 US state California's economy has surpassed that of the UK to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data released. With a GDP of $2.7 trillion, California is now only behind the US, China, Japan and Germany. The UK and India are next on the list, followed by France, Brazil and Italy respectively. Despite having a population of only 40 million compared with the UK’s 65 million people, California’s gross domestic product of $2.7tn has overtaken the UK’s $2.6tn. |
| Source- The Guardian |
 NITI Aayog and IBM have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence to provide real-time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The Intent was signed in presence of NITI Aayog, CEO Amitabh Kant and IBM India, MD Karan Bajwa. The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes. The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 The 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting was attended by the Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegations from the SAARC member states. Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada chaired the meeting. The Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegation briefed the meeting about the current status of economic progress achieved by their countries. They also appreciated ADB for its contribution in economic growth of SAARC countries. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 The Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019. The decision has been taken in the wake of a sexual and financial scandal that has engulfed the Swedish Academy, the cultural institution responsible for awarding the prestigious prize. According to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. For the first time since 1949, the secretive jury will not unveil a winner this autumn. |
| Source- The Guardian |
 The 4th Regional Conference on ‘Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure’ organized by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) concluded in Bengaluru. The 2-day Conference was a lead-up event to the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is going to be hosted by the Government of India on 25th and 26th June 2018 in Mumbai. |
| Source- Press Information Bureau (PIB) |
 Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched 'Go to Village' mission throughout the state from Konuma ground. The mission was launched in 60 villages of all the 60 Assembly constituencies. The mission is aimed at identifying the eligible and deserving beneficiaries in every corner of the state and delivering government services at their doorstep. |
| Source- Business Standard |
 Google's philanthropic arm Google.org has announced $3 million in grants for teacher training and educational content creation in India. The organisation committed $1 million to TheTeacherApp to help them reach 5,00,000 teachers in two years, besides a $2-million grant and technical assistance from YouTube to the Central Square Foundation. |
| Source- The Guardian |
 India is organising a five-day cultural festival in Egypt to commemorate the 157th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. An exhibition on the paintings of Tagore titled ‘Rabindranath Tagore: Rhythm in Colours’ will be held at the Museum of Ahmed Shawky at Giza as part of the Tagore festival. The festival is being organised by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture, the cultural wing of the Indian Embassy in Cairo. |
| Source- AIR World Service |
 State-run Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has inked a pact with the Ministry of Power to incur capital expenditure of Rs.25,000 crore for the current fiscal. The MoU includes various targets to be achieved by Powergrid during 2018-19. Other targets in the MoU inter-alia include parameters related to human resources, project management, research & development, innovation and other efficiency and operational performance parameters. The MoU was signed by Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Power and I S Jha, Chairman and Managing Director. |
| Source- The Hindu |
 Global consultant AT Kearney released the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index 2018, an annual survey which tracks the impact of political, economic and regulatory changes on the FDI preferences of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of the country. The United States (US) topped the index, followed by Canada at 2nd and Germany at the 3rd place. The index ranked India at the 11th spot, three places down from the previous year. In the year 2017, India was ranked 8th. It is the first time since 2015 that India has been pushed out of the top 10. |
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