• The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership to build an AI and emerging technologies Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM.

• The collaboration seeks to explore the role of cloud, AI and emerging technologies for transforming and shaping the future of public finance management in India.

• The Centre of Excellence will serve as a central body for research, AI scenario envisioning and tech led innovation.

• AJNIFM and Microsoft will jointly explore use cases of emerging technologies in finance and related areas, across central and state ministries and public sector enterprises.

• Nihal Sarin won the Silver Lake Open chess tournament in Serbia.

• The third-seeded Indian came on top of the field with eight points from nine rounds.

• In the final round, he defeated Branko Damljanovic of the host.

• The second and third places were also taken by Indians, as Raunak Sadhwani and Abhimanyu Puranik scored seven points each.

• Another Indian, Raja Harshit finished tenth.

• Flipkart has launched Shopsy, an app that will enable Indians to start their online businesses without any investment.

• Flipkart aims to enable over 25 million online entrepreneurs by 2023 with the help of Shopsy.

• Users of Shopsy will be able to share catalogues of a wide selection of 15 crore products offered by Flipkart sellers.

• India ranked 20th among the 100 countries in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2021 by Startup Blink.

• The country was in the 17th spot in 2019 and slid six spots down in 2020 and stood at 23.

• Like last year, the US, the UK, Israel, Canada and Germany are in the top five spots.

• The report has a score for each location, which is calculated as the sum of three parameters — quantity, quality and business environment.

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has partnered with digital lender LoanTap to provide personal loans to salaried professionals.

• This move comes as part of Ujjivan’s Small Finance Bank’s API banking initiative.

• Through this initiative over 150 APIs will be made available, which in turn will offer fast and secure tie-ups for the purposes of digital lending, digital liabilities and payments to fintechs.

• This move also serves a dual purpose of extending the bank’s financial services to a larger array of customers through LoanTap’s platform, which will make these activities smoother and more convenient for their salaried class customers who are seeking loans.

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank offers personal loans ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh with a maximum tenure of 48 months on LoanTap’s platform

• In Chess, Abhimanyu Mishra made history by becoming the youngest chess Grandmaster, breaking the record of 12 years and seven months set by Sergey Karjakin in 2002.

• Abhimanyu reached the milestone in 12 years, four months, and 25 days.

• The 12-year-old player from New Jersey scored his third GM norm in Budapest, having already crossed the required 2500 ELO rating barrier.

• He went on to defeat 15-year-old Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca, securing a performance rating higher than 2600 over nine rounds, which constitutes a GM norm.

• International Asteroid Day (IAD) is being observed every year on 30th June to raise public awareness about the asteroid impact and global action to be taken in case of threat from Asteroid

• UN General Assembly declared June 30 as IAD in 2016 to mark the anniversary of the Tunguska (Earth's largest asteroid) impact over Siberia, Russian Federation on 30 June 1908.

• Asteroids (minor planets) are rocky, airless remnants left over from the early formation of our solar system.

• The US has appointed Indian-American Atul Keshap as the country’s Charge’d Affairs in Delhi.

• Ambassador Keshap’s appointment will reinforce the close US partnership with the Government and people of India.

• He most recently served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives.

• Russian Company Rosatom has started the construction work for unit 5 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).

• The commenced with the first concrete pouring into the foundation plate of the reactor building.

• The General Framework Agreement (GFA) between India and Russia was signed on April 10 2014, on construction of Units 3 and 4.

• Negotiations between the two countries began over construction of Kudankulam NPP Units 5 and 6 and upon the results of which the agreement was reached that these units would be constructed in compliance with the same design as it was stipulated for Units 3, 4.

• On June 1 2017, the credit protocol to the Intergovernmental Agreement of December 5 2008 and the GFA for Kudankulam NPP Units 5, 6 were signed.

• Rosatom has all the most advanced nuclear power technologies.

• India is ranked 10th in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 (GCI) released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• It is a United Nations (UN) agency for information and communication technologies (ICT).

• India jumps 37 places from 47^th in the previous ranking.

• The GCI is a composite index produced, analysed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• The US is ranked first, followed by the UK.

• China ranked 33^rd and Pakistan at 79^th place.

• India is ranked 10th in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 (GCI) released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• It is a United Nations (UN) agency for information and communication technologies (ICT).

• India jumps 37 places from 47th in the previous ranking.

