continental shorelines and small island nations. The CEOS COAST has been working collaboratively with stakeholders in industries such as agriculture, construction, and commercial/recreational fishing to support all forms of decision-makers from parents deciding which beach to take their kids to, to sailors navigating the coast, to policymakers taking action on climate change and more.

7)  India and World Bank signs USD 32 million loan for Mizoram

•The Government of India, along with the Government of Mizoram has signed a $32 million loan agreement with World Bank for Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project. The project aims to improve the management capacity and quality of health services in Mizoram, with a focus on the benefit of under-served areas and vulnerable groups.

8)  S&P Projects India’s Growth Forecast for FY22 to 9.5%

•S&P Global Ratings cut India’s FY22 growth forecast for the current fiscal to 9.5 per cent, from 11 per cent earlier, and warned of the risk to the outlook from further waves of COVID pandemic. It also projected India’s growth at 7.8 per cent in the next fiscal ending March 31, 2023.

•The agency lowered the growth outlook saying that a severe second COVID-19 outbreak in April and May led to lockdowns imposed by states and a sharp contraction in economic activity.

9)  Ruskin Bond’s book titled ‘It’s a wonderful Life’ launched

•Indian British author Ruskin Bond has authored a new book titled ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is published by Aleph Book Company. The book is written in a perceptive, uplifting, deeply moving, and non-fictional way.  He is a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan. His First Novel was the Room on the Roof’.

10)  Karnam Malleswari appointed 1st vice chancellor of Delhi Sports University

•The Delhi government appointed former Olympic medalist weightlifter Karnam Malleswari as the first Vice-Chancellor of Delhi Sports University. She is the first Indian woman weightlifter to bring home an Olympic medal. She created history at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 by lifting 110 kilograms and 130 kilograms in the ‘snatch’ and ‘clean and jerk’ categories. She has also been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award and Padma Shri.

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 Why in news?

The government has proposed changes to the e-commerce rules under the Consumer Protection Act.

What are the key provisions?

• Sales - The draft rules seek to ban “specific flash sales” by e-commerce entities.
• Conventional e-commerce flash sales are not banned.
• However, specific flash sales or back-to-back sales “which limit customer choice, increase prices and prevents a level playing field are not allowed”.
• Liability - In several cases, when problems arise with goods purchased, e-commerce platforms direct the consumers to the respective sellers.
• The rules have introduced the concept of “fall-back liability.”
• With fall-back liability, consumers will be able to reach out to the platform itself to solve the grievance.
• E-commerce firms will be held liable if their seller fails to deliver goods or services due to negligent conduct, which causes loss to the customer.
• Preferential treatment - The rules propose to restrict e-commerce companies from “manipulating search results or search indexes.”
• This will address the long-standing demand from sellers and traders to prevent preferential treatment to certain platforms.

• Privacy - Without express and affirmative consent, e-commerce companies cannot make available to any person information pertaining to the consumer.
• No entity shall record consent automatically, including in the form of pre-ticked checkboxes.
• Domestic goods - The companies will have to provide domestic alternatives to imported goods.
• This adds to the government’s push for made-in-India products.

• Other rules - Any online retailer will first have to register itself with the Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• No logistics service provider of a marketplace e-commerce entity shall provide differentiated treatment between sellers of the same category.
• Parties and associated enterprises related to e-commerce companies will not be allowed to be enlisted as sellers on the respective platform.
• This follows from the DPIIT’s foreign direct investment policy for e-commerce marketplaces.
• Any entity having 10% or more common ultimate beneficial ownership will be considered an “associated enterprise” of an e-commerce platform.
• The draft amendment also proposes to ask e-commerce firms to mandatorily become a part of the National Consumer Helpline.

What is similar to the IT intermediary rules?

1)  Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani e-launches Agricultural Diversification Scheme

•Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has virtually launched the ‘Agricultural Diversification Scheme-2021’, with the aim of making agriculture sustainable and profitable in the tribal areas of the state. The scheme will benefit more than 1.26 lakh vanbandhu- farmers from 14 tribal districts in Gujarat.

2)  Odisha CM launches ‘Ashirbad’ for education and health of Covid orphans

•Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a new scheme ‘Ashirbad’ for the education, health and maintenance of Covid orphans. The Chief Minister announced that Rs 2500 per month will be deposited in the bank accounts of family members who have taken the responsibility for the children after the death of their parents.

•Children who lost their parents or the main earning person of the family on April 1, 2020, or thereafter to Covid-19 will be eligible to be covered under the scheme. Such children under distress have been divided into three categories. Those who have lost both their parents, those who have lost either father or mother and those whose main earning member of the family, either father or mother have died.

