1. India-Bangladesh holds 7th Round of Joint Consultative Commission in New Delhi
Tags: International Relations
The seventh round of the India-Bangladesh Joint Consultative Commission was held in New Delhi on 19 June.
It was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen.
The previous edition was held virtually in 2020.
The Ministers welcomed the further strengthening of bilateral ties with the unprecedented visits of the President and Prime Minister of India last year.
These visits were made in memory of three epoch-making events -
The birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
The 50th anniversary of the independence of Bangladesh
The golden anniversary of India-Bangladesh diplomatic ties.
The Ministers appreciated that the trust and mutual respect shared between the two countries has strengthened over the past decade.
The latest proof of this was the launch of the trailer of 'Mujib-Making of a Nation' at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year.
It was a jointly produced biopic on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The two ministers agreed to work together to further strengthen cooperation in the areas of shared rivers and water resources management, IT and cyber security, renewable energy, agriculture and food security, sustainable trade, climate change and disaster management.
2. Government clears the appointment of new chief justices in 5 high courts
Tags: Popular National News
The government has approved the appointment of new Chief Justices in five High Courts.
The Ministry of Law and Justice has released the notification for the appointment of Chief Justices of the High Courts of Uttarakhand, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Guwahati.
Uttarakhand High Court - Justice Vipin Sanghi of the Delhi High Court will be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court.
Gauhati High Court - Gujarat High Court judge Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya has been appointed Gauhati Chief Justice.
Telangana High Court - Telangana High Court judge Ujjal Bhuyan has been appointed Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court.
Himachal Pradesh High Court - Bombay High Court Chief Justice AA Sayed has been appointed Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice.
Rajasthan High Court - Bombay High Court Justice SS Shinde has been appointed Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice.
Judicial vacancies
As of June 1, the number of judicial vacancies in high courts remains at 400, while the number of serving judges is 708.
The sanctioned strength of judges in 25 High Courts is 1,108.
Important facts about High Courts
Number of High Courts in India - 25
Newest High Court of India - Andhra Pradesh High Court established on 1st January 2019.
The High Court is the highest court in a state in India.
Article 217 of the Constitution states that the Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Governor of the State.
There is a High Court for Haryana, Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
There is only one High Court for the northeastern states.
The first High Court in India is the Calcutta High Court, it was established in 1862.
The Gauhati High Court has the largest number of benches in India.
3. Ministry of Culture and ASI organise 'Yoga Mahotsav' at Purana Qila in New Delhi
Tags: National News
The Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) organised ‘Yoga Mahotsav’ on 18 June at Purana Qila, New Delhi.
The objective of this program is to instil the everlasting value of cultural welfare among the people.
The event was attended by over 500 people, including officials from the Ministry of Culture and foreign representatives from over 40 countries.
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
It is the premier organisation for archaeological research and conservation of the nation's cultural heritage.
It works under the Ministry of Culture.
It manages more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance.
It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham.
Alexander Cunningham was the first Director-General of ASI.
He is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.
It is headed by a Director-General and is headquartered in New Delhi.
4. India, EU resume free trade talks after 9-year lull
Tags: International News
As per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry India and the European Union (EU) have resumed free talks for free trade agreement (FTA) after a nine years lull.
Negotiations were resumed on 17 June at an event held at the European Union Headquarters in Brussels.
India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, and Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, formally re-launched the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.
The first round of India-EU Free Trade Agreement talks is scheduled to begin in New Delhi on June 27.
In addition, negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and a Geographical Indication (GI) agreement were also initiated.
This will be one of the most important FTAs for India as the EU is its second largest trading partner after the US.
India and the European Union (EU) trade
India-EU trade registered an all-time high of $116.36 billion in 2021-22, registering a year-on-year growth of 43.5%.
India's exports to the EU grew by 57% to $65 billion in FY 2021-22.
India has a surplus trade with the EU.
European Union (EU)
It is an international organisation made up of European countries, which was formed in 1993.
It is a group of 28 countries that act as a cohesive economic and political bloc.
19 of these countries use the euro as their official currency.
9 EU members -Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom do not use the euro.
Its goal is to promote peace and the well-being of all citizens of the EU.
5. MHA to reserve 10 % vacancies for Agniveers in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles
Tags: Government Schemes National News
The Union Home Ministry on June 18 announced to reserve 10 per cent vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles for 'agniveers'.
The Ministry has also decided to relax the upper age limit of three years for Agniveers for recruitment in Central Armed Police Forces and Assam Rifles.
The first batch of Agniveers will get a relaxation of 5 years over and above the prescribed age limit of 23 years, taking it up to 28 years.
The announcement comes amid widespread protests against the recently unveiled scheme for recruitment of soldiers in the armed forces on a short-term contractual basis.
The soldiers recruited under this scheme will be called 'Agniveer'.
Several states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Assam have also announced various measures to encourage the youth to apply under the Agnipath scheme and assured them reservation in their states.
