Current Affairs in English – June 20 2022

June 20 , 2022

National Events:

ISEMIR-N:

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched a new database of the Information System on Occupational Exposure in Medicine , Industry and Research ( ISEMIR ) called ISEMIR – N .
It specifically targets workers in industrial processes involving naturally occurring radioactive material ( NORM ) .NORM is any naturally occurring material which contains no significant amounts of radionuclides .

Fitch Ratings:

Fitch Ratings has revised the rating outlook to stable from negative for nine India – based banks , including SBI , ICICI Bank and Axis Bank .
The other lenders are Bank of Baroda , Bank of Baroda ( New Zealand ) , Bank of India , Canara Bank , PNB and Union Bank of India .
Separately , Fitch also revised the outlook on Export – Import Bank of India’s ( EXIM ) Long – Term IDR to stable from negative .

Kantar Brandz:

IT services and banking companies have retained top positions in the Kantar Brandz , 2022 Most Valuable Global Brands report .
The number of Indian brands in the Global Top 100 for 2022 rose to four : Tata Consultancy Services ( TCS ) , HDFC Bank , Infosys and Life Insurance Corporation ( LIC ) .
TCS jumped 12 positions to 46th position from 58th in 2021 . Its brand value was up 61 percent .

Speedtest Global Index:

The Speedtest Global Index released by Ookla showed that India recorded 14.28 Mbps median mobile download speeds in the month of May , slightly better than 14.19 Mbps in April 2022 .
With this , the country is now three notches up in its global ranking and is at 115th position .India also improved its global ranking for overall fixed median download speeds , from 76 in April to 75 in May 2022 .

Centre for Brain Research:

PM Narendra Modi on 20 June 2022 inaugurated the Centre for Brain Research . He also laid the foundation stone for Bagchi Parthasarathy Multispeciality Hospital at IISc Bengaluru .
The Centre for Brain Research is developed as a one of its kind research facility and focuses on conducting vital research to provide evidence based public health interventions to manage age – related brain disorders .

National Reading Day : 19 June:

India celebrates June 19 as the National Reading Day in honour of P N Panicker , the father of the Library and Literacy Movement in Kerala .
It was started as a Reading Day celebration on June 19 , 1996 , by the Government of Kerala in association with the P N Panicker Foundation . On this day many reading – related activities are organized across the country .

GST Council meeting:

The 47th Meeting of the GST Council will be held on June 28-29 , 2022 in Srinagar . This is the second time that the GST Council meeting is being held in Srinagar .
The 47th GST Council meeting is expected to discuss the report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation . The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister .

National Yoga Olympiad:

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 18 June 2022 inaugurated National Yoga Olympiad 2022 and quiz competition in New Delhi . It is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and the NCERT from June 18 to 20 , 2022 .
In the Yoga Olympiad , asana , pranayama , kriya , meditation etc are demonstrated by the students . The NCERT started the National Yoga Olympiad in 2016 .

ENJOI:

Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited on 19 June 2022 launched ‘ ENJOI , an exclusive savings account for kids . It aims to introduce young kids to the financial world and encourage them to develop saving habits early .
ENJOI will allow kids of 0-18 years to open savings accounts under the supervision of their parents . Minors aged 10 & above will also get an option for a personalised Debit Card .

UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al – Khalifa Prize:

Central Institute of Educational Technology , a unit of NCERT has been awarded the UNESCO’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al – Khalifa Prize for the Use of ICT ( Information And Communication Technology ) in Education for the year 2021 .
The Prize rewards individuals and organisations that promote the creative use of technologies to enhance overall educational performance . The prize was established in 2005 .

International Events:

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict : 19 June:

The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed on 19 June every year .
The theme for 2022 is ‘ Prevention as Protection : Enhancing structural and operational prevention of conflict – related sexual violence ‘.
On June 19 , 2008 , UN Security Council adopted resolution 1820 , to condemn sexual violence and rape during wars as crimes against humanity .

2026 FIFA World Cup:

A total of 16 cities across the US , Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup .It will be the first – ever tournament to include 48 teams instead the current capacity of 32 .
The US will host 60 of the 80 matches that will be played during the FIFA World Cup , while Canada and Mexico will host 10 matches each .All knockout fixtures will be played at different venues across the US .

New rules for transgender athletes:

World swimming’s governing body has adopted new rules for transgender athletes , only permitting swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events . FINA members voted 71.5 % in favor of the new ” gender inclusion policy ” .
It will apply to all its events from 20 June 2022 . The 24 – page policy also includes proposals for a new ” open competition ” category .

India and Bangladesh:

India and Bangladesh have decided to expand their strategic partnership to develop cooperation in areas of Artificial Intelligence , cyber security , startups and fintech .
They have also agreed to expand ties in the railways sector as well as cross – border river management and conservation .This was decided at the 7th Joint Consultative Commission meeting .

Country’s first black woman:

Gustavo Petro has become Colombia’s President after winning the country’s Presidential Elections on 19 June 2022 . He won against Rodolfo Hernandez and will take office in August 2022 .
Francia Marquez will become the country’s first black woman Vice President . She had won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2018 for opposing gold mining in Suarez .

‘ Renewable Energy 2022 : Global Status Report ‘:

India ranked 3rd in renewable energy installations in 2021 , after China & Russia , according to a report released on 15 June 2022 .The report titled ‘ Renewable Energy 2022 : Global Status Report ‘ was published by REN21 ( Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century ) .
India installed 15.4 gigawatts ( GW ) of renewable energy projects in 2021 . It also ranked 4th in total solar installations.

World Refugee Day : 20 June:

World Refugee Day is an international day organised every year on 20 June by the United Nations .It celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution .
The theme for the year 2022 is ‘ Right to Seek Safety ‘ . The day was first observed on 20 June 2001 .

China emerged as the top buyer of Indian rice:

China emerged as the top buyer of Indian rice during the pandemic , importing 16.34 lakh metric tonnes ( LMT ) of India’s total rice export of 212.10 LMT in financial year 2021-22 .
Out of China’s total rice import from India of 16.34 LMT , nearly 97 per cent was broken rice . China is now the top buyer of Indian broken rice , which was earlier exported mostly to African countries .

‘ Women Peace and Security ‘:

Women soldiers of the Indian Army participated in the four – day ‘ Women Peace and Security ‘ Seminar at Ulaanbaatar , Mongolia ‘.
The four – day event kicked off on 16 June 2022 and is being held under the auspices of Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh .
Women soldiers participated in the seminar as a part of Indian Army contingent participating in ‘ Ex Khaan Quest ‘.

Sports Events:

Neeraj Chopra: