21th JUNE CURRENT AFFAIRS IN ENGLISH

1. World Music Day: 21 June

World Music Day is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June.

• On Music Day the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks.
• The first all-day musical celebration was originated by the France.

2. International Day of Yoga: 21 June

International Day of Yoga, or commonly and unofficially referred to as Yoga Day, is celebrated annually on 21 June since its inception in 2015.

• An international day for yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice originated in India.
• The theme for Yoga Day 2018 is "Yoga for Peace."

3. CEA Arvind Subramanian resigned

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian has submitted his resignation and expressed his desire to return to the United States due to family commitments, Union Minister Arun Jaitley announced.

• Mr. Subramanian started his term as CEA on October 16, 2014 for a term of three years.
• On the completion of three years, he was asked to continue for a year more, which would have taken his term to October 2018.

4. 19th all India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureaux

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir will inaugurate the 19th all India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureaux in Hyderabad.

• During the two-day conference, participants will deliberate on latest Automatic Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS).
• In the conference issues related to administration, standard operating procedures for uniform functioning of bureaus would also be deliberated.

5. Shillong gets selected as the 100th Smart City

Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya has been selected as 100th Smart City after evaluating the proposal submitted by it.

• Till now, 99 smart cities had been selected in four rounds of competition and with today’s announcement, selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission.
• Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and 9 cities in January 2018. 
• With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores.

6. KVIC adopts Jagatpur village in Delhi for Swachhata Abhiyaan

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has adopted Jagatpur village in Delhi for its Swachhata Abhiyaan.

• The sanitation drive by KVIC began with a plantation drive and ended with cleanliness drive along the bank of the Yamuna river.

7. RK Singh inaugurates solar plant at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib

India is making rapid strides in the field of renewable energy and we will overshoot the target of 175 GW renewable energy by 2022.” said Shri R.K Singh, Minister of State(IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy.

• He was speaking as the Chief Guest at the inauguration of 1500 kWP capacity solar plant developed by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) at the Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib.
• Lauding this noble initiative by DSGMC, Shri Singh said that this would inspire other institutions to go green and become environment conscious.
• He said that 20 cities in India are ranked among the most polluted in the world and there is an urgent need to reduce fossil fuel use so that we leave a better world for our children.
• The Minister reiterated the Government’s commitment to bring electricity to every household by 31st December, 2018.

8. PM’s Award for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and Development of Yoga

 

Shri Vishwas Mandalik, Nasik and The Yoga Institute, Mumbai are the recipients of the Prime Minister's Award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of Yoga for the year 2018.

• The selection was done from among 186 nominations received under different categories.
• On the occasion of the 2nd International Day of Yoga celebrations at Chandigarh on 21st June, 2016, the Hon’ble Prime Minister had announced the institution of awards for the promotion and development of Yoga.
• The award for 2017 was won by Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune.

9. India Smart Cities Awards

Nine awards in three categories, i.e., Project Award, Innovative Idea Award and City Award have been announced under the India Smart Cities Awards, which was launched on June 25, 2017 by Hon’ble Housing and Urban Affairs Minister.

• The city award is being given to Surat for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development.
• The Innovative Idea award is being given to a project/idea particularly remarkable for its innovative, bottom-up and transformative approach towards achievement of sustainable integrated development. Joint winners in this category are Bhopal for their Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) and Ahmedabad for Safe and Secure Ahmedabad (SASA) Project.
• The Project awards are being given to most innovative and successful projects in seven categories that have been completed by April 1, 2018.

The Projects selected are

• PMC Care from Pune under ‘Governance’ category,
• Smart Place Making from Pune under ‘Built Environment’,
• Smart Class rooms from NDMC and Jabalpur, Smart Campus from Visakhapatnam, Lighthouse from Pune under ‘Social Aspects’ category,
• B Nest Incubation Centre from Bhopal and Conservation of Rajasthan School of Arts from Jaipur under ‘Culture and Economy’ category,
• Public Bike Sharing from Bhopal, Pune, Coimbatore and Waste to Energy Plant in Jabalpur under ‘Urban environment’ category,
• Integrated Transit Management System (TMS) from Ahmedabad and Surat under ‘Transport and Mobility’ category and
• Smart Water Management through SCADA from Ahmedabad under ‘Water and Sanitation’ category.

10. Vice President receives the Book ‘Vedvigyan Alok’

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has received the book "Vedvigyan Alok" (Maharishi Aitareya Mahidas Praneet - Aitareya Brahmina ki Vaigyanik Vyakhya) authored by Acharya Agnivarat Naishthik.

• The book is divided into four broad volumes.
• The Book Vedvigyan Alok is the scriptural verse in Vedas' prose.