1.VINEYARD WIND PROJECT

In the US, the Biden administration has approved the nation's first major offshore wind farm, billing it as the launch of a new domestic energy industry that will help eliminate emissions from the power sector.

About:

• Approval of the Vineyard Wind project, which will be located 23 km off the coast of Massachusetts, is a significant milestone in the more than decade-long effort to permit a commercial-scale offshore wind project in the U.S. waters.
• The Vineyard Wind project is intended to create enough electricity to power 400,000 homes.
• The project will begin delivering electricity to the grid in the second half of 2023.
• The project is meant to create 3,600 jobs, delivering on Biden's campaign promise that fighting climate change by expanding clean energy sources will boost employment.

Source : All India Radio

2.JACKFRUIT

In a major step towards harnessing exports potential of agricultural and processed food products from north-eastern region, a shipment of 1.2 metric tonne (MT) of fresh jackfruit was exported from Tripura to London.

About:

• Jackfruit is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family (Moraceae).
• It is a multiple fruit, composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals are eaten.
• Scientific Name: Artocarpus heterophyllus.
• Local Names in India: Katahal (Hindi), Phanas (Marathi), Phannasa (Gujarati), Panasa (Telugu), Palaa/ Varukkai (Tamil), Halasu (Kannada), Chakka (Malayalam), Panasa (Oriya).
• Major producers in world: India, Thailand, Indonesia and Nepal.
• Major Production States: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Utter Pradesh, Orissa and Assam. Kerala is the largest producer of jackfruit in the world. It is the state fruit of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 

Important Info :

• Recently, the first consignment of ‘red rice’ was sent to the USA from Assam. Iron rich ‘red rice’ is grown in Brahmaputra valley of Assam, without the use of any chemical fertilizer. The rice variety is referred as ‘Bao-dhaan’, which is an integral part of the Assamese food.

Source : Indian Express

3.HALLMARKING OF GOLD JEWELLERY AND ARTEFACTS

The Centre further extended the deadline for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts by a fortnight till June 15 in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About:

• In November 2019, the government had announced that hallmarking of gold jewellery and artefacts would be made mandatory across the country from January 15, 2021. However, the deadline was extended for four months till June 1 after jewellers sought more time in view of the pandemic.
• Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and is voluntary in nature at present. The hallmarking of jewellery/artefacts is required to enhance the credibility of gold jewellery and customer satisfaction through third party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold.
• According to BIS, the mandatory hallmarking will protect the public against lower caratage and ensure consumers do not get cheated while buying gold ornaments and get the purity as marked on the ornaments.
• A committee, headed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Director General Pramod Tewari, has been formed to ensure proper coordination and resolve the implementation issues.
• From June 15, jewellers will be allowed to sell only 14, 18 and 22 carats of gold jewellery.
• The BIS has been running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since April 2000. Around 40 per cent of gold jewellery is being hallmarked currently. 

Source : Business Standard

4.FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

Measures taken by the Government on the fronts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country.

The following trends in India’s Foreign Direct Investment are:

• India has attracted highest ever total FDI inflow of US$ 81.72 billion during the financial year 2020-21 and it is 10% higher as compared to the last financial year 2019-20 (US$ 74.39 billion).
• FDI equity inflow grew by 19% in the F.Y. 2020-21 (US$ 59.64 billion) compared to the previous year F.Y. 2019-20 (US$ 49.98 billion).
• In terms of top investor countries, ‘Singapore’ is at the apex with 29%, followed by the U.S.A (23%) and Mauritius (9%) for the F.Y. 2020-21.
• 'Computer Software & Hardware’ has emerged as the top sector during F.Y. 2020-21 with around 44% share of the total FDI Equity inflow followed by Construction (Infrastructure) Activities (13%) and Services Sector (8%) respectively.
• Under the sector `Computer Software & Hardware’, the major recipient states are Gujarat (78%), Karnataka (9%) and Delhi (5%) in F.Y. 2020-21.
• Gujarat is the top recipient state during the F.Y. 2020-21 with 37% share of the total FDI Equity inflows followed by Maharashtra (27%) and Karnataka (13%).
• Out of top 10 countries, Saudi Arabia is the top investor in terms of percentage increase during F.Y. 2020-21. It invested US$ 2816.08 million in comparison to US$ 89.93 million reported in the previous financial year.

Source : PIB

5.SHAHI LITCHI

In a major boost to export of GI certified products, season’s first consignment of Shahi Litchi from Bihar was exported to United Kingdom by air route.

About:

• Shahi litchi was the fourth agricultural products to get GI certification from Bihar in 2018, after Jardalu mango, Katarni rice and Magahi paan.
• India is the second largest producer of litchi (Litchi chin) in the world, after China.
• The translucent, flavoured aril or edible flesh of the litchi is popular as a table fruit in India, while in China and Japan it is preferred in dried or canned form.
• Bihar tops in terms of production of litchi. Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Champaran, Begusarai districts and adjoining areas of Bihar have favorable climate for growing Shahi Litchi.

