DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 21st JUNE 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)S
1.
PUNJAB FINANCE MINISTER MANPREET BADAL PRESENTED STATE BUDGET FOR THE YEAR
2017-18
i. Punjab Finance
minister Manpreet Badal presented a state budget of Rs 1.18 lakh cr for the
financial year 2017-18. The budget presented by Manpreet Badal, focused on
reducing the crushing debt burden and restoring fiscal stability.
ii. The budget laid
special emphasis on education and social sectors. Badal also mentioned that
Punjab’s outstanding debt will be Rs 1.95 lakh cr by the end of the financial
year.
iii. Free education for
girls in Punjab from Nursery to PhD. Punjab Government announced free education
for girls in government schools and colleges from Nursery to PhD.
iv. This initiative was
one of the key electoral promises made by Punjab Chief Minister Captain
Amarinder Singh. As a step towards women empowerment, reservation for women in
Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies has already been increased
by the government from 33 per cent to 50 per cent.
2.
BRICS FOREIGN MINISTERS MEETING HELD IN BEIJING, CHINA
i. Minister of State for
External Affairs V K Singh attended a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of BRICS
countries in Beijing, China. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj,
who was scheduled to attend this meeting but later cancelled it owing to health
reasons.
ii. The meeting was
chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. During his address at the meeting,
V K Singh urged the member countries not to differentiate between “good and
bad” terrorists – in an apparent reference to Pakistan.