1. Greece’s centre-right leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis sworn in as Prime Minister
Tags: Person in news International News
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of Greece's centre-right New Democracy party, was sworn in as Prime Minister for a second term on 26th June.
An overview of the news
The swearing-in ceremony took place at the presidential palace in the presence of the leader of the Greek Orthodox Church, following the country's tradition.
Mitsotakis expressed his gratitude for the strong mandate given to him by the voters and pledged to accelerate institutional and economic reforms.
He emphasized that major reforms would be implemented rapidly, and he had ambitious targets for his next four years in power that could bring transformative changes to Greece.
With 99.67 percent of the vote counted, New Democracy secured 40.55 percent of the vote, more than twice the percentage obtained by the main opposition party, Syriza.
Under the new electoral law that prioritizes the first party, New Democracy secured a comfortable majority of 158 seats in the 300-member Parliament, while Syriza obtained 48 seats.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, aged 55 and a Harvard graduate, comes from a prominent political family in Greece, with his father serving as Prime Minister in the 1990s and his sister and nephew also holding political positions.
About Greece
Greece is the southernmost of the countries of the Balkan Peninsula.
Greece has more than 2,000 islands, of which about 170 are inhabited.
President - Katerina N. Sakellaropoulou
Prime Minister - Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Capital - Athens
Currency - euro
2. Shankar Mahadevan receives honorary doctorate in UK
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Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University (BCU) in England.
An Overview of the News
Shankar Mahadevan's honorary doctorate is in recognition of his significant contribution to the field of music and the arts.
Shankar Mahadevan is 56 years old and a prominent member of the music composition trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Professor Philip Plowden, Vice-Chancellor of Birmingham City University.
The ceremony took place in Birmingham.
United Kingdom:
It is an island nation located in northwestern Europe. It consists of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Capital - London
Prime Minister - Rishi Sunak
Emperor - Charles III
3. Cristiano Ronaldo receives Guinness World Record award
Tags: Person in news Sports News
Portugal's star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has made another big record. Ronaldo has become the first football player in history to play 200 international matches.
An overview of the news
The 38-year-old Ronaldo set this record as soon as he was named in the playing XI against Iceland in the 2024 Euro Cup qualifying match.
The Guinness World Records team honored Ronaldo for this record before the match.
In the match held in Iceland's capital Reykjavik, Ronaldo scored a goal in the 89th minute and gave the team a 1–0 victory over Iceland.
With this win, Portugal have retained the top spot in Group J with wins from all four matches they have played so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal on 20 August 2003.
Now even after almost 20 years, this player is not only playing matches but is also playing an important role in helping his team win.
Ronaldo also holds the record for most international goals with 123 goals.
Player with most international matches
Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa is in second place in terms of playing most international matches, who has played a total of 196 matches so far.
Malaysia's Soh Chin Ain is third with 195 matches.
Lionel Messi of Argentina is joint 11th with 175 matches.
Team India captain Sunil Chhetri tops the list playing 137 international matches for India.
4. Ruby Sinha appointed as the President of BRICS CCI WE
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Ruby Sinha has been appointed as the President of BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Vertical (BRICS CCI WE) for a term of three years.
An Overview of the News
Ruby Sinha is the founder of SheAtWork and Kommune Brand Communications.
BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry promotes trade, commerce and entrepreneurship among BRICS countries and other friendly countries.
Sinha succeeds Shabana Naseem, who has moved to the position of Executive Director of BRICS CCI and Chief Patron of BRICS CCI WE.
BRICS CCI:
The parent organization for the promotion of commerce and industry in the BRICS countries.
Established in 2012 by eminent professionals and entrepreneurs.
Non-profit and non-governmental organizations.
Registered under the Societies Registration Act 1860 of the Government of India.
Listed with NITI Aayog (the apex policy-making body of the Government of India).
It is recognized by the United Nations
Women's Vertical of BRICS CCI:
It was created to focus on women empowerment initiatives and policies.
It aims to support women entrepreneurs and professionals across all geographies.
To create an efficient support system for women.
5. Hasmukh Adhia appointed chairman of GIFT City
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Hasmukh Adhia has been appointed as the chairman of GIFT City Limited.
An Overview of the News
Hasmukh Adhia is a retired bureaucrat and former Union Finance Secretary and Revenue Secretary.
Before Hasmukh Adhia, former Chief Secretary of Gujarat Sudhir Mankad was in the post of president.
GIFT City aims to promote international financial services and develop infrastructure for the finance and technology sectors.
Hasmukh Adhia has been appointed as the director and chairman of the boards of Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC).
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Limited (GACL) and Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Limited (GMDC) are state public sector undertakings.
According to regulatory filings, the appointments of Hasmukh Adhia to the post of non-executive chairman in GACL and GMDC.
About GIFT City
Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City is a central business district under construction in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat, India.
It is India's first operational Greenfield Smart City and International Financial Services Centre.
GIFT City has been promoted as a greenfield project by the Government of Gujarat.
GIFT City is divided into two zones: the International Financial Services Center (IFSC) and the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).
IFSC is designed for global financial institutions and international transactions.
DTA caters to home businesses in a variety of industries.
