1. Rahul Gandhi was questioned for 11 hours and called again today: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials quizzed Rahul Gandhi on Monday for nearly eleven hours. The Congress MP was summoned regarding the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd by Young Indian. ED is probing suspected money laundering in the buyout. The investigating agency has asked Rahul Gandhi to appear again on Tuesday.
2. IPL TV rights go to Disney Star, Digital rights to Viacom18: Disney star has won the Indian sub-continent TV rights to broadcast 410 IPL matches that will run across five seasons between 2023 and 2027 for a price of Rs. 23,575 crores (Rs.57.5 crore/game). Viacom18, on the other hand, secured the Indian sub-continent digital rights for Rs.20,500 crores (Rs.50 crore/game)
3. A newly married inter-caste couple in TN was hacked to death: Saranya, 24, a Dalit, and Mohan, 21, a Naicker, got married a few days ago. Saranya’s brother welcomed the couple home — in what appeared to be a peaceful move. However, after feeding them dinner, with the aid of his friend Sranaya’s brother hacked the couple to death.
4. Government announces new recruitment policy for armed forces called ‘Agnipath’: Defence minister Rajnath Singh, in the presence of the tri-service chiefs, announced the new recruitment scheme for the armed forces, called ‘Agnipath.’ A similar program was earlier called under the name ‘Tour of Duty.’ The Agnipath program will induct 45,000 youngsters aged between 17.5-21 for a four-year term job in the forces every year.
5. Israeli trekker rescued near Manali: A young Israeli trekker Ron Yaron, 26, went missing while on an expedition to Chhatru along with fellow national Yuvan Cohan, 24. Based on Yuvan’s complaint with the Koksar Police, a ground rescue team and a private helicopter arranged by the Israeli embassy looked for Ron in the Hamta pass. However, Ron was later rescued from a campsite, where he took shelter for the night near Shia Goru.
6. Centre planning to rationalize drug trade margins: The Department of Pharmaceuticals and National Drug Pricing Authority (NDPA) are preparing a proposal to cap trade margins on drugs earned by wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. The move aims to bring down the prices of all widely used medicines, including those with specific therapeutic category drugs.
7. The tense 10 minutes when Chimpanzee Buri entered the visitor’s area: On Monday morning, as the Alipore zoo opened to the public, an adult eight-year-old female Chimpanzee named Buri managed to slip out of her enclosure to enter the visitor’s arena. However, alert keepers ensured Buri was back inside her chamber within ten minutes.
8. Consumer Affairs ministry asks for the breakup of charges from food delivery platforms: The delivery and packaging charges levied by online food ordering and delivery services like Swiggy and Zomato are now under government scanner. Citing the number of complaints received by the National Consumer Helpline, the union consumer affairs secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh, has asked these platforms to submit a roadmap to address consumer grievances.
9. In May, Russia was the second-biggest supplier of oil to India: Saudi Arabia, which was at the second spot, went to the third spot in May, with Indian refineries buying nearly 819,000 barrels per day (BPD) from Russia. Reliance, in particular, has bought 1.4 million barrels per day in the same month.
10. Google settles lawsuit with $118 million payouts to 15k former employees: In 2017, three former female Google employees sued the company saying the IT giant pays women staff lesser than male workers performing the same job. Google settled the lawsuit promising to pay $118 million in monetary relief covering 15,500 of its women staff in California.