Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has launched R&D Portal “SATYABHAMA”.

Government think tank Niti Aayog has formed a panel including top officials of tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Tech Mahindra to develop a job platform for migrant labours.

The theme of International Day of Yoga 2020 is “Yoga for Health-Yoga at Home”. The day is observed every year on 21 June since 2015.

The government has granted emergency funds up to Rs 500 crore per procurement project to the three armed services to buy weapons and military hardware in view of the escalating border standoff with China.

In a first, Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone has installed a newly innovated ATMA – Automated Ticket Checking & Managing Access machine at the Nagpur railway station.
The ATMA machine has been introduced at the station under the NINFRIS policy to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

The Jammu & Kashmir Administration approved the Agriculture Production Department’s proposal to change its nomenclature to “Agriculture Production & Farmers Welfare Department” and announced new rules for appointments to various posts.

Cement brand, JSW Cement has roped in former cricketer and current president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Sourav Ganguly as well as captain of the Indian national football team and Bengaluru FC, Sunil Chhetri as its brand ambassadors.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has joined the elite club of the world’s top 10 richest people, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index released on 20 June 2020. He is ranked as the 9th richest person in the world, in the latest update. The net worth of Ambani jumped to $64.5 billion as of 20 June, making him the only Asian tycoon to feature in the top 10 richest people list.

The 45th annual meeting of the United States India Business Council (USIBC) will be marked with the 2020 India Ideas Summit. India will virtually host the event on 21st and 22nd July.

Urjit Patel has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), an economic think tank which is based in New Delhi, India.

A rare celestial event, annular solar eclipse popularly called as the ring of fire eclipse will be visible on 21 June 2020.
The first solar eclipse of this year takes place on the summer solstice, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.

After exercising the powers conferred under section 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992), the board of SEBI has amended the regulation 3, in sub-regulation (2) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (SEBI-SAST) to enhance the acquisition limit for promoters of a listed company. The amendment allows promoters owning 25% or more of the shares or voting rights in a company to increase his shareholding by up to 10% in a year in comparison to the earlier 5% limit.

India was the second biggest growth driver of primary energy consumption in the world, behind China, in 2019 even though it witnessed fall in demand in oil and coal, according to BP Statistical Review released.

Noted economist B P R Vithal, who served as a Member of the 10th Finance Commission, has passed away due to age-related ailment. He was 93.

Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan has won the World Stars Sharjah Online International Chess Championship.

International Day of Yoga 2020 is celebrated on 21 June every year to create awareness globally about the benefits of practicing yoga.

Megha Majumdar’s debut novel, A Burning, was released recently to positive reviews. It became a New York Times bestseller.

Astronomers at the US (United Sates) based space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) have discovered the youngest known magnetar (a type of neutron star) named “Swift J1818.0-1607” about 16,000 light years away from Earth.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mandi has developed the infusion technology for herbs in the mid-Himalayan region. The technology has been developed as a sustainable means of income for marginal farmers residing in the mid-Himalayan region. The team of researchers from the Botanical Garden and Medicinal Plant Lab of the institute analysed numerous herbs of the Kamand region of IIT-Mandi for the development of value-added products to create products for health benefits.

The Reliance Industries Limited has reached $150-billion mark in term of market capitalisation and has become India’s first $150-billion company in terms of market capitalisation.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the final stage of completing the installation of huge liquid oxygen tanks at 20 places, including key hospitals-KEM, Nair, Sion-and at jumbo facilities.

Bank of Baroda, India’s 3rd largest lender to fully digitise its lending operations including home, agriculture, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), personal and auto loans. The bank has set up a new vertical, digital lending department at the corporate office, which will have substantial overlap with various credit verticals including Retail, MSME, Agri & service verticals like Analytics centre, Risk Management, Marketing. BoB MD & CEO is Sanjiv Chadha.

HDFC ERGO, India’s third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, has launched a first-of-its-kind ‘Pay As You Fly’ Third-Party Liability policy for drone-owners in India. For this, HDFC ERGO has partnered with TropoGo, a Deep Tech start-up, working on Real-time Risk Management platform to cater to every need of the Indian Smart Tech ecosystem.

Reliance Industries Ltd  has sold a 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) for Rs 11,367 crore.

Raja Parba festival celebrated in Odisha

According to the report titled “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition” released by Italy based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 45 million people fell into acute food insecurity since February 2020 due to of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, of which a majority of 33 million people reside in South and Southeast Asia, and most of the remainder in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Fitch Ratings has revised downward its rating outlook for India to negative from stable while retaining its sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade of ‘BBB-‘.

The “Composite Regional Centre (CRC)” for the development of skill, rehabilitation and employment of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) has been inaugurated by the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda. The CRC is situated inside the Namkum Block Office, Khijri in Ranchi.

The Indian Air Force has submitted a proposal to the central government to acquire 33 new fighter aircraft from Russia. The proposal comes amid India’s heightened tensions with China following the violent clash at the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.

June 18th of Every year is celebrated as the Autistic Pride Day to create awareness about Autism and to create space for the people with autism to be themselves and celebrate their neurodiversity and differences. In 2005, the first autistic pride day was celebrated in Brazil by the Aspies for Freedom (AFF) created by Gareth & Amy Nelson and became a global event. A rainbow infinity symbol is used to represent neurodiversity which symbolizes the infinite possibilities in the lives of autistic people.