• As per the Henley Passport Index 2019 Japan and Singapore have the world’s most powerful passports. Both the countries secured top position out of 199 countries, thanks to passports which allow visa-free or visa-on-arrival travel to 189 places.
• South Korea now sits in second place on the index along with Finland and Germany, with citizens of all three countries having access to 187 destinations around the world without a prior visa.
• India stands at 86th position in this index with a mobility score of 58. India shares this 86th position with Mauritiana and Sao Tome and Principe.

1. Japan, Singapore
2. Finland, Germany, South Korea
3. Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg
4. France, Spain, Sweden
5. Austria, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland

1. Henley Passport Index shows that countries around the world increasingly view visa openness as crucial to economic and social progress.

• The 6th edition of Exercise Garuda-VI has started between Indian and French Air Force from 1st of July 2019 at French Air Force Base - Mont-de-Marsan.
• The exercise will see the most potent fighter aircraft of the two countries going head-to-head to validate the latest defence strategies and fine-tune their waging capabilities and is expected to showcase fighter jets like Rafale, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi 30 from the two sides.
• Participation of Indian Air Force (IAF) in the exercise will also promote professional interaction, exchange experiences and operational knowledge besides strengthening bilateral relations with the French Air Force. It will also provide a good opportunity to the air warriors to operate in an international environment.

1. Air Chief Marshal: Birender Singh Dhanoa

• The South Central Railway (SCR) has added yet another feather in its cap by commissioning the longest electrified tunnel.
• The 6.6 km long tunnel, which is an engineering marvel, is constructed between Cherlopalli and Rapuru railway stations in a horseshoe design.
• It is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli - Venkatachalam new railway line.

• Making it easier for citizens to apply for a new Aadhaar card or update existing ones, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has opened its first 'Aadhaar Seva Kendra' in Delhi and Vijayawada.
• The new Aadhaar centres, which will soon be rolled out across 53 cities of India, are similar to Passport Seva Kendras run by the Ministry of External Affairs.
• The Aadhaar enrolment and updation centre is open from 9.30 am to 6 pm on all days except Tuesdays.

1. CEO: Ajay Bhushan Pandey
2. Headquarters: New Delhi
3. Founded: 28 January 2009
4. Ministry: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

• The Ministries of AYUSH (Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in New Delhi for the digitization of the AYUSH sector.
• The partnership aimed for the transformation in the field of health care delivery at all levels, along with greater research, education, delivery of various health care programmes for the accomplishment of National Health Policy 2017 and e-governance initiative.
• As a part of partnership the MeitY will provide technical support to the AYUSH Ministry for planning and development of AYUSH GRID Project.

1. Founded: 9 November 2014
2. Minister of State (Independent charge): Shripad Yesso Naik

About MeitY

1. Founded: 19 July 2016
2. Minister – Ravi Shankar Prasad
3. Minister of State: Surinderjeet Singh Ahluwalia

• According to the GoI, the Indian Railways has set a target to install CCTV cameras in more than 7,000 coaches of mainline passenger trains by March 2021.
• Also, CCTV cameras have already been installed in coaches of premium, mail, express and suburban trains.

1. Minister for Railways: Piyush Goyal.

• Maharashtra achieves first rank in NITI Aayog launched "Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)".
• The index ranks states based on the degree of reforms they have undertaken in agricultural marketing.
• AMFFRI has a score that can have minimum value “0” implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas.

1. NITI Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant
2.  Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar.

• Automobile industry legend from USA Lee Iacocca passed away.
• He was known for creating the iconic Ford Mustang and saving Chrysler from bankruptcy.

• Birla Group patriarch and an ace of the Indian industry Basant Kumar Birla passed away in Mumbai.
• He was the chairman of Century Textiles and Industries and was active in business since the age of 15.

• ICICI Bank has tied up with NBFC IndoStar Capital for vehicle financing for small and medium fleet owners to buy new as well as old commercial vehicles.
• Under this partnership, IndoStar will originate and service the customers through the entire loan life cycle including sourcing, documentation, collection and loan servicing.

1. Managing Director & CEO of ICICI Bank: Sandeep Bakhshi.