Business & International:

  • Mauritius has regained the position as the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India by pushing Singapore to the second slot in 2014-15. Mauritius accounted for about 29 percent of the country’s total FDI inflows last fiscal.
  • G-20 meet to be held in Turkey in the month of November 2015 to focus on three agenda i.e. Inclusiveness, implementation and investment.
  • India was placed at the 61st position in terms of foreigners’ money in Swiss banks.
  • Asia has overtaken Europe as the world’s second richest North America is the world’s richest region with 51 trillion dollars but is expected to be surpassed by Asia in 2016.
  • India’s largest private miner Vedanta Ltd headed by billionaire Anil Agarwal will absorb oil firm Cairn India in a $2.3 billion all-share deal to create the country’s largest diversified natural resources company.
  • The UN General Assembly elected Denmark’s Mogens Lykketoft as its President for a one-year term.
  • The United States has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer in 2014.
  • K. Sharma was nominated as the new non-executive Chairman of ICICI Bank. He will succeed KV Kamath.
  • The Manchester United became the World’s most valuable brand in the World football with 1.2 billion US dollars.
  • Pawan Munjal was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) & CEO of Hero MotoCorp Ltd (HMCL).
  • In June 2015, the government of Mauritius designated Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as the Indian Ocean island nation’s new President, making her the first woman to hold the ceremonial position.
  • Indian insurance giant LIC has been allowed to form a joint venture in Bangladesh, becoming the second foreign insurer to operate in the country in June 2015.
  • Japan’s Softbank announced a joint venture with Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises and Taiwanese manufacturing major Foxconn Technology Group for solar power projects in June 2015.

 National:

  • India’s first indigenously-built largest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was successfully undocked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Cochin district of Kerala.
  • Jaipur became the sixth Indian city to have the metro rail system after Kolkata, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Gurgaon and Mumbai.
  • Former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo was appointed as the new Chancellor of the Nalanda University, Bihar.
  • Indian-origin scientist Manu Prakash developed World’s first water-based computer in June 2015.
  • Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been conferred with the prestigious 14th Sant Namdev National Award in Pune.
  • Space Pioneer award for the year 2015 was presented to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the Science and Engineering category during the 34th Annual International Space Development Conference held at Toronto in Canada in June 2015.
  • India has signed a motor vehicles agreement with three SAARC nations — Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal — that envisages seamless transit of passenger and cargo vehicles among these countries in June 2015.
  • India is currently ranked 142nd among 189 nations in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2015 study released in June 2015.
  • Union Government has launched Augmented Reality technology based mobile application named ‘Sakaar’ to highlight the achievements of the Department of Space.
  • As per recently released Global Peace Index for the year 2015, India was placed at 143th rank out 162 countries and fifth out of seven in south Asia for the second year in a row.
  • According to data released by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy on June 4, 2015, Rajasthan has grabbed number one position in solar energy in India.
  • The Centre has decided to change the name and nature of Solar Energy Corporation of India as Renewable Energy Corporation of India (RECI).

 Persons in News:

  • Indian spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been conferred with Colombia’s highest civilian award, “Orden de la Democracia Simon Bolivar“.
  • Writer Aakar Patel joined Amnesty International India as its new executive director. Amnesty International is the world’s most prominent human rights organisation, headquartered in London, (United Kingdom).
  • Historian-author Ramachandra Guha has been selected for Japan’s prestigious Fukuoka Prize in the Academic category.
  • Charles Correa, one of India’s greatest architects and urban planners, died. He was the first chairman of the National Commission on Urbanisation.
  • Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe is the new chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
  • K V Chowdary, former chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has been appointed the new central vigilance commissioner. Vijai Sharma has been named the new chief information commissioner in June 2015.

Sports:

  • Satnam Singh Bhamara became the first Indian basketball player to be drafted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after being picked by Dallas Mavericks.
  • Kerala government has appointed Tennis Icon Steffanie Graf as Ayurveda brand ambassador. She is a German former World number 1 player who has won 22 Grand Slam single titles.
  • Former Pakistan cricket team captain Zaheer Abbas has been selected the new President of International Cricket Council (ICC) for one year term. He will be 13th President of ICC and succeeds Mustafa Kamal of Bangladesh who had resigned from the post of ICC President in April 2015.
  • Serbia won the FIFA U­-20 World Cup by defeating Brazil at the final match held at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Astronomers have named a newly discovered galaxy as CR7 (COSMOS Redshift 7) after Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. He had won Fifa’s Ballon d’Or award consecutively for two years in 2013 and 2014.
  • Golden State Warriors won its first NBA title in 40 years as it defeated Cleveland Cavaliers by 105-97.
  • Barcelona was crowned European champions for the fifth time after beating Juventus 3-1 in a superb Champions League final in Berlin.
  • Sunil Chhetri has become the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals. He achieved this feat in his 87th match
  • Former West Indies fast bowler Sir Wesley Winfield Hall has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He is the 4th cricketer to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2015 after Betty Wilson, Anil Kumble and Martin Crowe.
  • Scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi has been conferred with the Asian Athletics Association President’s award for his contribution towards the development of athletics in the Asian continent.
  • Ravi has become the second Indian, after S. Venkataraghvan, to be inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Elite Panel of Umpires.
  • Inderjeet Singh won a gold medal in men’s shot put event in the 21st Asian Athletics Championships.
  • Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan won their maiden I-­League title in 13 years.
  • Serena Williams won her 20th Grand Slam title and third French Open crown at Roland Garros, clawing her way back from a break down in the last set to defeat Lucie Safarova.
  • Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Shah Rukh Khan has acquired Carribean Premier League (CPL) T20 team Trinidad & Tobago (T&T).

Miscellaneous:

  • The first International Yoga Day (IYD) was celebrated across the world on 21 June 2015 with the participation of crores of people in 192 countries.
  • Japan has lowered the voting age in the country from 20 to 18 years.
  • The red-breasted “Robin” bird topped a poll of more than 200,000 people to choose the UK’s first national bird.
  • Renowned United Kingdom author Ali Smith on won the 2015 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel “How to be Both”.
  • Former security contractor Edward Snowden won a Norwegian prize for freedom of expression. He was awarded Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award in 2014.

Important Days in June:

  • 5th June: World Environment Day
  • 6th June: International Olympic Association Establishment Day
  • 18th June: Father’s Day
  • 20th June: World Refugee Day
  • 21st June: International Yoga Day
  • 27th June: World Diabetes Day