June 29: Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.

On this day, 29 June...

1956 - The Act that made possible the modern interstate highway system in the U.S. was signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower had seen the speed and efficiency in moving troops and equipment on the four-lane autobahns in Germany during WW II. 

1916 - Boeing aircraft flies for the 1st time.

1993 - 24 Jawans were killed in an ambush by NSCN militants in Manipur.

1998 - Indian Government decides to grant full statehood for Delhi and create three new States namely Uttaranchal, Vananchal and Chattisgarh.

1999 - An Indian High Commissioner member N. R. Doraiswamy is beaten up by Pakistani intelligence operatives.

Born 

1893 – Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Indian economist and statistician (d. 1972)

1991 – R. Jeeva, Indian Tamil Musician

RIP

1533 - Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, vaishnav Sant.

1873 - Micheal Madhusudan Dutta, first Bengali modern poet.

2000 – Kamini Kadam, actor.

2011 – K. D. Sethna, Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic (b. 1904)

Titbits

2008 - Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant man, gives birth to a daughter.

2002 - US Vice President Dick Cheney, serves as Acting President for two and a half hours, while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure. 

You may have known...

Most people forget 90% of their dreams. 

Business News

• PNB scam: ED files Prosecution Complaint/charge sheet in the court against Mehul Choksi. The complaint charged Choksi and 13 others - Eight Individuals and Five Companies - under section 4 of the Act for the offence of money laundering.

• HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd, the Country’s Largest Mutual Fund, receives SEBI’s Approval to Float an Initial Public Offer (IPO).

• Indian Bank to Withdraw Dividend Payment Resolution after RBI's reply that the Bank can declare a dividend after Fully Providing for Mark-to-Market (MTM) Loss, Gratuity and Other Provisions.

• GSTN to Temporarily Shut Down on 1st July, on the First Anniversary Day of GST.

• United Forum of IDBI Bank Officers and Employees Conveys its Serious Concern to the Finance Minister over the Govt’s move to sell a Significant Stake in the bank to LIC.

• Special CBI Court sentenced Additional Commissioner of Income-Tax,  Sumitra Banerjee and Asst. Comm. I-tax, Anjali Bambole, to Five Years' Imprisonment for allegedly demanding Rs 1.7 Crore Bribe from a Thane-based builder, in a graft case of 2010.

• LIC Buys First Issuance of Longest Maturity 30-year Bonds of Rs. 2000 crore sold by NHAI.

• As per an Internal Report, Government Rejects Bad Bank Proposal to Resolve NPA Crisis.

June 28: Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.

On this day, 28 June...

 1762 - 1st reported counterfeiting attempt (Boston).

1832 - In 1832, the first American case of a cholera epidemic was reported in New York City. Previously, Europe and the Americas were unaffected by the First Cholera Pandemic of 1817 when cholera, long endemic to the Indian subcontinent, spread to Arabia, Syria, and southern Russia. This abated in the early 1820's, but a new cholera cycle began in 1826. It invaded the British Isles in Oct 

1831. Canada was struck shortly before cholera reached New York. 

1846 - Saxophone is patented by Antoine Joseph Sax.

1859 - 1st dog show held (Newcastle-on-Tyne, England).

1909 - 1st French air show, Concours d'Avation opens.

1919 - Treaty of Versailles, ending WWI and establishing the League of Nations, is signed in France.

1928 - Austrian Friedrich Schmiedl launched his first experimental rocket. The design he first used was not successful. However, by 9 Sep 1931, he started the world's first official postal rocket-mail service between two Austrian towns. A parachute provided a safe landing. His rocket-mail service continued until 16 Mar 1933 when laws prohibited the civilian use of explosives (including his rocket fuel).

1938 -    In 1938, an aerial tramway, the first in North America, was dedicated. This was popular with the Boston-area ski clubs.

1958 - In 1958, the Mackinac Bridge, the then world longest suspension bridge, 3800 feet, was dedicated. (Today there are many bridges longer than this. The longest suspension bridge since 1998 is Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, 1991 metres).

1965 - 1st US ground combat forces in Vietnam authorised by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1965 - The first commercial telephone conversation over a satellite took place over Early Bird I between America and Europe. 

1975 - As a response to anti-government demonstrations, India imposes the toughest press censorship since independence.

1976 - the 1st woman was admitted to US Air Force Academy.

1986 - Indian Union Government sanctions maternity leave for unmarried women employees too.

1986 - Accord with Mizo National Front; Lal Denga to be the chief minister of Mizoram.

