? India has been ranked 43rd on an annual World Competitiveness Index, which was compiled by Institute for Management Development (IMD). Singapore topped the 63-nation ranking list. India’s rank remains low due to traditional weaknesses such as poor infrastructure and insufficient education investment.
? COVID-19 International Film Festival: Odia short film ‘Martyapura Re Jamaraj’ (‘Yamaraj on earth’) wins Special Jury award.
? Shambhu S. Kumaran has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of the Philippines.
? Singapore has topped the annual World Competitiveness Index, which comprises a total of 63 nations. Denmark was ranked second followed by Switzerland in the third position and the Netherlands at the fourth place.
? Airtel Payments Bank launches ‘Suraksha Salary Account’ for workforce of MSMEs.
? A CSIR National Healthcare Supply Chain Portal named as “Aarogyapath” has been launched to provide real-time availability of healthcare supplies.
? The European Union’s powerful antitrust authority opened a series of cases against Apple on June 16, 2020 including one brought by Spotify alleging the tech giant makes unfair use of its app store.
? “Ghar Ghar Nigrani” mobile application has been launched by the Punjab government to check the community spread of COVID-19 in the state.
? The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and the ABC Television Network on June 15 announced that the 93rd Oscars has been postponed and will now be held on April 25, 2021. The prestigious Academy Award was earlier scheduled to be held on February 28, 2021.
? An Artificial Intelligence enabled robot “CAPTAIN ARJUN” has been launched by the Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone to intensify the screening and surveillance of railway passengers.
? The Supreme Court of the United States on June 15, 2020 barred workplace discrimination to protect the rights of the LBGT community.
? Internal Working Group has been constituted by the Reserve Bank of India to review the extant guidelines on ownership and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks. The IWG will be headed by Dr. Prasanna Kumar Mohanty.
? India has joined the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) on June 15, 2020 as a founding member. This multi-stakeholder international partnership will promote responsible and human-centric development and the use of AI.
? Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on June 16, 2020 launched the Indian Gas Exchange (IGX), which is India’s first nationwide online delivery-based gas trading platform.
? India was the 9th largest recipient of FDI in 2019 and will continue to attract investments, states the latest UN report. India received USD 51 billion in foreign investment in 2019, revealed UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report.