India has been ranked 60th out of 130 nations on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017. The 2017 index highlighted the continual improvement of India in terms of investment, tertiary education, quality of its publications and universities, its ICT services exports and innovation clusters. Among India’s neighbors, Sri Lanka has acquired 90th spot, Nepal 109th, Pakistan 113th and Bangladesh 114th spot. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by Sweden and the Netherlands. The theme of the 2017 Index is “Innovation Feeding the World” that focuses on innovation in agriculture and food systems. The index is co-authored by Cornell University, INSEAD and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

David Grossman has become the first Israeli author to win the 2017 Man Booker International prize for his novel “A Horse Walks Into a Bar”. The novel was translated by Jessica Cohen and is published in Britain by Jonathan Cape. The book is an ambitious high-wire act of a novel that shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint of sentimentality. Since 2016, the Man Booker International Prize awards both the winning author and translator £25,000. To be considered for the prize, books had to be translated into English and published in the UK between May 1, 2016 and April 30, 2017.

Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, the renowned litterateur from Arunachal Pradesh, will be conferred with the 5th edition of Bhupen Hazarika National Award-2017 in a ceremony at Srinagar, Jammu & Kaskmir in September 2017. The award was instituted by Pune-based social organization Sarhad in 2012 and is conferred on a person every year who has rendered an outstanding work at the national and international level. It consists of Rs. 51,000, a memento and a certificate.

The ASEAN Dengue Day (ADD) is observed every year on June 15 to raise awareness on dengue and to mobilise resources for prevention and control involving private and public sector stakeholders. The day observed as a collective advocacy event to reiterate calls on all sectors of society to unite against dengue, as well as to highlight innovative and effective strategies in the prevention and control of dengue. The 2017 theme is “United Fight Against Dengue”.

Gaitri Issar Kumar, the joint secretary in the President’s Secretariat and a 1986 batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the India’s new Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU) which has its headquarters in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Beside this, Reenat Sandhu and Ajit Vinayak Gupte have been named as the India’s new Ambassador to Italy and Denmark.

Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (95), the former Chief Justice of India (CJI), has passed away in New Delhi on June 15,2017. Justice Bhagwati is known for introducing and pioneering Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which transformed the legal landscape in India.