• The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration has been officially launched, which will run from 2021 to 2030.
• United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration will be co-led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO).
• It was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in a 2019 resolution.
• Purpose: Protection and revival of millions of hectares of ecosystems all around the world for the benefit of people and nature. This in turn will contribute to the achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals.
• A Multi-Partner Trust Fund has also been launched for the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Germany is the first country to provide funding of Euro 14 million towards this fund.
• In order to support the launch of UN Decade, a report has also been released which defines the need of having such a global restoration effort. 

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Vishwavir Ahuja as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of private lender RBL Bank for further period of one year, with effect from 30 June 2021.
• Ahuja is the head of the bank since 30 June 2010
• RBL Bank headquarter - Mumbai.

• World Tumor Day is observed on June 8 every year to spread awareness about this deadly disease, ensure its early diagnosis, as well as as pay tribute to brain tumor patients and their families.
• The day was first initiated by the German Brain Tumor Association (GBTA) in 2000.

• World Oceans Day is marked annually on the 8 June to celebrate the role of the oceans in our everyday life and inspiring action to protect the ocean and sustainably use marine resources.
• The theme of UN World Oceans Day 2021 is ‘The Ocean: Life & Livelihoods’.
• World Oceans Day was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008.
• The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada’s International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

• Ranjitsinh Disale, the first Indian teacher to win the prestigious Global Teacher Award in 2020, has now been appointed as an Education Advisor to the World Bank international advisory board, which aims to improve teaching quality..
• He is among the 12 advisors appointed from all over the world and will be representing India.
• Mr Disale, who hails from Paritewadi in Solapur district of Maharashtra, will serve as the World Bank Education Advisor for the period from June 2021 to June 2024. 
• Mr Disale won the USD 1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 in December 2020 for his efforts to boost girls’ education and spark a quick response (QR) coded textbook revolution in the country.

World Bank

• Headquarters - Washington, D.C., United States.
• Formation - July 1944.
• President - David Malpass.

• The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. (HSBC) has appointed Hitendra Dave as the chief executive officer (CEO) of HSBC India.
• However, Dave’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval and until then he will work as interim CEO, with effect from 7 June 2021.
• Dave succeeds Surendra Rosha, who has been appointed as the Co-Chief Executive of HSBC, Asia-Pacific.

HSBC

• Founded: 3 March 1865, Hong Kong.
• Founder: Thomas Sutherland.
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.
• CEO: Noel Quinn.

• Three Indian Universities have made it to the top 100 list of Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings 2021.
• A record number of 63 Indian universities found place in 2021 list, however, none of them could make to top 10.
• Ranked at 37th spot, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru was the highest ranked university from India for the seventh year in a row.
• The other two universities in the top 100 are: Indian Institute of Technology Ropar (55) and Indian Institute of Technology Indore (78)
• 14 Indian institutions debuted in 2021 rankings. India is ranked third overall in terms of representation of universities. Japan with 116 universities is on top, followed by Mainland China with 91 representation.
• Overall, the mainland Chinese universities Tsinghua University ranked first followed by Peking University at second position.
• The Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings assessed performance of 551 universities from 30 countries on the 13 performance indicators/parameters.

List of Top 5 Universities

1. Tsinghua University, China
2. Peking University, China
3. National University of Singapore
4. Hong Kong’s University of Hong Kong
5. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

• India has been elected as the member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the six main organs of the United Nations, for three-year terms of 2022-24.
• India was elected to the 54-member ECOSOC, by the UNGA on June 7, 2021, in the Asia-Pacific States category, along with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Oman.
• ECOSOC serves as the central platform for discussing international economic, social and environmental issues and formulating policy recommendations addressed to member states and the United Nations system.
• ECOSOC Headquarters - New York, United States, and Geneva.

• Muscat, the capital city of Oman, has been picked as the host city for the inaugural Hockey5s World Cups (Men and Women), by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
• The World Cup will take place in January 2024.
• 16 teams per gender (3 per continent + Oman, as hosts) will take part in the first edition.

• The 2021 Performance Grading Index (PGI) was released by Union Education Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ on June 06, 2021.
• The PGI index measure the performance of states in school education, based on data drawn from several sources, like Unified District Information System for Education Plus, National Achievement Survey, and Mid-Day Meal.
• 2021 PGI is the third edition of the PGI Index and has considered 2019-20 as reference year. The first PGI for States and Union Territories was published in 2019 with reference year 2017-18.
• States are scored on a total of 1,000 points across 70 parameters.
• These parameters are grouped under five broad categories

1. Access (eg. enrolment ratio, transition rate and retention rate);
2. Governance and management;
3. Infrastructure;
4. Equity (difference in performance between scheduled caste students and general category students) and
5. Learning outcomes (average score in mathematics, science, languages and social science).

• In PGI Index, states are graded and not ranked so as to discourage the practice of one state improving only at the cost of other state.
• There are 10 levels in PGI grading system. Level I (951-1000) is the highest grade while Level X, also known as Grade VII (0-550) is the lowest grade.
• In 2021 PGI, none of the state or Union Territory could achieve the highest grade, that is Level I.
• Chandigarh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar and Kerala have obtained Grade 1++ (or Level II), which makes them the best performing states. 
• Ladakh has obtained the lowest grade, Grade VII.

• Raimona Reserve Forest in Assam has been upgraded as the National Park. It will now be the sixth National Park in Assam.
• Raimona National Park is in Kokrajhar district under the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), spread over 422 sqkm.
• Raimona also shares its boundary with Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Jigme Singye Wangchuk National Park in Bhutan (1,999sqkm).
• The other five existing national parks in Assam are Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Nameri National Park, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Orang National Park.

• Former power secretary Sanjeev Nandan Sahai has been named as the new Chairman of oil regulator Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
• Sahai is a 1986 batch IAS officer who retired as Secretary in Ministry of Power on January 31, 2021.
• His appointment is subject to approval by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).