Around INDIA
# Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi chaired the fourth meeting of
the Governing Council of NITI Aayog at Rashtrapati Bhawan on June 17, 2018. The
day-long meeting was attended by Union Ministers, Chief Ministers from the
States, Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories and senior officials from the
Government of India.
·
Prime Minister called for widespread consultation on
simultaneous elections in the country
·
Prime Minister called upon states to fix “ambitious growth
targets” for their economies as India looks to become a $5 trillion economy
soon
·
Prime Minister reiterated the Union Government's commitment to
provide universal coverage of seven key schemes to 45,000 additional villages
in 115 Aspirational Districts, by August 15, 2018.
·
Prime Minister said that all villages of the country are now
electrified, and under Saubhagya Yojana, 4 crore houses are now being provided
with electricity connections. He said rural sanitation coverage has increased
from less than 40 percent to about 85 percent in four years. He said that after
the implementation of the Jan Dhan Yojana, the entire population of the country
will be connected to the banking system. Similarly, he said the Ujjwala Yojana
is providing access to cooking gas, and Mission Indradhanush is working towards
universal immunization. He said the Union Government is working towards
providing housing for all by 2022.
·
Prime Minister called upon all Chief Ministers to contribute
their efforts towards this objective of 100 percent implementation of schemes
for the welfare of the poor.
·
Prime Minister has suggested that a committee of seven Chief
Ministers (from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Gujarat, West Bengal, Andhra
Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) be set up to make recommendations on leveraging
MGNREGA in the agriculture sector [Click for more on the Governing Council of NITI Aayog]
# Vice President and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Mr. M. Venkaiah
Naidu urged the MEDIA to effectively function as Means of Empowerment for
Development through Informed Actions of people. He also stressed on the need
for a positive and constructive public discourse in the country on all major
issues and reminded the media of it’s role in the same.
# The indigenously upgraded artillery gun Dhanush has
successfully completed final user trials and is ready for induction into the
Army. Dhanush is an upgraded version of the Swedish Bofors gun procured by
India in the mid – 1980s
TAMIL NADU
# A sulphuric acid leak,
described by officials as “minor” was detected in one of the storage units of
the sealed Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi created panic among the locals
# Participating in the 4th Governing Council of NITI Aayog in
New Delhi, Chief Minister, Mr. Edappadi K. Palaniswamy suggested that the
States be allowed to appropriate revenue through indirect taxes and personal
income tax
·
Chief Minister also sought to upgrade the Gandhigram Rural
Institute in the state (currently a deemed university) into a central
university, and also to establish a Centre for Excellence for Gandhian
Philosophy and Rural Development
·
State like Tamil Nadu should not be punished in 15th Finance
Commission by mandating the 2011 census for calculation of shares
# A centenary commemorative postal stamp (Mahatma Gandhi) was
released to mark the 100th foundation day of the Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar
Sabha in Chennai
·
The Sabha was inaugurated by Annie Beasant on June 17, 1918 and
the first Hindi class was conducted by Devdas Gandhi, the youngest son of
Mahatma Gandhi
STATES SCAN
# Telangana: Government planned to set up “District Child
Protection Units (DCPUs)” in all 31 districts to protect the children from
child abuse, child labour and also to implement the child rights in all
districts
BILATERAL ISSUES
# President, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind addressed an impressive
gathering of Indian community in Athens, Greece
# SAARC Development Fund to launch a Social Enterprise
Development Programme (SEDP) to fund 80 entities annually across the 8
countries
# External Affairs Minister, Ms. Sushma Swaraj left for a seven
day tour of Italy, France, Luxembourg and Belgium which is aimed at deepening
India’s strategic engagement and trade ties with the four European countries
WORLD
# Greece: Greece and Macedonia defied protests and set aside
three decades of dispute as they agreed on a new name for the Blakan State,
potentially paving the way for Macedoina’s admission to the European Union and
NATO; Macedonia is now renamed as “Republic of North Macedonia”
# Jordan: King Abdullah II has appointed Mr. Omar al – Razzaz as
the new Prime Minister
# Russia: Successfully launched a GLONASS – M positioning
satellite using a Soyuz – 2.1b carrier rocket
