Jawaharlal Nehru University will confer the distinguished alumni award to Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. Executive Council of the University has approved a proposal in this regard. The two ministers will be awarded during the third convocation of JNU to be held in August this year.

The MoEFCC has launched this campaign in connection with the upcoming World Environment Day on 5th June and focusing on the theme declared by the United Nations Environment Programme.

CM Zoramthanga and others planted thousands of saplings with the aim of improving the environment. It is worth noting that over 38.46 lakh saplings among the people for planting during 1999 – 2018.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi police arrested vice-chairman of the Wave group Manpreet Singh Chadha alias Monty from the Indira Gandhi International airport in connection with the more than Rs. 100-crore fraud case while he was allegedly trying to escape to Phuket, Thailand.

The Union Cabinet has accorded ex-post facto approval for the extension of the term of the Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by two more months upto 31st July 2019. This is the 6th extension to the commission, which was constituted under Article 340 of the Constitution with the approval of President on 2nd October 2017. The extension of the tenure of the commission would enable it to evaluate the issue of Sub-categorization of OBCs in the Central list based on wider consultations with various stakeholders. It will also enable the commission to submit a comprehensive report on the issue. The Commission is headed by Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini.

The Union Government has taken a historic decision to reduce the salary contribution of industrial workers who are eligible for healthcare benefits under the Employees’ State Insurance Act (ESI) Act from 6.5% to 4.0%. The move is aimed at formalizing India’s informal workforce and expanding social security coverage. The reduced rates will be effective from July 1 and would benefit 3.6 crore employees and 12.85 lakh employers. The reduced rate of contribution will bring about a substantial relief to workers under the ESI scheme and bring more and more workforce into the formal sector. The ESI Act of 1948 provides for medical, cash, maternity, disability and dependent benefits to the Insured Persons under the Act. The ESI Act is administered by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Benefits provided under the ESI Act are funded by the contributions made by the employers and the employees. The Government of India through the Ministry of Labour and Employment decides the rate of contribution under the ESI Act.

Kolkata-based lender UCO Bank has declared Yashovardhan Birla, director of Birla Surya, as a willful defaulter on June 16, 2019.

Thawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, has been appointed as the new leader of Rajya Sabha. The position was previously occupied by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley under the first Narendra Modi-led government.

The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers is observed every year on May 29 to pay tribute to the invaluable contribution by the uniformed and civilian personnel and to honour more than 3,800 peacekeepers who have lost their lives while rendering peacekeeping services. The 2019 theme is “Protecting Civilians, Protecting Peace”. This is the date when in 1948 the first UN peacekeeping mission named the “United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), began operations in Palestine. Since then, more than one million men and women have served in 72 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of millions of people, protecting the world’s most vulnerable and saving countless lives. India is the 4th largest troop contributor to the UN peacekeeping missions. UN peacekeeping has helped countries move from war to peace. At present, India contributes about 6,400 peacekeepers to various missions across the world.

The most senior chief of India’s three military services is normally elevated as chairman of the CoSC. He/She is tasked with ensuring synergy among the three services, besides evolving the common strategy to deal with external security challenges facing the country.

Criiio is a celebration of all the brilliant and unique ways people play the game. Fans have been encouraged to join the social cricket tribe by sharing pictures/videos of where and how they play cricket.

Jaishankar will have to deal with overall expectations of expanding India’s global influence & stature. It is worth noting that he was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal.

Ajit Doval has been granted cabinet status and five more years as the National Security Adviser (NSA). He has been given cabinet rank in recognition of his contribution in the national security domain. Ajit Doval has been granted cabinet status and five more years as the National Security Adviser (NSA).

Centre has approved the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Pension Yojana under which small and marginal farmers will get a minimum fixed pension of 3,000 rupees per month on attaining the age of 60 years.

SD Association has barred Huawei, effectively banning it from using official SD or microSD card support in all future devices.

In Football, Liverpool breezed past Tottenham at Madrid to win the Champions League for the sixth time. In the all-English showpiece, the Reds got the better of Spurs with a 2-nil win. Mohamed Salah put Liverpool in front after just two minutes when he converted a penalty following a handball by Moussa Sissoko.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) selected June 1st as World Milk Day, which celebrates the important contributions of the dairy sector to sustainability, economic development, livelihoods, and nutrition. The theme for World Milk Day 2019 is “Drink Milk: Today & Everyday.” The aim is to educate people about the importance of milk in our life and society. Milk is one of the global foods, which is celebrated as a superfood all around the globe, figuratively and literally.

The Telangana government has decided to set up the India’s first ‘Blockchain district’ in Hyderabad to create an ecosystem for all the start-ups.

 Indian gymnast Rakesh Kumar Patra finished seventh in the finals of the Parallel Bars at the FIG World Cup that was held in Koper, Slovenia.

MN Sarma, has been elected as the new Secretary General of the General Insurance Council. It is the official representative organisation of the Indian insurance industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government launched the “Ministry of Jal Shakti” to provide safe drinking water to people and appointed  Gajendra Singh Shekhawat as the Minister of Jal Shakti. The Ministry has been created by merging Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. One of the key BJP’s manifestos was to set up a unified Ministry of Water to end the water problems in India.