Uttar Pradesh government said the 'Agniveer' will be given priority in police and related services.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said his government will give preference to the 75 per cent soldiers who come back after four years as soldiers and seek government jobs.
About ‘Agnipath’ scheme
Under this scheme, to reduce the rising salary and pension expenses, short-term soldiers will be recruited on contract basis, which will be called 'Agniveer'.
Under the scheme the soldiers will be recruited initially for a period of four years and some of them would be retained.
Indian youth will be provided an opportunity to serve in the Armed Forces as 'Agniveer'.
Women will also be recruited into armed forces under the scheme.
This will help in ensuring optimum balance between youth and experience in the Army.
The "Agneepath" scheme, earlier named as "Tour of Duty", was initiated in the presence of the Chiefs of the three Services.
At present, the Army recruits youth under Short Service Commission for an initial tenure of 10 years, which can be extended up to 14 years.For more information please visit 14 and 17 June 2022 news
6. Somalia's president appointed Hamza Abdi Barre as prime minister
Tags: Person in news International News
Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed has appointed Hamza Abdi Barre, former chairman of the Jubaland State Election Commission, as prime minister.
Hamza Abdi Barre, 48, of the semi-autonomous state of Jubaland, replaced Mohamed Hussein Roble.
Recently Hassan Sheikh Mohamed was elected the new President of Somalia.
About Somalia
Somalia is a country located on the eastern edge of Africa.
It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west.
Somalia is a semi-arid country with about 1.64% of the arable land.
Capital- Mogadishu
Currency - Somali shilling
7. China to host 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23
Tags: International News
Chinese President Xi Jinping will host the 14th BRICS Summit in Beijing on June 23.
The Summit will be held in virtual format under the theme of "Foster High-quality BRICS Partnership, Usher in a New Era for Global Development".
President Xi Jinping will host the High-level Dialogue on Global Development in Beijing on June 24.
Under the "BRICS Plus" format, the leaders of emerging countries invited to the upcoming summit are also expected to participate.
China introduced the "BRICS Plus" format last year by inviting some countries from different regions at the Xiaomi summit.
About BRICS
The full form of BRICS is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill coined the term BRIC (without South Africa) in 2001.
He claimed that by 2050, the four BRIC economies would dominate the global economy by 2050.
South Africa was included in the list in 2010.
The presidency of the Forum is rotated annually among the members.
BRICS accounts for about 40% of the world’s population.
It accounts for 30% of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
For more information please visit 21 May 2022 news
8. Government extended the upper age limit for the Agnipath scheme from 21 to 23
Tags: National News
The central government has increased the upper age limit for the Agneepath Recruitment Scheme from 21 years to 23 years.
As per Defence Ministry the age waiver will be given only "one time" for the proposed recruitment cycle for 2022.
The decision has been taken as there has been no recruitment in the last two years.
Preference will be given to Agniveers in the recruitment of Central Armed Police Forces and State Police.
Those aspiring to become entrepreneurs after the service will get financial packages and bank loans.
Agniveer who wants to study further will be given a 12th class equivalent certificate.
Agneepath scheme will increase opportunities for youth to serve in the armed forces.
In the coming years, the recruitment of Agniveers will be almost three times the current recruitment in the Armed Forces.
Under this scheme more than forty six thousand youth will be recruited this year.
For more information please visit 14 June 2022 news
9. Biden nominates Indian-American Radha Iyengar to top Pentagon position
Tags: International News
President Joe Biden has nominated Indian-American Radha Iyengar Plumb to the top post at the Pentagon.
She is currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Minister of Defence.
She has now been nominated for the post of Deputy Under Secretary, Defence for Acquisition and Sustainment.
Prior to her appointment as Chief of Staff, she was the Director of Research and Insights for Trust and Security at Google and led the team in business analytics, data science and technical research.
She has also served as the Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook.
She has also served in several senior positions on national security issues in the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Energy and the White House National Security Council.
Ms. Plumb was also a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, where she focused on improving the measurement and evaluation of preparedness and security efforts at the Department of Defence.
Early in her career, she was an assistant professor at the London School of Economics and did her postdoctoral work from Harvard.
She received her PhD in Economics from Princeton University.
10. Iraq's 'Pearl of the South' Lake Sawa dry due to water crisis
Tags: International News
Iraq's famous and prominent Lake Sawa has dried up for the first time in its centuries-old history.
Locals believe that the lake has dried up due to mismanagement by local investors, neglect of the government and climate change.
About Sawa Lake
It is a biodiversity-rich wetland located near the city of Samwa, south of Iraq's capital, Baghdad.
Sawa Lake is mentioned in some old Islamic texts.
It is said that the lake was created miraculously on the day Prophet Muhammad was born in 570 AD
Thousands of religious tourists come every year to take a dip in the holy waters of this lake.
In 2014, Lake Sawa was designated a Ramsar Site, an international designation for significant wetlands, recognized as a rare area in need of conservation.
This lake was known as the pearl of the south.
