1. IAF proposes to acquire 21 MiG-29, 12 Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia

• The Indian Air Force has submitted a proposal to the central government to acquire 33 new fighter aircraft from Russia. The proposal comes amid India’s heightened tensions with China following the violent clash at the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh.
• As per government sources, the Air Force was working on the proposal since some time but they have now fast-tracked the same. The proposals estimated to be worth around Rs 6000 crore are likely to be placed before the Union Defence Ministry for its final approval during a high-level meeting next week. 
• The IAF proposal includes acquiring of 21 MiG-29s and 12 Su-30MKIs. The 12 Su-30 MKIs have been sought to replace the number of aircraft lost by the Indian Air Force in different accidents.

Foot Notes:
Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria

2. Nepal's President approves controversial bill to revise national map including three Indian territories

• Nepal's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on June 18, 2020 approved the Constitution Amendment Bill  that seeks to update the nation's political map by including areas claimed by India. The bill was passed earlier in the day by Nepal's upper house of the Parliament, National Assembly with unanimous support. All 57 members of the house voted in favour of the bill.
• The New Map Amendment Bill(Coat of Arms) was approved by Nepal's House of Representatives last week. The lower house had also given its unanimous approval to the bill. The controversial bill proposes to include three Indian territories in Nepal's revised map. 
• As per government sources, India is disappointed with the manner in which Nepal went ahead with revising its map without trying to create a conducive atmosphere for talks. India has rejected Nepal's claim to the three Indian areas of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in Uttarakhand, saying that the artificial enlargement of their national map is not based on historical facts and evidence and violates their current understanding to conduct talks on outstanding border issues.

Foot Notes: About Nepal 
Capital: Kathmandu
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Prime Minister: Khadga Prasad Oli

3. Volkan Bozkir Becomes the 1st Turkish to be Elected as the President of 75th UN General Assembly

• Volkan Bozkir(69) from Turkey was elected as the president of the 75th United Nations(UN) General Assembly. He is the 1st turkish to hold this post. He will hold the post for 1 year. Volkan Bozkir will succeed Tijjani Muhammad-Bande when the annual session opens on September 15, 2020.
• He won unopposed with the support of 178 UN member states by secret ballot.

Foot Notes:
About 75th session of UN General Assembly:
Date: September 15, 2020 to September 30, 2020
Location: New York, United States
Organiser: UN Secretariat

• This is the 1st time the annual forum will occur in virtual form.
• Tijjani Muhammad-Bande proposed that the General Assembly president and the UN Secretary-General will make live speeches at this year’s General Debate.
• Other world leaders were asked to present themselves with recorded video reports, instead of coming to New York in person.

About UN General Assembly:
Headquarters: New York, United States

4. The Debut Novel of Megha Majumdar – “A Burning”  released 

• The Penguin Hamish Hamilton released the “A Burning”, debut novel of Megha Majumdar. The 32-year-old New York’s writer who was born and raised in Kolkata.
• A Burning: The book is about the lives of three characters, Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi and Jhumpa Lahiri who want to rise to the middle class, to political power, to gain fame in the film industry and how their lives changed in Indian society. The book was published on 2nd June 2020 by Knopf Doubleday publishing Group.

Foot Notes: About Megha Majumdar
i.She moved to the United States and studied at Harvard University where she was a Truab Scholar.
ii.She did social anthropology at John Hopkins University.
iii.She works as an associate editor at Catapult.

5. International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict: 19 June 

• International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed globally on 19th June every year. 
• The day honours all the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and pays tribute to the brave hearts who have devoted and lost their lives in raising voices.
• According to UN, conflict-related sexual violence is defined as a term that "refers to rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage, and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity perpetrated against women, men, girls or boys that is directly or indirectly linked (temporally, geographically or causally) to a conflict".

6. Kazakhstan's First President ,Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, Tests Positive for COVID-19 

• First president of Kazakhstan, Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus infection.
• The report said that Nazarbayev continues carrying out activities via videoconferencing.
• Currently, the First President of Kazakhstan is self-isolating. 
• The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.
• The total number of coronavirus cases confirmed in Kazakhstan since the virus was first confirmed in the country amounted to 15,877 cases.

Foot Notes: About  Kazakhstan
Capital: Nursultan
President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
Prime Minister: Askar Mamin

7. PM Modi pays tribute to Acharya Mahapragya on his birth centenary

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Acharya Mahapragya on his birth centenary celebration.
• He also described Acharya Mahapragya as the Swami Vivekanand of modern times.
• The Prime Minister said that Atal Bihari Vajpayee was also a follower of Acharya Mahapragya.
• Acharya Shri Mahapragya was the tenth head of the Shwetambar Terapanth order of Jainism. 
• Mahapragya was a saint, yogi, spiritual leader, philosopher, author, orator, and poet.
• He has written more than 300 books in Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati, English on these subjects.

8. 'Air-Venti' App to provide information on ICU beds, ventilators launched in Mumbai

• In Maharashtra, amid the COVID-19 crisis, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has launched a mobile application “Air-Venti” to help residents in the city to know about the availability of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds and Ventilators.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the acute shortage of ventilators for the ‘Respiratory Intensive Care Unit’ for severely ill patients. 
• The mobile app ‘Air-Venti’ launched by the civic body in Mumbai aims to provide overall statistics of ICU beds and ventilators that are occupied and vacant in both govt and private hospitals besides location map, ability to contact hospital through telephonic call and email is also available.

9. Karnataka Government observed “Mask Day” on 18 June

• The Karnataka government observed June 18 as "Mask Day".
• The day was observed to spread awareness about the use of masks, sanitisers, washing hands with soap, and maintaining social distancing among other things aimed at controlling the spread of COVID-19.
• To observe “Mask Day”, the Karnataka government organised a march which featured the participation of public representatives, dignitaries and medical staff.

Foot Notes: About Karnataka
Chief Minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
Capital: Bengaluru 
Governor: Vajubhai Vala

10. Malayalam filmmaker Sachidanandan passes away

• Malayalam writer-director KR Sachidanandan, popularly known in the industry as Sachy, passed away. Sachy was on ventilator support prior to his death for almost two days. 
• He suffered a cardiac arrest and hypoxic brain damage, wherein the brain does not get enough oxygen. Sachy debuted in the film industry as a writer, collaborating with fellow writer and screenwriter Sethunath. 
• The duo, known as Sachy-Sethu, went on to write hits such as Chocolate, Makeup Man, Robin Hood, and Seniors. 
• Sachy started off as a writer in the Malayalam film industry, and then moved on to direction, debuting as a director in 2015 with the Prithviraj-starrer Anarkali.