About Gujarat
Formation - 1 May 1960
Capital - Gandhinagar
Governor - Shri Acharya Dev Vrat
Chief Minister - Shri Bhupendra Patel
Rajya Sabha - 11 seats
Lok Sabha - 26 seats
6. Alibaba appoints Eddie Wu as new CEO and Joseph Tsai as executive chairman
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Eddie Wu has been appointed as the new CEO and Joseph Tsai as Executive Chairman by Alibaba Group.
An Overview of the News
Eddie Wu is one of the co-founders of Alibaba and currently serves as the chairman of Taobao and Tmall Group.
This leadership change is the second major change for Alibaba in recent years after Jack Ma stepped down in 2019.
About Alibaba
It is a Chinese multinational technology company.
It specializes in e-commerce, retail, internet and technology.
Alibaba operates in a variety of sectors including e-commerce, retail, Internet services and technology solutions.
The company's primary strength lies in its e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba.com, Taobao, Tmall and AliExpress.
Alibaba facilitates businesses and consumers to connect, buy and sell a wide range of products and services
Alibaba Cloud, Alibaba's cloud computing division, provides infrastructure, data storage and AI capabilities.
Founded - 4 April 1999
Headquarters - Hangzhou, China
Founders - Jack Ma, Joseph C. Tsai, Zhang Ying, Jianhang Jin
7. Petteri Orpo has been elected as the new Prime Minister of the country by the Parliament of Finland
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In Finland, the leader of the Conservative Party, Petteri Orpo, was elected Prime Minister of the country by the parliament.
An Overview of the News
Orpo's election was supported by 107 members of parliament, while 81 opposed and 11 abstained.
President Sauli Niinisto is set to formally appoint Petteri Orpo as the new Prime Minister.
Orpo will replace Sanna Marin of the Social Democrats, who finished third in the polls.
About Finland
It is a northern European nation.
It shares borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia.
The capital of Finland is Helsinki.
Helsinki is situated on a peninsula and is surrounded by islands in the Baltic Sea.
Finland's arctic Lapland province is famous for the Northern Lights, a spectacular natural phenomenon.
Lapland is a vast wilderness area with national parks and ski resorts, making it a popular destination.
8. Amit Agarwal takes over as CEO of UIDAI
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Amit Agarwal has assumed charge as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
An Overview of the News
Amit Agarwal is a senior IAS officer of 1993 batch of Chhattisgarh cadre.
He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
He has held important positions at the Center and in the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
Before becoming the CEO of UIDAI, he served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
About Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Establishment and Authorization:
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a government department established on 12 July 2016.
It works under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
UIDAI is a statutory authority created under the Aadhaar Act 2016.
Objectives and Functions:
UIDAI provides a 12 digit unique identification number called "Aadhaar" to all Indian residents.
Aadhaar serves as a universal identity for residents across the country.
UIDAI links the Aadhaar number with basic demographic and biometric information of residents.
This information includes a photograph, ten fingerprints and two iris scans.
The data is stored in a secure, centralized database managed by the UIDAI.
List of New Appointments in May 2023
Name of the Person | Designation |
Ajay Banga | President of the World Bank |
Praveen Sood | CBI Director |
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit | Deputy Chief of the Air Staff |
Debadatta Chand | Managing Director of Bank of Baroda |
Rajneesh Karnatak | Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of India |
Shantanu Roy | Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of BEML Limited |
9. Swaminathan Janakiraman named as new deputy governor of RBI
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Swaminathan Janakiraman has been appointed as the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by the Government of India.
An Overview of the News
Swaminathan Janakiraman will replace Mahesh Kumar Jain, whose term ends on June 22.
Janakiraman is currently the Managing Director in State Bank of India (SBI).
He has served as a nominee director of SBI on the boards of Yes Bank, Jio Payments Bank and NPCI.
He has also represented SBI as a director in Bank of Bhutan, a joint venture with SBI.
About Reserve Bank of India
It was established on April 1, 1935 as per the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
Sir Osborne Smith was made the first Governor of RBI.
The central office of the Reserve Bank was established in Kolkata which was permanently shifted to Mumbai in the year 1937.
It was nationalized in 1949 and now the Government of India owns the RBI.
It has the power to regulate banks under the Banking Regulation Act 1949.
It has the power to regulate Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) under the RBI Act 1934.
Headquarters: Mumbai
Governor: Shaktikanta Das
10. Vice-President to be Chief Guest at International Day of Yoga, 2023
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The Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar has been invited as the chief guest for the International Day of Yoga (IDY 2023) celebrations in Jabalpur on June 21, 2023.
An overview of the news
He will address the gathering and lead a mass yoga performance at the event.
The motto of IDY 2023 is "Yoga for 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'", which emphasizes on treating the world as one family.
The United Nations recognized June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2014, and this year marks the ninth anniversary of the global celebration.
The global celebration of IDY 2023 will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, United States.
The International Yoga Day 2023 event in Jabalpur will be attended by the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Mangubhai Patel, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister for Ayush and Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, among other dignitaries.
The celebration of IDY aims to promote yoga worldwide, highlighting its many benefits for physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
