Why in news ?

• Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, Indian pioneer industrialist and founder of the Tata Group, has topped the inaugural, EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century list, which ranks the world’s 50 most generous individuals in the last century.
• As per the report, the total donations made by Mumbai-based Jamsetji Tata is estimated at US$102.4 billion. He is the only Indian among the top 10 list, compiled by Hurun Research and EdelGive Foundation.
• The only other Indian in the list of 50 global philanthropists is Azim Premji, former chairman of Wipro. He is ranked at 12th position.
• Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates ranked second with donations worth $74.6 billion. They are followed by Henry Wellcome ($56.7 billion), Howard Hughes ($38.6 billion), and Warren Buffett ($37.4 billion) respectively.

Why in news ?

• Ahead of the Tokyo Games, the official Olympic theme song for the Indian contingent was launched.
• Mohit Chauhan has composed and sung the song titled “Lakshya Tera Samne Hai”. The Games will open on July 23 and over 100 Indian athletes have qualified for the event so far.
• The event was organised by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and attended by its President, Secretary-General, Deputy Chef De Mission, Sports Secretary and DG Sports Authority of India (SAI). Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju was the chief guest at the event

Why in news ?

Recently, Sant Kabir Das Jayanti was observed on 24^th June, 2021 to mark the birth anniversary of Sant Kabirdas.

• Kabirdas Jayanti is celebrated on the Jyeshtha Purnima tithi, as per the Hindu lunar calendar.
• About:
  • Sant Kabir Das was born in the city of Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was a 15^thcentury mystic poet, saint and social reformer and a proponent of the Bhakti Movement.
    • Kabir’s legacy is still going on through a sect known as Panth of Kabir, a religious community that considers him as the founder.
  • Teacher: His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda.
  • Literature: Kabir Das’ writings had a great influence on the Bhakti movement and includes titles like Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Bijak, and Sakhi Granth.
    • His verses are found in Sikhism’s scripture Guru Granth Sahib.
    • The major part of his work was collected by the fifth Sikh guru, Guru Arjan Dev.
    • He was best known for his two-line couplets, known as ‘Kabir Ke Dohe’.
  • Language: Kabir’s works were written in the Hindi language which was easy to comprehend. He used to write in couplets to enlighten people.

Why in news ?

Recently, the Prime Minister of India urged people to be “vocal for local toys”, while interacting with the participants at the Toycathon 2021.Recently, the Prime Minister of India urged people to be “vocal for local toys”, while interacting with the participants at the Toycathon 2021.

About:

Ministry:

• It was a joint initiative by the Ministry of Education, WCD (Women and Child Development) Ministry, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Textile Ministry, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and All India Council for Technical Education.
• It was launched on 5^thJanuary 2021 to crowd-source innovative toys and games ideas.

Aim:

• To conceptualize innovative toys based on the Indian value system which will inculcate positive behaviour and good value among the children.
• To promote India as a global toy manufacturing hub (Atmanirbhar Bharat).

Features:

• Based on: Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, and Indian value systems.
• Themes: Nine themes, including fitness and sport and rediscovering traditional Indian toys.
• The Toycathon is based on nine themes – Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang; Fitness and sport; Out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys
• Participants: Students, teachers, start-ups and toy experts.
• Prize: Participants can get prizes upto Rs. 50 lakhs.

Why in news ?

In a recent event, Russia alleged that the British warship had breached its territorial waters in Black Sea which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.

Geographical Location of Black Sea:

• The Black Sea, also known as the Euxine Sea, is one of the major water bodies and a famous inland sea of the world.
• This marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
• It is surrounded by the Pontic, Caucasus, and Crimean Mountains in the south, east and north respectively.
• The Turkish straits system – the Dardanelles, Bosporus and Marmara Sea – forms a transitional zone between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
• The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.
• The bordering countries of Black Sea are: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

Why in news ?

China has planned to send its first crewed mission to MARS in the year 2033.

Key points

• Manned MARS Mission will be launched with regular follow-up flights.
• Mission will be launched with a long-term plan to build a permanently inhabited base on MARS and extract its resources.
• This ambitious plan will intensify a race with United States to put humans on MARS.
• Plan was disclosed after China landed a robotic rover on Mars in May 2021. It was China’s inaugural MARS mission.

Manned Mission by China

China has planned manned launches to Mars for 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and so on. Before the manned missions, China will send robots to Mars that will study possible sites to set up base and to build systems to extract resources there.  Resources would be extracted to study it properly for manned mission.

Why in news ?

World Drug Report 2021 was released by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). As per the report, 275 million people used drugs across the world in 2020.

Key findings of report

• As per the report, 36 million people suffered from drug use disorders.
• In last 24 years, cannabis potency had increased by four times in some parts of the globe.
• Percentage of adolescents who perceived drug as harmful has reduced by 40 per cent.
• Despite that, cannabis use is associated with a variety of health and other harms, particularly among regular long-term users.
• Drug Report highlights the need to close gap between perception and reality to educate young people about harmful effects of drugs and safeguard public health.
• Percentage of Δ9-THC, main psychoactive component in cannabis, has increased from six per cent to 11 per cent in Europe between 2002-2019.

Why in news ?

West Bengal Cabinet approved the “Student Credit Card scheme” on June 24, 2021. Trinamool Congress had promised to launch this scheme in its election manifesto.

Students Credit Card Scheme

This scheme will be implemented and launched on June 30, 2021. Under the scheme, student can get a soft loan of up to ₹10 lakh with the help of credit card to enrol into higher studies. Loans will be given for higher studies in India as well as abroad. Loans will be given at 4% interest rates. State government would act as guarantor.

Who can get the loan?

Anyone who has spent 10 years in West Bengal can avail loan benefits under the scheme. Loan will be available for undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral and post-doctoral study. One person is eligible to get loans under scheme till 40 years of age.

How loans can be repaid?

Students will be provided Fifteen years to repay the loan after they get a job

Why in news ?

Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Gujarat Maritime University and International Financial Services Centres Authority in GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) City.

• The objective of the MoU is to jointly support the establishment of the Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre (GIMAC).

About GIMAC:

• This will be the first centre of its kind in the country that will manage arbitration and mediation proceedings with disputes related to the maritime and shipping sector.
• The GIMAC will be part of a maritime cluster that the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is setting up in GIFT City at Gandhinagar.

Why in news ?

India and Bhutan have jointly launched the “Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB)” on June 23, 2021.

Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB)

• TIWB is a joint initiative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
• TIWB seeks to provide support to the developing countries to help them strengthen national tax administrations by building audit capacity.
• It complements the efforts of international community to strengthen cooperation on tax matters & contribute to domestic tax mobilisation efforts.

Aim of TIWB

TIWB programme aims to strengthen tax administrations among developing countries by transferring technical know-how and skills to their tax auditors and by sharing general audit practices & dissemination of knowledge products with them.