3)  World’s first-ever genetically modified rubber planted in Assam

•In Assam, the world’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber plant has been planted by Rubber Board, at the board’s farm in Sarutari near Guwahati. The GM rubber sapling was developed at the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), in Puthuppally, Kottayam, Kerala.

4)  Harsh Vardhan unveils ‘My Joys and Sorrows – as a Mother of a Special Child’ book

•Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has unveiled Krishna Saksena’s book “My Joys and Sorrows – as a Mother of a Special Child”. It is the epitome of the bravery and endurance of a mother, in the best tradition of Indian motherhood.

•The book is full of beautiful photographs, including some black and white ones which have historical significance, not only because some of them feature public personalities but also because it chronicles the domestic as well as the professional context of the times.

5)  NTPC wins recognition of India’s best employers among Nation-Builders 2021

•For the first time, NTPC won recognition as India’s Best Employers among Nation-Builders 2021. It has been recognized as the ‘Great Place to Work’ for the 15th straight year by the Great Places to Work Institute. It has been ranked at 38th. It was ranked 47 last year.

•It also won its first-ever recognition of India’s Best Employers among Nation-Builders 2021. NTPC, a Maharatna Community and Public Sector Unit work under the Ministry of Power. The PSU has also won the CII HR Excellence Role model award in March 2021. It is the highest award in the field of people management in the country.

•The ‘Great Place to Work’ certification is recognised worldwide and is considered the gold standard in identifying and recognizing great workplaces with high trust and high-performance cultures. It is the most definitive ‘Employer of Choice’ recognition certification that the organization aim to achieve.

6)  Nikol Pashinyan elected as Armenia Prime Minister

•Armenia’s acting prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, kept power in a parliamentary election that boosted his authority despite being widely blamed for a military defeat last year in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. Nikol’s Civil Contract party won 53.92% of the votes cast.

•An alliance led by his rival, ex-leader Robert Kocharyan, came second with 21%, according to the results based on ballots from 100% of precincts counted. Kocharyan was Armenia’s president from 1998 to 2008.

7)  Jamsetji Tata tops inaugural list of Top Philanthropists of the Century

•Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, Indian pioneer industrialist and founder of the Tata Group, has topped the inaugural, EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century list, which ranks the world’s 50 most generous individuals in the last century. As per the report, the total donations made by Mumbai-based Jamsetji Tata is estimated at US$102.4 billion. He is the only Indian among the top 10 list, compiled by Hurun Research and EdelGive Foundation.

•The only other Indian in the list of 50 global philanthropists is Azim Premji, former chairman of Wipro. He is ranked at 12th position. Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates ranked second with donations worth $74.6 billion. They are followed by Henry Wellcome ($56.7 billion), Howard Hughes ($38.6 billion), and Warren Buffett ($37.4 billion) respectively.

8)  Moody’s Revises India’s GDP growth rate to 9.6%

•Moody’s Investors Service has slashed India’s growth projection to 9.6 per cent for the 2021 calendar year, from its earlier estimate of 13.9 per cent. For the calendar year 2022, GDP growth is projected at 7 per cent.

•In its report titled ‘Macroeconomics India: Economic shocks from second COVID wave will not be as severe as last year’s, Moody’s said high-frequency economic indicators show that the second wave of COVID-19 infections hit India’s economy in April and May.

9)  Actor Will Smith announced his autobiography ‘Will’

•Actor Will Smith, who revealed the title and cover of his upcoming autobiography “Will”. The book, to be published Nov. 9 by Penguin Press. Will Smith is co-writing the book with author Mark Manson, and the cover is designed by New Orleans artist Brandan “BMike” Odums. Smith will also narrate the audiobook of Will from Penguin Random House Audio.

10)  India’s official Olympic theme song ‘Lakshya Tera Samne Hai’ released

•Ahead of the Tokyo Games, the official Olympic theme song for the Indian contingent was launched. Mohit Chauhan has composed and sung the song titled “Lakshya Tera Samne Hai”. The Games will open on July 23 and over 100 Indian athletes have qualified for the event so far.

•The event was organised by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and attended by its President, Secretary-General, Deputy Chef De Mission, Sports Secretary and DG Sports Authority of India (SAI). Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju was the chief guest at the event.

11)  New Zealand crowned first ICC World Test Championship

•New Zealand defeated India to win the first ICC World Test Championship. New Zealand chased down the target of 139 to win the first-ever World Test Championship final with eight wickets in hand. The last day of the match was played on June 23, 2021. The match saw 6 days play in place of the regular 5 days due to the rain factor. Kyle Jamieson (NZ) has been adjudged as the “Player of the match”, while Kane Williamson (NZ) is the “Player of the series”.

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