TCS becomes first company to close trading with over Rs.7 trillion market cap

  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the first company to close the trading session with a market valuation of over Rs. 7 trillion.
  • This came after its board approved a share buyback of up to Rs.160 billion.
  • Shares of the company jumped 2.75% to close at Rs.1,841.45 on the BSE.
  • During the day, it surged 3.16% to Rs.1,849.
  • The company’s market valuation soared Rs.188.36 billion to Rs 7.05 trillion ($103 billion) at the close of trade on Friday.
  • The Mumbai-based company had, in April, became the first Indian company to close the trading session with over $100 billion market valuation.

India to host European Union Film Festival

  • Putting a spotlight on the latest European cinema, the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) will premiere in New Delhi on 18th June, 2018 at the Siri Fort Auditorium.
  • This year’s film festival will have 24 latest European films from 23 EU Member States.
  • The European Union Film Festival is organized by Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India partnering with the Delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States in various city film clubs.
  • The film festival will run from June 18th to August 31st, and travel through 11 cities across the country.

Record-breaking astronaut Peggy Whitson retires from NASA

  • NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who holds the U.S. record for most cumulative time in space, is retiring from the space agency.
  • She holds many records and distinctions.
  • In 2008, Whitson became the first female commander of the space station.
  • Between November 2016 and September 2017, Whitson became the first woman to command the space station twice.
  • She also claimed the title for most spacewalks by a woman – 10 spacewalks totaling 60 hours and 21 minutes.
  • She has also set the record for most time spent in space by a U.S. astronaut at 665 days.

RBI eases norms for FPIs to invest in debt; to help rupee, corporate bonds

  • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased investment norms for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) in debt, especially into individual large corporates.
  • The RBI has increased the FPIs cap on investment in government security to 30% of the outstanding stock of that security, from 20% earlier.
  • The move is expected to help attract more overseas flows and thereby help arrest the recent fall in the rupee.
  • It is also expected to lift the recent fall in demand for corporate bonds.

US pips India as top greenfield FDI destination: report

  • The U.S. has surpassed India to become the top destination for greenfield FDI investment in 2017, according to a report compiled by FDI Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times.
  • India held the top spot in greenfield FDI investment in 2015 and 2016. But in 2017, the US reclaimed the top rank from India, recording $87.4 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
  • In the Asia-Pacific region, China was on top in terms of FDI in total number of new projects and capital investment, followed by India, according to the fDi report.

Muthoot Fincorp, NSDC to train 10,000 youth under PMKVY

  • Muthoot Fincorp today has entered into a partnership with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to train over 10,000 youth over the next three years and make them job-ready.
  • Out of the partnership comes the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY.2) programme.
  • NSDC has approved a target of 3,000 candidates in the first year and 3,500 each in the subsequent two years.
  • The Muthoot Pappachan Group will also absorb 80% of the trained students into the Group for regular positions.

Roger Federer wins 98th ATP title in Stuttgart, regains No. 1 title

  • Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer claimed his 98th ATP title, and with it climbed to the top of the world rankings.
  • Federer claimed victory in the Stuttgart Cup final against Canadian Milos Raonic.
  • Federer beat Raonic for the 11th time in 14 meetings. This was his first Stuttgart title.
  • Federer has made it to the top ATP rankings for the sixth time in his career.

SAARC fund to launch social enterprise programme in India and 7 other member nations

  • The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) will soon launch a social enterprise development programme (SEDP) to fund 80 entities annually across the 8-member states including India.
  • SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and includes member states Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
  • Also, the SDF will soon come out with a programme to provide line of credit to the sector across the member states.

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