China has been officially certified as ‘Malaria-free’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is only the second country in the Asia Pacific region to get the tag, after Sri Lanka in 2016.
China has maintained zero indigenous malaria cases for four consecutive years. In the 1940s, it had an estimated 30 million cases and 300,000 deaths per year.

Mastercard has announced a strategic equity investment in Instamojo, India’s largest full-stack digital solutions provider for MSMEs.

India’s Covaxin effectively neutralises both Alpha and Delta variants of coronavirus, said the US’ National Institute of Health (NIH). The NIH said that the results of two studies of blood serum that was taken from people who had received Covaxin suggest that the vaccine generates antibodies that effectively neutralise the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) and B.1.617 (Delta) variants of SARS-CoV-2.

The Central Government has once again extended the tenure of Senior Advocate KK Venugopal as Attorney General for India for a period of one year with effect from July 01, 2021, till June 30, 2022.

Telangana Government implements the Chief Minister Dalit Empowerment Programme. Recently, the state government has announced that it will provide financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the eligible Dalit beneficiaries, under this programme.
The scheme will cover 100 families each from all the 119 Assembly constituencies in the state, with a budget of Rs 1,200 crore for the first stage. The amount will be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the selected Dalit beneficiaries.

Ukraine and the United States launched joint naval exercises “Sea Breeze Drills” in the Black Sea in a show of Western cooperation with Kiev as it faces off with Russia.

South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been sentenced to 15 months in jail by the country’s highest court. He has been given five days to hand himself over to the police.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) premises in Ahmedabad on June 27, 2021. These two new initiatives are part of PM’s vision of creating a ‘Mini-Japan’ in Gujarat.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the new generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha.
Agni P is an advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles and is a canisters missile with a range capability between 1000km and 2000 km.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced eight relief measures worth Rs 6,28,993 crore to help revival of the economy battered by Covid-19.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to nominate the names of R Ashwin and women’s Test and ODI skipper Mithali Raj for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The board has also decided to recommend the names of KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan for the Arjuna Award.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawaarchand Gehlot launched the website for the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The Delhi Metro has bagged an award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers for its “high-quality” infrastructure development projects under phases I-III. The ‘Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award’ is for the year 2020.

The Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21), co-hosted by Ukraine Navy and the United States, began on June 28 2021, in the Black Sea region.

Engineers India Limited (EIL) Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), RK Sabharwal has been honoured with the highest civilian award of Mongolia ‘The Order of Polar Star by his excellency.

As per the 2021 Cost of Living Survey by consultancy firm Mercer, Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat has been named the world’s most expensive city for foreign workers. It is followed by Hong Kong at the second position, Beirut (Lebanon) and Tokyo (Japan) at third and fourth place respectively.

Indian skipper Mithali Raj on June 29, 2021 returned to the top five of the ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings for the first time after October 2019. She is ranked fifth now on the Women’s ODI rankings after top-scoring for India with 72 runs in the opening ODI against England in Bristol.

In a virtual program from Kyungam in Leh district, Rajnath Singh inaugurated 63 Border Roads Organization bridges in eight states in the country.

The World Bank Board of Executive Directors has approved a $125 million support for the ‘Resilient Kerala Program’ to help the state in preparedness against natural disasters, climate change impacts, disease outbreaks, and pandemics.

The Government of China officially turned on the first two generating units of the Baihetan Dam, the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam, on June 28, 2021, to start generating energy. The Baihetan Dam is set up on the Jinsha River, in southwestern China.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 29, 2021 said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will provide 300 units of free electricity to every family in Punjab if it comes to power. This major announcement comes ahead of Punjab assembly polls, which are slated for next year.

Two years after sanctioning assistance of USD 250 million for the first phase of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative (RKI), the World Bank approved USD 125 million assistance for the second phase.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with participants of Toycathon-2021 via video conferencing.

World Drug Report 2021 has been released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The report states that 275 million people used drugs worldwide in the year 2020 and that 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders.
The report further reveals that, in the last 24 years, the cannabis potency has increased by about 4 times and the percent of adolescents who perceive drugs as harmful fell by as much as 40%.

Hockey India on June 26, 2021 nominated Indian men’s hockey team goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and former India women’s hockey team player Deepika for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2021.

The Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the state had not reported a single rabies case in the last three years, making it the first rabies-free state in the country.

The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs has enlarged and expanded the definition of small and medium companies (SMC).
As per the new definition, small and medium companies are unlisted entities which are not banks, financial institutions or insurance firms. They should have a turnover of up to Rs 250 crore and borrowings up to Rs 50 crore in the immediately preceding accounting year.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 27, 2021 inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) in Ahmedabad through a video conference. The Prime Minister termed the dedication of the Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy, as a symbol of ease and modernity of the India-Japan relationship.

The Union government announced decision to extend the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicle (FAME) scheme by two years to March 31, 2024.

Sajan Prakash on June 26, 2021 became the first-ever Indian swimmer to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics by breaching the ‘A’ standard time. He achieved the feat by clocking 1:56:38 in men’s 200m butterfly at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome, Italy. The qualification cut-off was set at 1:56.48 seconds.