1992 - A 35-year-old man at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre became the world's first recipient of a baboon liver transplant. Dr John Fung with colleagues Drs. Andreas Tzakis and Satoru Todo performed the transplant operation. The patient was dying from hepatitis B. Although the patient died from a brain haemorrhage 71 days after the historic surgery, the field of xenotransplantation, or cross-species transplantation, was advanced considerably. A second xenotransplant operation was made on 10 Jan 1993 on a 62-year-old man who lived 26 days with the baboon's liver. No further xenotransplants are currently planned there, but xenotransplantation research remains a major focus of the investigation at the university.

Born

1921 - P V Narasimha Rao, former Prime Minister.

1976 - Jaspal Rana, shooter.

Titbits

1820 - Tomato is proven non-poisonous.

You may have known…

Women blink twice as much as men.

Business News

• GSTN to go in for Third-Party Audit of its Software developed by Infosys to ensure that all changes in the law are Adequately Captured and its Performance is not lagging on any count says CEO Prakash Kumar 

• Bombay HC admits plea by Real estate developers, challenging GST on the sale of land. The high court has Issued Notices to the Central Govt., the Maharashtra Govt. and the GST Council in this matter.

• PNB scam: Mehul Choksi Moves Court Seeking Cancellation of Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) issued against him 

• NCLAT Declines to Stay Delisting of ElectroSteel Steels by Vedanta on the plea of Renaissance Steel, whose bid was rejected by the committee of creditors (CoC)

• Govt Approves & Provides Capital Infusion Support of Rs 2,000 Crore to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) to Enhance Insurance Coverage to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Exports(MSME). It has also Approved Contribution of Grant-in-Aid (corpus) of Rs 1,040 Crore to National Export Insurance Account Trust (NEIA) to Promote Project Exports

• State Bank of India (SBI) has Closed Six Foreign Branches and is in the process of closing down another nine branches as part of Rationalisation of Overseas Operations

• SEBI  is gearing up to usher the next set of reforms in the Commodity Market by Allowing Mutual Funds to participate in the segment while also Actively Considering Allowing Derivatives on Commodity Indices.

June 27: There is no “one” way to be a perfect leader, but there are a million ways to be a good one.

On this day, 27 Jun...

1954 - The world's first atomic power station began producing electricity in Obninsk, U.S.S.R., a small town 60 miles south of Moscow.

1955 - 1st automobile seat belt legislation enacted (Illinois, US).

1964 - Teen Murti Bhavan, which had been the official residence of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, was converted into the Nehru Memorial Museum.

1967 - First Indian made AVRO aircraft passenger Plane HS748 handed over to Indian Airlines.

1978 - The first pen with truly erasable ink, the Gillette Eraser Mate, was invented. 

1979 - Heavyweight Muhammad Ali confirms that his 3rd retirement is final (it wasn't).

1990 - Salman Rushdie, condemned to death by Iran, contributes $8600 to help their earthquake victims.

2000 - The Clinton administration rejects a demand by 21 U.S. Congressmen for declaring India a terrorist state in the wake of attacks on Christian priests and churches.

2008 - Bill Gates steps down as Chairman of Microsoft Corporation to work full time for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Born

1838 - Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee), the famous novelist, "the father of modern Indian fiction" and writer of national song 'Vande Mataram'.

1939 - RD Burman (Panchami Da), composer, singer, and actor.

1964 - PT Usha, athlete.

RIP

1839 - Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of Punjab.

2008 - Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, former Indian Army Chief.

Titbits

 1932 - In Britain, the Baird Laboratories exhibited a range of domestic TV sets. The screen size was.  

You may have known…

Women’s hearts are proven to beat faster than men’s.

Business News

• GST Provisions on TDS/TCS, Reverse Charge Mechanism Deferred by another 3 Months Till September-end.

• Petition in Madras HC against the constitution of GST Appellate Tribunal 

• NCLT Admits Insolvency Petition filed by SBI Against Uttam Value Steel Ltd, a Listed Subsidiary of Uttam Galva Steels Ltd

• SEBI Receives 8 Counter Bids, that can Offer Higher Price for the Properties belonging to PACL group, than that proposed by the company

• A Special Court in Mumbai allows probe agency ED to Start Extradition Process Against Nirav Modi

• China to Cut Import Tariffs on Soybean & Other Items from India amid trade war with the US. The reduction of duties, announced by the State Council or China’s cabinet, will take effect from July 1.

• EPFO gives its members an option to withdraw 75 percent of their funds after one month of unemployment and keep their PF account with the body.

• RBI slaps ₹6-Crore Penalty on Tamilnad Mercantile Bank for its Lapses in adhering to the Master Directions issued by it on Issue and Pricing of Shares.

• Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) has demanded Imposition of Additional Customs Duty on Silk Fabrics Imported from Vietnam to provide a Level-Playing Field to Indian Manufacturers.