• The GCI is a composite index produced, analysed and published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• The US is ranked first, followed by the UK.

• China ranked 33rd and Pakistan at 79th place.

• India's Rahi Sarnobat won gold medal in women's 25 metres pistol event at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Osijek, Croatia.

• Rahi shot 39 out of 50 in the 25m pistol final to win the first gold for India in the ongoing World Cup.

• The silver went to France's Mathilde Lamolle, who scored 31 in the final.

• In the in the women's 25m pistol event she along with Chinki Yadav and Manu Bhaker won the team gold medal.

• National Statistics Day is celebrated on June 29 on the birth anniversary of late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis the 'father of Indian statistics'.

• He was born on June 29, 1893, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal.

• He was a key member of the first Planning Commission of independent India and a Padma Vibhushan awardee.

• The first National Statistics Day was observed on June 29, 2006.

• The key contribution of PC Mahalanobis is known as "Mahalanobis distance'.

• Theme: End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture.

• National Statistics Day is celebrated on June 29 on the birth anniversary of late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis the 'father of Indian statistics'.

• He was born on June 29, 1893, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal.

• He was a key member of the first Planning Commission of independent India and a Padma Vibhushan awardee.

• The first National Statistics Day was observed on June 29, 2006.

• The key contribution of PC Mahalanobis is known as "Mahalanobis distance'.

• Theme: End Hunger, Achieve Food Security and Improved Nutrition and Promote Sustainable Agriculture

• Government has announced stimulus package of six lakh 28 thousand 993 crore rupees to boost economy during the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced several economic relief measures amid COVID pandemic including eight economic relief measures, of which four are absolutely new and one is specific to health infrastructure.

• Finance Minister announced 1.1 lakh crore rupee Loan Guarantee Scheme for COVID affected sectors.

• Also announced 1.5 lakh crore rupees for Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme

• Credit Guarantee Scheme which is a new scheme to facilitate loans to 25 lakh people through Micro Finance Institutions, MFI.

• The Finance Minister also announced free tourist visa to five lakh tourists.

• Extension of Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana from 30th of June, 2021 to 31st of March, 2022.

• Ukraine and the United States launched joint naval exercises in the Black Sea in a show of Western cooperation with Kiev as it faces off with Russia.

• The drills come just days after the British Royal Navy’s HMS Defender passed near Russian-annexed Crimea in the Black Sea.

• The Sea Breeze drills — which have taken place 21 times since 1997 — will involve some 5,000 military personnel from more than 30 countries.

• The exercises will last two weeks and involve around 30 ships, including the missile destroyer USS Ross.

• The government announced a new credit guarantee scheme that will facilitate loans to 25 lakh people through micro finance institutions (MFIs).

• The announcement was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as part of economic relief package provided to spur investment climate in the country affected by the Covid pandemic.

• As per the new scheme, guarantee will be provided to Scheduled Commercial Banks for loans to new or existing NBFC-MFIs or MFIs for on lending up to Rs 1.25 lakh to approximately 25 lakh small borrowers.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated 63 infrastructure projects constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).

• From Kunjan bridge on Leh-Loma Road, he inaugurated all bridges in Eight States across the country virtually.

• Amongst the bridges, 11 in Ladakh, Four in Jammu and Kashmir, Three in Himachal Pradesh, Six in Uttarakhand, Eight in Sikkim, 29 in Arunachal Pradesh and one each in Nagaland and Manipur.

• BRO used the latest technologies in building of these bridges.

• These are Class-70 bridges and can bear the load of movement of Tanks and other heavy vehicles.

• These bridges facilitate strategic and quicker access not just to Armed forces but to people living in the border villages as well.

• Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has won half of the races this Formula One season.

• Verstappen has won three of the last four races.

• With a clean start from pole Verstappen denied Lewis Hamilton an early attack and he remained ahead for the entire race.

• Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas finished third ahead of Sergio Perez as Red Bull and Mercedes occupied the top four places for the second consecutive time.

• Indian Naval Ship Tabar commenced her prolonged deployment on June 13.

• It will visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till the end of September.

• It will also participate in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies.

• The ship will transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway.

• During port visits, the ship is scheduled to participate in bilateral exercises like Ex Konkan with UK Royal Navy, Ex Varuna with French Navy, and Ex Indra with Russian Federation Navy, to strengthen military relations, develop interoperability, and project long-range sustenance.