Notes:
The Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI), Pune has been selected as the first recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for outstanding contribution to promotion and development of Yoga. The institute has worked to spread Yoga, internationally, over a period of four decades. Apart from this RIMYI has also published many books on Yoga and these have been translated into multiple languages. There are thousands of Iyengar Yoga teachers popularising and propagating yoga across the world. The Award was recommended by an Evaluation Committee (Jury) constituted under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary and included Additional Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, Secretary (AYUSH) and Dr. Veerendra Heggade as its members.

Notes:
The International Yoga Day (IYD) is celebrated every year on June 21 to highlight the fact that yoga can contribute in a holistic way to achieving an equilibrium between mind and body. The 3rd edition of IYD 2017 has celebrated world-wide from New Delhi to New York and Paris to Panama. About 5,000 events are taking place across 180 countries to mark the Yoga day. The United Nations (UN) theme of this year is “Yoga for Health”. Yoga is an ancient Indian practice which is very useful for curing many diseases and health disorders.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan agreement of $275 million with Government of India (GOI) for improving urban services in 64 small towns in Madhya Pradesh. As part of the agreement, the project will develop sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient water supply in 64 small and medium-sized towns, and integrated storm water and sewerage infrastructure in two heritage towns of Khajuraho and Rajnagar. Along with ADB’s loan, the Government of Madhya Pradesh will provide counterpart support of $124 million. The project will run for almost 5 years with an expected completion date of June 2022.

Notes:
India has recently signed a historical agreement with Portugal to promote cooperation in the field of archives in Lisbon, Portugal. As a part of the cooperation, the Torre do Tombo (National Archives of Portugal) has handed over digital copies of 62 volumes of the collection known as ‘Moncoes do Reino’ (Monsoon correspondence) to the National Archives of India (NAI). These volumes serve as the most important primary source for the study of the Portuguese expansion in Asia and their trade rivalries with the Arabs and European powers as well as their relations with neighboring Kings in South Asia and East Asia.

Notes:
India’s first indigenously built Floating Dock (FDN-2) for the Indian Navy has launched at the L&T Shipbuilding Yard at Kattupalli near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Floating Dock is 185 metres long and 40 metres wide and will enable docking of all kinds of vessels, including Naval ships and submarines (excepting aircraft carriers and tankers) of up to 8,000 tonnes displacement, with draughts of up to seven metres, during both day and night. FDN-2 was designed and built by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T) at a cost of Rs 468 crore.

Notes:
The 2017 BIO International Convention has started at the San Diego Convention Centre in San Diego, California from June 19 to 22, 2017, which is hosted by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). It is the largest global event for the biotechnology industry that offers key networking and partnering opportunities and provides insights and inspiration on the major trends affecting the industry. Y S Chowdary, Minister of State for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, is leading the Indian delegation at the 2017 Convention. The event features keynotes and sessions from key policymakers, scientists, CEOs, and celebrities. The Convention also features the BIO Business Forum (One-on-One Partnering), hundreds of sessions covering biotech trends, policy issues and technological innovations, and the world’s largest biotechnology exhibition – the BIO Exhibition.

Notes:
The Punjab Government has recently announced free education for girls in Government Schools and colleges from Nursery to PhD for women empowerment. To promote English in schools, the state government will also launch a pilot project that will roll out from July 2017in all government schools. In addition, the free Wi-FI service will also roll-out for 13,000 primary schools and all 48 government colleges. Meanwhile, the reservation for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already been increased by the government from 33% to 50%.

Notes:
Indian agricultural microbiologist Dr. Shrihari Chandraghatgi, the President and CEO of EcoCycle Corporation, has been conferred with the 2017 Ministry of Environment Award in Japan for developing cutting edge technologies to address burning environmental problems. With this, Chandraghatgi has become the first foreigner to receive this award. The Ministry of Environment Award is the highest honour given in the environmental sector every year jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Japan, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan and The Nikkan Kogyo Shinbun (a media group).

Notes:
Rajiv Gauba, the 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, will be the new home secretary in the union ministry for home affairs. He will succeed Rajiv Mehrishi, who will complete his term on August 30, 2017. Until then Gauba will serve as Officer on Special Duty in the Home Ministry. Prior to this appointment, he was posted as urban development secretary as officer on special duty.

Notes:
The Lahugala Kitulana National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka. Despite its land area, the park is an important habitat for Sri Lankan elephant and endemic birds of Sri Lanka. It is home to Endemic toque macaque, Sri Lanka leopard, Indian muntjac, Sri Lankan axis deer, Sri Lankan sambar deer, Indian pangolin, Indian hare, etc.