Source : PIB

6.INDIA – ISRAEL COOPERATION IN AGRICULTURE

India and Israel signed a three-year work program for cooperation in Agriculture, while recognizing the centrality of agriculture and water sectors in the bilateral relationship.

About:

• India and Israel are implementing the “INDO-ISRAEL Agricultural Project Centres of Excellence” and “INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence”.
• The minister said that India and Israel have had bilateral relations since 1993 in the agricultural sector. This is the 5th Indo-Israel Agriculture Action Plan (IIAP).
• The three-year work program (2021-2023) will aim to grow existing Centres of Excellence, establish new centers, increase CoE’s value chain, bring the Centres of Excellence into the self-sufficient mode, and encourage private sector companies and collaboration.
• As for the “INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence”, this is a new concept aimed at creating a model ecosystem in agriculture across eight states, alongside 13 Centers of Excellence within 75 villages. The IIVOE program will focus on: (1) Modern Agriculture infrastructure, (2) Capacity Building, (3) Market linkage.

Source : PIB

7.CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGES IN INDIA

Users of India’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, WazirX and CoinDCX, had a tough time due to outages as Bitcoin plunged over 30%, wiping out over $500 billion in value from the coin’s peak market value.

About:

• Several cryptocurrency exchanges have now come up in the country that enable buying, selling and trading in several cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency exchanges offer ease in trading by offering functionality through user-friendly applications or websites.
• Some of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in India are WazirX, CoinDCX, Zebpay and UnoCoin.

Source : Times of India

8.MCA21 VERSION 3.0

Minister of Corporate Affairs launched the first phase of Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ (MCA) MCA21 Version 3.0 (V3.0) comprising of revamped website, new email services for MCA Officers and two new modules, namely, e-Book and e-Consultation.

About:

• The MCA V3.0 is going to be implemented in two phases. The second and final phase shall be launched from October 2021 onwards. The entire project is proposed to be launched within this Financial Year and will be data analytics and machine learning driven.
• The MCA21 V3.0 in its entirety will not only improve the existing services and modules, but will also create new functionalities like e-adjudication, compliance management system, advanced helpdesk, feedback services, user dashboards , self-reporting tools and revamped master data services.
• MCA21 has been part of Mission Mode projects of the Government of India. Bagging several accolades in past, the project has now reached its 3rd version.
• MCA21 V3.0 is part of this year’s Budget announcement and will leverage the use of latest technologies to further streamline the Corporate Compliance and stakeholders experience.

Source : PIB

9.LAKSHADWEEP DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (LDA)

Discontent is simmering in the Lakshadweep group of islands over the creation of a Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA) by the new administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

About:

• Mr Patel, a BJP leader and former Home Minister of Gujarat, is the first political appointee as Administrator, a post mostly held by retired civil servants.
• Islanders have pointed out that the legislation are out of sync with the social and environmental realities of the archipelago.
• The creation of the Lakshadweep Development Authority (LDA), with extensive powers, including eviction of land owners, is widely read as having been pushed by the real estate lobby and against the interest of the islanders.
• Hundreds of islanders have written to the administrator demanding the withdrawal of the proposed regulation, which makes provision for the
• orderly and progressive development of land in both urban and rural areas and to preserve and improve the amenities thereof;
• grant of permission to develop land and for other powers of control over the use of land;
• conferring additional powers in respect of the acquisition and development of land for planning. 

Source : The Hindu

10.BELARUS

The authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus sparked international outrage after his regime forced a commercial airline flying from Greece to Lithuania to land in its territory allegedly on the pretext of a bomb scare, so it could arrest a dissident journalist on board.

About:

• The journalist, Roman Protasevich, is a prominent opponent of Lukashenko, and had been living in exile in neighbouring Lithuania since fleeing his home country in 2019. Protasevich, 26, is the co-founder of the NEXTA media outlet on social media platform Telegram.
• In November 2020, he was charged in Belarus with inciting public disorder and social hatred. The regime has also put his name on a list of terrorists, and if convicted, he could face the death penalty.
• Opposition leaders have denounced the incident as an act of terrorism by the state, and infuriated Western leaders are discussing possible consequences for Belarus.

Important Info :

• Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest.
• Minsk is the capital and largest city.
• In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Byelorussian SSR, became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union in 1922. During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Belarus declared independence in 1991. In 2000, Belarus and Russia signed a treaty for greater cooperation, forming the Union State.
• It has shown no aspirations for joining the European Union.
• Alexander Lukashenko was elected Belarus's first president in the country's first and only free election post-independence, serving as president ever since. 

Source : The Hindu